News highlights: Local

Title

Language

English

Year

1944

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

62 December News Highlights Local T i 0 A GOOD MANY CITIZENS of the Philippine Republic, the most significant piece of news in November was the creation of a new control organisation to take charge ol the procurement and distribution of rice Thn new control body was na mod the Rice and Corn Administra tion, • r Ric o a . ' i he Ric o a super sedes the old Bigasang Bayan It differs from the Biba in probably one important aspect: the Japanese are aiding ' the Ric o a adminis-' tration. The Biba replaced the Na r ig which was jointly administered by Filipinos and Japanese officials The Na iu c was dissolved, shortly after Philippine independence was proclaimed. The Biba was- then organised, managed by Filipino personnel. Well-informed quarters claim that the old wartime Na w c was successful as a control organisation because it had the backing of the Japanese Military Administration. Withdrawal ol that backing, plus such factors as irregular trading practice, weakened the enforcement activities of that control body. Complete and absolute control of the procurement and distribution of rice and corn and their by-products was in mid-November given by President Laurel to the Ric o a . The Ric o a is headed by Minister of Economic Affairs Pedro Sabido. The Ordinance which created the RIc o a states that it will have control and supervision over procurement and distribution, price-fixing, ’apportionment of the share, of the farmers7,' proprietors and mill operators, control of rice mills, and authority to search for hoarded staple products. The Ric o a is expected to solve the people’s most serious problem by stabilising the price of the main cereal and bucking up its policies with sufficient for. e. Harvest got under way in the rice-produ< >ng areas of the Philippines late i’r> October, and was in full stfing in mid-November. The Ric o a is expected, to procure the bulk of the purchasable rice supply in the Philippines, mill, store and distr’bute it to the people before the end of this yea*. As of the last week of November, old rice was quoted at P330 and new rice at P250 per ganta in Manila’s black market. - The price of the cereal in the riceproducing provinces is, on an average, 40% less. In his capacity as Chief Delegate of the President and Inspector-General of the Martial Law, Minister Teofilo Sison, late in November, inform. ed military governors that among the acts regarded as crimes against the Republic are the following: (1) spreading of false information about the Republic of the Philippines, (2) wilful obstruction cf government activities, (3) sabotage, (4) harboring of enemy spies, (5) sheltering' and protection of enemy troops, (6) giving of any form of aid, material 1944 Ne w s Hig h l ig h t s 63 or otherwise, to the enemy, (7) communication with the enemy by any means, (8) listening to enemy broadcast. American planes that raided Manila on November 13, resorted to what the Tribune indignantly termed “enemy terror bombing tactics.” Residential sections of Manila were bombed and strafed. Hardest hit were the districts of San Nicolas, Intaamuros, Paco, Pandacan, Ermita and Sampaloc. Low-flying planes almost touched rooftops, scaring noncombafant Manilans. The Archbishop’s palace received a direct hit. Irreplaceable documents housed in the archives of the pa'.ace were damaged. Upwards of 100 persons were believed killed and many civilians injured. War in the Pacific Wa r d e v e l o pme n t s in November proved^ Japan’s” clear-cut victories in China, in Pacific waters, and on Leyte. In China, Japanese rorccs finally closed in on the .elaborate air fortress of Kweilin, the main base the 14th U. S. Air Force in China. The fall of Kweilin had been expected for weeks. Major-General Chennault and his men had in fact blown up three first-class airfields that millions of coolies and millions of American dollars built in before evacuating it some weeks befort it actually fell into Japanese hands The Japanese knifed their way from three directions and get the vailed city of Kweilin and the 31st army of Chungking that tried fUtih-ly to hold it The fall of Kweilin means that Japan has finally added one important link to the chain thal connects Japanese-occupied areas from Man-, choukuo through North China, down to Indo C hina and Svcnan It also means that the 14th U. S. Airforce has been < isidcrably weakened and will have Jo conduct its raids on Japan and Japanese shipping and supply lines from ^it bases located farther in China’s southwest. Tall mountain ranges separate the Japanese armies from beleaguered Chung; king, seat of Chiang Kai-shek’s go vern ment Last November there was talk of moving, the threatened capital to some other place Chiang Eai-shek’s government late in November suffered a shake-up brought about by American pressure. The Minister of War, Ho Ying Chin, was replaced by C neral Chen Cheng; while H. H. Kung. Minister of Finance, was replaced by his assistant, 0. K. Yui. i Qn Leyte, the U. S. 24th Divis^n was last month reported eocircWd, so that part of the 32nd division had to be sent from Carig.'.ro to Culasian point to reenforce the badly battered enemy troops in the ?ectoi west of Carigara Intensified Japanese bombardment dealt death-blows on the Americans, on both the reenfornrmts and the trapped Americans, whose supply lines have practically been cut off. The Japanese have been conducting daring attacks right within enemy lines, causing considerable damage to the Americans. The enemy was able >o 'and a few reenforcements in Ahuyog, which moved west to Baybay. The progress of the fighting on Leyte indicates that the Americans are slowing down their so-called offensive owing to stiff resistance. The Americans lande'd- on ' October 20 counting on an inilial strength .of 3 divisions which, up to late last month, was increased '.o 7. Japanese air attack.; on the supply line of the Americans has .limited the landing of reenforcements on Leyte American troops are thus confronted with the old problem of

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