was the site where American forces code-named Victorino I, landed on March 18, 1945, together with the Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army's 61st, 62nd and 63rd Infantry Division and the Philippine Constabulary's 6th Infantry Regiment to begin the liberation of Panay. The troops set out from Lingayen Gulf, Luzon on March 14. The 185th Infantry, 40th Division, splashed ashore at Tigbauan, several miles west of Iloilo. There they were greeted by Army Col. Macario L. Peralta's Filipino guerrillas and continued with the Philippine Commonwealth troops drawn up in parade formation. General Eichelberger recalled in his memoirs how the guerrillas stood "stiff in starched khaki and resplendent with ornaments." The strong guerrilla force of 23,000 had secured most of the island' except the area immediately around Iloilo where 2,750 Japanese were ensconced. The 40th Division quickly swept through the Japanese outposts and then drove the Japanese from the city in two days. Again the Japanese withdrew after the initial fighting into the inaccessible mountain jungles. In the fighting, the Americans lost 20 men, the Filipinos lost 42 men, and the Japanese 80. Responsibility for mopping up was turned over to the Filipino guerrillas and the 2d Battalion, 160th Infantry. Some 1,500 Japanese later surrendered at the end of the war. Because General MacArthur planned to stage two divisions from Iloilo for the invasion of Japan, engineers began repairing the local airfield and starting base construction at once. Geography The municipality has flat terrain. The plain constitutes approximately 57% of the total area, covering about 6,667 has. along the north-west site of the Sibalom River. Along the boundaries of Guimbal, Leon and Tubungan are rolling hills covering an area of about 1,518 has. The municipality has no forest coverage. The highest point is above sea level and the lowest is one meter above sea level. The town has two main rivers, Sibalom and Tacuyong River. The first originates from the mountain portion of Panay passing through the town of Leon and snaking through the barangays of Cordova Norte and Cordova Sur, Bitas and Bagumbayan, the western portion of the poblacion and empties into the Panay Gulf. The second emanates from the junction of Barangay San Rafael, Binaliuan Menor, Nagba, Dorong-an and joins the Sibalom River in the Southern portion of the Poblacion. Aside from the rivers, there are creeks and natural springs, which could be a good source of