Ramon A. Alcaraz

Commodore Ramon Abacan Alcaraz (31 August 1915 – 25 June 2009) was a Filipino World War II hero, Naval officer, and businessman best known as a recipient of the Silver Star for heroism and gallantry as part of the Offshore Patrol unit of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) during the Second World War; and as one of the earliest critics of the Marcos dictatorship within the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Less than a month after Ferdinand Marcos first became President of the Philippines, Alcaraz, who was then in command of the Naval Operations Force against Smuggling, received instructions to go easy on smuggling operations in Cavite province, which Alcaraz refused on moral grounds. In the U.S., he quickly established himself in the real estate business, In 2024 his name was inscribed at wall of remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani memorial, which honors the martyrs and heroes who resisted the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos during the Philippines' Martial Law period.

Early life and education Alcaraz was born on 31 August 1915, in Parulan, a barrio in what was then the town of Quingua, Bulacan in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. His brother Marciano 'Rocky' retired as a captain of the Philippine Navy. He also had many sisters including Fe, Jacoba, Efigenia, and Lucila.

He entered the Philippine Military Academy at Teachers Camp, Baguio, Mountain Province, Philippines from 15 June 1936, to 15 March 1940, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. Alcaraz graduated among the 79 members (originally 120 cadets) of the Class of 1940 "The Pioneer Class". His class was the first group of graduates to finish the four year curriculum, as the previous curriculum was only three years. Alcaraz was a writer for the PMA publication "Corps" and the bantam weight boxing champion in 1937 and 1938.

In 1941, he voluntarily joined and graduated from the Army's newly formed Offshore Patrol (OSP) Training School in Manila as part of the USAFFE forces. In 1959, he went to United States to study at the Naval War College – Command Course at Newport, Rhode Island.

Military career

World War II After graduation, he assigned as a 3rd Lieutenant to the Philippine Commonwealth Army. Nineteen months later, he volunteered to the newly formed Offshore Patrol unit of the Army and promoted as a 2nd Lieutenant with the OSP – Sea duty forces. A few weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was promoted as a 1st Lieutenant after he was inducted into the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). He was the Commanding Officer of the Q-112 Abra, a 55 ft stepped-hull torpedo boat with aftward launch torpedo chutes built for the Philippine Commonwealth Government by the British shipbuilding firm John I. Thornycroft & Company – one of three "Q-boat" torpedo boats used by the Offshore Patrol (OSP) during the war. For their actions, he was immediately promoted to Captain by General MacArthur in Corregidor and awarded the Silver Star for heroism and gallantry in action.

On 10 April 1942, to prevent their boat capture by the Japanese, Captain Alcaraz's Q-112 Abra was scuttled at night near the shore of Paombong coast, four miles off Bataan's east coast. He and his crew floated to shore using bamboo poles but were spotted by two search lights from Japanese patrol boats.

Alcaraz was released on 10 August 1942, after undergoing an intensive four-month "rejuvenation program". He was paroled and instructed to be re-trained to join the Bureau of Constabulary at the Torres High School in Gagalangin, Tondo. In September 1942, he graduated as a police officer and was told that his first assignment was at Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao. Alcaraz faked that he had malaria and was confined to a hospital in San Lazaro. This ensured that he would miss his transport ship to Mindanao, so he was then reassigned to Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

After the end of the war and of his ordeal as a POW, Alcaraz rejoined the OSP. After the Philippines was given its independence from United States, all remaining OSP officers became the pioneering nucleus of the organizational structure of the Philippine Naval Patrol which later renamed into the Philippine Navy.

Korean War service

As Lieutenant (Senior Grade) and later Commander, Alcaraz also held significant naval commands during the Korean War, including being squadron skipper of one of the teems that regularly transported the Battalion Combat Teams of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK) to wherever they needed to go.

Command of the Naval Operations Force against Smuggling

In 1964 president Diosdado Macapagal placed Alcaraz in command of the Naval Operations Force (NOF) he had created to combat smuggling, particularly of foreign cigarettes.

After some initial frustrations, Alcaraz proved highly effective at the job, seizing about P750,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes each month in 1965 and getting him promoted to the naval rank of Commodore.

After 26 years of active service, Commodore Alcaraz was placed on the retired list from active duty on 22 January 1966.

Alcaraz had been forced to leave the service only 22 days after Marcos became president, characterized by vote-buying, terrorism and ballot snatching. As a former flag officer, Alcaraz was invited to the group.

This once again earned Alcaraz the ire of the administration, which initiated a persecutory investigation of Alcaraz's real estate transactions in retaliation, eventually leading to the closure of Commodore Drug. As a result, Alcaraz was eventually released.

Advocacies after the People Power Revolution

After the Marcoses were ousted by the civilian-led People Power Revolution in 1986, Alcaraz shifted his focus and lobbied for the recognition of Filipino World War 2 veterans by the US legislature.

BRP Ramon Alcaraz has changed ship reclassification types twice. Originally "PF-16" till mid of 2016 to "FF-16". In February 2019, redesignated again to "PS-16", as the Navy downgraded the entire frigate class to patrol ship status.