Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

IITather for perioch of from t\\'O to
seven cia\',.
The . tropical climate of the
Philippines poses serious problcmx
111 the uuun tcu.mcc of aircraft. airfields
and other equipment. luilurcs
arc caused l» condcu-atiou.
rust and other for;]]s of corr ovion
wh ich arc hv-proclucts of the high ComporaTlve size of tne is,ands.
liumiditv and f.urlv high tcmpcr.: .
turcs. The .ution of li'ing organisms, such as bacteria.
fungus and insects. i, likcwi:«: accelerated. Organic acids In
the damp soil cause corrosion and arc responsible for the
destructive "corrosion btigue" of metals. In some areas dust
forms quickly between r.nus .md affects the operation of
engines. I'rcvcut ivc maintenance procedures cmplovcd n:
other tropical theaters ;lpph eqmlh' in the Philippines.
The population of t1JL. Philippines. I ';',000,000 according
to I 9-f I cc.nxus figl11'es. is uucvcnlv dixtr ibutcd .nuoiu; the
islands. Luzon accounted for almost half of the number
and Miud.mao, the second largest island. nearly one-eighth.
Pan.iv, J\:egros anc] Ccbu nrc the onlv other islands with
more than LOOO.OOO iuh.ibit.mts. In I9-fI ~LllIila, the
largest city in the Philippines, had a population of 6c.,-f.OOO.
including suburbs,
The urajoritv of Filipinos arc l ndoucsi.ms of southcavt
Axint ic origin. The Clm st i.u: Filipinos, numbcriiu; 90 percent
of the population (';'9 percent Catholic). arc divided
geographicalh' into groups wh o:«: chid difference is lam;uage.
The most numerous groups arc the Tlgalogs (~. ~2 :;.000)
who live in central Luzon, the Vis.rv.rus (7.100,000) \\110
live in the central .md southe-rn isl:m~ls. and the Iloc.uu» of
northern Luzon. The people of the i-Iuucl of ;\ linclauuo and
the Sulu archipelago arc ~ loros who arc ~rohammeeLms,
Thcv number between :;00.000 .md ()OO,OOO. In the mountain;)us
regio!lS of Luzon and ",Iind:mao and the Sulu
archipelago arc found the Pag;llI tribes who number 300.000
and -f00.000. ]\'egritos arc still fuirlv numerous in mountainous
areas.
At the nut hrru k of this \I:Jr. the Philippine population
also included about 8,000 American civilians, 120.000 Chinese
and 30.000 lap;lllesc. The Ch inc-,c were mostlv sm.ill
shopkeepers: the [np.mcx«. m:m~' of whom lived ncar D:II';IO.
II'lTC f.mncrs. craftvmcn and fivhcnncu. Among the forcign
population \\TrC also about -f.OOO Spaniards, ;1 tlious.md
Germans. and other Fl11'opcm nn tiouals.
r'~ight distinct langmges .md 87 native dialects arc spoken
in the islands. Appro,im;lteh' 27 percent of the population
knows some Fm;lish. Sp:mish is spoken bv three percent.
Tagalog. the offici;il uutivc lam;uage of the Ph ilipp incs. is
spoken by over -f.OOO.OOOpeople. Bis;l\':l11 is used bv .ihout
-f:; percent of the population hut it lacks official rccognitiou
partlv because it is not spoken in the i\ I.mila area.
Litcracv is rclntivclv high in the Philippines. About half
of the na'tin's can rc;;d :lild writc at least a litt1c of one or
more of the leading languages. i\\a1l\' m;H;;t:t,ines and pcrioclicals
written in Fnglish were circulated prior to the lap occupation.
At the time of the invasion. there were 32.000
radio receiving sets in the isbmls.
The mijoritv of the native Filipinos leads a simple agricultural
life. Three-fourths of the Filipino males arc farmers.
Thcv cat a simple diet of rice. fish and ycgetah1cs and lin'
in primitive huts made of nipa palm nnd b.uuboo. Thcv
have fell' possessions and their fanning implements arc
crude. Thc carabao. or water buffalo. is the national beast
of burden. Onlv five percent of the Filipinos arc cmplovcd
in industrv, much of which is concentrated in and around
Manila. .
Class distinctions in the islands arc vcrv marked. The
great nnsses of farmers belong to the lower class. The upper
class is composed brgely of laudowners
and wealthy mcrchaut-. wh»
own modern homes and Ji\'C III
comparative luxury.
Although usn.illv c.ilm and
friendly. the Filipino is subject to
cmotion.i] outhrcak-, As a geneLiI
rule he is la\\'-ablding and passile.
l Iowcvcr, local violence has occurred
when upper class landO\lnl'l's
oppressed their tcu.m!s. The Filipino h:ls much pcrson.r]
pride. ,It IS a mistake to speak h.ushlv to Filipino laborcr,
or to ridicule them In front of others. The tropical environmcnt
has made the Filip ino easy-going and he often show-. a
lassitude which Amcric.m-, m.rv mistake for laziness. 110\1ever,
hhpmos make gooe! workcr« whcu propcrlv supervised
and employed at an agreed price for a uilCll joh.
The Moh.unmccl.m ~Ioro is fanatical in his rcligion and
cxtrcinclv independent. Often m ilit.rrv intcrvcntion h.is
been necessary to put clown Moro rehellions. The l\[oros
hall' no usc for the Chr r-t i.tn l"ilipinos. but they respect
American Christi: llS because the latter hale stood up and
fought them in the p.r-.t.
The Pag;llIs arc J proud people wh o h.ivc resisted christianil.ing.
Through schooling and police supcrvixion the
hcacl-huntcrs among tlirrn h.ivc been ch'cour;lgc'd from tluir
old practice. The l':I,~:lllS h.ivc prOl cd to be the most st.rlw.ut
of the hlipinos nnc] have c.uricd on uct ivc gnerrilla
warfare agaillSt the Jap since organi/cd rcsist:mee ceased.
Under American supervision and acliu inivtr.rtiou, health
conditions in the Philippines impro\l'l] to a point where
thcv were better than in most other trop ic.tl areas. Cholera
and bubonic plague were pr;lcti(';ill~' \\iped out and smallpo,
\I;IS greatly reduced. I lowcvcr. the risk from disease in
the ixl.nuls is much grcltcr th.m in the United Stites, and
since the lap occupation. outbrc.rl.s of cholera and other
epidcmics h.rvc hccn reported. i\lost of the diseases which
arc present can he avoided bv common sense application of
ccrta in pree:lu tions that must be observed hv J\;\F uu its
;1I1d iuclividunls. .
Moxquito-bornc diseases arc the most prevalent. Malaria
is present on el'ery ivl.md , and [up r.icl io reports indicate
that it is more common now th;1I1 before the war. It was
widespread among American and Filipino forccs on Bataan
.md proved nn important factor in their ultimate defeat.
Malaria is confincd to the hillv regions under 2.000 feet
elevation. Thc flat plains and co;;std ~Ire:ls .nc not malarious,
The disease is most common during the r.i iuv season. Of
less prevalence arc two other mosquito-borne diseases.
dcnguc and fil.uinsis. althongh the tvpc of fil.ui.isis common
among the natives of the Philippines is unlikclv to affect
A1\1" personnel. .
Standard precaution. ;lg;lillSt mmquitoes xhould he rigidl\'
observed III the islands. .
The islands have a plentiful supph' of \\"Iter from surface
streams and artesian well». 1I00\'e\cr. all water should be
disinfected or boiled before usc because of the prevalence
of diarrhea and dvscntcrv. .md the rccurrcucc of cholera.
Men should not s~\'im in' ponds or streams not certified hv
:1 mcd ic.rl otlieer: tlic chuger from blood flukes (schistosomiasis)
is great.
:\atilc fruits and \egetahles arc chngerous. Usually thev
grow in soil contum inand hy hum.m wastes or arc washed
in polluted water. All fruits and vcgct.ibk-s must be boiled
to [JIT\'Cnt them from tr;msmitting intcst in.il diseases.
Because it is difficult to keep clean and dry in the tropical
climate of the Philippincs. m inor wounds. such as cuts.
scratches. insect bites and leech bites, become infected
casilv, Fvcn the smallcst wound should he cleaned, divinfcctcd
and covered with adhesive.
34 AIR fORCE