Liberation and the Incumbency of Mayor Canonero

Mayor Simeon Canonero
Vice Mayor Anacleto Amparo

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Introduction

               The Second World War ended by the signing of the Japanese surrender document aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The whole country lay prostrate with practically all buildings down to the ground. Thousands of people were homeless and the Alimodiananons were no exception.

               There was destruction of farms, work animals, machinery, buildings, roads, bridges and more important is the loss of thousands of lives. There was no production during the first months of the liberation. The problems that confronted the government were a challenge to the statesmanship of President Sergio Osmena (pronounced as Osmenya) and to the courage and spirit of cooperation among the people. Alimodian was a no man’s land when the country was liberated. Houses were burned and demolished. When the people returned to town after peace was proclaimed, they have to live in makeshifts of bamboo and nipa just to have shelter over their heads.

                The American government had its share of the damages brought about by the war. The people were paid by the American government in the form of reparations. In addition to this payment, guerilla notes issued during the war were redeemed.

                 In order to make the government responsive to the needs of the people, the local government was reorganized in March 1945, Mayor Felix Altura, who was the mayor before the war and during the war years, came back to office until the military government appointed Simeon Cañonero ( pronounced as Canyonero) as mayor on May 15, 1946. His vice mayor was Anacleto Amparo and the councilors were Gelacio Allones, Wenceslao Anino, Teodosia Amarra, Pablo Albeza and Clara Alegrado.

                  Mayor Canonero is the municipal mayor who has served the town the longest, two years as appointed by the military authorities and three terms of four years each as elected by the people. His good deeds and accomplishments endeared him to the people who remember him as one of the best administrators the town ever had.

Death Casualties (Alimodiananons) During World War II

“They died so others may live”

Note:


Name of Officer
Rank
Date of Death
Place of Death

Philippine Army

Killed in Action (KIA):

Officers:
1. Alvior, Jose G. - Major, Inf. 3 March 1944, Sitio Balwa, Alimodian, Iloilo
2. Rosario, Marcelo del - 1st Lt. ,Inf. 17 April 1944, Mandurriao, Iloilo City
3. Amuan, Esperidion - 3rd Lt., Inf. 14 March 1945, Pipi Hill, Tigbauan, Iloilo


Enlisted Men:
1. Alcarioto, Clemente - Pvt. Inf. 29 June 1944, Dumo-ong Hill, Janiuay, Iloilo
2. Alcudia, Felix - Pvt. Inf. 17 August 1943, Alimodian, Iloilo
3. Alegrado, Baldomero - S/Sgt. Inf. 4 March 1943, Cabatuan, Iloilo
4. Alingalan, Manuel - Pvt. Inf. 27 June 1944, Cabatuan, Iloilo
5. Allonar, Emilio - Pfc. Inf. 23 March 1945, Alimodian, Iloilo
6. Amodia, Filemon - Pv. CWS, 3 June 1943, Passi, Iloilo
7. Andam, Pedro - Pvt. Inf., 28 June 1944, Janiuay, Iloilo
8. Anglacer, Miguel - Pvt. Inf., 20 April 1944, Alimodian, Iloilo
9. Cordero, Bernardino - Pvt. MC, 1943, Alimodian, Iloilo
10. Esconde, Leopoldo - Pfc. FA, 15 May 1945, Liwit, Tangkalan, Bukidnon


Captured by the Enemy and Killed:

Officer:
1. Salarda, Cornelio - 3rd Lt. Inf., 9 June 1944, Barbaza, Antique

Enlisted Men:
1. Alminaza, Vicente - Pfc. Inf., 21 October 1943, Cabatuan, Iloilo
2. Almira, Angel - Pfc. Inf., 1 March 1943, Alimodian, Iloilo
3. Alvior, Benjamin V. - M/Sgt., Inf., 17 February 1943, Bo. Natividad, Iloilo
4. Amoto, Federico - Pvt., Inf., 1942, Mindanao
5. Rodriguez, Antero - Pvt., Inf. 25 November 1942, Alimodian, Iloilo



U.S. Navy & Philippine Scouts, U.S. Army

1. Calderon, David, USN - POW, 21 September 1942, Camp Odonnel, Capas, Tarlac
2. Tolentino, Enrique, PS - KIA, 1942, Bataan
3. Tolentino, Filemon, PS - POW, 20 May 1942, Camp Odonnel, Capas, Tarlac



Legend:

KIA – Killed in Action

POW – Prisoner of War

Heroic Death of Lt. Marcelo Del Rosario

Lt. Marcelo del Rosario
            Lt. Marcelo del Rosario was considered the most outstanding and courageous combat officer in Iloilo during the guerilla years. He was the commanding officer of “A” Company, who was responsible for inflicting the most PC (Philippine Constabulary all Filipino Prisoners of War) casualties in Mandurriao and Jaro. They were able to kill 14 enemies and capture some in the attack of February 10, 1944.

           Lt. del Rosario conferred with Lt. Barrios, Commanding Officer of the 5th Iloilo PC Company, of their friendly mission three days before that fateful day of April 17, 1944.
          Then on that day, Lt. del Rosario accompanied by his men, were met with friendly greeting. But as they were entering the threshold of the garrison, the PC’s rushed to their defensive position.
          Lt. Gotico saw a rifle leveled toward Lt. del Rosario just a few inches from his chest. In seconds he fell. His men fired at the enemies killing some and wounding others.
          Lt. del Rosario who was a fearless fighter, was a victim of treachery by his countrymen. The PC’s and the Japanese wrecked their hatred on him by parading his dead body in Iloilo City as their trophy.
         Lt. del Rosario is the husband of Tiya Nena del Rosario and the grandfather of three Jo sisters of this town.

Alimodian’s Share of the War

         Another officer who died in the hands of the enemy was Lt. Cornelio Salarda, assistant regimental adjutant of the 65th Infantry Regiment stationed in Barbaza, Antique. He was with his senior officer Capt. Gil Mijares. The enemy was able to capture a lot of valuable and telltale records and documents that the S1 Section had custody of. It was reported that the barbarous enemy tortured them horribly and brutally to extract precious information from them. But they steadfastly refused to cooperate even as they bore the inhumane tortures inflicted upon them stoically and heroically. They pleaded that they be treated as prisoners of war, but the savage Japanese practically mangled the bodies of their captives to death, with bayonets and slashes of their samurai swords.
         Lt. Esperidion Amuan of Barangay Sulong, Alimodian died of mortal wounds inflicted by the enemies while participating in the attack of Mojin and Pipi in Tigbauan, Iloilo on March 13, 1945. While courageously leading his men, scrambling up against a strongly defended enemy emplacement, he was killed by a direct hit of the enemy’s knee mortar shell.
        Two days later, after a TE DEUM mass officiated by a ranking Roman priest evacuee at Major Manikan’s battalion CP, he was buried with military honors at the Tigbauan just five days after he was killed in action.
        Alimodian was popular during the war years because it was the center of evacuation of civilians from the city. It was in Barangay Balabago that the first ambush led by Col. Peralta, overall commander of the Panay Guerilla, took place on May 7, 1942. It was in Barangay Dalid where Col. Julian Chavez, 63rd Regimental Commander, established his Command Post preparatory to the landing of the American Forces in Tigbauan.
        It was also in Alimodian where the 63rd Regimental Hospital, headed by then Capt. Alejandro Nery Cruz, MD, was established. It was housed in the old central school building, now the site of the Alimodian Water District and Kilusang Bayan for Credit and the Municipal Library.
        It was in Alimodian also where the first US navy pilot, Ensign William G. Shackleford was safely brought after he forced landed in Barrio Bangkal, Tigbauan, Iloilo due to engine trouble. It was during the air raid of Iloilo City on September 13, 14 and 24, 1944 when he made the forced landing.
        Luckily, he was saved by the guerilleros and civilians and they were able to dismantle the six .50 caliber machine guns and hundreds of ammunitions before the arrival of the Japanese soldiers. The plane was burned by Ensign Shackleford by firing a tracer bullet.
        Ensign Shackleford was brought by Lt. Marcelo Tolentino to their command post in San Inocencio Street. Guerilleros and civilians welcomed and treated him as a hero. That incident boosted the morale of the people as it was a proof that aid was already coming to the Philippines.
        He autographed some emergency notes, handed to him by those who were present. In turn he distributed chewing gums and candies. He was treated with sumptuous food by the Segovia sisters, Luisa, Carolina and Maria, evacuees from the city.
        A contingent of the American forces arrived in Alimodian on March 19, 1945, a day after their landing in Tigbauan, Iloilo. They were met by Capt. Alejandro Nery Cruz and brought to the Command Post of Col. Julian Chavez.
        It was in the mountains of Alimodian where the Japanese soldiers retreated when the American Forces landed on March 18, 1945.

The Death of Major Jose G. Alvior

Major Jose G. Alvior          On March 3, 1944, while he was on the way to accomplish a mission, he met face to face some Japanese soldiers, at Balwa Creek. He killed instantly two of them hitting them at the forehead. Major Alvior was a sharpshooter even before the outbreak of the war and a member of the Iloilo Rifle Association. Unluckily, he was shot by a Japanese sniper who positioned himself at the bank of the creek. Alvior was identified by the Japanese as a ranking Filipino officer and they even saluted their victim before they returned to the garrison located at the old municipal building. The barbarous enemy looted his dead body of all papers, money, jewelry and other valuables. Major Alvior was eulogized by Lt. Col. Leopoldo Relunia, second in command in the Panay Guerilla. In announcing the heroic death of Major Alvior to the units, Lt. Col. Relunia said.

         “Brave Major Alvior, the Almighty claimed your life early. Your heroic and valorous death will however not pass in vain, your memory will forever linger. We will continue waging the fight for the noble cause for which you heroically gave your life. Your brave act will always be a mirror for us to carry on the fight to VICTORY – your death will be avenged.”

         Major Alvior, after having been left by the Japanese on the spot where he was killed, was secretly recovered by guerrillas headed by Lt. Marcelo del Rosario who later met his tragic death in Mandurriao also in the hands of the Japanese, and loyal civilians late in the evening and was buried near the fence inside the municipal cemetery which he also helped construct years before the war. After the war, his remains were transferred to the mausoleum located near the cemetery chapel.

Taban Massacre

Decapitation of both civilians and soldiers are usual punishments of Japanese imperial forces in the isand with which the town of Alimodian has been a witness to in Brgy. Taban.



One of the usual decapitation of civilians in the remote places in the Philippines


If not using the samurais and bayonets, Japanese can use flagellations to torture their captives to extract some information.
         

It was a fine, clear morning. Farmers went to the market with some grains, chickens, eggs and other products. People of both sexes, young and old, crowded the market place. Buying and selling were brisk.

         All of a sudden the Japanese appeared. As usual, the first impulse of the people was to escape, but it was too late for most of the people to get out. They were surrounded. Working on the preconceived plan to get all able-bodied men in the crowd, the Japanese seized them and tied their hands and feet. About 50 men were captured after the rest succeeded in eluding the Japanese. Almost all of those left in the scene were women.
         Lining up the captured 50 men who were securely tied up, bayonets and saber were soon put into action. One by one, the captives were made to stand against the trunk of a coconut tree. One by one, they were subjected to bayonet thrusts and later beheaded with sabers. The massacre is over, the dead heads of the victims were left scattered all around to be taken care of by the dogs, after the murderers had gone away.
        The tragic incident happened in the early morning of August 17, 1943.
        One hero worth mentioning is Major Jose G. Alvior, one time mayor of our town and one of the planners in the organization of the Panay Free Forces together with Col. Macario Peralta, Col. Leopoldo Relunia and Col. Julian Chavez somewhere in the mountains of Lambunao. Major Alvior at the time of his death was Division Quartermaster. He met his tragic death in Sitio Balwa, just a few meters away from the present site of the Aimodian National Comprehensive High School.

Military Officers join the Panay Free Movement

Japanese flag


Col. Macario Peralta
         

When the general surrender of the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) was issued at the end of May 1942, many Filipino soldiers escaped to their homes rather than be Japanese prisoners of war. A few days later, an order was received from Maj. Rafael Almacen to round up these soldiers and convince them to join the Panay Free Forces being organized at the time on the mountains of Lambunao by Col. Macario Peralta, Jr., Lt. Col. Leopoldo Relunia, Maj. Jose Alvior, Lt. Col. Julian Chavez and other responsible officers of the disbanded USAFFE. If the soldiers refused to join the resistance forces, the firearms would be confiscated.


         First Lt. Marcelo Tolentino, who was designated town officer, organized the Alimodian Unit in June 1942. This was a sub-unit of the 1st Iloilo Sector, composed of the southern towns of Iloilo. Maj. Rafael Almacen was designated sector commander by Col. Peralta.

         The primary mission of the Alimodian Unit was to recover firearms and ammunitions and secure food supplies from the people of the mountains. The recovery was made possible with the cooperation of the municipal officials like Mayor Felix Altura and Chief of Police Vicente Sabijon. Ample supply of food stuffs was recovered and distributed to the different guerilla units operating in Alimodian and the nearby towns of Maasin, Cabatuan and San Miguel.

        Another mission of the unit was the maintenance of peace and order and curbing of banditry which was very prevalent in the face of the miserable conditions. Many residents and some evacuees went on a looting spree to get hold of whatever they could, be it food, clothing or money. Most of the victims were Chinese evacuees who chose to remain in the poblacion. To teach the would-be petty thieves a lesson, the Alimodian Unit soldiers set an example by shooting a few looters and burying them a few feet below the ground.

        When the Panay Free Forces was organized to form companies, battalions and regiments, the Alimodian Unit was made the nucleus of the famous “A” Company, 1st Batallion, 63rd Infantry Regiment. Only two platoons of the Alimodian Unit were accommodated in the “A” Company as the rest were allotted to San Miguel Unit under Capt. Paulino Salmon, who became municipal mayor of San Miguel after the war. The Alimodian Unit then was composed of approximately 200 men, mostly USAFFE men with some civilians volunteers . The remaining men were given new assignments.

         The Alimodian officers who joined the “A” Company were Lt. Marcelo del Rosario and Lt. Pablo Alegro. Lt. del Rosario’s heroic death in Mandurriao, Iloilo City on February 10, 1944 was documented in Col. G.L. Manikan’s book “Guerilla Warfare on Panay Island in the Philippines” along with those of Major Jose Alvior, Lt. Cornelio Salarda and Lt. Esperidion Amuan.

         About the same time as the organization of the “A” Company, a local puppet government was established in Alimodian, with Anacleto Amparo at the helm. The resistance forces got along well with puppet government because some of the officials of the puppet government were also connected with the resistance forces. There was little problem in the procurement of food supplies, mainly because of the clandestine cooperation of many unsung heroes like the teachers and government employees assigned in food production and distribution.

         The Alimodian Unit had its baptism of fire when a Japanese plane bombed its Command on San Modesto Street, now Algallar Street. During the air raid, Dr. Juan Sollosa, director of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society in Iloilo City, Pvt. Isaias Peniano and Paulino Almira, a civilian, were killed. The others who were injured were Sgt. Teodorico Angostura and Pvt. Felomino Queder.

         During the early days of the guerilla, Sitio Taban, now a barangay, was the center of the activities of the guerilleros, Japanese spies and civilians. After the Japanese had landed in Iloilo, the Alimodian Public Market was transferred to Sitio Taban. There was a cockpit and people from the neighboring towns, as well as Japanese agents, mingled with one another in this sitio every market day. It was also in Sitio Taban where a short wave radio receiver was available. It was owned by a certain Vic, whose family name cannot be recalled now. He was a Tagalog evacuee to the place, having been caught by the war in Iloilo City. He volunteered to join the army but not the Alimodian Unit. Later, he was commissioned officer, for he was a radio technician. He was, however, discovered to be a Japanese spy having radio contact with the enemy; therefore, he was liquidated by the army.

          The radio was kept in a small cottage where news was intercepted from the Voice of America in San Francisco, USA. Lt. Cornelio Salarda took note of the news by shorthand, mimeographed and distributed to the people because he was the propaganda officer. During that time no news was available except those distributed by the Japanese.

          The guerilleros gained strength and conducted ambushes against the Japanese anywhere whenever there was an opportunity. The Japanese retaliated and committed atrocities not only against the guerilleros but also the civilians. Those atrocities were demonstrated in Sitio Taban where no less than 50 civilians were beheaded and left to be eaten by the dogs. My next blog will be the account of the massacre, as recounted by Lt. Godofredo N. Grageda.