Testimony of Desiderio Barcelos of Rosario, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities He Witnessed in 1945

Batangas History

1 Dec, 2017

This page contains the testimony of one Desiderio Barcelos on Japanese atrocities he witnessed in Rosario, Batangas in 1945. The pages contained herein are now declassified and were part of compiled documentation¹ of war crimes trials conducted by the United States Military Commission after the conclusion of World War II. This transcription has been corrected for grammar where necessary by Batangas History, Culture and Folklore. The pagination is as it was contained in the original document for citation purposes.

Photo taken during the war crimes trials in Manila. Image credit: U.S. National Archives.

[p. 3]

R E S T R I C T E D

DESIDERIO BARCELOS, after having been duly sworn, testified at the Municipal Building, Rosario, Batangas, P.I., on 26 September 1945, as follows:

Q Please state your full name, age, address and nationality.
A Desiderio Barcelos, 65 years old, and I live at Barrio Bagong Pooc, Rosario, Batangas, P. I. I am Filipino

Q What is your occupation?
A I am a farmer.

Q Did you suffer any mistreatment at the hands of the Japanese?
A No.

Q Did you observe any cases of mistreatment by the Japanese?
A Yes. Between 7 and 8 o’clock in the morning of March 13, 1945, I heard that the Japanese were coming to our Barrio, and when I heard shots, I ran into the woods on the outskirts of the Barrio to hide. I could not see anything from my hiding place.

I left my hiding place late in the afternoon and went to the center of the Barrio. I saw 14 dead bodies lying on the ground near the houses in the Barrio. I saw the dead bodies of my daughter, Saturnina Barcelos, aged 30; and two of my granddaughters, Marieta de Castro, aged 3; and Lolita de Castro, aged 1. The bodies all had been bayoneted and they had been burned.

Q Did you see any Japanese present at the Barrio in the morning of March 13, 1945?
A I saw two Japanese, but they were about 200 meters away from me and I only could get a glimpse of them. I cannot describe them.

Q Do you know any Filipinos who actually saw the Japanese bayonet any of the Filipinos, or who were present inside the Barrio at the time the Japanese entered the Barrio?
A No. All of those that were inside the Barrio were killed by the Japanese.

Q Is there anything further that you can add to this statement?

/s/ Desiderio Barcelos
/t/ DESIDERIO BARCELOS

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF ROSARIO

I, DESIDERIO BARCELOS, being of lawful age, being duly sworn on oath, state that I had read to me and understood the translation of the foregoing transcription of my interrogation and all answers contained therein, consisting of one (1) page, are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

/s/ Desiderio Barcelos
/t/ DESIDERIO BARCELOS

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 29^th day of September 1945.

/s/ James P. Healey, Jr., 1^st Lt., JAGD
/t/ JAMES P. HEALEY, JR. 1^ST LT., JAGD

[p. 4]

R E S T R I C T E D

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF ROSARIO

I, JOSE B. ZUÑO, residing at Rosario, Batangas, P. I., being of lawful age, being sworn on oath, state that I truly translated the questions and answers given from English to Tagalog and from Tagalog to English, respectively, and that after being transcribed, I truly translated the foregoing deposition containing two (2) pages, to the witness; that the witness thereupon in my presence affixed his signature thereto.

/s/ Jose B. Zuño
/t/ JOSE B ZUÑO

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 29^th day of September 1945.

/s/ James P. Healey, Jr., 1^st Lt., JAGD
/t/ JAMES P. HEALEY, JR. 1^ST LT., JAGD

C E R T I F I C A T E

I, JAMES P. HEALEY, Jr., 1^st Lt., 0-2052588, JAGD, certify that on the 26^th day of September, 1945, personally appeared before me CATALINO MACALINTAL, and according to JOSE B. ZUÑO, GAVE THE FOREGOING answers to the several questions set forth therein; that after his testimony has been transcribed, the said DESIDERIO BARCELOS had read to him by the said interpreter the same and affixed his signature thereto in my presence.

Municipal Bldg., Rosario,
Batangas Province, P.I.

/s/ James P. Healey, Jr.
/t/ JAMES P. HEALEY, JR.
1st LT., JAGD

29 September 1945

The following witness, having been interrogated by the Investigator-Examiner, possess knowledge of the facts set forth in the above statement:

NAME

Mariano de Castro

AGE

55

ADDRESS

Barrio Itlugan
Rosario, Batangas,
P.I.

NATIONALITY

Filipino

Notes and references:
¹ “Excerpts from the Testimony of Desiderio Barcelos in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.