Dr Jose p laurel is a Japanese collaborator or not?

Answer 1

No he was not. He was left by President Quezon to hold the fort. It would have been so much safer for him to refuse and go with the others to the US, but it was his duty to stay. He was chosen because of his extensive knowledge of law. He was best capable of knowing what he could legally do or not do under the extreme situation of war under the Japanese. He was unwavering in his loyalty to the Philippines. He did what he could ,when he could under extreme circumstances. There was always a sword hanging over him because the Japanese could have killed him at any time, yet he refused to send Filipino soldiers to fight for the Japanese. Many guerrillas owed their lives to him. Many during that time did not understand what he was doing and in fact there were 2 assassination attempts on his life. The fact that one of the assassins later became his life long bodyguard (pledged his life to Laurel for his mistake) is a testament to Laurels' being misunderstood by the common man at the time of the Japanese occupation