by Nunilo M. de Leon
Malolos was still in a state of confused excitement when we arrived in Tampoy. It was relatively untouched by the war, the damage being limited to the outskirts, i.e. the area in and around the provincial capitol and the railroad. The railroad depot had been completely wrecked by US bombing and strafing but the railways themselves had little damage. Surprisingly the buildings near the depot, including the railroad inn, were left almost untouched, except for some bullet holes, proof of the accuracy of the US fighter pilots, who were doing their runs at a very low level. However, the provincial capitol, which had a commanding view of the national highway and the railroad, had been badly damaged. From the outside, it looked intact but the interior was another matter. A platoon-size Japanese unit had holed up in the provincial capitol grounds to try and repulse the Americans who were advancing down the highway from their river crossing in Bagbag. US Army artillery fire had to be brought down on the capitol; flamethrowers, bazookas and grenades were used on the Japanese who had fought to the last man, all the way from the national road down to the capitol basement. The other provincial government buildings, including the provincial hospital, the constabulary barracks, the provincial jail or “Lex”, the provincial high school, the provincial trade school and the provincial staff’s residences were almost unscathed. Nonetheless, they could not be immediately put to use, not because of battle damage but because of looting and neglect.
Soon after their return, the Americans re-established a local government, with the help of the BMA guerillas who were already in almost full control of the province when the liberating forces arrived. A provincial governor was appointed, guerilla Colonel Alejo Santos the commanding officer of the BMA. Since the provincial capitol was unusable, the casa real in the center of town became the temporary provincial capitol with the casa real’s tiny 2-story annex becoming the governor’s residence. Guerilla Major Adonais Maclang, a Maloleño and one of the BMA’s leaders in Malolos, was appointed mayor of the town. He held office in the municipio, which was untouched by the war. The greatly-weakened municipal police force was called back to duty and reinforced with new members coming from the local guerilla units, including the new chief of police, Constancio Joson, a guerilla officer from Santa Isabel district. The public market soon resumed operations and business activities slowly began to revive. However, things were far from completely normal. Both the municipal and provincial governments were not fully functioning, waiting for the national government to be reestablished.
Malolos was still in a state of confused excitement when we arrived in Tampoy. It was relatively untouched by the war, the damage being limited to the outskirts, i.e. the area in and around the provincial capitol and the railroad. The railroad depot had been completely wrecked by US bombing and strafing but the railways themselves had little damage. Surprisingly the buildings near the depot, including the railroad inn, were left almost untouched, except for some bullet holes, proof of the accuracy of the US fighter pilots, who were doing their runs at a very low level. However, the provincial capitol, which had a commanding view of the national highway and the railroad, had been badly damaged. From the outside, it looked intact but the interior was another matter. A platoon-size Japanese unit had holed up in the provincial capitol grounds to try and repulse the Americans who were advancing down the highway from their river crossing in Bagbag. US Army artillery fire had to be brought down on the capitol; flamethrowers, bazookas and grenades were used on the Japanese who had fought to the last man, all the way from the national road down to the capitol basement. The other provincial government buildings, including the provincial hospital, the constabulary barracks, the provincial jail or “Lex”, the provincial high school, the provincial trade school and the provincial staff’s residences were almost unscathed. Nonetheless, they could not be immediately put to use, not because of battle damage but because of looting and neglect.
Soon after their return, the Americans re-established a local government, with the help of the BMA guerillas who were already in almost full control of the province when the liberating forces arrived. A provincial governor was appointed, guerilla Colonel Alejo Santos the commanding officer of the BMA. Since the provincial capitol was unusable, the casa real in the center of town became the temporary provincial capitol with the casa real’s tiny 2-story annex becoming the governor’s residence. Guerilla Major Adonais Maclang, a Maloleño and one of the BMA’s leaders in Malolos, was appointed mayor of the town. He held office in the municipio, which was untouched by the war. The greatly-weakened municipal police force was called back to duty and reinforced with new members coming from the local guerilla units, including the new chief of police, Constancio Joson, a guerilla officer from Santa Isabel district. The public market soon resumed operations and business activities slowly began to revive. However, things were far from completely normal. Both the municipal and provincial governments were not fully functioning, waiting for the national government to be reestablished.
