MODYUL 10

MGA PILING PRIMARYANG BATIS SA PANAHON NG PANANAKOP NG MGA HAPONES

Palmo R. Iya
Fakulti, Departamento ng mga Agham Panlipunan

Panimula
Ang panahon ng paghahanda ng Pamahalaang Komonwelt bago magkaroon ng ganap na
kasarinlang pulitika ay naudlot dahil sa pagsiklab ng digmaan sa Pasipiko. Ang mga paghahanda ng
Pangulong Manuel Quezon upang maligtas ang bansa sa trahedya ng digmaan ay nawalan ng saysay
sapagkat sinalakay ng Japan ang Pilipinas noong Disyembre 8, 1941 at ang buong bansa’y dumanas ng
kahirapang bunga ng kawalan ng sapat na paghahanda ng Estados Unidos.

Ilalahad at susuriin sa modyul na ito ang ilang piling primaryang batis sa panahon ng pananakop ng
mga Hapones sa Pilipinas gaya ng “Breaking the Silence” (gunita ng digmaan), “Bataan Has Fallen,” at ang
“Pahayag ni Heneral Masaharu Homma sa mga Pilipino” noong 1942.

Mga Inaasahang Pagkatuto sa Paksa:

Pagkatapos mapag-aralan at gawin ang nilalaman ng modyul, inaasahang magagawa mo ang mga
sumusunod:

Mga Inaasahang Pagkatuto sa Kurso:

CLO2. Masuri ang mga primarya at sekundaryang batis ng kasaysayan upang makabuo ng mga paksain at
talakayang maaaring gamitin sa pag-unawa ng ating nakaraan ayon sa konteksto ng mga kaganapang
nakalipas;
CLO3. Magpanukala ng mga rekomendasyon at solusyon upang mabigyan ng kasagutan ang mga
kasalukuyang usapin/suliranin; at
CLO5. Makapagpamalas ng mga kasayanang pang-dantaon 21 sa lahat ng mga gawain.
Mga Inaasahang Pagkatuto sa Paksa:
TLO28. Masiyasat ang konteksto at perspektiba ng pananakop ng mga Amerikano at Hapones sa Pilipinas;
TLO29. Mapahalagahan ang pagpupunyagi at sakripisyo ng mga makabayan at magigiting na Pilipino
upang makamit ang kalayaan sa mga bagong mananakop;
TLO33. Makapagpanukala ng mga pagkilos at programa na nagpapamalas ng pagmamahal sa bayan; at
TLO38. Mapayabong ang mga kasanayang pang-dantaon 21 gaya ng mga sumusunod: a. kolaborasyon, b.
komunikasyon, c. pagiging-malikhain, at, d. kritikal na pag-iisip.
Mga Inaasahang Pagkatuto sa Modyul:
1. Matalakay ang konteksto at perspektiba ng pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas;
2. Masuri ang perspektiba ng mga piling dokumento sa panahon ng imperyalistang Japan;
3. Mapahalagahan ang pagpupunyagi at sakripisyo ng mga Pilipino sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga
Hapones; at
4. Masukat ang mga natutunan sa pamamagitan ng pagsagot sa pagpapaganang pagtataya sa anyo
ng pagtalakay sa paksa.

Gawain 1: Lunsarang Katanungan

1. Bago mo simulan ang pag-aaral sa modyul na ito, mainam na sagutin mo muna ang
lunsarang tanong sa ibaba. Mamarkahan ang iyong tugon batay sa inihandang rubrik. (20
puntos)
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 Pamantayan Puntos Gradong Sukat
1. 3 7 10
Malinaw na Nangangailangan ng Mahusay Napakahusay
pagpapaliwanag 10 Pagpapabuti
Naipaliwanag nang Naipaliwanag
Bahagyang malinaw ang mga nang napakalinaw
naipaliwanag ang mga ideyang tumutugon sa ang mga ideyang
ideyang tumutugon sa paksang tinalakay tumutugon sa
paksang tinalakay paksang tinalakay

2. Faktuwal 3 7 10
na datos 10 Nangangailangan ng Mahusay Napakahusay
Pagpapabuti

Bahagyang nailahad ang Nailahad nang mahusay Nailahad nang

mga faktuwal na datos ang mga faktuwal na katangi-tangi ang
na sumusuporta sa datos na sumusuporta mga faktuwal na
paksang tinalakay sa paksang tinalakay datos na
sumusuporta sa
paksang tinalakay

Tanong: Paano mo mailalarawan ang panahon ng pananakop ng mga Hapones Pilipinas?

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Mga Nilalaman
I. Kontekstong Pangkasaysayan
Nagsimula ang Pangalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig sa Pasipiko at sa Pilipinas noong Disyembre 8,
1941. Upang mailagay sa tamang perspektiba ang digmaan at ang paghantong nito sa pananakop ng mga
Hapones, dapat alalahaning nasa gitna ng paghahanda ang Pilipinas sa kasarinlan, kung saan ang
Pamahalaang Komonwelt ay nanatiling nasa ilalim ng kapangyarihan ng Estados Unidos ngunit ginawaran
ng autonomiya sa mga gawaing lokal. Dahil nakatakda nang ibigay ng Pamahalaang Amerikano ang kalayaan
ng Pilipinas noong 1946, kaibigan ang turing ng mga Pilipino sa Estados Unidos.

Samantalang mainam at magiliw sa pangkalahatan ang ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa mga Amerikano,
hindi ganoon kalapit ang mga Pilipino sa mga Hapones. Bagama’t umangat ang Japan bilang pangalawang
pinakamalaking partner sa kalakalan ng Pilipinas, maraming Pilipinong intelektuwal ang nangambang
sasakupin nito ang Pilipinas sa pag-alis ng Estados Unidos. Para sa ilang Pilipino, isang banta ang Japan, lalo
pa nang sakupin nito ang Manchuria noong 1931 at nang magsimula ang di-deklaradong Digmaang Sino-
Japanese noong 1937. Regular na naiuulat sa mga diyaryo ng Maynila ang militarismo at kalupitan ng mga

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 Ang tropang Hapones habang nagdiriwang sa pagsuko ng Bataan noong 1942.
Hinangong larawan mula sa Google.

Hapones sa mainland Tsina. Bagama’t parang napakalayo ng digmaan sa Tsina, kailangan lamang sumilip sa
bakuran ng Pilipinas para makita ang malawakang migranteng populasyong Hapones sa bansa – halimbawa,
ang mga negosyong Hapones sa Maynila, ang karaniwang barbero, hardinero, potograpo, at tinderong
Hapon, gayundin ang malaking komunidad sa Davao.

Sa pananakop ng mga Hapones sa dakong timog ng French Indo-China, nagsimulang maging

masigasig ang paghahandang military para sa pagtatanggol ng bansa. Tinawag ang Philippine Army sa
serbisyo ng Estados Unidos at itinatag ang isang pinagsamang lakas ng Estados Unidos at Pilipinas na
tinaguriang US Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). Ibinalik mula sa pagreretiro si Hen. Douglas
MacArthur at itinalagang puno ng hukbo. Pinalahok ang mga reserbistang Pilipino at ipinasok sa serbisyo
para sa Estados Unidos at agad binigyan ng panibagong pagsasanay. Ang karagdagang lakas, kabilang ang
modernong B-17 bombers, bagong submarino at tangke ay nagsimulang dumating mula sa Estados Unidos.
Ayon sa iskedyul ni MacArthur, magiging ganap ang kanyang kahandaan sa Marso 1942. Ngunit pumutok
ang digmaan noong Disyembre 8, 1941, habang patuloy pa ang mga paghahandang militar at sibilyan.

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 Ang pahayagang Amerikano na The Tribune ang naglalathala ng araw-araw na kaganapan sa
Pilipinas sa panahong ito ay nasakop ng mga Hapones. Hinangong larawan mula sa Google.

Ilalahad at susuriin sa modyul na ito ang ilang piling primaryang batis sa panahon ng pananakop ng
mga Hapones sa Pilipinas gaya ng “Breaking the Silence” (gunita ng digmaan), “Bataan Has Fallen,” at ang
“Pahayag ni Heneral Masaharu Homma sa mga Pilipino” noong 1942.

II. Sipi Mula sa “Breaking the Silence”

Disyembre 9, 1941 nang kumalat sa mga pahayagan sa Maynila ang ginawang pagbobomba ng
Japan sa Pearl Harbor, isang base militar ng Estados Unidos sa Hawaii. Sa pangambang magkakaroon ng
maraming nakakapinsalang pagbobombang isasagawa ang mga Hapones, maraming Pilipino ang nagsilikas
sa ligtas na mga dako at nagsimulang mag-ipon at magtago ng mga pagkain.

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 Headline sa pahayagang ito sa Honolulu, Hawaii ang ginawang pag-atake ng Japan sa Pearl
Harbor at Maynila noong Disyembre 1942. Hinangong larawan mula sa Google.

Tunghayan sa ibaba ang sipi mula sa gunita ng digmaan na isinulat ni Lourdes Reyes Montinola na
pinamagatang “Breaking the Silence.” Anak ni Nicanor Reyes, tagapagtatag ng Far Eastern University (FEU),
si Montinola ay 14 na taong gulang nang sumiklab ang digmaan noong 1941. Namatay ang kanyang ama,
ina, at mga nakababatang kapatid na babae at lalaki nang pinasok ng puwersang Hapones ang kanilang
tahanan sa Agno Street, Malate noong Pebrero 9, 1945. Siya lamang ang tanging nakaligtas sa patayang ito
na naganap. Ito ang naisulat ni Montinola ugnay sa pagsisimula ng digmaan:

Primaryang Batis: Sipi Mula sa “Breaking the Silence”

“At first, the war had been an exciting novelty for us children. It meant only a timely interruption to
examinations. I was with mother and Lola Maria on the way to Antipolo to hear early mass on December
8, 1941, it being the feast of the Immaculate Concepcion. We sensed something was wrong as crowds
huddled in many stops, and even traffic policemen seemed to be distracted. When we inquired what was
going on, we were told that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. War had been declared by America! This meant
that the Philippines was also at war!
We turned back home, to the great relief of Father, who was anxiously waiting in our carport. I
wondered why Mother and Father were so alarmed. To me, Pearl Harbor and America were far away. All
I could think of were the suman and Antipolo clay pots that we had missed buying.”
Pinagkunan: Montinola, Lourdes R. Breaking the Silence (Quezon
City: University of the Philippines Press, 1996)

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Mga Gabay na Tanong:
1. Paano tinuring ni Montinola ang balitang kanyang nasagap ugnay sa digmaan sa Pasipiko
(pagbomba sa Pearl Harbor, Hawaii ng mga puwersang Hapones)?
2. Bago mapag-alaman na nagsimula na ang digmaan, ano-ano ang mga napansin ni Montinola?
3. Ano ang mga saloobin at nasa isipan ng isang 14 na taong gulang na babae tungkol sa balita ng
pagbobomba sa Pearl Harbor? Ano ang nais ipabatid nito sa usapin ng pag-aaral ng mga primaryang
batis?

III. “Bataan Has Fallen”

Apat na oras matapos mabomba ang Pearl Harbor, ang mga eroplanong pandigma ng Japan ay
bumomba sa iba’t ibang panig ng Pilipinas. Binomba ng mga Hapones ang mga lungsod ng Baguio at Davao
sa unang araw ng digmaan. Higit na mainit ang pagbomba sa Clark Field, Pampanga noong ding Disyembre
8 na sumira sa maaraming eroplanong pansagupa at pambomba ng puwersa ni MacArthur.
Mula sa unang araw ng digmaan, kinontrol na ng mga Hapones ang himpapawid. Noong Disyembre
10, binomba nila at ganap na nawasak ang pangunahing baseng nabal ng Estados Unidos sa Cavite.
Napuwersa tuloy ang US Asiatic Fleet na iwan ang Manila Bay bilang sentro ng operasyon. Kaya Nawala rin
ang kontrol ng Amerikano sa karagatan sa mga unang araw pa lang ng digmaan. Sa pagbomba sa mismong
Maynila, nagkaroon ng kaguluhan – lumikas sa Maynila ang mga sibilyan; nagkaroon ng nakawan; at
naubusan ng pera ang mga bangko.
Nang makitang hindi nagtatagumpay ang kanyang planong pandalampasigan, iniatas ni MacArthur
noong Gabi ng Kapaskuhan 1941 ang pagsasakatuparan ng “War Plan Orange.” Idineklara ang Maynila
bilang isang “Open City” na sa ilalim ng batas ng mga bansa ay hindi dapat bombahin. Standard defense
plan ng US Army para sa Pilipinas ang “War Plan Orange” na kinapapalooban ng pag-atras ng lahat ng
puwersa mula sa Maynila patungo sa peninsula ng Bataan at kuta ng Corregidor, at mula dito’y bantayan
ang lagusan patungo sa Manila Bay habang naghihintay ng reinforcement mula sa Estados Unidos. Dahil
wala nang puwersang militar sa Maynila, wala nang dahilan ang mga Hapones para bombahin ang lungsod.
Kaya layunin ng deklarasyong open city na iligtas ang Maynila mula sa higit pang pananalakay. Gayunpaman,
nagpatuloy pa rin sa pagbomba sa lungsod ang mga Hapones na humantong sa maraming pagkamatay at
pagkawasak ng mga ari-arian.
Magkasamang nagtanggol ang mga sundalong Pilipino at Amerikano sa Bataan na umaasa ng
reinforcement mula sa Estados Unidos. Sa kasawiang-palad, hindi dumating ang mga reinforcement dahil
labis na napilay ang American Pacific Fleet sa Pearl Harbor at kontrolado ng mga Hapones ang karagatan at
himpapawid sa Pilipinas. Dahil nakikita na ang pagsuko ng puwersang Pilipino-Amerikano, inilikas sa
Australia mula Corregidor sina Pangulong Quezon at Hen. MacArthur. Pinamunuan ni MacArthur ang
pagdedepensa sa Australia ngunit nangako sa mga Pilipino na siya’y magbabalik. Inilikas si Quezon sa
Washington, D.C. para panguluhan ang Komonwelt ng Pilipinas na nasa destiyero.

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 Ang pagsuko ng Bataan ay inanunsyo ng USAFFE Broadcast Station mula sa Malinta Tunnel sa
Corregidor noong Abril 9, 1942. Hinangong larawan mula sa Google.

Patuloy na lumaban ang mga tagapagtanggol ng Bataan ngunit nadagdagan ng reinforcement ang
mga Hapones at naglunsad ng pangkalahatang pagsalakay noong Biyernes Santo, Abril 3, 1942. Dahil sa
kakulangan sa pagkain at gamot, napilitang sumuko1 ang mga tagapagtanggol sa harap ng matinding
pananalakay ng mga Hapones noong Abril 9, 1942. Noong tanghali ng Abril 9, ang pagsuko ng Bataan ay
inanunsyo ng USAFFE Broadcast Station mula sa Malinta Tunnel sa Corregidor. Ang mensahe ay isinulat ni
Capt. Salvador P. Lopez at ito’y inanunsyo sa radyo ni Lt. Norman Reyes. Ang nagsulat ng mensahe na si
Salvador P. Lopez ay naging pangulo ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas noong 1969. Tunghayan ang “Bataan Has
Fallen” bilang isang primaryang batis.

Primaryang Batis: “Bataan Has Fallen”

“Bataan has fallen. The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and bloodstained peninsula have
laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers
of the enemy.
The world will long remember the epic struggle that Filipino and American soldiers put up in the
jungle fastness and along the rugged coast of Bataan. They have stood up uncomplaining under the constant
and grueling fire of the enemy for more than three months. Besieged on land and blockaded by sea, cut off

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Pagkaraan ng pagsuko, ang mga pagod, gutom, at maysakit na tagapagtanggol ay pinilit na lumakad palabas ng Bataan
sa tinatawag na “Death March,” na kinamatayan ng libo-libong sundalong Pilipino at Amerikano dahil sa matinding
hirap at dahas. Pinalakad hanggang sa San Fernando, Pampanga ang mga nabuhay bago sila isiniksik sa mga saradong
bagon at ibiniyahe sakay ng tren patungo sa kulungan sa Capas, Tarlac. Marami pang tagapagtanggol ang namatay
doon.

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from all sources of help in the Philippines and in America, the intrepid fighters have done all that human
endurance could bear.
For what sustained them through all these months of incessant battle was a force that was more
than merely physical. It was the force of an unconquerable faith – something in the heart and soul that
physical hardship and adversity could not destroy. It was the thought of native land and all that it holds
most dear, the thought of freedom and dignity and pride in these most priceless of all our human
prerogatives.
The adversary, in the pride of his power and triumph, will credit our troops with nothing less than
the courage and fortitude that his own troops have shown in battle. Our men have fought a brave and
bitterly contested struggle. All the world will testify to the most superhuman endurance with which they
stood up until the last in the face of overwhelming odds.
But the decision had to come. Men fighting under the banner of unshakable faith are made of
something more than flesh, but they are not made of impervious steel. The flesh must yield at last, endurance
melts away, and the end of the battle must come.
Bataan has fallen, but the spirit that made it stand – a beacon to all the liberty-loving peoples of the
world cannot fall!
All of us know the story of Easter Sunday. It was the triumph of light over darkness, life over death.
It was the vindication of a seemingly unreasonable faith. It was the glorious resurrection of a leader, only
three days before defeated and executed like a common felon.
Today, on the commemoration of that Resurrection, we can humbly and without presumption
declare our faith and hope in our own resurrection, our own inevitable victory.
We, too, were betrayed by Judases. We were taken in the night by force of arms, and though we
had done wrong to no man, our people were bound and delivered into the hands of our enemies. We have
been with mock symbols of sovereignty, denied by weaklings, lashed with repeated oppression, tortured
and starved. We have been given gall to drink, and we have shed our blood. To those who look upon us
from afar it must seem the Filipino people have descended into hell, into the valley of death. But we know
that the patient and watching men who said their simple prayers in the hills of Bataan, have not lost faith,
and we know that the hushed congregations in the churches throughout the land, drew from the gospel as
Mass renewed hope in their resurrection. To all of them we give today the message of the angel of Easter
morning: “Be not afraid, for He is risen.”
We, too, shall rise. After we have paid the full price of our redemption, we shall return to show the
scars of sacrifices that all may touch and believe. When the trumpets sound the hour we shall roll aside the
stone before the tomb and the tyrant guards shall scatter in confusion. No wall of stone shall then be strong
enough to contain us, no human force shall suffice to hold us in subjection, we shall rise in the name of
freedom and the East shall be alight with the glory of our liberation.”
Pinagkunan: “Bataan Has Fallen.” Inakses sa http://malacanang.gov.ph/1226-bataan-has-fallen/

Mga Gabay na Tanong:

1. Bakit sumuko ang Bataan sa mga Hapones?
2. Ano ang mga ideya/prinsipyo na nakaimpluwensiya sa mga Pilipinong magpatuloy sa pakikipaglaban
sa mga Hapones?
3. Para sa mga tao sa buong mundo na nagmamahal sa kalayaan at kasarinlan, saan o ano ang
kinakatawanan ng Bataan?
4. Bakit mas nararapat na gunitain ang Abril 9 hindi bilang isang “Araw ng Pagsuko/Pagbagsak” kundi
isang “Araw ng Kagitingan”?

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 IV. Ang Pahayag ni Hen. Masaharu Homma sa mga Pilipino noong Agosto 3, 1942
Ang “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” ay isang imperyal na konseptong nilikha at ipinahayag
ng mga Hapones sa kanilang mga nasakop na teritoryo sa Asya noong mga taong 1930-1945. Nilalayon
nitong maglikha ng isang may kakayanan sa sarili na mga bansang Asyano na Malaya sa impluwensiya ng
mga kanluraning puwersa sa pangunguna ng Japan.
Ang Pilipinas para sa mga sundalong Hapones ay isang teritoryo na mapagkukunan nila ng mga likas
na yaman na kailangan nila sa kanilang umuunlad na industriya at mga kayamanang magagamit nila sa
pakikidigma gaya ng mga bulak, abaka, kopra, goma, langis, pagkain, atbp.

Si Hen. Masaharu Homma, Commander-in-Chief ng Japanese Imperial Forces sa Pilipinas.

Hinangong larawan mula sa Google.

Noong Agosto 3, 1942, ipinaliwanag sa mga Pilipino ni Hen. Masaharu Homma, Commander-in-
Chief ng Japanese Imperial Forces sa Pilipinas ang dahilan kung bakit nila sinakop ang bansa kasama na ang
ideya o propaganda ng “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” (Sama-samang Kasaganaan sa Lalong
Malaking Silangang Asya). Tunghayan ang mga pahayag na ito ni Homma.

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 Mapang nagpapakita ng yugto-yugtong pormasyon ng Imperyong Japan ayon sa “Greater East
Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.” Hinangong larawan sa Google.

Primaryang Batis: Ang Pahayag ni Hen. Homma sa mga Pilipino, Agosto 3, 1942

“The ideal of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is to establish, under the spirit of
universal brotherhood, a firm and enduring structure by consolidating Asia for the Asians and to create
a permanent and lasting sphere of happiness and well- being for the peoples within the great area having
geographical affinity. The process to realize this ideal is none other than by the related people uniting
themselves under the leadership of Japan, and by solidifying the bond of union, marching forward along
the road of economic and political progress as a unit of peoples directly concerned with their own well-
being and holding the common ideal. The great aspiration of Japan since the founding of the Empire has
been “To Make the Universe a Home.” The aim is to see every people and every nation acquire their
rightful position under the sun. It is our firm conviction that the reconstruction of East Asia with closer
relationship among its peoples, with Japan as their spiritual support, will bring about not only the
realization of the state of mutual well-being and prosperity, but also the establishment of an enduring
peace among mankind.
The ideal held by Japan has shone brilliantly under the august rule of His Majesty the Emperor
and has remained undimmed throughout 2600 years of her history; and it is clearly observable by the train
of events, how the ideal has steadily approached realisation. Japan’s participation in the Greater East Asia
War was motivated in one respect by the need to discipline the Anglo-American Powers that have heedless
of high principle, and in choosing to abandon themselves to the haughty concept of the superiority of
material civilisation, they dared to tyrannize East Asia with permanent oppression; it was to drive out
their malignant influence far and away from East Asia. That it was our intention to accomplish this is, of
course, well understood. But the profounder motive has little to do with the transient problems of economy
or natural resources.
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 It lies unquestionably with the determination to establish the Greater East Asia Co- Prosperity
Sphere. It is imperative that the Filipino people identify themselves with this great ideal and this great
mission if they would clearly comprehend the essential meaning of the Greater East Asia War and its
inevitable course.
The modest attitude with which Japan had been constrained to deal with the Anglo-American
Powers in the past decades, was not in any way due to her lack of national strength. It is because she had
hopes that those Powers might somehow undergo a transition and learn to desist from their arrogant
tactics by a conscientious reversion to justice. But the Anglo-American Powershot only failed to
reconsider their transgressions, but they deliberately chose to misinterpret the just cause of Japan, and
perished obstinately in their ways of obstruction; and in ignoring the precept of international good faith
continued they efforts for oppression by nefarious activities both behind the scenes and in the open. They
finally arrived at the point of threatening the very existence of the Japanese Empire. The ABCD (Allied
Powers) encirclement policy is a clear evidence of the fact. Laboring under a perennial delusion and in
being ignorant of the latent power deep within the structure of the Japanese nation, they brought it upon
themselves to commit the stupidity of digging their own graves.
You know all that within less than six months of the war, Japan already holds the supremacy of
the Pacific, and all the bases of Anglo-American aggression in East Asia have been completely wiped
out by the might of the Imperial Forces. If there are some among you who still hold to the belief that
the peace of the Philippines was broken by the coming of the Japanese Forces, such a superficial
viewpoint can only be considered as the product of a chronic pro-Americanism. It is not worth the effort
to redeem such people from their illusion. The actual cause of the Greater East Asia War is attributable,
in essence, to the Anglo-American foreign policies, particularly the devastation and the chaos it
engendered lies squarely with the instigator of the war, the United States.
In the respect, it should be mentioned that the United States in exercising its sovereignty over the
Philippines as her territory, organised and trained the Philippine Army to fight Japan. Therefore, both,
actually and theoretically, the Philippines was our enemy. But our country, although regarding the
United States as our specific enemy, did not consider the Filipino people as such, and rather went so far
as to say that if the Filipino people were able to understand our supreme motives and would collaborate
with us in the construction of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, due consideration would be
given to a policy of according independence. You can readily see from this single fact how this war differs
from all others and how it is exalted war waged upon the basis of the great principle upheld by Japan
since the foundation of the country.
Since landing in the Philippines with the Army under my command, I gave explicit orders to my
men, though the American forces are our enemy, always to treat the innocent Filipino people with
kindness and consideration and to refrain, without just because, from endangering their daily existence.
On the various sectors of the front, it was my express desire even to save the lives of the Filipino soldiers
pledging loyalty to the United States and furiously fighting against us under American command. The
fervent efforts I made to prevent unnecessary bloodshed is a matter that must be still fresh in your
memory.
In direct contrast, the devastation of towns and villages by incendiarism was the work of the
American forces who, out of spite, carried out their purposeless “scorched earth” tactics. Under no
circumstances have the Japanese Army destroyed homes of innocent people or set them on fire unless
for exceptional justifiable reasons, and I can swear to this by God and Heaven. Nevertheless, and despite
my humane policy and my repeated advice to capitulate, tens of thousands of Filipinos, believing in some
“ultimate victory” by the Americans, persisted in their futile opposition to the end. This senseless
resistance resulted not only in their own heavy casualties but also in the incurring of additional sacrifices
of the men of the Imperial Forces. If it were not that I bore in my heart the ideal and the faith in the
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 realization of the establishment of Greater East Asia, it might have been simple for me to subject all the
Filipino soldiers to wholesale extermination. Why forebear to carry out what difficult to forebear and
turn to the task of the reconstruction of peace in the Philippines? This question I leave to those of you
who are able to understand the meaning of great principles.
Today, it is true that the flames of war have subsided in the Philippines, and suspicious indications
of peace are gradually evident throughout the country. But unfortunately, it cannot be said that order and
security prevails completely over the whole Archipelago. This point is important. If now you fail to become
conscious of the significance of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and the important share to
be borne and the duty and the mission to be performed by the Philippines, you not only will be exposing
a decadent aspect, but soon you will return once again to the conditions when you were helpless under the
fetters of American control and be utterly of no consequence in the new framework rising in
accompaniment with the dynamic changes in the international situation.
But once you are able to perceive our determination in the prosecution of the Greater East Asia
War with the idea of creating new world history, you would spontaneously come to understand how
much is being expected of the political, economic, and the industrial capacity of the Philippines. I am
fully aware that you are experiencing inconveniences and hardships in your daily lives. But such
distresses are inseparable with wars that are destined to create new history. Birth is usually
accompanied by pain. In reality, it is but the same kind of suffering you underwent during the days
long ago when you sought, without success, to create a new Philippines.
Today, the Japanese people aspiring to the construction of a new Great East Asia are overcoming
similar difficulties with an indomitable will. And in distant Europe, the peoples of Germany and Italy
are doing the same in the struggle to accomplish their aim of establishing a new order in Europe. Even
on the other side of the Pacific, there are people likewise undergoing hardships, although in their case,
it is a doomed struggle, as a result of their being misled by their own statesmen. In comparison with
others, you are infinitely more fortunate.
At such a time, in anticipation of your resolution and your determination, I am eager to see the rise
of a national spirit equal to the occasion. It may be that there are countless numbers among the
innocent people who, on account of the flames of war, have been suffering because of separation from
their dear ones. Others may have been witness to their own fortune going up in flames. There may be
also numerous others who, through no fault of their own, are wandering aimlessly knowing not where
to turn. There is, however, only one way to recompense for the losses and to rise with a dauntless
courage and to turn to the great task of building for the future.
In the construction of the New Philippines, the first step must necessarily be the laying of the
spiritual foundation which is the vital nucleus of culture, and around which politics, economy, industry
and education are based. That is the spiritual foundation? It comes of your return to the original racial
characteristics, to the pure Filipino traditions, after ridding the masque of Occidental culture. First under
Spanish rule, and then for a period of 40 odd years under American domination, the life of the Filipinos,
as Orientals, was obliterated to suit the designs of the Americans. As a result, the Oriental traditions, of
humanity and morale were effaced. The Filipino people turned to follow an easy -going life, consuming
more than producing, and were led to hedonism and extravagance, conscious only of today, and oblivious
of the morrow. Their sound racial characteristics were lost and they became the bold imitators of the
American way of life which is devoid of introspection. It will be for persons with aspirations to retrieve
in there lives, the manners and the customs and the innate qualities of honesty and fortitude, diligence
and of being hardworking, and frugality and thrift, that pulse in the veins of Oriental peoples.
The American policy that considered the Philippines only as a stepping-stone for their aggression in
the Orient, cultivated, in a manner unperceived by the Filipinos, the disposition to worship things
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 European and American by divesting the virtue and the charm peculiar to the people of the Orient, from
their daily life. That infused the frame of mind which propelled to materialism. The corruptive custom
of showing excessive esteem toward the weaker sex, which was produced by the American influence, led
to the breakdown of the time-honoured principle of the East to respect the head of the family. And the
deficiency of the spirit for hardworking which is the common failing among the peoples of the tropics,
served to make of them a people disposed to idleness and pleasure- seeking. Morality became vanity; the
spirit of speculation. Democratic ideas solicited the entertainment of political bickering and struggles
which all too often the interests of people for sheer political expediency.
I propose to speak frankly. So long as you are unable to free yourself from the obsession for that
Americanism which has undermined your life and vitality, you will continue to deteriorate spiritually and
will finally be led to the very brink of racial extinction. Arouse yourselves! I challenge particularly the
younger generation who are destined to shoulder the responsibilities of the new Philippines. The rebirth
of the Philippines can only be accomplished by shedding yourselves of the degenerating influence of
American culture which is based upon individualism, liberalism and democracy and of becoming once
more a genuine Oriental people.
It is only too evident that the construction of a new Philippines in conformity with the new conditions
cannot be neglected even for a single day. Daily life must be made secure, and the foundation of an
agricultural country consolidated, and plans be made for the development of industry. But by far the most
pressing need of the moment is to effect, with a new, vibrant spirit, a revolutionary change in your daily
existence.
It is necessary to understand that true independence is not mere ostentation. Its essence lies in the
perfection of the capacity for self-sustenance. The first requisite necessary to become an independent
people is the awakening to the need of a resolute and constructive spirit, and for each individual to awaken
to the consciousness that he is an integral part of Greater East Asia. This includes the abandonment of the
easy, day-to-day manner of living. You must speedily liquidate the old way of life characterized by the
habit of depending upon others for economic and spiritual support. You must begin to live within the
confidence and the conviction befitting an Oriental people and seek the perfection of a truly Filipino
culture. To long for independence without striving to qualify for that honour is as useless as it is vain.
As a leopard cannot change its spots, you cannot alter the fact that you are Orientals. Why should
you follow the dictates of Europe and America with an inferiority complex? The time has come to assert
yourselves as an Oriental people and to gain for yourselves, in company with other kindred races having
geographical affinity, your proper place in the universal order of things. The times strongly call for a
great spiritual revolution. Without it, a glorious future for the New Philippines would be an absolute
impossibility.

Pinagkunan: Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration, Manila, 1942, Vol.6, pp. XV-XX.
Matutunghayan din sa Official Gazette, Manila, Vol. 1, No. 8, August 1942, pp. 492-495.

Mga Gabay na Tanong:

1. Ano ang layunin ng “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” ayon kay Hen. Homma?
2. Paano makikinabang ang mga Pilipino kapag makiisa sila sa layunin at propaganda ng “Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”?
3. Paano makakaapekto ang pakikiisa ng mga Pilipino sa propagandang ito ng mga Hapones sa
kanilang pakikitungo sa mga Amerikano?
4. Ano ang kaparusahan sa mga Pilipinong susuway sa patakaran ng mga Hapones ayon sa pahayag
ni Homma?

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 5. Magbigay ng reaksyon kapag tinugon ng mga Pilipino ang pahayag ni Hen. Homma na bumalik ang
mga ito (Pilipino) sa kanilang Oryental/Asyanong ugat o kultura.

Paglalagom
Tinalakay sa modyul na ito ang kontekstong historikal ng pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Asya.
Sentral dito ang paglalahad at pagsusuri sa ilang piling primaryang batis sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga
Hapones sa Pilipinas gaya ng “Breaking the Silence,” isang gunita ng digmaan ni Montinola, “Bataan Has
Fallen,” isang mensahe sa radyo na isinulat ni Capt. Lopez at ang “Pahayag ni Heneral Masaharu Homma sa
mga Pilipino” noong 1942.

Sa kabila ng magagandang pangako ng mga Hapones sa pahayag ni Homma at sa propaganda nilang

“Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” sadyang hindi nakuha ng mga Hapones ang suporta ng
sambayanang Pilipino dahil na rin sa ipinakita nilang kalupitan at pagpapahirap sa mga ito. Sa loob ng
mahigit tatlong taon, ang mga Pilipino ay nagtiis ng gutom, sakit, at pagpapahirap ng mga Hapones na galit
na galit sa hindi pakikiisa ng mga Pilipino sa kanila.

Pagpapaganang Pagtataya
Pagtalakay sa Paksa (25 puntos)
• Pumili lamang ng isang tanong na sasagutan. Ikaw ay mamarkahan sa pamamagitan ng rubrik na
nasa Schoolbook.
1. Ipaliwanag kung bakit binomba ng mga Hapones ang Pearl Harbor at sinalakay ang Pilipinas? May
katuwiran kaya siya sa ginawang ito?
2. Magbigay ng sariling reaksyon sa pahayag ni Homma sa mga Pilipino noong 1942.
3. Bilang isang Pilipino, ano ang halaga sa iyo ng Bataan?
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 Mga Sanggunian

Agoncillo, T. A. (1980). Ang Pilipinas at ang mga Pilipino noon at ngayon. Ikalawang Edisyon. Lungsod
Quezon: Garotech Publishing.

“Bataan Has Fallen.” Inakses sa http://malacanang.gov.ph/1226-bataan-has-fallen/

Gripaldo, E. M. et al. (2005). Kasaysayan ng Filipinas at mga institusyong Filipino. Lungsod Quezon: Sentro
ng Wikang Filipino-Diliman, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas.

Montinola, L. R. (1996). Breaking the silence. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Mujal, R. M. (2021). Modyul 12: Pahayag/talumpati ni Hen. Masaharu Homma sa mga Pilipino (1942).
Hinango mula sa Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration, Manila, 1942, Vol.6, pp. XV-
XX. Matutunghayan din sa Official Gazette, Manila, Vol. 1, No. 8, August 1942, pp. 492-495.

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