The Makabayang Katipunan ng mga Pilipino (''Patriotic Association of Filipinos''), better known as the Makapili, was a militant group formed in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in December 8 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to give military aid to the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

. The group was meant to be on equal basis with the Japanese Army and its leaders were appointed with ranks that were equal to their Japanese counterparts.

Background

The Japanese decreed that the group be founded in December 8, 1944 when they brought together many of the supporters of the defunct

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Ganap Party The Ganap Party was a Filipino political party that grew from the Sakdalista movement. Benigno Ramos, who served as its leader, was also the founder of the Sakdalista movement. The party took its name from the Tagalog word ', which means "complete ...

, which was an offshoot of the ''Sakdalistas'' or those who helped the Japanese in the recruitment of manpower as well as in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. The move was meant to reverse the increasing activism of the Philippine resistance movement. Organized by

Benigno Ramos :''See Pugad Baboy for the Filipino comic character Igno who shares this name.'' Benigno "Ben Ruben" Ramos y Pantaleón (February 10, 1892 – disappeared 1945) was a Filipino author, writer, organization founder, politician, and was an advocate ...

and

Artemio Ricarte Artemio Ricarte y García (October 20, 1866 – July 31, 1945) was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. He is regarded as the ''Father of the Philippine Army'', and the first Chief of Staff of ...

, it was borne out of

José P. Laurel José Paciano Laurel y García (; March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the president of the Japanese-occupied Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state during World War II, from 1943 ...

's refusal to conscript Filipinos for

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. An account cited that Laurel's objection was due to the way Makapili did not owe its allegiance to him or the republic. During its inauguration, Ramos described it as nonpolitical, nonpartisan, and nonsectarian organization that aims to destroy the nation's enemies. Members were given Japanese military training and became soldiers, spies, and saboteurs.

Operations

Like Ganap, the Makapili's main area of support was

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

, although it established chapters across the islands, attracting some support. In all, it attracted to 6,000 members, many of them poor or landless farmers who came to the group due to vague promises of land reform after the war.Stein Ugelvik Larsen, ''Fascism Outside Europe'', Columbia University Press, 2001, p. 785 They were armed with bayonets and bamboo spears but when the number of the Japanese puppet force grew, they were equipped with rifles. Makapili was not used to fight the American forces and was merely deployed to counter the recognized guerrilla and the Philippine Commonwealth military activity by anti-Japanese forces in rural areas. The group was also initially used as guards for Japanese and government facilities. The Japanese did not trust Makapili on its own so most of these were not assigned as separate detachments but were assigned to Japanese units. After the war ended in 1945, the group was disbanded and vilified for its involvement in some of the Japanese atrocities in the islands. Individual members faced trials for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

as a result. A 1951 film of the same name was made starring

Justina David Justina David, sometimes credited as Justiniana David, was a mid-20th century Filipina film actress, often appearing as a martyred wife, a peasant, or a hopeless mother. Her career began before World War II and extended to the late 1960s. Born ...

Legacy

The Makapili was strongly and extensively vilified by the Filipino people after the war. For example, post-WWII Filipino films portraying Makapili members typically show them wearing

bayong A bayong is a kind of bag originating in the Philippines and made by weaving dried leaves. The leaves used for making the bayong vary but the traditional bayong is made from buri leaves in the Visayas and pandan leaves in Luzon. Abaca, ba ...

(a woven basket made from leaves) with eye holes and pointing out people whom they suspect of being resistance sympathizers, then they are shown leaving the area while Japanese soldiers are now guarding the resistance sympathizers they pointed out.

References

Defunct organizations based in the Philippines Filipino collaborators with Imperial Japan Military history of the Philippines during World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 National liberation armies Collaboration with the Axis Powers {{Mil-hist-stub

Background

Operations

Legacy

See also

References