Testimony of Pamfilo Umali on Japanese Atrocities Committed in Lipa, Batangas in 1945
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Photo taken during the war crimes trials in Manila. Image credit: U.S. National Archives. |
[p. 1490]
A Pamfilo Umali.
Q Where do you live?
[p. 1491]
Q Did you live in Pusil on February 15, 1945?
CAPTAIN PACE: “Did you live in Pusil on February 15, 1945?”
INTERPRETER LAVENGCO: “We were evacuees there.”
A Barrio Pusil.
Q I said where is it?
A It is in the upper part of the town of Lipa.
Q Is it about five kilometers north of Lipa?
A More or less.
Q Describe what happened in Pusil in the morning of February 15, 1945.
A At that time, the Japanese came and found us in our homes. They grouped us men together and tied us. They did the same with the women.
Q What time did the Japanese come?
A They came more or less about seven o’clock in the morning.
Q How many men did they tie together?
A We were about 700 men tied together.
Q Seven hundred men. And how many women and children?
A I could not count the number of women, but they were many.
Q What did they do with the men?
A They tied the men. They tied them by fives and by
[p. 1492]
Q Yes. Proceed.
A They took us near a pit and they used to dump us there.
Q Where did they take you?
A They took us to the vicinity of the town [barrio] of Pusil.
Q Where in the vicinity of the town [barrio] of Pusil did they take you?
A To the northern part of the town of Lipa.
Q Where did they take you in the northern part of the town of Lipa?
CAPTAIN PACE: Where did they take you in the northern part of the town of Lipa?”
Q (By Captain Pace) Did they take you to a well?
A At the well, sir.
Q What happened after you got to the well?
A When we arrived there, the Japanese ordered us to jump, and we jumped.
Q Where did you jump?
A I was afraid the Japanese would bayonet me, so when they ordered me to jump, I jumped.
Q Where did you jump?
A Into the well.
Q How many men jumped in the well ahead of you?
A More or less, 200 men preceded me.
Q And how many men jumped into the well after you did?
[p. 1493]
Q After the 300 men had jumped into the well, what happened then?
A The Japanese dropped over us Singer machines and big stones used for construction.
(Whereupon, Interpreter Lavengco repeated the answer to the witness.)
CAPTAIN PACE: No, not to the witness. I want to know what you said.
INTERPRETER LAVENGCO: “The Japanese dropped over us Singer machines, sewing machines, and big stones used for construction work.”
A After that, they covered us with Sawale covers, three sheets of Sawale covering.
Q At this time, how many men out of the 300 in the well were still alive?
GENERAL REYNOLDS: The testimony was 300 were in the well and one remained alive, as the Commission understood.
Is that correct?
CAPTAIN PACE: No, sir, I believe that either the record, or further questioning, will show that 200 jumped in, and then the witness’ group jumped in, and then 100
1493
CAPTAIN PACE: Yes, sir.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: And the reply to that was 100?
CAPTAIN PACE: The witness has not yet answered that question yet, sir, I don’t believe.
CAPTAIN REEL: Well, the only difficulty, sir, is that I am afraid that the record is confused. Inasmuch as counsel for the Prosecution said that further evidence would bring out these figures, I would suggest, if I might, sir, that the Prosecution bring out those figures first, before going into these other matters.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: Very well. Let us establish the numbers.
CAPTAIN PACE: Yes, sir.
A Two hundred.
Q How many men jumped into the well after you and the 200 were in there?
A More than 100.
Q Out of the 300 men who jumped in the well, how many were alive after the Japanese had finished?
A We were seven, and six really survived.
(Short recess.)
[p. 1495]
A (Through the Interpreter) When we were taken there at the well, it was very clean, but now it is quite dirty.
Q What kind of dirt?
A Plenty of grass, sir.
Q How many Japanese were at the well?
A When I arrived, there were four. The fifth was the one who took us there.
Q How many did they take at a time to the well?
A First time, more than 200.
Q When your group was taken to the edge of the well, how many were there?
A We were four, tied together.
Q Where did they have the four of you stand before you went into the well?
A We were instructed to stand about the edge of the well, then we jumped in.
Q What did the Japanese do when you were standing at the edge of the well?
A I did not wait for him to do anything; I jumped right away.
Q What kind of arms did the five Japanese that you have just mentioned have?
A They carried guns with bayonets, and they had a star insignia.
Q Will you describe how deep the well was?
[p. 1496]
Q Was that to the bottom or to the water line?
A As to my estimate, it was up to the very bottom.
Q And how much water was in this well which was 20 meters deep?
A As to my estimate, the water level was about three meters from the very bottom.
Q When you jumped into the well, how much water did you land it?
A Very little water.
Q What were you standing on?
A Over dead human bodies.
Prosecution Exhibit No.
244 for identification.)
A This is the picture of the very well where they jumped in.
Q Who are the five men shown in the picture?
A They are Teodora Algana, Eugenio Latina, and the brother of one called Tapay — I don’t know the name.
Q Were these the five men who survived this incident at the well?
A We were six. One of our companions is not included in the picture; that is why there are five there.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: There being no objection, it is accepted in evidence.
244 for identification
was received in evidence.)
[p. 1497]
A The top part is quite narrower than the bottom, but the top part, the diameter is approximately more than one meter.
(Answer read.)
GENERAL REYNOLDS: Will the Prosecution establish the diameter of the well at lower levels, please?
CAPTAIN PACE: Yes, sir.
A The water level, the diameter was more or less two meters.
Q And does this taper gradually from the top at one meter down to a point at two meters?
A (Through the Interpreter) Yes, sir.
Q How did you and these other five men whom you have mentioned escape from the well?
A While we were there inside the well, some women lowered ropes to us. We held the ropes and the women pulled us out.
Q And did everyone else in the well die?
A There were many.
[p. 1498]
A There was more.
Q There was more what?
A There was one more who survived besides us.
Q How many survived?
A We were six in all.
Q Did everybody else die?
A They were all dead.
Prosecution Exhibit No.
245 for identification.)
A This is one of our companions.
Q What is the mark which appears upon his neck?
A This is [a] mark of a bullet shot.
Q How did he receive that?
A He was shot inside the well.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: There being no objection, it is accepted in evidence.
245 for identification
was received in evidence.
A They shot at us, but I was not hit.
Q They did fire shots into the well, is that right?
A Yes, they did, shot at us.
[p. 1499]
Prosecution Exhibit No.
246 for identification.)
A This one was also my companion.
Q What is the wound on his back?
A That was also the result of a bullet shot.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: There being no objection, it is accepted in evidence.
246 for identification
was received in evidence.)
A The women, after we were tied, were sent away. We don’t know what happened to them.
Q Have you ever seen a woman or a child who was in that group, since that day?
A After I had come from the well, I saw some of them already in the vicinity of the town.
(The Interpreter translated to the witness.)
CAPTAIN PACE: (To the Interpreter) What did you say?
(The Interpreter translated to the witness.)
THE INTERPRETER: “After I came out of the well, I had seen some of the women outside the barrio of Pusil.”
[p. 1500]
A (Through the Interpreter) I could hardly tell because I left the place.
A We stayed there not later than five minutes.
Q And after five minutes, you jumped into the well, is that right?
A I jumped right in.
Q Now, I am clear that you jumped after you had been there five minutes. Let’s get that straight.
A After about five minutes, I jumped in.
Q Now, did you arrive at the well in a group?
A We were all the four tied together, brought there.
Q And when you got to the well, there was no one else there? When you got to the well, there was no one else standing there?
A Many were already there.
Q How many others were there when you got there?
A More or less 200 men were already there.
Q And these 200 men jumped before you did?
A Yes, sir.
Q Then I am correct, then, in saying that all these 200 men jumped in the space of five minutes, is that right?
(Question read.)
[p. 1501]
CAPTAIN SANDBERG: It it pleases the Commission, the witness testified on direct that 200 men jumped ahead of him.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: That is correct. You may proceed.
CAPTAIN SANDBERG: May I have the witness answer the question?
(The Interpreter translated the question to the witness.)
Q (By Captain Sandberg) And you want us to believe that 200 men jumped into that well in the space of five minutes?
A As far as I am concerned, those 200 men jumped there ahead of me.
Q Did they jump in the space of five minutes?
A I know, sir.
THE INTERPRETER: Yes.
A (Through the Interpreter) That machine had a pedal at the bottom, with boxes on the right side, about opening, you have to pull out (demonstrating). Looks
[p. 1502]
Q How many of these sewing machines did the Japanese throw in?
A I saw only one.
Q What was the size of the sewing machine that you saw?
A More or less, it was one yard high, and one yard wide.
Q One yard wide. Now, in view of the fact, do you still want to stand by your testimony that the diameter of the well was only one meter?
GENERAL REYNOLDS: The Defense may continue.
(The last question was read.)
GENERAL DONOVAN: How long did he stay in the well?
(Translated to the witness by the Interpreter.)
THE INTERPRETER: A whole day until midnight.
A (Through the Interpreter) More or less 10 o’clock in the morning.
Q How long was if after that before it was your turn to jump into the well?
A About five minutes.
[p. 1503]
A I do not know whether they were officers.
GENERAL REYNOLDS: The objection is sustained, but Defense may seek to obtain the information by a different approach, if it chooses to do so.
A I was able to give a little aid.
Q What was the assistance you gave?
A Sometimes, somebody asked for a chicken, but I was not the one who delivered it.
Q And is that all you did for the guerrilla forces?
A Only that.
Q Now, who was the guerrilla organization to which you made this contribution?
A I do not know.
Q You don’t know the name of the leader of the guerrilla organization?
A I do not know.
Q Do you know of your own knowledge that there were extensive organized guerrilla activities in the region of Lipa?
[p. 1504]
Q Do you recall an instance in which 12 Japanese soldiers were found beheaded by bolo knives?
GENERAL REYNOLDS: The objection is sustained.
A I can’t tell the exact number, but there were many.
Q Well, approximately how many?
A The only thing I can say, there are many. I do not know how many.
Q Well, were there as many as 50?
A I cannot tell, because I did not count them directly, but what I can tell is that there were many.
Q You haven’t the faintest idea of how many there were?
A I cannot tell how many, but in my presence, there were many.
Q How many Japanese soldiers did you see on the day of the incident of the well?
A Four were already there when I arrived, and the fifth was the one who accompanied me.
Q So that we know, there were at least five Japanese soldiers?
1505
Q Now, were these five Japanese soldiers the same ones who were stationed at the town?
A The only thing, they were the five who took charge of tying us. I don’t know if they were stationed there.
Q Do you know what branch of the Japanese armed forces they belonged to?
A I can say they were soldiers.
Q You don’t know whether they were connected with the air force, do you?
A What I know is that they were soldiers.
CAPTAIN PACE: Thank you very much.
1 “Excerpts from the Testimony of Pamfilo Umali in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.