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    One In One Hundred
    One In One Hundred
    One In One Hundred
    Ebook91 pages53 minutes

    One In One Hundred

    By Norbert Mercado

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    Laurel kept on urging the audience to shout, Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!
    At first, only a few members of the audience were shouting the word. But as Laurel and the Filipino leaders on the stage kept chanting, Banzai!, most of the audience eventually shouted Banzai!, too.
    But two men in white t-shirts refrained from following the crowd. When majority of the crowd was already chanting Banzai!, they looked at each other, afraid that patrolling Japanese soldiers or Filipino collaborators might single them out.
    Still, the two men could not do it.
    They heard the Japanese soldiers shout the word when Bataan fell. They were fighting against the Japanese and they had to surrender. Those who surrendered were forced to take part in the Death March on April 9, 1942. This was a long trek; about 80 miles, from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. And then, whoever survived would be transferred from Pampanga to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. The number of prisoners of war was estimated to be between 60,000 to 80,000 Filipino and American soldiers. It was estimated that between 2600 to 10,650 Allied soldiers died because of physical abuse and murder by the Japanese forces before they could reach Camp O’Donnell.
    The two men were guerillas. They were there on a mission to observe the future President of the Japanese Government in the Philippines. Despite having to listen to the tumultuous shouts of their countrymen, they had to imprint everything about Laurel – what he looked like, his mannerisms, the way he dressed up, and the way he talked – in their mind.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNorbert Mercado
    Release dateFeb 6, 2015
    ISBN9781311588166
    One In One Hundred
    Author

    Norbert Mercado

    "In this age of revolution, the contemporary writer should utilize the pen for the preservation of peace," Norbert Mercado, a Filipino author, stressed. The books he has written and published, including his anthologies, unapologetically assert the indispensability of peace in a nation’s progress. The author has written more novels than any Asian writer had in just a brief period of time. In fact, he has surpassed the number of novels written by world-renowned novelists like Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1970) and American authors Ernest Hemingway (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954). Solzhenitsyn has four novels to his credit, while Hemingway has eight. His style of writing is simple and succinct, but poignant and colorful like Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and Solzhenitsyn’s ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESONOVICH. "The simpler the novel, the better," he said. In line with Japanese Yasunari Kabawata’s writings about the Japanese way of life, most of Norbert’s novels focus mostly on the current situation in his country. Kabawata is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. His books present hope to the Filipino, especially to the "economic exiles" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan whom he has spent most of his time with, in their daily struggles. But most of all, his novels lucidly show the futility of war and violence in the resolution of political-economic-class conflicts in the Philippines. "War should not be used as an instrument in resolving political conflicts. Writers who abet wars and revolutions must think of the widows and the fatherless, the chaos, destruction, and suffering of the people whom they claim to be concerned about," he said. What if, like Solzhenitsyn, Hemingway, and Kabawata, he eventually wins the Nobel Prize? What will he do with the US$1,000,000 award? "I will use the prize for establishing a Peace Foundation that will assist in the formulation of policies which will resolve the current shooting conflicts in the country and help alleviate the continuing poverty of our countrymen." He will take charge of the foundation and personally campaign for a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Philippines. "The insurgency and the secessionist rebellion have foreign support. A Nobel title will give me the personality to approach the leaders involved in the conflicts," he explained. Born on March 25, 1955, he is the youngest among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Aurelio Mercado, Sr. of San Manuel, Tarlac. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication. Voted Outstanding Campus Journalist in 1974, he was a columnist and associate editor of the Philippine Collegian, the campus publication of the University of the Philippines. He has also written articles for various newspapers and magazines in the Philippines, as well as abroad. He also won the 1981 National Essay Writing Contest sponsored by SIDESTREETS Magazine. Norbert is a graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), the topmost armed forces school in the country, where he was conferred a Master’s degree in National Security Administration (MNSA) and the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). He graduated from the NDCP at the age of 32, the youngest in Class 21 which had already produced several generals in the Armed Forces, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines. He was elected one of the fifteen directors of Class 21. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Applied Servanthood), Honoris Causa, for his almost 30 years work in Christian literature. His batch mates include Senator Robert Barbers, Undersecretary of Trade and Industry and Bulletin Columnist Nelly Villafuerte, Actor and Producer Fred Galang, Rev. Peter Vasaya, and the His Royal Highness Sultan of Sulu and Sabah Ishmael Kiram. A sports lover, he was a rifle marksman in his UP ROTC days, and a winner of the 1988 and 1989 5,000 meter-run sponsored by the National Defense College Alumni Association. His sports include swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, karate, cycling, and marathon among others. A traveler, he has attended various international conferences and trainings in Asia and Europe. His travels have widened his insight not only of places, but also of people he has constantly observed and empathized with. He is the youngest graduate of the Singapore Haggai Institute for Third World Leaders in 1980 at the age of 24. "Let us work for peace in our country, in any way we can," Norbert stressed. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Ria M. Mercado

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      Book preview

      One In One Hundred - Norbert Mercado

      ONE IN ONE HUNDRED

      by

      NORBERT L. MERCADO

      Also by Norbert L. Mercado

      NOVELS

      72 Hours in Moscow

      After the Summer Rain

      The Battle of Manila Bay

      Cambodia's Children of Sorrow

      The Children of Mars

      Chrysanthemum

      The Days of an Empire

      Even the Grass Bleeds

      Golgotha!

      I Don't Need A Throne

      The Korean War

      The Last Romanov

      One Love, Three Summers

      Some Winds Blow Forever

      Unchained Melody

      Windflowers

      The Winter is Young

      SERIES

      In The Shadow Of The Roman Empire

      Morning Glory

      For more information on Norbert L. Mercado, visit

      http://norbertomercado.blogspot.com

      ONE IN ONE HUNDRED

      Norbert L. Mercado

      Copyright © 2014 Norbert L. Mercado

      Norbert L. Mercado has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work.

      This book is a work of fiction, and except in case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

      This book is sold, subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      ISBN: 978-1-311-58816-6

      E-book Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      VERSION: 2015-02-06-1900

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      CHAPTER 1

      CHAPTER 2

      CHAPTER 3

      CHAPTER 4

      CHAPTER 5

      CHAPTER 6

      CHAPTER 7

      CHAPTER 8

      CHAPTER 9

      CHAPTER 10

      CHAPTER 11

      CHAPTER 12

      CHAPTER 13

      CHAPTER 14

      FINAL CHAPTER

      DEDICATION

      A HISTORICAL NOVELIST FOR PEACE

      YOU CAN ALSO CONNECT WITH ME ONLINE:

      DISCOVER OTHER TITLES BY NORBERT L. MERCADO

      Back to Table of Contents

      CHAPTER

      1

      "The dawn of liberty is here! A new era has come to the Philippines, an era of peace and progress under the guidance of our Japanese liberators!" the voice of a potential leader of the Philippines thundered before a gathering of Filipinos at the Luneta Grandstand in celebration of the liberation of the Philippines by the Japanese forces in the country.

      Among those at the Luneta Grandstand were his fellow officers of the KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) or Association in the Service of the New Philippines. The officers were all Japanese collaborators, staunch supporters of the Japanese Government in the Philippines.

      From the time the Japanese Imperial Army conquered the Philippines in April 1942 until the time they were defeated by the American-Filipino united forces in March 1945, there were four Japanese Military Governor Generals that governed the Philippines: General Masaharu Homma, General Shizuichi Tanaka, General Shigenori Kuroda, and General Tomoyuki Yamashita. They were the most powerful government officials in the Philippines during the period of the Japanese occupation.

      Among the once high-ranking government officials at the Luneta Grandstand were Jose P. Laurel, Benigno Aquino Sr., Claro M. Recto, Teofilo Sison, Camilo Osias, Jorge B. Vargas, Emiliano Tirona, Quintin Paredes, Antonio de las Alas, and Emilio Abello. KATIPUNAN General Artemio El Vibora Ricarte and General Emilio Aguinaldo were also there. SAKDAL Party President Benigno Ramos was also there. SAKDAL was a pro-Japanese political party. These men were all supporters of the Japanese Government in the Philippines. Some of them served under President Manuel L. Quezon during the Philippine Commonwealth before becoming Japanese collaborators.

      A distinguished guest of the Japanese collaborators was Shizuichi Tanaka, the Japanese Governor General in the Philippines, and the Chief of the Kempeitai, the ruthless Japanese police.

      The Japanese Governor General assumed dictatorial powers. All government officials serving under the Japanese Government in the Philippines were under his supreme command. The Japanese Governor General was the alter ego of the Emperor of Japan, who was considered a deity by all Japanese soldiers in the Philippines. Japanese soldiers during World War II had to fight to the death in the name of Emperor Hirohito.

      "Our Japanese friends have served our countrymen with faithfulness and dedication –

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