Governor Villanueva’s collaboration case has been left hanging ever since the end of the war. This was mostly because he was not able to live to tell his tale. He was judged mostly by his actions during and right after the war. Many of the guerrillas abhorred him and even thought that he already made some form of connection with the Japanese before the war.
This idea was formulated when they looked at Villanueva’s history. In retrospect, when he was still an assemblyman in 1936, he – along with other Filipino assemblymen (Manuel Alzate, Chairman of the Committee of Foreigh Relations and Pedro Vera, member of the Committee on Appointments) – was sent to Japan, specifically in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Ikko, and Tokyo for “study and goodwill.”
During this time, Villanueva was the chairman of the Committee on Public Instruction. It has been said that these three assemblymen seemed to have the proclivity to support the Japanese and their “point of view”; while, more specifically, Villanueva was known for being a supporter of Japan in the assembly.
Scott Mills, an American historian who wrote a book on Prof. Henry Roy Bell – a faculty of Silliman University who started organizing the guerrillas at the outset of the war, noted another link of Villanueva to Japan. In his book, Mills retold the story of Villanueva’s pre-war preparations and how Prof. Bell thought that he was somehow insouciant about the preparations as evinced by his lack of interest – and being less assertive – in the meetings.
Prof. Bell, then, purported that this was due to Villanueva’s investments in Japanese companies. Governor Villanueva’s Japanese links would somehow lead readers to believe that he could be an active collaborator, but these links are somehow inconclusive; his prior dealings and investments do not equate to him being an active collaborator.
It is possible, indeed, that his Japanese links and connection made the Japanese forces in Negros Oriental trust him more, but this is not sufficient, nor is it a piece of conclusive. Evidence that would equate Villanueva to being an active collaborator. He was not a spy, nor an informer; he was more or less similar to a buffer.
Be that as it may, during the Japanese occupation of Negros Oriental – from the start to the almost the end – Villanueva was continuously asking the guerrillas and civilians in the hinterlands to return to the occupied areas. In an act of desperation, he wrote to Col. Abcede [head of the 7th Military District, the guerrillas of Negros Oriental] on 21 June 1944, asking him to surrender and return to the occupied area. In the letter, he wrote:
My Dear Colonel Abcede,
I am again appealing to you to come down from the mountain. The Japanese Army to patrol our mountains are already here with airplanes and they are now ready to strike. Before making effective patrol, I have agreed with the Commander, Col. Oie, to invite you to come down and join us. This invitation is for you and for the other officers and also for all your men so that with you, the civilian population which has long been suffering may come down.
We have agreed that you may either come down and stay with us permanently or you stay for a short time and find things for yourselves. We want to show you that our hearts are with you and that we should like to invite you to join us in building up a country progressive. Please take our word that it will be safe for you to be with us.
Take this letter along and I can find a way by which a representative of mine and Japanese Army can meet you at any designated place.
Hoping that you will give this consideration that it deserves for the good of all those now living in the mountains and of our dear Motherland, I am
Very respectfully,
G.Z. Villanueva
Governor of Negros Oriental
From this letter, it was becoming evident that Villanueva was becoming desperate; most likely, he was under immense pressure by the Japanese commander in Negros Oriental. Col. Abcede, however, was obstinate and gave him a reply which most likely exacerbated Villanueva’s desperation, telling him that he and his men would not surrender to the Japanese no matter what.
As governor, there was no doubt that he was placed under immense pressure, and most of his actions were done under duress. The more he acted as the mouthpiece of the Japanese forces, the more the guerrillas loathed him. The more he continued trying to convince people to return to the occupied areas, the more the guerrillas perceived him as a Japanese sympathizer. Unfortunately, if he did not continue performing his role as the top executive of the province, the Japanese would doubt his loyalty and possibly execute him and his family.
On 22 September 1944, under pressure by the Japanese and with the impending return of the Americans, President Laurel putatively declared war against the United States through what is now known as Proclamation No. 30. In this proclamation, Laurel and the 2nd Republic declared that a “state of war existed between the United States and Great Britain effective September 23, 1944, at ten in the morning.”
However, it must be noted that Laurel had not specifically mentioned the conscription of Filipinos in his proclamation; it was simply a play of words. After that, Teofilo Sison, the Secretary of Interior, called for a meeting of all provincial governors that prompted them to continue serving the country and “remind them of their legal obligations to the republic.” More specifically, Sison also belabored that if they did not follow orders from the national government, they would be charged with treason, as stated in Article 114 of the Revised Penal Code.
On 24 September 1944, thinking that President Laurel had declared war against America and England, Governor Villanueva then ordered all the municipal mayors of Negros Oriental to require “able-bodied men” to register “for any kind of service during the emergency.” Furthermore, he instructed the mayors to “segregate those fit for the armed forces and those fit for other emergency services.”
However, the local populace did not deal with this positively, as they thought this was a form of conscription. As a result, many young men decided to evacuate to the hinterlands so that they would not be registered and possibly conscripted. Concerned about the cavalcade of young males to the hinterlands, Villanueva then wrote a notice on 27 September 1944, stating that the main reason for the said required registration was simply for screening purposes and “security measure… to seek ways by which they may help be of help to our present-day government.”
Clearly, Villanueva took back what he had ordered last 24 September 1944 after realizing that the local populace of Negros Oriental had thought this order was a form of conscription. Perhaps for Villanueva, his order to the municipal mayors did not necessarily mean conscription of male citizens of Negros Oriental; seemingly, he was merely following, if misunderstanding, what President Laurel declared in Proclamation No. 30 for Filipinos to remain loyal or be supportive of the government.
However, President Laurel himself made it clear later that there was no conscription to be done; thus, this probably became one of the reasons why Governor Villanueva eventually backtracked. The only problem with Villanueva was how he worded his order to the municipal mayors. It was evident in his first line alone as he said: “War against America and England having been declared by his Excellency President Laurel,” following it with a direct order to mayors, stating: “Register the men under your respective jurisdiction and segregate those fit for the armed forces and those fit for other emergency services.”
These statements, then, seemed — especially to the guerrillas, who were overly loyal to the Americans – that Villanueva was, without a doubt, sympathizing with the Japanese and was an advocate of war against America and its allies. Indubitably, he was not as particular or as careful as Laurel and the others – in fact, just like the Japanese forces, he might have not fully understood the difference between waging war and waging a state of war.
Subsequently, R.B. Silliman [a history faculty from Silliman University and Lt. Governor of the Free Government in Negros Oriental] thought that Villanueva became an active collaborator who “had become more and more involved” with the Japanese. Silliman even thought that Villanueva “sincerely believed that MacArthur would never return.” This was the problem of Villanueva – he was caught in the middle, and was already in too deep.
Governor Villanueva was already cognizant of his precarious situation months before the Americans arrived. He knew that his life was now in jeopardy due to his supposed support for the Japanese forces, not to mention his role or actions as Governor of Negros Oriental during the war. He also knew the guerrillas were after him and that the Japanese were constantly checking on his children to ascertain if they were all complete.
By 1945, Villanueva had already disappeared and was “never again to be heard from;” it has been said, according to Antonino Calumpang, that “he had earlier entrusted Rep. Jose E. Romero with the task of looking after the people in case anything was to happen to him.” The guerrillas, who kept surveillance on Villanueva, reported that on 8 March 1945, the Governor had changed residence and transferred to the house formerly occupied by Pedro Dimaya, around 500 yards west of Channon Hall. Later on, it was known that Villanueva and his family, together with some civilians from Dumaguete, were clandestinely brought to the hinterlands by the Japanese forces.
Villanueva and his family were with the Japanese forces in the hinterlands for months – hiding from the American forces and the guerrillas. It was an unfortunate, if expected, ending for a government official who was putatively involved with the Japanese.
Arthur Carson gave a detailed narration of the last moments of Villanueva in the hinterlands of Zamboanguita, stating that: “On the hike to the lowlands, Governor Guillermo Z. Villanueva perished. His widow last saw him alive at a point on the trail where he had stopped to rest. The Japanese were trying to drag him to his feet and he was pushing them off. A little later one of the soldiers regained her company. Handing over personal articles, he reported, ‘Your husband died of a heart attack.’ She was not permitted to go back. The body was never recovered. At Mrs. Villanueva’s request, her evidence was relayed to the War Crimes investigating team but the Japanese concerned could not be located.”
At the age of 52, Governor Guillermo Z. Villanueva was killed on 18 September 1945, by retreating Japanese forces in the hinterlands of Nasig-id, Zamboanguita. His death happened just a few days before what was left of the main body of the Japanese forces surrendered on 22 September 1945 at Guinso-an Bridge, Nasig-id, Zamboanguita. Unfortunately, there is no conclusive evidence to point out why the Japnaese forces killed him, and for the nonce, his remains have not yet been recovered.
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Author’s email: [email protected]
