1.

) THE FLOOD STORY

Igorot
Once upon a time, when the world was flat and there were no mountains, there lived two brothers,
sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The brothers were fond of hunting, and since no mountains had
formed there was no good place to catch wild pig and deer, and the older brother said:
"Let us cause water to flow over all the world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up." 97
So they caused water to flow over all the earth, and when it was covered they took the head-basket
98 of the town and set it for a trap. The brothers were very much pleased when they went to look at
their trap, for they had caught not only many wild pigs and deer but also many people.
Now Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his sons had flooded the earth
and that in all the world there was just one spot which was not covered. And he saw that all the
people in the world had been drowned except one brother and sister who lived in Pokis.
Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl, saying:
"Oh, you are still alive."
"Yes," answered the boy, "we are still alive, but we are very cold."
So Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire 99 for the boy and girl. The dog and the deer
swam quickly away, but though Lumawig waited a long time they did not return, and all the time the
boy and girl were growing colder.
Finally Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer, and when he reached them he said:
"Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready and come quickly while I watch you, for
the boy and girl are very cold."
Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim through the flood, but when they had
gone only a little way the fire was put out.
Lumawig commanded them to get more fire and they did so, but they swam only a little way again
when that of the deer went out, and that of the dog would have been extinguished also had not
Lumawig gone quickly to him and taken it.
As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis he built a big fire which warmed the brother and sister; and the
water evaporated so that the world was as it was before, except that now there were mountains. The
brother and sister married and had children, and thus there came to be many people on the earth.

THE FLOOD STORY

Bukidnon (Mindanao)
A long time ago there was a very big crab 115 which crawled into the sea. And when
he went in he crowded the water out so that it ran all over the earth and covered all the
land.
Now about one moon before this happened, a wise man had told the people that they
must build a large raft. 116 They did as he commanded and cut many large trees, until
they had enough to make three layers. These they bound tightly together, and when it
was done they fastened the raft with a long rattan cord to a big pole in the earth.

Soon after this the floods came. White water poured out of the hills, and the sea rose
and covered even the highest mountains. The people and animals on the raft were
safe, but all the others drowned.
When the waters went down and the raft was again on the ground, it was near their old
home, for the rattan cord had held.
But these were the only people left on the whole earth.
Battle of tagoloam
____________________________________________________________________________________
_________
Just days after Pearl Harbor in December 7, 1941, Japanese invasion forces landed in several Philippine
islands. They would later turn their sight on the resource-rich island of Mindanao.
***
It was a chilly night but Regino was sweating in his foxhole in the beach of Tagoloan, a town in northern
Mindanao. It would be his first encounter against the formidable Japanese imperial army. He prayed the
prayers that his grandfather taught him, as he pondered what would happen to his family if he dies or is
captured. His unit was part of the Filipino-American forces, thinly stretched over a long coastline, tasked
to defend northern Mindanao against the Japanese forces.
Weeks earlier, the American intelligence warned of an impending Japanese invasion of northern
Mindanao. Anticipating a naval-led attack, the American army commander in Mindanao ordered the
erection of barriers, during low tides, along a long coastline as far as possible seaward. Materials and
time limited, they could only come up with a makeshift structure- barbwires stringed to wooden poles
planted into the seabed. The commander just wanted to put up a good fight. He knew that their defense
preparations could not stop a determined attack by the better-armed Japanese.
Past midnight, the tide was peak high when Regino observed silhouettes of scores of warships, the
invasion fleet. Then artillery bombardment started coming from the ships. Mercifully, they were off the
mark though some landed just behind his foxhole. He tightened his grip around his machine gun, slid his
finger into the trigger and waited. They have limited ammunition and were ordered not to fire back until
the lead boats reach the barriers.
Regino saw the attack barges emerging in front of the ships. Artillery bombardment continued as the
barges raced toward the beach. The Japanese invasion commander was probably surprised that there
was no return fire from the American side; then was puzzled why the barges were stalled. The barriers
held and the barges stopped moving forward. The defenders took advantage and rained fire on them,
aiming at the unarmored sides. Regino fired his machine gun at will and was exhilarated at being able to
fight an army known for its courage and many victories. The attackers must have suffered huge casualties
as the barges turned back to the warships.

The defenders seeming triumph was short-lived. A second wave of barges returned. Regino saw divers
latch chained hooks to the barbwires. Then the barges tugged them away, dismantling the impediment
across his sector. Other units in the long defense line did not face an attack. The invaders concentrated
on particular stretches intending to punch holes across the defense line. Reginos section was one of
those they selected to break through.
The barges speeded towards the beach and the defenders were fast running out of ammunition. Regino,
had to regulate his machine gun fire in short bursts to conserve his remaining bullets. Four hours after the
attack begun, the defenders ran out of ammunition.
As previously instructed, Regino removed the pin from his machine gun, abandoned his foxhole and
proceeded to the rendezvous point. The attackers quickly established a beachhead. Some even shouted
the Japanese war chant as they chased the retreating adversaries.
At the rendezvous point, the American commander advised the surviving combatants that they can
choose to join the surrender to the Japanese forces or revert to civilian status and later join the guerilla
movement. Regino and most of the Filipino soldiers opted for the later.
Regino changed to civilian clothes and visited the scene of battle the following day. He was promptly
captured, made to help bury the dead, Japanese, American and Filipino, in a mass grave and was
released by a dignified looking Japanese officer.

***
Japanese occupation forces ruled the Philippines from 1941 to 1944. When General Douglas MacArthur
returned to liberate the country in 1944, Regino was among the first to volunteer to serve the American
army.