On 25 June 1942, about one and a half months after the fall of Corregidor, World War II came to Siquijor. Japanese sea transports landed a total of 1,000 troops at four different sites across the island. One such site was Banban, Siquijor, where the soldiers immediately cut the telephone lines between Larena and Siquijor, severing the communications between the two most strategically important towns on the island. In fact, when they initially landed, nobody in Larena knew that there were invaders on their shores.

 

The few guerrillas patrolling the island fled to the hills but were quickly hunted down. Some managed to escape to Mindanao by taking fishing boats under the cover of night. All the mayors surrendered. Lt. Gov. Parami refused to cooperate, so he was abducted from his home in Lazi. Many Siquijodnons begged him to let them help him escape. Some fishermen offered their bangka so they could row him to Mindanao or anywhere else besides Siquijor, but he refused, declaring, “I cannot afford to leave my brother Siquijodnons nor do I want to become a traitor to my own country. I will gladly offer my life for her.” The Japanese beheaded him and threw his body into the ocean.

 

As the Japanese consolidated their control over the island, hundreds of Siquijodnons in every municipality were forced to flee their coastal homes for the hills. Those in Larena fled to Lumbia, a sitio of Cang-allas, while those in Siquijor fled to the barangay of San Antonio. Many fled in the middle of the night with only the clothes on their backs, leaving behind crops ready for harvest.

 

Any who stood in the way of this initial conquest was killed, often by the tip of a bayonet. That was because the Japanese refrained from firing their rifles or using any explosives, allowing them to maintain the element of surprise. Three unassuming policemen from Larena on their way to Siquijor to check on the communication outage were unfortunate enough to see this strategy firsthand. As they were walking down the street from the Poblacion, the Japanese emerged from the trees, killing one of them with a bayonet. The other two were able to escape.

 

The Japanese secured Siquijor in only four days. After completing their military campaign, the Japanese withdrew most of their troops. Their transport left from Larena, but it was packed to the brim and the waters were at low tide. Under those perfect conditions, they hit one of their own mines in the harbor. All were killed.

 

It turns out that three months prior to the invasion–March 1942–that same mine washed ashore in Larena. The American officers seized the opportunity to use it against the enemy and placed it half-submerged in the harbor.

 

As the bodies washed ashore, the Japanese soldiers who had not been on the transport were forced to pay the locals one peso per body recovered. They later interviewed a man, Marcelino Samson, and asked him who the mine belonged to. Due perhaps to a misunderstanding on Samson’s part or a translation error, he thought that they were referring to Siquijor’s manganese mines. He named the three Jumawan brothers, and unfortunately, they were swiftly executed by bayonet at Larena Elementary School. The Japanese had already suspected the Jumawans of aiding and financing Siquijor's guerrillas because of their high standing in the island.

 

After this botched withdrawal, 30 Japanese soldiers and some gendarmes (military personnel tasked with law enforcement) were left in Larena, where they established their headquarters. They sent frequent patrols to the other towns.

 

Subduing the populace became a priority for the Japanese military. That meant an aggressive campaign of appeasement across all of Siquijor to persuade the people to cooperate. They even reopened one of the schools, which had all been shuttered after the invasion, and forced the teachers to instruct the students in the Japanese language.

 

The Japanese military left administration in the hands of businessman Shunzo Suzuki. He had lived in Larena for almost 20 years, where he owned a textile and retail store, pursued photography to some degree, and married a Filipina. They do not appear to have had children. Suzuki served essentially as a lieutenant governor and was the Japanese army’s liaison officer. Because of his longstanding connection to Siquijor, he successfully petitioned the Japanese high command to refrain from stationing troops on the island. He also assured the people that as long as he was on the island, no harm would come to them from the soldiers.

 

Nonetheless, to Siquijodnons, Suzuki symbolized the occupation of their homeland by a foreign enemy. Some guerrillas, led by Iluminado Jumawan (see Resistance), decided to do something about that. On 9 October 1942, while Suzuki was driving in the barangay of Calalinan, Siquijor, Jumawan’s men ambushed him and opened fire. Suzuki was able to escape to San Juan, where he received first aid and tried to hail a bangka so he could flee to Dumaguete. However, no fisherman would dare sail for him. Badly wounded, he drove back to Larena, but was ambushed again on the way. His car was forced into a ditch and he escaped into the jungle. That same day, the Japanese flag was lowered in an act of defiance. In its place rose the American and Philippine flags.

 

Two days later, he was spotted at dawn drinking from a water fountain. In his hands were some stalks, which seems to be what he ate to survive while in hiding. Unfortunately for him, a soldier had been posted where he emerged with orders to watch for his return. He loaded his rifle, fired one bullet, and shot Suzuki dead.

 

After this assassination, Siquijodnons wondered if they would be able to resist the Japanese in the event of their return. They got their answer on 2 November 1942, during All Souls’ Day celebrations. That day, townsfolk in Larena sighted a gunboat headed for the town. Against the advice of the guerrillas, they gathered at the top of a manganese pile overlooking the harbor, thinking it to be an American ship. In reality, it was Japanese and opened fire on the people, forcing everyone–including the guerrillas–to retreat. The soldiers landed unopposed and proceeded to ransack and loot the houses of Larena. They happily helped themselves to some fiesta food, which the people had left as they evacuated. Afterward, they lit Jose Jumawan’s lumber yard on fire, which spread throughout the entire Poblacion. No building, including the municipal hall, was spared. At the end of the day, the Japanese left, having come for no apparent reason then to terrorize the people of Siquijor and raid their homes.

 

Eight days later, on 10 November 1942, the Japanese returned once more to the island, this time more permanently and at Lazi. They began by heavily shelling the town from Cang-abas Point. Properties were lost, homes burnt, and children were hidden from the enemy by desperate families. As the Japanese entered Lazi itself, they conducted arrests and garrisoned themselves in the convent. There, many Siquijodnons were tortured, forced to work under dismal conditions, and brutally killed. The Japanese even made some of their victims dig their own graves before barbarically killing them not by gunshot, but by bayonet.