Early in the morning I conferred with Assistant to the Manager Tiongson and Overseer Ybiernas of Banga about the surrender of Gen. Wainwright, and the conditions under which the surrender was accepted by the Commander in chief of the Japanese Army, as broadcasted by KZRH. We agreed that inasmuch as the matter of complete occupation of the Philippines is due soon that all settlers should be asked to return to their respective barrios in the poblacion as well as all employees’ families who has been evacuated.
After breakfast I left with Mr. Morrow for Koronadal Valley with the intention of going as far as Lagao. However, we reached up to Polomolok only because the sections of the road which had been blasted by the Philippine Army before moving to Cotabato were impassable. At Polomolok I talked at length with Overseer Jimenez about the return of all evacuee settlers to their respective barrios as early as possible. I instructed him to hold meeting in the different barrios for the purpose of explaining to the settlers why evacuation to the woods or to their farm lots is no longer necessary in view of the complete surrender of the Philippines. Other matters I took up with Overseer Jimenez were: (1) the question of improving the courier system recently established among his district and the other districts; (2) the control and extermination of locusts, both flyers and hoppers; (3) the observance of economy in the planting of palay seeds.
Because of the widespread rumors about moro lawlessness outside of the northern part of the Koronadal and Ala Valley reservations, I called Jimenez’s attention to the maintenance of harmonious relations between his settlement and the Moros in his district as well as those in Tupi and both groups deplored the criminal practices of their Mohammedan brothers. They assured me of their own cooperation with us in the maintenance of law and order in the settlement.
I was gratified to observe that the settlers of Polomolok district continue to work hard on their farms notwithstanding present alarming news of Moro bandit activities.