History and Records of Achievements, Talisay Regiment PQOG

UNITED STATES FORCES IN THE PHILIPPINES
PRESIDENT QUEZON’S OWN GUERRILLAS
HQ., 2^nd BN., TALISAY INF. REGT.

HISTORY AND RECORDS OF ACHIEVEMENTS

Two months after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, Carlos Mendoza, elected thrice Mayor of Talisay, Batangas, called a meeting among the barrio lieutenants, Volunteer Guards, and other able leaders of this community. This meeting was held one night in July, 1942 in Balas, on of the barrios of the town. Mayor Mendoza presided over the meeting and told of his plan of organizing an underground resistance movement against the Japanese forces. This was to be the nucleus of a guerrilla unit in the town of Talisay. The following day, a census of all kinds of arms available in the community was carried out. In the next few days, under the able leadership of our ex-mayor, enlistement in the organization increased. With more than a hundred men, and a few arms to start with, a company was organized and Carlos Mendoza was elected Commanding Officer with the rank of Captain.

We established our C.P. in the sitio of Karig-Karig, a secluded place out of town and one kilometer away from the main road. Here, we started training our men, bamboo stalks were being used as model rifles due to the scarcity of arms. Intelligence agents were given their orders, every move of the enemy was being watched, and daily intelligence reports were sent to Company Headquarters.

In those early days, we endeavored and managed to strengthen the morale of our townspeople by convincing them, trying to inculcate in their minds the fact that General MacArthur and his forces would return and liberate us from the hands of the enemy. Our intelligence group, in particular, was most active. They made constant visits to Manila, gathering secret information as to the movements of the Japanese forces, and smuggling arms and ammunition from the city as opportunity permitted.

When Marking’s Guerrilla Unit learned of our organization, they sent us one of their men, the late Lt. Col. Dionisio Medrana, in our headquarters with the purpose of attaching our unit into their unit; as

We were at our peak of the reorganization when the Japanese Military Police, with the aid of Filipino spies, brought havoc to our town. This was in September of 1943. Every house of suspected guerrillas was thoroughly searched and suspects were placed in custody. They were able to confiscate a few arms and rounds of ammunition, excluding, however, our records which we destroyed to save those who were not apprehended. In spite of the arrests of a few members and that of the commanding officer himself, the morale of the other members and the townspeople was high. The members captured were taken to Batangas, Batangas for further investigation. The whole town was zonified and all the men were rounded up and interned without food at the town school building. After a couple of days, however, all were released. Then, the Battalion Commander was also released in Batangas, Batangas thru the intervention of the then-President Jose P. Laurel of the so-called Republic of the Philippines. This was in the early part of 1943. After his release, he immediately activated his men once more. However, our Regimental Commander Lt. Col. Medrana was captured. He managed to escape but was unfortunately killed after a few days by the enemy. We had to go on, then, independent of other units and under Carlos Mendoza as Lt. Col.

At the height of the activities of almost all guerrilla units in the province, the founder and Commanding Officer of the PRESIDENT QUEZON’S OWN GUERRILLAS, Vicente Umali, unified all the guerrilla units in Talisay, appointing Lt. Col. Armando Laurel, another guerrilla leader in Talisay, as the Regimental Commander. The island of Polo became our Regimental Headquarters. This time, it was easier for us to resist the enemy.

Our intelligence unit was actively engaged, working in connivance with our sabotage units which, grasping every opportunity, tampered and destroyed every now and then, the enemy’s lines of communications betweent the town of Talisay and Tagaytay City, despite strict enemy surveillance.

A few days before the paratroopers landed in Tagaytay in February 1945, we received a dispatch by the Intelligence Unit, that landing in Lingayen had been carried out. The regimental commander then ordered the general evacuation of the townspeople to the island of Polo where they were amply protected from Japanese atrocities. Though prepared for any eventuality that might arise from our actions, we carried out the order. A small enemy detachment tried to intervene but our Battalion Commander was aware of

As a result of this encounter, the Japanese began to burn the town. We gave them stiff resistance, but due to the scarcity of our ammunition, we were forced to retreat. We sent some of our men to secure arms and ammunition from the 11^th Airborne Troops which were already in Tagaytay City, but much to our regret, our men were able to get only a few rounds and a few hand grenades. We these, we carried on the fight.

A few days later, the Paratroopers entered our town. Members of our unit scouted their way. We fought with them, up to the time our town was liberated. Then, our Regimental Commander, Lt. Col. A. Laurel, was contacted by Captain Schommer. The regiment was given a few carbines, M-1 rifles and hand grenades. Captain Schommer was then the one in charge of the Guerrilla Affairs of the 11^th Airborne Division. We showed him our maps and he gave us definite sectors for patrolling. During this point, our officers and men showed their untiring efforts in aiding our liberators. We offered our services not only in Talisay, but through all parts of Batangas Province, lending the 11^th Airborne troops as much helping hands as we could extend.