Downtown with Maurice at 1000. Sirens cut short my trim at the barber’s so I sought refuge at the Far Eastern Hotel, where I spent a most unpleasant hour. Several times I thought a straddle would get us. The accuracy of yesterday’s bombing was dismal. Letran College lost its brand new building, and three other fires were unimportant except to the businesses concerned.

An empty hulk is all that's left of the Santo Domingo Church (left).

The Tribune had a picture of yesterday’s two boats on the Pasig captioned: “Cause of Raid?” Last night, Secretary Vargas ordered them out again even if they had to be towed to the Bay! The captains protested: they hadn’t completed “unloading.”

Yesterday’s bombs killed 43. On the Port side, two coast guard cutters and an unidentified ship were hit. In the Walled City, the government Mint, Treasury and Budget offices suffered in the Intendencia bombing. The Intendencia took two bombs; the Santo Domingo Church and Santa Catalina Convent took one each; the Santa Rosa Convent and Santo Tomas College suffered concussion damage from several bombs. All fell near their objectives: the boats by the Pasig River piers, which I’m told were legitimate military targets. The Japanese shouldn’t have bothered.

2000: After 2-1/2 days the Pandacan fire still glows but it's now on its last legs. As I write this, there are lights burning in every house in Manila. War or no war, we’ve abolished the blackout in this Open City — and it’s a good thing too. Everyone is pretending to be cheerful. Blaming short notice, Meralco even apologized for the streetlights being off, promising they’d be on tomorrow. Meanwhile, USAFFE communiqués are scarce, and even Washington appears to be in the dark as to what is happening.