Testimony of Josefa Aguila of San Jose, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities She Suffered in 1945 - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore Testimony of Josefa Aguila of San Jose, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities She Suffered in 1945 - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore

Testimony of Josefa Aguila of San Jose, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities She Suffered in 1945

[TRANSCRIPTION]

This page contains the testimony of one Josefa Aguila of San Jose, Batangas on her personal experience of Japanese atrocity 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. Most of the testimonies were translated from Tagalog and have been corrected for grammar by Batangas History, Culture and Folklore where possible. The pagination is as it was contained in the original document for citation purposes.

Manila War Crimes Trial US Army
Photo taken during the war crimes trials in Manila. Image credit: U.S. National Archives.

[p. 41]

R E S T R I C T E D

JOSEFA AGUILA, after having been duly sworn, testified at the Municipal Building of San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I., on 15 October 1945, as follows:

Q Please state your full name, age, address and nationality.
A Josefa Aguila, 37 years old, Barrio Taysan, San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I., Filipino.

Q What is your occupation?
A Housekeeper.

Q Do you intend to remain at your present address, and if not, how can your whereabouts in the future be ascertained?
A I intend to remain at my present address.

Q Did you suffer any mistreatment at the hands of the Japanese?
A Yes

Q Please relate fully what happened.
A Sunday, March 18, 1945, at about six o’clock in the afternoon, we were in the house of my brother-in-law, Arcadio Mercado, aged 65.

Three Japanese went upstairs, two stayed on the stairs and one came inside and said something in Japanese. I told him we had done nothing. He aimed the bayonet at me. I took hold of it to ward off the thrust. My sister, Rosario Aguila, aged 50, grabbed me and pulled me away. Then, the Japanese rushed at me and bayoneted me once below the left nipple and twice in the buttocks, once on each. I lost consciousness.

When I revived, I found myself being carried by my nephew, Jose Mercado, aged 30, to his house. However, I was still too dazed to know what was going on.

Q Who were with you in the house of your brother-in-law?
A Genoveva Custodio, aged 85; my sister, Rosario Aguila, aged 50; my brother-in-law, Arcadio Mercado, aged 65; my niece, Felicidad Mercado, aged 14; and Pacita Mercado, aged 7. Genoveva Custodio, my sister and my brother-in-law died, all from bayonet wounds; my nieces both survived, each with a bayonet wound on the left knee.

Q Do you know the names of the three Japanese who went to your brother-in-law’s house on March 18, 1945?
A No, that was the first time I saw them.

Q Can you describe any of them?
A I was too frightened to give a detailed personal description of any of them. I noticed, however, that they wore khaki uniforms and had their helmets camouflaged with leaves.

Q Can you describe their insignia?
A No.

Q Do you know to what unit they belonged?
A No.

[p. 42]

R E S T R I C T E D

Q I hand you exhibit “G” and ask you what it is.
A It is a picture of me showing the scar from a bayonet wound under the left breast inflicted by the Japanese on March 18, 1945.

Q Have you anything else to add to this statement?
A No.

/s/ Josefa Aguila
/t/ JOSEFA AGUILA

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF SAN JOSE

I, JOSEFA AGUILA, 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 two (2) pages, are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
/s/ Josefa Aguila
/t/ JOSEFA AGUILA
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 1st day of November, 1945.
/s/ Allen H. Peoples
/t/ ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt., CAC
Investigating Officer, War Crimes
Investigating Detachment.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF SAN JOSE

I, ALFREDO CUEVAS, residing at 1433 Prudencio Street, Sampaloc, Manila, P. I., being duly 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 her signature thereto.
/s/ Alfredo Cuevas
/t/ ALFREDO CUEVAS
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 1st day of November, 1945.
/s/ Allen H. Peoples
/t/ ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt., CAC
Investigating Officer, War Crimes
Investigating Detachment.

[p. 43]

R E S T R I C T E D

C E R T I F I C A T E

We, ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt., 0249524, CAC, and CHARLES C. THOMPSON, Capt., 01000484, TC, certify that on the 15th day of October, 1945, personally appeared before us JOSEFA AGUILA, and according to ALFREDO CUEVAS, gave the foregoing answers to the several questions set forth therein; that after his testimony had been transcribed, the said JOSEFA AGUILA had read to him by the said interpreter the same and affixed his signature thereto in our presence.
Municipal Bldg., San Jose,
Batangas Province, P.I.
/s/ Allen H. Peoples
/t/ ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt., CAC
1st November 1945 /s/ Charles C. Thompson
/t/ CHARLES C. THOMPSON, Capt., TC
Notes & References:
1 “Documents Pertaining to the Testimony of Josefa Aguila in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.
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