Partial List of Victims of Japanese Atrocities in Rosario, Batangas in 1945

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Below is a partial list of victims of Japanese atrocities committed in the Municipality of Rosario in 1945. The list was compiled, along with those in other municipalities of Batangas at the time, upon instructions of the Acting Governor of Batangas Fortunato Borbon.

These lists were submitted “in evidence” by the prosecution panel during the trial U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita¹. Batangas History, Culture and Folklore cannot vouch for the 100% accuracy of the list below nor of the others made in other municipalities which will also be posted here. This is not for lack of trying on the part of municipal and barrio officials at the time, but rather because of the general state of confusion that naturally prevailed soon after liberation.

It was estimated that more than 25,000 non-combatant civilians, including women and children, were massacred in Batangas just before liberation in 1945. Many of these were unaccounted for a variety of reasons, foremost of which was that many individuals simply disappeared and were never seen again. This is probably the reason why the lists are meager compared to the actual number of people massacred by the Japanese.

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¹ “Prosecution Evidence, U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” Reel Number 70, Files of the United States Military Commission, 1945, online at the Internet Archive.