A Chronological History of the Activities of the Lipa Guerrilla Regiment

I, JOSE MENDOZA, of age, Filipino and a resident of Lipa, Batangas, Philippines, and now temporarily residing in the City of Manila, after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, depose and say:

That I was inducted into the service of the Lipa Guerrilla Reg’t., Paran’s Unit, on December 4, 1942, at the Headquarters in Pinagtungulan, Lipa, Batangas, by Col. F. Paran, the overall Commander of the said Regiment. My induction paper was either burned, lost or destroyed during the liberation of the municipality of Lipa, Batangas, by the American Forces. That I was given the rank of Captain in command of “A” Co. 2^nd Bn., and our Regiment accomplished the following activities: (See attached appendix No. 1)

That Lt. Col. Felino Paran being an ex-USAFFE officer and wounded in action, organized his own guerrilla organization immediately after the surrender of the USAFFE forces to the Imperial Japanese Army in the early part of 1942.

(A) 1942 ACTIVITIES: Officially organized the Lipa Guerrilla Reg’t., Paran’s Unit. Induction of officers and enlisted men to the Unit, setting up the plan, picturing the risks it entailed and the necessary precautions to be taken in its execution. Then began the spreading of anti-Japanese news and propaganda, bolstering the morale of the civilian population, acquiring arms and ammunition and recruiting qualified and trusted men for the Unit.

1. December 5, 1942, Capt. Sebastian Reyes ordered one squad of his Company to cut all wiring connections and all lines of communications by the enemy between Sto. Toribio and the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas. This order was successfully carried out.

2. On December 12, 1942, at Tibig, Lipa, Batangas, Capt. Sebastian Reyes and his men demolished big quantities of war materials left by the Americans in the said place so that when the Japanese came, everything was already destroyed and could never be used by them.

3. On about the middle of December, 1942, men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., of this Regiment, sabotaged the Japanese storage of supplies at Banaybanay, Lipa, Batangas, and carried away with them several truck spare parts which we later used in the repair of our firearms and several blasting ammunition in Headquarters, Col. Paran being an Aeronautical Engineer.

(B) 1943 ACTIVITIES: Counter-intelligence works, sabotaging enemy installations, communication lines and storage of supplies. Giving assignments to members of the Company as well as receiving reports from them about the enemy strength and movements.

1. January 18, 1943, in the town of Lipa, Batangas, 2^nd Lt. Estanislao Vivas of “A” Co. 2^nd Bn., with some of his men ran away with several boxes of blasting caps from a Japanese truck parked at the public market. The said blasting caps were later used during the course of our military operations.

2. January 26, 1943, one squad of Co. “A” 1^st Bn., was ordered by Capt. Reyes to work with the Japanese at Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas, to do espionage and sabotage work. These men were able to destroy big quantities of war materials and to hand in reports of the enemy secret installations in the said area.

3. January 29, 1943, Lt. Vivas and some of his men demolished the water pipes connecting the Japanese barracks located at Lipa Elementary School and east of the Lipa Cathedral, Lipa, Batangas.

4. February 11, 1943, 2^nd Lt. Pedro Loleng personally succeeded in destroying one Japanese truck behind the Lipa Elementary School at Lipa, Batangas.

5. February 16, 1943, 2^nd Lt. Vivas and his men ordered by the Overall Commander to sabotage the Japanese Airfield at Lipa, Batangas which was then under construction and to get tools which were badly needed in the Headquarters for the repair of some firearms. Posing as laborers, the said men and officer successfully carried out the order besides opening holes which emptied several drums of gasoline.

6. February 21, 1943, Lt. Loleng got through the office of Capt. Isamura of the Japanese garrison in Lipa, Batangas and ran away with 21 pieces of dynamite unnoticed.

7. Sometime on or about the first week of March, 1943, for the second time, our Headquarters was moved to the barrio of Cumba, Lipa, Batangas in order to avoid enemy detection. (See attached appendix No. 2)

8. About the middle of March, 1943, at the Lipa Airfield, American prisoners of war were employed by the Japanese to work in this field as laborers. With utmost care, the men of “A” Co. 2^nd Bn. Were able to give food to the said prisoners for quite a length of time from this date without being noticed by the Japanese guards.

9. About the last week of March, 1943, Lt. Loleng and 10 of his men, in the darkness of the night, broke through the Japanese storehouses at Lipa Elementary School and carried away different kinds of tools which were later used in the Headquarters.

10. About the second week of April, 1943, Capt. Reyes and some of his men were ordered to do sabotage and espionage works at Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Unfortunately, he was shadowed and caught by the enemy and taken to the Japanese garrison. With the intervention of Victorio Gatdose, then Chief of Police of the said municipality, Capt. Reyes was released.

11. Sometime in May, 1943, Capt. Mendoza was ordered to represent the Regiment in a conference of guerrilla key-men at the Philippine Normal School, Manila, with reference to the organization and coordination of activities. Unexpectedly, the place was raided by

the enemy, but Capt. Mendoza was able to escape unhurt while losing his important papers and documents together with pictures and posters of Naval Battles in the Pacific which were received by the Headquarters from Australia for propaganda purposes.

12. In the early part of June, 1943, at the Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas, men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., under Capt. Reyes, were able to set fire [to] eight drums of gasoline in the said place which produced a big fire.

13. Sometime in the second week of June, 1943, our Headquarters was for the third time transferred to San Lucas, Lipa, Batangas for fear of the Japanese raid. (See attached appendix No. 3)

14. July 1, 1943, the Marking’s Guerrillas recognized Felino Z. Paran, a Lieutenant Colonel, Commanding the Second Batangas Regiment of these Forces. (See attached appendix No. 4)

15. July 13, 1943, Capt. Juan Saludo was promoted to the rank of Major.

16. Sometime in the first week of August 1943, Col. Felino Paran, the Overall Commander, was apprehended and arrested by the Japanese Kempi-Tai and was garrisoned at Lipa, Batangas up to the middle of September of the same year. He was suspected as a guerrilla organizer but in the absence of substantial evidence, he was released. The late Major Burgos took temporary command of the Regiment. (See attached appendix No. 5)

17. August 15, 1943, Capt. Timoteo Paran secured a complete map of the Japanese Landing Field at Lipa, Batangas from Engineer Arsenio Altamirano and brought the same to the Overall Commander.

18. August 28, 1943, Lt. Vivas and his men at midnight burned a Japanese bodega of tools and other war materials at the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas.

19. Sometime in the middle of September 1943, one of the men of Capt. Reyes, with the name of Felino Alzate, broke through the Japanese bodega at the Lipa Railroad Station and succeeded in destroying war materials and later took away and presented to the Headquarters one Japanese saber.

20. In the last week of September 1943, Lt. Wenceslao Magkauas and his men conducted a raid in Sitio Sto. Toribio, Lipa, Batangas, where they were able to secure several rounds of ammunition and destroy big quantities of war materials in a Japanese storehouse.

21. In the last week of September 1943, Lt. Braulio Dimayuga was detailed to devise ways and means in order to get in touch with and to extend help in the form of food and clothing to the American prisoners inside the Banaybanay Camp, Lipa, Batangas. This was successfully carried out as Lt. Dimayuga was able to consummate a contract with the Japanese authorities to be the supplier of the prisoners in the said camp. Big amounts of food and clothing were given by this Regiment to the American prisoners through Lt. Dimayuga, which later caused great suspicion on the part of the Japanese. Most of [the] said supplies were received by Lt. Hugh Wendell, the Commissary Officer of the camp.

22. On the second week of October, 1943, Major Saludo was designated as Inspector of Troops and Coordinator of Activities.

23. October 15, 1943, Capt. Mendoza and his men sabotaged a Japanese train parking at the Lipa Railroad Station and carried away with them 5 rifles, several rounds of ammunition and 4 Jap helmets.

24. Sometime in the middle of October, 1943, at about 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., eight men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., encountered four Japanese soldiers at the barrio of Kalikangan, Malvar, Batangas, and killed one of them before they retreated with no casualty for lack of ammunition.

25. Sometime in November, 1943, Capt. Sebastian Reyes led some of his men to the Japanese garrison at Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas, and carried away with them 4 rifles and several rounds of ammunition.

26. About the second week of December, 1943, one squad of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. Successfully set on fire nine drums of gasoline at the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas, as was ordered.

27. December 15, 1943, several men under the command of Capt. Mendoza set on fire the Japanese storage of supplies at Mt. Anilao, Lipa, Batangas, containing big amounts of war materials.

28. December 18, 1943, Lt. Braulio Dimayuga was summoned before the Japanese Captain Nikamura, who because of the extra food and clothing given to the American prisoners by said Lieutenant, became suspicious and ordered the arrest of Lt. Dimayuga. The escape of the two unidentified American prisoners of which Lt. Dimayuga was instrumental, aggravated his case before the Japanese Captain and subjected him to rigid grilling. When he was temporarily released, he immediately stepped out of the poblacion and reported to the Headquarters, giving the Japanese no chance to call him back for another questioning.

(C) 1944 ACTIVITIES:

1. January 8, 1944, Capt. Mendoza and his Company raided the house of Urbano Mojares at the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas, where the Japanese stayed and ran away with 3 rifles, several rounds of ammunition, U.S. 50 and 30 caliber machine gun bullets, 8 horses which the Japanese commandeered from the civilians, all were taken to the Headquarters and used in the military operation.

2. January 19, 1944, Lt. Vivas and his platoon ambushed one Japanese truck loaded with 16 drums of gasoline at the barrio of Sintorisan, Cuenca, Batangas, killed the Jap driver and guard and put on fire the truck together with the gasoline.

3. January 20, 1944, at Marauy [Marawoy] Lipa, Batangas, Lt. Pedro Loleng and his platoon sabotaged the Japanese storage of supplies and put on fire 24 drums of gasoline.

4. January 24, 1944, in a Japanese bodega, formerly owned by Bartolome Katigbak at Lipa, Batangas, Capt. Mendoza and some of his men were ordered to get through and secure spare parts of 50 and 30 caliber machineguns such as spring, bolts, etc. which were to be used in the repair of the guns in the Headquarters. The mission was successfully accomplished.

5. February 8, 1944, Capt. Mendoza ordered several of his men to sabotage the Jap airplane bodegas at Lipa, Batangas. For two successive days, they were able to destroy several planes by taking out their spare parts but on the third day (Feb. 10), one of the men by

the name of Alfredo Aguilera was caught and, since then, nothing was heard of him.

6. About the second week of February, 1944, Major Juan Saludo was ordered to contact Brig. Gen. Avancena of the 25^th Red Lion Division to confer on close collaboration and coordination of the two guerrilla units.

7. February 10, 1944, Col. Felino Paran, the Overall Commander, for the second time was arrested by the Japanese Kempi-Tai in view of the discovery of some records of the Regiment by the Japanese spies. This time, he underwent inhuman tortures. From Lipa, he was transferred to San Pablo, Laguna where he stayed for two months. Later, he was taken to Fort Santiago where he was left unconscious for several times, so that he was not able to take account of the length of time he stayed in the Fort. Lastly, he was taken back to Lipa, Batangas, to the house of Leon Katigbak where he was again grilled and tortured. It was about 10:00 p.m. of June 9, 1944, when he regained consciousness and, taking advantage of the absence of the Japanese guards who left him unconscious, he managed to escape out and found his way direct to his guerrilla Headquarters just a few kilometers out of the poblacion. (See attached appendix No. 5)

8. February 11, 1944, Lt. Vivas and his platoon raided the Japanese in Tanguay, Lipa, Batangas and ran away with the Springfields and three Japanese rifles besides burning all the Japanese supplies in the area.

9. February 18, 1944, behind the Catholic Seminary at Lipa, Batangas, Lt. Pedro Loleng and some of his men broke into the Japanese storehouse and ran away with 5 sacks of rice and 7 Japanese rifles which they all brought to the Headquarters.

10. February 28, 1944, Capt. Mendoza contacted Mr. David, the Chief Foreman in the Lipa Airstrip, Lipa, Batangas and secured maps of the Japanese military installations and gasoline and supply dumps in the area.

11. March 16, 1944, at 5:00 a.m., at Barrio Sapac, Lipa, Batangas, Lt. Loleng and his men encountered the enemy. Two Japs were killed but Lt. Loleng and his men later retreated for lack of ammunition with no casualty.

12. Sometime on the last week of March, 1944, Major Saludo, in coordination of the men of the 25^th Red Lion Division, under Brig. Gen. Avancena, intensified sabotage and espionage works in the designated areas such as landing fields, enemy storage of supplies, hangars, gun emplacements and fuel dumps. Men of the two units were posted as laborers in different places in order to effectuate this order. (See attached appendix No. 6).

13. April 9, 1944, through the information handed down by the boys from various areas, Major Saludo made a complete draft of the Malvar Airfield, Malvar, Batangas, indicated there at all the strategic points and forwarded a copy to Col. Paran and one to Gen. Avancena of the Red Lion Division.

14. In the middle of April, 1944, midnight, three members of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., Olimpio, Brigido and Felino were ordered to cut the telephone wires of military importance along the provincial road of the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas. The order was effectively executed but later Olimpio and Brigido were apprehended and executed by the Japanese.

15. April 23, 1944, Major Saludo laid out plans and immediately executed the raid of the Japanese storage of supplies at Malvar Railroad Station, Malvar, Batangas, and with twelve responsible men of the Regiment, the plan was successfully carried out.

16. April 30, 1944, Major Saludo and his men raided the Jap storage of supplies at Malvar Railroad Station, Malvar, Batangas. They slipped in unnoticed and surprised the civilian guards. 12 sacks of rice, several scores of shoes and thirty boxes of ammunition were taken away. Several hundred packages of Japanese cigarettes were also brought out and taken to the Headquarters. The men moved out with [the] Japanese at their heels. This was the second raid.

17. May 8, 1944, Lt. Loleng forwarded reports of his men to Capt. Mendoza, regarding information about the Japanese military positions, communication lines as well as their strength and movements in the various sectors of Lipa, Batangas.

18. In the latter part of May, 1944, “A” Co. 1^st Bn. of this Regiment was assigned in the sectors of Mataas na Lupa, Mataas na Kahoy, Tambo and San Salvador, all in the Municipality of Lipa, province of Batangas.

19. In the early part of June 1944, five Makapilis were arrested and presented to the Headquarters by the men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn., for investigation.

20. June 22, 1944, Major Saludo and his men approached unnoticed a Jap Cavalry Detachment in the barrio of San Pioquinto, Malvar, Batangas. After some minutes of firing, the Japanese fled in confusion. They took three horses and 10 blankets while withdrawing from the scene as swiftly as they could as Jap reinforcements were fast coming. (See attached appendix No. 6)

21. In the latter part of June, 1944, around twenty-five men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. were ordered to do sabotage work at the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas. There were several Japanese civilians supervising groups of Filipino workers. When they found out that the Japanese were not fully-armed, these twenty-five men attacked them and wounded several before reinforcements came, after which they all retreated leaving behind them three of their companions, Mariano Dimaculangan, Pablo Maralit and Grigido [Brigido?] Mendoza, killed.

22. July 25, 1944, Capt. Reyes led one platoon of his men to the house of Saturnino Lescano which was then used by the Japanese as their storage of supplies at Kalingatan, Mataas na Kahoy, and ran away with eight boxes of blasting ammunition which were later used in the course of the military operation.

23. In the early part of August, 1944, some men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. presented to the Headquarters 14 rolls of telephone wire from the Japanese bodega which formerly was the house of Melchor Silva at Mataas na Kahoy.

24. August 27, 1944, Major Saludo made temporary Headquarters at Santiago, Malvar, Batangas due to information he received that some of his boys detailed in espionage work at the landing field were being shadowed by the Japanese, suspected as guerrillas. Only two men by the names of Guillermo Olquin and Guillermo Mangubat were ordered to remain as they were able to win the confidence of the Japanese and could still continue the usual activities. (See attached appendix No. 6)

25. Last day of August, 1944, about a platoon of men in “A” Co. 1^st Bn. broke through the Japanese storage of supplies at Lipa Railroad Station and set on fire one wagon fully loaded with Japanese military supplies and ran away with several boxes of ammunition and other war materials, about midnight.

26. September 12, 1944, Capt. Reyes led several of his men and destroyed the railroad track approaching the barrio of Tambo, and thereafter caused the derailing of the train which carried many Japanese troops, resulting in several dead and wounded.

27. Sometime in the middle of September 1944, at Sitio Sapac, Lipa, Batangas, the men under the command of Capt. Reyes entered the Japanese storage of supplies and carried away twelve boxes of ammunition, several pairs of shoes and four heads of cows which were all turned over to the Headquarters, for the use of the Regiment.

28. On the last part of September, 1944, the men under Captain Timoteo Paran and members of other companies of the Regiment raided the Japanese garrison at Sitio Talisay, Sapac, Dagatan and Lumbang, all in the Municipality of Lipa, Batangas, with overwhelming numbers. The Japanese retreated with no casualty and the bounties were 12 boxes of ammunition, several pairs of shoes, 4 heads of cows and clothes which were distributed to the men of the Regiment.

29. October 8, 1944, Major Saludo’s two men posted at the Malvar Airstrip, Malvar, Batangas, reported 300 barrels of high grade aviation gasoline well-camouflaged in the said place. They at once were ordered to blow them up which they successfully did.

30. October 15, 1944, from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. [likely a.m.], more or less, men of this Regiment encountered the Japanese at [the] Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas. After firing subsided, twenty of our men were slightly wounded and so were not able to determine the casualties on the other side as it was extremely dark.

31. About the third week of October, 1944, Capt. Mendoza arrested two Makapilis by the name of Crispulo Bandelaria and his wife at Lodlod and turned them over to the Headquarters for investigation.

32. October 20, 1944, four men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. were ordered to report to the branch base at San Lucas, Lipa, Batangas. On their way, they were ambushed by two Japanese soldiers but they only escaped without firing for fear that if the Japs were killed, the people in the neighborhood would be massacred.

33. About the last week of October, 1944, 20 men of this Regiment, particularly from “A” Co. 1^st Bn., led by Major Burgos, entered and sabotaged the Lipa Elementary School at Lipa, Batangas where they destroyed big quantities of Japanese water materials, but on their way back at about 8:00 a.m., they were overtaken by around 50 fully armed Japanese soldiers in the house of Claudio Pena at Mataas na Lupa. 18 out of the 20 men met a cold death in the hands of the enemy while only two were able to escape, with the namesof Antonio O. Lucero and Felino Alzate. (See attached appendix No. 7)

34. Immediately after the death of Major Floro Maranan (alias Major Burgos), Major Juan Salazar assumed the post of Executive Officer of the Regiment.

35. October 29, 1944, several men led by Capt. Reyes entered the Japanese storage of supplies at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas and carried away several rounds of ammunition and other war materials.

The bodega then used by the Japanese was formerly the house of Agapito Recio of the said barrio.

36. October 40, 1944, the second time the American planes raided the Malvar Airstrip, and the Japanese and Filipino laborers scampered for safety in confusion. Olquin and Mangubat taking the opportunity burned the gasoline dump, while the high explosive bodegas were directly hit by the raiding planes. Their mission being accomplished, the two men of this Regiment rallied immediately to the Headquarters with two Japanese rifles.

37. November 3, 1944, one of the American planes which raided the Japanese military positions at Lipa, Batangas was shot down and its aviator by the name of JOHN BOYLE, USNR, bailed out and was rescued by Lt. Wenceslao Magkauas and his men and taken to the Headquarters for food, shelter, and protection. Together was rescued from the wrecked plane was a 50 caliber machinegun with several rounds of ammunition. (See attached appendix No. 8)

38. Sometime in the first week of November, 1944, our Headquarters was for the fourth time moved to Pinagkaanuran, one of the remote barrios of Rosario, Batangas, to evade detection by Japanese spies. (See attached appendix No. 9)

39. Also in the early part of November, 1944, one Japanese truck that was parking at the street of the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas was loaded with several sacks of rice and, without being noticed by the guard, the men under Capt. Reyes were able to take out 10 sacks and brought them to the Headquarters for consumption.

40. Mid-November, 1944, between Banaybanay and Pangaw, Capt. Mendoza and his men encountered 7 Japanese soldiers at about 3:00 in the afternoon repairing their communication lines which we had disconnected the other day. After a few exchanges of firing, the Japanese fled leaving their equipment behind consisting of several rolls of wire, tubes, tester, and 2 helmets which were all carried to the Headquarters for use of our Regiment.

41. About the third week of November, 1944, Major Saludo and his men raided the Japanese Signal Detachment at the boundary of Lipa and Malvar. Eight Japs were killed and they ran away with two cows and a horse, set on fire the signal equipment loaded on two carts parked near their quarters. (See attached appendix No. 6)

42. At about the end of the second week of November, 1944, our Headquarters were for the fifth time moved from Pinagkaanuran to Bibilog at the foot of Malarayat Mountain, province of Batangas, for military reasons. (See attached appendix No. 10)

43. November 22, 1944, JOHN BOYLE, an American aviator who was rescued during the raid at Lipa, Batangas, was escorted by Major Juan Saludo, Capt. Mendoza, Lts. Magkauas and Vivas and the rest of the men in the Regiment and delivered to Brig. Gen. Avancena of the 25^th Red Lion Division for a better accommodation. (See attached appendix No. 8)

44. November 24, 1944, Lt. Vivas and several [men] of this Regiment raided the house of Eduardo Magsino where the Japanese kept their supplies in Lodlod, Lipa, Batangas, and carried with them 5 rifles, several rounds of ammunition, 25 parachutes, 2 boxes of Jap biscuits, 8 sacks of rice, a map and a Japanese flag.

45. November 26, 1944, men of this Regiment raided the Japanese depot at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas, and ran away with 200 cavans of rice, 25 boxes of biscuits, and brought them to the Headquarters. These food supplies were later rationed to the civilian evacuees who survived the Japanese atrocities in the neighboring towns of Batangas.

46. Last week of November, 1944, Capt. Timoteo Paran joined Lt. Antonio Paran in the sabotage operation at Sitio Sapac, Lipa, Batangas. They set on fire 60 barrels more or less of high grade aviation gasoline and other war materials.

47. On or about November 28, 1944, our Headquarters at Bibilog was attacked by no less than a company of Japanese soldiers unexpectedly. The encounter started at about 1:00 p.m. and ended at about 4:00 p.m. By this time, we outnumbered the enemy so that they later retreated. Thirty enemy soldiers were killed and one trench mortar was captured. One of our men, Felino Alzate, was wounded in the left leg.

48. November 29, 1944, at Lipa Elementary School, Lipa, Batangas, one platoon under the command of Capt. Sebastian Reyes sabotaged the enemy storage of supplies and destroyed big amounts of war materials in the said place.

49. December 19, 1944, at Banaybanay, Lipa, Batangas, Capt. Mendoza and his men set on fire one Japanese truck parked on the street loaded with gasoline and ammunition.

50. December 21, 1944, Gen. Avancena and some members of his staff came to Malvar, 3 kilometers east of the town. He and Major Saludo agreed to coordinate their activities and established a joint and temporary Headquarters in the said place until they had both fully executed their respective missions.

51. December 26, 1944, at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas, one squad of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. completely disrupted enemy communication lines such as telephone and electric wirings in the vicinity of the said place.

52. December 29, 1944, all members of the espionage and sabotage work of the Regiment were assembled at the Headquarters to hand in their respective reports as well as to receive new instructions. It was on this date when [a] complete map of the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas was drafted.

(D) 1945 ACTIVITIES:

1. January 2, 1945, Capt. Timoteo Paran with Lt. Antonio Paran and their men raided the Jap garrison at barrio San Celestino, Lipa, Batangas. They killed 10 Japs and captured to 30 caliber machineguns, one 81mm mortar, and 200 sacks of rice while burning the depot before they left.

2. First week of January, 1945, for the sixth time, our Headquarters was transferred from Bibilog to Payapa, Rosario, Batangas, for purposes of evading enemy detection. (See attached appendix No. 30)

3. January 12, 1945, we completed the map of the Japanese military installations, communication lines, storage of ammunition and supplies in the respective sectors of our operation.

4. About the first week of February, 1945, began the civilian evacuation from the neighboring municipalities of Batangas. During the frequent raids of the American planes, the Japanese became very suspicious and so started their massacre of the natives. Great numbers of Japanese soldiers had retreated from the north and south of the province of Batangas and they were heavily concentrated in various municipalities of the province. As we were greatly outnumbered, we thought it not advisable to attack, so that all we did was to go to civilian homes at midnight and conducted them down to our camps. These evacuees were the remnants of the 17,000 of innocent men, women, and children who were the victims of Japanese atrocities. In our camps, civilians were provided with food, medical care and protection. Our men were divided in several municipalities of the province to attend to the evacuees and these activities lasted up to March, 1945, when the American Forces came. (See attached appendix No. 11, 12)

5. About the middle of January, 1945, Major Saludo and his men were surprised by the Japs east of Santiago, Malvar, Batangas while crossing their lines connecting Sto. Toribio, Lipa, and Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas. One [of] his boys by the name of Napoleon Abrenica was killed. (See attached appendix No. 6)

6. First week of February, 1945, Capt. Reyes and his men were assigned to cover up the areas of Tanuay [likely Tangway], Tibig, Lipa Airfield, San Salvador, Bulaknin, Mataas na Kahoy, Mataas na Lupa, and Tambo. Capt. Mendoza, Lts. Vivas and Loleng, the sectors of Lodlod, Pangao, Bolbok, and their vicinities; while Major Saludo, the northern towns of Malvar and Tanauan.

7. February 13, 1945, Major Saludo was in charge of the civilian evacuees at Bagbag, Tanauan. Then, from Bagbag to Pulo Islands of the province of Batangas.

8. On the first week of March 1945, our Headquarters for the 7^th time was transferred back to Pinagkaanuran, Rosario, Batangas for military reasons. (See attached appendix No. 9)

9. March 9, 1945, the Japanese attacked Major Saludo and his men at their camp in Bagbag, Tanauan. The civilian evacuees were immediately advised to leave as the men under Major Saludo stopped the advance of the enemy.

10. March 10, 1945, to protect the civilian evacuees from Japanese stragglers, Major Saludo evacuated them en masse to Canlubang, Laguna.

11. March 12, 1945, Major Saludo contacted Major Schommers of the 11^th Airborne Division, driving from the north, in the barrio of Natatas, Tanauan, and the next day when Major Schommers left the place, he was again introduced to Lt. Col. Conner of the 8^th Cavalry to whom he had given valuable information about the Jap gun emplacements, hideouts at Malvar Landing Field, Lumbang, Bubuyan, Lipa, and Talisay. Major Saludo and the men under him were immediately taken as guides and informers of the above American officers. (See attached appendix No. 6)

12. About the middle of March, 1945, our Headquarters at Pinagkaanuran was raided by the Japanese soldiers, about 54 of them more or less. As most of the men were detailed in various assignments, only around 35 were left as guards. The fighting

began at about 1:00 p.m. and lasted up to 4:00 p.m. As we were in proper places, our boys had the advantage so that 3 Japs were killed before they retreated while on our side, no casualty.

13. March 25, 1945, Col. Felino Paran and the men under him were attached to AC of S, G-2, 11^th CIC Detachment, 11^th Airborne Division by Col. Henry J. Mueller, to cover the southern part of the province of Batangas, more particularly in the municipalities of San Jose, Lipa, Malvar, Rosario and Ibaan, which areas were already under control by the American forces. (See attached appendix Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17)

14. March 26, 1945, Capt. Mendoza and his men met the patrols of the 11^th A/B Division at Ibaan and guided them to Calamias, Lipa, Batangas, where they first had their camp. The boy helped build the camp. While the next day, Capt. Mendoza went with several American patrols as their guide to the poblacion of Lipa where two Americans, Stanley and William, were killed by Japanese snipers.

15. March 28, 1945, Col. F. Paran received a letter from Capt. Vicente V. Nazareno of Co. “8” 188^th Para-Glider Infantry Regiment, 11^th Airborne Division. (See attached appendix No. 18)

16. April 2, 1945, at Ibaan, Batangas, all records were turned over to the CIC for guidance. Some of the men were attached to the CIC Detachment of the 11^th A/B Division under Lt. Dave Finn and Lt. Myhan in apprehending Makapilis, collaborators and spies.

17. April 7, 1945, Major Salazar with several of his men were attached to the 187^thth Paraglider for interrogation. (See attached appendix No. 14)

18. April 8, 1945, Lt. Wenceslao Magkauas was taken as personal guide and informer of Major Schommers of the 11^th Airborne Division.

19. About the second week of April, 1945, Capt. T. Paran and Lt. A. Paran, while [in] charge of the civilian evacuees from Lipa, San Jose, Rosario, Tiaong, Candelaria and San Pablo, also engaged several scores of retreating Japanese near the evacuation camps. They killed three Japanese soldiers, captured two rifles, several hand grenades and one Japanese flag and a saber.

20. April 15, 1945, Capt. Mendoza presented to Makapili suspects to the Headquarters.

21. April 16, 1945, Major Saludo and his men joined with Lt. Col. Martiniano Carandang of the PQOG and engaged the enemy at Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Their guerrilla units suffered heavy casualties this time including Lt. Col. Carandang. (See attached appendix No. 6)

22. That the above guerrilla outfit established its Headquarters at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas, Philippines sometime in the first week of June, 1945, where some of the men were disbanded to wait for recognition while some whose services were still indispensable were retained. (See attached appendix No. 19)

23. That Capt. Jose Mendoza and Lt. Gregorio Mendoza, with their respective men were later attached to the 86^th Division, and performed duties as guards, informers and helpers. (See attached appendix Nos. 20, 21, 22, and 23) Additional evidence: (See attached appendix Nos. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby affixed my signature on this 14^th day of January, 1947 in the City of Manila, Philippines.

[Sgd.] JOSE T. MENDOZA

[Sgd.] FELINO Z. PARAN
Lt. Col. Inf.
Commanding

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14^th day of March 1947, in the City of Manila, Philippines. Affiant exhibited his Res. Cert. No. A-1770060, issued at Lipa, Batangas on January 6, 1947.

[Sgd.] [Illegible]
NOTARY PUBLIC
Until Dec. 31, 1948