Living among the enemy (1)

A. Paulita Roa

WORLD War II in the Philippines is considered the bloodiest and the most devastating period in our history. However, there emerged from this war thousands of unsung heroes whose courageous exploits and sacrifices made a great difference to many suffering Filipinos on whose lives they had touched and saved. Here in Cagayan de Oro, we have our share of such heroes and foremost among them was Pantaleon Raagas, who chose to live a greater period of World War II in Cagayan. The life and heroism of this man was recounted to me by his son, Avelino, who had vivid memories of what it was like to live in the town that was fully occupied by the Japanese Imperial forces.

Pantaleon Ebalig Raagas was born on July 28, 1906 in Kauswagan in the Municipality of Cagayan (Cagayan de Oro). After finishing the 7th grade, Raagas took the Civil service examaminations and passed. He then started to work for the local municipal government in 1930 as a clerk in the office of Vicente de Lara, then a Juez de Paz (Justice of the Peace) of Cagayan. Later, he married Irene Yamut and moved to the nearby barrio of Bonbon where they established their residence.

At that time, Bonbon was a small village by the sea with only 96 houses. Fishing was the main source of livelihood and those who owned a “bunsod” or a fish cage were required to pay taxes. Raagas was known to readily help the residents of Bonbon whenever they paid their taxes or had problems with their papers at the Municipio.

In 1936, Catalino Paasa was then the Teniente del Barrio of Bonbon and he was set to relinquish his post. He recommended Raagas to take his place for he was aware that the latter was highly respected in the community. Councilor Filomeno M. Bautista, who represented Bonbon and other barrios in the Municipal Council, then appointed Raagas as the new Teniente del Barrio. One of the priorities of Raagas upon assuming office was to work for the establishment of a primary school in Bonbon. Through his persistent and tireless efforts, the school was finally opened in 1941 with fifty pupils. Mrs. Piedad Lago – Padilla of Bayabas taught Grades I and II, while Nicanor Roa Neri handled Grades III and IV.

The War Years

However, the Bonbon Primary School was shortlived when Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was bombed by Japanese planes in a surprise attack on Dec. 8, 1941. It signaled the start of World War II in the Asia and the Pacific region. Shortly afterwards, Cagayan was bombarded by Japanese planes and the group of guerrillas bombed the town’s only bridge (Ysalina bridge). Many Kagay-anons hurriedly left town including the Raagas family who evacuated to the hinterland area of Tignapoloan. They stayed there from January to May, 1942.

According to Fr. James Haggerty, the famed guerrilla padre, the 103rd Regiment composed of Philippine and American soldiers put up a strong resistance against the Japanese troops and prevented them from entering Cagayan. But on May 3, 1942, the regiment retreated because of the heavy bombardment from Japanese ships that were in Macajalar Bay. Cagayan was in flames when Japanese troops entered on the eastern side of the town. A week later, Fr. Haggerty was in Sumilao, Bukidnon where he witnessed the surrender of Gen. William Sharp, commanding of the Visayas and Mindanao forces to the Japanese high command on the 10th of May. It was after this historic surrender that the guerrilla underground movement in Mindanao was born.

The Japanese occupied all the big buildings and residences in Cagayan. They went to every known evacuation sites of the Kagay-anons and persuaded them to return to their hometown with the assurance that they will live peacefully under their rule. The Raagas family was among those who came down from the mountains and back to their house in Bonbon.

A civilian government under the Japanese military command was formed. The Japanese appointed Pedro Mabulay as mayor of Cagayan and Vicente Mendoza, a labor leader from Macabalan as the Vice-Mayor. However, Mabulay’s term was a brief one for he left town when the guerrillas killed several members of his family. Mendoza then took over as mayor. Raagas and Mendoza were good friends and were secret members of the local guerrilla group.

The Japanese divided Cagayan in to several districts and Raagas was chosen to head the 8th District composed of Kauswagan, Bonbon and Bayabas. Some guerrilla officers like Tiboy Quiem, Dodong Chaves, Nono Maagad and Fidencio Laplap wanted him to head the guerrilla group in his area but he refused because he believed that he can best served his country as the district head. His only request was not to torture any Japanese soldier that they capture for many innocent civilians would be killed in return. (to be concluded next week)