World War II in Leyte

Leyte's Guerrillas

IN Leyte island, the Leyte Provincial Regiment under Col Theodore Cornell of the US Army received its orders to surrender on May 18, 1942. Cornell in turn wrote the Provincial Governor on the terms of surrender, saying he had "no control" over the conditions which necessitated the surrender.

The majority of the top-ranking officers peacefully accepted the terms of surrender imposed by the Japanese Imperial Army, but many of those in the lower ranks refused to comply. A day or two before they were supposed to lay down their arms, they took to the hills and interior villages. There they regrouped themselves and formed guerilla units that engaged the Japanese in hit-and-run attacks, lasting till September 1944.

In the northwestern part of Leyte, in Capoocan, T Sgt. Felix M. Pamanian, QMS, PA-USAFFE, organized the Northwestern Leyte Guerilla Force. He set up a war council, and an embryo staff and disposed three battalions of six combat units from Carigara to Villaba and Biliran, then a sub-province of Leyte. This remained independent until it was finally absorbed into the Leyte Area Command in July 1, 1943 under Col. Ruperto Kangleon.

In the eastern part of the island, other guerilla units also took shape. Former Philippine Scout Jesus Olmedo formed a unit in Tarragona (now MacArthur), while rig driver Antonio G.T. Cinco came up with his platoon in Tanauan.

The Tacloban-Palo-Pastrana triangle had Pfc. Eusebio Teraza, formerly of the Leyte Provincial Regiment, with his own team of combatants: Sgt. Felimon Pabilona, Pfc. Lucero Severos and the civilians Ciriaco and his son Isabelo Centino.

Though short-lived, this unit earned the distinction of having fired the first shot against the Japanese. On June 16, 1942, the group ambushed a truck carrying Japanese troops at Tigbao, Tacloban. Teraza was killed in August that same year in an engagement against superior enemy force in San Antonio, Palo.

The interior valleys of Leyte had their own share of heroes too.

Second Lt. Alejandro Balderian of Dagami, who was separated from his mother unit the 91st Infantry Regiment, USAFFE, organized remnants from other defunct units a fighting team on December 5, 1942. More than a week later, Balderian established the Provincial Government of Free Leyte, having himself as military governor.

Eleven kilometers away south, in Burauen, USAFFE Capt. Glicerio I. Erfe came up with his own combat units and bolo battalions, becoming the most completely organized unit in Leyte in due time. His bolo battalions were transformed into four guerilla brigades, having uniforms, prescribing countersigns and codes for passes.

Leadership problems in the guerilla movement led to his arrest by Col. Kangleon's troops for insubordination. After his release, he went back to his former units in Burauen, only to discover that they were assimilated by the Leyte Area Command under his rival, Kangleon. Broken in spirit, he surrendered to the Japanese and was later executed.

The guerilla leader Lt. Blas E. Miranda, operating in Ormoc, met the same problems as Erfe with Col. Kangleon. As in other areas, several guerilla units spontaneously took shape after orders to surrender were defied. In Palompon, former school supervisor Saturnino Mari formed a group, while in Merida, Pfc. Escolastico Geneston followed suit.In Albuera, Sgt. Conrado J. Daffon operated a unit.

Among the guerilla units operating in the Merida-Ormoc-Albuera area, Lt. Miranda was selected leader on April, 1943 and invested with the rank of Brigadier General.

According to former guerrillas, the WLGWF was organized along divisional lines, having at one time as many as 21,000 personnel and troops. It had a base camp, munitions shop, a hospital and a training school where field officers underwent military training for one month.

But early on, Miranda was not on good terms with Kangleon who had by this time assimilated other guerilla forces in Leyte. Miranda's difficulty in accepting Kangleon's leadership was rooted in the latter's surrender to the Japanese in Mindanao. Instead, it was with Macario Peralta of Panay that Miranda established liaison, no matter how tenuous.

Miranda's attempts to annex a territory south of Baybay proved disastrous for his troops. His leaders were caught by Kangleon after a bloody skirmish. Failing to get recognition from MacArthur, he received no aid and was eventually ordered arrested for his "recalcitrance".

He escaped and hid in Albuera until after the war. His group, the WLGWF, was declared an outlaw organization and until now has not been recognized by both US and Philippine governments.

In the southern parts of Leyte, similar guerilla initiatives took shape. Among them were Capt. Sergio C. Nuique at Sogod, 3rd Lt. Jose Nazareno at Liloan, 1st Lt. U.C. Francisco at Malitbog, USN Ensign Gordon A. Lang at Maasin, Capt. Porfirio E. Jain and Nemesio Mosqueda at Pintuyan, and Chester Peters with Julia Manapsal at Inopacan.

Kangleon, in the center, explains the Leyte situation to an American officer.

Among all the guerilla leaders in Leyte however, it was Col. Ruperto Kangleon who was recognized by Gen. MacArthur as the man to lead the guerilla movement in the island. But it took sometime before he could fully assert his authority because of his past. A surrenderee in Cabadbaran, Butuan in Mindanao, Kangleon was helped by Lt. Rosano Capili to escape from the Japanese concentration camp and go back to his hometown, Macrohon, the place of his birth.

In a week's time after his arrival, he attempted to unify the independent guerilla forces in Leyte, starting with the units in the south. The first conference set in the last weeks of 1942 did not turn out conclusive results. But the second conference on January 1943 made some headway.

With his appointment in April 1943 handed to him by Comdr. Charles Parsons from Gen. MacArthur, Kangleon took the post of commander of the Leyte Area Command in earnest. He activated the 92nd Division and reorganized the South Leyte Guerilla Unit into the 94th Regiment. This he placed under Jain's command.

On July 1, 1943, the North Leyte Guerilla Unit was organized into the 95th Regiment under Balderian's command. The troops in the Abuyog-Dulag-Burauen-Dagami area were likewise appraised of Kangleon's appointment. Vested with such an authority, Kangleon appointed Erfe Adjutant General and took in Landia and Olmedo as company commanders.