Views and impressions of Chairman Jorge B.

Vargas of the Philippine Executive Commission

concerning actual conditions in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Greater East Asia War on
December 8, 1941, and the transformations that have taken place since the occupation of Manila
and the Philippines by the Imperial Japanese Forces. These views and impressions were specially
requested by the Domei News Agency for publication in the principal newspapers in Japan, in connection
with the commemoration of the first anniversary of the Greater East Asia War:

The first anniversary of the War of Greater East Asia evokes many memories of the past and inspiring
hopes for the future. The Filipino nation has undergone a complete transformation, and for those of us
who have been privileged to play a part in the historic process, the twelve-month period ending on
December 8, 1942 is doubly significant.

I remember vividly the days that preceded the outbreak of the war. The atmosphere was charged with
danger. American soldiers were pouring into Manila. Several classes of the Philippine Army had been
called to the colors and inducted into the United States Army Forces in the Far East. The meaning of
these preparations did not escape us. When I read the accounts of the American demands on Japan, I
realized that Japan would never accept such an intolerable dictation of her foreign policies, and that
consequently war had become inevitable. The passage of the special Japanese envoy, Mr. Saburo
Kurusu, through Manila, on his way to Washington, only accentuated this feeling, for it indicated the
gravity of the crisis.

Still, the vast majority of the Filipino people were unaware of the impending war and many of them did not
think that Japan would dare challenge what we all had been led to believe to be the insuperable might of
the United States. The first open warning was sounded by Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon
when he revealed that the Philippines was not prepared to safeguard civilian lives and property due to the
interference of the American High Commissioner in the exercise of the Philippine President’s emergency
powers. This topic continued to absorb the interest of the cabinet and it dominated the discussions of our
last meeting before the war, which was held in Baguio on December 6.

After the first bombing of Baguio upon the outbreak of the war on December 8, the sessions of the
cabinet were called in the President’s house in Marikina in the outskirts of Manila where he was
recuperating from a persistent illness. Naturally we were all interested mostly in the progress of the war.
Military affairs were entirely out of our hands, and were the sole concern of the American Commander-in-
Chief, General Douglas MacArthur But the military situation exercised a decisive influence on civil affairs,
and when news of the first Japanese landings was released the Commonwealth Government decided to
draft plans to meet any emergency. A part of the cabinet still believed that the American defense would
prove successful and this belief was reenforced by the assurances of aid. But other members of the
cabinet already foresaw the future trials the Philippines would have to undergo.

The basic problem confronting us was the maintenance of the authority and machinery of the
government, in the face of the swift and continuous advance by the Imperial Japanese Forces. The
Commonwealth President repeatedly expressed his desire to remain in Manila at the head of the
Government, as the chosen head of the Filipino people. However, due to the insistence of the American
Commander-in-Chief and the American High Commissioner, President Quezon was finally forced to move
to Corregidor. Before he was taken there by the American authorities, a drastic reorganization of the
cabinet took place. The executive departments were reduced to four, under the President himself, the
Vice-President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army. This
reduced cabinet accompanied the President to Corregidor. The remaining cabinet advisers to the
President were made officials of the Civil Emergency Administration. Finally, a new order of succession to
the Presidency was established in an Executive Order, providing that next to the President and the Vice-
President, the Secretary to the President, a position I then occupied, would become the Chief Executive.

After the departure of the President and his new cabinet, I remained in virtual charge of the
Commonwealth Government in Manila, with former Secretary Jose P. Laurel as Acting Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court. We exerted our best efforts to meet the successive emergencies under most difficult
conditions, and I believe we succeeded in maintaining normality as much as possible. Due to the
repeated public assurances given by the American military authorities both in the United States and in the
Philippines, we thought at first that w Imperial Japanese Forces could be stopped by the combined
American and Filipino Forces, but the relentless advance of the Japanese Army soon forced us to
disbelieve the American promises. Almost before we realized it, the Japanese Army was already at the
gates of the capital from north and south. Under the impact of the overwhelming defeat suffered by the
USAFFE, all semblance of National Government in Luzon disappeared. Only local officials remained to
exert authority and represent the people. I was one of them, having been named Mayor of Greater
Manila.

Responsible as I was for the safety of the lives and property of the citizens of Manila, I faced the
impending entrance of the Imperial Japanese Forces with uneasiness and trepidation because American
propaganda had led us to expect abuses and excesses from the army of occupation, and we felt that the
USAFFE had abandoned us to a cruel and bitter fate.

In this difficult situation I found the Japanese civilians in Manila, who had made their homes among us for
so long, exceedingly helpful and understanding, specially the then Japanese Consul General. I made
arrangements for the Japanese Consul General and one of my assistants to meet the Japanese Army
when it should arrive at the boundaries of the capital, and then I devoted all my efforts to assuaging the
fears of the population. Notices and proclamations were issued, asking the people to remain calm and
peaceful, and to the credit of the citizens of Manila, be it said that they maintained an exemplary serenity
during those trying hours.

I believe that my high esteem for the Japanese nation, which I had entertained long before the war, as a
result of close relations with Japanese authorities in the fields of industry and sports, was completely
justified by the irreproachable conduct of the Imperial Japanese Forces which entered and occupied the
City of Manila during the first days of January. My belief in Japanese nobility and honor has been further
strengthened and confirmed by the benign policies which have been followed subsequently. As I have
said time and again in the past, the Imperial Japanese Forces came to us, not as enemies, as we had
been made to expect, but as a liberating army of fellow-Orientals.

I met the first representative of the Japanese Army on January 3, when the head of the Military Police
was so good as to honor me with a visit at 1 Malacañan. The preliminary arrangements, guaranteeing the
safety of life and property in Manila in exchange for the assurance that the population would not commit
any hostile act, were then confirmed. On January 7, I, as Mayor of Greater t Manila, entered into a more
formal agreement with the representative of the Imperial Japanese Forces, whereby I was to assume the
responsibility of maintaining peace and order, restoring public utilities, controlling and regulating the
movement of goods, procuring labor and facilities for the Imperial Japanese Forces, surrendering all
firearms and ammunition, continuing relief work, and accepting Japanese advisers. In appreciation of
these commitments, the representative of the Imperial Japanese Forces recognized the status and
authority of the local officials, including myself, and offered generous guarantees for the safety of life and
property, freedom of religion, recognition of existing laws and customs, excepting those incompatible with
the new situation, and other magnanimous concessions. This agreement, when made public, proved to
the people of Manila, as it had proved to me, that the Imperial Japanese Forces were sincere and
unselfish in their motives.

On January 23, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines issued Order
No. 1, establishing a Central Administrative Organization. I was honored by designation as Chairman of
the new Executive Commission, which I was directed to organize. The chosen leaders of the Filipino
people accepted upon my recommendation the posts of the Commissioners of the different branches of
the administration, while, in the main, the great body of experienced and tested public officials remained
at their posts. Thus, within three weeks after the occupation of Manila, the unparalleled generosity and
sympathy of the Imperial Japanese Forces placed in the hands of the Filipinos the authority and
machinery of government. No greater or more convincing proof could have been asked of the glorious
and beneficent ideals that have inspired the Japanese nation to embark upon the present war for the
liberation of Oriental peoples. The organization of the Executive Commission was effected after the
promise made by the Prime Minister of the Japanese Empire, His Excellency, General Hideki Tozyo, only
two days before, that Japan would gladly grant the Philippines the honor of independence so long as we
cooperate and recognize Japan’s program of establishing a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Full of gratitude for the magnanimity of the Imperial Japanese Forces, and inspired by the Japanese ideal
of a great Asian family of nations under the leadership of Japan, the Filipino people are now endeavoring
to reconstruct the country and to make it a worthy member of the co-prosperity sphere. The Philippine
Executive Commission is guided in its efforts by this double aim, the restoration of peace and prosperity
in the Philippines, and the assurance of their permanence by cooperation with Japan. The recent
formation of the Greater East Asian Affairs Ministry will doubtless enable us to coordinate our efforts
throughout Greater East Asia to ensure the victory of Japan, which will be the victory of all Oriental
peoples.

Meantime the work of reconstruction and cooperation continues. At the weekly meetings of the
Commission in Malacañan, we keep constant watch over the progressing realization of our plans for the
future. In spite of the many and difficult obstacles that we had to surmount, we are happy to note the
progress, that we have made in the task of building a new Philippines with the invaluable help and
guidance of the Imperial Japanese Forces and the Japanese civilian officials. We have established a
governmental machinery along the simple, economical and more efficient lines of the Japanese pattern.
Favoritism and politics are being eradicated from the public service. Every agency of tie Government has
been mobilized to hasten the return to normalcy. Business has recovered from a panicky state and is now
unusually brisk. Food production has been intensified, and with the farms laden with harvests, an
abundant supply of the most essential foodstuffs is assured. The price level, which had been rising since
the early days of the occupation, has dropped to almost normal. Great impetus has been given to the
revival of our major industries, and this has pushed Philippine industry back into its production groove.
Steps are “being taken to readjust our sugar and coconut industries and to increase the production of
cotton and ramie. Inter-island commerce is being gradually resumed. Progressively, step by step, the
Filipino people are taking up their everyday pursuits and reclaiming the tempo of a normal life. The
cooperative spirit has taken root in many a community and there is evident everywhere a determined
willingness of the people to contribute their share in the gigantic task of economic reconstruction and
social rehabilitation.

Keeping pace with this healthy trend is the revolution in the Filipino mode of life, inspired no doubt by the
earnest appeals of great military leaders and administrators like General Homma and General Tanaka,
which has resulted in the shedding away of the frivolous and the extravagant and in the general
awakening of a new consciousness of our Oriental heritage and of the virtue of simple and frugal living.

In all these phases of regeneration and reconstruction, the guiding and helping hand of the military
authorities has always been felt. Acts of benevolence of the military authorities have cemented further the
confidence and trust of the Filipino people in the sense of righteousness of Japan. No gesture could have
more profoundly epitomized the friendship, the goodwill and the magnanimity of the Japanese people
toward their brother Orientals than the release, unprecedented in world history, of thousands of Filipino
prisoners of war who had faced them in the fields of battle. No other single factor could have contributed
more to the restoration of peace and order in our country. In fact, the release of Filipino prisoners of war
has given the Filipino people that peace of mind so essential in the harnessing of our resources and the
marshalling of men and materials in order to clear away the wreckage of war and build the solid
foundation for a new and greater Philippines, a worthy member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere.

All of us in the Philippine Executive Commission are firmly convinced that we have behind us the
unstinted support of the Filipino people, who have at last perceived from the announcement of Premier
Hideki Tozyo a real chance of achieving their national stature under the great and lofty ideal of the
Japanese Empire. Looking back at the start of the War of Greater East Asia, we can hardly believe that
so many remarkable changes could have occurred in so short a time. And looking toward the future, it is
our hope that we shall celebrate other anniversaries of this historic date, in the enjoyment of victory,
together with the glorious and invincible Japanese Empire.

MANILA, November 9, 1942.

Source: Office of the Solicitor General Library