1889 Cantilan Priest Letter on Lanuza. Fr. Miguel Alaix letter to his superiors on the challenges of baptizing the lumads of Lanuza.
(photo courtesy of [email protected])
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Some stories of survival from Cantilangnons during the 9/11 attack.
According to Don Uriarte: "(He) was right below the twin towers when the north tower was hit, didn't know (about the attack) until I came out of the subway ".
"min agi ra ako to transfer to 2&3 line, which I do everyday when I live in NY. The towers collapsed only after 2hrs. I was in times square when I knew it, got no pics." |
Jun Cosmiano is from Cantilan, Surigao del Sur. He lives in Jersey City and works in New York at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as Staff Financial Analyst. He worked at the 63rd floor of the first building that was hit by the hijacked plane on September 11, 2001. As one lucky survivor, he came in late by 5 minutes before the American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower. In 2009, he died of cancer.
According to Amy Abad Santos: "Actually there is another survivor (from the 9/11 attack) who is also from Cantilan. Si Mano Balong or Zenon Urbiztondo Orozco. His office was in twin tower, fortunately that day, he was scheduled to check on there branch office in Jersey (City) kay he worked man sa isa ka forwarding Co. so suerte gajud. He is now retiree & moved to Las Vegas."
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“The Liberation of Legaspi”
Capt. Delfin Yuhico's long journey into life came to its end, but not without touching the lives of a large number of people. I am talking from experience.
Capt. Yuhico is a compassionate and caring man. Proving that is the following account written by his grandson, Mark Yuhico Lozano
The Untold Story of Delfin Yuhico
By Mark Benjamin Y. Lozano
Captain Delfin C. Yuhico is a multi-decorated veteran of WWII, having been awarded the Bronze Star medal for bravery and the Philippine Legion of Honor along with 11 campaign medals and ribbons. He was the Commanding Officer of the Philippine Detachment in Australia, Commanding Officer of the SouthEastern Luzon Intelligence and Sabotage Unit, a member of the Planet Party (a unit of the Allied Intelligence Bureau of the Southeast Pacific Area Command of General MacArthur), 3rd Lieutenant of the Philippine Armed Forces, and a Captain Lieutenant of the US Army. He graduated from the University of the Philippines, ROTC Advance Course Class of 1939, and the Philippine Military Academy as a Bachelor of Science, 1943.
Delfin Yuhico woke up to bright lights and busy sounds. His mangled body, wrapped in bandages, lay in pain. He looked around, and spotted a friendly face. “Where are we?” he said. The nurse replied, “Hospital Ship SS Mactan. We're going to
Australia”. It was 1942, and he could not believe he was alive.
He remembered escorting a convoy of trucks transporting ammunitions to Mauban, Quezon. Halfway through the trip, Delfin's friend asked if they could switch seats, as he felt ill. Delfin gave up his window seat for the middle one. As they entered Sta Rosa, the driver of the truck swerved to avoid people on the road. He lost control, and the truck flipped, falling to the bottom of a ravine. He figured that he must have been pulled out of the wreckage, and then brought onboard the SS Mactan. Delfin was the only survivor.
Confined to his bed with a broken hip and memories of the past, his mind wandered. He was frustrated that he was on his way to Australia, away from the war. He felt as if he had abandoned his country in Her time of need. He wanted to fight along side his countrymen, but was now a casualty. He felt useless. His mind turned to family and questions on their safety. He
thought about Cielo, a beautiful girl from Bicol. He had told her, “I will give you my neck if the war is not over in three months.” But war was anything but won. He was on his way to a land where he had nothing. Little did he know that it was there he would discover his true purpose in this war.
As he recovered, he was assigned to command the Filipino detachment in Sydney, Australia. Major Jesus Villamor, on General MacArthur's orders, started recruiting for a group that would set up an intelligence network around the Philippines, later called the Planet Party. The men were recruited from Australia, as those in the Philippines were out of reach. They would also have to be extensively trained by specialists to increase survivability and accomplish their goals with maximum
efficiency. Eager to get back into action, Delfin volunteered immediately. Many other men followed when they found out he had signed up for it, but few were chosen. The unit formed consisted of a utility man, a navigator, a radioman, and two intelligence officers, one of them being Delfin. He was to carry out the bulk of the missions by uniting the local forces, gathering intelligence, and formulating plans of sabotage against the Japanese. These would be done to weaken the Japanese resistance in preparation for the second coming of MacArthur.
After the three months of training and planning in Australia, he boarded the submarine, USS Gudgeon, together with Major Villamor and the rest of the Planet Party. The members of the unit were spread throughout the Philippines.
One of Delfin's first missions was to deliver an important message from MacArthur to Colonel Macario Peralta Jr. in Panay. When I asked him what were the contents of the message, he replied by saying “I cannot reveal that! It's supposed to be secret.” It was later to be made known that he was carrying a set of codes to be used for communication. He made his way to Panay from Negros on a sailboat in the middle of a big storm. The mast was broken and every wave seemed to have the power to tear the boat into pieces. As morning came, Delfin was startled by the sound of machinegun fire. To his horror a Japanese patrol boat had just sunk two sailboats. He told his men to stay lying down on deck while he stood alone when the
Japanese approached. The only thing he could do was pray as he was overcome by an indescribable emotion. As the boat drew ever closer, and death became imminent, he made eye contact with the enemy. Blood pumped strong in his veins in anticipation and just as he thought the trigger would be pulled, the patrol boat turned around and they were spared. He attributes this miracle to the prayers he said. According to him, one of the greatest things he treasures is the life-saving power of prayer. They rowed as fast as they could to the shore out of fear that the Japanese would come back for them.
As they landed, the guerilla forces ran away as they thought Delfin and his unit were Japanese operatives. He convinced them otherwise, and proceeded to deliver the codes that would allow for radio communication. He later mediated the reconciliation of the factions of Peralta and Governor Tomas Confesor. This led to the shipment of arms from Australia to Pandan Bay and the reinstatement of Peralta's unit into the US Army. He had then proceeded to Negros to unite the major
guerilla factions against the Japanese, making the Filipino-American offensive stronger.
After his success, General Edwin Andrews, the successor of Villamor as head of the Planet Party, assigned him to set up an
intelligence unit in Bicol with the intention of liberating Legaspi City. Maj. Villamor said, “Delfin is the only man fit to cover the Bicol region.” Delfin's extensive network being a PMA and a UP ROTC Graduate meant that he could call on his contacts to support and easily establish the intelligence operative. His training in Australia as an intelligence specialist meant that he knew what to look for.
Arriving in Bicol, he headed to the house of Cielo, the woman who clouded his thoughts, with great anticipation. She could not believe that he was alive. Remembering the wager he had lost, Delfin greeted her, and said, “I give you my neck”. A beautiful love affair was beginning, but it would have to wait longer. Duty called him back to work.
His first act of business was to contact Romeo Honasan. As he made his way to the house of Honasan, the women of the house ran away in horror. Apparently, Delfin's short shorts convinced them he was a Japanese soldier. He had to show the women his picture in Honasan's PMA yearbook to persuade them otherwise. Honasan was not home. Delfin stayed, hoping that Honasan would arrive. The people in the house grew uneasy, as a planned Japanese raid was imminent because of the rumored presence of intelligence officers. Delfin was urged to leave by Honasan's Uncle. He immediately boarded a boat bound for Tikaw and escaped death again. Delfin had become a marked man.
With Honasan unreachable, Delfin enlisted the help of Jose Crisol, a fellow graduate of the PMA. They contacted guerillas and other forces in the area. Within a month, the Philippine Air Corps Intelligence and Sabotage Battalion that comprised 6 regions of Bicol was formed. Delfin was recognized by all as their leader. They believed him “a man
sent by MacArthur”.
With the intelligence network in place, Delfin found himself in more danger. When he was in the Legaspi market, the operator of a caritela frantically shouted at him to hop on board. Japanese spies were in the area, aiming to capture him. They hurried away to Daraga. If he were captured, he would have been slowly tortured for information, and killed.With the Japanese seeking him and fortifying their stronghold in Legaspi, Delfin knew he had to move fast. Having been trained in
identifying Japanese priorities, Delfin mobilized the battalion into groups to attack key strategic targets. Damaging these significantly weakened the Japanese resistance.
One group led by Felix Imperial started off by burning down a Mitsubishi storage facility containing all the supplies of the Japanese army in Bicol. This led to the shortage of ammunition and food.
Delfin then turned to the railway system. By making all of the stationmasters from Naga to Daraga his operatives, he was able to get the schedule of all the Japanese trains bound for Legaspi. As soon as trains would leave for the city, the stationmasters would telegraph the news. The battalion would proceed to a dangerous section of track by Mayon Volcano, and “do the proper damaging.” In total, four Japanese trains carrying everything from soldiers, food, and ammunitions were derailed. This severely damaged the morale of the Japanese. Aside from taking heavy losses, the knowledge that the trains could be sabotaged so easily caused them to send fewer and fewer trains to Legaspi. This was instrumental. The Japanese resistance was weakening.
Their successes encouraged MacArthur to send the Alamo Scouts, a special reconnaissance unit, to Bicol. Their task was to gather intelligence for the liberation of Legaspi. Delfin and his team would provide the information. In his words, “I came in to report, they would take my report in as true and correct.”
The Intelligence and Sabotage Battalion provided the final piece of information needed to ensure the successful liberation of Legaspi. Major Barros, an operative of Delfin, snatched a map of the Japanese Fortification Plans for Legaspi and the rest of Bicol from the portfolio of a Japanese Marine Commander, as a woman in the refectory entertained him. The map was immediately sent to Delfin through Vicente Rivera, a famous writer. Delfin passed this map on to Lieutenant William Nellist,
the head of the Alamo Scouts. A PBY seaplane was requested to pick up the map in Donsol Bay by Lieutenant Nellist the following day. Delfin himself delivered this precious document to the pilot. As the document changed hands, the pilot exclaimed “There will be a rain of bombs in Legaspi tomorrow!”
On October 21, 1944 Delfin married Cielo just outside of Legaspi. As the Church doors opened and the newly weds walked out in celebration, clouds of smoke filled the horizon as bombs fell on the Japanese infested city. The bombs were fireworks that celebrated their special day, but more importantly, they marked the destruction of all the Japanese fortifications in Legaspi. The Americans entered the city with no opposition the following day.
The interview is over. I see tears in my grandfather's eyes. He tears at the memory of the many men he served with, of the chaos of war, and the memory of love. Then he smiles, relieved. His story has finally been told.
Capt. Yuhico is a compassionate and caring man. Proving that is the following account written by his grandson, Mark Yuhico Lozano
The Untold Story of Delfin Yuhico
By Mark Benjamin Y. Lozano
Captain Delfin C. Yuhico is a multi-decorated veteran of WWII, having been awarded the Bronze Star medal for bravery and the Philippine Legion of Honor along with 11 campaign medals and ribbons. He was the Commanding Officer of the Philippine Detachment in Australia, Commanding Officer of the SouthEastern Luzon Intelligence and Sabotage Unit, a member of the Planet Party (a unit of the Allied Intelligence Bureau of the Southeast Pacific Area Command of General MacArthur), 3rd Lieutenant of the Philippine Armed Forces, and a Captain Lieutenant of the US Army. He graduated from the University of the Philippines, ROTC Advance Course Class of 1939, and the Philippine Military Academy as a Bachelor of Science, 1943.
Delfin Yuhico woke up to bright lights and busy sounds. His mangled body, wrapped in bandages, lay in pain. He looked around, and spotted a friendly face. “Where are we?” he said. The nurse replied, “Hospital Ship SS Mactan. We're going to
Australia”. It was 1942, and he could not believe he was alive.
He remembered escorting a convoy of trucks transporting ammunitions to Mauban, Quezon. Halfway through the trip, Delfin's friend asked if they could switch seats, as he felt ill. Delfin gave up his window seat for the middle one. As they entered Sta Rosa, the driver of the truck swerved to avoid people on the road. He lost control, and the truck flipped, falling to the bottom of a ravine. He figured that he must have been pulled out of the wreckage, and then brought onboard the SS Mactan. Delfin was the only survivor.
Confined to his bed with a broken hip and memories of the past, his mind wandered. He was frustrated that he was on his way to Australia, away from the war. He felt as if he had abandoned his country in Her time of need. He wanted to fight along side his countrymen, but was now a casualty. He felt useless. His mind turned to family and questions on their safety. He
thought about Cielo, a beautiful girl from Bicol. He had told her, “I will give you my neck if the war is not over in three months.” But war was anything but won. He was on his way to a land where he had nothing. Little did he know that it was there he would discover his true purpose in this war.
As he recovered, he was assigned to command the Filipino detachment in Sydney, Australia. Major Jesus Villamor, on General MacArthur's orders, started recruiting for a group that would set up an intelligence network around the Philippines, later called the Planet Party. The men were recruited from Australia, as those in the Philippines were out of reach. They would also have to be extensively trained by specialists to increase survivability and accomplish their goals with maximum
efficiency. Eager to get back into action, Delfin volunteered immediately. Many other men followed when they found out he had signed up for it, but few were chosen. The unit formed consisted of a utility man, a navigator, a radioman, and two intelligence officers, one of them being Delfin. He was to carry out the bulk of the missions by uniting the local forces, gathering intelligence, and formulating plans of sabotage against the Japanese. These would be done to weaken the Japanese resistance in preparation for the second coming of MacArthur.
After the three months of training and planning in Australia, he boarded the submarine, USS Gudgeon, together with Major Villamor and the rest of the Planet Party. The members of the unit were spread throughout the Philippines.
One of Delfin's first missions was to deliver an important message from MacArthur to Colonel Macario Peralta Jr. in Panay. When I asked him what were the contents of the message, he replied by saying “I cannot reveal that! It's supposed to be secret.” It was later to be made known that he was carrying a set of codes to be used for communication. He made his way to Panay from Negros on a sailboat in the middle of a big storm. The mast was broken and every wave seemed to have the power to tear the boat into pieces. As morning came, Delfin was startled by the sound of machinegun fire. To his horror a Japanese patrol boat had just sunk two sailboats. He told his men to stay lying down on deck while he stood alone when the
Japanese approached. The only thing he could do was pray as he was overcome by an indescribable emotion. As the boat drew ever closer, and death became imminent, he made eye contact with the enemy. Blood pumped strong in his veins in anticipation and just as he thought the trigger would be pulled, the patrol boat turned around and they were spared. He attributes this miracle to the prayers he said. According to him, one of the greatest things he treasures is the life-saving power of prayer. They rowed as fast as they could to the shore out of fear that the Japanese would come back for them.
As they landed, the guerilla forces ran away as they thought Delfin and his unit were Japanese operatives. He convinced them otherwise, and proceeded to deliver the codes that would allow for radio communication. He later mediated the reconciliation of the factions of Peralta and Governor Tomas Confesor. This led to the shipment of arms from Australia to Pandan Bay and the reinstatement of Peralta's unit into the US Army. He had then proceeded to Negros to unite the major
guerilla factions against the Japanese, making the Filipino-American offensive stronger.
After his success, General Edwin Andrews, the successor of Villamor as head of the Planet Party, assigned him to set up an
intelligence unit in Bicol with the intention of liberating Legaspi City. Maj. Villamor said, “Delfin is the only man fit to cover the Bicol region.” Delfin's extensive network being a PMA and a UP ROTC Graduate meant that he could call on his contacts to support and easily establish the intelligence operative. His training in Australia as an intelligence specialist meant that he knew what to look for.
Arriving in Bicol, he headed to the house of Cielo, the woman who clouded his thoughts, with great anticipation. She could not believe that he was alive. Remembering the wager he had lost, Delfin greeted her, and said, “I give you my neck”. A beautiful love affair was beginning, but it would have to wait longer. Duty called him back to work.
His first act of business was to contact Romeo Honasan. As he made his way to the house of Honasan, the women of the house ran away in horror. Apparently, Delfin's short shorts convinced them he was a Japanese soldier. He had to show the women his picture in Honasan's PMA yearbook to persuade them otherwise. Honasan was not home. Delfin stayed, hoping that Honasan would arrive. The people in the house grew uneasy, as a planned Japanese raid was imminent because of the rumored presence of intelligence officers. Delfin was urged to leave by Honasan's Uncle. He immediately boarded a boat bound for Tikaw and escaped death again. Delfin had become a marked man.
With Honasan unreachable, Delfin enlisted the help of Jose Crisol, a fellow graduate of the PMA. They contacted guerillas and other forces in the area. Within a month, the Philippine Air Corps Intelligence and Sabotage Battalion that comprised 6 regions of Bicol was formed. Delfin was recognized by all as their leader. They believed him “a man
sent by MacArthur”.
With the intelligence network in place, Delfin found himself in more danger. When he was in the Legaspi market, the operator of a caritela frantically shouted at him to hop on board. Japanese spies were in the area, aiming to capture him. They hurried away to Daraga. If he were captured, he would have been slowly tortured for information, and killed.With the Japanese seeking him and fortifying their stronghold in Legaspi, Delfin knew he had to move fast. Having been trained in
identifying Japanese priorities, Delfin mobilized the battalion into groups to attack key strategic targets. Damaging these significantly weakened the Japanese resistance.
One group led by Felix Imperial started off by burning down a Mitsubishi storage facility containing all the supplies of the Japanese army in Bicol. This led to the shortage of ammunition and food.
Delfin then turned to the railway system. By making all of the stationmasters from Naga to Daraga his operatives, he was able to get the schedule of all the Japanese trains bound for Legaspi. As soon as trains would leave for the city, the stationmasters would telegraph the news. The battalion would proceed to a dangerous section of track by Mayon Volcano, and “do the proper damaging.” In total, four Japanese trains carrying everything from soldiers, food, and ammunitions were derailed. This severely damaged the morale of the Japanese. Aside from taking heavy losses, the knowledge that the trains could be sabotaged so easily caused them to send fewer and fewer trains to Legaspi. This was instrumental. The Japanese resistance was weakening.
Their successes encouraged MacArthur to send the Alamo Scouts, a special reconnaissance unit, to Bicol. Their task was to gather intelligence for the liberation of Legaspi. Delfin and his team would provide the information. In his words, “I came in to report, they would take my report in as true and correct.”
The Intelligence and Sabotage Battalion provided the final piece of information needed to ensure the successful liberation of Legaspi. Major Barros, an operative of Delfin, snatched a map of the Japanese Fortification Plans for Legaspi and the rest of Bicol from the portfolio of a Japanese Marine Commander, as a woman in the refectory entertained him. The map was immediately sent to Delfin through Vicente Rivera, a famous writer. Delfin passed this map on to Lieutenant William Nellist,
the head of the Alamo Scouts. A PBY seaplane was requested to pick up the map in Donsol Bay by Lieutenant Nellist the following day. Delfin himself delivered this precious document to the pilot. As the document changed hands, the pilot exclaimed “There will be a rain of bombs in Legaspi tomorrow!”
On October 21, 1944 Delfin married Cielo just outside of Legaspi. As the Church doors opened and the newly weds walked out in celebration, clouds of smoke filled the horizon as bombs fell on the Japanese infested city. The bombs were fireworks that celebrated their special day, but more importantly, they marked the destruction of all the Japanese fortifications in Legaspi. The Americans entered the city with no opposition the following day.
The interview is over. I see tears in my grandfather's eyes. He tears at the memory of the many men he served with, of the chaos of war, and the memory of love. Then he smiles, relieved. His story has finally been told.