MacArthur at Lingayen (Carl Mydans)

The Tribune is down to two pages. "Foe withdraws westward.... Nippon air units deal heavy blows to U.S. Naval Force" — forcing them back into the China Sea, it says. The second dispatch contradicts it: "The American Task Force off the western coast of Luzon has increased its activity with every indication of launching landing operations ... along the Gulf of Lingayen."

Home Guards have been mobilized to fight looters. Most of the Military Police at Manga Avenue have left for their new headquarters on the outskirts, Quezon City, where several families were kicked out. Bill Anderson thinks he's the main beneficiary of their abandoned cars, radios and loot. He took a pushcart-load of tires, wheels, parts and rice to his house, though at least he's selling the rice cheaply. The radios will probably go to his laborers tonight. Luis Campos and Bill are still trying to fix jitneys for the Japanese Navy. A garrison remains in Santol-Piña this evening.

Explosions throughout the city continued all day, while people walked around trying to buy anything of value — looted or not. La Vanguardia reported two bombs went off in Intramuros last night.

B-24s made three trips on Manila today — 24 in the first two groups and 22 in the third. Antiaircraft narrowly missed two of the latter as they flew a bit low. They bombed the Grace Park area three times, starting a couple of small oil fires.

MacArthur's communiqué confirmed the landing at Lingayen as of 0940, January 9 — 33 months today after the fall of Bataan. Mac waded ashore a couple of hours later and described landing casualties as "insignificant."