Before the war, Colonel Kangleon was replaced and re-joining the group of soldiers under the pre-war 92nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army in the General Headquarters in Leyte during the Liberation.

And after the war, Ruperto Kangleon served as the Philippine Secretary of National Defense under Presidents Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino.

Kangleon was a former Lieutenant Colonel and was the commanding officer of the 81st Infantry Regiment[citation needed] of the 81st Division, USAFFE on 1942 with its headquarters in Cebu.

[1]: 168  In Nov. 1943, under orders from Col. Fertig, Kangleon, Richardson, and other guerrilla leaders were in Mindanao to coordinate activities, and meet the submarine USS Narwhal delivering American aid.

He led a number of guerrilla organizations, among the fiercest, with the greatest reach and had undertaken numerous operations against the Japanese Imperial Army in Visayas and sometimes in other islands.

[2]: 12  Gen. MacArthur personally pinned on Kangleon the Distinguished Service Cross of the United States of America, a decoration awarded for extraordinary heroism in combat witnessed by Philippine President Sergio Osmeña as well as commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, at the Leyte provincial capitol building.

But due to policy differences with the next president, Elpidio Quirino on the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Kangleon resigned as Defense Secretary on August 31, 1950.