March 11, 1942

Japanese Occupation (1941 1945)

MacArthur escaped to Corregidor then

proceeded to Australia. There, he made his
promise to the Filipinos, I came through
and I shall return.

The Philippines was still getting used to the

American colonial lifestyle when World War II
(1939-1945) broke out. The country was drawn into
this war as an ally of America. The Japanese assault
in the country was meant to cut Americas lines of
communication in the Pacific as Japan sought to
expand her empire on the region.

April 9, 1942
The joint American and Filipino soldiers in
Bataan finally surrendered.
The 76,000 captured soldiers were forced to
embark on the infamous Death March.

Japanese Invasion
December 7, 1941

Death March

The Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor

in Hawaii, the main base of the U.S. Pacific
Fleet. This resulted to the death of 2,897
men.

For three months, the Filipino-American

troops were forced at gunpoint to march
from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians perished
due to malnutrition, dysentery, and
malaria.

December 8, 1941
The Japanese bombers under the command
of Gen. Masaharu Homma conducted air
attacks in various places in the Philippines.
Clark Air Base in Pampanga was first
attacked and also Nichols Field outside
Manila was attacked.

Reforming the Philippine Government

The Philippine Executive Commission
Jorge B. Vargas, who was then the mayor
of Manila before the Japanese occupation of
the city, had been instructed by President
Quezon and General MacArthur to
cooperate with the enemy. This was to avert
further anguish on the Filipino people.
On January 23, 1942, General Masaharu
Homma dissolved the Commonwealth of
the
Philippines and
established
the Philippine
Executive
Commission,
a caretaker government, with Vargas as its
first chairman.
The following year (June 19, 1943) an
election was held for members of the
Preparatory Commission for Philippine
Independence (PCPI). Its purpose is to
draw up a constitution for a free Philippines.
Jose P. Laurel became its head.

December 22-26 1941

The Japanese forces landed at the Lingayen
Gulf and continued on to Manila.
President Quezon, his family and his War
Cabinet moved to Corregidor.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur declared Manila
an open city on the advice of
Commonwealth President Manuel L.
Quezon to avoid its destruction.
January 2, 1942
The Japanese forces had already entered
Manila.
MacArthur retreated with his troops to
Bataan
while
the
Commonwealth
government withdrew to Corregidor Island
before proceeding to United States.
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 The PCPI presented its first draft of the new

Philippine Constitution it was quite similar
to the Commonwealth Constitution however
several modifications were made in keeping
with the requirements of the Japanese
Occupation. Three days later, the members
of the KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa
Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas),
a Filipino political party that served as the
sole party of state during the Japanese
occupation, ratified the draft Constitution.
The new constitution, which noticeably
lacked a bill of Rights, contained 12 articles
lifted from the 1935 constitution that fitted
the wishes of the Japanese. It was meant to
be in effect temporarily, while the
Philippines still in chaos. After the war, a
new constitution would again be drafted for
the new Philippine Republic.

of the country. Thus, Guerilla Groups were

formed.
HUKBALAHAP Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa
mga Hapon
As originally constituted on March 29,
1942, the HUKBALAHAP was to be part
of a broad united front resistance to the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines. This
original intent is reflected in its
name: "Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga
Hapon", which was "People's Army
Against the Japanese" when translated into
English. The adopted slogan was "AntiJapanese Above All".
Luis Taruc; a communist leader and
peasant-organizer
from
a
barrio
in Pampanga; was elected as head of the
committee, and became the first Huk
commander called "El Supremo."

The Second Republic of the Philippines

End of Japanese occupation

By September 20, 1943, the KALIBAPI's

representative groups in the country's
provinces and cities elected from among
themselves fifty-four members of the
Philippine National
Assembly,
the
legislature of the country, with fifty-four
governors and city mayors as ex-officio
members.
In the morning of October 14, 1943, the
Proclamation
of
the
Philippine
Independence and the Inauguration of the
Republic of the Philippines was held in
front of the Legislative Building - Benigno
S. Aquino as its first Speaker and Jos P.
Laurel as President of the Republic of the
Philippines. In the afternoon, a Pact of
Alliance was signed between the new
Republic and the Japanese government.

On October 20, 1994, the Americans landed

triumphantly in Leyte. Once ashore, Gen.
Douglas MacArthur said, I have
returned.
Sergio Osmea was part of MacArthurs
group. He had taken over Manuel L.
Quezon as president after the latter passed
away at Saranac Lake, New York on August
1944.
From October 23-26, 1944, the Americans
engaged Japanese forces in the Battle of
Leyte Gulf. It is considered as the biggest
naval battle in World History. This
encounter almost destroyed the entire
Japanese fleet and signaled the beginning of
the liberation of the Philippines.
On December 8, 1944, President Laurel and
his cabinet moved to Baguio upon orders of
Yamashita, who is also known as the tiger
of Malaya. The Japanese forces retreated to
Yamashita line a jungle battlefront

Resistance and Restoration

The unprovoked attack of the Japanese in the
Philippines led many Filipinos to resist in defense
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stretching along the Sierra Madre Mountains

from Antipolo, Rizal to Appari Cagayan.
Nevertheless,
US
liberation
forces successfully docked at Lingayen Gulf
on January 9, 1945.
Fighting continued until Japan's formal
surrender on board USS Missouri at Tokyo
Bay on September 2, 1945. The Philippines

had suffered great loss of life and

tremendous physical destruction by the time
the war was over.