We had high hopes for November, but it turned out to be a disappointment. Manilans, facing the prospect of another long year of occupation, are going around with equally long faces these days. It's another year for the Japanese to fortify the Philippines. After completing concrete extensions to runways at Nichols Field, 6,000 laborers are being transferred to work in Mindanao.

Rumors abound. In fact, the Japanese have started a few of their own and are becoming as bomb-conscious as the Filipinos, whose main concern now is food. The average Filipino is off coffee though it's plentiful in Java. The drift from the farms and provinces to Manila continues. We may get insufficient monthly rations here, but over there they are lucky to get some once every three months.

Speaking of shortages, with 98% of the world's rubber under their control, the Japanese are short of rubber tires. They are also short of fuel despite the abundance of N.E.I. oil. So much for the co-prosperity sphere. As for the fantastic battle results reported by our Japanese-controlled press, E.M. had this to say: "The Scribe believes that the most efficient method of propaganda is to be honest."

Fist-pounding the air

On the occasion of National Heroes' Day, Laurel made a speech appealing for unity — a very poor one. We are told the rally was "huge," but there's no estimate of the crowd size and the only pictures are close-ups. It was another terrific flop.