Feature: a Tree-Bute: Remembering the 400 Victims of Mangkaeng Massacre

The morning of Jan. 23, 1945 in Mangkaeng is one morning many of the living residents and survivors vividly remember.

Mangkaeng is a small sitio of Guising Norte in Naguilian, some 12 kilometers from downtown and can be reached though a jeepney ride and a steep hike.

1945 was the time when a group of Japanese soldiers stationed downtown went in the upland and in forested areas in Naguilian, and residents hid in a nearby creek to save their lives from the attacking Japanese forces.

More than 400 residents, young and old, from Imelda, Natividad, Ortiz, and nearby villages downtown of Naguilian, were violently fired at and killed by the Japanese forces.

The group of soldiers were serving as rear guides of General Yamashita during his retreat to the Cordillera mountains.

“My grandfather, Mauro Dumaguing recalled in his stories, how a Japanese soldier fired at them but unlucky for his wife and daughter who were killed when they were shot,” Cipriano Floresca, Jr., 80 and lead initiator of the Schizandra Initiative, said.

He added: “I was just eight then but I can hear and remember the stories of my grandfather, some relatives, and neighbors who survived that grim morning.”

Villa Floresca, daughter-in-law of Cipriano, leads the annual activity every Jan. 23 with a eucharistic mass, wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers with some local government officials, tree-planting, feeding, and gift-giving activity to the pupils of Mangkaeng Primary School.

But the highlight of their annual celebration is their tree-bute, a tree-planting activity.

“We envision to plant more than 400 trees and name each tree after all the martyrs of the Mangkaeng massacre and hopefully, a mini-park with a marker bearing the names of the martyrs on it,” the elder Floresca said.

He added: “This is our simple way of honoring those who were not able to get a fitting burial after that bloody morning and help them find peace.”

At present, more than 30 fruit-bearing trees were already planted since the younger Floresca and their group started the tree-planting at a vacant space in Mangkaeng Primary School three years ago.

Their listing of the 400 martyrs started two years ago, they now have 64 names and counting.

“We get the chance to meet a parish worker who shares that there is a resident who regularly offers mass and prayers to their loved ones and says that they were killed during the Mangkaeng massacre and it gives us hope that eventually we may be able to get the names of the other unnamed martyrs,” the younger Floresca said.

They continue to validate names, reach out, and interview the survivors trying to get their stories and properly document them all.

These survivors they get to meet and talk to impart that Mangkaeng is historic and this is part of the history of the people of Naguilian during the Japanese occupation.

The group also aims that apart from educating the children of Mangkaeng about this part of local history, they would also like to instill the value of planting more trees for the environment and the community as well.

Aside from the annual Mangkaeng 400 memorial, the Schizandra Initiative is working for other projects like livelihood programs for the community, flood control, and greening the watershed areas.