On the northwest side of the Carlos P. Garcia Monument.

The monument features a life-sized statue of General MacArthur with his arm raised in a gesture symbolizing greeting or return, while the other rests against his chest. Embedded in the front of the pedestal is a rectangular plaque bearing the seal of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, which commemorates Douglas MacArthurs return to Philippine soil during World War II.

On October 20, 1944, Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines by leading an Allied landing at Leyte Gulf, launching the Leyte Campaign, and beginning the liberation of the country from Japanese occupation. The landing fulfilled MacArthurs 1942 pledge, I shall return, after his earlier forced withdrawal. Accompanied by Philippine leaders Sergio Osmeña Sr. and Carlos P. Romulo, the operation marked the restoration of the Commonwealth government and triggered the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles of the Pacific War, setting in motion the campaigns that would fully liberate the Philippines by 1945.

Source of information: en.wikipedia.org

THE
LEYTE LANDING
(OCTOBER 20, 1944)

GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
LANDED IN LEYTE GULF WITH
SERGIO OSMEÑA SR. AND CARLOS
P. ROMULO. THIS SIGNALLED THE
RETAKING OF THE PHILIPPINES
FROM THE JAPANESE SOLDIERS. IT
WAS ALSO FULFILLMENT OF
MACARTHURS PROMISE IN 1942
WHEN HE SAID I SHALL RETURN.