Like other provinces in the country, Cavite had
either a governor duly elected during the Commonwealth period but allowed to
continue in office under the Japanese Military Administration, or a temporary
appointive governor. Elected in
1940. Luis Y. Ferrer, Jr. of General
Trias continued as governor during the early part of the Japanese occupation
until May 2, 1944, when he was replaced by Col. Mariano N. Castañeda, who had
fought in Bataan but was released from the Capas concentration camp on June 29,
1942, along with other prisoners of war.
Castañeda was virtually pressured by the Japanese
into accepting the post of Cavite governor.
He tried to avoid holding any government position during the enemy
occupation. Shortly after his release
he began laying the groundwork of a resistance organization in Cavite, and by
October 15 he had already set up the General and Special Staffs of the
Fil-American Cavite Guerilla Force (FACGF), consisting of the fourteen
regiments.
Unable to resist the Japanese pressure, Castañeda
finally accepted the governorship so as to camouflage his secret guerilla
activities, and whenever the situation permitted, to use the position to
further the resistance movement. But
his job was getting “too hot” for him, as Japanese surveillance intensified in
proportion tot their worsening military situation, and after seven months in
office Castañeda slipped away and joined his comrades in the field.
President Jose P. Laurel of the Japanese-sponsored
Second Republic appointed Dominador M. Camerino acting governor of Cavite after
Castañeda’s sudden departure. However,
Camerino served in that capacity for only three months, November 1944 to
February 7, 1945, three days after the liberation of Cavite from the Japanese.
On February 13 Castañeda was appointed acting
governor by Major General Swing, commander of the U.S. 11th Airborne
Division. He held the job until Rafael
F. Trias was appointed governor upon the reestablishment of the Commonwealth
government.
Two Caviteños served in the National Assembly during
the Second Republic. The first was
Emiliano Tria Tirona, who became the floor leader for several months under
Speaker Benigno Aquino, Sr. Tirona was later appointed minister of welfare in
the Laurel cabinet. His place in the
Assembly was taken over by Carlos T. Viniega, a prominent lawyer of Noveleta,
who remained in this position until the reestablishment of the Commonwealth in
1945.
* * *
One historic event that occurred in Cavite but is not
known by millions of Filipinos was the establishment of the Iglesia Filipina Catolica (Philippine
Catholic Church) in Maragondon in early 1900, about two years ahead of the
Philippine Independent of Aglipayan Church.
Technically speaking, the IFC was the first
Philippine independent church to be established by Catholic Riego de Dios, a
general of the Philippine Revolution, set up the IFC after the Archbishop of
Manila failed to heed the public clamor for the removal of an anti-Filipino
priest assigned in Maragondon.
To this day, the IFC survivors as a testimonial to the religious devotion of the Riego de Dios family and others in Maragondon; but it shed its purely Catholic identity when it affiliated with the Philippine Independent Church founded by Isabelo de los Reyes and Fr. Gregorio Aglipay.
announcement
of the withdrawal of the Japanese Military Administration; the president of the
PCPI (Preparatory Commission for the Philippine Independence) reading the
declaration of Philippines independence; congratulatory remarks by the
commander in chief of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines, the hoist
of the Filipino flag and the playing of the national anthem, hitherto both verboten; and President Laurel reading
his inaugural address.
The war situation was quite fluid, and
the Japanese, encountering difficulties and setbacks in their military
operations in other sectors, intensified their surveillance of subversive
activity with help of the Sakdals and some ambitious collaborators. After Castañeda had served about six months
in the governor’s office, the Japanese struck in Imus, his hometown and rounded
up all USAFFE officers. Fortunately,
Castañeda, a veteran in intelligence work, slipped through the Japanese dragnet
in November 1944, only a few months before D-day in Cavite.
In fact, the noose was steadily
tightening around the Japanese in the Philippines. On August 9, American carrier planes bombed Japanese military
objectives in Davao, the first American air attack since the fall of the
Philippines two years before. The
attack expectedly kindled the flickering hope of the Filipinos after waiting
for the long-delayed redemption from Japanese colonialism. Waves of American planes raided the Visayas
a few days later. Finally, on September
21 huge droves of American fighters and bombers appeared on the horizon,
literally causing the late-morning sky to darken. They swooped down on Japanese naval installations in the Manila
Bay and airstrips around the city.
Ironically, the Japanese, then engaged in air-raid drill practice, were
caught with their pants down, running away helter-skelter in all
directions. The surprise raid caused
universal jubilation among the Filipinos.
There was no doubt that General Mac Arthur, the ousted American military
commander whose parting words in Mindanao in mid-March 1942, en route to
Australia, were “I shall return,” had come back to redeem his pledge.
On the day of his successful escape from
the Japanese raid to join his comrades in the field, Castañeda issued
Proclamation No. 1 virtually declaring war on the Japanese Imperial
Forces. At the same time he defined the
role of the true guerrilero as
follows:
To become a soldier of freedom, a true
guerrilla has to make self-sacrifices, forgetting the comforts of life, which
he can enjoy. A true patriot may be
found not only in the mountain or forest where he is hiding, but also in the
city, town, or barrio where he is efficiently shouldering the position
entrusted to him for public welfare, and at the same time working cleverly for
the country’s cause under the very nose of the enemy . . . The place does not
matter. Every true Filipino can perform
his patriotic duty wherever he is… (Placing) our country’s cause above
self-interest and personal aggrandizement.
Thanks
to Castañeda’s organizational skill and that of his staff, the fourteen
infantry regiments and assorted battalions and services group had been
transformed into a compact fighting force ready to battle the Japanese and
their collaborators, the Sakdals and Makapilis. Having an aggregate total of 16,608 men, many of them former
Bataan veterans and patriotic civilians, who could no longer endure Japanese
oppression, the FACGF consisted of the following:
1st Infantry Regiment, Col.
Lorenzo Saulog, commanding officer, based in Imus, 97 officers and 1271
enlisted men; 2nd Infantry Regiment, Col. Francisco Guerero, CO,
Bacoor, 96 Officers and 1915 enlisted men; 3rd Infantry Regiment,
Col. Dominador Kiansom, CO, Silang, 72 officers and 527 enlisted men; 4th
Infantry Regiment, Col. Estanilao Carungcong, CO, Dasmariñas, 67 officers and
658 enlisted men; 5th Infantry Regiment, Col. Raymundo Paredes, CO,
Anabu, Imus, 104 officers and 1567 enlisted men; 6th Infantry
Regiment, Col. Amado Soriano, CO, Cavite City, 99 authorized officers, 327
noncommissioned officers, and 1420 enlisted men; 7th Infantry
Regiment, Col. Angeles Hernandez, CO, Alfonzo, 205 officers and 2485 enlisted
men; 8th Infantry Regiment, Col. Emilio Arenas, CO, Naik, 99
authorized officers, 327 noncommissioned officers, and 1420 enlisted men;
9th Infantry Regiment, Col.
Maximo Rodrigo, CO, Mendez, 57 officers and 472 enlisted men; 10th
Infantry Regiment, Col. Hugo Vidal, CO, Kawit, 65 officers and 644 enlisted
men; 11th Infantry Regiment, Col. Maximo Reyes, CO, Imus, 95
officers and 1159 enlisted men; 12th Infantry Regiment, Col. Daniel
Mediran, CO, Amadeo, 56 officers and 1459 enlisted men; 13th
Infantry Regiment, Col. Ambrosio Salud, CO, Rosario, 86 officers and 1292
enlisted men; 14th Infantry Regiment, Col. Emiliano dela Cruz, CO,
Dasmariñas, 87officers and 1213 enlisted men;
The various other units attached to the
FACGF were the following:
“Bakay” Battalion, Major Fidel A. Cuenca,
CO, Binakayan, Kawit, 24 officers and 494 enlisted men; Alapan Unit, Capt.
Lucio Camposagrado, CO, Alapan, Imus, 5 officers and 76 enlisted men; Medical
Battalion, Major Nery Y. Ramirez, CO, Imus, 3 officers and 9 noncommissioned
officers; Division Headquarters Company, CO, not identified, 2 officers and 58
enlisted men; Field Hospital Unit, Major Ricardo Rigor Gacula, CO, Bacoor, 11
officers and 46 enlisted men; FACGF Hospital Unit, CO not identified, 14
officers and 16 enlisted men.
Col. Ramirez reported that not all
regiments had the full complement of officers and men, as per table of
organization because the chief officers failed to submit their complete rosters
on time.
On December 26, 1944 Castañeda conferred
with Major Folson of the U.S. Army regarding the unification of all guerrilla
units in Cavite. Castañeda succeeded
insofar as the 14 infantry regiments cited above were concerned, but failed to
get any positive response from such guerrilla groups as the Hunter-ROTC
Guerrilla’s, Marking, Ramsey, PQOG (President Quezon’s Own Guerrillas), Mag-Irog
(under Col. Magno Irogin), Emi, TANIB (Tagapagtanggol
ng Inang Bayan), and Liberators, the latter headed by Col. Mariano B.
Villanueva, a noted lawyer-educator of Naik, who later became twice acting
governor of Cavite (1949 and 1952) and founder of a string of local colleges
starting with the Western College of Naik, Cavite.
Folson had brought along a short-range
transmitter, which he turned over to the FACGF headquarters. With the hand-operated generator of this
transmitter FACGF signal officers improvised a radio receiving set. As a result of the Castañeda-Folson
conference, Sergeant Carlos Udani, of the Filipino regiment in the U.S. Army
based in New Guinea, was detailed with the FACGF. Three days later, on December 20, Castañeda’s staff officers, Cols.
Diosdado Rodriguez and Macario Asistio, accompanied Folson to Cutad, Batangas,
and then proceeded to Mindoro to contact more guerrilla forces there.
* * *
Closely
following this meeting with Major Folson was another conference had by
Castañeda with Major Jan. V. Vanderpool, a representative of GHO, SWPA
(Southwest Pacific Area), on January 16, 1945, in Buenavista, Cavite. From his headquarters in Neneng, Dasmariñas,
Castañeda dispatched T/Sgt. Raymundo A. Reyes, Privates Lucio Melo and David
Perez, and unidentified enlisted men to fetch Vanderpool from his secret
communication center in Pico de Loro, Nasugbu, Batangas. As a result of this conference the FAGCF was
able to send intelligence reports to GHO, SWPA.
The
first FACGF encounter with Japanese took place in barrio Anabu, Imus, on
January 15, the day before the Castaneda-Vanderpool conference, when local
guerrillas wiped out nine Japanese soldiers inside a jitney. The next day, January 16, Japanese soldiers
retaliated by firing indiscriminately on the townspeople of Dasmariñas.
The situation was quite explosive. The
following day, January 17, Castañeda designated the towns of Kawit, Bacoor,
Imus, Dasmariñas, Carmona, Silang, Mendez, Alfonso, and Bailen, and barrio Sto.
Domingo within the battle sector of FACGF.
The sector covered the national highway from Tagaytay to Alfonso, and
from Silang to Zapote, extending 3,000 meters from both sides of the
highway. On the same day Major
Vanderpool issued a similar mobilization order. Thus the FACGF was ready for action when the American forces,
notably the 11th Airborne on February 1 issued his Field Orders No.
1 detailing the battle situation.
The enemy from their movements and
activities, says Castañeda, may defend the Philippines in mountainous regions
along the Carballo and the Sierra Madre mountains. The American Sixth army landed in Lingayen Gulf, along the
coastline of the Ilocos provinces, on January 9. The American Eighth army, on the other hand, landed on the
Zambales west coast on January 30. The
following day, January 31 another American force landed in Nasugbu,
Batangas. All landed American forces
are now driving with great speed toward Manila and will be within our sector
any time now.
In
the same order Castañeda clearly defined the sector of the fourteen-infantry
regiments under his command in order to avoid possible duplication and
conflict. He ordered them to “liberate
not only the towns assigned to them but also to attack and destroy all enemies
therein or those coming from the east and south.
Close
on the heels of the order was Field Orders No. 2, issued on February 3,
ordering the FACGF regiments to attack the Japanese troops within Cavite. Consequently, they routed the enemy in
different towns, capturing their means of transportation, machine gun
emplacements, etc.
The first FACGF unit to render valuable
cooperation to the Allied landing forces was the 7th Infantry
Regiment under Col. Hernandez in Alfonso.
Originally assigned for combat intelligent in the sector, the 7th
Infantry Regiment met the advance and Caerilao and promptly gave them combat
intelligence report and a situation map.
The regiment was later assigned as flank guard for the protection of the
road being used as supply line. Its
valuable work was commended in a letter from Lt. Col. Maller, intelligence
officer of the 11th Airborne Division.
While
the towns within the Fil-American sector were being liberated, paratroopers of
the 11 airborne Division landed in the vicinity of Tagaytay in the morning of February
3. The next day February 4, Imus was
agog with the news that liberation forces had arrived in force. After eliminating the Japanese soldiers in a
truck in Pala-Pala with help of the 1st Infantry Regiment under Col.
Saulog, the 11th airborne units proceeded to Highway No. 17 going in
the direction of Imus. At 4:00 in the
morning of that day, Castaneda and his staff officers proceeded to Dasmariñas
to meet the commander of the advance patrol of the American paratroopers.
Castañeda ordered Cols. Saulog and Reyes
of the 11th Infantry Regiment to guard the highway to Imus but to
withhold the attack against the enemy in that town until 10:00 in the
morning. By mutual agreement, the FACGF
and American forces stormed the Imus garrison stationed in an old Spanish
fort. The enemy had eight machine guns
and sufficient ammunition. The
approximately 110 enemy troops composing the garrison put up a gallant fight,
but unable to withstand the combined Fil-American assault, they retreated in a
disorderly fashion. Some 64 Japanese
soldiers were killed in this encounter, while the remainders, retreating the
Salinas (Rosario), were eventually wiped out in a mopping-up operation.
The town of Imus was left under FACFG
control while the American forces speed toward Paranaque, Rizal province. It can be said here, says the Ramirez
account, that the province of Cavite had been liberated as of February 4, 1945,
with the exception of the coastal town of Ternate to which the Japanese had
fled with the guerrilla forces in hot pursuit.
The Americans suffered negligible losses in the entire operations in
Cavite. With the FACGF troops guarding
the national highway, the 11th Airborne Division was able to reach
Las Piñas and Paranaque, about 60 kilometers from Tagaytay, in the record time
less than five hours.
Col. Raymundo L. Paredes, commander of
the 5th Infantry Regiment, had a slightly different version of the
last few days prior to the liberation of Cavite. On February 1, 1945, he says the 5th and 7th
infantry regiments, under Field Orders No. 1 were assigned as reserve units of
the FACGF with bivouacs in Imus. To the
surprise of everybody, the American troops with full supplies and equipment
landed ashore in Nasugbu, Batangas, some 30 minutes drive from Tagaytay City.
At 4:00 in the morning of February 4 the
511th Parachutist Regiment of the 11th airborne division
dropped on a prearranged area in Tagaytay City. At this juncture motor vehicles arrived from Nasugbu, for the use
of the parachutist forces. At exactly
8:00 the motorized pointer of the 2nd Battalion of the parachutist
regiment entered Silang, Cavite, and sped northward, reaching Dasmariñas one
and a half-hours later. At 11:00 they
arrived in the vicinity of Imus, and shortly thereafter they reinforced the 5th
and 11th infantry regiments of the FACFG stationed there.
The Paredes account further says that on
February 4 all units of the FACGF simultaneously attacked the enemy
concentrations. The 1st, 5th,
11th Infantry regiments of the FACGF, assisted by the 2nd
Battalions of the 511th Parachutist Regiments, captured the Japanese
garrison in Imus, accounting for 62 Japanese killed, against one guerrilla
soldiers captain. Enrique Diaz of the 5th
Infantry Regiment wounded, and no casualty whatsoever on the American
side. Flame thrown of the U.S. forces
finished the enemy holdout in the heavily fortified Imus barracks.
The 3rd Infantry Regiment
suffered only one casualty in a pre-landing encounter in barrio Lalaan, Silang,
but they killed all the enemy forced in that area. The 7th Infantry regiments, meanwhile, captured the
entire Japanese detachment in Kaylaway, Alfonso. The 10th Infantry Regiment under Col. Vidal killed
about 16 Japanese holed up in Kawit.
The 2nd Infantry Regiment also blocked and killed more than
seven Japanese in Bacoor, while the 6th and 8th Infantry
Regiments in Cavite and Naik, respectively, also destroyed a bigger number of
enemy forces.
In a matter of 48 hours, the eastern part
of Cavite province was completely liberated, according to the Paredes
report. After the liberation of Cavite,
the 511th Parachutist Regiment sped northward to the neighboring
province of Rizal and to Manila south of the Pasig River.
At this juncture Castaneda ordered col.
Paredes of the 5th Infantry Regiment to lead a special FACGF
battalion attached to the 511th Parachutist Regiment in the
liberation of Southern Manila. This
special battalion was composed of two companies from Parede’s own 5th
Infantry Regiment and one company each from the 11th, 10th,
2nd, and 4th infantry regiments.
Some 700 assorted arms were issued by the
U.S. Army for the use of the FACGF, Special Battalion. Paredes was instructed to coordinate with
Col. Eduard Lathi of the 511th Parachutist regiment to secure
maximum efficiency and effectiveness in their combined operation against the
enemy. They performed mopping-up
operations in Paranaque, Pasay, and Makati, especially in the vicinity of Fort
McKinley (now Fort Bonifacio). Later
they were assigned to Southern Manila, particularly Intramuros, the American
Embassy, Rizal Memorial Stadium that had been converted into a Japanese depot,
La Salle College, and St. Scholastica College.
The Paredes battalion lost only four men, killed in the mopping-up operations.
On
February 25 the Paredes battalion was relieved of its assignment in Southern
Manila and ordered to join U.S. forces in liberating American internees, or
civilian prisoners of war, at College, Los Baños, Laguna. Again the FACGF forces acquitted themselves
quite admirable in their assigned task.
Incidentally, the head of this FACFG
special Battalion, Col. Paredes, a graduate of the SRC (School for Reserve
Commission), class of 1938, had seen action in Bataan, with the 42nd
Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army
attached to the USAFFE. Promoted to
second lieutenant in Bataan on April 3, 1942, he was wounded in action. Becoming a prisoner of war after the Fall of
Bataan on April 9, 1942, he escaped the “Death March” to Capas, Tarlac, on
April 15, eventually reaching his hometown of Imus, Cavite.
But there was no rest for a heroic
fighter under an oppressive alien regime.
In October be joined the TANIB (Tagapagtanggol ng Inang Bayan), a
guerrilla organization in Kawit.
However his TANIB unit in Imus was absorbed by Castaneda’s original
Cavite Guerrilla Force (CGF) in March 1943, and was eventually designated 5th
Infantry Regiment of the reconstituted FAFCG.
Paredes was the recipient of 61 war medals, ribbons, commendations,
plaques, and letters of appreciation.
He died in late 1983 in his home, 78 Camino Real, Pilar Village, Las
Piñas, Metro Manila.
On
February 7, 1945, three days after the liberation of the province, Dominador M.
Camerino, deputy military governor of Cavite, surrendered the provincial government
to Col. Castaneda, representing the Filipino-American forces, and turned over
to him the administration and control of the province. Consequently, on February 13 Castaneda was
appointed acting governor of the province by Major General Swing, commander of
the 11th airborne division.
It was in this new capacity that Castaneda on February 16 issued
Proclamation No. 2 which greatly increased the morale of Caviteños. The proclamation reads:
The Province of Cavite has been
liberated. It was the joint success of
the American liberating forces and the Philippine guerrilla forces…
pine
guerrillas forces…
Labor is needed everywhere, on the
airfields, in the supply dumps, in the roads mined by our enemy, and in the
clearing of debris left by the wonton enemy destruction of buildings and
houses.
The life of the community must not
stop. Food production must be
increases. This work must be
accomplished by those who cannot join the active forces . . . The price-ceiling
list issued by President Sergio Osmeña of the Commonwealth must be
enforced. Make your stocks available
and dispose of it at the marked prices.
I call upon my people and fellow
countrymen of Cavite to unite to work and to share out luck.
Long
lives our Free Philippines!
On
March 15, Major Vanderpool wrote Castañeda congratulation him and his men for
the outstanding manner of their performance of duty displayed during the recent
battles south of Manila and for the complete cooperation given to the United
States Army forces in this area. On the
same day Castañeda announced that the mission of the FACFG to liberate the
province having been accomplished, the members of the unit not in any way
attached to the 11th airborne Division must be demobilized.
A resume of the FACFG units formally recognized
follows:
1.
Alliado Detachment,
recognized as of February 15, 1945;
2.
First Battalion, 7th
Infantry Regiment, commanded by Major Fidel Rosanes, recognized as of February
3.
3.
5th Company,
1st Battalion, 7th Infantry regiment, recognized February
15;
4.
Reyes Regiment: 1st
Battalion, Headquarters Co., commanded by Lt. Col. Remigio Reyes; Reform
Company commanded by Capt. Jacinto Reyes; Company A commanded by Capt. Zosimo
Tabing; Company B commanded by Capt. Epifacio Alindog; and Company C commanded
by Capt. Maximo Reyes, all recognized on April 17; and Service Company
recognized May 7; and
5.
Hernaiz Regiment: HQ
Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Hernaiz of
Alfonso; Company A and Company D, commanded by Capt. Antonio Dilag, all
recognized on February 2.
A total of 5,769 officers and enlisted
men of the FACGF were recognized as of January 9,1945, according to a letter or
recognition dated December 12,1945 from the commanding general, AFWESPAC
(American Forced Western Pacific). The rosters of the remaining members of the
FACGI were also submitted to AFWESPAC before January 31,1945 and their
recognition after the proper investigation was set for April 1946.
On March 15,1945, Castaneda issued
General Orders No. 2 information all units of the FACGF that all our records,
accomplishments and exploits were sent to General Headquarters, SWPA (Southwest
Pacific Area) as well as to the Philippine Commonwealth government. Whatever
consideration they may take in the premises, ours has not been fruitless. We
have shown our allegiance and loyalty to the governments of the United States
and the Philippines not in words but in deeds. Our work will add another
chapter in the history of our country for the perusal of the generations to
come."
On the same day Major Vanderpool,
guerrilla affairs officer, S.U Army, Acknowledge that he had received from Col.
Modesto Gozun, G-1 FACGF, the organization report, to wit:
a.
Roster of officers and
men of FACGF attached to the 11th Airborne Division
b.
Complete roster of all
units by division, regiment, battalion, and company
c.
Narrative chronological
history of the organization
d.
Names of men killed in
action prior to January 31,1945
e.
Names of men wounded in
action prior to January 31,1945
f.
Enemy forces killed in
action prior to January 31,1945
g.
G. Chronological report
of combat actions etc.
h.
Names of men killed in
action from January 31, to date of attachment to the 11th Airborne
Division
i.
Names of men wounded in
action from January 31 to date of attachment to the 11th Airborne Division
j.
Names of prisoner of
war captured and turned over to the U.S Army
k.
Sabotage mission
accomplished to January 31, 1945
l.
Names of officers and
men whose outstanding performance of duty merits official recognition, etc.
At this point it will be interest to
reveal a certain facet of guerrilla history in Cavite. On September 10, 1945,
Manuel A. Roxas newly elected president of the Philippines Senate, wrote Col.
James D. Taylor, CGC, U.S. Army Training Group, asking the latter's assistance
in the speedy recognition of the FACGF under Col. Castaneda.
This force" Roxas told Taylor,
"as you may know, was under my command. There were fourteen regiments in
this unit, nut only four have been contacted and recommended for recognition
and indication. I am greatly concerned in the case of these 6,000 officers and
men who at present are standing by and cannot respond to any call to serve,
pending the recognition of their previous services. It is their hope that if
they are not called again to any further service in the Army they may at least
secure the recognition that is their past services against the Japanese and
during the liberation of the province of Cavite and other places."
The FACGF, said Roxas was under his
command. In fact all information gathered by the FACGF intelligence units had
been forwarded to General Roxas " for the purpose of transmission to
proper authorities. This was done for some time until it was stopped due o the
presence of Japanese MPs in his resident"
This fact affirms the close association between
Roxas and Castañeda not only in Bataan and Corregidor but also after their
release from the concentration camp. It also explains why Castaneda in 1947 was
appointed by President Roxas as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines with the rank of major general.
On March 10,1947, on the eve of the
national plebiscite on the controversial Parity Amendment to the Philippines
Constitution, General Castañeda saved Roxas from assassination when he kicked
away a hand garnered hurled on the stage
in Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, Immediately after Roxas had delivered speech in favor
of the amendment. The grenade rolled over and fell outside the stage killing an
innocent onlooker and wounding others. The would-be assassin, Julio C. Guillen,
was arrested, tried, and convicted. He was executed in the electric chair of
the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa on April 16,1950.
Of the fourteen infantry regiments,
several battalion and special units comprising the FACGF, only three regiments
submitted complete rosters of officers and men, and two have complete
histories. In a letter dated February
10, 1982, Col. Ramirez, adjutant general, says that Cols. Amado Soriano and
Emilio Arenas, commanders of the 6th and 8th infantry
regiments, respectively, “failed to submit the rosters of their respective
commands; and considering that they have long been dead, I doubt very much if
these records can still be secured from the men under them.” Ramirez adds that “Cols. Saulog, Carungcong,
Hernaiz, Rodrigo, Reyes, Salud and dela Cruz, commanders of the 1st,
4th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th
and 14th infantry regiments, respectively and Capt. Lucio
Camposagrado of the Alapan Unit died a long time ago.”
The 10th Infantry Regiment
headed by Col. Vidal not only has a complete report on its casualties, and a
roster of missing persons (killed or arrested by the Japanese military police,
constabulary, and Manila police), thanks to Major Liberato C. Jimenez, S-2
officer, law graduate, and local historian of Kawit.
The headquarters staff of the 10th
Infantry regiments was composed of the following: Col. Hugo Q. Vidal, CO; Lt.
Col. Miguel Aguinaldo, executive officer; major Leberato C. Jimenez, S-2; Major
Alfredo Abueg, S-3; capt. Jose Familiar, S-1; 1st Lt. Alberto
Jimenez, 1st Lt. Benjamin Legaspi, and 1st Lt. Avelino
Aguinaldo, liaison officers.
Incidentally, the roots of the 10th
Infantry regiment may be traced back to the TANIB (Tagapagtanggol ng Inang
Bayan) or Defender of the Motherland, founded by three former Bataan veterans,
Captains Modesto S. Dayrit and Hugo Q. Vidal, and Corporal Alberto B. Jimenez,
all members of the USAFFE, who had escaped the Death March from Bataan to
Capas, Tarlac. On the night of November
1, 1942, the trio met in the house of Capt. Dayrit near the Catholic cemetery
of Wakas, Kawit, and there they decided to form the TANIB. It was Dayrit who initiated the meeting
having previously received an order from higher USAFFEE officers to recruit men
for the resistance movement. The
original officers to recruit men for the assistance movement. The original officers of the TANIB were
Capt. Dayrit, commanding officer, capt. Vidal, deputy commander, and Alberto B.
Jimenez, who later headed the Barangay Kaingen.
Known as the “ten Original Initiators,
the members of Balangay Kaingen were inducted on the inauguration day of the
TANIB. They were Honorio Calme, Pedro
Magadia, Alberto Ocsena, Leberato Reynante, Agapito Victa, Alfredo Loyola,
Julian Gamat, Alfredo Nusol, and Rodolfo Courne. The frequent “zoning” of the barrios numerous arrests of innocent
civilians, tortures and other repressive acts of the Japanese and their native
minions, the Sakdals and Makapilis, caused the TANIB membership to increase by
leaps and bounds.
Through their numerous spies the Japanese
police learned of the establishment of the TANIB, and on November 19, 1943 they
raided the homes of Dayrit and Vidal.
Fortunately, the two top officers escaped. They hastily left the TANIB command to Jimenez. Shortly thereafter the Japanese raided a
house in Kaingen, Kawit where Jimenez was staying but not finding him there,
they arrested his uncle, Buenaventura Jimenez; his brother, Emiliano Jimenez
and a cousin-in-law, Honorato Vales.
The trio were hogtied and brought to Japanese Headquarters in
Cavite. They were released later upon
the intervention of Dominador Camerino, acting governor of the province.
On December 21, 1943, Vidal, while hiding
in the residence of Mrs. Eleuteria Magsarili in Pasay, Rizal, was visited by
Dayrit more than a month after their sudden separation as a result of the enemy
raid in Kawit. Dayrit invited Vidal to
join him in the Sierra Madre Mountains, which appeared to be a safer hiding
place, but the latter demurred, preferring to stay among the followers in
Kawit. Dayrit and Vidal had a
disagreement over organizational matters.
This disagreement was exacerbated when Vidal asked Dayrit where he could
be contacted should the need arise, but the latter refused to reveal his
hideout. At this, juncture Vidal
suspected lack of trust on the part of Dayrit, and so the two TANIB organizers
parted ways.
Under
Proclamation No. 1 issued on September 20, 1944, the TANIB was absorbed by the
Cavite Guerrilla Force, which was later named Fil-American Cavite Guerrillas
Force (FACGF), Castaneda Unit. This
TANIB unit eventually became the 10th Infantry Regiment under Col.
Vidal. On the other hand, a small unit
of the original TANIB remained loyal to Dayrit.
Vidal’s
headquarters located in Tinubunan, Imus, was raided and razed to the ground by
the Japanese. The enemy also captured
two guerrillas, Col. Ernesto delos Santos and Magdaleno Amoroso. Vidal and his staff the retreated to Neneng,
Dasmariñas, the general headquarters of the FACGF. Then on February 2, 1945, they returned to Kawit, capturing one
Japanese truck and killing the driver who was a member of the enemy demolition
squad. The next day Vidal’s men
captured three more Japanese soldiers who had taken refuge in General Emilio
Aguinaldo’s residence in Kaingen. On
the same day they killed one Japanese in an encounter in barrio Marulas, near
Binakayan. One guerrilla officer, Lt.
Gregorio Deano, was shot in the leg. In
an encounter at the Balsahan Bridge on the boundary of Binakayan and Bacoor, on
February 4, seven retreating Japanese were killed by Kawit guerillas. On the Filipino side Capt. Antonio Tirona
and 1st Lt. Federico Samot were wounded.
Capt. Dayrit and his men occupied the
municipality of Kawit, but soon left it under the care of Lt. Alberto Jimenez
and his men. At about 5:00 P.M. Col. Vidal arrived at the head of his 10th
Infantry Regiment. They were hailed by
the townspeople as liberators. They
marched around the town with the regimental band. Converting the municipal building into their headquarters, the 10th
Infantry regiment began the government of Kawit on February 4 until they were
disbanded in April 1945.
For purposes of historical record, eleven
sons of Binakayan, Kawit died in the internment camp in Capas, Tarlac, following
the infamous Samala, Capt. Simplicio Congbalay, Sr., Lt. Vicente Marquez, Jr.,
Sgt. Daniel Matro, Cpls. Gaudencio Samoy, Bayani Legaspi, and Simplicio
Realica, and Pvts. Servilliano Danti, Paulino Gonzaga, and Delfin Bayan.
Lt. Marquez was son of Vicente Marquez,
Sr., Worshipful Brother of Primera Luz Filipina Lodge No. 69, and recipient of
the “50 year Brother” medal. The
younger Marquez was a mechanical engineering student of the University of the
Philippines (1936 – 1938) and a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy,
1941.
The 2nd Infantry Regiment
headed by Col. Francisco G. Guerrero had its suspicious beginning at a secret
conference held on August 15, 1942, in a secluded lot owned by Antero Guererro
near the seashore of Bacoor, Cavite. Through contacts made by Col. Guerrero many former USAFFE officers
and men attended the conference, Col. Guerrero, who presided over the meeting
saw to it that the guiding principles of the organization were fully discussed
and accepted by all those present.
Among these principles were the following:
1.
The main objective of
the organization was to “restore the true essence of democracy” in the
Philippines.
2.
All members are duty
bound to obey orders coming from their highest commander.
3.
No member would squeal on
his companions in the organization regardless of the situation he may be in;
otherwise, his companions would have the “right to execute him and members of
his family, or his close relatives.”
4.
Every member,
regardless of his social standing and educational qualifications, is expected
to do his utmost to recruit new members for the purpose of raising a full
regiment.
5.
All members have the
following common task: (a) to detect and report at once the presence of any
Sakdal, Ganap or Makapili in their territory; (b) to undertake sabotage work
whenever possible; and (c) to reports the movement(s) of enemy troops.
Among the prominent members who attended
the initial conference were the following: Majors Teodoro A. Buhain, Aurelio
Ocampo, Patronicio F. Landas, Pedro Aragon, Dominador C. Lazaro, Leonido
Guinto, Clemente C. Guerrero, Vicente Alhambra, Gerardo Dominguez, and Moises
Buhain; Capts. Marcelo R. Landas, Lucido Guinto, Bernanrdino O. Monzon,
Socrates Monzon, Julian Ocampo, Santiago Yangwas, Fortunato Espiritu, Dionisio
Espiritu, Jesus A. Escobar, and Felix Gavino; 1st Lieutenants
Francisco Pagusan, Rodolfo Ruiz, and Benjamin Samoy; and 2nd
Leiutenants, Saturnino Enriquez, Conrado Garcia, Epifanio Garcia, Emilio
Guzman, and Maximillian Tolentino.
The poor members of the organization were
given rice rations from the Imus Rice Mill through arrangements made by Col.
Castañeda, overall commander of the FACGF.
A total of 480 families of former USAFFE members received rice rations
from September 1942 to the latter part of 1944.
As great care was taken to prevent its
discovery by the Japanese, the organization held its conferences/meetings in
different places, usually in the homes of trusted president of Bacoor,
including Andres Ignacio, Antonio Ignacio, Hilarion de Guzman, Epifanio Mata,
Roberto Narvaez, Santiago Yangwas, Juan Guinto, Dominador G. Lazaro, Patronicio
Bautista, Artemio de la Cruz, Andres Cristobal, Antero Guerrero, Leoncio
gaudier, Anselmo Jimenez, Santiago Pagtakhan, Vicente Alhambra, and Tranquilino
Calara.
Col. Guerrero recalls that during the
height of Japanese repression, when the FACGF field hospital was in great need
of food and medical supplies for 178 patients and 69 members of the hospital
staff, the Procurement Committee which he had created received enthusiastic
response from many civic spirited citizens of Bacoor. The committee was composed of the following:
Judge Buenaventura Ocapo, chairman: Atty.
Manuel O. Chan, secretary and liaison officer; and Atty. Ambrosio Umale, Atty.
Higino de Guia, Simeon de Jesus, Cesareo Gawaran, Aquilino Reyes, Pedro
Jimenez, Ricardo Sarino, Lucio Ildenfonso, Epifanio Malinis, Alipio Bernardo,
and Antonio Lun Thai, members.
The staff of the 2nd Infantry
regiment was composed of the following: Col. Francisco G. Guerrero, commanding
officer; Pedro Agagon, executive officer until February 22, 1945; he was
succeeded by Lt. Col. Teodoro R. Buhain; Moises J. Buhain, S-1; Marcelo R.
Landas, S-2 Clemente G. Guerrero, S-3; Aurelio Ocampo, S-4; Patronicio R.
Landas, CO HQ, Bn.; and Dominador G. Lazaro, Judge Advocate Service.
Not attached to the FACGF (Castañeda
Unit) but to the 2nd Infantry Division, Fil-American Irregular Troops,
under Col. Hugh Straughn of the U.S. Army, the Taparan Guerilla Unit was
another infantry regiment that helped in the liberation of Cavite from the
Japanese. It was named after Lt. Col.
Esteban Taparan of Barrio Halang, Naik, Cavite who met heroic death in the
Battle of Ternate about mid-February 1945.
The organization of the Taparan Unit may
be traced back to a secret meeting in the early part of June 1942 in barrio
Halang, which was called by Mayor Emilio Arenas, assisted by Major Pio T.
Capili, a former USAFFE officer.
Present at the meeting were Esteban Taparan, Melencio Oliver, Meliton
Wakas, Pio Hernandez and Genaro Hernandez, all from Halang, Benito Roma of
Malainen Bago; and Prudencia and Jose Arenas. Twin sister-brother of the Naik
mayor.
Ever since the arrival of the Japanese in
Naik on January 8, 1942, mayor Arenas entertained no illusions about them. He reluctantly extended to them some forms
of cooperation merely to soften the harsh reality of enemy’s occupation,
characterized by slapping incidents involving innocent civilians and other
forms of brutalities. About the end of
the month the local Ganaps or pro-Japanese elements caused the arrest of Mayor
Arenas for once having had under his custody a certain American citizen,
Leonard Heberele, a technician in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and his wife. This was before the outbreak of the
war. Since then the American and his
family had never returned to Naik.
Mayor Arenas was taken by the Japanese
military police to Tanza, Cavite, where he was grilled at gunpoint. Since he had absolutely no knowledge of the
whereabouts of the American couple, Arenas was later released, but only after
receiving further maltreatment at the hands of the Japanese. In the mayo’s heart was born a burning
hatred of the new organizers. He began
seriously considering the idea considering a resistance force.
The straw that broke the camel’s back, as
f0r as Mayor Arenas was concerned was the beheading by the Japanese of four
Naik residents who were pointed to by Ganap spies as having smuggled firearms
from Bataan. They were Cornelio Baytan,
Bernabe de los Santos, and two unidentified companions. This incident prompted Arenas to call the secret
meeting in Halang.
For the second time Arenas was arrested
in early October 1943 when the Japanese ordered the detention of all male
residents from 18 to 50 years old in the Naik cockpit and in several school
buildings. The Japanese claimed the
existence of a great number of firearms in the hands of the townspeople. The detainees were not allowed to receive
food and water from anybody, and so they grew weak day by day. The mayor was taken to Manila where was
interrogated and tortured. Unable to get
any vital information from him, the Japanese released him, but no sooner had he
returned to his hometown than he was arrested for the third time. With the barrel of a handgun thrust into his
mouth, his hand tied behind his back, Arenas was forced to cooperate by trying
to induce the detainees to surrender whatever firearms they had in their
possession. Forty pieces of assorted
weapons, mostly air rifles and paltiks, were surrendered. Modified, the Japanese released the
detainees on October 11, 1943, after eight days of confinement without food and
water.
The war outside the Philippines had
reached a turning point. The Japanese
were losing battle after battle in other sector of the war. The enemy garrison in Naik was suddenly
transferred to an unknown place. The
Ganaps were evacuating Cavite City.
Meanwhile, recruitment of men for his guerilla unit was stepped up by
Mayor Arenas with the help of his right-hand man, Esteban Taparan. In a few days about 400 pieces of firearms,
including seven machine guns, were assembled, and membership of the guerilla
unit rose to about 1,000 officers and men.
In response to the mobilization order
issued January 17, 1945, by Major Vanderpool of the General Staff Corps, U.S.
Army, the Taparan Unit headed by mayor Arenas intensified intelligence work and
organized sabotage missions. On
February 4, the guerillas encountered the Japanese at Pasong Malainen, killing
several enemy troops. The next day they
again engaged the enemy in heavy fighting in the same vicinity, accounting for
about 20 Japanese soldiers killed.
Retreating to ternate, Arenas’ men
pursued the fleeing enemy. Feeling that
his unit might not be to tackle the big Japanese force, Arenas sought outside
help. At this point Col. Castañeda,
overall commander of the FACGF, sent 400 men from the 7th Infantry
regiment to reinforce the Arenas Unit.
It was during the height of the fighting for Ternate that Lt. Col.
Esteban Taparan was killed in action.
He was given full military honors.
Major Schommer, representing the 11th Airborne Division, U.S.
Army, lauded Taparan for his bravery and the noble cause for which he paid his
life. Major Vanderpool said that
Taparan “fell while fighting for an ideal that he valued above his life. May we be worthy of his example!”
The liberation of Cavite from the
Japanese cannot be complete without mentioning the Battle of the Bacoor
Rotonda, on the Aguinaldo Highway. In
the early morning of February 4, 1945.
A contingent of 15 guerillas riding on a
weapons carrier and armed with machine guns and rifles, had left Tagaytay City
after the landing of the 11th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, followed
by about 10 jeeps and trucks filled with American troops. The Filipino was headed by Capt. Jacinto S.
Diaz of the 5th Infantry Regiment, FACGF, headed by Col. Raymundo
Paredes and based in Anabu, Imus.
Passing through barrios Buho and Lalaan
of Tagaytay City, and the towns of Silang and Dasmariñas, the combined Filipino
and American striking force encountered a large group of Japanese soldiers from
the Imus garrison. In the ensuing firefight
many enemy troops were killed, and the remainders were forced to retreat in
disorderly fashion, scattering themselves in the nearby barrios of Anabu,
Malagasang and Salinas. Those who
retreated to Binakayan, Kawit were eventually wiped out by units of the 10th
Infantry Regiment headed by Col. Vidal and Major Leberato C. Jimenez,
regimental adjutant, and by elements of the 2nd Infantry Regiment
commanded by Col. Guerrero of Bacoor, Cavite.
From Imus the Diaz unit, followed by a
strong American force, sped northward but later slowed down and finally came to
a halt about 30 yards from the Bacoor, Rotonda. They alighted from their vehicles and crouched on both sides of
the Aguinaldo Highway. About half an
hour later a large force of Japanese soldiers arrived, but before they could
jump from their trucks the Fil-American combat unit opened fire, killing all
enemies troops, with not a single casualty on their side. After the smoke of battle had cleared away,
the morning stillness was broken by shouts of “Mabuhay! Long live the
Fil-American liberators of our country!”
Capt. Diaz, is a sworn statement executed
on September 24, 1980, takes occasion to pay tribute to the gallant fighters of
the FACGF in the Battle of the Bacoor Rotonda, including Cpl. Raymundo A.
Ilano, Daniel Barva, Angel Sarmiento, Hilario Francisco, and Agapito Sarasa of
the Diaz Company: Col. Maximo (Tinting Imong) Reyes and his son, Lt. Col.
Regimio Reyes, and the 11th Infantry regiment based in Imus.
In the Balsahan Bridge encounter in
Binakayan, Kawit, in the early afternoon of February 4, and the 1st
and 2nd companies of the Bakay Battalion commanded by major Fidel A.
Cuenca, assisted by elements of the 10th Infantry regiment under
Col. Vidal and Maj. Jimenez, completely routed the enemy. About 20 Japanese rifles, including samurai
sabers, were captured. Unfortunately,
the Filipinos suffered three casualties (wounded), including Major Cuenca,
Capt. Antonio Tirona, and Lt. Federico A. Samot.