The Asia-Pacific War in the Davao Settler Zone

At the time this journal was being written, the author, Maria Cynthia B. Barriga, was an MA student at the Department of History in Ateneo de Manila University. Her work, under the collection "Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies" is titled "The Asia-Pacific War in the Davao Settler Zone, December 1941."  Barriga follows the story of Davao-Japanese relations before the war, during the Asia-Pacific War, and after it. It also discusses the conflict between Japanese and Filipino settlers as well as how these different ethnicities were able to create a community in the Davao region. The author presents the socio-economic scope of Japanese and Filipino relationship in chronological order. Also, the author also discusses the relationship of these two residents through themes; particularly on kinship, prewar networks, and nationalist sentiments. The journal is a unique look into how international relations can benefit both local and foreign residents. Moreover, the work gives a voice to different stakeholders in the Davao Settler Zone; through the Japanese pioneers, Japanese-Filipinos, Filipino settlers before the war, and Filipino immigrants at the start of the war.

The author acknowledges the thought that in history books, Manila takes the spotlight. On the other side, places outside Manila also have an impact on the development of the Philippines. Besides, in local history, more historians write about the Spanish occupation, the American occupation, or the culture of indigenous people. In the Davao scope, some works discuss the pre-Japanese rule more than the Asia-Pacific War proper in the Davao Settler Zone. The author further emphasizes the relation of Filipinos and Japanese before the war as essential in the survival of both races. She approaches the paper through local history and the notion that the Japanese and the Filipino settlers have a shared past. In creating the work, she did not only use written accounts or books, but she also conducted interviews with people who witnessed the war. Barriga also shines a light on the idea that nations can fight with themselves as well with other countries. In other occasions, relations get complicated because of how there is both war and support coming from an entity supposedly against another.

In the section "In the Eve of War," the author reports events like literary non-fiction. Readers can fathom the descriptions through mental images and human empathy. There are instances that readers can feel fear, grief, and even disgust. Evoking these emotions are made possible by finding a relatable sense in the text. It is as if there are many points of views; from a Filipino bodyguard, a Japanese mother, Filipino friends, and Japanese children kids. With the start of the Japanese occupation, the Japanese residents were being thought of as spies and were incarcerated. Military or guerilla groups separated husbands, wives, and children in fear that they would be part of the Japanese front. However, this was not the case. Japanese residents, like the Filipinos, found the island as their land of promise because the soil was fertile to bear food easily. Moreover, with that context, the Japanese residents were not one with the idea of war. Instead, they saw it as the Japanese' work in agriculture wasted.

Initially, as Japanese residents move into camps, they suffered a lot from sanitation, food, and shelter. The people would get in poorly constructed shelters. In terms of food, fifteen people would share a plate, or one person would get a spoon of rice. Witnesses mentioned that toilets were full of fecal matter. For a time, the Japanese went through this until their Filipino colleagues, friends, and neighbors began bringing them better food to eat, while there was another case that a Japanese child was lent keys to an equipment room. This shows that the Filipinos trusted and cared for their Japanese friends. Before the war, they created a bond wherein they value each other's humanity and can put themselves in each other's shoes. Despite the violence of war, the idea of it can be thought of as something beautiful.

The journal is quite exciting. Going through the text, one feels the validity of the information as the author recognizes the data sources. At some parts, Barriga would even add footnotes that would redirect the reader to more details at the end part of the journal. The images she writes or paraphrases are evident, and it makes it easy for readers to as if be there in those times. With this, the author does not only deliver her task of documenting the facts of the past. More than that, the author can capture the emotions and the struggle of the people in the war era and allow others to feel the same. Likewise, the author cohesively tells the story of many others, but at the same time goes through the effort of presenting the accounts of witnesses in verbatim. A few of these accounts are from Santiago Dakudao's journal and old Japanese-Filipino residents.

Even though the war is long over, there are lessons in this journal still relevant today. The idea of nations fighting within is related in the modern Philippines in the aspect of politics and how the Filipinos are divided into Dilawans or Dutertards. At the same time, we can learn that unjustly and cruelly caging people can wreak havoc.  As the Japanese residents were undergoing internment, some of them sought for revenge when the Japanese Military came and opened positions to them. It is funny to think that the Japanese and the Filipinos got along well in the early Davao region years when today we were not able to let that foster nationally. The Philippines is still like the Spoliarium where men fight fellowmen. In truth, we all share the kinship of Nationalism. On the contrary, we always conflict in approach, in ideology, or culture. Like how the Filipino settlers welcomed the Japanese, we can choose to coexist even with differences.

06/03/2019 

History