Past is the barometer of the Present and Future. History is necessary. This remark would have seemed unquestionable. It was the idea that looking back on one's life may assist a person comprehend who they are. It is believed that whomever has power over the past has influence over the future. Our perspective on history influences how we perceive the present, and hence what solutions we give to current challenges.
The school of thought that was used in this historical research is Interpretivism. This idea states that individuals have consciousness and are not just mere puppets of the society. It is the human who shapes the landscape and systems in the society, not the other way around. Just like how the Quituinan Hill started as battleground during the war era but now regarded as a place for leisure and recreational activities. It is the soldiers who fight in war that cemented its reputation from the past and it still the collective efforts of the local government and the citizen of Camalig who rebuild this place as a tourist spot. Man shapes his surroundings for the better and that what makes history as linear and progressive.
This article's historical methods and criticism began with choosing a specific topic for local history study and defining the criteria for the specifics that needed to be highlighted. Quituinan Hill's history was chosen in the light of its former recollections from the Japanese period. Following that, a list of potential sources was created that may give more insights and in-depth information on the chosen issue. Documents, textbooks, and pictures are examples of such sources. The primary sources of information were Dr. Danilo M. Gerona's book Camalig: Albay's Cabecera of Christian Evangelization and oral information from Camalig's Office of Tourism. For synthesis, written and oral sources were compared and evaluated. The author of the history book's background was investigated. Dr. Gerona was a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines, according to reports. He spent years scouring archives in the Philippines and Europe for information. Dr. Gerona's work as a historian has been recognized not just in the history of Bicol but also in the early Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. He has given talks at both national and international conferences in the Philippines and Europe. Because of the author's illustrious academic reputation, his historical writings are a reputable source.
The Battle of Quituinan
The Japanese Imperial Forces undertook a major tactical maneuver in the early stages of the conflict to reinforce the municipality's center by seizing private buildings. The engineering unit was stationed on "Binanuaanan," a roadway that ran from the railroad to the Basud River. Later, the entire Centro was occupied, all the way up to Calzada and all the way to the Ilawod Bridge. The whole Ilawod area, reaching as far as Sogong, was occupied when the navy contingent came from Legazpi.
However, in January 1945, the whole Japanese Imperial troops abandoned the city and took up residence in the Quituinan Hills. Even during the Spanish era, the hill was a significant landmark in the town. The hill served as an ideal stronghold and exit to the Sorsogon beaches since it was strategically located between the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon. Local sources and hazy intelligence reports from American forces revealed that the Japanese were presumably working on hidden structures in several compartments years before the Americans returned. As soon as the US warships' guns started pounding the Albay Gulf beaches, the Japanese in several towns in Albay scurried to the hills, ready to make their last stand.
They built the labyrinth of safe passages and quarters by blasting the hillsides and excavating the tenches and tunnels while destroying hundreds of hectares of abaca and coconut plantations, all while destroying hundreds of hectares of abaca and coconut crops. Many adjacent residences and those in the poblacion provided some of their construction supplies. Educational facilities were among those robbed and damaged, with furniture, desks, blackboards, and other school supplies being taken away.
The 158th Infantry's 1st and 3rd Battalions launched a broad attack against the Quitinan Hills, where a major Japanese force was concentrated, in the first week of April. The two battalions, who were subsequently reinforced by the arrival of the 2nd Battalion from Sorsogon, ultimately overcame the organized Japanese resistance on the 28th of April, slowed by dense jungle and hard terrain and, above important, by the Japanese Nocturnal Attacks.
The death of a Lt. Col. Sato, thought to be the commander of this well hidden subterranean camp, was an important theme of the Battle of Quituinan. Sato resorted to hara-kiri, or suicide, after admitting defeat but refusing to submit. Higher headquarters tasked Frank Thompson, a former member of the 158th Infantry, with investigating this tragedy. Three guys emerged from the cave approximately 20 yards away, according to Thompson, just as they were preparing to go closer. They realized they were unarmed young Filipinos, barely 18 or 20 years old, clutching metal monkey paper weights as they were ready to fire. Upon entering the cave, they foud three bodies as terribly ripped up. Their guide recognized them as those of the remains of Commander Sato, Lt. Yamashito, his second in Command, and Sato’s personal aide whom the guide dubbed “batman”. On their stomachs, all three had a grenade. They searched for a keepsake, such as the commander's sword or saber, but were unable to locate one. Thompson hypothesized that Sato was in control of a naval facility off the southern coast of Luzon where tiny, high-speed two-man crew gasoline-powered boats carrying a huge explosive charge were being trained to attack enemy ships.
Following the arrival of a reinforced company at Iriga on April 14, the main body of the 158th began marching northwestward from Camalig on April 29. As the surviving Japanese, seemingly discouraged, gave only minimal opposition before melting away into the hills on either side of the railroad, the regiment quickly overran potentially powerful enemy positions in good defensive terrain. At Barrio San Augustin, Pili, Camarines Sur, on May 2, patrols of the 158th Infantry made touch with the 5th Cavalry. Albay's conflict was proclaimed finished.
The 158th Infantry lost around 40 soldiers and 2535 were injured while clearing the Quitinan Hills. The Japanese suffered a loss of about 700 soldiers. The 158th RTC's conquest of the Quituinan Hills signified the end of large-scale organized Japanese resistance in the Albay area and the Bikol Peninsula in general, which was unknown to the Americans. Only approximately 1,400 Japanese were present in the entire region as of the last day of April. When the liberating forces bombed the poblacion and Quituinan Hills from April 2 to 28, 1945, the hills were stripped of their foliage and appeared, according to a local eyewitness, like huge clearings suitable for the cultivation of upland rice.
People began to return to the town in the middle of May, and a sense of calm began to dominate. Schools were reopened, and local government functions were restored. Transportation and communication infrastructure were restored, as were commercial businesses and industries, all of which were visible indications of normalcy.
Quituinan Hills is currently a popular tourist destination in Camalig. Hiking, picnicking, running, and other leisure activities are all possible here. However, in the past, it was the polar opposite. It was once a sanctuary of hellhole, with each soil baptized from the bloods of the soldiers who fought for liberation. If it is now regarded as a majestic place because of its scenic view that can snare an artist's soul, it was once a sanctuary of hellhole, with each soil baptized from the bloods of the soldiers who fought for liberation. It was once a battleground where freedom and justice were sculpted via bombs and firearms, and it is now recognized as a destination for leisure and exciting pursuit. The battle-torn slopes of Quituinan Hills, which served as a strong fortress for the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers holed up deep in the network of tunnels during the last days of the war, are a potential attraction for visitors looking to take a nostalgic trip back in time.
History isn't simply something we study; it's the tale that people tell about themselves collectively, through their words and deeds. Everything that happens in your life, from your birth to your death, is recorded in history. True, most historians concentrate on political and military history; however, this is not because such history is more significant; rather, it is because such history tends to leave a lot of evidence behind. Kisses leave no mark, but wounds create scars, as the great German dramatist Bertolt Brecht phrased it. History is often defined by scars, and the Quituinan Hill in Camalig is one of the most beautiful scars.