Testimony of Pantaleon Dalangin of Rosario, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities He Witnessed in 1945

This page contains the testimony of one Pantaleon Dalangin 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. 5]

R E S T R I C T E D

Q Please state your full name, age, address and nationality.
A Pantaleon Dalangin, 37 years old. I live at Barrio Bagong Pooc, Rosario, Batangas, P. I. I am Filipino.

Q What is your occupation?
A I am Farmer.

Q If you move from your present address, where can you be reached?
A If I move, I will be found at Rosario, Cavite Province.

Q Did you suffer any mistreatment at the hands by the?
A No, but I witnessed mistreatment of others by the Japanese.

Q Will you describe fully what this mistreatment that you observed was?
A On March 13, 1945, I was ill with typhoid fever. My family hid me in the woods about 100 meters from Barrio Bagong Pooc, because the Japanese were expected to come to the Barrio.

At about 7 o’clock in the morning of March 13, from my hiding place, I saw about 50 Filipinos running from 8 different houses in the Barrio, and I saw 3 Japanese soldiers chasing them with fixed bayonets. I did not see the Japanese bayonet any of these people because they moved out of my line of vision.

At about 11 o’clock of the same morning, I left my hiding place and went to my house in the Barrio. About 20 meters from my house, I saw the bodies of my wife, Carmen Laylo, aged 31; and my three daughters, Iluminada, aged 6; Norma, aged 4; and Josefina, 9 months. I saw that my family were all dead, and I counted 47 bayonet wounds on my wife’s body. Each of my children was bayoneted at least 4 times.

Q Do you know the names of any of the Filipinos that escaped from the Japanese at the Barrio?
A Yes. All of the following managed to escape the Japanese: Venacio Mandigma, Julian Mandigma, Roman Cabral, Pablo Mendoza, and Mariano de Castro.

Q Do you know where any of the Filipinos that you mentioned can be reached?
A All of them, except Pablo Mendoza, still live in the Barrio.

Q Do you know the names of the Japanese present at your barrio on March 13, 1945?
A No.

Q Is there anything further that you can add to this statement?
A No.

[p. 6]

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF ROSARIO

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF ROSARIO

C E R T I F I C A T E