The guerrilla movement in Laguna during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, 1942-1945: Beginnings, growth and success

• Main Author: Macapinlac, Marcelino M., Jr.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Guerrillas—Philippines—Laguna—History; World War, 1939-1945—Underground movements—Philippines—Laguna; Asian History
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/7016
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper endeavors to trace beginnings, growth, success of guerrillas against the Japanese in Laguna. Six major guerrilla outfits operated in the province. These were the Hunters ROTC Guerrillas, the Marking’s Guerrillas, the Fil-American Irregular Troops (FAIT), President Quezon’s Own Guerrillas (PQCG), the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (HUKBALAHAP), and the Wha Chi (Philippine Chines Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force). It is anchored on the theme of “cultural ambivalence,” a concept that explains loyalty to a former colonizer, such as the United States of America, against an invader which was Japan. Using the descriptive-narrative-analytical methodology, this paper expounds on the aims, beginnings and expansion of these guerrilla outfits. It also explores the motives of the townspeople of Laguna in joining these guerrilla troops. It provides a detailed examination of the plans and strategies of these groups to crush the Japanese troops and how these were successfully carried out. It also looks into the challenges that the guerrillas came across with and the measures they took to handle these challenges, including the relationship of each guerrilla outfit with the civilian population, the Americans, other guerrilla groups, and the collaborators with the Japanese. Moreover, it describes how the Japanese responded, including their atrocities, to the combined Filipino and American liberation forces. Finally, it examines the contribution of the guerrillas in Laguna to the guerrilla movement in the country in general.