User:SanLeone/sandbox/Juan Daza

Juan C. Daza, (Born 1918- )

Guerrilla Unit: Counter Intelligence Propaganda Corps, Hunters-ROTC, File number 307-7 

In December, 1944, at 26 Daza was the 5th highest ranking member of the Hunters as a G-2 Intelligence Major.  

Early life
Daza was born and raised in ____,_____ to revolutionary leader Don Eugenio Daza and his wife, Carolina Cinco. Daza was the youngest of 7 siblings: Gabriel, Carlota, Cirilo, Jesus, Rosario, and Maria. In 1907, when Daza was 11, his father became the Representative of their region to the First Philippine Legislature.

Military career
Daza had previously been a Law student and an infantry officer in the Philippine Army Reserve. 

World War II
Daza was part of the General Headquarters Hunters (GHQ Hunters) located in on the Cavite-Batangas Boundary, which coordinated with and at time took orders from the Allied General Headquarters of the South West Pacific Area military command. 

Daza was working the the Intelligence Corps of the Greaterer Manila Sector until early 1944 when he was wanted for an espionage job by the Japanese. Daza hid in Malabon.

From January 1 1944- May 30 1944, Daza, a Lt. Col, was the Commanding Officer of the District Intelligence Group covering Luzon. From June 1, 1944 to September 30 1944 was Commanding Officer of the 44th Hunters Division District Intelligence for all of Luzon. From October 1, 1944 until the US Landed in Luzon, Daza was in charge of all District Intelligence Nets for Luzon.

Battle of Manila
During the Battle of Manila, on February 4, 1945 Daza's Hunter town units from Paranaque and Pasay gave flanking cover to the 47th Division of the Hunters-ROTC, under command of Colonel De Ocampo, which was approaching from Alabang, Mutinlupa against the Japanese Imperial Marines, the main defensive force of Manila, in their fortified encampments at Camp Mckinley (Now Fort Bonifacio) and Nichols Field (Now Villamor Air Base).

==== Dr. Juan Gabriel ==== Exhibit J, a joint statement made by the accused Carlos Tangol and Perfecto Cruz before an agent of the Division of Investigation on November 3, 1945, in the presence of a brother of Tangol who was also an agent of the Division of Investigation, recites that Gabriel was arrested about five days after American forces entered Parañaque and after Tangol received orders to arrest and take into custody dr. Juan Gabriel; that Doctor Gabriel was in Imus, Cavite, at that time, all of them drove to Cavite, that they found Doctor Gabriel in a carretela about to alight and requested him to come along with them for a certain investigation in the office of the provost marshal of the guerrillas; that upon reaching the guerrilla headquarters in Parañaque, Col. Terry Magtangol, the commanding officer, told them to take Gabriel to the provost marshal in Pasay, saying he had nothing to do with Gabriel, and therefore they moved on to the office of the provost marshal (guerrilla) in Pasay; that in Pasay, Gabriel was found guilty of collaboration by Lieutenant Colonel Daza whereupon they conducted Gabriel back to Parañaque; that when, in front of the headquarters in Parañaque, the jitney stopped, Doctor Gabriel jumped out of the vehicle and run toward the bank of the river behind the headquarters; that refusing to heed the warning to stop given by Davis Velasco and other and others, Gabriel was fired upon by Davis and hit at the base of the skull, after which Perfecto Cruz shot him twice in the back.

Jaime Ferrer declared that he was a lieutenant-colonel assigned as Adjutant General of the ROTC Hunters Guerrilla. He said that in view of the reported activities of Doctor Gabriel which were detrimental to the cause for which they were fighting, Doctor Gabriel was court-martialed in absentia sometime in September, 1944, the charges being collaboration, treason and murder. The members of this court-martial, he declared, were Captain de Leon, as chairman, and Captain Ramos and Lieutenant Gutierrez as members. He said the decision of the court-martial was to shoot Doctor Gabriel, and he knew this because the decision was referred to him by the court-martial. He testified that he went over the papers and, having personal knowledge of all the activities of Doctor Gabriel, he approved the verdict. A group of boys, he said, were sent out to look for Doctor Gabriel but they came back because there was a notice from the Japanese MP that if Doctor Gabriel were shot at that time they would commit reprisal against the inhabitants of the town. so the order was not carried out. In February, 1945, a new court-martial was convoked by the commanding officer, colonel Adevoso, when they arrived from Batangas. he continued substantially as follows: "There were reports to us about the activities going on three kilometers from our advance command post headquarters. The report was that there were Japanese discovered in the house of Doctor Gabriel and that below the house Japanese ammunition was restored. All around the area there were Japanese snipers. We went to find out where he was, and an order was issued against him sometime in February, 1945. On February 12, 1945, Doctor Gabriel was taken to our headquarters and I advised the detachment commander who was in charge of his arrest to take him to the provost marshal of our outfit, one Colonel Daza. Colonel Daza went back to our headquarters informing that Doctor Gabriel refused to talk. So I reported the matter to the commanding officer and I suggested that a court-martial be convoked to try Doctor Gabriel, and I convoked the court-martial were Lt. Col. Monford, who was the Chairman, Lt. Col. Atienza, Lt. Daza and myself. The prosecuting officer was Captain Noriel of the Judge Advocate Service of the unit. The formal charges against Doctor Gabriel were collaboration, treason and murder of which Doctor Gabriel was formally informed. Records of the court-martial were kept but when out unit applied for recognition all these records were taken by the PHILRYCOM and as fact we have been trying to the get those records. We even protested to the PHILRYCOM, but we can not get them back. The accused, Doctor Gabriel, was informed of his right to have counsel, and he replied that he was going to counsel. I asked Doctor Gabriel if he had witnesses and he said yes. Major Shummer the being the highest ranking officer, I consulted him. After the trial, Major Shummer concurred with us in our decision for the execution. The trial of Doctor Gabriel took place on February 12, 1945. Doctor Gabriel was present throughout the trial. The vote was unanimous for his conviction. After the decision, the chairman of the court-martial issued the order to execute Doctor Gabriel. It was transmitted to Lieutenant Trinidad by the chairman of the court-martial. Trinidad was the detachment commander of the provost martial. Trinidad was authorized to make arrests and execute orders. The following morning, Lieutenant Trinidad reported to me that the order had been executed."

All that Isabel del Rosario's evidence and Exhibit J, pieced together, do reveal is that Doctor Gabriel was taken to colonel Adevoso in Wakas, Parañaque; Adevoso washed his hands, telling the accused that he had nothing to do with the prisoner and to take him to the provost marshal in Pasay; Gabriel was transported to Pasay and presented to Daza, Daza without any ceremony decided of collaboration and Gabriel was taken back to Parañaque and slain there. Helping to discredit the idea that a court-martial organized and a trial was held are the following: (1) A court-martial has jurisdiction only over offenses committed by officers and men in the military service. Juan Gabriel was a civilian, never a member of the guerrilla or of the Philippine Army, and his supposed crime was committed before the Japanese were driven away from the area where colonel Adevoso's men were detailed as supporting and intelligence unit. (2) Adevoso did not have supreme command in the area comprising Imus, Parañaque and Pasay. He stated that the job of liberation was mainly the job of the 11th Airborne Division; that the guerrillas were only employed as supporting units and to deliver information to the Americans. He made it clear that his authority was derived from the American authorities — Major General Swing and General Swing's Adjutant, Major Shummer. This was confirmed by defendant Perfecto Cruz, who testified that the guerrillas were attached to the guerrillas were attached to the United States Army. By Inference, he said that Colonel Adevoso did not have a separate or detached command. (3) There was a proclamation of General MacArthur dated December 29, 1944, and there was Circular No. 13 dated February 11, 1945, issued by order of the Supreme Commander, both of which directed that collaborators should be held in restraint for the duration of the war and turned over to the Philippine government thereafter, with express injunction that they should not be tried by military courts. colonel Adevoso admitted that the first order came to his notice during the liberation campaign and that he became aware of the circular during the latter part of February. It was highly improbable that any responsible American army officer would, in the face of or even without the above orders, sanction, much less authorize, the trial and execution by guerrillas of a prisoners for past collaboration, a man who at the time was living peacefully in what was already a peaceful municipality. Even if there was martial law, Gabriel had not committed any crime against, nor was he a menace to, the new order.

In fairness however to the accused, it may be said that we do not believed they or any of them had any rancor against Doctor Gabriel, as Mrs. Gabriel supposed, and slew him of their own volition. Recognized members of the ROTC Hunters Guerrilla of which Daza was provost marshal, their conduct and movements lead to the conclusion that they acted in obedience to orders of superior officers of their organization, failing to comprehend in their ignorance of law the bounds of their superior's authority. this circumstances should compensate the aggravating circumstance should compensate the aggravating circumstance of the accused having committed the crime by means of a motor vehicle-the only aggravating circumstance we have found.

Wherefore, the sentence of death imposed on Perfecto Cruz is hereby reduced to reclusion perpetua and that of reclusion perpetua imposed on Nicanor Ison, Jr. and Davis Velasco is affirmed. The indemnity to the heirs of the deceased is increased to P6,000, and the appellants will pay the costs of appeal.

Moran, C.J., Ozaeta, Pablo, Bengzon, Padilla, Montemayor, Reyes and Torres, JJ., concur.

Post-war
Following the war, Daza became a member of the Board of Directors of the Hunters Veterans Legion in Manila.