"Close the window and tell me again you love me." Lillian nudged Popong in the
direction of the window. He got up and locked the window of their bedroom, then
went back to Lillian and embraced her gently.
"I love you more than anything else in this world."
"More than Rosita, and Millie, and Esperanza, and Lourdes, and Perla? And all
the rest?" She was crying. It was a game they usually played but tonight it was
no longer just a prelude to love-making.
"More than anyone of them and more than all of them together." he teased back.
They dreaded the morning, for then he would have to go to Butuan and surrender
his firearms to the Japanese. Watanabe played his hand well. He did not accuse
Popong of being a guerilla. He just let everyone be aware that he knew Popong
had the guns. And the mere mention of his wife and the fact that he had been to
Nanay Cedes home and seen the children and the baby was an implied threat that
could not be ignored. Popong had to go to the garrison in the morning.
She did not ask him questions that had no answers. "What will they do to you?
Will they imprison you? Will they kill you?"
"I can't live without you. I do not want to live without you."
"You must. You must live. For me. For our baby. Promise me!" This was the first
time Lillian ever heard her husband order her this way. "Promise me. Promise
me!"
She was sobbing now. "Promise me!" He insisted.
"I promise."
Morning came too soon. Popong woke up to find Lillian watching over him, eyes
swollen from crying. The baby had been fed and was sleeping soundly. Popong got
up and got his pistol and the carbine and broke the firing pins. He also filed
the bores of the barrels, rendering the guns completely unusable. Then he put
on his uniform which were fatigues supplied by the Americans.
"I shall be back this afternoon. So have dinner ready for me." He said goodbye
to Nanay Cedes. Cousins Bib and Tican would paddle him across Agusan River to
Butuan. Goodbyes are always awkward so he did not linger too long. He gave
Lillian a hug and kissed Erlinda on the forehead then marched off towards the
boat.
Itoy Flores with oldest son, four year old Inec, was waiting for him where the
boat was docked. Itoy had been in hiding but he had heard about Popong's
problems and came to warn him.
"You can't go. If you do, they will never let you out."
"But the Americans will be in Butuan anytime now. They have complete control of
the skies all over Mindanao, including Butuan."
"We don't know when they will be really here. It could be months before they
can get here."
"They are in Surigao already. Many of the Japanese soldiers in Butuan are the
ones who had retreated from Surigao. Butuan will be next. I'm sure."
"Pong, can you not understand what I am trying to tell you? They will not let
you out. I know. They know everything about you."
"I have to go." was Popong's simple and final reply. He patted Inec on the head
and turned away. He did not bother to explain that if he did not present
himself, his family and those of Nanay Cedes, Tatay Inong, Tatay Zaro and all
his close relatives would be in grave danger. Watanabe knew them all.
----------------------------------
"Captain, I am an officer of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East,
113th Infantry Division. I wish to surrender. Here are my weapons"
"Adolfo Sanchez, you do not have a dog tag or any other form of identification.
You are not in proper uniform. You are a spy. If you are indeed an officer of
the Americans, tell me, where are Major Khodr and Colonel Fertig?" Captain
Hirai was smirking. He had dirty yellowish teeth and his mouth smelled, like he
had eaten something rotten. He was seated behind a large desk in one of the
offices of the garrison along Juan Luna Street. Feeling satisfied with himself,
he tried to impress Captain Watanabe who was standing to his left.
" My name is Adolfo Sanchez and my serial number is ASN10300548." Popong did
not blink and was staring directly at Captain Hirai who was now fidgeting in
his seat.
"Don't you dare use that stupid Geneva Convention shit with me. It won't work
here!" Hirai started screaming, at the same time standing and drawing his
pistol, cocking the hammer, but pointing the barrel at the ceiling.
"Captain, Sir, if I may." Captain Watanabe softly intervened. Hearing Watanabe
call him Sir was like a shot of tranquilizer. Captain Hirai reupholstered his
pistol and slowly sat down, glaring at Popong before he did so.
"Lieutenant Sanchez, we need a secondary source of information about your
status. Until we have a confirmation of your rank and your unit we are obliged
to keep you as our guest in our garrison."
"You mean a prisoner."
Hirai tried to stand up again but Watanabe spoke ahead of him.
"Use whatever term you want to use. But the Filipino soldiers were released on
parole after you surrendered. This was a part of the treaty between Japan and
your country. You are supposed to be a civilian now. Ownership of weapons is
strictly prohibited, punishable by imprisonment or death. You know that."
"Sir, the Philippine government that you are referring to is a puppet
government. We are still at war. I never surrendered. Should the situation be
reversed, I am sure you will be doing what I am doing now. As a soldier."
One could see smoke coming out of Hirai's ears. But Watanabe was not bothered
by Popong's answers. "Precisely. Were the situation reversed, you would also be
doing exactly what I am doing. As a soldier. We have seventy nine prisoners,
all Filipinos, all claiming to be soldiers. Of them, two claim to be officers.
You shall be sharing the same quarters as the officers and at least, for a
while, you are not allowed any visitors until we know exactly what to do with
you." Then turning to Hirai, "Sir, may I have complete custody and
responsibility for this man?"
Hirai did not know how to respond to this new twist. His simple mind was being
short-circuited. He was about to say something but changed his mind. He had no
choice but to nod and bow to Captain Watanabe.
Unknown to anyone else, Captain Watanabe had received orders direct from Tokyo
on August 28, 1944. These orders were coded and recoded and only he was
authorized to receive, read and act on it. The order was short and direct. By
the end of November, all Japanese personnel were to proceed two hundred
kilometers south of Butuan. Engagement with the enemy was to be avoided at all
cost. All records were to be burned and everything that could not be manually
carried would be burned or destroyed. And the worst part of the order was that
ALL prisoners were to be executed before October 14. For Captain Watanabe, this
was did not seem right. If there were the slightest chance that they could win
the war, then the order was militarily justifiable. But by the way things were
going, the order appeared insane.
Captain Watanabe knew Japan was losing. Their supplies were dwindling. There
were no new shipments coming in. The Americans dominated the skies. The
Japanese army was now getting young boys, goons, criminals, and Koreans as
replacements. Morale was low. And now this. This was senseless. He had not
carried out the order at all and October 14 was only a few days away.
"I would like to interrogate this officer alone." One could barely hear him.
But Hirai suddenly stood up as if he had just been caught napping. He realized
he was being dismissed. He knew that he was the commander of the camp but no
one dared cross swords with the samurai. With Watanabe, he never knew if he
should salute or not. It was worse having an enemy soldier as a witness. He
left the room a little bit smaller than when he entered it.
"Lieutenant, I have received direct orders from Tokyo." They were both
standing, now facing each other directly. He told Popong about the directive.
Both were silent for a good thirty seconds. Popong understood what Watanabe was
trying to tell him.
"Why are you telling me this? Are you asking for absolution before you commit
the crime?"
"I am not asking you for anything. I do not need anyone's permission. I shall
carry the order out like I am supposed to. I am a soldier. I obey my orders."
"There is a difference between being a soldier and being a murderer."
"Don't tell me about being a soldier. I have been one since I was seventeen."
"Wearing a uniform does not make you one."
"What then? Disobedience?"
"No, doing the right thing. Why have you not carried out your orders? Why have
you not executed anyone yet? I know. Your conscience is bothering you. I know
you did not share this information with Captain Hirai. That order is a sign of
desperation. Did the Emperor order it or did it come from a crazed general?"
Watanabe turned away from Popong and looked out the iron-barred window, toward
Mr. Buenviaje's front yard across the street. He really liked the pink roses
and the yellow bells. But today, the flowers looked gray and droopy. It must be
the heat.
"I cannot put it off anymore. Tomorrow, I must do my duty." He was talking more
to himself.
"Captain, please. Don't do it. It is not worth it. You know the war is almost
over. These are human beings, just like you and me. Killing them will not
change anything except that there will more widows and fatherless children.
Don't do it. Think of the consequences. Please don't do it. Please." There was
desperation in the playboy's voice.
"Sir, don't beg. It does not become you."
"I am not begging for me. I am begging for the others."
Watanabe could not believe what he just heard! His head was spinning. "Is this
man seeking martyrdom?"
The two were looking at each other's eyes, trying to decide what the other one
was thinking.
"Captain, if you must spill blood, spill mine. Spare the rest."
Captain Watanabe turned around, away from Popong, and closed his eyes. He could
not meet Popong's gaze. Redemption, yes, redemption, at last. Popong's
arguments were his arguments. He needed a reason, a justification, not to carry
out the order. But he also needed to hear somebody else to say it, too.
"Very well then, tomorrow at four o.clock." He sighed in spiritual release. "At
the town plaza. Tiger, you are a brave man. You will have the honor of a public
execution. There will be a thousand witnesses to your sacrifice. You will be
executed as an officer and a gentleman."
"No, no! Please no. Captain, our cultures are different. I am not being a hero.
I am just being practical. I am grateful to you. It does not take a
mathematician to know that my life is not equal to seventy nine others. A
public execution will be totally unacceptable to my family and people. We don't
know how they will take it. I want to avoid anymore bloodshed. I respectfully
request that you do it as quietly as possible. Unlike you, death for us is a
very private matter."
Watanabe could not argue against a dying man. Watanabe almost felt emasculated,
almost out of control of a situation where he was supposed to be the victor.
For a few years he had been after this man. Yet now, he felt he was a pawn, a
victim of events. "Don't you want at least a witness?"
"I already have one."
"Who?" Watanabe was surprised.
"You."
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Next Chapter - Chapter 15
