section_path: History/Japanese occupation
section_name: Japanese occupation
paragraph_text: Japanese occupation
  
  The Philippine Exposition in 1941 was held on the newly established Quezon City, but participants were limited to locals because of the increasing turbulence at the beginning of the Second World War. Eventually, parts of Manila were bombed by the Japanese Imperial Forces in December 1941, bringing the war to the Philippines. On January 1, 1942, President Quezon issued Executive Order No. 400 as an emergency measure to form the City of Greater Manila, with Jorge B. Vargas as its designated mayor. It merged the city with Manila and the towns of Caloocan, Makati, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pasay, and San Juan. The mayors of these towns and cities served as the assistant mayor of their respective localities and were under the mayor of Greater Manila. The City of Greater Manila was the basis for the formation of Metro Manila in 1975.
  
  After Imperial Japanese forces conquered the Philippines during the Pacific War, the City of Greater Manila was reorganized in 1942 into twelve districts, two of which were formed by dividing Quezon City: Balintawak which consisted of San Francisco del Monte, Galas, La Loma, New Manila, Santa Mesa Estate, the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, and the present-day Greenhills, San Juan; and Diliman which was composed of Diliman proper, Cubao, the University District, and the present-day eastern portion of Marikina. In the same year, the patients of Quezon Institute were relocated to the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Intramuros and the Japanese military used the facility for its own sick and wounded, and they also used Saint Joseph's College as a hospital. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service 's Twenty-ninth Squadron equipped with Ki-44 and Ki-84 fighter planes was assigned to Zablan Field of Camp Murphy. This colonial airfield was modernized by the Japanese with the construction of longer concrete runways, which now form the southernmost part of Katipunan Avenue and White Plains Avenue. The Japanese also renamed some streets, most notably South Avenue which became Timog Avenue. In January 1945, when the Americans returned to mainland Luzon, they gave numerical designations to some roads such as Route 54, which is now Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. In February, the American cavalry and Filipino guerrilla units, advanced into Quezon City, defeating Imperial Japanese forces. Heavy fighting occurred in Novaliches, which at that time was within Caloocan, and New Manila which had been fortified. Smaller actions were fought at Barrio Talipapa and the University District, and the destruction of the bridge on the Tullahan River delayed the advance of the Americans along Route 52, now known as Quirino Highway. After the Battle of Manila, the City of Greater Manila was dissolved by President Sergio Osmeña, thus separating the cities and towns that were consolidated and regaining their pre-war status. The area which formed the city was then governed by the Philippine Executive Commission.