Datu Salipada Khalid Pendatun was a Filipino lawyer, military officer, and a statesman, being the first Filipino Muslim in history to hold these offices. He died on January 27, 1985 in Quezon City.
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He fought against the Japanese. Pendatun was from Cotabato-Maguindanao. The group he formed was called the Bolo Battalion, which evolved into the larger group, Muslim-Christian Guerrilla Movement and later, the Cotabato-Bukidnon Force. During his time as a politician, especially when he was the governor of the then undivided Cotabato province, Cotabato province was by then the most prosperous province in the country, serving it as its "rice basket", with its capital bearing the same name was second only to Davao City as the most populous and economically prosperous city in Mindanao. Several towns were born in the province, and a number of them, i.e. Kidapawan, Buayan, Marbel, Tacurong, and some others flourished and became economically prosperous that they become cities several years later. The province was also exceptionally peaceful before the Muslim insurgencies in Mindanao in the 1970s. Together with former Senator Lorenzo Tañada Sr., he was among the other 22 senators who voted against then President Manuel A. Roxas Amnesty Proclamation for the collaborators of World War II. PHILIPPINE MILITARY HISTORY: SALIPADA K PENDATUN was a lawyer, military officer, legislator and national leader of many “ Firsts”... He was the first and only Filipino Muslim who headed a combined Filipino Muslim-Christian and American guerilla army, the first Filipino Muslim to be conferred the rank of Brigadier General, the first Filipino Muslim elected senator, the first to hold three Senate Committee Chairmanship at the same time, the first Muslim delegate to the United Nations and the first Filipino Muslim to become Speaker Pro-Tempore of the House Representatives... He was also a champion of the unification of the free world and exponent of the cause that a combination of Christian and Muslim free countries can successfully resist Communist aggression and domination... PENDATUN was a descendant of Sharif Kubungsuan, son of the Sultan of Jahor, Malaya and the first ruler of the Empire Province of Cotabato with the title of Sultan as Maguindanao... Better known as “Sali” to friends, he was born in Pikit, Cotabato, on 03 December 1912, of pure Filipino-Malayan Muslim background... He completed his elementary and high school education in Cotabato, obtained his Associate in arts degree in 1934 and Bachelor of Laws degree in 1938, both from the University of the Philippines, and passed the bar examination also in 1938... During World War 2, as a USAFFE officer PENDATUN organized and commanded the 102nd Regiment under the 101st Division of the Philippine Army/ Constabulary from 1942 to 1943 in the following operations... Preventing the total destruction of the regiment during the Japanese invasion of Mindanao in early 1942... Launching a guerilla assault on Japanese garrison in Pikit, Cotabato in September 1942... Leading a raid on the Japanese garrison at Kabacan, Cotabato on 25 October 1942... Eliminating the Japanese garrison at Kitaotao, Bukidnon on 04 December 1942... The rescue of Filipino Prisoners of War at Casisang, Bukidnon on 24 December 1942... And for leading a two-month siege on a Japanese garrison at Malaybalay, Bukidnon on 11 January 1943... For his war time accomplishment, later promoted to BRIGADIER GENERAL, PENDATUN was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Star, the second highest military decoration given to AFP Personnel... Later Pendatun became Provincial Governor of Cotabato ; Senator ; President Elpidio Quirino’s technical adviser ; Congressman for Cotabato ; re-elected Senator ; and Assemblyman at the Interim Batasang Pambansa... He had also served as official member to various international conferences, including the United Nations in Paris and New York and represented the Philippine Government at the inauguration of the Indonesian Independence in Jakarta in 1949... Senator Pendatun hit the limelight when he, together with Senator Tañada, voted against President Manuel A. Roxas' Amnesty Proclamation for the collaborators of World War 2.... All the other 22 senators supported the amnesty proposal... During his six-year term in the Senate, Senator Pendatun was chairman of the following important committees: Army, Navy and Military Pensions; Corporations, Banks and Franchises; and Special Organized Provinces... He passed away in 1985...
