Bone stealing issue vs Japanese gov’t revived as Abe asks Duterte to resume bone collection project

November 17, 2017

Almost ten years have passed and yet closure on the alleged stealing of the remains of Filipino ancestors, which were passed off as bones of Japanese soldiers during World War II, continues to haunt some affected communities.

Despite that, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in his recent bilateral meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte urged him to allow the resumption of the bone collection project of his government in the Philippines.

Issues on the alleged bone stealing by a Japanese commissioned non-profit organization (NPO) were touched during a whole day inter-agency forum on public issues relating to archeological practice in the Philippines with the theme "Forging Perspective of the Past" held on Friday at the University of the Philippines.

Participants, particularly from Palawan, Ifugao and Mindoro, recalled how burial sites, such as caves, of their loved ones and ancestors were desecrated allegedly by the NPO, with the help of some enterprising local or members of indigenous peoples groups.

Severino Malanao, 63, a Mangyan leader from Occidental Mindoro, recalled how their tribe "punished" their mayor then for allegedly conniving with the Japanese bone collectors by shouldering the rituals for their "disturbed" ancestors.

According to him, their sacred burial places were looted.

Because of such experience, he said whenever a project would be granted to their community by any organization, they would be cautious in immediately accepting it without determining first the group's motive, similar to what happened in the past.

"It's painful for the tribe like us. Their remains are our last connection with them, (ancestors)" said Remedios Cabral, 49, a Tagbanua member from El Nido, Palawan.

She said the remains of their ancestors were among those which got lost in the island of Imorigue in New Ibajay, El Nido in 2010 and were allegedly passed off as World War II soldiers who perished in the Philippines.

Victor Paz of the UP Archaeological Studies said the forum revived the issue on the alleged bone looting.

"It situates it in a larger question of accountability, how do we deal with human remains and then where do we go from here," Paz said.

With the move of the Japanese government to resume the bone collection, Paz said, "How? What do we learn from the mistakes this time around?"

Paz expressed belief that people, including the National Museum of the Philippines and the Japanese government, have learned from past experience.

It could be recalled that in the late 2011, Paz called the attention of the National Museum by sending the agency a letter asking for an investigation about the alleged "dastardly act" done in two caves in Imorigue where circa 1000 to 500 year old skeletal remains of ancestral Filipinos placed in these osuaries were carted away to be passed off as Japanese war dead.

He was a member of the Palawan Island Paleohistoric Research Project when they learned of the alleged looting.

Meanwhile, during the bilateral meeting between Abe and Duterte at the sidelines of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits in Manila early this week, the Japanese leader brought up the possible revival of his government's bone collection project, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan said.

Duterte reportedly said his government would consult with the concerned agencies.

Also present in the forum were representatives from the National Museum and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, both members of an interagency body, which prepared the draft of new guidelines for possible resumption of the Japanese bone collection project.

The Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare suspended its project, which aims to repatriate all the remaining 370,000 Japanese soldiers who perished in the Philippines during World War II, in the last quarter of 2010 amid allegations by some tribal groups, such as the Mangyans in Oriental Mindoro and those in Ifugao province, that the remains of their ancestors were stolen by the NPO and passed off as the Japanese soldiers' remains.

There were 520,000 recorded former Japanese Imperial Army soldiers who died in the Philippines. Celerina Monte/DMS