By Manrico T. Lataquin

PREVENT the Japanese from going to the hills.

This was the explicit order of General Douglas MacArthur to General Macario Peralta when they met in Leyte from February 28 to March 4, 1945.

Peralta knew the price in lives would be great even if the 6th Military District would be aided by American airplanes. It would be a frontal confrontation between the Japanese forces with all its war tools – tanks, mortars and machine guns – against the guerillas who were lightly armed with Thompson submachine guns, Carbines and Garands and mostly obsolete Enfield rifles.

But it was an order to “Obey before you complain.”

In the disposition of troops for the final drive, the six combat teams had their respective sectors in February 1945.

The 61st CT under Lt. Col. Garcia was to neutralize the Tering (now Tiring) Landing Field in Cabatuan, Iloilo.

The 62nd CT under Lt. Col. Serran was a blocking force at the Balantang-Leganes sector. The 63rd CT headed by Lt. Col. Chaves was assigned in the southern sector of Iloilo City to be aided by a battalion of the 65th CT, a reserve unit.

The 66th CT headed by Lt. Col. Gasparil was assigned as the blocking force to the exit of the major Japanese forces at Sambag, Jaro to be aided by a battalion of the 64th CT under Lt. Col. Relunia.

The island of Guimaras was heavily guarded by some units under Major Nestor Golez.

On March 18, 1945, I was ordered by Lt. Reynaldo Lataquin, executive officer of the 66th Signal Company of the 66th CT stationed at Pototan, Iloilo, to deliver personally some restricted radio message and food supplies (two sacks of root crops and bananas) to our advanced field radio station at Balantang, Jaro. A fellow officer and I left Pototan in an open cart pulled by a slow moving carabao at sundown and traveled the whole night just stopping for a few hours’ rest. It was a scary journey in total darkens with only plenty of santermos (St. Elmo’s fire) shooting out of the fields and flying towards us.

We arrived at Balantang at sunrise and were greeted by the sights and sounds of US Army planes strafing the city of Iloilo. They sometimes fly around over and terribly scared us. Fortunately, the District Radio Station of Gen. Peralta housed in the mansion of Dr. Hechanova immediately corrected the mishaps of US planes strafing our own soldiers whom the American pilots mistook as Japanese.

The general offensive of the 6th Military District officially started on February 1, 1945. Hell broke lose when the zero hour came. Simultaneous attacks were launched by the five combat teams. Since the main bulk of the enemy numbering at least 2,500 was at Jaro, the 66th Ct suffered heavy casualties.

With Japanese mortars and machinegun fires raging, our men stayed in their foxholes. Our soldiers got wiser. They got out of their foxholes and engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. But weakened by exhaustion and lack of food, ammunition, clothes and replacement, the defense was broken.

The American carrier-based planes came in just in time to catch the Japanese convoy of a long line of motor vehicles loaded with canned foods, clothing and war materials. They were able to destroy all of them. The following day, my brother Engr. Rodolfo T. Lataquin and I asked permission to enter the city. We saw the long line of destroyed and smoking vehicles with their cargoes scattered along the road leading to the Central Philippine University.

According to G-3 records, the results of the February operations are as follows:

The 6th Military District lost eight officers and 71 enlisted men. The wounded were 147 officers and enlisted men.

On the other hand, our brave soldiers killed 723 enemies, wounded 269 and captured 24.

NOTE: Manrico T. Lataquin is the vice president of the Philippine-American Veterans Association and public relations officer of the 6th Military District of the World War II Veterans Association.

One Response to “The Battle of Jaro”

• 1
  Sylvia D. Pendon
  August 29th, 2008 18:55

  Sir:

  I am the spouse of Cpl. Leoncio M. Pendon,a surviving WW2 veteran who is from Pototan,Iloilo born September 12,1919.He was inducted USAFFE CAD cpl “L” co of the 61st Inf.Div. USAFFE from 1941 to 1945,enlisted AFP in 1947 and retired 2nd Lt. in 1964.
  Before enlisting in the AFP in 1947,he got back to Pototan,Iloilo and joined the Panay guerilla movement under Gen. Macario Peralta.But sorry to note,this military service does not have his guerilla stint record.May I enlist your kindness to provide an info document if ever he is in the listing of Panay guerilla services if any.
  Recently,I requested the USVA Archives in Missouri a certificate of his listing as a USAFFE WW2 Veteran for purposes of claiming pension benefits forthcoming to these surviving WW2 veterans.This request at your end will surely help facilitate requirement to entitlement to these benefits-patientlywaited by these surviving WW2 veterans where he is one of them.
  He is already very old (89) bedridden needing urgent hospitalization.I beg and pray that you will helpme in my request.I am most obliged.

  Respectfully yours,
  Sylvia D. Pendon (spouse of Cpl. Leoncio M. Pendon,062733 USAFFE).

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