“We All Must Work, Fight, or Starve”: The Food Supply Problem in Negros Oriental during the Japanese Occupation

Abstract

This article analyzes the interplay among three factors that affected the food supply of Negros Oriental during the Second World War: the occupation of the Japanese forces; the struggle between the occupation forces and the guerrillas; and the conflicts and compromises among the local puppet government, the occupation forces, the guerrillas, and the civilian populace. This study, which relies on primary sources gathered from the R. B. Silliman World War II Papers and Silliman War Diaries, emphasizes the vital role of food in the wartime survival of the said four groups.

KEYWORDS: FOOD SUPPLY • JAPANESE OCCUPATION • SECOND WORLD WAR • LOCAL HISTORY • GUERRILLA FORCES