Good question. I live in the Philippines and never thought to consider that angle on using fuel to kill prisoners and relate it with the fuel supply.

Off hand, I've never found any references on fuel being used to kill prisoners on any of the books I've read here. From the vets I've met, I've never come across one who spoke of fuel being used.

Mostly, it was torture, the brutally inhumane living conditions, lack of food, ill health that took the lives of the POWs. Though the Imperial Japanese Army had a bad record on handling POWs, almost everybody overlook the fact that a few months after the fall of Bataan, the Japanese did start releasing Filipino POWs because of the overcrowded conditions. Those that were released were soldiers who were gravely ill, a majority of whom died at their homes after being released. I think the number of those who died would be far greater if those who were released was included in the POW tally. The Japanese policy of releasing POWs was changed when the guerilla operations in the countryside grew.