The passing of two generations of Filipinos is not enough to erase the grim memories of World War 2, particularly the atrocities of the Japanese Imperial Army, in Laguna and Quezon provinces.
Elsewhere in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the narratives about the war have not changed, etched in the common memories of Filipinos of that era, and their sons, daughters and grandchildren.
In Laguna and Quezon, the presence of huge mountain ranges and hills, forests, rivers and lakes made guerrilla warfare feasible during the war. But every raid, every successful ambush that the patriotic and freedom-loving Filipinos inflict on the Japanese is answered with intense violence and depravity. The Tagalogs of Laguna and Quezon bear the brunt of torture, humiliation, physical violence, rape and murder from the hands of the Japanese. Much like in Singapore and Malaya, in Manchuria and Nanking, in Bangkok and Jakarta.
Many Tayabasins still remember the brutality, harassment, and humiliation they suffered from the invading Japanese Imperial Army. Most telling was the brutal treatment of guerrillas and prominent citizens who gave up their lives for freedom.
Still fresh in the collective memory of Quezonins are particular war crimes committed by the Japanese against the people of Quezon. One incident in particular was the massacre of 77 civilians in Agdangan town on Oct. 15, 1944 following the ambush of a Japanese courier in the area.
The whole town of Tayabas was leveled to the ground following a devastating bombing raid that killed scores of residents and caused huge fires. Tayabasins also tried to destroy the Malagonlong Bridge with explosives to slow the Japanese advance. Spanish-era structures in Tayabas were destroyed, such as the Puente dela Princesa.
In Laguna, the towns of Calamba and Los Baños along with the Canlubang area were devastated by the Japanese 8th Division, particularly by Capt. Ginsaku Saito of the Saito Battalion. History tells us that following a successful US-PHL raid in Los Baños, Saito ordered two companies from his battalion and a group of ex-guards from the Los Baños prison camp, to “kill all guerrillas, men, women, and children in Los Baños.”
My hometown of Paete was also burned by the Japanese, and my parents and relatives retreated to the Humarap mountain for safety.
Japan’s war crimes are more than samlang, and now their PM Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi are reviving that country’s militaristic tradition, with President Bongbong Marcos and Gibo Teodoro clapping their hands and prodding them.
Filipinos will not forget the horrors of war.
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