Testimony of Pantaleon Dalangin of Rosario, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities He Witnessed in 1945 - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore Testimony of Pantaleon Dalangin of Rosario, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities He Witnessed in 1945 - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore

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

[TRANSCRIPTION]

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.

Manila War Crimes Trial US Army
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

PANTALEON DALANGIN, 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 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.

/s/ Pantaleon Dalangin
/t/ PANTALEON DALANGIN

[p. 6]

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF ROSARIO

I, PANTALEON DALANGIN, being of lawful age, being duly sworn on oath, state that I had read to me and understood the translation contained therein, consisting of one (1) page, are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
/s/ Pantaleon Dalangin
/t/ PANTALEON DALANGIN
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 29th day of September 1945.
/s/ James P. Healey, Jr., 1st Lt.
/t/ JAMES P. HEALEY, JR. 1ST LT., JAGD

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 29th day of September 1945.
/s/ James P. Healey, Jr., 1st Lt.
/t/ JAMES P. HEALEY, JR. 1ST LT., JAGD

C E R T I F I C A T E

I, JAMES P. HEALEY, Jr., 1st Lt., 0-2052588, JAGD, certify that on the 26th day of September, 1945, personally appeared before me Pantaleon Dalangin, and according to Jose B. Zuño, gave the foregoing answers to the several questions set forth; that after his testimony has been transcribed, the said PANTALEON DALANGIN 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.
29 September 1945
/s/ James P. Healey, Jr., 1st Lt.
/t/ JAMES P. HEALEY, JR., 1st LT., JAGD

29 September 1945

The following witness, having been interrogated by the Investigator-Examiner, possesses knowledge of the facts set forth in the above statement:
Notes & References:
1 “Excerpts from the Testimony of Pantaleon Dalangin 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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