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

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.

The ruined Municipal Building in San Jose in 1945.  Image credit:  United States National Archives.

[p. 41]

R E S T R I C T E D

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.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF SAN JOSE

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF SAN JOSE

[p. 43]

R E S T R I C T E D

C E R T I F I C A T E

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 and 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.