Testimony of Saturnino Lorzano of San Jose, Batangas on How the Japanese Murdered His Wife and Child in 1945

This page contains the testimony of one Saturnino Lorzano of San Jose, Batangas on how the Japanese murdered his wife and daughter 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. 53]

R E S T R I C T E D

Q Please state your full name, age, address and nationality.
A Saturnino Lorzano, 38 years old, Barrio Banaybanay II, San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I., Filipino.

Q What is your occupation?
A Merchant.

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 No, but I lost my wife, Encarnacion Ona, aged 38, and one child, Nelia Lorzano, aged 6.

Q Please tell us exactly what happened relating to the killing of your wife and child.
A About eight o’clock in the morning of March 18, 1945, I went from the house of my father-in-law, Nicomedes Ona, aged 60, in Banaybanay II, San Jose, Batangas Province, to get some food for my family. At about nine o’clock that same morning, I met someone, whose name I do not now remember, who told me that the Japanese were killing my family. I decided to get a companion and go back to my father-in-law’s house. I found one Perfecto Villafando, aged 27. We two went to the house of my father-in-law which is about 1½ kilometers west of the National Road. I arrived at the house at about 9:30 o’clock same morning.

I saw 14 persons, nine in the house and five beneath the house. They were all bayoneted to death. The nine dead persons in the house were: my father, Luis Moog, aged 50; my mother, Dorotea de Moog, aged 45; Nicomedes Ona, aged 60; Maria Ona, aged 30; Encarnacion Ona, my wife, aged 37; Consolacion Atienza, aged 22; Jose Ona, aged 28; Rogelio Ona, aged 5; and Eufemia Ona, aged 37. The five dead persons under the house were: Lucinda Ona, aged 50; Conchita Atienza, aged 14; Regina Ona, aged 50; Nelia Lorzano, my six-year old daughter; and Librada Ona, aged 7.

About two o’clock in the afternoon of that same day, Perfecto Villafando and I buried nine bodies, whose names and ages are among those I already mentioned, in our dugout. The rest were buried by their relatives in their respective dugouts.

There are five survivors of this massacre. They are Sofia Moog, aged 23; Rosenda Moog, aged 20; Paciano Hernandez, aged 5; Catalina Endaya, aged 80; and Jaime Lorzano, aged 1. They are all from Barrio Banaybanay I, San Jose, Batangas Province, P. I., and of Filipino nationality.

Q Do you know the names of any of the Japanese responsible for this massacre?

[p. 54]

R E S T R I C T E D

A No, I was not an actual witness to the massacre.

Q Do you know the unit or organization they belonged to?
A No, as I have already said, I was not an actual witness to the massacre.

Q Do you know what provoked the Japanese to commit this atrocity?
A No.

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

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF SAN JOSE

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 Saturnino Lorzano in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.