WesWorld

The Manila Times, Tuesday, 1 January 1946

The submarine Cormoran, the first of the recently authorized Tirador class, was laid down today in the Cavite dockyard. She is to be followed by three further boats under the current modified fleet law, and may be followed by additional sisters in 1947.


The Philippine Herald, Thursday, 3 January 1946

The Ministry of Defense has announced the placement of orders with the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company for one hundred examples of the firm’s F8F carrier-based fighter aircraft. Deliveries are expected to commence in the autumn.

The Freeman (Cebu), Friday, 4 January 1946

The patrol combatants Carmona and Calaca have completed their operational training and have taken up their duties in conducting anti-piracy patrols in the southern seas, operating from Zamboanga and Jolo.


Papua New Guinea, 2 dgs 36 min South, 141 dgs, 50 min East, Sunday, 6 January 1946

Datu Whajid Sahidulla and a group of his armed followers returned to their settlement bearing meager supplies taro and sweet potatoes gleaned from the gardens of the several native villages they had visited – and left as smoking ruins after the natives had refused to hand over their crops. The foray had gained very little for the cost of three of his men; while there had been complete surprise at the first village they had come to, at the others the natives resisted.

The fertility of the land was far less than the lushness of the jungle had led him to expect; in his own mind Sahidulla feared for the worse; that he had led his people to a place where they would starve. If more Suluk were to join him the situation would only grow worse. Moreover, having set upon a course of confrontation with the natives, his people would have to live by the sword. This was not what he had planned…

Teomabal Island, Tuesday, 8 January 1946

The prize crew navigated the refugee-laden sea truck into the small harbor and nudged her up to the small pier that served the internment camp. For the several score of Suluk who had sought sanctuary in Borneo their dreams of freedom had vanished when their vessel had been intercepted by a pair of Dutch Puttin-class patrol boats and turned over to the Philippine Navy. Under the watchful eyes of heavily-armed troopers of the Philippine Constabulary they were now herded off the ship and processed into the island’s internment camp. There were huts in which they would now live; there was food enough for them to eat; the island itself would be their prison.


The Daily Guardian (Iloilo), Friday, 11 January 1946

The destroyers Grulla and Avoceta entered dry dock in Butuan and Puerto Princesa today to begin their refits under the FRAM program. It is expected that they will return to service in the spring, marking the reconstruction of the Navy’s destroyer force.

The Manila Times, Saturday, 12 January 1946

The submarines Furia and Ingenioso have completed their operational training and have taken up their duties with the Northern Fleet.


The Freeman (Cebu), Monday, 14 January 1946

The light cruiser Palawan was launched today at the San Fernando shipyard. The last of the four light cruisers presently under construction, she is expected to complete late this year.

Tondo, Manila, Wednesday, 16 January 1946

A year ago Nicasio "Asiong" Salonga had run his gang of street hoodlums out of a back alley; now he sat in a well-appointed office off the Plaza Moriones where he no longer needed to participate in day-to-day street violence. His ‘marriage of convenience’ with the Action Service, which had helped to break the stranglehold of the Chinese triads on Manila’s crime, had allowed him – and certain others – to grasp the illicit wealth that had previously flowed to Four Seas Gang and their ilk. He now wore tailor-made suits rather than a singlet; he smoked fine cigars in preference to rolling his own cigarettes; he sported the credentials of a legitimate businessman while his lieutenants and henchmen did the dirty work of enforcing the law of Salonga’s personal jungle – the slums of Tondo and other nearby parts of Manila.

His gang had absorbed many of the city’s smaller criminal organizations; but others had done so as well – and now Manila’s underworld was engaged in a struggle for dominance – one which often turned violent. To Salonga, this seemed wasteful. In his mind there formed the idea of forming one syndicate of crime that would delineate territories, lines of business, and rules to live or die by. Of course, he, Salonga, would run the syndicate…


Mission Nuestra Senora de los Islas, Tapiantana Island, Friday, 18 January 1946

Brother Francis stood at the porch of the newly-finished stone church and looked out across the mission compound where stood the lodgings of the brothers, the school for the children of the island, the infirmary, and the storehouses. Near the outer wall of the compound was the herb garden, and beyond the walls the small fields used to grow new crops to educate the Bajao in modern agriculture. He gave thanks for the progress he and his fellow friars had been able to make; despite some hold-outs, most of the islanders now attended church and shunned their former ways. Some of the older boys of the villages had learned enough to be sent to Zamboanga for further studies. Peace reigned, under the watchful eye of the Philippine Navy. The Cabo Bojeador visited once a month, bringing her medical specialists and supplies for the villages and for the mission.

He knew that elsewhere that his brother monks faced far greater difficulties in their mission to convert the Suluk; but this was his assignment, and he was truly thankful for the progress made. In time, it would be permanent.

The Philippine Herald, Monday, 21 January 1946

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has announced that as a special security measure to combat increased unrest in the southern provinces that the issuance of special ‘hadj’ visas has been suspended indefinitely.


The Daily Guardian (Iloilo), Tuesday, 22 January 1946

The Pamplona Plantation Company on Negros has begun production of palm oil in commercial quantities. Founded several years ago the firm manages a 3,500 hectare plantation that is now giving good yields and contributing to the nation’s export sector.

The Freeman (Cebu), Thursday, 24 January 1946

The destroyers Seretta and Busardo have finished their post-refit working up and have rejoined the Northern Fleet.


Action Service Headquarters, Makati, Saturday, 26 January 1946

Saturday was not a day of rest for the chief of the Action Service, and Gavin Bagares was busy in his office when a knock at his door called for his attention.

“Chief, we have that information you requested” announced Vicente Estanislao. He and Jesus Sotto were at the door.

“Come on in and bring me up to date on our friend Asiong” Bagares responded. His two lieutenants found seats and began their report.

“Salonga has moved quickly to fill the vacuum left by the departure of the triads,” Estanislao began. “He controls maybe one-third of the criminal activity in Manila, and has a finger elsewhere too.”

Bagares whistled softly. “That is fast”.

Estanislao nodded but Sotto picked up the report. “Our ears inside his organization are saying he is reaching out to the other gang leaders to form a consolidated syndicate.”

“Do you think that he could pull it off?” Bagares asked.

Sotto put his hand to his chin and thought a moment. “Maybe; he’s smart. Depends more on how smart the other gang leaders are. But he might bring them together to a sit-down.”

“We need to keep an eye on this. The one thing we don’t need is another Mafia or Union Corse; we had enough trouble dealing with the triads.”

“If Salonga can arrange a sit-down with the other gangs,” said Estanislao with a smile, “it would give us an opportunity…”

“You’ve read my mind,” Bagares replied. “Keep track of what’s happening.”

Government House, Vanimo District, New Guinea, Monday, 28 January 1946

District Officer Michael Williamson sat in the tin-roofed shack that bore the incongruous sobriquet ‘Government House’ trying to work despite the afternoon’s heat. This close to the equator winter and summer made little difference. The ‘town’ of Vanimo – a bare two-dozen shacks and huts – was about as far from civilization that one could be, and it was a place Williamson hoped he could leave soon for better prospects. His immediate problem though was the report of native trouble further west near the border with Dutch New Guinea.

One of his native police sergeants had brought word of raids on several native villages. Which of the local tribes was doing the raiding was not immediately clear – for all Williamson knew it might be cross-border raiding. Not that it had reached a level where he had to go there himself, but if he ignored the situation totally there could be repercussions down the road. He’d send a native police corporal and three constables to check out the situation; then, perhaps, with more information, he’d know how best to respond.


The Daily Guardian (Iloilo), Tuesday, 29 January 1946

The destroyer Calamon finished its refit today and has embarked upon its post-refit trials.

The Manila Times, Wednesday, 30 January 1946

The civil support ships Cabo Engaño, Cabo Bolinao, and Cabo Santiago, having completed their operational training, have departed Cebu City for the southern seas, where they will take up their humanitarian duties of providing medical and construction support to outlying settlements there. They will be followed by four additional such vessels of which two are already under construction at the San Fernando naval dockyard.


The Davao Herald, Thursday, 31 January 1946

The Philippine Constabulary reports that incidents of open clan warfare in the western reaches of Mindanao have declined over the past months following an increase in the constabulary presence there. The Suluk tribesmen responsible for the worst atrocities have been brought to justice and the more amenable Moro elements are being resettled in safety zones.

Papua New Guinea, 2 dgs 36 min South, 141 dgs, 50 min East, Saturday, 2 February 1946

Datu Whajid Sahidulla looked upon the arrival of another two shiploads of his countrymen as a blessing and a curse. The newest arrivals at least brought more supplies of food than mouths to feed, yet the growth of the Suluk settlement was taxing the ability of the land and the surrounding sea to feed them all. Their first crops would not mature for many weeks more, and the ranging parties of Suluk foragers brought back less and less from the villages of the heathen natives. For the moment though he rejoiced in the escape of his people from the iron heel of the infidel.

On a nearby ridge Corporal Vouza and the three native policemen accompanying him looked down on the strange sailing vessels anchored off the shore, and the large village that sat on the shore where no village had ever stood. With his sharp eyes he could see that many of the strangers went armed, many with weapons of European origins. If these people were responsible for the trouble being reported, he and his companions would be swallowed whole; they would retrace their steps eastward and report to the District Officer what they had seen.


The Manila Times, Tuesday, 5 February 1946

The cruiser Dumarao was completed in the Cavite shipyard today and has embarked upon her trials and operational training. She is expected to join the fleet in the early summer.

The Philippine Herald, Friday, 8 February 1946

Elements of the recently arrived Second Civic Action Group of the Philippine Army are presently engaged in improving the road linking Jolo City to the settlement of Maimbung on the southern shore of the island. Land clearance for two additional hamlets under the auspices of the Strategic Hamlets Program is also being carried out.


Government House, Vanimo District, New Guinea, Sunday, 10 February 1946

Corporal Vouza made his report as soon as he returned to the settlement, though District Officer Williamson hardly knew what to make of it.

“Strangers in ships?” he thought. “Obviously not natives in canoes. Maybe some sort of pirates, trouble-makers from the Dutch territories in the west.”

He tried to get more details from Vouza and the other native constables but they could tell little more. They were adamant on the point of many European weapons being in the hands of the strangers – they were smart enough to recognize them.

“I suppose I’ll have to go myself and take a look,” he concluded. Of course, before he departed he would need to send a message to his superiors, explaining his absence from his post – it would take nearly a fortnight to get there and back.

Naval Operating Base Tapiantana, Tuesday, 12 February 1946

Kapitein-luitenant ter Zee Eugène Lacomblé reflected upon the last several days of his visit to the southern reaches of the Philippines. He had requested of his hosts the opportunity to observe the activities of the Philippine Navy in controlling the Moro problem and, somewhat to his surprise, his request had been granted. He had sailed aboard a Marawi-class patrol boat on active operations in the Sulu Sea, during which time the vessel had intercepted three native craft for inspection – all of which proved to be legitimate traders. He had observed two of the Philippine Navy’s civil support ships making port calls – one in Bohol, and one in Palawan – and there was no denying their usefulness in addressing the medical and construction needs of the population. To his surprise he had even been afforded an opportunity to visit the internment camp on Teomabal Island – which he found to be well laid out, rather sparsely populated, and its residents reasonably well fed and provided with adequate medical care. Of course, even a gilded cage is a prison.

He was certain that there were things he had not been shown, for one reason or another – yet overall he had gained the impression that the Philippine Navy was attempting to pursue its mission in the most humane manner possible. Certainly the progress made here on Tapiantana, if typical, showed that a ‘hearts and minds’ campaign could bear fruit.


The Bohol Chronicle, Wednesday, 13 February, 1946

The destroyers Manalipa and Mantingue were launched today at the Butuan Naval Shipyard, marking another step forward for the renovation of the nation’s defensive shield.

The Philippine Gazette, Thursday, 14 February 1946

In special session today the Senate passed a resolution of condolence on the passing of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and chose three of its members, Don Enrique Barretto, Don Jose Malcampo, and Don Pedro Teves to join with Vice President of the Council Manuel Roxas to represent the nation at the late Queen’s state funeral. They will depart next week in order to be present at the obsequies which are scheduled for late February.


The Freeman (Cebu), Friday, 15 February 1946

The civil support ships Cabo Espiritu Santo and Cabo San Indefonso were launched today at the San Fernando naval shipyard. They are expected to complete in late spring and are will be operational before the end of the year.

Tondo, Manila, Saturday, 16 February 1946

In the unwritten history of Manila’s underworld the meeting was unprecedented – Nicasio Salonga, the ‘Robin Hood’ of Tondo and now the city’s leading criminal boss sitting peacefully across a table from Leonardo Manecio, his chief rival.

“Give me one reason why I should join this syndicate of yours,” demanded Manecio.

Salonga sat back in his chair. “I can give you several,” he replied. “You haven’t the muscle to take over any more of the smaller gangs if I support them. If I make common cause with them, your own position becomes vulnerable. We waste our resources fighting each other when there are such opportunities to be had.”

Manecio gave no sign, but he did grasp Salonga’s points. “Say I do join, how is it going to work?”

“The middle-size gangs we turn into partners, the small fry we eliminate together. The leaders of each gang get a seat at the table, like the Senate. We define territories and lines of business.” This was Salonga’s sketch idea at least.

“Let me think on this,” Manecio concluded.

I know you've said that Foxy's given permission for this storyline, but it's making me uneasy that he doesn't seem to be involved in it at all, particularly given the violent confrontation shaping up...

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

I know you've said that Foxy's given permission for this storyline, but it's making me uneasy that he doesn't seem to be involved in it at all, particularly given the violent confrontation shaping up...

If you think it appropriate, I am willing to retcon the last item and put the storyline on hold...

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

I know you've said that Foxy's given permission for this storyline, but it's making me uneasy that he doesn't seem to be involved in it at all, particularly given the violent confrontation shaping up...

If you think it appropriate, I am willing to retcon the last item and put the storyline on hold...

Decided to do so anyway.

Looks like Manecio has been made an offer he can't refuse...

The Mindanao Journal, Wednesday, 20 February 1946

The newly-completed factory of the Ocean Canning Company was dedicated today in Zamboanga. The firm expects to be process up to five hundred tons of canned sea food per month, primarily for export.


The Daily Guardian (Iloilo), Friday, 22 February 1946

The patrol combatants Danglas and Daragan were launched today at the Butuan naval shipyard. They are expected to complete in the spring.

The Manila Herald, Monday, 25 February 1946

The destroyer Calamon is operational following completion of its post-refit trials.


Manila, The Senate Chamber, Tuesday, 26 February 1946

Don Andreas Soriano was quite pleased with the direction the debate on the naval program had taken. With Teves out of the way in Europe the hardliners were far more tractable. The totally unnecessary cruisers were finally eradicated from future planning and the Navy’s proposals for refurbishing its service force were accepted. The hardliners were satisfied with construction of new submarines to replace those of doubtful utility. The shipyards would be busy for the next several years; and that would keep an important sector of the economy happy. Soriano was confident that the hold he had over Teves would keep the latter muzzled upon his return.