Life at the University of the Philippines in Diliman in the Early 1950's

Some members of the UPSCA-LA Chapter with Fr John Delaney, 1954.

About a year ago, I joined the Narra Residence Hall (UP Men's South Dorm) FaceBook group. I had numerous discussions with several members of the group about life in University of the Philippines(UP) during the 1950's and had published a number of photos during my college years. Among the active participants in our discussion were: Oscar Evangelista, Dan Etsirc, Willy Banlaoi, Guillermo Canlas, Ricky Sasil, James Esquerra and Kalder Eduardo.

This blog is a response to the query of Ricky Sasil regarding my activities in the mid 1950's in UP Diliman. I searched my souvenir files today and found the following events that I have attended ( I have still the ticket stubs/souvenir programs of the five events in my scrapbook. This is in addition to the monthly socials sponsored by the Women's Club and UPSCA Meetings that I attend regularly. I was an Active UPSCAN and consider myself one of Fr John Delaney admirers/worshippers.

I was in UP Diliman from 1953 to 1955 as a Chemistry student and a later as a Chemistry Instructor from 1956 to 1959. I stayed at the South Dorm ( Narra Residence Hall) from 1953 to 1959.

South Dorm Officers, 1954. I am in the first row kneeling from the Left.

The five events are as follows:

1. A Song Recital of Helen Traubel, world-famous soprano, sponsored by the Conservatory of Music and the President's Committee on Culture, January 16, 1953

2. A Garden Party in honor of the visiting members of the International Olympic Committee and the Heads and members of the Delegation to the second Asian Games, Kawilihan, Mandaluyong, Rizal, May 9, 1954

3. Lecture Forum, The Intellectual and his Faith, sponsored by the Iota Eta Sigma and conducted by Rev Horacio de la Costa, S.J., July 24, 1953

4. A song recital of Aurelio Estanislao, baritone with the UP Symphony Orchestra, conductor, Ramon Tapales and Accompanist Regalado Jose, January 12, 1955

5. A dramatic presentation by the UPSCA Dramatic Guild, The Woman of the House directed by Alejandro Casambre. Some of the actors were Isabel Seviila, Letty Tison, Violeta Mariano and Rudy Aluyen, Feb 22, 1955. Other names associated with this play were Basilisa Manhit, Dionisia Rola, Conception Dadufalza, Angelina Villanueva and Ma Luisa Lorenzo.

I have attended several other plays, lectures, recitals and dances, but the above five events I will always remember.

UPSCA General Meeting, UP Diliman, 1954

Pleasant Memories, Indeed! Some photos of my college years at UP, Diliman, QC, Philippines
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2012/11/photo-memories-of-my-college-years-as.html

Antonio A Nieva and Jose Antonio Vargas Added to My Pinoy Pride List

Two years ago, I wrote in one of my hubs a list of names I called my Pinoy Pride List. There were 20 names of accomplished Filipino-Americans or Filipinos in that list. Here's my article as published in my Hubpages.com account.

https://hubpages.com/business/caste-system-in-the-philippines

Today I am proud to add two names to this list.

1. Antonio A. Nieva-Writer and Filipino-American veteran of World War II. Tony Arevalo Nieva is my wife's uncle and father of Ronie and Pepi Nieva. For details of his life and book read the following:

https://www.usphsociety.org/2017/05/24/filipino-veterans-honored-at-the-washington-dc-book-launch-of-nievas-cadet-soldier-guerrilla-fighter/

2. Jose Antonio Vargas- DACA and Dreamer's Act Activist. For his biography and accomplishments read the following.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Antonio_Vargas

Boy Scout Uniform Featured on the Mindanao Daily News

Dr. David B.Katague of Iloilo wears the BSP uniform circa 1943-1945, similar to the one worn by Scout Loloy Queppet when he met MacArthur in 1942.

While surfing on the Internet the other day, I was surprise to see the following article with my boys scout uniform picture. I did not have a copyright to my photograph so I was not aware that the Mindanao Daily News had used my picture in the following article of historical significance- regarding the reenactment of General McArthur's arrival in Macabalan Pier, Cagayan De Oro in 1942 from Corregidor on his way to Australia.

The departure of General McArthur from Corregidor to Australia was not well publicized in comparison to his return to Leyte from Australia in October, 1944 almost at the end of the war. ( see footnotes on bottom of this page),

Here's a reprint of the whole article as published in the Mindanao Daily News dated March 15, 2017.
General Douglas MacArthur Week: BSP Council to honor scout who met MacArthur in Macabalan
Mar 15, 2017 Clifford Santillan , Mindanao Daily News.

The Boy Scouts of the Philippines Cagayan de Oro Council will honor one of its scouters for the role he played in a footnote in history on March 13, 1942.

As recounted by Ann Gorra in her anthology “City of Gold: People Who Made Their Home and History in Cagayan de Oro”, Abelardo Neri Queppet was one of the scouts of Baden-Powell Troop (named after the founder of the Scouting movement Lord Baden-Powell) in charge of enforcing the mandatory blackout.

His Dad encouraged him to join the Boy Scouts and he was a member of Troop 1 at the City Central School. There were at least 20 scouts in the troop among them Jaime Tiano, Victor Roa, Terencio Gadrinab, Hugo Balase, Antonio Zacharies, Vic Itchon, Jose Apolinario and Cristobal Nagac.

These were dark days in Philippine history when the country was tottering on the brink of defeat with US and Filipino forces boxed in Bataan and Corregidor by the all-conquering Japanese Imperial Army. So it was strictly lights out after 5PM for everyone lest they be subjected to Japanese attack.

Cagayan de Oro’s Macabalan Pier during the Japanese Occupation

“As soon as dusk gave way to night, I rode my bike (bought from a Japanese Bazaar) and rode around Del Mar, Mindanao and to the pier, blowing my whistle to warn residents that it was time to shut their lights off.” Loloy was assigned to do the task by his Scout Master Epifanio Balase since he was a native-born Kagay-anon and knew his way around. Even if he was just 14 years old at the time, Loloy went about his routine like a professional: waking up at 6AM, clean the house, eat breakfast, and report to HQ in his Boy Scout Uniform: shorts, knee socks, red and blue neckerchief, brown shirt and Boy Scout cap.

Another of Loloy’s responsibilities was to direct traffic at Plaza Divisoria to expedite the passage of US military convoys to avoid strafings by Japanese planes.

His friend, one Sergeant Hunter, charged with the security of Macabalan port in those days, often kidded him about making sure he stops the tartanillas since they had no brakes.

On the evening of Thursday, March 12, 1942, Sgt. Hunter asked Loloy to be at the parola (lighthouse) in Macabalan at 7PM. Upon his arrival, Sgt. Hunter told him they were expecting General Douglas MacArthur to arrive between midnight and dawn. Sure enough, at 7AM of Friday, March 13, 1942, MacArthur and his party disembarked from two PT Boats at Macabalan Pier and rode a convoy of military vehicles to the Del Monte airfield in nearby Tankulan, Bukidnon.

But not before the General noticed the Boy Scout and his bike (who saluted him with the three fingered Boy Scout salute), standing by the gangplank where they were disembarking (now the site of the flagpole for the Cagayan de Oro Port Management Office of the Philippine Ports Authority).

Asked what the Boy Scout was doing there, one of the soldiers replied he was a community volunteer.

“Send him home,” MacArthur said. “The war is inevitable.” (Gorra, 2010)

On Monday, March 13, 2017, the City of Cagayan de Oro through the City Historical and Cultural Commission (Hiscom) leads the 75th Diamond Jubilee of General MacArthur’s Breakout from Corregidor to Australia, via Cagayan, Misamis and Dicklum, Tankulan (Manolo Fortich).

Among the salient moments of the week –long celebration from March 13-17, 2017, is the reenactment of MacArthur’s arrival at Macabalan.

To be included among the cast of reenactors, (and unknown to world history save for the local yarn as told by Loloy to Ms. Gorra), is Boy Scout Abelardo “Loloy” Neri Queppet, who will be played by his 9-year old grand nephew Clark Dexter M. Prudente of the Baden-Powell Troop of Xavier University High School, the same troop of by his late grand uncle when he met MacArthur.

According to Boys Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) Cagayan de Oro Council Chair Roy Hilario P. Raagas, they will be awarding the late Scout Queppet a posthumous award for his valiant deeds as a Boy Scout in enforcing the blackout and directing traffic under dangerous circumstances in Plaza Divisoria in 1942.

BSP Cagayan de Oro Council Scout Executive Rudy Guligado added the local council will also present the family of Genevieve Josefa Queppet Ramonal, his only child, with a BSP Centennial Medallion and plaque during the 75th Commemorative Dinner and Program on March 17 which closes the curtains on General Douglas MacArthur Week.

Scout Loloy Queppet passed on in September 2008. But his date with one of the titans of the 20th Century will now forever stay entwined with the saga of General Douglas MacArthur, “The Liberator of the Philippines.”

Footnotes: From McArthur's Biography in Wikipedia:

"In February 1942, as Japanese forces tightened their grip on the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to relocate to Australia. MacArthur discussed the idea with his staff that he resign his commission and fight on as a private soldier in the Philippine resistance but Sutherland talked him out of it.

On the night of March 12, 1942, MacArthur and a select group (that included his wife Jean and son Arthur, as well as Sutherland, Akin, Casey, Marshall, Willoughby, Diller, and George) left Corregidor in four PT boats. MacArthur, his family and Sutherland traveled in PT 41, commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley. The others followed in PT 34, PT 35 and PT 32.( The PT's disembarked in Macabalan Pier in Cagayan de Oro, then proceeded via military vehicles to the Airfield in Bukidnon).

MacArthur and his party reached Del Monte Airfield in Bukidnon province on the island of Mindanao two days later. General George Marshall sent three U.S. Navy B-17s to pick them up. Two of them arrived, and brought the entire group to Australia".

Source: http://www.mindanaodailynews.com/general-douglas-macarthur-week-bsp-council-to-honor-scout-who-met-macarthur-in-macabalan/

My Six Most Treasured Videos

The following six videos are my treasures. They are the videos that have touched my life!

Ditas, my youngest daughter, interviewed by Comcast, as California Director of Census, 2010



Carenna singing one of her original songs

Macrine's 80th Birthday

Chateau Du Mer, 2011

Carlos Avila, Macrine's Nephew

The Manila and Balleza Clan Massacre During World War II

The most famous and documented massacre of Filipino civilians by the Japanese Imperial army during World War II was the bombing of Manila. My mother-in-law youngest sister, Blanca Decena Nieva who was an army nurse died during that time. The summary of this massacre as documented in Wikipedia is as follows:

The Manila massacre involved atrocities committed against Filipino civilians in the city of Manila, Philippines by Japanese troops during the World War II Battle of Manila (1945). The Manila massacre was one of several major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, as judged by the postwar military tribunal. The Japanese commanding general, Tomoyuki Yamashita, and his chief of staff Akira Mutō, were held responsible for the massacre and other war crimes in a trial in late 1945 in Manila. Yamashita was executed on 23 February 1946 and Muto on 23 December 1948.

In the Battle of Manila from February to March 1945, the United States Army and the Philippine Commonwealth Army advanced into the city of Manila to drive out the Japanese. During lulls in the battle for control of the city, Japanese troops took out their anger and frustration on the civilians in the city. Violent mutilations, rapes, and massacres occurred in schools, hospitals and convents, including San Juan de Dios Hospital, Santa Rosa College, Santo Domingo Church, Manila Cathedral, Paco Church, St. Paul's Convent, and St. Vincent de Paul Church. Dr Antonio Gisbert told of the murder of his father and brother at the Palacio del Gobernador, saying, "I am one of those few survivors, not more than 50 in all out of more than 3000 men herded into Fort Santiago and, two days later, massacred. The Bayview Hotel was used as a designated "rape center".

According to testimony at the Yamashita war crimes trial, 400 women and girls were rounded up from Manila's wealthy Ermita district, and submitted to a selection board that picked out the 25 considered most beautiful. These women and girls, many of them 12 to 14 years old, were then taken to the hotel, where Japanese enlisted men and officers took turns raping them. One Japanese order read, "The Americans who have penetrated into Manila have about 1000 troops, and there are several thousand Filipino soldiers under the Commonwealth Army and the organized guerrillas.

The combined death toll of civilians for the battle of Manila was approximately 100,000, most of which was attributed to massacres by Japanese forces. Some historians, citing a higher civilian casualty rate for the entire battle, suggest that 100,000 up to more than 500,000 died as a result of the Manila massacre on its own, exclusive of other causes.

However, similar events in Panay Island is not well documented including the Balleza Clan massacre in my hometown Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. Philippines, with the exception of the Hopevale Martyrdom of American soldiers in Tapaz, Calinog, Panay Island.(www.us-japandialogueonpows.org/Ibuki%20Kumai.htm)

However, through oral communications, I have received the following FB communication regarding the Balleza clan killings. These were events that I heard from relatives when I was growing up in my hometown of Barotac Viejo in the 1940's. The Balleza family that were killed were closed relatives of my mother, Paz Balleza Katague. I remember very well Noel Balleza, Sr and his wife Nay Edna who was a paraplegic( wheel chair bound)were survivors of the massacre. The following is from the FB page of Freya Tupas Tamon-member of the Balleza clan from Barotac Viejo, Iloilo.

Me and My youngest sister(Amor Katague Gregorio) in front of Barotac Viejo National High School, pointing at the sign showing the Land Donation of my mother (Paz Balleza Katague) and my uncle Jose Balleza-members of the Balleza Clan. This is the school where I graduated valedictorian in 1951.

Freya Tupas-Tamon: "During World War II, Japanese Troops were searching for the well-known BALLEZA CLAN ! But before they reached the House. GOOD that maybe it was LOLO GENARO who let HIS SONS: Tay Noel, Tay Adan,& Tay Alec to FLEE AWAY (Hide in Forest) to SAVED their LIVES... GOD hath MIRACLES !!! Then, Nay Edna, wife of Tay NOEL was placed in the river for she was sickly, and water was her only Medicine. I won't also FORGET the story of Nay COLING (SOCORRO Balleza TUPAS BOQUIREN): It was in Bgry. Gen. Luna that the Japanese ordered them to make two lines: Balleza Family & Workers!! Some workers joined the Group of Balleza w/out knowing that Group of Workers were NOT MASSACRED !!! All the Balleza clan were killed".

The following is my FB communication with one of the grandson of the Genaro Balleza, whose father was saved because he fled from the hideouts of the Balleza clan who were rounded up by the Japanese soldiers.

"All I know from the story was that my father was not there when they were rounded up. He fled to Balaring. My mom was not there too for she could not walk. "Lupog sya". The one who led the Japs was their former servant. All in all there were 17 members of the family killed including servants. Dads two sisters were killed also (Concordia, and the other sister) and one of the husband and their child. I hope this will explain a bit more of that painful tragedy."

Another undocumented massacre by the Japanese of Filipino civilians closed to my heart was the killing of my aunt( youngest sister of My Dad) family in Negros Occidental. I just heard this from another aunt ( first cousin of my Dad) just last year. I have no details of the event.

If you are reading this and have details on the Balleza clan killings please let me know. I really would like to know the exact date of the massacre and how many were killed and who survived to tell the story.