Testimony of Teotimo Macalinao of San Jose, Batangas on Japanese Atrocities in Barrio Lapulapu I in 1945

Batangas History

1 Dec, 2017

This page contains the testimony of one Teotimo Macalinao of San Jose, Batangas on the burning of houses and the massacre of civilians in Barrio Lapulapu I 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. 22]

C E R T I F I C A T E

TEOTIMO MACALINAO, after having been duly sworn, testified at the Municipal Building of San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I., on 4 October 1945, as follows:

Q Please state your full name, age, address and nationality.
A Teotimo Macalinao, 58 years old, Barrio Lapulapu I, San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I., Filipino.

Q What is your occupation?
A Senior Plant Sanitation Inspector, Bureau of Plant Industry, Manila.

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 Do you know of any atrocity committed by the Japanese in Lapulapu I sometime in February 1945?
A Yes, there was burning of houses and killing of civilians.

Q Will you relate in your own words the story of the occasion of the burning of houses and killing of civilians in the barrio of Lapulapu I and II on or about February 14, 1945.
A On February 14, 1945, at 9 P.M., I returned from Tikiwan, Rosario, Batangas Province, where I got unhusked rice. When I reached home, I found out that my two sons were not there. My wife, Pomposa Umali Macalinao, said that she saw them riding in the truck of the Japanese.

At 6 A.M. February 15, 1945, I saw the body of my son, Teodoro, aged 24, at the burned house of Benito Oblea. His hands were cut off at the wrist and his feet cut off at the ankle. I recognized him through his buckle, his gold tooth and the mole above his right eyebrow. On that same day, about 9 o’clock, we buried him at the air raid shelter under the burned house.

On February 18, 1945, I found my other son, Cirilano Macalinao, aged 26, at the yard opposite our house. He had his right hand cut off and his right eyebrow bruised. He had bayonet wounds on the left breast which ran through the back. He was covered with dry corn husks. I recognized him through his “San Beda College” buckle with his name on. He, too, was buried in the same place my other son was.

Q Do you know the names of the Japanese who killed your son?
A No. Neither can I describe any of them inasmuch as I did not see them.

Q Do you know of any Japanese unit stationed around this area at that time?
A No.

Q Do you know what provoked the Japanese to kill your son?
A No.

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

/s/ Teotimo Macalinao
/t/ TEOTIMO MACALINAO

[p. 23]

C E R T I F I C A T E

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROVINCE OF BATANGAS

TOWN OF SAN JOSE

I, TEOTIMO MACALINAO, being duly sworn on oath, state that I had read to me and understood 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/ Teotimo Macalinao
/t/ TEOTIMO MACALINAO

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 26^th day of October, 1945.

/s/ Allen H. Peoples
/t/ ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt., CAC
Investigating Officer, War Crimes
Investigating Detachment.

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 4^th day of October, 1945, personally appeared before us TEOTIMO MACALINAO and gave the foregoing answers to the several questions set forth; that after his testimony had been transcribed, the said TEOTIMO MACALINAO read 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

27 October 1945

/s/ Charles C. Thompson
/t/ CHARLES C. THOMPSON, Capt., TC

Notes and references:
¹ “Documents Pertaining to the Testimony of Teotimo Macalinao in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.