The world has changed significantly; China warns the Philippine Air Force in the South China Sea.
The Philippines were once in a period of darkness with deception and evil.
The story is about the Hunters ROTC, a group of brave Filipinos in the twentieth century.
Personal accounts recall the arrival of the Japanese, the slapping of a grandmother and father, marking the beginning of the war for some.
Jorge Vargas and Benigno Aquino began supporting the Japanese.
Three phases of World War II in the Philippines:
Phase 1: Philippine Defense Campaign from the attack on Pearl Harbor and Manila (December 8, 1941) to the surrender of US forces in Luzon (May 6, 1942).
Phase 2: The Philippine Guerrilla Movement, from the end of American authority (May 6, 1942) to MacArthur's return (October 20, 1944).
Phase 3: The Philippine Liberation Campaign, from Leyte landing to the surrender of Yamashita in Ifugao.
Filipinos resisted the Japanese invasion, driven by patriotism and nationalism.
Filipinos were promised independence by America as early as 1935.
Young Filipinos wanted to participate in the war, inspired by their ancestors.
Second-year cadets at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) were sent home to preserve the youth.
Eventual Hunters ROTC
The Hunter's ROTC was first mastered on 01/15/1942.
The Hunter's ROTC was started primarily by some of the first year cadets of the Philippine Military Academy who were residents of San Juan.
Founded on January 15, 1942, by PMA cadets Miguel Ver (class 43/44), father (class 44), and Gustavo Inglis (class 45).
Miguel Ver became the first military commander due to seniority.
The group expanded to include cadets from other universities in Metro Manila.
The goal was to create a second front in Metro Manila to relieve Japanese pressure on Bataan.
By April 6, 1942, the group had moved to the hills.
The hunters group started with almost nothing, they had no shoes, they had no bullets, they had no gun.
The group needed to find a source of arms.
Union College was the first target for obtaining arms.
The group stole arms from Union College by sewing the bars after tricking the person in charge.
The person in charge there did not want to let them get the arms, and they pacified him to not be held responsible.
Hunters used fake documents to raid armories, pretending to be transfer officers.
The Japanese realized something was happening and followed the hunters to their camp.
Mike Bear manned a machine gun to allow his comrades to escape while sacrificing himself.
The survivors were motivated by revenge.
The first act of revenge was the ambush at Pugetawim (Kilometer 69, boundary of Rizal and Laguna), where 19 hunters ambushed a Japanese convoy of 200.
Before their actions, the Filipinos, especially in Manila, they were downcast and looked to the ground feeling defeated.
Filipinos were heartened by the Hunters' actions and started recruiting locals.
90% of the eventual Hunters ROTC membership came from the ranks of farmers and fishermen.
Recruits needed to understand basic English and follow instructions.
Terry Adeboso was a boar leader, better at school than in the academy, but in the field, no comparison
Japanese Kinkutai
The hunters grew to 25,000 armed men.
The Japanese carried out anti guerrilla operations, developed in China, to counter the guerrillas.
They used the "sauna" tactic: encircling a town, arresting all the men, and using a collaborator to identify guerrillas.
Countermeasures included torture or the threat of torture.
Vic Novales and Gustavo Inglis were captured and tortured.
Inglis was tortured at the airport studio in Manila.
Bamboo shards were placed in the tips of Inglis' fingernails.
Inglis exaggerated his involvement to appear crazy and avoid giving useful information.
Vic Novales endured waterboarding but resisted providing information.
Adiboso sent a message through Peralta with three confidential questions to gauge Laurel's stance on the Japanese.
Laurel's answers were cryptic but suggested a pro-Japanese lean.
The hunters were deciding what to do with the people for the Japanese and kill them.
The hunters learned guerrilla tactics from Edgar Snow's Red Star over China and Lawrence of Arabia's Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
The hunters had a probo marshal (Jaime Ferrell) to handle grievances and maintain discipline.
Japanese kinkutai asked for a conference in a meeting.
Captain Sakai, the Japanese Garrison Commander and Kempeitai head, who was educated in the US, met with the hunters face to face and tried to negotiate a peace.
War On Hunters
Captain Sakai asked the hunters why they were fighting.
Sakai proposed a Christmas truce and gave a pistol to the hunters.
Rivalries existed among guerrilla groups, including turf wars between the Markings guerrillas and the hunters in Rizal.
The hunters were younger, educated college students who spoke English well, while the Markings guerrillas were older workers and peasants.
Markings almost declared war on hunters.
In June 1944, the hunters decided to liberate comrades imprisoned in Munting Lupa.
The Munting Lupa Raid was executed to rescue incarcerated officers, including Colonel Nobales.
The Hunters started cultivating new friendship among the guards.
The hunters dressed up as a Japanese officer, banged on the gate and threatened the guards.
They shut the lights off, and then the gates were opened.
In 45 minutes, the hunters rescued their comrades from the National Believed Prison, disarming the warden.
The hunters contacted MacArthur to gain recognition from the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) to be recognized as legitimate guerrilla groups.
SWPA recognition meant being recognized as part of the armed forces of the US and the Philippines, access to weapons and American aid.
Japanese Soldiers
MacArthur funneled supplies through Smith and Parsons, setting up prewar military districts with teams and equipment.
Kerna de Ocampo and the hunters met with submarines at Infanta to receive modern weapons like the m one carbine, medical equipment and modern material.
The Japanese were expecting the main effort to come from the South.
The defense in the South was strong at 50,000 Japanese soldiers.
They were forming the symbol line to protect the southern front of Yamasita.
In the landing in Nassugbu, Inglis had the password.
Americans started landing in January.
The hunters started debating parallels.
Some units of the hunters were heavily engaged in fighting in Southern Manila.
Liberation of Tateros, Tageg, and Fort McKinley was an hunters ROTC operation.
The Japanese patrol boat went up to a Bangka where hunters were at.
The hunters engaged with the patrol boats and won.
Death never crossed the narrator's mind during that time.
After liberation from the National Believit Presort, he gathered information and able to formulate relations plan.
The hunters linked up with other guerrilla units for the Ruspana's raid.
Eight guerrilla groups formed a united front, including Marquis guerrillas, and divided tasks.
Queguerrero was vote as the unified ground commander.
Hunters ROTC played a key role in neutralizing Japanese positions during the liberation of Los Banos.
World War
The Americans dropped when this was already going on due to not having enough troops.
The last shot was fired by the Americans after getting the internees on attributes.
Rusbanes raid was the largest POW rescue in World War 2.
Rusbanes raid is a major event in stage three of World War two in The Philippines, the Philippine Liberation Campaign.
The Batang Death March paved the way for a stronger guerrilla force.
Those who refused to surrender created one of the strongest underground forces in history.
Filipinos were not victims with the guerrilla victory that our history is a history of victory.
Today the guns are silent.
The hunters became engineers, scientists, and had regular jobs.
Many ran for government office, like Raul Lapos and Terry Adivoso.
Many of the ROTC people worked closely with the Magsaysay administration.
Some of our veterans worked very closely with the government throughout time.
Manang Okapo became president of the Philippine Veterans Bank.
Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.
The hunters took responsibility rather than waiting for others.
Youth can get involved and make their mark on The Philippines.
Generation Y and Z must step up.
Honor our veterans by living with courage and following your heart.
Look within ourselves and do what most people will not.
Put everything on the line for what you believe in.
The blood that runs in our veins is that of a hero.
Conclusion
The hunters put their lives on the line to benefit an entire nation.
He just told us the stories and take it from there.
Looking back at what they had done, it is a source of continuous inspiration for the narrator.