Preparations for the Japs

A street in Tacloban circa 1944

The Philippine Constabulary troops, comprising a battalion, were under Maj. Eustaquio Abay, with Maj. Arturo Reyes as the provincial inspector. This had three companies. The one in Tacloban was under Capt. Nolasco. The Malitbog detachment was under Lt. Alejandro, while the Ormoc group was under Lt. Blas Miranda, who would later figure prominently in Leyte’s guerrilla movement.

Leyte Gov. Ramon Torres himself took the lead in boosting the people’s morale, often going around the municipalities to talk to the officials to carry on. He organized a propaganda committee, with himself and a few leading citizens “of forensic abilities.”

In this work, Torres excelled. After all, he was a former school teacher, an academic supervisor in Western Leyte and acting superintendent before his election to the Leyte Assembly. His rise to governor was meteoric. Right before the war, he only wanted to run for the Provincial Board. But Leyte’s bet for senator, the eminent Norberto Romualdez, suddenly died and had to be replaced in the senatorial slate. So the incumbent Gov. Rafael Martinez, a Spanish mestizo from Ormoc, had to move up. Suddenly Torres was picked up for governor because of his youth and the high number of votes he got as provincial board member.

Practically all the town mayors, assisted by the principals of public schools and their corps of teachers, made themselves into committees of public information, purveying cheerful tidings and organizing patriotic assemblies. These in recognition of his political leadership.

A noted local writer, Amador Daguio, also set up a newspaper,” The Voice of Victory” dedicated to fostering Leyte’s will to resist. It was published twice a week, coming out with 3,000 copies every issue, and sold for 3 centavos. When the Japanese came to Tacloban, they tried to find out who had edited this publication.

They were told that it was a government committee. But the Japanese were not to be outdone. Even before they set foot on the island, they were already busy with their own propaganda activities, using prominent Leyteños to promote pro-Japanese ideas. Among them was Congressman Jose Ma. Veloso who became their principal propagandist, launching a whispering campaign intended to demoralize the people, weaken their resistance and make them cooperate with their program.

A native of San Isidro, Leyte, he was already 56 years old at the time of the Japanese occupation. He used to be governor of Leyte for 3 terms from 1912 to 1916, renounced his second term from 1916 to 1919 and again elected from 1919 to 1922.

He was elected Senator from the ninth district that was composed of Samar and Leyte in 1916 to 1919, 1925 to 1931 and 1931 to 1935. He served as a representative from the 3rd district of Leyte and became a member of the First National Assembly under the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1938.

Indeed, Veloso had the political experience that Torres, a neophyte as far as Veloso was concerned, never had. Working with Veloso in this pro-Japanese enterprise was his brother-in-law, Provincial Board Member Pastor Salazar, a staunch advocate of Japanese rule. Together they went around the province in a whispering campaign that often ended in wild harangues. 

In one of his public utterances, Veloso almost got killed by an anti-Japanese but was saved by the police. However, he was subsequently arrested by the Army for treasonable utterances and interned. Still it would not be long before his Japanese mentors would free him.

Heart rate monitor