The first known leader of the guerrilla movement was a local of Siquijor, 3rd Lt. Iluminado Jumawan. He organized the guerrilla unit of Siquijor in July 1942 and was responsible for the assassination of Japanese appointed civilian Deputy Governor of Siquijor – Shunzo Suzuki. He and his men also succeeded in driving off future Japanese landings in August 1942 onwards. It has been said that “there were no troops in Siquijor from August 1942 until late June 1943.”
By this time, mid-1942, the guerrilla forces in Negros Oriental – the province in which Siquijor Island belonged to – was still in its inchoative stage. After several negotiations, Mr. Henry Roy Bell and Dr. Arthur Carson [both from Silliman University] tried to convince Major Placido Ausejo, who recently just returned to Negros Oriental [specifically in Basay] from the Mindanao Campaigns, to become the overall head of the guerrilla unit here in Negros Oriental.
As head of Negros Oriental guerrilla unit – or the 75th Infantry Regiment, Maj. Ausejo then created four subsectors in Negros Oriental. Subsector 1 would cover Tanjay to Vallehermoso, to be headed by Captain Hermenigildo Mercado; Subsector 2 from Luzuriaga to Amlan, under Captain Leon Flores; Subsector 3 from Bacong to Tolong, under Captain Felix Estrade; and Siquijor Island belonged to Subsector 4, under Major Benito Cunanan.
Records state that there were two battalions of guerrilla forces assigned to Siquijor. However, from the organization report of the 75th Infantry Regiment dated 25 December 1942, there was only one battalion consisting of four companies: HQ CO [Pulangyuta, Siquijor] under 3rd Lt. Antonio Siangco; 1st CO, encompassing Larena to Talingting, under 3rd Lt. Sergio Rocamura; 2nd CO, from Siquijor to San Juan, under 3rd Lt. Iluminado Jumawan; and 3rd CO, from Maria to Lazi, under 3rd Lt. Alfonso Uzarraga.
With the sending a thousand troops to Siquijor on 25 June 1943, and even with mishap of one ship that hit a naval mine, the Japanese forces felt that the guerrilla forces in Siquijor were not so much of a threat to them. Hence, after leaving Siquijor, they only left around 30 Japanese soldiers, stationed in Larena Garrison, and some Bureau of Constabulary (BC) men. Moreover, they also appointed a civilian administrator of the island, who was previously living in Larena [for almost 20 years] before the Japanese occupation, his name was Shunzo Suzuki.
But leaving Siquijor behind in the hands of a civilian administrator was a mistake. The Japanese forces seemed to have underestimated the guerrilla forces in Siquijor. They did not think that the guerrillas were capable of harassing Japanese war efforts in the island. With the organization of Subsector 4 under the 75th Infantry Regiment, and with renewed sense of purpose, the local guerrilla forces of Siquijor fought against the remnants of Japanese imperial forces in the island.
Lt. Iluminado Jumawan led the way as he and his men ambushed and assassinated Shunzo Suzuki, the Japanese appointed civilian governor of Siquijor. The men under Major Cunanan also were able to repel off future Japanese landings from August 1942 onwards.
Unfortunately, this would just last a year since in early June 1943, Lt. Col. Luis P. Morgan – General Fertig’s Chief of Staff in Mindanao – appointed Major Cunanan as commander of the 8th Military District (Cebu and Bohol) without even consulting General Fertig himself. As a result, Cunanan travelled to Cebu to assume command of the 8th Military District, but his appointment was disputed by the guerrillas who were already fighting in Cebu long before his arrival. Due to this misunderstanding between Fertig’s 10th Military District and the 8th Military District of Cebu, Major Cunanan had no choice but to leave Cebu and return to Negros Oriental. He then went on to serve Lt. Col. Abcede, acting as the HQ Commandant of the 7th Military District (Negros Island and Siquijor).
The Japanese forces then led an invasion of Siquijor in June 1943, just after Major Cunanan left, and the guerrillas were forced to retreat to the hills of Siquijor. However, this did not stop them from continuing to harass the successive Japanese forces that landed and reinforced Siquijor. In fact, according to reports, there were still around 400-500 guerrillas stationed in Siquijor Island from October to November 1944. And these men continued to harass the Japanese forces by burning bridges, cutting supply and communication lines, destroying trucks and vehicles used by the Japanese soldiers and their collaborators, and wounding several Japanese soldiers through sniper fire.
By 10 December 1944, 2nd Lt. Eduardo Cornelia served as the commander of the reorganized Siquijor guerrillas, which was designated as M Company of the 75th Regiment, 73rd Division, under the 7th Military District. Also by this time the Japanese forces have declined in numbers since most of them, under the 174th Independent Infantry Battalion of Colonel Satoshi Oie, withdrew and returned to Negros Oriental to focus on defending Dumaguete airfield and consolidating their forces for a possible American invasion of the province.
It must be emphasized that the Japanese imperial forces only stayed in Siquijor for roughly a year and a half – from June 25, 1943 to November 16, 1944. What could have been the reason why they only stayed in Siquijor for a short period of time? Was Siquijor not an important island to them? From primary accounts, it seemed that Siquijor was mostly used by the Japanese as a transit point for their naval ships that went from Cebu to Mindanao and vice versa. Another reason why they maintained a small detachment in Siquijor was to exploit the manganese mines of Larena, which they used for their war efforts (Manganese was an important mineral used in making – or strengthening – steel). And when the manganese mines in Larena, Siquijor fell under the hands of the guerrilla forces, the Japanese then found no purpose anymore to stay in the island.
However, before they left, the Japanese forces – specifically the Hamasaki Unit – committed a plethora of egregious crimes from October to November 1944. More on the Hamasaki Unit and the war crimes committed by the Japanese forces in Siquijor in my next column.
To be continued.
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Author’s email: JJAbulado@norsu.edu.ph
