The 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division honored the late Maj. Jose Manuel C. Montalvan, Camp Evangelista’s first Camp Commander, through the renaming of the Division Multi-Purpose Building into Montalvan Hall and unveils its Building Marker on Monday, June 19, 2023.
4ID Commander Maj. Gen. Jose Maria R. Cuerpo II led the said activity together with the other 4ID Officers, Enlisted Personnel, and Civilian Human Resources, as well as the immediate family of the late Maj. Montalvan led by his son, Mr. Eduardo R. Montalvan.
Mr. Montalvan expressed his sincere gratitude to the 4ID for honoring his father. “In behalf of the whole family, we would like to express our gratitude to Maj. Gen. Cuerpo, for this honor that you’ve given our father. We are really grateful. Today, I am sure that my mother and father are looking down on us now, feeling grateful for all of this,” he stated.
Walking down memory lane, then First Lieutenant Montalvan was the first clCadre Commander of the 2nd Misamis Oriental (Machine Gun) Cadre at Camp Bulua, now Camp Evangelista, a Post he served from January 1 to December 31, 1939. He was appointed the first Camp Commander and Mobilization Center Officer on January 1, 1940, when Camp Bulua was renamed Camp Evangelista. He was considered a hero and veteran who served with the USAFFE in Mindanao against the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
Maj. Gen. Cuerpo II said the inauguration of the Montalvan Hall recognizes the contribution and honors the sacrifices of the late Maj. Montalvan to the country being a war veteran. “We are giving due credit to the huge contribution of the late Maj. Montalvan, because what we have now is part of his sacrifices during World War II,” he added.
