Chapter VII, At High Port, pgs. 374-418 Summary and Analysis

The everyday life of the Filipinos was not affected much by the war even after three years of war. The Japanese were among them but their customs and lives were unchanged. The only exceptions were the guerrillas and the collaborators. There were atrocities by the Japanese that MacArthur found out about. He vowed to free the archipelago and word of this reached the people. There was a strong resistance movement in the rural areas. MacArthur represented hope to them.

The collaborators including the wealthy. They didn't want their lifestyle to change and basically consented to the puppet government. Some felt these people should face the consequences of their collaborations: other felt they had no choice. The Japanese were determined not to let MacArthur's establish as base in the Philippines...