Philippino Guerillas

This is one in a series of three documentaries I researched, wrote and directed for the History Channel, with Simon Nicholls as DOP and John Moore editing. The subjects are stories not often told – The Sook Ching Massacres in Singapore, the Rani of Jhansi women’s regiment of the Indian National Army and this one, about the Philippino resistance to Japanese occupation. In 1942, the Japanese military juggernaut forced General MacArthur to abandon his base in the Philippines, with the promise, “I shall return”. We all know he did return, spectacularly, but what is less well known is the part Philippinos themselves played, in both the timing and manner of his victory. Thousands of Philippino guerillas harassed the Japanese, ultimately staging one of the biggest intelligence coups of WW2, the discovery of the Koga Papers. These top secret documents contained Admiral Koga’s naval and air force plans for the Pacific. They were successfully smuggled out to MacArthur in Australia and turned the tide of the war in Asia. The Philippino veterans were so grateful to see their story told and for me, that’s what documentary making is all about.