Tambauan's “My Personal Activities” Report, March 1946

The Suicide Battalion was purportedly a guerrilla outfit organized in the barrio of Santor in Tanauan by one Crispulo Tambauan, who would himself become its commander, and later set up its headquarters in Wawa, same municipality. This guerrilla outfit failed to obtain official recognition as an element of the Philippine Army in the service of the United States Armed Forces, with some notable guerrilla figures stating that they had never heard of either Tambauan or his alleged guerrilla outfit. The documents about this unit are nonetheless included for posterity and for the benefit of researchers about World War II in Batangas. In this particular document¹, Tambauan chronicled his activities while in the resistance movement, for submission to the US Army in the guerrilla unit’s application for official recognition.

MY PERSONAL ACTIVITIES

5 March 1946

At the outbreak of the war, I was a furniture-maker in Manila at 1036 San Andres, Malate, until the time when Manila and the whole archipelago was conquered and surrendered to the Japanese Forces.

There was a great change in the city during the occupation of the Japanese forces, when the people were forced to work, hard labor, low wages and with maltreatment of the people and resulted to the organization of the resistance movement.

Late in August, I used to walk from house to house, convincing my friends that the Japanese people are not the kind of people with whom the Filipinos as a whole shall cooperate and associate with. After I had encountered hardship, asking my friends to join the resistance movement, I was able to organize men at the end of August and placed myself as their leader.

It was on the month of September 2^nd, 1942 when our activities began. During that time, I encountered two drunken Japanese soldiers in the dark street of Remedios corner of Pennsylvania, during which I was forced to kill them without any fear with my 45 caliber pistol. From that time, I went home immediately telling my family not to reveal the incident to any person in the vicinity, and after that, I escaped to my province, in Pagsanjan, Laguna, to report the incident to the HEADQUARTERS of the FIL-AMERICAN GUERRILLA UNIT under the command of Col. FOLSOM.

Late in November 1943, I went back to Manila to observe the Japanese activities, so that the following day, I destroyed the Japanese radio installation at the former Oriental Club in Remedios St. and right at that moment, a friend of mine informed me that I was wanted by the Japanese Military Police, so I escaped again to the same province of Laguna.

I stayed there for a period waiting [for] the reinforcement and supplies. After that, when the supplies arrived there, we began our important mission. We searched Japanese positions on the outskirts of Laguna and from Laguna we proceeded to Manila. Being equipped with several ammunition, we attacked the Nichols Field by implanting timb bombs which resulted [in the] blowing up of two Japanese planes and our mission was accomplished on September 22^nd, 1944.

From that date, I stayed in Manila, getting some information about the Japanese within the city, until the arrival of the Liberation Forces on February 3^rd 1945 in the northern part of Manila. There was great human carnage [in] the southern part of Manila prior to the arrival of the Liberation Forces in San Andres. I was also at the point of death when I ventured to cut the communication lines near the PHILIPPINE WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY at the corner of Taft Ave. and Tennesee.

(SGD). CRISPULO TAMBAUAN

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Notes and references:

¹ “Suicide Bn., 3^rd Inf Regt, FAG,” File No. 134, online at the United States National Archives.

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