Wartime Occupation and Collaboration
Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the World War II brought the issue of elite collaboration with foreign powers into sharp relief. Confronting the dilemma of collaboration with the Japanese or resistance in the name of the Philippine Commonwealth and its colonial ruler, the United States, many members of the Philippine elite opted for collaboration. Among the most prominent collaborators were Jose Laurel, Sr., and Benigno Aquino, Sr. Wartime profiteering afforded substantial gains to some of the nation’s foremost families.
At the War’s end, the machinations of General Douglas MacArthur, and the President Harry Truman’s initial inattention to the collaboration issue and subsequent deference to MacArthur, effectively undermined President Sergio Osmena’s limited resolve and capacity to mete out punishment to wartime collaborators. David Steinberg argues that Filipinos decided against punishment of collaborationists out of concern that thus purging the elite would “decapitate” the society at a time of extreme destruction and social disruption. This decision was, however, a product of Philippine elite and U.S. policy; the Philippine masses had no voice in the matter. Four decades later, the Aquino government’s treatment of former Marcos loyalists and rebellious military officer would sound a variant on this theme of non-punishment for the supposed sake of national unity.
Collaboration with the Japanese struck at then-prevailing perceptions of Philippine national identity, an identity closely tied to the United States. Elite collaboration thus called into question the legitimacy of elite political dominance. In their grievances against collaborators, peasants received some support from elements of the Philippine elite and for a time, from official U.S. policy. The issue of past and present collaboration with the foreign powers, and the benefits that have thereby accrued to the Philippine to the Philippine elite, are thus another basis for the gulf between elite and mass in Philippine society.
Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the World War II brought the issue of elite collaboration with foreign powers into sharp relief. Confronting the dilemma of collaboration with the Japanese or resistance in the name of the Philippine Commonwealth and its colonial ruler, the United States, many members of the Philippine elite opted for collaboration. Among the most prominent collaborators were Jose Laurel, Sr., and Benigno Aquino, Sr. Wartime profiteering afforded substantial gains to some of the nation’s foremost families.
At the War’s end, the machinations of General Douglas MacArthur, and the President Harry Truman’s initial inattention to the collaboration issue and subsequent deference to MacArthur, effectively undermined President Sergio Osmena’s limited resolve and capacity to mete out punishment to wartime collaborators. David Steinberg argues that Filipinos decided against punishment of collaborationists out of concern that thus purging the elite would “decapitate” the society at a time of extreme destruction and social disruption. This decision was, however, a product of Philippine elite and U.S. policy; the Philippine masses had no voice in the matter. Four decades later, the Aquino government’s treatment of former Marcos loyalists and rebellious military officer would sound a variant on this theme of non-punishment for the supposed sake of national unity.
Collaboration with the Japanese struck at then-prevailing perceptions of Philippine national identity, an identity closely tied to the United States. Elite collaboration thus called into question the legitimacy of elite political dominance. In their grievances against collaborators, peasants received some support from elements of the Philippine elite and for a time, from official U.S. policy. The issue of past and present collaboration with the foreign powers, and the benefits that have thereby accrued to the Philippine to the Philippine elite, are thus another basis for the gulf between elite and mass in Philippine society.
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