Dagami

During World War II, Japanese soldiers established a camp in the village of Hilabago, Dagami, Leyte, Philippines at the residence of Mrs. Manuela Arguelles. The owner of the house went into hiding when the Japanese soldiers captured the area. Since Japanese soldiers did not regularly patrol the vicinity, people continued their agricultural work, sometimes in the middle of the night, to ensure they had an adequate supply of food. Local residents headed into the mountains surrounding the village.

When the food supply ran out, the Japanese soldiers, who lacked food in the course of the battle, were forced to eat wild yam – an edible but toxic crop. The soldiers did not know how to process the wild yam to make it edible, but they ate it anyway. Then they crowded the nearest well for water, but they were unable to get any, falling into the well. The bones of these people can still be seen today. American soldiers captured the camp shortly after the Japanese soldiers fled into the mountains bordering the towns of Dagami and Ormoc City and built fox holes in the area. They also built access roads from the main road into the area with little evidence remaining at present.

The village, now called Barangay Hilabago, is suitable for camping since it has ample water supply, food (such as coconut trees), and crop lands to farm. The local government plans to convert the area into a shrine for the Japanese soldiers.

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