ST.

PAUL UNIVERSITY DUMAGUETE

COLLEGE OF NURSING
A.Y. 2020-2021

The Comfort Women in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation

In fulfillment of the requirements in GE- Contemporary World

Submitted by: Sweetie F. Gargar and

Maria Dresden Joy L. Daag
College of Nursing

Submitted to: Mr. Camilo Pangan

December 2020
 Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………..………………...........3
Background……………………………………………………………………………………....4
What is a “comfort women”?..............................................................................................4
Comfort Stations in the Philippines……………………………………………………………….5-7
The Life in Comfort Stations………………………………………………………………………..7-8
Who were the comfort women?........................................................................................................8-9
Kimiko Kaneda……………………………………………………………………………...............9
Taiwanese………………….………………………………………………………………….….10-11
Comfort Women in the Philippines…………………………………………………………….…11-15
Maria Rosa Henson…………………………………………………………………………….….12-13
Lourdes Divinagracia……………………………………………………………………………….13
Precsilla Bartonico…………………………………………………………………………………..13-14
Piedad Nicasio Nobleza………………………………………………………………………..… 14-15
Eusebio villanueva building………………………………………………………………….…….15
Petition……………………………………………………………………………………………16
Filipina Comfort Women…………………………………………………………………………..……16-17
News about Comfort Woman…………………………………………………………….……..17-21
Organizations supporting and
Advocating for the “Comfort Women in the Philippines”……………………………………...21-24
GABRIELA National Alliance of Women's Organisation………………………………..……….21-22
Lila Pilipina………………………………………………………………………………………….22-23
Asian Women's Fund………………………………………………………………………….……..23-24
MALAYA Lolas………………………………………………………………………………………..24
Letter……………………………………………………………………………………....………25-26
Interview…………………………………………………………………………………….………27-2
First Interview (December 9, 2020)………………………………………………….....................27-28
Second Interview (December 10, 2020)…………………………………………………………..…..29-30
Third Interview (December 10, 2020)………………………………………………………..……….30-31
Fourth Interview (December 10, 2020)……………………………………………………..………..31
Fifth Interview (December 10, 2020)………………………………………………………..………32
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….……..........33-34
Curriculum Vitae………………………………………………………………………………..….35-36

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Introduction

These portfolio traces the history of the comfort women in the Philippines, their life before and
during the Second World War under the Japanese Army in the year 1941 to 1945. The subject
explicitly refers to the haunted history of Filipino women who have been abducted and had to
labor as comfort women in military brothels throughout Asia under Japanese forces, which has
not only caused tremendous damage, but has also changed their entire life. These also includes
news articles from medias concerning campaigns and testimonies about Comfort Women in the
Philippines such as Maria Rosa Luna Henson which encouraged Filipino comfort woman to
come out of the limelight and drum up awareness and increase action for comfort woman in the
past. Groups and organizations such as Lila Pilipina and GABRIELA fought hard to bring our
attention and to ask for Justice and compensation for the survivors. By breaking through the
disgrace and misery that has kept comfort woman survivors silent for decades, the experiences
of these women gives us significant lessons about our common history and even inspire people
of similar backgrounds; women who encounter injustice and sexual harassment to talk and fight
for justice. By sharing their stories Comfort women in the Philippines which were given the
endearment of Lola, the Filipino word for grandmother, relives their story not about their life to
be described and to be taken into accounts, but for every individual to understand and be aware
of the consequences of war in the past and to send a message to the world that rape must not be
tolerated, that form of deeds such as organized rape like what our Lolas have suffered from are
not acceptable. As we come to terms with the experiences of our Lolas we have allowed our
future generation to comprehend the existing trends of female exploitation today and helped
spread awareness so that such acts in the past will never repeat itself in the future.

3
Background

What is a “comfort women”?

Comfort women were primarily women and girls who, before and during World War II, were
forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese army or who engaged in the earlier voluntary
prostitution program of the army. The word "comfort women" is a colloquialism for the Japanese
Ianfu' (s) for prostitutes. According to Asian Woman’s Fund, the so-called "wartime comfort
women” were forced to provide sexual services to officers and former Japanese militaries in
comfort stations in wartime during the past. Authors who wrote about these women in the
postwar Japan called them “jugun ianfu” (comfort women joining the army). When the Japanese
government first faced the issue of these women, it adopted this term, “jugun ianfu,” and when
AWF started in 1995, it used this term as well. But in historical wartime documents the term
"ianfu (comfort women)" was only found. Therefore, the term "ianfu (comfort women)" was
used today.

In English:

Retrieved from: The Asian Women’s Fund (ed.), “Juugun Ianfu” (Compilation of Government-collected
Documentary Materials Relating to Wartime “Comfort Women”), Ryukei Shosha, 1997
Figure 1

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Comfort Stations in the Philippines

The invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese Army began on December 8, 1941, ten hours
after the strike on Pearl Harbor, where American aircrafts became heavily damaged. Due to the
initial aerial bombings, the aircraft under command of General Douglas McArthur was destroyed
and reinforcement and re-supply of ground forces became impossible due to the circumstances
that existed in the Pacific region. Lacking security and air cover, the American Asian fleet
retreated to Java on December 12, 1941. General Douglas McArthur was ordered to depart for
Australia, leaving the sick and injured American and Filipino defensemen in Bataan. On January
2, 1942, Manila declared its defeat against the Japanese army. The 76,000 American and Filipino
defenders in Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942 and were forced to suffer the notorious Death
March, which took the lives of 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers. Under Japanese rule, Filipinos were
forced to work a large number of jobs, and women were sent to brothels or comfort stations
where they were forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers.

In an article published in the report of the AWF documentation committee, it stated that the
Philippines had 30 comfort stations. In Manila (fig. 2, 2), there were 12 comfort stations and 5
brothels for private and non-commissioned officers where Korean, Chinese and Filipino women
worked. In 1942, 12-16 Filipino women worked in Bayonbong and 10-11 Filipino women
worked in Manila. Based on a research Report of Supreme Commanders of Allied Powers, In
North of Luzon there was a comfort station in Bayonbong (fig. 2, 1). In the region of Central
Visayas, specifically in Masbate (fig. 2, 3) a comfort station was called “Military Club”. In the
Island of Panay (fig. 2, 4), two comfort stations was also built. A Japanese businessman opened
a comfort station at the Island of Cebu (fig. 2, 5) and in the Island of Leyte, at Tacloban
(fig.2,6) there was a comfort station operated by Filipinos and where 9 Filipinos worked. On the
same Island at Burauen (fig. 2, 7) a comfort station was opened in 1944.

In the island of Mindanao (fig. 2, 8) in 1942, a comfort station was opened, where 3 Filipino
women worked, and in February 1943 a third comfort station was built in Cagayan. In
Dansaran (Fig. 2, 10) a comfort station was built in the center of the island. There is also a
comfort station in Davao (Fig. 2, 11) where Korean, Taiwanese and Filipino women were forced
into service. According to the testimonies of the victims, there were also women who were

5
abducted and raped and locked into garrison buildings to provide sexual services. In all of these
instances, their fathers or husbands have been killed in front of the women and their other family
members.

Retrieved from: Women made to be Comfort Women - Philippines (awf.or.jp)

Figure 2

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Shanghai Expeditionary Yasuji Okamura

Retrieved from:http://www.absolutecrime.com/comfort-women-a-
history-of-japanese-forced-prostitution-during-the-second-world-
war.html
Figure 3

Comfort stations have been established all over Asia where the Japanese army has been moving.
According to a report of the Head of Reward Section of the War Ministry dated September 3,
1942, there were 400 stations that existed. In North China, there were 100 comfort stations, in
Central China,140 and 40 in South China. In South Asia, 100 comfort stations, South Sea 10 and
Sakhalin 10. AWF estimated that there were 30 comfort stations in the Philippines, over 50 in
Burma, and over 40 in Indonesia a total 0f 120 comfort stations in South Asia. At the request of
the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Shanghai Expeditionary Yasuji Okamura, comfort stations were

6
formed to improve the military attitude and preserve the effectiveness of the Japanese forces. In
several occasions, the Japanese army has raped many civilian woman in the occupied territories.
The military authorities were concern about the spread of venereal disease among men. To
minimize and avoid the deteriorating anti-Japanese emotions of the people the troops were
accompanied by comfort women from occupied countries abroad.

The Life in Comfort Stations

Civil proprietors operated comfort stations routinely, but the army still supervised different
aspects of the operation of comfort stations in detail and directly. This is recognised by standards
for the minutely formulated use of comfort stations by local units of the military. Here we
present a sample of this regulation. This is the regulation for the use of comfort stations which
the 2nd Independent Heavy Siege Artillery Battalion stationed at Changzhou formulated in
March 1938.

Figure 4

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Figure 5

Who were the comfort women?

There were no documents with comprehensive data or survey found to determine how many
comfort women were taken to comfort stations or what proportion of them are from the
Philippines, Korea, China, and etc. Meanwhile based on a report on April 1939 report of the head
of the medical squad of the 21st Army in Shanghai, appears in a memo in the Operations Journal
of Setsuzo Kinbara, Chief of the Medical Affairs Section in the Medical Affairs Department of
the War Ministry, stated "Brought in a group of comfort women — 1 woman for 100 soldiers.".

If it is estimated at that ratio on average soldier who comes to comfort stations once a month, it is
said that comfort women were visited by 5 soldiers in a day, with an average of 10 days off a
month since some are unable to work because of sickness. In addressing the ethnic origin of
women, Kim Il Myon claims that "80 to 90 percent” of all comfort women were Korean, with a
total of 170,000 to 200,000 Korean comfort women, however, there are no figures to back up any
of these predictions. Careful reading of all available records indicates that many of the women

8
did indeed come from Korea, but perhaps not the vast majority. Many of the women were
Japanese, after all.

Figure 6

The first ever prostitutes were known to be recruited from Korea

to go to comfort stations abroad. Girls less than 21 years old were
sent to comfort stations and among them are 16 to 17 years old.
Based on testimonies, girls were recruited by persistent
persuasion deceiving them about a job offer that turned out to be
fraud.

Kimiko Kaneda was only sixteen years old when she became a comfort woman. She was born
in Tokyo, her father of a Korean nationality who became a priest and her mother a Japanese
housemaid sent her to Korea to her father’s relatives. She worked as a housemaid and was
recommended a job by her friend in a different place, not knowing that it would be the start of
the anguish of her life. She was sent to a comfort station in Zaoqing, China, with the other girls
who were tricked the same way. She was stabbed in the chest with a Bayonet by a Japanese
soldier who also broke her wrist because of her resistance. She was released to get medical
attention in 1945, as she became an opium addict. Until her death such wound remained.

In the Japanese colony of Taiwan during the Second World War, A significant number of men
were classified as either Japanese army or civilian workers for the military. At the same time,
women were called to serve in hospitals kitchens and factories. Most women were forced to
work in comfort stations and in number of cases; women were victimized while their husbands
or fiancées were deported into the army. Nearly none of the women could tell their husbands
what happened when they come back.

9
 Native-Taiwanese volunteer soldiers,their wives and Japanese policemen who lead them; courtesy of
Michihiko Yanagimoto
Figure 7

Netherlands East Indies is now present day Indonesia. During the War, the Japanese army
invaded the Netherlands colony in 1942 and held Netherlands residents in prison camps or
detention centers (90,000 civilians, 40,000 military personnel).

Some Japanese military officials forcibly moved Dutch women and women of mixed race from
concentration camps to comfort stations and forced them to provide sexual services to Japanese
officers and men. According to the reported report of the Dutch Government, between 200 and
300 Dutch women served in Japanese military brothels, of which about sixty-five were most
likely forced into prostitution.

10
Figure 8Comfort Stations in Indonesia Retrieved from: https://www.awf.or.jp/images/photo79-0e.jpg

It appears that in some cases in Indonesia, women have been recruited in cooperation with heads
of residential districts and community groups, with village officials responding to demands from
the occupying forces. According to research conducted by Aiko Kurasawa, women who made a
living as prostitutes were initially taken, but other women were later taken as well. Most of them
appeared to have been recruited by district leaders or local clans. Since the power structure of the
time did not allow residents to question the authorities or the elders of the village. This is stated
to have occurred most of the time in the West Java region. Cases involve women abducted on
their way home from work in the city or abducted at home when their parents would be out of
work. These "Unofficial Comfort Women" have not received even the most basic care from the
military, nor have they been shielded from pregnancy by the use of condoms. They haven't been
paid in any way.

In North Korea, a government committee of investigators reported that 131 people have
submitted that they were victims, 34 of whom made public comments. The number rose to 218
people who claimed to have been victims, with 48 making public comments by the year 2000.
Most of them already died later. There were also women in the south of Micronesia and East
Timor who were made to be comfort women.

A report by G.J. McDougal to the Sub-Committee on June 22, 1998 entitled Contemporary
Forms of Slavery: Systematic Rape, Sexual Slavery and Slavery-like Practices During Armed
Conflict. Noted: "Between 1932 and the end of the Second World War, the Japanese
Government and the Japanese Imperial Army forced over 200,000 women into sexual slavery in
rape centers throughout Asia." "Only about 25 percent of these women are said to have survived
these daily abuses."

Comfort Women in the Philippines

Many of the Lolas were taken by Japanese officers by force, some of them were already married,
and many were still single. A few were taken when they were at home, while a few were either
working, or on an errand for their parents. They were taken to Japanese military camps or
garrisons, formerly municipal/provincial buildings, large private homes, elementary/high school
buildings, hospitals, or churches. A Lola recounted that every corner of the church in Manila had

11
a woman raped by the Japanese every night. There was also a case where the house of Lola itself
had been turned into a garrison. A tunnel was allegedly used to house comfort women. (The
Comfort Women Project, APA).

Figure 9 Retrieved from:https://cpcabrisbane.org/Kasama/1997/V11n3/Henson.htm

Maria Rosa Henson, Born in Pasay City On December 5, 1927,

was the first woman to come out forward publicly about her
experience as a comfort woman. She was an illegitimate daughter of
a Japanese landowner and a young mother who was a housemaid.
Her story began when she was raped by three Japanese soldiers
while she was fetching firewood in the neighborhood in 1942 to
what is now Fort Bonifacio. Several weeks later, she was again
raped by the same soldiers. Fearful for her life her mother brought
her to a village in Pampanga where she joined the HUKBALAHAP Guerilla an anti- Japanese
group. A year had passed in 1943, while transporting gunloads an unannounced checkpoint
happened on the way to their destination, she surrendered herself to Japanese military to cover up
for the cargo and was sent to a hospital in Angeles City which had been turned into Garrison
together with six other woman. There at 14 years of age she became a comfort woman. She was
confined for nine months and was raped from time to time. After three months she was
transferred to another comfort station a former rice mill, and was transferred to a two-storey
building where Lola Rosa along with several woman were washing clothes during day time and
being raped at night. She noted in her book “The comfort women sustained other bodily injuries
as a result of constant beatings by Japanese soldiers during the rape. Women's breasts chopping
and forced abortion were also prevalent”. “I lay on the bed with my knees up and my feet on the
mat, as if I were giving birth. Whenever the soldiers did not feel satisfied, they vented their anger
on me. When the soldiers raped me, I felt like a pig.”

No one except her own mother knew about her story until she came out to public in 1922. Her
autobiography Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny where she wrote some of her lifes’ recollection
that has seen epic suffering encouraged other women to come out and tell their story. After she
came out on public view, she fought hard for the justice of comfort woman, attended in marches,
appeared in Congress and even filed a lawsuit in Tokyo Court. Abandoned by her husband, Lola

12
Rosa raised her three children alone. She did not go mad and she vowed to remember to her
dying day the events that had happened during the Japanese occupation. She said that
remembering was the best revenge. On August 18, 1997 she passed away from a heart attack at
the Pasay City Hospital.

Figure 10 Retrieved from:http//justiceforcomfortwomen.org/2019/04/17/last-woman-standing-the-story-

of-iloilos-last-comfort-woman/
Lourdes Divinagracia, referred to as ‘Yay Oding’ was born on
February 11, 1925 in Baranggay Buyo, Sta. Barbara, Ilo-ilo. She
worked as a Nanny to the three children of Tokumori and Uta
Miyasato; Japanese immigrants who lived peacefully before the
war. In 1942, when the Japanese forces took over Ilo-ilo, 17 year
old Yay Oding together with many scared ilonggos hid in the
mountain in manmade holes in the ground to escape from the
Japanese hands. After the war calmed down, she worked as a waitress at Kotobuki, a Japanese
restaurant which was known as a haven for “extra service”. After the Japanese are served food,
waitress are raped, however Yay Oding was spared from this as Tokumori, her former boss who
became a volunteer interpreter to the Japanese military protected her. Yay Oding escaped from
Kotobuki and got married to Tokumori where she took care of Tokumori’s children.

In a documentary by Howie Severino entitled I-witness: “Ang Lihim ni Lola” she narrated how
the comfort women were brutally raped before they were killed in Ilo-ilo during the Japanese
occupation. Of the 174 only half are still alive and Yay Oding is the last woman alive in Ilo-ilo to
tell the tale.

Figure 11 Retrieved from: https://labanforthelolas.blogspot.com/2007/05/summary-of-circumstances-of

my.html

Precsilla Bartonico, born on January 6, 1926 on the Island of

Leyte, was only 17 years old when she was captured by the
Japanese military while they were hiding in an air raid with her
relatives in which only two of them were woman. She and her
cousin were raped on the spot while the men that were with them

13
were tied up. She did not resist in fear of getting killed. She was brought in the town of Burauen,
and confined to an elementary school which turned into a garrison. There she saw 15 woman in
the main building and 2 women in the Home Economics building, who were also abducted and
forced to provide sexual service. She confessed that she was being raped day and night by 5 to 8
soldiers mostly during night time. They were sexually abused even in front of other people and
are even brought to the guard posts where the machine guns are placed and sacks filled with soil.
She was forced to stay in the Garrison for 3 months, raped day and night and worked at landing
fields.

Lola Precsilla raised her family keeping her secret for several years. When she eventually
stepped forward to fight for her apology, to regain her reputation, it was to the dismay of her
husband and children. Her reality harmed their relationships in ways she'd always feared. Lola
Priscilla, she was the dancer, and she was the one who always smiled. She hid her story too well
as she's been practicing it for so many years a reporter stated. A lot were saddened by her passing
last April 2006.

Figure 12 Retrieved from: http://labanforthelolas.blogspot.com/2011/06/piedad-nobleza-super-lola.html

Piedad Nicasio Nobleza, born in Madalag, Aklan on August 2,

1920 was already married to A Filipino soldier when the war
broke out. They had two children a son and a baby girl. When
her husband left she took her children to the mountain side in
her aunt’s place because it was no longer safe in the lowlands.
Her aunt’s house was a very quiet and hidden place, no people
passed by their house. One day she went down the mountain to
check on her house and because they had been living away
from other people she did not know that the Japanese had
landed in their Island. After spending the morning cleaning the bushes and dried leaves around
the house, she got lost in cleaning the bushes and when she stood up to stretch her back two
Japanese soldiers were already coming her way. She turned around attempting to run when the
Japanese yelled at her not to run away in. She froze thinking about her children, she describe the
kind soldier as tall and the smaller once as cruel as he kicked her endlessly and beat her.

14
She was brought to a church 50 kilometers away from her house where she saw other women
from the different parts of the mountain she had never seen before. On the first night she was
raped by two soldiers on a pews placed together. After that seven other Japanese soldiers raped
her after every half an hour. Every night for two weeks two of four soldiers raped her. Then one
morning, the church door was opened and when she discovered that the troops had fled in the
middle of the night she escaped and returned to her children. Her aunt became silent seeing her
and she cried and cried in the corner.

In 1992, after a public hearing was held in Tokyo organized by a network of groups working on
the issue of comfort women, a number of Filipino women came out and narrated how they were
abused by the Japanese soldiers. There were 44 women who came out and revealed their stories.

Eusebio villanueva building

Figure 13 Retrieved from:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&ur
l=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.slideshare
.net%2Fsenorfrog%2

This heritage house, located on the

Bonifacio drive in the town of Iloilo,
was built in 1928 by its original
owner, July Ledesma. The engineer
on the project was Eusebio Canto
Villanueva, the new owner. The
house is a two-storey building
constructed of narra wood, galvanized iron and concrete. The story goes that the Ledesma family
owned a large amount of money from a man called Manuel Galalas. When they prospered, they
thanked Galalas for the house. It wasn't long before Galalas sold the property. Villanueva, the
engineer, was interested and was able to afford the house at an affordable price. Interestingly,
during the Second World War, the Japanese used the home as their headquarters, and apparently
the basement was their "torture chamber" and jail. It was also said that this old mansion was used
as garrison were number of Filipino women were force to provide sexual services

15
Petition

Last April 2010, members of MALAYA LOLAS, a non-stock, non-profit organization registered
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, established for the purpose of providing aid to
the victims of rape by Japanese military forces in the Philippins during World War II, submitted
a petition to the Supreme Court of the Philippines in Manila. Petitioners narrated that during the
Second World War; the Japanese Army attacked villages and systematically raped the women as
part of the destruction of the village. Their communities were bombed; houses were looted, and
burned. Civilians were publicly tortured, mutilated, and slaughtered. Japanese soldiers forcibly
seized women held them in cells, where they have repeatedly raped them and beaten them. As a
result, the petitioners have spent their lives in misery, having endured physical enduries, pain and
disability, mental and emotional suffering.

Petitioners claim that since 1998, they have approached the Executive Department through the
DOJ, DFA and OSG requesting assistance in filing a claim against the Japanese officials and
military officers who ordered the establishment of the “comfort stations” in the Phlippines.
However officials of the Executive Department declined to assist them, and took the position that
the individual claims of the comfort women for compensation had already been satisfied by
Japan’s compliance with the Peace Treaty between Philippines and Japan.

Filipina Comfort Women

Filipina Comfort Women was a statue that was seen

publicly on Baywalk, Manila's Roxas Boulevard.
Devoted to the "comfort women" of the Philippines
who had been forced into sexual slavery during the
Second World War by an Imperial Japanese Army,
unveiled on December 8, 2017 and set up by the
National Historical Commission of Philippines
(NHCP) and other donors and foundations.

It has been sponsored by groups concerned and from

government agencies since its installation in Manila.

16
On April 27, 2018, the statue was removed. It has been kept in the artist Jonas Roces' private
studio in Antipolo, Rizal.

A number of individuals and organizations, including the Gabriela Women's Party protested the
demolition, stated their opposition to historical revisionism and submission to Japanese policy.
They stated that it is an unconstitutional removal since the statue is of the protection of NHCP
markers and monuments under the heritage law. President Duterte pointed to the possibility of
the monument being placed in a private property because the State wouldn't want to 'antagonize'
other countries.

Figure 13 Filipina Comfort Woman Statue Retrieved from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipina_Comfort_Women

News about Comfort Woman

Last December 8, 2017, BBC News featured Filipino
women as victims of of the Second World War "comfort
women". Aling Mileng, an octogenarian, recalled her
experience in the hands of the savages when she was 15
years old, "I was really struggling because I didn't want
my clothes to be taken away. I held my legs close, crossed
tightly. After I did that, they punched my thighs so that
they could do what they wanted.” The National Historical
Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has officially
announced that the statue is a protected heritage. It was supposed to remind us of two things.
First, to maintain a profound respect for women, a Filipino value that we treasure so much;
secondly, to honor all Filipino “comfort women,” living and dead, who suffered traumatic
experiences worse than death.

Figure 14 Retrieved from: https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/33B5/production/_99373231_gettyimages-

502680224.jpg

17
 On January 17, 2018 a report published by the
Philiippine Women’s Group urged President
Rodrigo Duterte to take concrete and clear position
on the topic of “comfort women” forced to serve as
sex slaves by the Japanese Imperial Army during
the World War II. The Secretary General Joms
Salvador of the GABRIELA Women's Alliance
stressed the need for "concrete and clear national
policy on the issue of comfort women."

GABRIELA asked Duterte to reject the Japanese

offer to remove the statue. GABRIELA is at the
forefront of the Filipino women's movement for
freedom and democracy, while Lila Pilipina is a wartime sex slave organization. Both groups
called for justice on behalf of elderly comfort women in the Philippines, demanded official
apologies from the Japanese government, only compensation, and the inclusion of comfort issues
for women in Japan's historical accounts and textbooks. It should be made clear to Japan that
Filipino comfort women are a national problem subject to official victim-centered negotiations
that will restore much of their dignity, she said.

In an interview with local media, MindaNews, Duterte commented on the newly erected
monument to "comfort women." which took place last Friday night Jan. 11, 2018 in Davao City,
after Duterte met with the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, Seiko
Noda, that the Japanese government had not demanded the demolition of the statue, but had
expressed regret. Duterte said he had told Noda that he cannot stop the relatives or even the
comfort women still living from their freedom to express what they are expressing through the
statue."

"That is a constitutional right which I cannot stop. It's prohibitive for me to do that. In addition,
Duterte told MindaNews that the relocation of the statue was up to Manila Mayor Joseph
Estrada, adding that the problem "was not raised to national policy" and that the government was
(blind and deaf) regarding its construction. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano

18
stated that the Philippine government has set up an inter-agency fact-finding committee to look
into the controversial monument.
Figure 15 Retrieved from:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcoconuts.co%2Fmanila%2Fnews%2Fduterte-
breaks-silence-manila-comfort-woman-statue-calls-constitutional-right%

Figure 16 74 years on, Filipino comfort women are still fighting a war Retrieved from:
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1165178/74-years-on-filipino-comfort-women-are-still-fighting-a-war

Cody Cepeda stated in INQUIRER.NET last September 16, 2019 in a story that Japan’s
unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945 remains a significant occasion, a reminder of a
crucial point in history that has lost millions of lives and a reminder of the true costs of war.

Women from all over the world commemorated the said day last August as a tribute to the
approximate 50,000 to 200,000 "comfort women" from South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, the
Netherlands and the Philippines who were raped and enslaved by the Imperial Japanese Army
during the Second World War. Thousand of these figures are believed to be Filipino women,
some of whom have already died due to old age. But a few still fight on for the rest of the power
they have.

It took decades after the end of the war before Lola Rosa Henson came forward in the 1990s and
became the first Filipino comfort woman to talk about her traumatic experience. Over the years,
other Filipino comfort women have followed suit, but a large number of them remain unknown
after being wiped out and turned away by their families after the war ended.

19
The report published by Inquirer On August 14, 2019 stated The Filipino comfort women or
lolas under Lila Pilipina, an organization of World War II comfort women, brought their
longstanding battlecry to the streets of Manila to mark the International Day to Commemorate
Victims of Japanese Wartime Miltary Sexual Slavery. Lolas Narcisa Claveria and Estelita Dy,
along with supporters, held placards in the sweltering heat as they called for justice for the
Filipino comfort women. Justice, not in the form of money or tax, but a direct, official and
formal public apology from the Government of Japan.

Lila Pilipina said in a statement "We are saddened by

the fact that, 74 years after the end of the Second World
War, Japan still refuses to atone for its wartime crimes,
and has now, in fact, embarked on a blatant campaign
to obliterate the world's memory of this historical event
by silencing all attempts to remember and celebrate
silencing all efforts to commemorate and by causing the
removal of all memorials related to the issue.”
Lola Estelita Dy, during the International Day to Commemorate Victims of Japanese Wartime Military

Figure 17 Sexual Slavery, Aug. 14, 2019. Image: Facebook/Lila Filipina. Retrieved
from:https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1165178/74-years-on-filipino-comfort-women-are-still-fighting-a-war

20
INQUIRER. NET published a story on August 2019, knowing the state of comfort women.
Reported that comfort women no longer reside at their center in Barangay Amihan, Quezon City.
Those who are still alive stay with their relatives, most of whom are sick and weak because of
their old age.

A small gathering of survivors was held last April 28 to mark the birthdays of Lolas Estelita Dy
and Remedios Tecson. Dy who is 89 years old and very frail, with chronic heart disease and pre-
diabetes. She lives with her family in Malabon. On the other hand, the organization's rediscovery
team only discovered Tecson in early 2019. She's still able to attend meetings with the use of a
wheelchair, but she's also gone bad and has issues with mobility and memory. Other lolas may
not have come to Dy and Tecson's birthday, such as Lolas Lucia Misa and Hilaria Bustamante.
Misa, who currently lives in Bulacan, suffered a stroke in 2018 and is now recovering.
Bustamante, who lives in Manila, is already in bed. She's also been erratic and eats less, her
daughter said.

Organizations supporting and Advocating for the “Comfort Women

in the Philippines”

Figure 18 Retrieved from:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgal-dem.com%2Ffeminist-activism-gabriela-
philippines-duterte-war-drugs-trump
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Filps.info%2Fen%2F2012%2F10%2F25%2Fme
ssage-of-solidarity-to-gabriela-on-the-occasion-of-its-11th-congress

21
GABRIELA National Alliance of Women's Organisation
GABRIELA National Women's Alliance is a grassroots alliance of more than 200 women's
groups, institutions, desks and programs throughout the Philippines that aim to fight for the
liberation of all the marginalized Filipino women and the rest of our people. We organize women
from the farmers, workers, urban poor and students sectors in particular.
Though we are actively campaigning on specific issues such as women's rights, gender
inequality, violence against women and women's health and reproductive rights, GABRIELA is
also at the forefront of national and international economic and political issues affecting women.
At the same time, GABRIELA offers real direct services to vulnerable women through its
National Office, provincial and regional centers and member institutions. Liza Maza is the leader
of the GABRIELA Women’s Alliance and later as representative of the Gabriela Women’s Party
in the Philippine Congress.

Figure 19 Retrieved from:

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.slideshare.net%2Falohagayquimba%2Flila-
pilipina%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3u1o9J5nHIA1y

Lila Pilipina
Lila Pilipina is a non-governmental organization that helps women who have been victims of
sexual harassment by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. Apart from
taking care of women's needs, the organization also seeks public recognition of the issue of
women's comfort and seeks to press the Japanese government to: (1) make a public apology for
crimes committed against women, (2) revise text books and other materials where these crimes

22
were ommitted and, (3) seek compensation for the victims. In 1992, lolas were collected via a
radio broadcast calling on all Filipino women who were used as 'comfort women' during the
Japanese occupation to come out and fight for their rights.

Originally more than 170 women joined the organisation, but only fewer than 60 are still alive
today, less than 10 in manila. It has been said that these LILA women are only a handful of those
who have been raped by the Japanese military.

All the lolas are over 80 years old and their number is steadily becoming smaller over time. The
government of the Philippines has made several promises to them but justice has not yet been
done. No funds provided to the organization as the government does not understand their needs.
The Japanese government appears to deny the abuse, saying that these women were prostitutes.
Rechilda Extremadura, executive director of LILA Pilipina.

Figure 20 Retrieved from:

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.womensfundasia.org%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3
1r9tNWcVHPROzZJubhj4EIROYaGuXafiME5Ng2GQu5rAxLbumtH8EbmM&h=AT24nYXx-
ZyL2rxblj0ZGEpS5sRQWGRojCEe0YNJ8B_-

Asian Women's Fund

The Asian Women's Fund has also organized events to ensure that the issue of women's comfort
serves as a lesson in history and to raise awareness of the issue. The activities were focused on
the commitment that through historical research and education, the Japanese people will never
forget the problem or make the same mistakes.

23
The Asian Women's Fund has started ventures in the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and
Taiwan. The Fund received donations totalling 400 million yen within its first two years of
service, but the amount grew more slowly afterwards. In August 2000, the sixth year of service,
the total donation sum was 448 million yen. The Fund therefore agreed on a bold measure to
begin its "Campaign 2000" in September 2000 to appeal for more donations. Since then, more
than 116 million yen have been donated, making a total of 565 million yen as of October 2002.

Figure 21 Retrieved from: berthafoundation.or

MALAYA Lolas
An organization based in Pampanga, Philippines
composed of people who were formerly "comfort
women" or victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese
imperial army during the Japanese occupation of the
Philippines during World War II. The Malaya Lolas
were established in 1997 and initially had 90 members.
Some of the women's husbands, sons, and other male
relatives and acquaintances who were victims of war
crimes are also members of the group. By 2014, only
about 30 members remained due to deaths.

24
Letter

Cawitan, Sta. Catalina,

Negros Oriental, Philippines
December 7, 2020

Tokyo, Imperial Palace, Japan

Respected Emperor Naruhito,
I write this letter to you on behalf of the Filipino women who, during the Second World
War were enslaved and sexually abused by the Japanese. With regard to wartime duty, I urge
your government to apologize officially for the crimes of Japan and to do everything possible to
acknowledge the victimization of women during the Second World War. This incident caused
immense damage and scarred their dignity and morality as woman for life. They were treated
less like a human and more like an animal, which I believe is never acceptable. The frail and
helpless women who were taken from their home indescribably endured the horrors that I dare
not express. These women have been fighting for the long justice they deserve for the past eight
decades but has not felt any remorse and thoughts of regrets from you, until you unveil the facts,
truly apologize and amend what has been documented in history, the hearts of the Filipino
victims cannot be silenced with honor.

Despite the opposition, the Comfort Woman Memorial on Roxas Boulevard, Manila Philippines
has been removed. The event which we believe is the result of your country's attempts, in the
course of the Second World War, to rewrite what was told in the past, has only caused the
hundreds of victims of the Philippines more rage and provided insult, and driven them to fight
for truth and justice. The monument served as the reminder to all the Filipino comfort women,
the battle and challenges they have gone through, it is to remind future generations of the
Japanese adulterous acts in the Philippines, and in other parts of the world. Together with the
Filipino women we heed to call to your attention in addressing our concern to find acceptance in
your hearts and to surrender to justice. Rebuild the statue of comfort woman as a sign of
monument of peace. Give the sincere apology they have longed to hear and compensate for the

25
damages your country caused as your admission to the historical crime that made our Filipino
women suffer. As advocate of Comfort women’s justice we will recall each and every stories
our Lolas have shared and continue to fight forward till our rights be served.

Respectfully yours,

Students of St. Paul- Advocate for Comfort Woman

26
Interview

Prior to the interview the subject were given brief information about the topic and was informed
about the purpose of the interview. Moreover, they were ensured that any statement and
information they provide will be used for academic purposes only and that they have the freedom
to decline from the interview.

First Interview (December 9, 2020)

Have you heard about the word “ comfort women” before?

➢ Before kay mga sundalo sa Japanese sauna during World War II wala silay makitang mga
babaye tungod sa ilang gidugayun diri sa Pilipinas. So ang mga babaye nga makita nila
ilang iabuso. kay ang ilang panglantaw sa mga Pilipino nga mga babaye murag mubo
lang ba kaayu Mao na sya, Kana bang ilang pahimuslan ang higayun ba, ilang abusuhon
ang mga babaye. Ang Spain ug ang America naa gihapon, gaabusar gihapun sila sa mga
babaye pero wala gi-apil sa history. Wala ra giapil sa history kay kontrolado man nila.
Ang Japan kay giyera man ilang tuyo ang Amerikano dili man peaceful man ilang gi anhi
diri. Dayun dili man ilaha pang-abuso. Ang Spain according to history nianhi diri to
Christianize the people. Ginoo ang ilang gianhi diri during the Spanish regime. Ang
Amerika ni reinforce ra to kay dili man kaya sa Pilipinas.

Do you think it is important and worthy to be discussed?why?

➢ Kani importante gud ni, kabahin sa diskasyon kini nga mga problema. Ingna nganu,
kinahanglan mana siya para masabtan sa tanan nga mga tawo sa Pilipinas. Kay ang uban
ini wala kahibalo, kinahanglan nay discussion para ang usa nga mahimo masabtan sa
tanan.

Do you think the government should be involved about the issue?why?

➢ Kabahin aning garally sa Japanese embassy normal mana siya nga nay magrally. Daghan
man activist ang Pilipinas, katung mga activist nga dili kauyon sa pamalaud sa gobyerno
murally gyud na sila dayun naa pud na silay kaugalingun nga tumong. Ila ning tagdun uy,
dapat dili ni pabay an sa gobyerno naa ni mga tawo nga giassign sa gobyerno nga

27
 mutagad ani.kay kaning issueha para mani sa Pilipinas nga ipaglaban jud natu ang atung
katungod.

Last 2018, the bronze statue of a “comfort woman” erected in Roxas Boulevard, Manila,
four months after, the Japanese Ministry objected about it and was taken down. The City
Administrator stated that it was demolished to pave way for the flood control project of
DPWH. Many activist, historians, and organizations expressed great anger about this. If
you were the president of the Philippines would you have agreed to the removal of the
statue? Why?

➢ Naa nay panglantaw ang gobyerno ani, naa gyud nay rason nganung gikuha sya. Kani naa
syay importansya nga bililhon sya nga statue para sa atung mga tawo o kababayin-an nga
giabusaran sa mga hapon during sa World War II. Ug ako ang prisedente sa Pilipinas,
muingun jud ko nga dili kay kana sya bililhon na sya ug handumanan sa mga Pilipina nga
naabuso atung panahon sa ikaduhang gubat. Kung magkaconflict ang Japan ug Pilipinas
depende na sya kay ang balaod sa Pilipinas ug balaud sa Japan lahi na sya ug usa pa naa
pd sa teritoryo nga nabelong sya sa Pilipinas ang statuwa.

As a citizen should you or we be concerned about the ongoing issue about the “comfort
women” why?

➢ Dapat maconcern ta kay kaning issueha ni dili gyud ni sya matapos tungod ilang gibalhin
unya adunay mga tawo nga wala kauyon, dili jud ni sya matapos. Ilaa atu dapat ilang
ibutang sa lugar nga dapat butangan. Dili maingun nga wala pud ibedinsya unya kay kana
nahimung isyu naa gyuy ibedensya nga gihimo ug gipugos sila nga mahimong comfort
women. Dili sila muhatag apology kay ug maguilty sila ana ilang gihimo naa man silay
damages nga mabayran diri sa Pilipinas so dili sila mukuan todo deny na sila. Hangtud sa
hangtud dapat may pakialam jud ta para maserbisyuhan atung karapatan ug ang sa uban.

Interviewer: Sweetie F. Gargar

Interviewee: Mr. Danilo P. Nalam – Baranggay Captain

28
Second Interview (December 10, 2020)

Have you heard about the word “ comfort women” before?

➢ No, I haven’t heard about this before.

Do you think it is important and worthy to be discussed?why?

➢ It is worthy to be discussed because women play very important role in every Filipino
family.

Do you think the government should be involved about the issue?why?

➢ Yes of course the government should be involved in this issue kay apektado baya ang
government even ang President ug mga cabinet members. Ang dignity sa mga filipino
citizen ug ang safety ilabi na sa mga women.nakasalalay sa pamalaod sa government

Last 2018, the bronze statue of a “comfort woman” erected in Roxas Boulevard, Manila,
four months after, the Japanese Ministry objected about it and was taken down. The City
Administrator stated that it was demolished to pave way for the flood control project of
DPWH. Many activist, historians, and organizations expressed great anger about this. If
you were the president of the Philippines would you have agreed to the removal of the
statue? Why?

➢ Dili, because that is a symbolization of the comfort women’s historical past, it has a great
value to the Filipino women. If I approve the demolishon it is like disregarding the
experiences and the history nga gahatag ug dakong kasakit aning mga bayhana. Put
yourself in their shoe, you yourself could not keep something like this hidden ug
devalued.

As a citizen should you or we be concerned about the ongoing issue about the “comfort
women” why?

➢ About the ongoing issue nga wala pa sila nahatagan ug official apology and
compensation, of course dapat may pakialam ta, because these women could be our
grandmothers, and to think nga dli makatao ang gibuhat sa ilaha and they’re even denied

29
 the justice, is just downright unfair for them. That is the least thing we can do to support
people who have been treated unfairly because we could be in their place.

Interviewer: Sweetie F. Gargar

Interviewee: Gina F. Gargar- Entrepreneur

Third Interview (December 10, 2020)

Have you heard about the word “ comfort women” before?

➢ Yes, women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the imperial Japanese army in
occupied countries and territories before and during world war II.

Do you think it is important and worthy to be discussed?why?

➢ Yes, para ma aware and makabalo sila sa mga panghitabo saunang panahon.

Do you think the government should be involved about the issue?why?

➢ Yes, kay ila responsibilidad pud para ma hatagan og justice ang mga women.

Last 2018, the bronze statue of a “comfort woman” erected in Roxas Boulevard, Manila,
four months after, the Japanese Ministry objected about it and was taken down. The City
Administrator stated that it was demolished to pave way for the flood control project of
DPWH. Many activist, historians, and organizations expressed great anger about this. If
you were the president of the Philippines would you have agreed to the removal of the
statue? Why?

➢ No, because it lost the memories of our comfort women.

As a citizen should you or we be concerned about the ongoing issue about the “comfort
women” why?

➢ Yes, to give justice for our comfort women in our Society.

30
Interviewer: Ma. Dresden Joy L. Daag
Interviewee: Julita L. Daag

Fourth Interview (December 10, 2020)

Have you heard about the word “ comfort women” before?

➢ Yes

Do you think it is important and worthy to be discussed?why?

➢ Yes it is important, Memorials to those forced into sex slavery during the second world
war are not about disgracing Japan, but symbols acknowledging sufferings that must
never be forgotten

Do you think the government should be involved about the issue?why?

➢ Yes because their the one who will protect this kind of issue

Last 2018, the bronze statue of a “comfort woman” erected in Roxas Boulevard, Manila,
four months after, the Japanese Ministry objected about it and was taken down. The City
Administrator stated that it was demolished to pave way for the flood control project of
DPWH. Many activist, historians, and organizations expressed great anger about this. If
you were the president of the Philippines would you have agreed to the removal of the
statue? Why?

➢ No, kay para ato ma hinumduman ilang ka agi .

As a citizen should you or we be concerned about the ongoing issue about the “comfort
women” why?

➢ Yes, because we don't know time will come it will happen again.

Interviewer: Ma. Dresden Joy L. Daag

Interviewee: Rhona mae Cadelina

31
Fifth Interview (December 10, 2020)

Have you heard about the word “ comfort women” before?

➢ Yes.

Do you think it is important and worthy to be discussed?why?

➢ Yes. For us to be aware of the cruelty women experienced before and during world war
II.

Do you think the government should be involved about the issue?why?

➢ Yes, Because they have the power to make decisions about it.

Last 2018, the bronze statue of a “comfort woman” erected in Roxas Boulevard, Manila,
four months after, the Japanese Ministry objected about it and was taken down. The City
Administrator stated that it was demolished to pave way for the flood control project of
DPWH. Many activist, historians, and organizations expressed great anger about this. If
you were the president of the Philippines would you have agreed to the removal of the
statue? Why

No. Because the statue is a reminder of the sacrifices our ancestors had before and during world
war II.

As a citizen should you or we be concerned about the ongoing issue about the “comfort
women” why?

➢ Yes. Because women doesn't deserve to become a sex slaves.

Interviewer: Ma. Dresden Joy L. Daag

Interviewee: Gheona Gee Tubis

32
Conclusion

Reflection-Sweetie F. Gargar

The issue about “comfort women” is a very important topic, many of the victims have died and
most are now in their 80s and 90s. When I was asked if I have heard the word “comfort women”
before, I simply said no. My connotation of the word was “a woman who comforts people
emotionally”, never really understanding that the word has a very dark and painful tale behind it.
I started my study and eventually realized that they were women who were victims or survivors
of the systematic sexual exploitation of Japanese military forces during the Second World War.
A significant number of women from all over Asia have been sexually molested, physically
assaulted, and killed. 30 Comfort stations have been built in the Philippines, in places like
Manila, Bayonbong, Masbate, Panay, Cebu, Tacloban, Barauen, Davao, Cagayan and Dansaran.
Their experience has proven that sexual assault has occurred since time immemorial. That gender
stereotyping among society has been ingrained since the beginning of civilization. As a young
person, this story brings us true thoughts of realization. The past may never be corrected, but
today we can take steps to discourage such unethical actions from happening again in the future.
We will rebuild and extend the horizons of justice of comfort women by continuing the work of
honoring these women's experiences, because time could only cover up these stories and there
would be no victims left alive. We need to teach their stories and inspire people to support
victims of gender-based violence. Support in rallying and local marches, donate, show our stand
and support online, and even make artworks that inspire them. There are so many things we can
do not only to support these people, but to give them the warmth, compassion, and justice they
truly deserve. Official apology is what they called for and Japan has turned a blind eye and a
deaf ear to their outcry. Now is the time to show them what women are made for, let us allow
more voices to become loud horns fighting for a greater cause.

Women are not the weak, frail little flowers that they are advertised. There has never been
anything invented yet, including war, that a man would enter into, that a woman wouldn't, too.-
Will Rogers

33
Reflection –Maria Dresden Joy L. Daag

This topic is worth to be discussed because there are a lot of women, both young and old,
who have been raped and forced into sexual slavery. Usually the past is forgotten,
because to forget the past means to forget what these women have been through all their
difficulties and hardships. Their lives are a living testimony to the brutality of Japanese
military prostitution of Filipino women during the World War 2. They continue to follow
the route to justice, considering their experience. In the words of Lola Narcisa, "I wish
that what has happened to us will not be repeated for the sake of my children and
grandchildren." Many of the "comfort women" have not survived to tell us their pain.For
them and for us, the memorial symbolizes hundreds of thousands of lives devastated by
the war. The plight of women teaches us profound lessons on conflict-related sexual
abuse. In today's world, where sexual abuse tends to be an instrument of armed conflict,
the memory of these sex slaves is a legacy of global significance. Whether or not the
statue exists, the memory of "comfort women" will continue to inform us and future
generations, supporting transnational efforts to avoid crimes against humanity.

34
 Curriculum Vitae

Name: Maria Dresden Joy L. Daag

Age: 18 years old

Personal Profile

Present Address: Brgy. Caranoche Sta. Catalina Negros Oriental.

Date of Birth: January 26, 2002
Gender: Female
Civil Status: Single
Blood type: O+
Parents:
Mother: Mrs. Juliet L. Daag
Father: Mr. Rogelio L. Daag
Siblings:
Jude Ryan L. Daag Cristel Joyce L. Daag
Tamia Chennyn L. Daag
Education:
Elementary: Sta. Catalina Central Elementary School.
Junior Highschool: Sta. Catalina Science School.
Senior Highschool: St. Augustine Academy of Bayawan Inc.
College: St. Paul University Dumaguete City

Motto in Life:
“People dont notice the things we do for them until we stop doing them.”

35
Name: Sweetie F. Gargar
Age: 18 years old

Personal Profile

Present Address: Brgy. Cawitan,Sta. Cata., Negros Oriental.

Date of Birth: April 7, 2002
Gender: Female
Civil Status: Single
Blood type: B+
Parents:
Mother: Mrs. Gina F. Gargar
Father: Mr. Noel B. Gargar
Siblings:
Noelgin F. Gargar
Education:
Elementary: Cawitan Elementary School
Junior High School: Sta. Catalina Science High School
Senior High School: St. Augustine Academy of Bayawan, Inc.
College: St. Paul Universiy, Dumaguete

Motto in Life:
“Today is sacrifice, tomorrow is Paradise.” We come to love not by finding a perfect
person but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.” “ Everything comes and goes, nothing is
permanent.” “ Wherever you are, you are there.”

36