History of the Mataasnakahoy Unit, Hunters-ROTC
[TRANSCRIPTION]
The Hunters-ROTC was a large guerrilla organization founded in Rizal but which relocated its headquarters to the western Batangas town of Nasugbu as the liberation of Luzon neared. It had many units operating in many areas of Luzon and its 49th Regiment was based in Batangas. This regiment’s “Special District Troops” appear to be supplemental rosters of the guerrilla organization to those that had already been recognized by the United States Army. In this page is a transcription1 of a short history of one of these groups among the supplemental rosters, the Mataasnakahoy Unit.
[p. 1]
THE HUNTERS-ROTC GUERRILLAS
MATAASNACAHOY UNIT
History of the Hunters-ROTC Unit of
Mataasnacahoy, Batangas
It was on December 24, 1941 when we, Jorge Matanguihan and Pedro Inciong, students of [the] Mapua Institute of Technology and National University, respectively, were among those cadets disbanded from the ROTC. Our commandant told us to go home and wait for further notice.
We went home with hearts filled with deadly fire against invading troops of the heartless Japs. We joined the Volunteer Guards, in which we later on became leaders of that organization. Not long afterwards, the Japs came into our town. We offered little resistance due to the lack of arms. We were subdued and peace reigned, but the burning fire of wrath still progressed rapidly.
A month after the defeat of Bataan and of Corregidor, we heard news about the guerrilla activities in Zambales, Northern Luzon, and Central Luzon. During that time, we believed that the domination of the Japs here was but temporary and we fully believed that America would come to drive [out] those cruel invaders. An so, in August 1942, we joined a guerrilla organization known as the PQOG. This was the beginning of our guerrilla life. Frequently, we lived in the forest because the Japs grew jealous about the actions of some other members of the organization. We could not fight squarely the Japs due to the lack of arms in our place. Time glided on. We accumulated, little by little, some arms. Some of the arms were very primitive. During this time until September 1944, we had very little activity to account for. But during the second week of September, due to the fact that some of our members grew somewhat abusive of their positions, I and my men transferred to the well-known HUNTERS-ROTC GUERRILLAS.
From that time on, we had much activities. We became spies against the Japs. We had reports about their gasoline deposits, their strength, the hiding places of their airplanes, their high-ranking officers and their abodes and so many other military secrets of which I cannot fully remember now to mention. There were times when I assigned some members to work in the landing field of the Japs here in Mataasnacahoy just to discover their military secrets. The reports were forwarded to the S-1 of [the] Lipa Sector, who was responsible for transmitting to the personnel in charge.
Rapid bombings by the American planes made us very easy to ambush some of the places of the Japs.
Then, we received leaflets telling us to bring the civilians to a safe evacuating place. We carried out this order. When we [and] all the civilians had gone away from the town, we made frequent ambushes against the enemy. We set on fire their gasoline deposits. Five of my men and I killed one Jap who was on guard during the night of January twentieth. The next morning, the remaining Japs grew very angry and searched for us. But they could not find us because we hid in the forest, and what was worse to them was that five of [the] Japs who made the search was killed by some of our men. But sorry to tell that some of our men were also killed by these Japs. Then, late in February 1944, we evacuated to Taal Volcano and took rest at the same time [and] guarded the civilians whom we sent there. Then, when the Americans came to Mataasnacahoy, we also came to help clean out the snipers. Then, one day on the second week of April, we killed 6 Japs, somewhere near the camp of the American soldiers. This was the last of our activities.
[p. 2]
And besides, before I forget, when we were at Taal Volcano, the wounded civilians from some other places were cared for [by] the WAC whom I was ordered by [the] HUNTERS-ROTC organization to organize.
Our history is short but these are our real accomplishments which, though meager, we are proud of also. Unlike some other organizations, we were motivated merely by some patriotic feelings and that was why we joined the guerrilla organization.