GEC 2 - READINGS IN

PHILIPPINE HISTORY

"JAPANESE COLONIAL

PERIOD"

Melyne Ken-ken F. Abarca

Patricia Abanilla

BEED 1A

GEC 2 - READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

 In times of occupation, it becomes necessary for people to wage war and break

barriers against those occupants. A nation must contain understanding, equality and

independence in order to become a properous one. To obtain the rights of life, liberty

and happiness Filipinos once fought to be freed from the grasp of Japanese invaders.

On December 8 , 1941, just ten hours after the assault on Pearl Harbor, Japan

conducted a surprise attack on the Philippines. Following the initial aerial bombing,

ground troop landings were carried out both north and south of Manila. The defending

forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance

to Manila Bay under the weight of superior numbers. They tried to establish

dominance of their neighbours and also to oust the region's American and European

influences. The western powers were starting to pay attention to the situation early in

1941. In the Philippines, America sent soldiers.

The Japanese occupation in the Philippines lasted for three years from 1942

until 1945 during the World War II. The occupants captured seventy-six thousand

soldiers, forced them to perform a death march more than one hundred kilometers

long and an estimated ten thousand soldiers died due to thirst, hunger and exhaustion.

They held control in some areas of the country creating military bases, where torture

and execution was done to many Filipinos. Those years of oppression, war and unfair

treatments caused people tremblance in fear, desperation for power and establishment

of freedom that is truly deserved. Neighboring countries supported the Philippines

especially the Americans who sent troops, gave protection to the citizens, and fought

alongside the brave Filipino warriors to defeat the Japanese occupants. By the time

the war was over, the Philippines had experienced great loss of life and immense

physical damage.
Thanks to the spread of diseases and the absence of basic needs, the Philippine

population declined continuously for the next five years, far from the Filipino lifestyle

before the war, when the country after Japan was the second richest in Asia.

The historical event of the Japanese occupation is relevant to the independence

of the Philipppines. Reason is that numbers of people strived to live, fought in battles,

and sacrificed their lives in exchange of survival and freedom. This event formed the

so-called heroes and marked the country's independence. The Philippines finds itself

under American rule from 1898 to 1946. A year after the Japanese conquest of the

Philippines, the Philippines achieved absolute independence. Both the Philippines and

the US signed the Manila Treaty on 4 July 1946, which acknowledged the Philippines'

independence.

References:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_the_Philippines#:~:t

ext=Although%20the%20Japanese%20had%20promised,the%20Philippines%20an

%20independent%20republic.&text=The%20puppet%20republic%20was%20headed

%20by%20President%20Jos%C3%A9%20P.%20Laurel.
https://www.philippine-history.org/japanese-occupation.htm