Political Collaboration during the Japanese Occupation of Negros Oriental: The Case of Guillermo Z. Villanueva, Wartime Governor (1942-1945)

Abstract

This study discusses the collaboration issue of wartime Governor Guillermo Villanueva with the Japanese imperial forces from 1942 to 1945. More specifically, this study would delve into Villanueva’s political collaboration and know whether he was a passive collaborator, i.e., refers to the kind of collaboration that most of the Filipino elites followed, which was to become “puppets” but not actively help the Japanese forces, or an active collaborator, i.e., refers to the kind of collaboration typified by extreme loyalty to Japan and hatred towards the Americans. As a work of local history, the researcher then relied on primary documentary sources taken from the RB Silliman War Papers and Silliman War Diaries. Some limitations of the study include the lack of primary sources (i.e., personal accounts) of Guillermo Villanueva himself. Nevertheless, from the evidence found, it is apparent that Villanueva’s actions were an amalgamation of active and passive collaboration. He was a man caught in the middle, and his collaboration story evinces the challenges a wartime governor faces in a tight situation.