What happens
Bert Silen, a longtime Manila resident and former NBC representative in the Philippines, narrates the aftermath of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines at the close of 1945. Following MacArthur's restoration of Commonwealth powers in Manila, the broadcast describes the country's devastation and the rival claims of guerrilla groups such as the Hukbalahap and the Makapili. It examines a divided political field, where former collaborators and resistance fighters contest the future leadership, and where Osmena and Manuel Roxas are weighed against each other. The question of independence, scheduled for July 4, 1946, runs through the discussion, along with debate over who collaborated with the Japanese and how much.
Manila and the Philippines, 1945, following the Japanese occupation and the American return.
Characters: Bert Silen, Jessup, Martin, Osmena, Manuel Roxas, Andres Soriano, Luis Taruk, Vicente Lava
Listen for: The debate between guerrilla veterans and alleged collaborators over who should lead the country after the war, and the approaching independence date.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.