A Chronological History of the Activities of the Lipa Guerrilla Regiment Part I

I, JOSE MENDOZA, of age, Filipino and a resident of Lipa, Batangas, Philippines, and now temporarily residing in the City of Manila, after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, depose and say:

That I was inducted into the service of the Lipa Guerrilla Reg’t., Paran’s Unit, on December 4, 1942, at the Headquarters in Pinagtungulan, Lipa, Batangas, by Col. F. Paran, the overall Commander of the said Regiment. My induction paper was either burned, lost or destroyed during the liberation of the municipality of Lipa, Batangas, by the American Forces. That I was given the rank of Captain in command of “A” Co. 2^nd Bn., and our Regiment accomplished the following activities: (See attached appendix No. 1)

That Lt. Col. Felino Paran being an ex-USAFFE officer and wounded in action, organized his own guerrilla organization immediately after the surrender of the USAFFE forces to the Imperial Japanese Army in the early part of 1942.

(A) 1942 ACTIVITIES: Officially organized the Lipa Guerrilla Reg’t., Paran’s Unit. Induction of officers and enlisted men to the Unit, setting up the plan, picturing the risks it entailed and the necessary precautions to be taken in its execution. Then began the spreading of anti-Japanese news and propaganda, bolstering the morale of the civilian population, acquiring arms and ammunition and recruiting qualified and trusted men for the Unit.

1. December 5, 1942, Capt. Sebastian Reyes ordered one squad of his Company to cut all wiring connections and all lines of communications by the enemy between Sto. Toribio and the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas. This order was successfully carried out.

2. On December 12, 1942, at Tibig, Lipa, Batangas, Capt. Sebastian Reyes and his men demolished big quantities of war materials left by the Americans in the said place so that when the Japanese came, everything was already destroyed and could never be used by them.

3. On about the middle of December, 1942, men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., of this Regiment, sabotaged the Japanese storage of supplies at Banaybanay, Lipa, Batangas, and carried away with them several truck spare parts which we later used in the repair of our firearms and several blasting ammunition in Headquarters, Col. Paran being an Aeronautical Engineer.

(B) 1943 ACTIVITIES: Counter-intelligence works, sabotaging enemy installations, communication lines and storage of supplies. Giving assignments to members of the Company as well as receiving reports from them about the enemy strength and movements.

1. January 18, 1943, in the town of Lipa, Batangas, 2^nd Lt. Estanislao Vivas of “A” Co. 2^nd Bn., with some of his men ran away with several boxes of blasting caps from a Japanese truck parked at the public market. The said blasting caps were later used during the course of our military operations.

2. January 26, 1943, one squad of Co. “A” 1^st Bn., was ordered by Capt. Reyes to work with the Japanese at Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas, to do espionage and sabotage work. These men were able to destroy big quantities of war materials and to hand in reports of the enemy secret installations in the said area.

3. January 29, 1943, Lt. Vivas and some of his men demolished the water pipes connecting the Japanese barracks located at Lipa Elementary School and east of the Lipa Cathedral, Lipa, Batangas.

4. February 11, 1943, 2^nd Lt. Pedro Loleng personally succeeded in destroying one Japanese truck behind the Lipa Elementary School at Lipa, Batangas.

5. February 16, 1943, 2^nd Lt. Vivas and his men ordered by the Overall Commander to sabotage the Japanese Airfield at Lipa, Batangas which was then under construction and to get tools which were badly needed in the Headquarters for the repair of some firearms. Posing as laborers, the said men and officer successfully carried out the order besides opening holes which emptied several drums of gasoline.

6. February 21, 1943, Lt. Loleng got through the office of Capt. Isamura of the Japanese garrison in Lipa, Batangas and ran away with 21 pieces of dynamite unnoticed.

7. Sometime on or about the first week of March, 1943, for the second time, our Headquarters was moved to the barrio of Cumba, Lipa, Batangas in order to avoid enemy detection. (See attached appendix No. 2)

8. About the middle of March, 1943, at the Lipa Airfield, American prisoners of war were employed by the Japanese to work in this field as laborers. With utmost care, the men of “A” Co. 2^nd Bn. Were able to give food to the said prisoners for quite a length of time from this date without being noticed by the Japanese guards.

9. About the last week of March, 1943, Lt. Loleng and 10 of his men, in the darkness of the night, broke through the Japanese storehouses at Lipa Elementary School and carried away different kinds of tools which were later used in the Headquarters.

10. About the second week of April, 1943, Capt. Reyes and some of his men were ordered to do sabotage and espionage works at Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Unfortunately, he was shadowed and caught by the enemy and taken to the Japanese garrison. With the intervention of Victorio Gatdose, then Chief of Police of the said municipality, Capt. Reyes was released.

11. Sometime in May, 1943, Capt. Mendoza was ordered to represent the Regiment in a conference of guerrilla key-men at the Philippine Normal School, Manila, with reference to the organization and coordination of activities. Unexpectedly, the place was raided by

the enemy, but Capt. Mendoza was able to escape unhurt while losing his important papers and documents together with pictures and posters of Naval Battles in the Pacific which were received by the Headquarters from Australia for propaganda purposes.

12. In the early part of June, 1943, at the Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas, men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., under Capt. Reyes, were able to set fire [to] eight drums of gasoline in the said place which produced a big fire.

13. Sometime in the second week of June, 1943, our Headquarters was for the third time transferred to San Lucas, Lipa, Batangas for fear of the Japanese raid. (See attached appendix No. 3)

14. July 1, 1943, the Marking’s Guerrillas recognized Felino Z. Paran, a Lieutenant Colonel, Commanding the Second Batangas Regiment of these Forces. (See attached appendix No. 4)

15. July 13, 1943, Capt. Juan Saludo was promoted to the rank of Major.

16. Sometime in the first week of August 1943, Col. Felino Paran, the Overall Commander, was apprehended and arrested by the Japanese Kempi-Tai and was garrisoned at Lipa, Batangas up to the middle of September of the same year. He was suspected as a guerrilla organizer but in the absence of substantial evidence, he was released. The late Major Burgos took temporary command of the Regiment. (See attached appendix No. 5)

17. August 15, 1943, Capt. Timoteo Paran secured a complete map of the Japanese Landing Field at Lipa, Batangas from Engineer Arsenio Altamirano and brought the same to the Overall Commander.

18. August 28, 1943, Lt. Vivas and his men at midnight burned a Japanese bodega of tools and other war materials at the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas.

19. Sometime in the middle of September 1943, one of the men of Capt. Reyes, with the name of Felino Alzate, broke through the Japanese bodega at the Lipa Railroad Station and succeeded in destroying war materials and later took away and presented to the Headquarters one Japanese saber.

20. In the last week of September 1943, Lt. Wenceslao Magkauas and his men conducted a raid in Sitio Sto. Toribio, Lipa, Batangas, where they were able to secure several rounds of ammunition and destroy big quantities of war materials in a Japanese storehouse.

21. In the last week of September 1943, Lt. Braulio Dimayuga was detailed to devise ways and means in order to get in touch with and to extend help in the form of food and clothing to the American prisoners inside the Banaybanay Camp, Lipa, Batangas. This was successfully carried out as Lt. Dimayuga was able to consummate a contract with the Japanese authorities to be the supplier of the prisoners in the said camp. Big amounts of food and clothing were given by this Regiment to the American prisoners through Lt. Dimayuga, which later caused great suspicion on the part of the Japanese. Most of [the] said supplies were received by Lt. Hugh Wendell, the Commissary Officer of the camp.

22. On the second week of October, 1943, Major Saludo was designated as Inspector of Troops and Coordinator of Activities.

23. October 15, 1943, Capt. Mendoza and his men sabotaged a Japanese train parking at the Lipa Railroad Station and carried away with them 5 rifles, several rounds of ammunition and 4 Jap helmets.

24. Sometime in the middle of October, 1943, at about 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., eight men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., encountered four Japanese soldiers at the barrio of Kalikangan, Malvar, Batangas, and killed one of them before they retreated with no casualty for lack of ammunition.

25. Sometime in November, 1943, Capt. Sebastian Reyes led some of his men to the Japanese garrison at Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas, and carried away with them 4 rifles and several rounds of ammunition.

26. About the second week of December, 1943, one squad of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. Successfully set on fire nine drums of gasoline at the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas, as was ordered.

27. December 15, 1943, several men under the command of Capt. Mendoza set on fire the Japanese storage of supplies at Mt. Anilao, Lipa, Batangas, containing big amounts of war materials.

28. December 18, 1943, Lt. Braulio Dimayuga was summoned before the Japanese Captain Nikamura, who because of the extra food and clothing given to the American prisoners by said Lieutenant, became suspicious and ordered the arrest of Lt. Dimayuga. The escape of the two unidentified American prisoners of which Lt. Dimayuga was instrumental, aggravated his case before the Japanese Captain and subjected him to rigid grilling. When he was temporarily released, he immediately stepped out of the poblacion and reported to the Headquarters, giving the Japanese no chance to call him back for another questioning.

(C) 1944 ACTIVITIES:

1. January 8, 1944, Capt. Mendoza and his Company raided the house of Urbano Mojares at the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas, where the Japanese stayed and ran away with 3 rifles, several rounds of ammunition, U.S. 50 and 30 caliber machine gun bullets, 8 horses which the Japanese commandeered from the civilians, all were taken to the Headquarters and used in the military operation.

2. January 19, 1944, Lt. Vivas and his platoon ambushed one Japanese truck loaded with 16 drums of gasoline at the barrio of Sintorisan, Cuenca, Batangas, killed the Jap driver and guard and put on fire the truck together with the gasoline.

3. January 20, 1944, at Marauy [Marawoy] Lipa, Batangas, Lt. Pedro Loleng and his platoon sabotaged the Japanese storage of supplies and put on fire 24 drums of gasoline.

4. January 24, 1944, in a Japanese bodega, formerly owned by Bartolome Katigbak at Lipa, Batangas, Capt. Mendoza and some of his men were ordered to get through and secure spare parts of 50 and 30 caliber machineguns such as spring, bolts, etc. which were to be used in the repair of the guns in the Headquarters. The mission was successfully accomplished.

5. February 8, 1944, Capt. Mendoza ordered several of his men to sabotage the Jap airplane bodegas at Lipa, Batangas. For two successive days, they were able to destroy several planes by taking out their spare parts but on the third day (Feb. 10), one of the men by

the name of Alfredo Aguilera was caught and, since then, nothing was heard of him.

6. About the second week of February, 1944, Major Juan Saludo was ordered to contact Brig. Gen. Avancena of the 25^th Red Lion Division to confer on close collaboration and coordination of the two guerrilla units.

7. February 10, 1944, Col. Felino Paran, the Overall Commander, for the second time was arrested by the Japanese Kempi-Tai in view of the discovery of some records of the Regiment by the Japanese spies. This time, he underwent inhuman tortures. From Lipa, he was transferred to San Pablo, Laguna where he stayed for two months. Later, he was taken to Fort Santiago where he was left unconscious for several times, so that he was not able to take account of the length of time he stayed in the Fort. Lastly, he was taken back to Lipa, Batangas, to the house of Leon Katigbak where he was again grilled and tortured. It was about 10:00 p.m. of June 9, 1944, when he regained consciousness and, taking advantage of the absence of the Japanese guards who left him unconscious, he managed to escape out and found his way direct to his guerrilla Headquarters just a few kilometers out of the poblacion. (See attached appendix No. 5)

8. February 11, 1944, Lt. Vivas and his platoon raided the Japanese in Tanguay, Lipa, Batangas and ran away with the Springfields and three Japanese rifles besides burning all the Japanese supplies in the area.

9. February 18, 1944, behind the Catholic Seminary at Lipa, Batangas, Lt. Pedro Loleng and some of his men broke into the Japanese storehouse and ran away with 5 sacks of rice and 7 Japanese rifles which they all brought to the Headquarters.

10. February 28, 1944, Capt. Mendoza contacted Mr. David, the Chief Foreman in the Lipa Airstrip, Lipa, Batangas and secured maps of the Japanese military installations and gasoline and supply dumps in the area.

11. March 16, 1944, at 5:00 a.m., at Barrio Sapac, Lipa, Batangas, Lt. Loleng and his men encountered the enemy. Two Japs were killed but Lt. Loleng and his men later retreated for lack of ammunition with no casualty.

12. Sometime on the last week of March, 1944, Major Saludo, in coordination of the men of the 25^th Red Lion Division, under Brig. Gen. Avancena, intensified sabotage and espionage works in the designated areas such as landing fields, enemy storage of supplies, hangars, gun emplacements and fuel dumps. Men of the two units were posted as laborers in different places in order to effectuate this order. (See attached appendix No. 6).

13. April 9, 1944, through the information handed down by the boys from various areas, Major Saludo made a complete draft of the Malvar Airfield, Malvar, Batangas, indicated there at all the strategic points and forwarded a copy to Col. Paran and one to Gen. Avancena of the Red Lion Division.

14. In the middle of April, 1944, midnight, three members of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., Olimpio, Brigido and Felino were ordered to cut the telephone wires of military importance along the provincial road of the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas. The order was effectively executed but later Olimpio and Brigido were apprehended and executed by the Japanese.

15. April 23, 1944, Major Saludo laid out plans and immediately executed the raid of the Japanese storage of supplies at Malvar Railroad Station, Malvar, Batangas, and with twelve responsible men of the Regiment, the plan was successfully carried out.

16. April 30, 1944, Major Saludo and his men raided the Jap storage of supplies at Malvar Railroad Station, Malvar, Batangas. They slipped in unnoticed and surprised the civilian guards. 12 sacks of rice, several scores of shoes and thirty boxes of ammunition were taken away. Several hundred packages of Japanese cigarettes were also brought out and taken to the Headquarters. The men moved out with [the] Japanese at their heels. This was the second raid.

17. May 8, 1944, Lt. Loleng forwarded reports of his men to Capt. Mendoza, regarding information about the Japanese military positions, communication lines as well as their strength and movements in the various sectors of Lipa, Batangas.

18. In the latter part of May, 1944, “A” Co. 1^st Bn. of this Regiment was assigned in the sectors of Mataas na Lupa, Mataas na Kahoy, Tambo and San Salvador, all in the Municipality of Lipa, province of Batangas.

19. In the early part of June 1944, five Makapilis were arrested and presented to the Headquarters by the men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., for investigation.

20. June 22, 1944, Major Saludo and his men approached unnoticed a Jap Cavalry Detachment in the barrio of San Pioquinto, Malvar, Batangas. After some minutes of firing, the Japanese fled in confusion. They took three horses and 10 blankets while withdrawing from the scene as swiftly as they could as Jap reinforcements were fast coming. (See attached appendix No. 6)

21. In the latter part of June, 1944, around twenty-five men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. were ordered to do sabotage work at the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas. There were several Japanese civilians supervising groups of Filipino workers. When they found out that the Japanese were not fully-armed, these twenty-five men attacked them and wounded several before reinforcements came, after which they all retreated leaving behind them three of their companions, Mariano Dimaculangan, Pablo Maralit and Grigido [Brigido?] Mendoza, killed.

22. July 25, 1944, Capt. Reyes led one platoon of his men to the house of Saturnino Lescano which was then used by the Japanese as their storage of supplies at Kalingatan, Mataas na Kahoy, and ran away with eight boxes of blasting ammunition which were later used in the course of the military operation.

23. In the early part of August, 1944, some men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. presented to the Headquarters 14 rolls of telephone wire from the Japanese bodega which formerly was the house of Melchor Silva at Mataas na Kahoy.

24. August 27, 1944, Major Saludo made temporary Headquarters at Santiago, Malvar, Batangas due to information he received that some of his boys detailed in espionage work at the landing field were being shadowed by the Japanese, suspected as guerrillas. Only two men by the names of Guillermo Olquin and Guillermo Mangubat were ordered to remain as they were able to win the confidence of the Japanese and could still continue the usual activities. (See attached appendix No. 6)

Notes and references: