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Americans entering Intramuros during the Battle for Manila, Philippines late Feb. 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

In the background can be seen Manila City Hall and the ruins of the Legislative Building.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report

14. Early in the morning of 10 February l945, a Japanese sentry came to the house of Dr. Jose Guidote, 1568 General Luna, Manila, a physician of epidemiology, Bureau of Health, and told the inhabitants to leave the house. The members of his family, consisting of his wife, son, two maids, Dr. Manuel Navarro and his wife, father and nephew, who were all living with him at the time, left the house. They intended to go to the Philippine General Hospital, but the streets around his house were blocked with land mines, thus preventing going to that destination. After searching around, they were able to find a place for safety, several blocks away. In that place were approximately eight people; men, women, and children, all Filipinos. Several people were injured by shelling, one of whom was the father of Dr. Navarro who lived for only about half an hour after being struck by shrapnel on the side of the head. While he was attending wounded relatives and other people, Dr. Guidote was wounded in the left wrist by a bullet which went all the way through. During the shelling, three Japanese soldiers, one a sergeant, with pistols, bayonets and band grenades, came to the place and asked all of the men to go from that place. At that time there were about twenty-five men. The Japs tied their hands, including those of. Dr. Guidote, and they were about to be shot when two Japanese officers suddenly came and spoke to the soldiers. The people were then untied and sent back to their hiding place. After they were inside, the Japanese threw hand grenades at the building, shooting men, women, and children indiscriminately. About twenty people were killed during that time, including two of Dr. Guidote’s relatives. One, whose name was Milagros Alvarez de Navarro, was pregnant and hit in the abdomen. The other was Benedicto Navarro who was hit in the head and killed immediately. After this last shooting the Japanese soldiers disappeared from the place. They left because the American soldiers were about to liberate them as they (the Americans) were just on the other side of the street. Dr. Guidote stated that he thought the Japanese untied them so that the Americans could not see that they had been tied. All were liberated on the following day, 12 February, at about 2:00 PM by American soldiers (See exhibit “B-11”.)

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Manila Hotel 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

Written on the back of this photograph is:

SWPA-SigC-45-13500
Its interior gutted by fire and Jap-set demolition charges, the Manila Hotel, once the city’s smartest meeting place, is shown in this view from the bay. The modernistic Tourist Bureau building at the left is completely burned out inside, with only the white walls standing. Note wreckage of small craft in the left background.
SIGNAL CORPS PHOTO By: Pvt. Hubbit Quon

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Bay View Hotel by Beyond Forgetting on Flickr. This is where Japanese troops brought women from Ermita and Malate to be raped.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

51. Mrs. Paquita C. Garcia testified in part as follows: “We left our house on the 9th of February about 8:00 PM, as the house next to ours was already on fire. We took some clothes and food stuff and went to Alhambra Street and there the Japanese stopped us and separated us from the men. There are eight in the family - a couple of girls, 24 and 18; a girl, 15; a girl, 14; and twins boy and girl age 11. The eldest son and husband were taken away. They left me with my youngest son and the girls. They searched the men for arms and money. I saw this. There were hundreds of women and children in the large Ferguson Plaza. There were all nationalities - Filipino, Spanish, Chinese and Italian. They made a long row of women to take them somewhere. I didn’t know where, but when I got there I knew it was the Bayview Hotel. It is only a few blocks from the plaza to the Bayview Hotel. There were only a few Japanese soldiers in the plaza, but a large number of them at the hotel as it was a garrison, I think. When I was in line they separated my girls from me and took a handbag and first aid kit which I had on my back. The handbag had only five pesos in silver and a rosary and something I was knitting. When they took my girls away, my instinct told me the Japanese were going to rape them. We came to the Bayview Hotel and I saw the Japanese checking and searching and touching them. The woman in front of me was so scared that she threw away from behind her back six hundred pesos. We reached the Bayview Hotel and forty were crowded into a small room about 12 x 15 feet, and we were kept there all night. We couldn’t even lie down we were so crowded. The Japanese came into the room several times and around midnight I heard the girls shouting and calling for their mothers. Finally, I heard my girl, Evangeline, call me, and a Japanese brought her to me. She stayed with me until the next day. When I met the other two girls, Esther and Priscilla, they explained to me what had happened to them the previous night. Afterwards about eight in the evening I felt hungry and thirsty, but they gave us water with salt. We drank it, but it made us crave more. At one time they gave us a biscuit, two pieces to each, one for noon time and the other for night. When they came to choose girls for night I tried to hide them but did not succeed. After that we left the Bayview Hotel when the building was set on fire. They wanted us to stay inside so as to get all burned, but we protested and went out on the street to find shelter. We found a house owned by Mrs. Felix in the street of Arquiza. We stayed there until the house caught fire from a mortar shell which was thrown to us by the Japanese. We fled again, looking for shelter from one ruins to another. There in the street my son, eleven years old and named Joaquin, was hit by shrapnel in the leg cutting it off. I carried him, looking again for some shelter. Two hours later my boy died in my arms.” (See Exhibit “B-58”.)

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American soldiers taking cover behind tanks as the tanks proceed into the city down Dewey Blvd., (Roxas Blvd.), Manila, Philippines, Feb. 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

Dewey (now Roxas) Boulevard, during the Battle for Manila, February, 1945. The Japanese had systematically set fires in Malate and Ermita, shooting anyone trying to escape the burning buildings. This photo is in the vicinity of Malate-Ermita, perhaps near the corner of Herran (U.N. Ave.)

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

50. Mrs. Esther Garcia Moras, Ermita, Manila, testified in part as follows: On 9 February 1945, at 7:00 PM, fires were started in the Ermita section near our home. We went out of our houses. The Japanese separated the men from the women and children. I estimate that there were about 6,000 women and children in Plaza Ferguson near the Bayview Hotel. They separated the Filipinas from the Mestizas and the young girls from the older women and took the Mestizas in to the hotel. About twenty-five girls ranging in age from thirteen to twenty-seven years were placed in one room and given food, whiskey and cigarettes. They were allowed to eat and drink in the room, and for about twenty minutes there was nobody else present. Afterwards a group of three or four soldiers came into the room, and each took a girl from the room, including one of my two sisters, age 14, who was returned to the room by the soldiers when they found she was having a menstrual period. Afterwards they took my other sister who later came back and said the Japanese had attacked her by having her takeoff all her clothes and making her lie on the floor and then raping her. One of the girls tried to resist but she was slapped. Each soldier did it only once, but there were an average of four different soldiers per girl. My sister did her best to resist, but she and others could do nothing. She told all to everyone in the room. The Japanese soldiers would come in with candies and choose the girl they wanted. There were similar groups of girls in other rooms. I estimated at least five or six, making a total of about one hundred girls. Nothing was done to Luey Tani, age 24, as the soldiers found that she had a defect on her - that she was so small that they could not do anything to her. Gloria Gelzi was another girl, age 15, but the names of others are not known. After taking my sister, one Japanese returned and took me. He took me to a room and locked the door. He tore my dress and my pants. he threw me on the floor and did it. It hurt me. I screamed and shouted and tried to push him off, but in vain. He was about five feet, six inches tall. About twelve or fifteen different ones took me. The last one was so large that he hurt me. I actually bled. He took all of my clothes and put me on a bed. He kept me there about a half hour, raping me several times. One girl was pregnant about eight months or more and they started to take her out. They did nothing to her because she kicked them. We stayed in the Bayview Hotel three days without food or water, but they only raped us that one night. When the building was on fire they told us to go away. We could not go home because our house was burned. We kept running about in Arquisa Street. No medical attention was given any of the girls. My sister was very badly hurt because she started to bleed as it was the first time anyone did that to her. They did it to her four times. We tried to take her to a doctor, but we couldn’t. However, I saw a Filipino doctor about four days ago. He examined me and told me that I had a venereal disease. My sister also has a venereal disease from the raping. I would like to have my name and address and that I testified not told to anyone. The name of Mrs. Mora’s sister who was also raped is Priscilla Garcia and the sister who was not raped because she was having a menstrual period was Evangeline Garcia. (See Exhibits “B-57f”, “B-58”, and “B-59”.)

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Distruction in Paco district, Manila, Philippines, Feb. 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

Devastation in Paco, Manila, in the aftermath of the Battle of Manila, February, 1945. In the upper right can be seen the Paco Train Station, facing the road now known as Quirino Ave.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

12. On or about 9 February 1945, Mr. Vicente Barrientos, Paco, Manila was machine gunned by Japanese soldiers in both thighs while his house was burning and after taking shelter in an open garage. There were about three hundred Filipinos in the garage who were tied up and many shot by four Japanese soldiers and an officer. The Japanese called for the men for forced labor. About fifty of this group survived. Mr. Barrientos, a survivor, was a former city detective. (See Exhibit “B-9”.)

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One of the first photos taken as the Americans got to the Pasig River in Feb. 1945. by John T Pilot on Flickr.

From Isolating the battlefield, by Robert Ross Smith:

The 37th Division and the 1st Cavalry Division had accomplished much during the week ending 10 February. They had cleared all Manila and its suburbs north of the Pasig; pushed Colonel Noguchi’s Northern Force either south across the Pasig or east across the Marikina; captured or destroyed almost all the Northern Force’s heavy support weapons; and secured intact the close-in water supply installations. The Northern Force, as a matter of fact, had made no concerted effort to hold northern Manila. Noguchi had executed his assigned demolitions and then withdrawn most of his troops south over the Pasig, destroying the bridges behind him. His 1st Independent Naval Battalion had escaped to the east. The two American divisions had killed perhaps 1,500 Japanese in the region north of the Pasig, but it appears that less than half of these were members of Noguchi’s combat units—the majority were ill-armed service troops and stragglers. Despite the limitations placed on it, artillery fire, supplemented by tank and mortar fire, caused the vast bulk of the Japanese casualties north of the river. That infantry assault operations accounted for relatively few Japanese is at least partially attested to by the fact that American casualties were not more than 50 men killed and 150 wounded.

Except for the fires that had raged out of control along the north bank of the Pasig, burning down or gutting many buildings, damage to the city had so far been limited largely to Japanese bridge destruction and to destruction resulting from American artillery and tank fire in the Tondo District and the New Manila and San Juan suburbs. The Americans had discovered few evidences of atrocities against the Filipino population north of the Pasig. It appeared that the rest of the battle might be fought according to the rules and that the city might yet escape with only superficial damage.

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Aug. 10, 1945 Manila, Philippines, War damaged National Post Office Building by John T Pilot on Flickr.

From The drive toward Intramuros, by Robert Ross Smith:

The fight for the General Post Office, conducted simultaneously with that for the City Hall, was especially difficult because of the construction of the building and the nature of the interior defenses. A large, five-story structure of earthquake-proof, heavily reinforced concrete, the Post Office was practically impervious to direct artillery, tank, and tank destroyer fire. The interior was so compartmented by strong partitions that even a 155-mm. shell going directly through a window did relatively little damage inside. The Japanese had heavily barricaded all rooms and corridors, had protected their machine gunners and riflemen with fortifications seven feet high and ten sandbags thick, had strung barbed wire throughout, and even had hauled a 105-mm. artillery piece up to the second floor. The building was practically impregnable to anything except prolonged, heavy air and artillery bombardment, and why the Japanese made no greater effort to hold the structure is a mystery, especially since it blocked the northeastern approaches to Intramuros and was connected to the Walled City by a trench and tunnel system. Despite these connections, the original garrison of the Post Office received few reinforcements during the fighting and, manifestly under orders to hold out to the death, was gradually whittled away by American artillery bombardment and infantry assaults.

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Post Office Building, post WW2 Manila, Philippines by John T Pilot on Flickr.

Gutted shell of the Post Office Building, after the Battle of Manila, February, 1945.

From Isolating the battlefield, by Robert Ross Smith:

In addition, the operations south of the river had forced the XIV Corps and the 37th Division to the reluctant decision that all pretense at saving Manila’s buildings would have to be given up—casualties were mounting at a much too alarming rate among the infantry units. The 148th Infantry had suffered 500-odd casualties (about 200 did not require hospitalization) from 7 through 10 February. The regiment was now nearly 600 men understrength, and its rifle companies averaged about 50 men understrength. Through the seizure of Provisor Island the 129th Infantry had incurred about 285 casualties—35 killed, 240 wounded, and 10 missing—and was nearly 700 men understrength. Company G had only 90 effectives; Company E was little better off. The 148th Infantry had apparently received only five replacements since 9 January; the 129th Infantry, none.27

The losses had manifestily been too heavy for the gains achieved. If the city were to be secured without the destruction of the 37th and the 1st Cavalry Divisions, no further effort could be made to save the buildings; everything holding up progress would be pounded, although artillery fire would not be directed against structures such as churches and hospitals that were known to contain civilians. Even this last restriction would not always be effective, for often it could not be learned until too late that a specific building held civilians.28 The lifting of the restrictions on support fires would result in turning much of southern Manila into a shambles; but there was no help for that if the city were to be secured in a reasonable length of time and with reasonable losses. Restrictions on aerial bombardment, on the other hand, would remain in effect.

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36War damage Manila by ITS @ Seattle Pacific on Flickr.

The battle-scarred Manila Post Office Building, circa 1948: three years after the Battle of Manila. This is a rare color photograph.

From Manila: The drive to Intramuros, by Robert Ross Smith:

Each strongpoint of the Japanese defenses and each building within each strongpoint presented peculiar problems, and the attacking infantry, while operating within a general pattern, had to devise special offensive variations for each. Such was the case at the General Post Office, located near the south end of Jones Bridge, and at the City Hall, a few blocks south along Padre Burgos Street from the post office and across Padre Burgos from the filled moat along the east side of Intramuros. The 129th Infantry had cleared buildings along the south bank of the Pasig from Provisor Island to within 300 yards of Quezon Bridge and north of the New Police Station strongpoint to positions a block from the City Hall. The 1st Battalion, 145th Infantry, relieved units of the 129th along the Pasig on 17 February, while the 3d Battalion, 145th, took over in the vicinity of the City Hall on the 19th.

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De la Salle College, Taft Ave., Malate, Manila, Philippines 1945 - 1946 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

39. Father Francis J. Cosgarve, Catholic Priest, Redemptorist Monastery, Baclaran, Greater Manila, P. I., testified that, “The atrocities which he could give first hand evidence on are in connection with the massacre in De LaSalle College, Manila, although he had heard of many others which he had not actually seen himself.” Father Cosgrave went to live in De LaSalle College when the Japanese occupied his house and church in Baclaran, and at the invitation of the director, Brother Xavier. About Christmas there were four Spanish families by the names of Vasquez Prada, Judge Carlos, Dr. Cojuanco, and the family of Dr. Cojuanco’s brother-in-law, living at De LaSalle College. In all, including servants, there were about seventy people living in the southern wing of the college. This number was composed of approximately thirty women and children, seventeen brothers, the grown men of the above four families, and twelve men servants. On Wednesday, February 7th, 1945, a Japanese officer with several Japanese soldiers came to the college. They lined the people in the corridors of the second floor of the main building and searched them. They then took away Brother Xavier, the director, and Judge Carlos.

These men had their hands bound behind their backs. They were taken to another building. Later, this building was burned to the ground by the Japanese. The keys and the whistle that Brother Xavier used were found on the site of this building. The Japanese forbade the people to leave the college or even venture into the grounds of the college. Only the women were allowed to go out to draw water. On Monday, February 12th, just after noon, all were gathered at the foot of the staircase in the southern wing because shelling was going on at the time. A Japanese officer, accompanied by an estimated twenty Japanese soldiers, took away two of the muchachos (boy servants). A few minutes later the two boys were brought back badly wounded. Then the officer gave a command and at once the soldiers began bayoneting all the women and children. Those who resisted were shot and the officer cut some with his sword. Among the brothers who were bayoneted, most of them were German. One was Hungarian, one a Czeck, and one an Irishman. One of the brothers said the word “Deutscher,” but he was bayoneted the same as were the rest. Some of the brothers managed to escape up the stairs, but were overtaken at the top of the stairs and there wounded; others reached the chapel and were there struck down. Some of the children of only two or three years of age were bayoneted. When the Japanese had finished bayoneting, they threw all of them into a heap outside the ground, some of those already dead being thrown on top of the living and left there. The personal effects of the dead and wounded were then looted or stolen. Father Cosgrave was of the opinion that those doing the looting were Filipino; helost all of his personal belongings. frequently during the afternoon, the soldiers came in to watch them and mock at their sufferings. They remained there all afternoon during which time many of those who were wounded died. About ten o’clock that evening, Father Cosgrave was able to raise himself to administer the last consolations of religion to some who were dying. He then crawled up the stairs and found many people dead or dying at the top of the stairs. One boy who had been an invalid for two or three months was lying dead outside the door of his room. This was the son of Doctor Cojuanco. The survivors remained there until Thursday afternoon, February 15th, about four o’clock, when the Americans entered the building. Father Cosgrave received two thrusts on the chest from the bayonet. (See Exhibit “B-38” - Cosgrave.)

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La Salle University and Rizal Memorial Sports Stadium in the distance with Taft Avenue on the left looking south east. Manila, Philippines, Feb. 15, 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

The smoking ruins of De La Salle College, and beside it, the smoking ruins of the Rizal Memorial Field.

The Japanese perpetrated one of the worst massacres in the Battle of Manila in La Salle, where civilians and the Christian Brothers who sought shelter in the chapel were systematically killed. A tank and flamethrower battle took place in Rizal Memorial.

This photo is dated February 15, 1945.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

39. Father Francis J. Cosgarve, Catholic Priest, Redemptorist Monastery, Baclaran, Greater Manila, P. I., testified that, “The atrocities which he could give first hand evidence on are in connection with the massacre in De LaSalle College, Manila, although he had heard of many others which he had not actually seen himself.” Father Cosgrave went to live in De LaSalle College when the Japanese occupied his house and church in Baclaran, and at the invitation of the director, Brother Xavier. About Christmas there were four Spanish families by the names of Vasquez Prada, Judge Carlos, Dr. Cojuanco, and the family of Dr. Cojuanco’s brother-in-law, living at De LaSalle College. In all, including servants, there were about seventy people living in the southern wing of the college. This number was composed of approximately thirty women and children, seventeen brothers, the grown men of the above four families, and twelve men servants. On Wednesday, February 7th, 1945, a Japanese officer with several Japanese soldiers came to the college. They lined the people in the corridors of the second floor of the main building and searched them. They then took away Brother Xavier, the director, and Judge Carlos.

These men had their hands bound behind their backs. They were taken to another building. Later, this building was burned to the ground by the Japanese. The keys and the whistle that Brother Xavier used were found on the site of this building. The Japanese forbade the people to leave the college or even venture into the grounds of the college. Only the women were allowed to go out to draw water. On Monday, February 12th, just after noon, all were gathered at the foot of the staircase in the southern wing because shelling was going on at the time. A Japanese officer, accompanied by an estimated twenty Japanese soldiers, took away two of the muchachos (boy servants). A few minutes later the two boys were brought back badly wounded. Then the officer gave a command and at once the soldiers began bayoneting all the women and children. Those who resisted were shot and the officer cut some with his sword. Among the brothers who were bayoneted, most of them were German. One was Hungarian, one a Czeck, and one an Irishman. One of the brothers said the word “Deutscher,” but he was bayoneted the same as were the rest. Some of the brothers managed to escape up the stairs, but were overtaken at the top of the stairs and there wounded; others reached the chapel and were there struck down. Some of the children of only two or three years of age were bayoneted. When the Japanese had finished bayoneting, they threw all of them into a heap outside the ground, some of those already dead being thrown on top of the living and left there. The personal effects of the dead and wounded were then looted or stolen. Father Cosgrave was of the opinion that those doing the looting were Filipino; helost all of his personal belongings. frequently during the afternoon, the soldiers came in to watch them and mock at their sufferings. They remained there all afternoon during which time many of those who were wounded died. About ten o’clock that evening, Father Cosgrave was able to raise himself to administer the last consolations of religion to some who were dying. He then crawled up the stairs and found many people dead or dying at the top of the stairs. One boy who had been an invalid for two or three months was lying dead outside the door of his room. This was the son of Doctor Cojuanco. The survivors remained there until Thursday afternoon, February 15th, about four o’clock, when the Americans entered the building. Father Cosgrave received two thrusts on the chest from the bayonet. (See Exhibit “B-38” - Cosgrave.)

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Distruction in Manila, Philippines, Feb. 1945, Malate, Remedios Circle lower left, Philippine Women’s University upper left by John T Pilot on Flickr.

The ruins of Malate, after the Battle of Manila, February, 1945.

Retreating Japanese had first set fire to Ermita and Malate, and as civilians escaped burning buildings, they were shot.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

10. On or about 17 February 1945, the Japanese kept throwing rockets for about two or three days where Mrs. M. Elena Maldonado, age 22, was living. When her house was hit and was burning she and the other occupants left. Other people in the same block left with them to go to the next block, and while so leaving were fired upon by the Japanese sentinels. They went to Dr. Moreta’s house, where there were about fifty-four people, which was still standing, and found shelter and food stuffs there, remaining a few days. On the following day in the morning, a Japanese came and said he wanted a woman. Then, after leaving and returning in a few minutes, he put the men in the bathroom and the women in the kitchen. One of the Jap soldiers tried to take a woman, but she struggled and he shot her twice, killing her and hitting Mrs. Maldonado in the neck. While she was bending over, they took her in the hall and bayoneted her in the chest and twice in the back. The same was done to other ladies who were behind Mrs. Maldonado. The Japanese also shot three girls, one of whom was the sister of Mrs. Maldonado, because they struggled when the Japanese tried to rape them. About eighteen Japanese soldiers and one officer were engaged in these acts. While the men were in the bathroom of Dr. Moreta’s house, a grenade was thrown into it by the Japanese. Mr. Joseph Maldonado kicked the grenade away just as it exploded, blowing part of his foot away. The Japanese threw eight hand grenades into the bathroom. Mr. Maldonado was completely deaf from the shock of the explosion. That night the Japanese again threw two hand grenades into the house and burned it. There were about forty people burned in the house. The names of some of the people burned or killed are: Tirso Lizarraga, father of Mrs. Maldonado, Rosa Lizarraga. Carlos Garcia and wife, Mrs. Qabaljaunepe and daughter, Mrs. Prudencio Chicote and daughter, a Mrs. York and six Chinese, Vicente and Pilar Julian. (See Exhibits “B-6”, “B-7”, and C-4”.)

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Filipino citizens that were lined up against a wall and killed by the Japanese, Ermita, Manila, Philippines, Feb. 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

This photo speaks for itself. 100,000 Filipinos —around 10% of the prewar population of Manila, were killed in the Battle for Manila, with entire districts like Ermita and Malate subjected to systematic slaughter by retreating Japanese troops.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

33. On or about the 20th of February 1945, The Japanese came to the house of Mr. Francisco Castellote, Manila age 26, married with two children (one dead), a soldier in Bataan before the war where he was cooking a meal. He, as others, was told by the Japanese to come with forced labor, and that they would be given rice rations. Mr. Castellote went with the Japanese and when he arrived, a short distance away, men were formed in a long line and separated into groups of ten. These groups were blindfolded and taken one by one to a room with a window so that it could be used for beheading. Mr. Castellote could hear the news of the spear or saber when the Japanese were ready to cut. When Mr. Castellote’s turn came, one end of the spear hit the window sill and the other struck the neck, cutting a very deep gash, but not going all the way through. In rear of him there was a Japanese who pushed those who had been beheaded out of the window where the bodies fell. Evidently, it was unobserved by the Japanese that his head was not cut off, for they pushed him through the window. He fell to the ground and remained as if dead. He was unconscious over night and he stayed there for about six days. He heard Americans coming and he shouted for help when he thought they were near enough to hear him. The Americans found him and took him to the Chinese General Hospital, Manila. He did not know the names of others killed. His house was burned, and he has not heard from members of his family since, and does not know whether they are living or dead. The inspector general conducting the investigation examined, in the presence of a nurse, the cut on Mr. Castellote’s neck. It was 3 ½ inches long, 1 ½ inches deep, and 1 ½ inches wide. (See Exhibit “B-31”.)

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Sta. Cruz Bridge (MacArthur Bridge today) that was destroyed by the Japanese as the Americans approached, Manila, Philippines, 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

Sta. Cruz Bridge, blown up by retreating Japanese soldiers, January, 1945.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

63. Before Dr. Laurel, president of the Republic of the Philippine Government, left the city of Manila, accompanied by members of his own family and a large number of the presidential guards, together with the members of his cabinet including General Manuel Roxas, General Capinpin, General Francisco and some three Vice-Ministers and their respective families, Mr. Nicholas Roxas, Assistant Executive Secretary to President Laurel, had occasion to confer with President Laurel in his private office, to receive last minute instructions before President Laurel’s departure. Mr. N. Roxas was directed to take charge of the executive office and other offices directly under the President, in lieu of Executive Secretary Abello who had to leave with the party. President Laurel told Mr. Roxas that he and his cabinet had to move to Baguio primarily because he wanted to save the inhabitants of manila from the sufferings and ravages of war, and that he felt it was his patriotic duty to save the important public buildings of Manila, as well as the commercial sections, for in President Laurel’s own words, “Manila represents a population equivalent to one-eight (1/8) of the entire Philippines and the city of Manila is the repository of Filipino culture and everything Filipino.” It was intimated to Mr. Roxas on that occasion that it was necessary for the civil administration to leave Manila because there was an understanding on the part of the Japanese military authorities and the Philippine Government that all military installations in Manila would likewise be transferred to other places out of Manila and that no military operations would be undertaken within the city limits. A publication was even made to this effect. However, immediately after the departure of President Laurel and his cabinet, Japanese garrisons and several navy units occupied the most important public buildings in the city, planted dynamite in all important places, especially in the southern part of the city, barricaded streets with barbed wire, and constructed pill boxes within the city limits. Mines were planted in the principal bridges in Manila, such as the Jones, Santa Cruz, Quezon, and Ayala bridges. Things were such that during the last days of the Japanese occupation, the traffic movement in the city was very much restricted and government employees, as well as businessmen and pedestrians, could no longer cross the bridges and attend to their daily activities. During the last conversation that Mr. Roxas had with President Laurel, he said that, according to the orders received from General Yamashita, the highest commander of the Philippines he (Yamashita) had orders from Tokyo to protect the lives of the President and his cabinet and that it was his (Yamashita’s) duty to obey the orders of his Imperial government. Apparently this was a sudden order, for even the members of the cabinet were given only twenty-four hours to prepare for the trip to Baguio which took place on 22 December 1944. Families of the party were not eager to leave Manila, although no protestations seemed possible. The families of Minister Paredez, General Francisco and General Capinpin were left behind for reasons unknown to Mr. Roxas. On or about the 4th or 5th of January, Speaker Aquino, accompanied by Minister Paredez and Colonel Utunomiya, a Military Attache, left also for Bagnio, but the members ofthe Aquino family were not taken along. The reason for this was that one of the officers of the Presidential guards, who returned to Manila after the first trip, informed Mr. Roxas that he had instructions to get in touch with Speaker Aquino to advise him not to take his family to Bagnio because of lack of accommodations. Minister Sison of the Home Affairs had been appointed chief delegate of the President and was supposed to represent the President, during his absence, in the capital. Minister Sison was unable to return to Manila from Baguio, because immediately after his last trip to Baguio the bridges leading to Bagnio were blasted and it was impossible for him to make the return trip. Because of this situation Mr. Roxas received telegraphic instructions from the President directing him to inform Vice-Minister Pio Duran of the Home Affairs of his appointment as Chief Delegate to the President in the third, fourth and fifth military districts. Mayor Guinto of Manila was to remain Military Governor for the city, the 8th military District. Vice-Minister Duran assumed his new office until the eve of the American entry to the capital on 2 February 1945. On this last day, Vice-Minister Duran asked, Mr. Roxas to close all government offices, as he alleged that he was sure the Americans were coming to Manila in a day or two. He even conferred personally with the other Vice-Ministers about leaving Manila, but none of them wanted to follow Duran’s advice. In his own case, Mr. Roxas expressed to him reasons why he did not want to leave Manila. Vice-Minister Duran, however, retorted in seriousness and with vehemence that, in the first place, he did not want to be captured by the Americans, and secondly, he was sure that once the Americans entered the city everything would be destroyed and Manila left in ruins. Duran said, “You do not know, but I know, that once the city is captured by the Americans everything will be destroyed by the Japanese. I know that all around Manila as far as the hills of Antipolo and Montalban, gun emplacements have been set towards Manila and nothing will be left of this city.” Mr. Roxas stated that Duran, being the second supreme head of the Makapili, must have known in his own heart at the time that there were orders that would result in the destruction of Manila. Mr. Roxas adds in his statement that as a matter of historical truth, and as proved by recent deve1opements, the Makapilis went on record as being those who accompanied Japanese soldiers and civilians spreading and pouring gasoline in various sectors of the city and burning everything on their way. (See Exhibit “N”.)

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Japanese shelling of Santo Tomas, Feb. 1945 by John T Pilot on Flickr.

The main building of the University of Santo Tomas along España Blvd. being shelled by the Japanese, February, 1945.

From the U.S. Army Inspector-General’s Report:

d. On the 12th of February 1942, three internees escaped over the wall of Santo Tomas Internment Camp and were later caught by the Japanese military police and returned to Santo Tomas where they were severely beaten and finally killed in the North Cemetery in Manila. These men were Henry Edward Weeks, Blakey B. Laycock, and Thomas Fletcher, all of British or Australian nationality. Mr. Wilkins saw these men when they were brought back to Santo Tomas after their capture. Their hands were tied with rope and they were led in single file with a group of internees who stood in the hallway outside and listened to sounds issuing from the room while they were being beaten. The blows were heavy and repeated, sounding like leather or wood on flesh. Shouts and screams of pain followed. One Japanese soldier came out and filled a bucket of water, then he re-entered the room. The three men were taken kept in the room for a period of several hours before being released and removed to another location. Those who saw them go out, said their faces were horribly beaten and marked, that two of them limped badly and all were in obvious physical distress. Mr. Laycock’s shirt was splattered liberally with blood. Mr. Wilkins was further informed by reliable witnesses that the following took place in the cemetery: “The three men were allowed some sort of spiritual attention by priests or lay clergy, all very brief, and then were marched to an open pit or grave and stood beside a mound of earth blindfolded. A number of Japanese soldiers with pistols stood on the other side of the hole from then and shot at them on a given signal with small caliber pistol fire until they had crumpled or toppled into the hole. Japanese soldiers went up and put more bullets into them at close range. An explanation of the whole affair was made, upon instructions of the Japanese military, to all internees by our executive committee in the following word; ‘The Japanese Commandant has ordered that the three internees be informed that the penalty for escape from the camp is death by shooting, and that the three internees who recently attempted to escape have been tried by court martial and sentenced to death.’ The executive committee submitted a written petition to the Commandant advising the Japanese high command that the internees are deeply shocked at their decision and urgently requested that reconsideration be given to the verdict. All such petitions and requests for leniency were ignored with the results previously described.” (See Exhibits “B-20”, and “J”.)

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