Power in the song of “weakness”

Media

Part of The Manila Guardian

Title: Power in the song of “weakness”
Creator: Manglapus, Raul S.
Language: English
Year: 1950
Subject: Prisoners of war.; Japanese Army – Philippines.; Japanese – Philippines.
Rights
Fulltext: · November, 1950 THE MANILA GUARDIAN-- Page 17 --.POWER IN THE· SONG OF "WEAKNESS" ' Bl RAUL S. MANGLAPUS WE were out in the yard, on· one 0£ those rare occasions It was a motley group I had befoz'.e ID.~ but it struc;k when "thi:ough the m.8.gnanimity 8.nd benevo~ence of the me immediately that th.e great·majority of us were Catholics. Imperial Japanese Army" we were removed frorii the stench We couldn't sing our national anthem, because that was ta'and filth of the cells and allowed to bask 8 bit in the sun. boo, but We could sing sometliing just as national. as Julian: The day wns a very specia_l occ·asion and the air was Felipe's, music-the hymn to the Sacred Heart: "No Mas filled with song. This was the Japanese Military Prison at Amor Que El Tu yo." Old Bilibid, where adv8nced Pcirt Santiago inmates were Not everyone knew the· lyrics, bU.t those who didn't fol;.,ought one step nearer to rele~se, pr to. Muntinglupa, or to lo""""'d up mcrgni~icently, humming the tnne. We performed ~-a nameless grave at_ the North ~etery, a :fendition that bz:ought tears to our own eyes and a look at Today the Japanese Military Police was turnii1:g the pri- SUrprise on the faces of the Japs. . son over. to regular Military Prison. Gua.rds. . . "Very good," the. kempei lieutenant said ·"but now listen I rememberd the· date very well-Mar~h·9 1943. Th f .. to th~ Japanese §ing. We do not sing like women. We do 'day Raymunda,Guidote was trooped out Of her l~nely cell'"~d not s~g of weakness like you "Kuristiangs.". We sing_li~e made to sing before kempeis;Jap.and Filipino and Anieritan ~en, of_ stren~ and po~er. The song yo uwill.now ~ear 1s p:{'isoners. The kempeis thought they'd have· a ~ittle'celebra-. a~u~ ~ur. Empire and its ?600 years of glonous history. . . th all d I 1 J Ci Fil' . d Listen. , tlon, so ey c e a ternate y on aps . an ipmos .an Th J . 11 d · H d Americans to do their act. · · . e ap pn~oners were ca e to attention. . ~. s on · · . · . · · , hips those looters, deserters, mUl'derers. began to smg Kano But _.now th~ time w~s up and -~e. kempe1s thougl_1t ~ey ~ hi kono sor~, Kono hikari," the Niponese march .of destiny end up _m 5:1yle by making the F1hpmos an~ Amencan_ p~- that was then being broadcast throughout "Greater East Asia." soners smg ~, c~orus follow,ed by the Jap pnsoners; .. I don t They would certainly have drowned us out in a singing duel , i,now how: it happened but I found myself the cho!l'Dlaster, For they were all roseate, healthy with the daily sun and ~t a loss at what song t~ evoke fro~ tl!Ose emaciated bodies good soya-sauced food. The rice and "kangkong" were not worn doWll with "kangkong" and terture. (COntinued or? page 20) ~---···-------------------! 1-\'\'E ~ ~oINo oUR s~ IN THE REHAB. ILlTATioN I 0~a~::ti:::JSfn~~=g,:~ 1T:' ' . . INTO SMAL LOTS AND SELLING THEM CHEAP. Compliments ---·--For expert .and dependable service on REAL ESTATE APPRAISALS · MORTGAGE LOANS REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE SUBDIV1SIONS J Consult: PROPERTY ADMINISTRATION U. M. HOSKINS &, UO., INU. REALTORS Membtws: Manila Realty Board 185 David S.t., Tel. 2-99-62 _ C. M. HOSKINS Chairmam. of tM Boa-rd ANTONIO VARIAS Vice-President ANGEL G. AGUAS SeoretCllr1J A. B. AQUINO President M, C. GOCO Trea.surer of ORMOC' SUGAR CO., INC. ROSARIO SUGAR MILLS, INC. MANILA OFFICE 46 Escolta Tel. 2-71-97 MILLS: ORMOC, LEYTE Page 20 1HE MANILA GUARDIAN November, 1950 Power In The Song ••• (Continued from page 17) good for our voices. Besides; did not the kempei say our song yvas of weakness; theirs, of strength? But this the bucktoothed Jap did not know~that we were -singing to One whose forces. were to kill forever their myth of 2600.years. But on·Marcli 9, 1943, like the eighteen millions outside those prison _walls, our voices indeed were weak. And . like the eiglileen #tillions there VYlas nothing for us to do but wait, wait in our- cells, like pe9ple were waiting in the hills and in the seething· underground-wait and-pray . . . We were inarched back to our. cells at swidown, and in the du!l twilight after the afternoon respite, we took to practiSing again the real strength of that song of weakness. ' We began _to pray again. Each of us had our own praYers, but whenever the guard would allow it and we could pray together, there was no question what it was going to· be. Woven from yarn pulled out from the blue and wh.ite Phillippine Army toWels issued to us, there lay hidden in tnost trousers pockets a rosary, a real one with- a crucifix made by skilled prisoners' hands out of the sa,m:e yarn and little splmters. There we fished out at community prayer time and, directing our minds to . the Mothei- of God, began to pray for strength,_ for victory, and for peace. Back in Fort Santiago it had been the same. It was less quiet there, the loud wailing from the torture rooms piercing the night air and the daylight ..calm alike. llut the prisoners ., there fought against torture and despair with the same weapon which we foughi the hunger and mental agony in Old Bilibid-prayer. "Through all the cells the urge was_ spontaneous, to kneel· one's knees, even if they still pained from last night's kneeling on brokeh glass, and to pray. And, what was m6re eloquently _spoD.ianeous, .we would eurn to the prayer which to us seemed most wriversal-the rosary. In cell foitrteen "Ju Young Go," where I languished with fourteen others at a time,, Guillertno Victoria, the counterfeiter, Jose Lubao, the looter, Alfredo Filart, :the Army Lleutenant frbm the Baguio Academy, Nelson Van Sinclair, the non-Catholic American who was contact 16.an -~nd supplier of Guerillas, prayed together to the Mother of God. Those ignorant of the O~ Father and the Hail Mary received instructions from those who knew through furtive whispers-for the guards would allow us to pray at times; but never to talk to each other. The- ahnond-eyed kempei san, peering through the tiny window into our celi, smiled quizzically at fifteen enemies of Japan kneeling together, muttering "Kuristiang" prayers, and counting on their fingers! He pro. bably thought the finger-counting was our Christian parallel to the ,ceremonial clap before the Buddhist shrine. In old Bilibid we didri't have to count on our fingers, we had, as I mentioned above, fashioned roSaries out of towel yam. We dreamed of taking them home with us as souvenirs, if we were ever released. But one day the fat prison warden had us lined up in the yard, had our pockets searched for our rosaries, expressed regrets at depriving us of our mementoes of "Kuristo" and had them all burned. One of the guards explained later that the warden feared (Continued on page 34) .A Built-In HOME~ FREEZER -in a refriQeratorIt'• Amerlca"s. "most wan~ refrige-· rator! It's the Philco 893 ... for the u11most In wervice, convenience and quality at a real value-giving price! And tbls great PbllcO Advan.ced Design Refrigerator ls big . . . 8.1, cubic foot capa.clty with 16.2 square feet of sheH area. Comeln and see It nqwl PHILCO REFRIGERATOR ff EACOCKS '1IP. The Store of 9uallf1 ' .. M to !.:; "'PhHooD f''~'·~ ·~'ID 9:00 to 11:30 to 12:00 P.M. Mon- everY Sunday & Th~1·s .IPlllllR nm MANiLA GUARDIAN No'vember, ·1950 Editorials . (Continued from page 3) . ility is p'artieular]N true in the case Of ir.dustries that tum out export products which have to meet open competition in the foreign market. We must Dot only avoid direct taxes b9t also those imposed on other elements affecting production like transportation and capital goods. We must not be lured by the elements of collectibility, which may perhaps· be a good reason for imposing taxes on export products, for the reason that sure collection may be 'reduced to an insignificant figure when p\ooduction dE'clines. · There ·1s still an imposing .amount ·of uncollected. ~axes. Laws have been ground to reach the sU.re soul'(es of taxes but unfor. tunately the machinery for collection is not as efficient as it ·should be. We suggest therefore that this matter be given first priority,. in the implementation of a revised tax system as any accui:nulation of laws will only mean more evasion by some of our elements w~o: are specialized in tax evasion and who are enriching· themselves not only by the non-payment of faxes but spetj.~ly as a result of the very unfair, undue and we may say, criminal use of Otis money_ to .thoroughly compete with those that comply with the. letter and · spirit of our tax laws. The structure of our business today requires mass production in most cBses, spec!"ally when we Wish to lower prices by bringii:tg down the cost of production. This in Wrn necessitates polling of our individual resources. through the formation of corporations. But by increasing taxes on corporations, we will be adding a new obstacle to the already difficult task of attracting capital due to our .individualistic nature, as a result of which only those c:Orporatlons formed by aliens who are endowed with the· know-how to avoid taxes, using unethical if not illegal means, will be the only on~ that will thrlve. MOISES T. GUERRERO A Friend In ••• ,' (Continued from page 11) papers here," he wrote, "have recently been carrying very distressing articles in reference ·to the Philippines and I am fearful that then~ are many in the coWltry who ·a.re not familiar 'Yi.th the intricacies of the problems facing Your gove.rnment." While he bas not yet visited the Philippines, he bas a good grasp of local problems and conditions. He is in constant con:im.unication with the Philippine Ex-Political Prisoners' Association and ~eeps close contaci wieh the Philippine Emb8ssy in Washington. Among bis close friends also are \wO former American Ambassadors to the Philippines, Paul V. CcNutt and Emmet O'Neal, who. all belong. to the Post-Mortem: Club, an organization in Washington which cowits am~:iig its members many officials and leaders includlli~ Secretary o{ the Interior Oscar Chapman and fonner. D~fense SeCretary Louis Johnson., Bom of .humble parents in the small town of Spartan· burg, South Carolina, Mr. Wood early saw in life and need for social justice lo;r the poor. He supported him.self through high school and early college l>y n.uw.IDg a newspaper route, _acting as a plumber's assistant and operating a cleaning and pressing establishment. Shortly alter graduation from Wofford College in 1917, he volwiteered as a private jn the United· States Arm.Y, and after .several assignments to various_ c~:rD.ps, w~s detailed to the Motor Transport Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where_ he became one of the aides to the Chief of the. Service, · General Charles B. Drah!. · Power In The •••• , (Continued from page 20) we might use them to commit suicide or to stiaJ;lgle the Kempeis with. Whatever the reason, the loss of the ro.saries mere-. -ly served to intensify our_ devotien to the garland offetjng t~ Mary. . • ·Escape, after two years! Out of the re8r: gate;· bag in hand, joy in elie heart, rosary in the trousers pocket. Up the. bills with the Hunterrs' Guerrollas and Marking's can.ip· to join the intelligence with the 6th Army observer, · . The liberation c"ame, .. and so did the defeat of Japan. l wonder if that Kempei Lieutenant who. called our hymn to t~ Sacred Heart song of weakness is still alive. Japan is not ~ so strong now. But the Sacred Heart and Mary are firmly entrenched in our altars and in .oUJ: hearts, thanks to that hymn and the Rosary: • . 1 • . It w~s while be was serving in the Army that he started· ~ to take up law at Georgetown University Law School. When l}e graduated from the university in 1921, the law school was celebratin gits golden anniversary and he was chosen the ju· bilee orator. He was admitted to the Bar of South Carolina on May 1, · 1921, to the Supreme Court of the United States on May 26, 1924, and to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on F~bruary 13, 1922. , , ~ Besides the Post-Mortem Club, Mr. Wood is a member~ of the Wofford College Alumni Association, Georgetown Aluni- · ni Association, Sigma Nu Phi Legal Fraternity, Forty and Eight; Army and Navy· Union, Veterans of Foreign Wars, United Spanish War Veterans. · He is a Past Master of Columbia Lodge No. 3; F.A., AM.;· . a 32n_d Degree Mason,. and a Shriner. He has been chainnan. of several conunittees of . the Columbia Bar Association, on.~. of which took charge of studying the reorganizati~n of Mwii~ cip81 Courts. He has been delegate to several national con.: .. l'entions of the t)emocratic Party and is. a member of the De: . mocratic Central Committee of the District of Columbia; For two and a half years," he was Chairinan of the Local Draft Board (World War II). He has two sons, Harlan Wood, .... Jr., who is a junior St Brown University and John Pa~l.Wood,,::;.. who goeS to school in Washington. · ' • A few days ago, he reminded tJie PEPPA of the coming opening' of the neW Congress, assurfug· Hi.e .organization· that he will continue his fight for them until justice is won. Dra. Tomasa F. Halili , Central Hotel .. Room No. 2ois.2os Boon: 9-12 A.M. - M P.M. El'HRAIM G. GOCHANGCO STRUCTURAL ENGINEER·CONTRACTOR 208·209 Central Hotel Bulldlq eorni!r: Rizal An., 6 .ucarrasa: lllaolla ~~~~~~~~~·-T_~_._~_n_·"~~~~~~-·~~-Jr-; ANTONIO GAW ATTORNEY·AT·LAW OJl'TICll: 'Jfi5 RIZAL AVENUB IND FLOQ.R. BM. 4