During World War II, it was used by the Philippine-American Armed Forces where more than 1,000 Japanese were treated in accordance with the orders of the American commanding officer.

[1] Approximately two thousand American prisoners were held in the penal colony after Japan's conquest of the Philippines in World War II.

Major Stephen Mellnik, of Douglas MacArthur's South West Pacific Area (command), inserted the M1 S-X intelligence officer Capt.

However, the Japanese had already evacuated the camp, placing the American prisoners on a ship bound for Japan.

However, that ship was sunk by an American submarine, and only eighty-three reached shore and were rescued by guerrillas.