The Jorgensens still had telephone service to their friends in Baguio.
From them, we learned that many of the Japanese civilian prisoners,
whom we had interned at Camp John Hay, when liberated by the
Japanese-army, were putting on uniforms, private to colonel, and
joining the occupying forces. The invading army had government money,
already printed, when they arrived. When the Jap soldiers presented
their "play" money to the Filipinos in order to buy food, the natives
laughed and said, "No good in this country!" They soon learned that it
was backed up by the full faith of the Japanese bayonet. There were
many tales of Japanese treachery.
Yet, the Japs pretended to be friendly to the Filipino. They would
say, "Look the color of our skin is the same! We promise
you early liberation from the Americans, and in the near future, we
give your country independence." The Japs turned their hospitality and
hostility on and off like a faucet.
The Japs insisted that the natives take off their big straw hats and
bow deeply each time they encountered a Japanese soldier. This was not
the Filipinos' idea of independence and freedom.
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