THE BOY FROM BOTONGON: ESTANCIA'S HIDDEN HARBOR IN WORLD WAR II
THE BOY FROM BOTONGON: ESTANCIA'S HIDDEN HARBOR IN WORLD WAR II
By Mark Morales
Based on a 2006 oral history interview in Barangay Botongon, Estancia, Iloilo — Updated 2026 Tribute
Introduction
He is gone now. When I spoke with him in 2006, he was still living quietly in Barangay Botongon, his memory clear as the morning tide that laps at its shores. He did not speak of glory or decorations. He spoke of his American officer, the weight of the radio battery, the dark waters between Botongon and Sicogon, and the 2 a.m. transmissions that linked a hidden corner of Iloilo to the forces fighting to free the Philippines.
This is his story — and the story of the secret harbor that helped change the course of the war in northern Panay.
Estancia: The "Alaska of the Philippines"
Long before the war, Estancia had earned its reputation across the archipelago. Nestled at the northeastern tip of Panay Island, facing the rich Visayan Sea fishing grounds, it became known as the "Alaska of the Philippines" as early as the 1900s. The name stuck because the waters off nearby Carles teemed with such vast schools of sardines, mackerel, and barracuda that catches sometimes piled up along beaches before they could be processed.
By the 1930s, Estancia was the primary hub for commercial fishing fleets from Cebu, Capiz, Samar, Leyte, Masbate, and Negros. In 1935, a deep‑water pier was built just south of the town proper to serve growing trade — one of the most developed in the northern Visayas.
But what most outsiders never knew was that the public pier was only the visible face. The true, safest anchorage lay elsewhere: Barangay Botongon.
Today home to 5,076 people (2020 Census), Botongon sits along a sheltered cove, shielded by small islets and with a clear view across the strait to Sicogon Island — part of Carles municipality. Sicogon would later be known as the "Balesin of the 1970s and 80s," a luxury resort destination, before falling into abandonment and being resettled by generations of fishermen — many of whose families would shelter Allied forces during the occupation.
During the war, Botongon’s hidden harbor became one of the most critical supply and communication links in the Visayas.
The Guerrilla Network in Northern Panay
By early 1944, the 6th Military District — led by Colonel Macario Peralta Jr., one of the most effective guerrilla commands in the Philippines — controlled most of Panay’s interior and coastal areas. Its northern defense was organized into two key units:
64th Provisional Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Juan Quimbo
65th Provisional Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel James Bickerton
Operating from hidden camps, these fighters needed arms, ammunition, medical supplies, and reliable radio contact with General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters in Australia — all of which had to be delivered in secret. As documented in Japanese officer Toshimi Kumai’s memoir, Peralta’s forces moved their headquarters to Pototan and strengthened harbor facilities at Estancia after receiving large shipments of supplies from the U.S. Army. They cleared underwater obstacles, marked safe channels with coconut fronds, and set up hidden watch posts — turning Botongon into a secure entry point.
Secret Submarine Missions
After 1942, Allied submarines became the only reliable lifeline to Panay. Without the arms, ammunition, and radio equipment ferried beneath the waves, the guerrilla movement could not have sustained its operations. Two submarines played decisive roles here:
USS Narwhal (SS‑167): The Supply Run
Narwhal was the largest, longest‑range submarine in the U.S. Navy’s guerrilla support fleet — displacing 2,730 tons surfaced and 4,050 tons submerged — and carried out nine secret missions to the Philippines, landing over 500 tons of supplies.
On 5 February 1944, she surfaced off Libertad, Panay, carrying 45 tons of vital cargo: Thompson submachine guns, M1 carbines, Garand rifles, ammunition, hand grenades, field uniforms, bandages, medicines, and radio gear. Local fishermen ferried the supplies ashore by night, hiding them in caves and coconut groves before moving them north to Botongon.
USS Angler (SS‑240): The Rescue Mission
Weeks later, on 20 March 1944, the Gato‑class submarine Angler arrived off western Panay with orders to evacuate about 50 stranded American civilians, missionaries, and military personnel. Instead, 58 men, women, and children had made the dangerous journey through guerrilla‑held territory to the rendezvous site.
Among them was Lieutenant H. G. Schuring (U.S. Army Service No. 60144, 6th Military District staff), his wife Laura, and their young son Clifford. For years afterward, Botongon residents remembered him not by his full name, but as "Sheng" or "Cheng" — the phonetic twist of his surname that stuck among local fishermen.
The Boy Who Served His Officer
This is where oral history fills what official logs cannot.
The American radio operator — likely assigned to Peralta’s intelligence unit — could not move by day, and carrying heavy gear openly meant immediate execution by Japanese patrols. He turned to Juan Ambait, a young man then 16 to 20 years old (born roughly 1924–1928). Too young to formally enlist in the regiments, he was strong enough to paddle for miles under cover of darkness. For him, the American lieutenant was not merely a friend — he was his officer, his leader, someone to serve and respect.
That work was not his. It was his American officer’s work. He just helped.
As he told me in 2006, simple lang, no bragging:
"My officer had a radio in Sicogon. He needed to send at 2 a.m. Every night. That was his job. My job was to help him with the battery.
In the afternoon I would put the charged battery in the fish basket, cover it with fish, then paddle to Sicogon. I would wait there while my officer used the radio. He was the one sending — where the Japanese ships were, where to land. I just stood by and guarded.
After, I would take the old battery and paddle back to Botongon before sunrise, so the Japanese would not see. That was all. It was just my duty for my officer."
He never said he was brave. He said the battery was just heavy, the current was just strong, and waiting in the dark was just long. For him, it was not heroism. It was part of the work — like fishing. You were told by your officer, so you did it.
An Unmarked Legacy
Today, the Balantang Memorial Cemetery National Shrine in Jaro, Iloilo City, bears the names of 1,421 known casualties of the 6th Military District Panay Guerrilla Freedom Fighters on its Wall of Memory. Yet official wartime rosters remain fragmented — there is no single complete public list of all who served, especially civilian volunteers like Juan.
As of March 2026, only 25 World War II veterans are still living across Panay and Guimaras, while 1,460 post‑war veterans have been formally recognized.
Juan Ambait is not on the Wall. He is not among the living. His full name is known only to his family and the few elders who remember him. This article — drawn from the only recorded interview we have, and verified against U.S. Navy logs — stands as his first public tribute, until his loved ones choose to share his story more widely so it may take its place in history.
Mark Morales
Fieldwork conducted in Barangay Botongon, Estancia, Iloilo — 2006
Compiled and published in tribute — 2026
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References
On Botongon and Estancia
PhilAtlas – Botongon, Estancia, Iloilo Profile (2020 Census data)
https://www.philatlas.com/visayas/r06/iloilo/estancia/botongon.html
PhilAtlas – Estancia, Iloilo Profile
https://www.philatlas.com/visayas/r06/iloilo/estancia.html
Wikipedia – Estancia, Iloilo (origin of the "Alaska of the Philippines" title)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estancia,_Iloilo
On the War and Guerrilla Forces
Cabatuan.com – The Blood and Mud in the Philippines by Toshimi Kumai (harbor reinforcement account)
http://cabatuan.com/the-blood-and-mud-in-the-philippines-toshimi-kumai-07-3.html
Tomas Confesor Project – 6th Military District Unit Activations
http://tomasconfesor.com
On Submarine Missions
HyperWar – US Navy Submarine Operations with Guerrillas (Narwhal 5 Feb 1944 mission)
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/pi_subs_guerrillas.htm
HyperWar – Special Submarine Missions Report (Angler 21 Mar 1944 mission)
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/PI-Subs-Guerrillas/index.html
Wikipedia – USS Angler (evacuation details)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Angler
USS Nautilus Museum – Angler to the Rescue! (mission background)
https://ussnautilus.org/angler-to-the-rescue/
On Evacuee and Personnel Records
TomasConfesor.com – USS Angler March 1944 Evacuee List (Schuring family entry)
http://tomasconfesor.com/ussanglerpatrolreport1944marevacuees.html
On Veterans, Memorials, and Records
Philippine News Agency – Ilonggos Honor WWII Heroes (veteran count, March 2026)
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1199100
Philippine News Agency – Panay Guerrilla Memorial (Wall of Memory details)
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170092
Inquirer.net – Transfer of Balantang Shrine to PVAO
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2069158/iloilo-city-govt-cedes-wwii-heroes-shrine-to-pvao/amp
Duty to Country – The Guerrilla Roster Explainer
https://dutytocountry.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/explainer-08-the-guerrilla-roster.pdf
Primary Source: Oral history interview by Mark Morales, Barangay Botongon, Estancia, Iloilo — 2006.