The newspaper reported that the island of Negros was occupied two weeks ago. On the twenty-first of the last month, Japanese forces landed at a point five kilometers away from Bacolod and marched towards the capital which they were able to occupy before the retreating forces could burn the houses. A provincial capital had thus been saved from the flames.
Although the papers confirmed that this sugar island has been conquered we believe that there must be remnants of armed groups in the mountains, which continue to molest both military installations and the civilian populace.
A few days ago, we learned from official dispatches that the USAFFE force in the Mountain Province surrendered, following instructions from General Wainwright. The troops in Mindanao did the same. Obviously, the American forces had formally given up the fight in the whole Philippines. We are at war, but the Archipelago has ceased to be a battlefield. How long will expectations last? Only some isolated bands of rebels persist in the fight as guerrillas, some of whom also fight as bandits.