Mammy

Valeria “Yay” Panlilio was a Filipina-Irish-American journalist and broadcaster who came to Manila before the war. She fled the city to escape the Japanese after her loyalty to Carlos P. Romulo and the Americans was exposed. On the mountains of Rizal Province, she met Major Marcos “Marking” V. Agustin and ended up helping him lead his army of guerrillas. She handled the paperwork such as reports, letters, and propaganda materials, and gave advice in decision-making. She took care of the sick and wounded, and managed the camp while the fighters were in battle. “War was our marriage, and the guerrillas our sons,” she wrote.

Panlilio’s autobiography, originally published in 1951, is a riveting account of guerrilla life on the Sierra Madre mountains in WWII. It details the guerrillas’ hunger and illnesses, the tortures and killings that befell them, as well as their triumphant battles. It also serves as a biography of Marking, whom she described as a great hero, a legend. But more importantly,it documents the lives of women in the war – how they were regarded with suspicion and dislike; how they were treated as second-class citizens and sexual objects; but also how brave they were and dedicated to the cause. “It is true women are soft,” she wrote. “It is also true that women can be the most bloodthirsty and cruel of creatures. I want to be neither. It is enough to do my duty.”