e Philippines

CARLOS HILADO MEMORIAL STATE COLLEGE

egros Occidental

Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades

Prepared by: Joenard O. Linco, MEd

The Japanese Period in the Philippines

American’s Reason of Occupying Philippines:

• The strategic location of the Philippines in the far east as stated by then President
Theodore Roosevelt to Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood;
• Pres. Roosevelt expressed apprehension over Japan’s rise to power to Elihu Root.
• Pres. Roosevelt wrote Secretary of War William H. Taft to give immediate independence to
the Philippines to avoid a Japanese attack.
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur built up a Filipino army sufficient to repel foreign invasion.
• The Philippine Commonwealth passed Commonwealth Act No. 1, the National Defense Act,
which provided for a citizens army.

Japanese activities in Asia:

• It invaded Manchuria in 1932 and China proper in 1937.
• In 1940, it invaded Indo-China and occupied the whole French colony in 1941.
• Because of this, on July 26, 1941, the Philippine reserve and regular forces were
incorporated into the US Army under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. This
combined force was called the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).

Sanctions on Japan:
• US, UK, and Holland imposed economic sanctions on Japan.
• US froze Japan assets in the US so Japan cannot use them to its advantage.
• In September 1941, Japan sent Admiral K. Nomura to Washington to discuss
AmericanJapanese problems.
• While Nomura was presenting his government’s peace proposal to Secretary of State
Cordell Hull, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.
• On December 8, 1941, 1:00PM, the US Senate declared war against Japan without a
dissenting vote. Ten minutes later, the US House of Representatives declared war with one
dissenting vote.
• UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill facing the House of Commons, announced to the
world that should US be involved in war against Japan, UK will follow within the hour.
• The European war starting in 1941 now became the Second World War.

Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, and Japan

Allied Powers – UK, USSR, France, and USA (after the bombing of Pearl Harbor)

Japan’s purpose of occupying Asia:

1. It wanted to strike immediately at the rich British and Dutch colonies of Malaya (a Birtish
colony) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).
2. The Japanese had to destroy the American Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor and then to attack
Philippines in order to cut American communication in the Pacific.

Japanese’s purpose of coming to the Philippines:

1. To have a market of their surplus goods;
 2. To use its resources to supply its war machine
3. To have accommodation for their excess population;

Japan’s Offensives:
1. Japan struck Guam and Midway Island, Malaysia and Singapore.
2. It bombed Clark Field in Pampanga on December 8, 1941 along with Davao, Aparri,
Baguio, Nichols Field, and Sangley Point in Cavite.

SS Mayon – the ship which transported Quezon and company to Corregidor.

1941
Date Event
December 24, 1941 MacArthur ordered Quezon to leave for Corregidor. Those chosen to
accompany him were his family, Secretary of Justice Jose Abad Santos, VP
Sergio Osmena, Gen. Basilio Valdes, and Col. Manuel Nieto. Jose P. Laurel
was sworn in as Secretary of Justice taking the place of Abad Santos.
December 26, 1941 Gen. MacArthur declared Manila City an open city and withdrew guns from
the city in order to comply with the international standards of an open city.

• But Japan continued to bomb Manila including Sto. Domingo Church,

Intendencia Bldg. (now Central Bank), San Juan de Letran, Santa
Catalina College, and the offices of Philippines Herald, Mabuhay, and
Monday Mail.
• A rumor was spread that the US B-24s, powerful American bombers,
have arrived in Manila and will fight the Japanese bombers.
December 30, 1941 Quezon took his oath of office as President of the Commonwealth, marking
his second term.

Gen. Masaharu Homma – the commander in chief of the Japanese

Imperial Forces

1942
Date Event
January 2, 1942 • Manila became a Japanese-occupied city
• Gen. MacArthur ordered his field commanders to retreat the army in
Bataan peninsula. It was a wise decision for he had kept his military
intact.

January 3, 1942 Gen. Homma proclaimed the end of the American occupation and the
purpose of the Japanese expedition
January 23, 1942 Homma issued an order to Jorge B. Vargas making him the Chairman of the
executive Commission. The national government was renamed the Central
Administrative Organization composed of 6 executive departments: Interior,
Finance, Justice, Agriculture and Commerce, Education, Health, and Public
Welfare, and Public Works and Communications each with a Japanese
adviser and assistant adviser.

April 9, 1942 • The fall of Bataan. The forces in Bataan surrendered under Gen.
Edward P. King
 • Around 78,000 men were included in the surrender while around 2,000
escaped to Corregidor.
• Wainwright was in Corregidor and King’s surrender was an individual
surrender. This surrender ended the Battle of Bataan.

Death March – the march of Filipino and American soldiers from Bataan to
San Fernando, Pampanga.

May 6, 1942 The fall of Corregidor. Gen. Wainwright addressed a message to Gen.
Homma through the “Voice of Freedom” offering to surrender.

June 18, 1943 The KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) was
instructed to form the Preparatory Commission for the Philippine
Independence. Jose P. Laurel was President, and Benigno S. Aquino and
Ramon Avancena as VPs.
October 14, 1943 The establishment of the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic with the
Japanese-Sponsored Philippine Constitution

Jose P. Laurel – president of the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic

The Tragedy of Capas - consisted of the betrayal of the sick soldiers by their fortunate
comrades-in-arms of food and medicine.

Premier Hideki Tozyo – Japanese Premier during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. He
messaged the Filipinos that independence be granted to them so long as it cooperates and
recognizes Japan’s program of GEACPS

Mickey Mouse money – money issued by the Japanese in the Philippines which caused people to
have much money and which caused the prices of goods to increase.

Bigasang Bayan (BIBA) – was organized to control the procurement and distribution of rice and
other cereals.

Kempeitai – Japanese Military police

Samurai sword – used by the Kempeitai in the beheading of suspected and known guerillas

Battle of Philippine Sea and the Liberation

• Japan sent 9 carriers with 473 aircraft but their crews were poorly trained against the
American Forces.
• 58 aircraft shot down out of 200 and 3 carrier sunk.
• February 23, 1945 Manila was finally retaken from the enemy.
• August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber plane, the Enola gay piloted by the commander of 509 th
composite group Col. Paul Tibbets took off from the runway of Tinian Island heading towards
the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
• Enola gay was carrying a Uranium bombed nicknamed “Little Boy”

• At 8:15 AM Hiroshima time from the altitude of 31,000 feet, the bomber released th Little
Boy and at 1,700 feet it exploded leaving the city covered with smoke.

• August 9, 1945, 3 days after Hiroshima was blown another B-29 bomber piloted by Maj.
Charles W. Sweeney took its flight towards Kokura, the target. The pane named “ Bocks Car”
was carrying a plutonium bomb nicknamed “Fat man”. Its Explosion was estimated to be 21
kilotons, 40 percent greater than the little boy dropped at Hiroshima.
• At 11:02 A.M. at the altitude of 1,600 feet, the second bomb exploded over Nagasaki by
Capt. Kermit K. Beahen dropped the Fat man.
• On August 15, 1945 Japan surrendered to the Allied forces.
• On September 2, 1945 boarded the battleship Missouri at Tokyo bay, the formal
unconditional surrender of japan to the allied Forces was signed. It was remembered Victory
Day of Japan for short V-Day of Japan.

Piat- looks like a play money, Japanese currency that Pilipino jokingly called Mickey mouse
Money.

Kempeitai- The japanese Police who were the number one source of misery, fears and
irritability.