1944 2c Jose Rizal, Apple Green, Commonwealth of Philippines, Unwatermarked, Perf. 11x10.5, Victory Overprint Handstamp

Scott #PH464 is a 2-centavo apple green stamp from the Commonwealth of the Philippines series, bearing the handstamped "VICTORY" overprint applied in 1944. The stamp features a portrait of José Rizal — the Philippines' beloved national hero — with his birth and death years (1861–1896) inscribed below his portrait. The purple "VICTORY" handstamp was applied locally on the island of Leyte in October 1944, just days after American forces landed to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation. This was the first Philippine stamp to be used in liberated territory, and the handstamp was done with a rubber stamp rather than by a printing press, meaning no two examples are quite identical.

The story behind this stamp is one of the most dramatic in Philippine philatelic history. When General Douglas MacArthur's forces landed on Leyte on October 20, 1944, they found a supply of pre-war Commonwealth stamps at the Tacloban post office. Nineteen days later, the Tacloban post office reopened amidst the still-smoldering ruins of the city. To distinguish liberated Philippine mail from that produced under Japanese occupation, postal workers applied the "VICTORY" overprint by hand, using rubber stamps of varying quality. The makeshift nature of the operation means that the overprint appears in different positions, ink densities, and degrees of clarity on different examples.

José Rizal, the man honored on this stamp, had been executed by the Spanish colonial government on December 30, 1896, at the age of 35, for his writings and activism that inspired the Philippine revolution. His legacy as the father of Filipino national identity made him the most fitting figure to appear on the stamp that would mark the Philippines' liberation.