IT WAS March in 1945 when the Japanese Imperial Army in Negros Occidental felt of the escalating guerilla operations. When the pier in Silay was bombed by the American planes in September 1944 because the pilots saw that Japanese cargo was unloaded, the Japanese 4th flight division from Manchuria quartered in Silay airport was alarmed.
The climate in Silay was surging high. Routine roll call of Silaynon families at the plaza was frequent. Members of the “buena familias” who were caught possessing American-made items … flags, mugs, plates, books … were put to shame or castigated during the checking of attendance. The “taklob-libon” of the Japanese soldiers were just pinpointing anybody as guerilla during the line check. They were brought to Luguay bridge to face firing squad.
There was even an instance that the Silaynons witnessed a noon time “dogfight” (American plane versus Japanese plane). One teenager son of a prominent family was in the middle of the street excitedly sketching the show in the sky. He was hit by the bullet in the chest that caused his death on the spot. The Japanese plane was hit at the right wing. It made an emergency landing at the camote field of Lolo Pedro in the area near Lantad.
My father (Tatay Nicolas), a forward observer of the guerilla movement was tasked to monitor the area. He saw the wounded Japanese coming out of the plane to take shed under the coconut tree. When he saw father, he made a gesture asking for help. Father saw that his intestines were already out of his stomach. At first, my “tatay” hesitated to come closer. The Jap might have a gun. He took pity and covered the intestines with banana leaves. He went back to a group of guerillas headed by Lolo Vito to report what he saw.
The Japanese knew that there were guerillas in the area just waiting for them. They waited for sunset and sent two companies to check the camote field. When they arrived, the pilot was already dead. My “tatay” was on top of the coconut palm at the side of the stream monitoring what happened. The Japs set up a pyre and burned the corpse based on Japanese ritual … samurais up and bayonets were fixed on the rifle. They were shouting words that father could not understand.
My father would go to Saravia (now E. B. Magalona) to check how many Japanese kitchen staff were there to buy meat for the garrison. On their way back, the guerilla group of Lolo Vito would stop the bicycle-riding kitchen staff (all Filipinos) and confiscate their meat. They would point out to “tatay” in a distance and tell them that it was the order of the “commander.” If there’s no meat, the guerillas would take their sacks of money to be given to the civilians later.
One mid-morning in March, the guerilla group of Enrique Solidarios raided the armory of the Japanese near the public plaza. The scenario resembled the Japanese war movie of FPJ. Civilians were scampering because it was a Sunday and the mass just ended. The families of the “hacendados” and “hacenderos” kissed the ground with their elegant suits to avoid crossfire. Lolo Vito was mad about it. “It was a blunder by not planning the attack properly!”
There were pocket ambushes in the country side. Former Mayor Natalio Velez (in his younger years) was involved in one of the ambushes. The Japanese soldiers were crossing the river while Talio Velez and other guerillas were in the higher end of the river bank. That group had been alleged to hit Sergeant Kono, the nephew of General Kono.
Manuel Intay, the ruthless member of the Japanese military police (Kempeitai), who inflicted intolerable cruelties not only on the captured Filipino soldiers but also on the merely and vaguely suspected as a guerilla, was shot by Lolo Vito during their encounter at Matagoy. By then, Lolo Vito was already promoted hitman by his unit to kill Japanese soldiers and Filipino who helped the Japs.
On March 29, 1945, Allied forces landed in Pulupandan. On March 30, all Japanese soldiers and civilians gathered to sleep in Silay to prepare for their bivouac to Patag for their “last stand.” It was a “sweet goodbye” because some Japanese soldiers had wives and children. Many were left in Silay and some went to Patag to wait for their fate. The “sayonara” was very human because some Japanese soldiers had wives who were pregnant.
The long walk to Patag (35 kilometers) was just a prelude to a more bloody scuffle in the “Battle of Patag” that made Negros history beyond forgetting. If we forget, history will always remind us to hate war as an instrument to attain peace.
