LESSON 16:

Japanese Occupation: The Second World in the Philippines

 The establishment of the Commonwealth and its promise of independence was
welcomed by the Filipino people. It was seen as an opportunity to craft the
destiny of the Filipino nation under the American tutelage. Though the
administration of Quezon faced enormous challenges of building a nation, it was
generally perceived with optimism by the people.
 The optimism for the future in the Philippines was not shared by the rest of the
world. During the 1930s to 1940s, the world was engulfed with the rise of
authoritarianism and war. Countries with authoritarian ideologies aimed to
expand their territories and achieve world domination at the expense of human
freedom and democracy.
 These countries were collectively called as the “Axis Powers” and were opposed
by the “Allies” which was composed of United States, Soviet Union and
United Kingdom. In Europe, Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler and the
Kingdom of Italy under Benito Mussolini led an assault against their
neighboring countries and assumed military control of their territories.
 In Asia, the Emperor of Japan, under Hideki Tojo expanded its military might
by invading portions of China and territories of Southeast Asia. What led Japan
to conquer its neighboring Asian countries? During the mid-20th century,
Japan was a rising imperial power. They wanted to compete with Western
imperialism, which was already dominant before the 20th century. In order to
fully complete and to sustain the growth of their empire, they needed resources.
 Since Japan lacked the raw materials needed, they had to expand in order to get it
from other territories. The Philippines was one of their targets to be a source of
their raw materials.
 As a colony of the United States in Southeast Asia, the Philippines became a
prime target for a Japanese invasion. To respond to this looming threat, the
Philippine Army was placed under the command of the United States Armed
Forces Far East, commonly known as the (USAFFE), which was led by the
famous General Douglas MacArthur.
 USAFFE administered the preparations for the defense of the country against
possible invasion from hostile countries. As for the Commonwealth government,
Quezon and Osmena were reelected by the Filipino people on November 11,
 1941. Little did the Filipinos know that few weeks later, war would already
come to their doors.
 In order to successfully invade the country, Japan had first to dismantle United
States’ military power. They bombarded the Pearl Harbor, which was an
American military base in the Pacific, on December 7, 1941.
 This led the United States to declare war on Japan. Japanese planes, hours after
the attack in Pearl Harbor, attacked the naval station in Cavite and Clark Air
Field where America's largest array of planes was stationed, destroying
America's air armada in the Philippines. After being informed of the Japanese
attacks, President Manuel L. Quezon declared: “The zero hour has arrived. I
expect every Filipino - man and woman - to do his duty. We have pledged our
honor to stand to the last by the United States and we shall not fail her, happen
what may.”
 On December 8, the Japanese invasion of the Philippine commenced. Japanese
forces attacked strategic locations in the country to disarm military units of the
Americans.
 For security purposes, President Quezon and the top officials of the
Commonwealth evacuated to the Corregidor Island in Manila Bay on
December 24, 1941. On December 26, 1941, Manila was declared as an “Open
City” by General MacArthur to prevent Japanese bombings and civilian
casualties. By January 2, 1942, the Japanese forces already occupied Manila.
 The series of surprise attacks carried out by Japan rendered the combined forces
of Filipinos and Americans to ineffective in defending the country. Though the
Filipino-American forces valiantly resisted the invading Japanese army, they
were easily defeated the sheer military superiority of the enemy.
 Aside from that, they were hastily organized and ill-prepared. To prevent being
cornered by Japanese forces, Filipino-American forces retreated to Bataan and
Corregidor. In Bataan and Corregidor, the troops fought until the end to defend
the Commonwealth government and wait for United States reinforcements and
supplies.
 The defense of Bataan and by the combined forces of Filipinos and Americans
was noted for heroic efforts to defend the Philippines. Unfortunately, the
sustained attacks of the Japanese forces were too overwhelming. The
reinforcements Filipinos and Americans waited did not come. To add, the troops
were slowly losing manpower, weapons and supplies.
 To avoid the capture of Commonwealth officials, United States ordered Quezon
and his top officials to leave Corregidor. On February 1942, they left
Corregidor by submarine for Australia and proceed to the United States. While
in United States, Quezon and the Commonwealth Government continued to work
as a government-in-exile.
 As defeat was looming, General Douglas MacArthur retreated to Australia as
well, who vowed to return in order to liberate the Philippines. Before leaving the
Philippines in March 1942, he promised the Filipino people: “I shall return”.
By April of the same year, Filipino and American troops could not anymore
defend Bataan against the more equipped Japanese forces.
 Finally on April 19, the remaining top military officials formally surrendered to
the Japanese. Through a radio broadcast, this news was delivered to the
Philippines and the world:
Bataan has fallen. The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged
and bloodstained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody
but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the
enemy.
 The 76,000 captured soldiers from Bataan, both Americans and Filipinos, could
not be transported by their Japanese captors. As a result, they were forced to
embark on the infamous “Death March” to a prison camp more than 100
kilometers north. An estimated 10,000 prisoners died due to Japanese abuses,
thirst, hunger, and exhaustion.
 With the victory of the Japanese, they immediately consolidated their rule in the
Philippines. The first task to create a government controlled by the Japanese was
to invite the participation of former Commonwealth political leaders. These
were the same Filipino elites who sided with the Americans before the war.
 Now that the Japanese had the power, they switched sides again. Japan
continued to allow Filipinos to run the government, although they were more
closely supervised than under the Commonwealth. As early as January 1942,
the Japanese formed the Philippine Executive Commission to serve as temporary
government in the Philippines.
 This was composed of several Filipino elites. To invite more participation from
the Filipinos, especially the elites, the Japanese organized the Kapisanan ng
Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (KALIBAPI), which was a political party
 composed of Filipinos supporting the Japanese. On June 16, 1943, Japanese
Prime Minister Hideki Tojo gave the Philippines the “promise” of independence.
 Japan later tasked the KALIBAPI to draft a new constitution for the Philippines,
which was ratified by KALIBAPI members themselves on September 7, 1943.
By October, the Japanese installed a “0nd Republic”, which was commonly
referred as the Japanese “puppet regime”. This “republic” was headed by the
KALIBAPI. Jose P. Laurel was elected as president and both Benigno
Aquino Sr. and Ramon Avancena as vice-presidents.
 Under the Second Republic, rights and freedoms of the Filipinos are heavily
suppressed. In fact, the 1943 Constitution did not even include a Bill of Rights,
which is the part wherein rights of individuals are written. A notable feature of
the Japanese occupation of the Philippines was its inhumane treatment of the
people and the war crimes they committed.
 During this time, tortures, abuses and rapes were rampant. The atrocities of the
Japanese were so grave to the point that Filipinos saw American occupation as a
“luxury”. The entire economy of the Philippines was used by the Japanese to aid
their war efforts in Asia. The Japanese also used propaganda to gain the trust
and confidence of Filipinos who refused to cooperate with them.
 Educational curriculum was geared towards accepting Japanese occupation. The
Japanese hung giant posters and distributed materials that contained slogans such
as “the Philippines belong to the Filipinos”. They also used newspapers, movies
and others to publicize the same idea. Promoting Japanese propaganda was one
of the main objectives of the KALIBAPI, but still Japanese failed to gain the
trust of the Filipinos.
 Another notable war crime committed by the Japanese forces with us in
systematic rape of women. The victims are commonly known as the “comfort
women”. In Japanese-occupied territories including the Philippines, Japanese
soldiers kidnapped women. They were forcibly taken from their homes,
Japanese soldiers gathered and detained the kidnapped women in military camps,
government buildings, schools and hospitals.
 There, the captured women would be raped repeatedly by Japanese soldiers.
While some women were detained and raped only for few days, some suffered
for more than a year. In short, the Japanese army committed widespread sexual
slavery. It became a reward mechanism for soldiers while at the same time it
served as a psychological weapon against the occupied territories. The suffering
 of the comfort women did not end after the Second World War. The trauma the
rape and violence caused became a lifelong scar they had to endure.
CALL TO ACTION
 In the Philippines, the issue of “comfort women” was initially non-existent in the
public eye. It was only in 1992 when a lola, Maria Rosa Henson (1927-1997),
became the first one to share publicly her experience as a comfort woman during
the Japanese occupation. After her brave revelation, more lolas decided to come
out and shared their grim stories. They campaigned for a formal apology from
the Japanese government. They also asked for their stories to be included in
history books.
 Take note that it took them a very long time before admitting that they were
victimized by the Japanese. Why is that? One main reason why rape or assault
victims hesitate to demand justice is because of the tendency of people to blame
the victims. Instead of sharing their horrible stories, victims keep it secret
because they are ashamed that they might be blamed for what happened to them.
 Instead of condemning the perpetrators, people tend to blame the victims by
saying things like “baka nagustuhan mo?”, “baka naman lasing ka?” or “baka
maiksi suot mo?” This is what we call as “victim-blaming”. Bear in your minds
that victims of any forms of sexual violence are not victimized because of their
attire or whether they're drunk or not.
 They are victimized because there are people who are willing to commit these
horrible acts. By blaming the victims, you are just silencing them to share their
experience. You are shaming the victims because of what they experience. In
the end, you are not empowering the victims. Instead, you're empowering the
perpetrators - the rapists and sexual violators.
 People who justify rape or any form of sexual violence are part of the problem.
Help end the culture of victim-blaming.