Second Philippine Republic

The Second Phillippine Republic
TAG = PHI
Politics
Capital	Manila
Ruling Party	Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas - Parliamentary Faction
Diplomacy
Sphere	Co-Prosperity Sphere
Foreign Alignment	Template:Fully Dependent Member of The Sphere

The Second Philippine Republic is a country in South East Asia. It is a Japanese client state and it is a member of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. It is neighboured by the All-Filipino Revolutionary Socialist Republic to the north in Luzon and the Free Philippine Republic to the south in Mindanao.

Formed from the US territory of the Philippines, it faces struggle from resistance movements by the communists and remnants of US forces and resistance fighters in the south.

History

As part of Japan's Strike Southward Doctrine, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy would invade into European and American colonial holdings in Southeast Asia, with the Philippines was one of their main targets, due to it's strategic location and naval bases that could allow the Imperial Japanese Navy to strike quickly into the Pacific.

Ruled by the United States since 1898, the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese caught many members of the US garrison off guard. Despite their most valiant efforts to defend the island chain, the Battle for the Philippines was a crushing victory for the Empire of Japan, with most of the island's garrison surrendering in Bataan and Corregidor.

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, President Manuel L. Quezon had declared the national capital Manila an "open city", and left it under the rule of Jorge B. Vargas, as mayor. The Japanese entered the city on January 2, 1942, and established it as the capital. Japan fully captured the Philippines on May 6, 1942, after the Battle of Corregidor.

Forming the Puppet State.

General Masaharu Homma of the Japanese 14th Army decreed the dissolution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and established the Philippine Executive Commission (Komisyong Tagapagpaganap ng Pilipinas), a caretaker government, with Vargas as its first chairman in January 1942. KALIBAPI — Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (Tagalog for the "Association for Service to the New Philippines") — was formed by Proclamation No. 109 of the Philippine Executive Commission, a piece of legislation passed on December 8, 1942, banning all existing political parties and creating the new governing alliance. Its first director-general was Benigno Aquino, Sr.

The pro-Japanese Ganap Party, which saw the Japanese as the saviors of the archipelago, was absorbed into the KALIBAPI.

Before the formation of the Preparatory Commission, the Japanese gave an option to put the Philippines under the dictatorship of Artemio Ricarte, whom the Japanese returned from Yokohama to help bolster their propaganda movement. However, the Philippine Executive Commission refused this option and chose to make the Philippines a republic instead. During his first visit to the Philippines on May 6, 1943, Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō promised to return independence to the Philippines as part of its propaganda of Pan-Asianism (Asia for the Asians).

This prompted the KALIBAPI to create the Preparatory Committee for Philippine Independence on June 19, 1943. A draft constitution was formed by the Preparatory Commission for Independence, consisting of 20 members from the KALIBAPI. The Preparatory Commission, led by José P. Laurel, presented its draft Constitution on September 4, 1943, and three days later, the KALIBAPI general assembly ratified the draft Constitution.

By September 20, 1943, the KALIBAPI's representative groups in the country's provinces and cities elected from among themselves fifty-four members of the Philippine National Assembly, the legislature of the country, with fifty-four governors and city mayors as ex-officio members. Three days after establishing the National Assembly, its inaugural session was held at the pre-war Legislative Building and it elected by majority Benigno S. Aquino as its first Speaker and José P. Laurel as President of the Republic of the Philippines, who was inaugurated on October 14, 1943, at the foundation of the Republic, the Legislative Building. Former President Emilio Aguinaldo and General Artemio Ricarte raised the Philippine flag, the same one used during the Philippine–American War which featured an anthropomorphic sun, during the inauguration. This was the first time since the Japanese occupation that the flag was displayed and the anthem played.

On the same day, a Pact of Alliance was signed between the new Republic and the Japanese government that was ratified two days later by the National Assembly.

On December 13, 1943, a version of the Philippine flag with no markings on the sun was adopted as the Second Republic's flag through Executive Order 17. On September 23, 1944 at 10:00 in the morning, President Laurel proclaimed that a state of war existed between the Philippine Republic and both the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. By virtue of this proclamation the Philippine flag was inverted to signify that the Philippines was officially in a state of war. The (war) flag remained as the official flag until the formal dissolution of the Second Philippines Republic.

Resistance

Despite the collaborationists having a great start with legitimacy backed by the Japanese Empire, resistance to Japanese rule was growing slowly in the shadows.

US and Commonwealth Exiles.

After Bataan and Corregidor, many Commonwealth soldiers who escaped the Japanese reorganized in the mountains as guerrillas still loyal to the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). One example would be the unit of Ramon Magsaysay in Zambales, which first served as a supply and intelligence unit. After the surrender in May 1942, Magsaysay and his unit formed a guerrilla force which grew to a 10,000-man force.

Another was the Hunters ROTC which operated in the Southern Luzon area, mainly near Manila. It was created upon dissolution of the Philippine Military Academy in the beginning days of the war. Cadet Terry Adivoso refused to simply go home as cadets were ordered to do, and began recruiting fighters willing to undertake guerrilla action against the Japanese. This force would later be instrumental, providing intelligence to the liberating forces led by General Douglas MacArthur, and took an active role in numerous battles, such as the Raid at Los Baños.

When war broke out in the Philippines, some 300 Philippine Military Academy and ROTC cadets, unable to join the USAFFE units because of their youth, banded together in a common desire to contribute to the war effort throughout the Bataan campaign. The Hunters originally conducted operations with another guerrilla group known as the Marking Guerrillas, with whom they went about liquidating Japanese spies. Led by Miguel Ver, a PMA cadet, the Hunters raided the enemy-occupied Union College in Manila and seized 130 Enfield rifles.

In July 1942, South West Pacific Area (SWPA) became aware of the resistance movements forming in occupied Philippines through attempted radio communications to Allies outside of the Philippines; by late 1942, couriers had made it to Australia confirming the existence of the resistance. By December 1942, SWPA sent Captain Jesús A. Villamor to the Philippines to make contact with guerrilla organizations, eventually developing extensive intelligence networks including contacts within the Second Republic Government. A few months later SWPA sent Lieutenant Commander Chick Parsons, who returned to the Philippines in early 1943, vetting guerrilla leaders and established communications and supply for them with SWPA. Through the Allied Intelligence Bureau's Philippine Regional Section, SWPA sent operatives and equipment into the Philippines to supply and assist guerrilla organizations, often by submarine. The large cruiser submarines USS Narwhal and USS Nautilus, with a high capacity for personnel and supplies, proved especially useful in supporting the guerrillas. Beginning in mid-1943, the assistance to the guerrillas in the Philippines became more organized, with the formation of the 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion, which was largely composed of volunteer Filipino Americans from the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, which were established and organized in California.

In Nueva Ecija, guerrillas led by Juan Pajota and Eduardo Joson protected the U.S. Army Rangers and Alamo Scouts who were conducting a rescue mission of Allied POWs from a counterattack by Japanese reinforcements. Pajota and the Filipino guerrillas received Bronze Stars for their role in the raid. Among the guerrilla units, the Blue Eagles were a specialized unit established for landmine and sniper detection, as well as in hunting Japanese spies who had blended in with the civilian population.

Nonetheless, Japanese crackdowns on these guerrillas in Luzon were widespread and brutal. The Imperial Japanese Army, Kenpeitai and Filipino collaborators hunted down resistance fighters and anyone associated with them. One example happened to resistance leader Wenceslao Vinzons, leader of the successful guerilla movement in Bicol. After being betrayed to the Japanese by a Japanese collaborator, Vinzons was tortured to give up information on his resistance movement. Vinzons however refused to cooperate, and he and his family, consisting of his father Gabino, his wife Liwayway, sister Milagros and children Aurora and Alexander, were bayoneted to death.

The Communist Huks

As originally constituted in March 1942, the Hukbalahap was to be part of a broad united front resistance to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. This original intent is reflected in its name: "Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon", which was "People's Army Against the Japanese" when translated into English. The adopted slogan was "Anti-Japanese Above All". The Huk Military Committee was at the apex of Huk structure and was charged to direct the guerrilla campaign and to lead the revolution that would seize power after the war. Luis Taruc, a communist leader and peasant-organizer from a barrio in Pampanga, was elected as head of the committee and became the first Huk commander called "El Supremo". Casto Alejandrino became his second-in-command.

The Huks began their anti-Japanese campaign as five 100-man units. They obtained needed arms and ammunition from Philippine army stragglers, who were escapees from the Battle of Bataan and deserters from the Philippine Constabulary, in exchange of civilian clothes. The Huk recruitment campaign progressed more slowly than Taruc had expected, due to competition with U.S. Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) guerrilla units in enlisting new soldiers. The U.S. units already had recognition among the islands, had trained military leaders, and an organized command and logistical system. Despite being restrained by the American sponsored guerrilla units, the Huks nevertheless took to the battlefield with only 500 men and much fewer weapons. Several setbacks at the hands of the Japanese and with less than enthusiastic support from USAFFE units did not hinder the Huks growth in size and efficiency throughout the war, developing into a well-trained, highly organized force with some 15,000 armed fighters by the surrender of the Americans. The Huks attacked both the Japanese and other non-Huk guerrillas before an armistice signed between both resistance movements.

National Spirits

Name	In Game Description	Effects

See Also

• Free Philippine Republic
• All-Filipino Revolutionary Socialist Republic
• Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere