Testimony of Juan Samosa on Japanese Atrocities Committed in Tanauan, Batangas in 1945
[TRANSCRIPTION]
Apart from trying the top brass of the Japanese Imperial Army for war crimes committed in the Philippines, with special interest on those in Batangas, the US Military Commission also tried officers for an assortment of charges. This particular documentation is from the transcription of the trial United States of America v Mikio Taneichi, Yuzo Sakata, Taichi Yamada, and Bunji Kanto. In this transcription is contained the testimony of one Juan Samosa of then-town of Tanauan. There is among the records a Juan Zamosa who testified in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita and there are parts of the testimony which are similar, so it is possible that the names belong to the same person. The pages contained herein are now declassified and were part of compiled documentation1 of war crimes trials conducted by the United States Military Commission after the conclusion of World War II. This transcription has been corrected for grammar where necessary by Batangas History, Culture and Folklore. The pagination is as it was contained in the original document for citation purposes.
 |
| Photo taken during the war crimes trials in Manila. Image credit: U.S. National Archives. |
[p. 21]
JUAN SAMOSA
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY LIEUTENANT PHARR:
A Yes, sir.
Q Where do you live, Mr. Samosa?
A In Tanauan, Batangas.
Q You are Filipino, is that true?
A Yes, sir.
Q And what is your occupation?
A Now?
Q Yes.
A I am a foreman on the road construction.
Q How old are you?
A I am 49 years old.
Q Were you in Tanauan on or about the 9th or 10th of February 1945?
A On the 9th and 10th, I was in Tanauan.
Q Did you see any Japanese soldiers in Tanauan at that time?
A Yes, sir.
Q Did you see any unusual acts taking place in Tanauan on or about the 9th or 10th of February 1945?
A On February 10, 1945, I was taken from my house, and as soon as we were taken, they told us that we were going to be sent to the farm. As soon as we were taken from our houses and we were already on our way, the Japanese did not allow us to get out of the barrio, but instead directed us inside the town.
[p. 22]
A The Japanese.
Q And where did they take you to?
A We were taken to the barbershop of Juan — his second name, I do not know.
Q How many people were taken to that shop with you?
A When we arrived, we were about one hundred men, women and children, and as soon as we arrived there, the men were separated from the women and children. The men were tied, so were the women; only the children were not tied.
Q Where was it you were taken to?
A After we were tied, we were taken to the office of the B. T. Company.
Q Is that the Batangas Transportation Company?
A Yes, during this time.
Q Is that in the town and city of Tanauan?
A Yes, sir.
Q Then, after these people were gathered there, the women and children were separated from the men. What happened next?
A After we were separated from the men and women, the men were taken to the back of the building, or the office of the B. T. Company, and the women were taken to the ground floor on the other side of the office of the B. T. Company. The owner of the house — the women were taken to the house of Talina — the women and children — which was on the ground floor of the B. T. Company.
Q How far was it from where you were taken to the place where the women and children were taken?
A Maybe from this place to that place (indicating the wall of the room). This was the office of the Batangas Transportation
[p. 23]
A As soon as we were brought to that place, we were asked who among us were Chinese and who were Tagalogs.
Q After you were asked that question, what happened next?
A After this question was asked, they then untied one of the Chinese whose name was Tambi. As soon as this Chinese was untied, he was taken to the latrine of the office and there he was bayoneted twice at the back.
Q Did you see the Chinese bayoneted?
A Yes, sir.
Q Did you know Magdalena de Vera?
A Yes, sir.
Q Did you see her there that day in that group of people?
A Yes, sir. I saw she was called from the ground floor of Talina’s house.
Q Do you know what happened to Magdalena Valera?
A As soon as she was called, she was called by a captain, as I was told, and a lieutenant — a Japanese captain and a lieutenant — and then, she stood in front, between these two officers, Japanese officers, and then these two whispered to each other. I did not hear what they talked about or whispered about. The only thing I saw was one of them drew his sword and cut, slashed the abdomen of Magdalena, and the baby came out as a result of this slash in the abdomen.
[p. 24]
A Yes, as soon as I saw that she was slashed at the abdomen, she fell in a sitting position on a dry stump of a coconut tree, and as soon as she was there, she was bayoneted twice on the breast and then she just died.
Q What happened to the other men in your group?
A Twenty-six men were killed before me. I was to be the twenty-seventh and I was taken to the place where I was supposed to be killed, and I had my arm extended on one side and on my other side was a Japanese. When I saw him, I just rushed and fled for life.
Q What happened to the other 27 people in your group — the other men in your group?
A They were killed.
[p. 25]
A Yes, sir.
Q How were they killed?
A They were bayoneted.
Q Who bayoneted them?
A The Japanese bayoneted them.
Q Did you see what happened to the women and children?
A The only woman I saw was Magdalena. After I fled, I didn’t see what happened to the rest and I also saw three children who were snatched from the ground floor of Magdalena’s house and these children were thrown into the air and caught by their bayonets.
Q How many people did you see killed that day by the Japanese?
A The number I know is 26. That was up to the time that I fled. The rest whom I left there, I don’t know what happened.
LIEUTENANT PHARR: I have nothing further of this witness
COLONEL WORTMAN: Cross-examination?
CAPTAIN GREER: No cross-examination.
COLONEL WORTMAN: Questions by the Commission?
EXAMINATION BY THE COMMISSION
BY COLONEL MADDEN:
A Yes, Sir, on the 9th, I was in my house in Tanauan.
Q That is the 9th of January or the 9th of February?
A Ninth of February up to the 10th
[p. 26]
BY COLONEL HAMBY:
A She was the wife of the ex-Chief of Police of Tanauan.
Q What happened to this woman?
A I had not witnessed personally what happened to her, but I was told she was killed by the Japanese.
Q Do you know Tomas Sandoval?
A Yes, Sir.
Q What happened to him?
A He was killed in a different place from the place we were supposed to be killed.
Q Do you know Aurea Gonzales?
A Yes, Sir.
Q What happened to him [her]? A The rumor is that he [she] was hurt and he [she] was bayoneted by the Japanese.
Q Was he [she] killed?
A No, Sir. [S]He is alive and [s]he is here.
COLONEL HAMBY: No further questions.
COLONEL WORTMAN: Any further questions by the prosecution?
FURTHER DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY LIEUTENANT PHARR:
A He is here, outside.
COLONEL WORTMAN: Further questions by the defense?
CAPTAIN GREER: No, Sir.
COLONEL WORTMAN: Any further questions by the Commission? (No response.) It appears there are no further
[p. 27]