BRIDGING THE GAP
The Japanese landing of Botong, Oton, Iloilo
Oton is a municipality situated along the southern coast of the Province of Iloilo which is about ten kilometers distant from the capital city of Iloilo. It was the earliest settlement recognized by the Spaniards in Iloilo and served as the first political and ecclesiastical capital of the colonizers in Western Visayas. It was also made by the Spaniards as the center of shipbuilding in the region where a number of galleons used by them in their explorations of other sections of Southeast Asia were constructed. Botong, on its part, is one of the thirty-seven barangays of Oton which is located along the coast. It is five kilometers south of the town's poblacion.
One's knowledge of history tells him that the Japanese bombed the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in the early morning of December 7, 1941. This day was December 8 in the Philippines and the Filipinos, including the inhabitants of Panay, immediately learned about the grieve news. The rapid dissemination of information was due to the many radio stations and receivers available in the Island of Panay at that time (Manikan 1977). On the part of the Ogtonganon or people of Oton, they were on that day celebrating the fiesta of the Immaculate Conception, the patron saint of the town. The people panicked when they heard the news over the radio.
Frantic preparations for an imminent landing of Japanese forces in the Philippines and in Panay were then made by the combined Filipino and American troops. On April 16, 1942, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invading forces, numbering about 6,000 under Maj. Gen. Saburo Kawamura, hit the beaches of Panay (Manikan 1977). They landed at three focal points in the island with practically almost no resistance: one force landed in Antique, another in Capiz, and the third in Oton, Iloilo.
In Oton, the Japanese force landed in Barrio Botong on the night of April 16, 1942 (McCoy 1980). Fortunately, when this happened, the inhabitants had already evacuated to the safer interior areas. Thus, no casualty was recorded in this event.
It must be pointed out that prior to the landing of the Japanese force in Botong, the barrio was already visited by a large Japanese freighter five yeas before. This was some time in 1936 when the inhabitants were greatly surprised to see one morning a large Japanese ship lolling on the water near the shore of the barrio (Tajo 1990). The large ship turned out to be the “Cherry Bon Maru”, the passengers of which were Japanese. The Japanese disembarked and offered their apologies to the barrio folks who gathered in curiosity and explained to the latter that the ship was stranded because it developed engine trouble.
The Japanese, to gain the goodwill and friendship of the natives, distributed canned sardines, t-shirts and other clothing materials. They stayed in the barrio for quite some time while their ship was allegedly being repaired. They also visited Trapiche, the neighboring barrio where they also befriended some residents. During the day, some of the Japanese were seen roaming around. It is interesting to note that the place where the friendly and generous Japanese landed in 1936 was exactly the same spot where they made their landing in April 1942 (Tajo 1990). One cannot, therefore, help but to conclude that the incident in 1936 was just a convenient ploy in order for the Japanese to have a successful beach landing in 1942.
The Japanese occupation of Oton and the rest of Panay brought about fear, misery and resentment among the local people. The Japanese propaganda of “Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity” or “Asia for the Asians” did not make any positive impression on the local population. Majority of the inhabitants of Panay and of Oton, in particular, fled to the interior areas of the island and remained in hiding for a while. Some eventually joined and/or supported the guerilla movement against the invaders.