February 1, 2010
Majority of the readers of this article were not born yet when the historic event in this article occurred. Its memory is now almost forgotten by the residents of Naga city. The documents that recorded the five glorious days back in April 1945 that lead to the liberation of Naga City from the Japanese imperial forces are now placed in shelves or binders that has remained untouched for years. It would be a dishonor to the brave men and women who placed their lives in harms way to liberate our city if we allow the memory of such heroic feat to fade away by the passing of time. I would like to honor them by writing an article and revive the memory of these people who are the heroes of one of the greatest generation in Philippine history.
The first time the Bicolano guerillas attacked Naga was on May 1, 1942 and they held the city for two days. Their main objective then was to rescue the 30 American prisoners held in the “kapitolyo”. (Some record say it was the provincial jail). After the successful operation, the guerillas hid their former colonizers at the nearby mountains.
After the American forces landed in Leyte on October 1944, an American officer named Major Russel Barros was sent to coordinate the guerilla activities in the Bicol region. Major Barros main objectives were to gather intelligence data for the American forces and also launch assaults to vital Japanese installations around Bicol. One of the main objectives of these assaults was to liberate Naga City from Japanese forces.
To plan the attack, a meeting of different guerilla units was held at Pamukid Central School in San Fernando on the April 5, 1945. Those who attended the meeting were Majors Jesus
Villasenor, Teodoro Serenilla, Teofilo Padua, Juan Q. Miranda, Captains Encinas, Francisco Enrile and Lt. Delfin Rosales. Presiding over the meeting was Major Barros. The whole event was hosted by Msgr. Florencio Yllana, who was the spiritual adviser of the whole unit. The good monsignor also gave a party after the meeting.
The group began their meeting at seven in the evening. After a brief progress report about the U.S. forces battling the Japanese in the Philippines, Major Barros discussed the role of the guerilla units in liberating Naga City and also the towns of Camarines Sur. Major Miranda was elected as the overall commander of the assault unit. Miranda proposed that the attacking units assemble at Camaligan Central School on April 8, 1945 to prepare for the attack the following day.
After the meeting, Major Barros and Major Miranda stayed behind. Major Barros expressed his apprehension on the participation of the 2nd battalion which was lead by Captain Cristobal Bonnevie. Barros said that the unit is undisciplined and could cause disunity among the guerilla units. Miranda assured Barros that he will take care of this problem. A plan was quickly concocted by Miranda to prevent the 2nd battalion from participating in the planned attack.
On April 8, 1945, the units participating on the liberation of Naga city arrived at Camaligan Central School. They were ordered to form columns in front of the building where Maj. Barros and Dr. Francisco Gomez were stationed. The men were ordered to undress leaving only their underwear. All of them were also required to deposit their weapons outside the office of Barros and fill up an information sheet and proceed to Dr. Gomez for medical check-up.
The seven company columns were headed by Capt. Mamerto Sibulo, Lt. Honorato Osio, Lt. Nicolas Penaredondo, all of the Tancong Vaca Guerilla Unit (TVGU); The Blue Eagle under Lt. Felicisimo De Asis; the Philippine army air corps under Lt. Delfin Rosales; the Blue Eagle under Capt. Serenilla and the 2nd battalion under Capt. Cristobal Bonnevie.
To avoid suspicion among the troops, Miranda arranged the check ups to start from the first three companies of TVGU . The 2nd battalion was placed on the rear. This made the impression that the 2nd battalion was still part of the preparation.
When it was the 2nd battalion’s turn for check-up, they were all marched into one of the rooms of the building. After the members of the 2nd battalion entered the room, Lt. Felix “Barloo” Espiritu immediately locked the door of the room. Members of the Philippine scouts under Capt. Encinas immediately sealed off all possible exits.
The men of Lt. Honorato Osio, who were at the Home Economics building disguised as mess officers, rushed to Barros’ office and picked up all the arms of the 2nd battalion. Miranda then went to the room where the members of the 2nd battalion were and informed them that they were being disarmed and were dismissed from the team.
On the eve of the attack, Miranda ate his supper at the house of Mayor Andres Diez of Camaligan. After supper, Miranda met with Major Barros, Maj. Villasenor, Andres Diez and Lt. Rhys Wood, a black officer from the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB). During the meeting, Barros told Miranda, “You know what to do. Start early in the morning and catch the Japanese by surprise”.
A week before the assault, the Tangcong Vaca guerilla unit gathered intelligence regarding the Japanese troops in Naga. The report was signed by an officer named A.R. Imperial and it went something like this:
“In Liboton, I saw 6 Japanese soldiers. According to a boy who was with me that there are more Japanese soldiers in Liboton and they are living in the house of Mrs. Naz, the house of Mr. Villa Ignacio and another house owned by a Tagalog located near a mango tree at the corner of the street (Jacob Street) that leads to Central School. There are 50 Japs in the coconut groove in San Felipe. In Santa Cruz, civilians saw Japanese soldiers at the house of Ammen during the evening but left during the day”.
Later that evening, Miranda and Lt. Wood returned to Camaligan Central School to meet with the other company commanders to finalize their plan. The attack was to commence at dawn and the first objective is to surprise the Japanese garrison at Ateneo De Naga by attacking it on the rear.
At 4a.m. on April 9, 1945, breakfast was prepared for the troops. At 5a.m., the guerillas quietly went through the thick foliage of Queborac and positioned themselves at the back of Ateneo De Naga. After firing a few rounds, the guerilla assault team entered the campus. They found the school ground abandoned by the retreating Japanese troops. They discovered a 50 caliber machinegun and a few rounds of ammunition left by the Japanese. For an hour, the guerillas curiously went through the once dreaded garrison.
At 6a.m., the guerillas marched through Pedro Santos avenue, Barlin street then positioned themselves at Igualdad street behind the provincial capitol building. They found the building empty. Thinking that Naga is free from Japanese troops, the guerillas decided to rest at the Plaza Rizal. While the guerillas were at Plaza Rizal, some civilians told them that Japanese soldiers positioned themselves at the Abella residence at Panganiban avenue.
At 8am, gunfire erupted at Panganiban avenue between the attacking guerillas and the Japanese troops. A guerilla unit lead by Maj. Teofilo Padua joined the assault along with a number of Agta bowmen. The Agta tried to use flaming arrows to ignite the building that the Japanese were holed in but the arrows were falling short of their target across the river. Miranda ordered members of the Philippine scouts to move to Tabuco and secure the train station. At 10a.m., a guerilla named Catimbang attempted to dash across the Panganiban bridge but was shot by a Japanese sniper. Lt. Delfin Rosales attempted to rescue the wounded Catimbang but was also shot by a sniper positioned at a building across the bridge. Rosales later died from his wound.
After lunch, the exhausted guerillas decided to rest to figure out new attack strategies. Civilians told them that the Japanese holed up at the house of Manley located right at the foot of Colgante bridge. The house of Manley had been used as the headquarters of the dreaded Japanese military intelligence called Kempei-tai.
The squad that was sent by Miranda to verify this information reported that the building is well fortified with sandbags and the Japanese had machine guns installed in several strategic places.
On April 10, 1945 at around 6a.m., guerilla troops passed through Via Gainza Street (later renamed Pena Francia avenue) towards Tinago. Capt. Penaredondo was assigned to guard the area from San Francisco church to Colgante bridge while Lt. Mamerto Sibulo’s company provided support near cathedral.
Using a local resident as their guide, Capt. Honorato Osio and his unit crossed the Bicol river at its shallow portion in San Felipe. The unit went through Dayangdang street and when they were about to arrived at their target, a Japanese machine gun opened up on them. They occupied several abandoned foxholes. At around 4:30pm, a bullet from a Japanese sniper hit Capt. Osio’s leg. His unit retreated and Osio was rushed to the clinic of Dr. Magno Jamito in Carolina.
The Japanese decided to abandon their stronghold and retreated to Concepcion Pequena. The guerillas pursuit the Japanese through Concepcion avenue but had to withdraw because it was getting dark.
On April 11th, the guerillas continued their attack on the Japanese that were holed up at the Diaz hardware. Using the machinegun that they captured at Ateneo de Naga, the guerillas forced the Japanese to abandon the area and retreat to Pili. To avoid further casualties, Maj. Miranda ordered his men to proceed to the downtown area of Naga. However, some men did not heed the order and decided to pursue the Japanese. Two Japanese snipers, who were waiting in ambush, fired on these guerillas. No information was available regarding their casualties.
The next day, the residents of Naga and nearby towns returned to their houses. The Japanese were reported to have retreated to the mountains of Isarog. The guerilla units had a victory parade on April 13, 1945 and the flag of the Philippines was finally raised at the belfry of the cathedral to proclaim the liberation of Naga.
Major Juan Q. Miranda was elected as a congressman in the 2nd (?) district of Camarines Sur and served at the post from 1946 until 1949. He is also known as the father of the charter of Naga City. He left the army with a rank of colonel. The city hall avenue was renamed on November 13, 1985 to J.Q. Miranda Avenue in honor of the late guerilla leader.
Lt. Delfine C. Rosales – In the early years of Naga city, there was a street named Camino Real that led to the town of Pili. In 1839, Camino Real was extended on the opposite side of the Bicol river and this extension was named Calle De Legaspi. In 1847, a concrete bridge was built to replace a wooden bridge at the Rio Naga (Now Bicol River). This bridge connected the streets of Camino Real and Calle De Legaspi. The bridge was named Jose Maria Panganiban. In October 18, 1989, Mayor Robredo approved a city ordinance renaming the bridge to Lt. Delfin C. Rosales to honor the Bicolano war hero.
Msgr. Florencio Yllana—He became the chaplain of Pena Francia and was known for his 5-minute sermons whenever he officiate a mass. A relative of Msgr. Yllana noted in his memoir, “The reason why I attend mass at 11am was to hear his sermons”. In August 15, 1981, the image of Pena Francia was stolen. In September 5, 1982, it was returned in six dismantled parts to Msgr. Florencio Yllana in Manila. Msgr. Yllana died on December 25, 1993.
The first time the Bicolano guerillas attacked Naga was on May 1, 1942 and they held the city for two days. Their main objective then was to rescue the 30 American prisoners held in the “kapitolyo”. (Some record say it was the provincial jail). After the successful operation, the guerillas hid their former colonizers at the nearby mountains.
After the American forces landed in Leyte on October 1944, an American officer named Major Russel Barros was sent to coordinate the guerilla activities in the Bicol region. Major Barros main objectives were to gather intelligence data for the American forces and also launch assaults to vital Japanese installations around Bicol. One of the main objectives of these assaults was to liberate Naga City from Japanese forces.
To plan the attack, a meeting of different guerilla units was held at Pamukid Central School in San Fernando on the April 5, 1945. Those who attended the meeting were Majors Jesus
Villasenor, Teodoro Serenilla, Teofilo Padua, Juan Q. Miranda, Captains Encinas, Francisco Enrile and Lt. Delfin Rosales. Presiding over the meeting was Major Barros. The whole event was hosted by Msgr. Florencio Yllana, who was the spiritual adviser of the whole unit. The good monsignor also gave a party after the meeting.The group began their meeting at seven in the evening. After a brief progress report about the U.S. forces battling the Japanese in the Philippines, Major Barros discussed the role of the guerilla units in liberating Naga City and also the towns of Camarines Sur. Major Miranda was elected as the overall commander of the assault unit. Miranda proposed that the attacking units assemble at Camaligan Central School on April 8, 1945 to prepare for the attack the following day.
After the meeting, Major Barros and Major Miranda stayed behind. Major Barros expressed his apprehension on the participation of the 2nd battalion which was lead by Captain Cristobal Bonnevie. Barros said that the unit is undisciplined and could cause disunity among the guerilla units. Miranda assured Barros that he will take care of this problem. A plan was quickly concocted by Miranda to prevent the 2nd battalion from participating in the planned attack.
On April 8, 1945, the units participating on the liberation of Naga city arrived at Camaligan Central School. They were ordered to form columns in front of the building where Maj. Barros and Dr. Francisco Gomez were stationed. The men were ordered to undress leaving only their underwear. All of them were also required to deposit their weapons outside the office of Barros and fill up an information sheet and proceed to Dr. Gomez for medical check-up.
The seven company columns were headed by Capt. Mamerto Sibulo, Lt. Honorato Osio, Lt. Nicolas Penaredondo, all of the Tancong Vaca Guerilla Unit (TVGU); The Blue Eagle under Lt. Felicisimo De Asis; the Philippine army air corps under Lt. Delfin Rosales; the Blue Eagle under Capt. Serenilla and the 2nd battalion under Capt. Cristobal Bonnevie.
To avoid suspicion among the troops, Miranda arranged the check ups to start from the first three companies of TVGU . The 2nd battalion was placed on the rear. This made the impression that the 2nd battalion was still part of the preparation.
When it was the 2nd battalion’s turn for check-up, they were all marched into one of the rooms of the building. After the members of the 2nd battalion entered the room, Lt. Felix “Barloo” Espiritu immediately locked the door of the room. Members of the Philippine scouts under Capt. Encinas immediately sealed off all possible exits.
The men of Lt. Honorato Osio, who were at the Home Economics building disguised as mess officers, rushed to Barros’ office and picked up all the arms of the 2nd battalion. Miranda then went to the room where the members of the 2nd battalion were and informed them that they were being disarmed and were dismissed from the team.
On the eve of the attack, Miranda ate his supper at the house of Mayor Andres Diez of Camaligan. After supper, Miranda met with Major Barros, Maj. Villasenor, Andres Diez and Lt. Rhys Wood, a black officer from the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB). During the meeting, Barros told Miranda, “You know what to do. Start early in the morning and catch the Japanese by surprise”.
A week before the assault, the Tangcong Vaca guerilla unit gathered intelligence regarding the Japanese troops in Naga. The report was signed by an officer named A.R. Imperial and it went something like this:
“In Liboton, I saw 6 Japanese soldiers. According to a boy who was with me that there are more Japanese soldiers in Liboton and they are living in the house of Mrs. Naz, the house of Mr. Villa Ignacio and another house owned by a Tagalog located near a mango tree at the corner of the street (Jacob Street) that leads to Central School. There are 50 Japs in the coconut groove in San Felipe. In Santa Cruz, civilians saw Japanese soldiers at the house of Ammen during the evening but left during the day”.
Later that evening, Miranda and Lt. Wood returned to Camaligan Central School to meet with the other company commanders to finalize their plan. The attack was to commence at dawn and the first objective is to surprise the Japanese garrison at Ateneo De Naga by attacking it on the rear.
At 4a.m. on April 9, 1945, breakfast was prepared for the troops. At 5a.m., the guerillas quietly went through the thick foliage of Queborac and positioned themselves at the back of Ateneo De Naga. After firing a few rounds, the guerilla assault team entered the campus. They found the school ground abandoned by the retreating Japanese troops. They discovered a 50 caliber machinegun and a few rounds of ammunition left by the Japanese. For an hour, the guerillas curiously went through the once dreaded garrison.
At 6a.m., the guerillas marched through Pedro Santos avenue, Barlin street then positioned themselves at Igualdad street behind the provincial capitol building. They found the building empty. Thinking that Naga is free from Japanese troops, the guerillas decided to rest at the Plaza Rizal. While the guerillas were at Plaza Rizal, some civilians told them that Japanese soldiers positioned themselves at the Abella residence at Panganiban avenue.
At 8am, gunfire erupted at Panganiban avenue between the attacking guerillas and the Japanese troops. A guerilla unit lead by Maj. Teofilo Padua joined the assault along with a number of Agta bowmen. The Agta tried to use flaming arrows to ignite the building that the Japanese were holed in but the arrows were falling short of their target across the river. Miranda ordered members of the Philippine scouts to move to Tabuco and secure the train station. At 10a.m., a guerilla named Catimbang attempted to dash across the Panganiban bridge but was shot by a Japanese sniper. Lt. Delfin Rosales attempted to rescue the wounded Catimbang but was also shot by a sniper positioned at a building across the bridge. Rosales later died from his wound.
After lunch, the exhausted guerillas decided to rest to figure out new attack strategies. Civilians told them that the Japanese holed up at the house of Manley located right at the foot of Colgante bridge. The house of Manley had been used as the headquarters of the dreaded Japanese military intelligence called Kempei-tai.
The squad that was sent by Miranda to verify this information reported that the building is well fortified with sandbags and the Japanese had machine guns installed in several strategic places.
On April 10, 1945 at around 6a.m., guerilla troops passed through Via Gainza Street (later renamed Pena Francia avenue) towards Tinago. Capt. Penaredondo was assigned to guard the area from San Francisco church to Colgante bridge while Lt. Mamerto Sibulo’s company provided support near cathedral.
Using a local resident as their guide, Capt. Honorato Osio and his unit crossed the Bicol river at its shallow portion in San Felipe. The unit went through Dayangdang street and when they were about to arrived at their target, a Japanese machine gun opened up on them. They occupied several abandoned foxholes. At around 4:30pm, a bullet from a Japanese sniper hit Capt. Osio’s leg. His unit retreated and Osio was rushed to the clinic of Dr. Magno Jamito in Carolina.
The Japanese decided to abandon their stronghold and retreated to Concepcion Pequena. The guerillas pursuit the Japanese through Concepcion avenue but had to withdraw because it was getting dark.
On April 11th, the guerillas continued their attack on the Japanese that were holed up at the Diaz hardware. Using the machinegun that they captured at Ateneo de Naga, the guerillas forced the Japanese to abandon the area and retreat to Pili. To avoid further casualties, Maj. Miranda ordered his men to proceed to the downtown area of Naga. However, some men did not heed the order and decided to pursue the Japanese. Two Japanese snipers, who were waiting in ambush, fired on these guerillas. No information was available regarding their casualties.
The next day, the residents of Naga and nearby towns returned to their houses. The Japanese were reported to have retreated to the mountains of Isarog. The guerilla units had a victory parade on April 13, 1945 and the flag of the Philippines was finally raised at the belfry of the cathedral to proclaim the liberation of Naga.
Major Juan Q. Miranda was elected as a congressman in the 2nd (?) district of Camarines Sur and served at the post from 1946 until 1949. He is also known as the father of the charter of Naga City. He left the army with a rank of colonel. The city hall avenue was renamed on November 13, 1985 to J.Q. Miranda Avenue in honor of the late guerilla leader.
Lt. Delfine C. Rosales – In the early years of Naga city, there was a street named Camino Real that led to the town of Pili. In 1839, Camino Real was extended on the opposite side of the Bicol river and this extension was named Calle De Legaspi. In 1847, a concrete bridge was built to replace a wooden bridge at the Rio Naga (Now Bicol River). This bridge connected the streets of Camino Real and Calle De Legaspi. The bridge was named Jose Maria Panganiban. In October 18, 1989, Mayor Robredo approved a city ordinance renaming the bridge to Lt. Delfin C. Rosales to honor the Bicolano war hero.
Msgr. Florencio Yllana—He became the chaplain of Pena Francia and was known for his 5-minute sermons whenever he officiate a mass. A relative of Msgr. Yllana noted in his memoir, “The reason why I attend mass at 11am was to hear his sermons”. In August 15, 1981, the image of Pena Francia was stolen. In September 5, 1982, it was returned in six dismantled parts to Msgr. Florencio Yllana in Manila. Msgr. Yllana died on December 25, 1993.
1 comment:
If you ever get to read this note (obviously, duh), let's reconnect. Been trying to leave your a private message in Facebook, tukayo, but cannot recall your Facebook name. Yours truly is Pig Orig Gub.
Peter Ivan R. Guballa
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