Led by their chief Tay Fusa, the piratescomposed of Chinese mercenaries, Japanese ronin (masterless samurai) and other lawless elements subjugated and oppressed the people of Cagayan, compelling the Spanish to send a relief force of forty men led by Capt. Juan Pable de Carrion onboard six ships. Set against this small expedition was an enemy force composed of approximately 600 men and more than a dozen ships. In the ensuing battles (which included beach warfare and actual boarding of ships) the Spanish utilized their superior weaponry and military tactics to inflict hundreds of casualties on the pirates with only a few deaths on their side. In the end, Tay Fusa and his men were forced to abandon their settlement.
2. Tamblot Uprising (1621 1622).
Tamblot, a babaylan from Bohol, was said to have started the revolt after he challenged the Spanish priest to see whose god could help them produce rice and wine from a bamboo stalk. While Tamblot won the challenge, the Spanish attributed his victory either to demonic forces or plain trickery. Nevertheless, Tamblot convinced 2,000 Boholanos to abandon the Spanish and instead join his cause. Due to the uprising, the Spanish had to call for reinforcements from Cebu to defeat the rebels. As for Tamblots fate, he was either killed in one of the battles or was assassinated by some Spanish friars who managed to infiltrate his camp.
3. Bancao Revolt (1621 1622).
As a young man, he had been one of those who initially befriended Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and converted to Catholicism. However, during his dotage, he went back to his old religion and teamed up with the local babaylan Pagali to build a temple dedicated to a diwata. Bancao and Pagali also attracted lots of followers by saying they could turn the Spanish into stones or clay by simply uttering the word bato or hurling earth at them respectively. Unfortunately for the followers, their incantations proved useless to the might of superior Western technology as the Spanish suppressed their movement soon enough and burned their temple. Afterwards, the Spanish beheaded Bancaos corpse and placed his head on a stake as a warning to the rest of the people.
4. Tapar Uprising (1663).
This revolt, which happened in the town of Oton,
Panay, was named after its chief instigator, a
babaylan named Tapar. Renouncing his conversion to the Catholic faith, Tapar founded a religion which mixed Christianity and paganism. As its head priest, Tapar dressed in womens clothes, claimed he could talk to a demon, and formulated native versions of the Spanish clergy, the Holy Trinity, and even the Virgin Mary. When the local Spanish priest tried to intervene, Tapar had him killed. As revenge, Spanish forces hunted down Tapar and his followers and killed them. To dissuade further revolts, they fastened Tapar and his followers corpses to bamboo poles and fed them to the crocodiles in full view of the inhabitants. Not only that, they also impaled the movements Virgin Mary and fed her to the crocs as well.
5. Chinese Massacres (1603, 1639, 1663).
It sure was tough to be Chinese living in Spanishcontrolled Philippines, considering they had to endure discrimination, violence, and whole-scale massacres. Thanks to the failed attempt by the Chinese pirate Limahong to annex the country in 574, anti-Chinese sentiment generally ran high among the Filipinos and the Spanish. Distrust was a two-way street, however, as most of the Chinese also viewed the other side with suspicion. It didnt help that some of them actually plotted to revolt against Spain. In this atmosphere of paranoia, several bloody revolts broke out in the 16th century and 17th century. Among the most notable include the Sangley (the archaic term for Chinese) Rebellion of 1603 in which a combined Spanish-FilipinoJapanese force massacred 23,000 Chinese after it was feared the arrival of three high-ranking mainland Chinese officers was a pretext for an invasion. Another, the 1639 Rebellion, involved an uprising by Chinese workers in Laguna which later ended with the deaths of an estimated 20,000 Chinese. The third major rebellion happened in 1662 when the powerful Chinese pirate Koxinga demanded the annexation of the Philippines but abruptly died afterwards. His death, however, sparked another battle between the Spanish and the Chinese which ultimately resulted in the latter suffering 22,000 deaths. Unfortunately, no amount of bloodshed could induce the two sides to seek a lasting peace, as there would be more uprisings and rebellions as Spanish rule dragged on.
6. Sultan Shaif ud-Din versus Sultan Kutai
(1701). While a single combat to the death between two monarchs might seem like something out of a Hollywood movie, an event like this really took place in 1701 between two Muslim sultans due to a simple misunderstanding. Wanting to pay a courtesy call to Kutai who was Sultan of Maguindanao and the successor of Kudarat, Sulu Sultan Shaif ud-Din sailed forth from Jolo to Maguindanao with a huge fleet of native sailboats. However, Kutai wrongly assumed the vast armada to be an invasion force and denied it permission to sail upriver. Insulted by the gesture, ud-Din challenged Kutai to single combat in front of their men. After both killed each other during the duel, their men also fought a bloody battle which was won in the end by ud-Dins forces.
7. Agrarian Revolts (1745 1746).
Set in the areas of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan, the roots of the Agrarian Revolts stemmed from the usurpation of lands by several religious orders, leaving the inhabitants poor and desolate. While Spanish forces eventually quelled the uprisings, Pedro Calderon, an investigator for the Royal Audiencia, found that the religious orders with the collaboration of a corrupt surveyor named Juan Monroyusurped the lands rightfully belonging to the natives and ordered the lands to be returned to their rightful owners. The case eventually reached the court of Spanish King Ferdinand VI who admonished the friars and commanded them to return the ill-gotten lands back to the inhabitants. Not only that, he also instructed the religious orders to treat the Filipinos well. Unfortunately, the kings decrees fell on deaf ears as the friars managed to keep their vast haciendas and estates until the Revolution broke out.
8. Revolt in Defence of the 1812
Constitution (1815). One of the least-known revolts in the country happened after the rescission of the 1812 Cadiz Constitution. As can be recalled, that particular constitutionpromulgated during a time when Spain was embroiled in a bloody guerrilla war known as the Peninsular War with the French granted a wide range of rights which was afforded to the different Spanish colonies including the Philippines. Among such rights included representation in the Spanish assembly and Spanish citizenship to the
natives. Unfortunately, with the withdrawal of the
French and the reinstatement of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII, the constitution was later abolished in 1814. Naturally, this resulted in widespread unrest in the Philippines. Many of the lower classes blamed the upper-class principales for the loss of their newly-minted freedoms and suspected them of conspiring with the Spanish to maintain the latters hegemony. Ilocandia became the hotbed of the insurgency, with local leader Simon Tomas leading his townmates to ransack and pillage the homes and churches of the Spanish and pro-Spanish Filipinos. However, their revolt was short-lived as the Spanish quickly suppressed Tomas and his followers. MISCONCEPTIONS
1. Every Japanese Treated Our
Countrymen Harshly. Probably the biggest reason why some Filipinos especially those belonging to the older generation still harbor feelings of hatred for the Japanese is because of the brutality they suffered under their rule. We dont blame them; after all, it is welldocumented that life was generally a living hell for those who lived under the Japanese. Contrary to popular belief however, not all the Japanese acted like savage barbarians. In fact, there were some who actually displayed kindness towards the people. Chief Justice Abad Santos had fond memories of a Christian Japanese Captain named Watanabe who not only treated him and his son kindly, but even delivered his letter to his wife. Japanese officers, especially those who knew how to speak English, and their men were quite wellbehaved and would even try to befriend the local Filipino community. While it wont erase the stigma of their compatriots brutality, its also equally wrong to classify every single Japanese as a mindless murderer.
2. They Controlled The Entire Philippines.
While the Japanese did wrest the country from the Americans, a highly effective guerrilla force prevented them from ever taking full control of the country. In fact, the Japanese controlled as much as only 40 percent; all the rest belonged to different guerrilla groups. While the Japanese did control the major urban centers, they were in fact confined mostly to Luzon and Visayas, surrounded by the guerrillas who operated in the countryside and in the mountains. One guerrilla movement in Mindanaothe island farthest from the Japaneseeven installed its own
government which operated out in the open. These
groups non-stop destabilization and surveillance campaign against the Japanese proved to be hugely successful, and were invaluable to the eventual return of the Americans.
3. The Guerrillas Were A United Front.
Propaganda poster depicting the Philippine resistance movement. Via Wikimedia Commons. In a way, the different guerrilla groups were united primarily that they had to fight a common enemy. However, the cause for unity ends there as these groups hated each other almost as much as they hated the Japanese. In fact, they often fought each other either for territory and influence. The Huks, for instance, despised American-led guerrilla groups and would often engage them in battle. The Moros also clashed with Filipino and USAFFE guerrillas on a regular basis. So in actuality, the conflict in the Philippines looked less like a clear-cut duel between two people and more like a barroom brawl among drunken customers.
4. The Guerrillas Were Composed Of
Filipinos And Americans Only. Chinese-Filipino guerrillas with some captured Japanese soldiers in Luzon. Source: www.watawat.net While we may think that only Filipinos and Americans fought as guerrillas against the Japanese, there was actually another nationality that fought them here too: the Chinese. Thats right, the Chinesebeing also on the receiving end of Japanese aggression during the war formed their own guerrilla group against the invaders. Composed mainly of assimilated Chinese, the Philippine Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force or Wah Chi operated in Central Luzon and often conducted lightning raids and liquidations against the Japanese and their collaborators. They also fought together with the Huk. In fact, Luis Taruc was said to have remarked that among the guerrilla groups, the Wah Chi were among the most courageous and ferocious. Speaking of ferocity
5. The Guerrillas Fought A Good, Clean
Fight. To think that only the Japanese were brutal is misleading since various accounts have shown how creatively cruel our guerrilla forefathers could be as well. That Filipinos are an innately gentle and hospitable people just goes to show how far the Japanese actually forced them into becoming cruel sadists as well.
Fulfilling the proverb of violence begets violence
and driven by revenge, the Filipino guerrillas struck fear into the hearts of the invaders, mutilating and decapitating captured Japanese soldiers whenever they could. One Japanese officer in Mindanao related how they would go back to sleep on their ships at night for fear of being ambushed by Moro juramentados. When the Americans finally returned, their cigarettes were often bartered with by the guerrillas using the severed heads of Japanese soldiers. The guerrillas also often ignored American orders to treat captured enemy soldiers well, killing and decapitating them the moment they could lay their hands on them. Even the Americans themselves were frightened at the behavior and appearance of the guerrillas, some of whom vowed not to shave or cut their hair until theyve wiped out the enemy.
6. The American Liberation Campaign Was
Unstoppable. Believe it or not, General Douglas MacArthur almost didnt get to keep his promise of returning to the Philippines in 1944, and its all thanks to some very critical mistakes the Americans made during the decisive Battle of Leyte Gulf. Luckily for them though, the Japanese made far more mistakes. At this point, the Japanese were getting desperate and banking on a last-ditch gambit to delay or even possibly defeat the overwhelming American forces poised to land on Leyte. To do this, they consolidated what was left of their once-mighty Navy and devised a plan wherein a sacrificial decoy force would lure away the Americans most powerful ships which was guarding the invasion force. With those out of the way, the Japanese would then swoop in with their own ships and destroy the unguarded forces. The plan, if it succeeded, would have slaughtered a countless number of American soldiers as well as set the liberation campaign schedule back by years. And it nearly worked too. Taking the bait, the powerful main fleet led by Admiral William Halsey pursued the decoys and allowed the Japanese Navy led by Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita to sail unopposed through the San Bernardino Strait right into the unguarded American forces off the coast of Samar. Up against this overwhelming force of battleships which included the Yamato (the largest of its kind in the world) and heavy cruisers was a motley collection of American support ships which consisted of slow-moving escort carriers, transports, and small destroyer ships. However, the Americans displayed ferocious fighting skills in their engagement, their outgunned ships going toe-to-toe with the powerful Japanese battleships. In fact, Kurita lost his nerve and
sounded the retreat because he thought he had been
fighting the main American fleet.
expressed his surprise when he saw the American
planes like sitting ducks on the ground.
7. MacArthur Made His I Shall Return
Speech Here.
Without the much-needed planes, the Filipinos and
Americans found themselves at a huge disadvantage against the Japanese.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur wades ashore during
initial landings at Leyte, Philippine Islands (1944). Via Wikimedia Commons. With all the legends surrounding MacArthur, its probably no wonder if many Filipinos still think he announced his famous promise here on Philippine soil. In reality however, MacArthur uttered that line only after he had arrived in Terowie, South Australia with the rest of the evacuees from Corregidor. He also kept repeating that line in his subsequent speeches. Incidentally, his colleagues and officials at Washington thought MacArthurs line was too personal and asked him to change it to We shall return, a request he ignored. Besides, his supporters countered, MacArthur took the war personally since he thought he had let the Filipino people down and wanted to make amends.
8. The Japanese Completely Surprised Our
Forces When The War Began. After the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, we were taught that the Japanese quickly launched surprise air raids on several bases across the Philippines. One raid at Clark Airfieldwhich would be known as our own version of Pearl Harborresulted in the destruction of virtually the entire arsenal of USAFFE airplanes. As a consequence, the Japanese achieved air superiority at the onset of their invasion of the country. It was a complete tactical surprise, right? Not really. Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, USAFFE forces in the country had already been put on the alert for the impending Japanese onslaught. In fact, General Lewis Brereton, commander of the Far East Air Force even proposed sending bomber planes to destroy Japanese air bases in Formosa (Taiwan) to pre-empt their raids when he heard the news about Pearl Harbor. He also recommended that the planes be kept off the ground in order to prevent their destruction by the Japanese. However, bureaucratic squabbling between him and MacArthurs Chief-of-Staff General Sutherland prevented the planes from launching the operation in time, an incident which has come to be known as the Far East Air Force Controversy. One Japanese airman who took part in the first air raids even
9. The Death March Was Japanese
Brutality At Its Worst. There is no question that the infamous Bataan Death March was one of Japans worst atrocities committed against the Filipinos and Americans. The 60-mile trek from Mariveles, Bataan in the south to Camp O Donnell in the north resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of captured prisoners, many of whom succumbed to the gruelling conditions of the march. Curiously enough, many misconceptions have been attributed to such a well-documented event. For one, some prisoners described the long walk as relatively easy. According to them, their constant rest stops was the reason why the march lasted for at least three weeks. And aside from the numerous accounts of Japanese cruelty, there were also stories of kind Japanese soldiers who helped out the prisoners, giving them water and allowing them ample time to rest. A few even allowed the weak ones to ride with them on their jeepneys or trucks. Unfortunately, acts of kindness like the aforementioned were the exceptions rather than the norm. Another misconception is the view that surrendered personnel from Corregidor were transferred and forced to join the Death March. On the contrary, at the time of their surrender (May 6, 1942) the last of the Death March participants had already reached Camp O Donnell in Tarlac, their exodus having begun after the fall of Bataan on April 9. Instead, they were shipped to Manila and paraded on the streets as the Japanese wanted to show off their victory. The Corregidor prisoners were also in far better shape (they enjoyed better rations) than their comrades who joined the Death March at the time of their surrender.
10. Every Effect Of Japanese Occupation
Was Negative. While a decimated population, a destroyed economy, and a wrecked infrastructure would seem to negate that notion, there were indeed a few silver linings to be had during their occupation of the country. For one, Tagalog and not English became
the national language. As a result, our culture
experienced a sort of renaissance during those years especially when artists and writers re-discovered the beauty of indigenous arts and literature. As weve mentioned before, the presence of a foreign invader also strengthened our national identity. Even if the guerrilla groups squabbled among themselves, they at least had the propensity to recognize the Japanese as a common enemy. Lastly, the occupation showcased the positive qualities of Filipinos who not only had to be
resilient but also be extremely creative to stay alive.
Conclusively, the hardships of the war definitely strengthened the Filipinos indomitable will to survive.