Juan Labrador

Spanish member of the Order of Preachers; Rector of Colegio de San Juan de Letran.

February 6, 1942

I was told today about an incident which revealed that Japan has prepared well to occupy these islands. The incident was recounted by a Spanish

February 7, 1942

An order of the Commander-in-Chief appeared today, carrying the following date: “Seventh day of the second month of the seventeenth year of the Syowa.” Do

February 8, 1942

Today, Sunday, I shall speak in vague terms, as the New Regime is wont to do, with regard to religion and the Church. Up to

February 9, 1942

The facts that I am going to relate seem to be so unlikely and so horrifying that I did not attempt to write them down

February 15, 1942

I did not think it prudent to divulge earlier that a few days after the bombing of Letran, through a third person, Mrs. Aurora Quezon

February 16, 1942

Yesterday, Singapore fell. At 7:50 last night, Lt. General Percival, Commander of the British Forces, signed the unconditional surrender in the prosaic stage of a

February 17, 1942

To add to the humiliation of the defeated British, the Japanese yesterday published side by side with the news of the fall of Singapore, the

February 18, 1942

As I passed by the store of a Spanish friend, I saw a confused crowd of people who appeared to be threatening him. However, looking

February 19, 1942

The newspapers reported that the Asakura Special Mission—something like the Japanese Constabulary—decided to designate five other offices for the issuance of residence certificates. The police

February 20, 1942

The papers announced the reopening of classes. General Y. Hayashi, Chief of the Japanese Military Administration, (now they are starting to give out the names

February 21, 1942

In accordance with yesterday’s proclamation, I went to the Normal School, where the offices of the Ministry of Instruction are located, to present the books

February 28, 1942

I left a gap in my diary. I stopped writing for a while, partly because of fear, partly because of lack of interest. I was

March 2, 1942

Yesterday, Sunday, the Tribune carried an article by Fr. Gregorio S. Tsukamoto on the Gospel for the day. I suppose it was the sermon he

March 3, 1942

Last night, armored cars and tractors made a terrifying noise. It was as if a whole regiment were marching and making noise with drums and

March 4, 1942

Yesterday morning, several planes flew in perfect formations of nine. At one time, they all joined in one formation, flying very low. I counted more

March 5, 1942

There is a full moon tonight. The usual crackling of guns and rifles is not being heard, nor the voices of the Japanese. Not even

March 6, 1942

Msgr. Paul Taguchi, recently consecrated Bishop of Osaka, arrived. He is the most active, influential and prestigious Japanese ecclesiastical figure in the whole empire. He

March 7, 1942

The war started exactly three months ago. Yesterday, the press announced the fall of Batavia, capital of the Dutch Indies. The rest of the Allied

March 8, 1942

Feast of San Juan de Dios, patron saint of a hospital bearing his name. The civilian occupants are members of the different religious communities: the

March 9, 1942

A college bus is rented to carry passengers to Tayabas. Many provincial folks want to go to their provinces, but transportation is lacking, as well

March 10, 1942

The Allied Forces defending Java and the Dutch Indies have surrendered. The Japanese Army was also victorious in Rangoon, capital of Burma. With this double

March 11, 1942

Queues. Everybody has to fall in line to buy rice, matches, cigarettes and sugar. In front of the few stores licensed to sell those items,

March 12, 1942

The Filipino traffic policemen have gone back to their posts at the corners of avenues and principal streets. There are also a number of other

March 13, 1942

The Oriental mentality does not recognize a straight line. He never goes direct to his objective. He seems to desire one thing, but goes about

March 15, 1942

Today we finished listing down the losses we suffered during the bombings and fires of December 27 and 28. The engineer, A. Guevara, had prepared

March 20, 1942

We knew a few days ago that General MacArthur and High Commissioner Sayre have fled from Bataan. MacArthur flew to Australia while Sayre proceeded to

March 21, 1942

Today, Palm Sunday, we saw an unusual display of tanks and other kinds of war material being transported to the north. Are they preparing a

March 22, 1942

Radio Tokyo announced today that President Quezon died, a victim of American brutality. The press is silent about the matter, rendering the veracity of the

March 23, 1942

The newspapers headlined in bold letters that President Quezon died in Iloilo, a victim of his old disease. It was however added that the news

March 25, 1942

Judging from the movement of troops, tanks and artillery guns, and from the waves of winged motors, the campaign against Bataan is going to take