ECONOMY DURING THE return of gen douglas mc arthur

General MacArthur had directed General Eichelberger’s Eighth Army to be prepared to assume control of nearly all Sixth Army units in the Leyte area at 0001 on 26 December 1944 in order to relieve the Sixth Army for future operations. The Eighth Army was to relieve the Sixth of all duties and missions in the area except certain ones dealing with logistics and construction. These were assigned to the USASOS (SWPA). The Allied Naval and Air Forces were directed to continue, in support of the Eighth Army, the missions which hitherto had been specified for the Sixth

Assembly of Japanese Forces

On 25 December 1944, General Yamashita, commanding the 14th Area Army, [362]notified General Suzuki, the 35th Army commander, that he had written off the Leyte Campaign as a loss; henceforward the 35th Army on Leyte would be self-sustaining and self-supporting, the units on Leyte would be transferred to other areas, and, finally, the units on the island would be assembled at a point from which raiding operations could be conducted. Since these orders were ambiguous and apparently contradictory, General Suzuki asked that the message be repeated but he never received an answer. Accordingly, in the latter part of December, he sent his chief of staff to Manila for further clarification of the orders. The chief of staff arrived at Manila, by way of Cebu, in late January, but he was unable to obtain any further information for General Suzuki.

he decision of General Yamashita to abandon the Leyte operation followed a series of rapidly moving events. On the 14th of December, he canceled an optimistic plan for an amphibious assault through the shallow waters of Carigara Bay against Carigara, an assault that had been scheduled for 16 December. This cancellation followed the sighting of an Allied convoy en route to Mindoro.5 The convoy reached Mindoro and the troops landed successfully on 15 December. On 19 December, two days prior to the junction of the X and XXIV Corps on Highway 2, General Yamashita told General Suzuki that he could no longer send any reinforcements and supplies to Leyte and that the 35th Army would have to become self-supporting. On the same day, General Yamashita assigned to the defense of Luzon three divisions that Imperial General Headquarters had earmarked for Leyte. Shortly afterward, at a conference with representatives from the Southern Army and Imperial General Headquarters, the representative from the latter told General Yamashita to forget the Leyte operation.

he Japanese Retreat

The morale and physical condition of the Japanese Army were very low. With the juncture of the American X and XXIV Corps, the 35th Army had begun to disintegrate. Desertion became common. The wounded would not assemble with their units. The problem of the wounded became serious since there were no proper facilities for medical treatment. General Tomochika later said: “Commanders employing persuasive language frequently requested seriously wounded soldiers at the front to commit suicide; this was particularly common among personnel of the 1st Division and it was pitiful. However the majority died willingly. Only Japanese could have done a thing like this and yet I could not bear to see the sight

 Neutralizing, in coordination with carrier and land-based aircraft of the THIRD FLEET, hostile naval and air forces in areas within range in the PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO, intensifying the neutralization in the western VISAYAS and MINDANAO areas

Although many of the Philippine Islands suffered extensive damage in World War II, Mindanao emerged relatively unscathed. As the chief frontier left in the difficult reconstruction years, it was the object of government colonization projects. During the 1960s it experienced a phenomenal population increase and very rapid development. These changes brought serious problems. The native Moros, finding themselves outnumbered and in many cases pushed off their lands, retaliated with terrorist activities. When the Philippine army attempted to restore order, fierce fighting often resulted. In 1969 and the early 1970s several thousand people were killed and hundreds of villages were burned.

over the blue skies of Bukidnon and Davao, the emerald green forest down below seemed dark and impenetrable

Mindanao

the contribution of primary agricultural crops produced in Northern Mindanao to its economy and food security of people with the situational analysis and insights of the authors. Rice as the staple food of most Filipinos is insufficient in quantity produced. Corn production is more than enough for the total regional demand. White corn is preferred as secondary staple food, however the corn industry emphasizes yellow corn production and the bulk of this goes to raw materials for livestock and poultry feeds. Coconut, sugar, pineapple and bananas significantly contribute to agricultural exports. Coconut is processed before exporting which can offer employment in the rural areas. Sugarcane, pineapple and bananas have created a change in the land use and hence compete with rice and corn. Northern Mindanao is one of the leading producers of tomatoes, carrots and potatoes, yet farmers have encountered deterring factors in attaining potential income from these products. Although Bukidnon province is the top agricultural producer in the region, poverty in the area remains high. 

The colonization of the Philippines by foreign powers, until the country was granted its independence by the United States in 1946, had shaped the social and political system of the nation and consequently influenced the use and management of its natural resources including land. This had resulted in unequal distribution of the country’s wealth among Filipinos and until now the disparity of land ownership prevails. Landlordism characterized the country’s land ownership and in this feudalistic system the farmers working on landlord lands became tenants and their children after them generation after generation (14).The opening up of large areas in Mindanao through logging and/for agriculture paved the way for migrants to establish resettlements and cultivate the soil. In Bukidnon, this forced the integration of the natives into the dominant community. Those who followed a different path had to move deeper into the forests and the areas they vacated were occupied and titled under the names of the settlers

The country’s agriculture industry was made visible to the outside world during the Spanish colonization when Filipino farmers produced agricultural crops like tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum, Linn.), abaca (Musa textilis, Nee), coffee (Coffea spp.) and spices for export (14). Agriculture, fishery and forestry sector employ most of the rural workforce. In 2006, agriculture employment in Northern Mindanao was estimated to be 47% of the region’s total workforce (17) and in 2012 it still absorbed 43% of the total employment (1). Recent employment has shifted towards services. Modernization of the Philippine agriculture had started for a long time, however the food security of people remains an important issue. From 2006 to 2012, poverty incidence among Filipino families remained unchanged 

the status of production of rice (Oryza sativa, Linn.), corn (Zea mays, Linn.), coconut (Cocos nucifera, Linn.), pineapple (Ananas comosus, Linn. Merr.), bananas (Musa sapientum, Linn.), commercial vegetables and root crops and their contribution to the regional economy and food security in Northern Mindanao. It also presents the strengths and potentials of its agricultural crop production and the underlying issues and concerns. Information gathered on this topic depicts two opposing scenarios. First, crop production significantly contributes to the flourishing economy of Northern Mindanao. Second, although agriculture is a major contributor to the rising economy, poverty is still prevalent and thus threatens the people’s security on food. These two antagonizing situations of the Northern Mindanao economy have to be reconciled. The “trickle down” effects of economic gains should be felt by the majority for regional development to be effective. Balanced information is needed in order to draw a clear picture of how crop production has supported the household economy of Northern Mindanao and to find a common ground for better recommendations in development planning