Book on WWII in Negros to be launched Friday

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – A two-volume book on the Japanese occupation of Negros will be launched Friday, May 20, the anniversary of the day when Japanese forces landed on the province in 1942.

The author, Modesto Palacios Sa-onoy, has written 11 books on Negros history, and his latest work, “Against the Rising Sun,” is a 900-page book with over 100 previously unpublished photos detailing the history of the guerilla war against the Japanese forces in Negros Island from 1941 to 1945.

The book launch, to be held at the city’s New Government Center, will be attended by government officials in the province, businessmen, and members of the academe.

Early reviews of the book noted it as a comprehensive and well-documented history of World War II in Negros, providing a political and economic situation in the island before the war, its effects, and why the leaders of the province and the Philippines acted as they did.

Sa-onoy is the leading history writer in Negros who chairs the Negros Historical Foundation Inc. – THE FREEMAN