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Monday, January 22, 2024

The Execution of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio

(This write-up is identical to the article with the same title found on pages 87-94 of the book entitled "The Filipino Tragedy and Other Historical Facts Every Filipino Should Know," published by the author.  The sources and references indicated here are contained on pages 402-415 of the book.)



Many unsubstantiated stories have proliferated about the death of the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio.  Some accounts say that Andres was killed on April 2, 1897, and not on May 10 of the same year, and the trial allegedly conducted preceding that date was all fabrication.  Other accounts say that the brothers were not shot but were killed by hacking with a bolo, and some even went further on to say their bodies were cut to pieces.

These kinds of stories only derail the direction of our history – and that is, to mold the patriotic character of our people.  These unattested narratives do not bring any good to the readers except to add fuel to the burning issues revolving around the death of the Bonifacio brothers, staining the memory of those we should memorialize as heroes of the past,  especially when the finger is pointed at the man allegedly behind the killing, the hero who brought down the power of Spain in the islands, gave us our national flag and the national anthem, and established the first Philippine Republic, Don Emilio Aguinaldo.

Eyewitness Account of Bonifacio’s Death

The only available source material so far that can provide the most reliable account of the death of the Bonifacio brothers is a long letter dated June 27, 1929, by Lazaro Makapagal to Jose P. Santos.  Makapagal was formerly an officer in the Philippine Revolutionary Army with the rank of Major.  He and four soldiers were ordered to implement the decision of the Council of War, which made them the executioners and the only eyewitnesses.  Any account or story that did not come from these five persons should not be considered.

Santos got into the picture because, at that time, he was writing a book entitled “Si Andres Bonifacio at ang Himagsikan” (Andres Bonifacio and the Revolution).  He wanted to include in the book the true story of the shooting of the brothers, and so he asked Makapagal to relate to him what really happened.  Makapagal was lackadaisical at first, saying a long time had passed, and almost everyone around Manila and its environs already knew what had happened.  But he finally relented, and now history is provided with one single reliable account by an eyewitness on how the Bonifacio brothers were shot in the form of a written document.

Recall that President Aguinaldo commuted the verdict of the death sentence handed down by the Council of War on the Bonifacio brothers to banishment to the interiors of Cavite (Kalaw-Teodoro[Court-Martial], 39).  Procopio and the attorney of Andres acknowledged this commutation order by signing it.  Andres, however, was unable to sign because of the wound in the arm he suffered during the exchange of fire with the arresting officers. (Taylor[I], 330; Kalaw-Teodoro[Court-Martial], 40-41)

All the while, the two brothers were entertaining the idea that they were not going to be shot but were supposed to be escorted only to the place of their banishment.  When the brothers and their escorts were resting from their long walk to the mountains, Andres asked Makapagal to open the sealed envelope containing the order of the Council of War to know where they would be left on their own.  Makapagal acceded.  He opened the envelope and read the letter aloud.  The two brothers were jolted and completely surprised after hearing what Macapagal had just read – that they were going to be shot.

According to the account of Makapagal, they first took care of Procopio.  They brought him into the inner section of the forest, where he was shot.  Then, they came back for Andres, whom two soldiers were guarding.  Andres knelt and pleaded not to be shot, but Macapagal ignored his plea.  Andres then bolted and rushed into the interior of the forest.  The pursuers caught up with him at the bank of a river, where they shot him.  The brothers were buried in a shallow grave because the soldiers only had bayonets with them, and they just covered the grave with branches of trees.

Makapagal said he could not forget the date of May 10, 1897, because that was the day Spanish troops attacked the town of Maragondon.  There was heavy fighting at the plaza and the patio of the church, and a stray bullet wounded him.

The Lazaro Makapagal Letter

Here is the translation of the Tagalog text of the letter of Lazaro Macapagal to Jose P. Santos dated June 27, 1929:

“Mr. Jose P. Santos
1017 Pennsylvania,
Malate, Manila

“Dear Sir:

“I am writing you about your request to explain my military action on what happened to the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio after 30 years had passed.   I could not comply soon enough because the event happened long ago, and those living around Manila already know what happened.

“It seems a long time has elapsed and is no longer needed.  In any case, I am acceding to your request, and this is what happened:

“On May 10, 1897, the day the Spanish troops attacked the town of Maragondon, Cavite, before the sound of the reveille, an order was brought to me saying: “Major, General Noriel wants to see you.”  I immediately dressed up and reported to the General.  After I saluted him and he did the same, he handed me a letter in a sealed envelope and said, ‘Major, this letter is for you, but do not open it.  You will proceed to the quarters and tell Colonel Ritual to give you four soldiers, then go to Ermita and take the prisoners Andres and Procopio Bonifacio and bring them to the mountain of Tala.  As soon as you reach the place, open the letter, read  it aloud in front of the prisoners, and strictly obey the order contained in the letter.’   As I was handed the letter, the General instructed me to make haste because the Spaniards were coming.

“I proceeded to the Colonel Ritual in the quarters and told him of the orders of the General, and he forthwith gave me four soldiers.  The five of us went to Ermita.  When we arrived at the house, I called upon the two brothers and told them they would be sent to the mountain of Tala, and they came down bringing their clothes.  We went to Tala.  While we were walking, they asked me if they were going to be shot.  I told them my orders were to bring them to the mountain of Tala, perhaps to secure them away from the fight.  They also asked me what I knew about what would happen to them.  I answered that I am only a Major in the army, far from the top leadership, and always in the quarters, so I do not get any news except to receive orders and perform work.  While we were walking, we talked very peacefully.  We did not know what would happen, so even the soldiers were unprepared for eventuality.  When we reached a place near a small, circular hill, adjacent to the bamboo groves, on the other side of the stream in the north, where we can see the town of Maragondon, on the right is the rising sun, and at our back we can see Mount Buntis, the brothers asked if we can take a rest because they were already tired.   I agreed.  We sat at the foot of the hill, in front of the stream and the bamboo groves.  A little later, Don Andres said:  ‘Brother, we are almost near Mount Tala.  Would  you be kind enough to open the envelope so we know where you will leave us and let us go?’  In consideration of his entreaty, I agreed.  I thought I was going to entrust them to the headman of Tala.  Following my  orders, I read the letter aloud to the brothers which says more or less the following statement:

Major Lazaro Makapagal:

“In accordance with the order of the Council of War, which was convened in Maragondon on the 8th of May against the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio, the sentence was death by shooting.  On the strength of this verdict, you and your soldiers are ordered to implement the sentence and shoot the two brothers.

“You are being reminded that any dereliction of duty or failure to comply with this order will result in the application of sanction against you under the Spanish Code of Military Procedure (Codigo de Enjuiciemento Militar Espanol)

“May God keep you for a long time.

“Maragondon 10 th of May, 1897
“Mariano Noriel”

“When the brothers heard the word shoot, I stopped reading because Procopio jumped from his seat and muttered “Oh brother!”  On the other hand, Andres knelt down and tried to embrace me while pleading, “Brother, forgive me.”  I stepped back and focused on what Procopio would do, for he was stronger than Andres and might do me in.  I was afraid that they might fight it out or escape and hide in the forest. Pity on me and fear of my superiors reigned on me.  What will happen to me?  And so I shouted, ‘Men, get ready! Load your rifles!’  When they heard the sound of the loading of rifles, they held their silence.  When the rifles were loaded, I stood before Procopio and said: ‘Face the stream’ and pointed the path towards the forest to him.  And inside the forest, we fulfilled the order of the Council of War.  Then I went back for Andres, whom two soldiers were guarding.  When he saw me, he knelt down and said, ‘Brother, forgive me!’  I was then in danger like him.  He was resentful like I was too, but ‘I cannot do anything’ was my answer to him.  When he realized his pleading fell on deaf ears he ran towards the forest, so we went after him.  We caught up with him at the bank of a river,  the innermost corner of a small river.  He was on the main river, and the small river was only a meander.  That is where we shot him.  Then we tried to bury them, as a sign of respect, but we did not have the tools to dig a grave.  In any case, we could dig a small one using our bayonets and cover the grave with branches of trees.

“We went back after accomplishing our task.  In my own feelings, I detested what I did, but when I reminisced on it, I could not do anything against those who gave me orders that I could not disobey.  I again read the letter from beginning to end.  We went back to Maragondon dejected of what happened.  If I only knew beforehand, I would have refused the assignment because I do not like that kind of service.  I would rather face dangers in a battle than perform the kind of assignment to someone who was not my enemy and had no ill feelings towards me.  When we were near the town of Maragondon we were met by the wife of Andres, Ms. Gregoria de Jesus, asking where we brought the two (Andres and Procopio)  who I had taken from her.  Held by my pity on her, I could not say anything because of the great sorrow it would bring to her.  I could only tell her: ‘Proceed on your way and inquire from the headman of Tala.’  That was a lie, but what would I say in my pity for her?  And we continue walking.  When we arrived, the center of the town was already full of Spaniards, everyone was in the thick of the fight.  There was fighting in the patio, in front of the church, in the convent and cannon fire was directed at the bell tower.  Fragments of stone flew as the bell tower was hit, and I lost my headgear, which I was unable to recover due to heavy fighting.  It did not take long when a Mauser bullet hit me in the chest, but I did not suffer much because the bullet ricocheted from the steel clock in the patio before it hit me.  When the Spaniards attacked with fixed bayonets, we could not endure anymore.  The dead and wounded lay strewn on the patio.  I don’t know what happened.  I was hit in my right leg; I could not stand up or crawl.  A soldier pulled me.   I was dragged like a branch of a tree across the river.  When we were on the other side, another soldier helped me.  We were able to get away from the rain of bullets, and the soldiers left me under a big tree.  The fight started in the morning, and the town was overrun at three in the afternoon.  Sounds of gunfire could still be heard up to six o’clock in the evening.  I stayed under the tree overnight alone.  I ate nothing even though I was hungry all day and night.   The following morning, I was brought to safety.  They tended my wounds and brought me to a place near Mount Buntis.  I did not see General Noriel, who gave me the orders, because of the dispersal of the troops on account of the heavy fighting.  Because of this incident and the three wounds I suffered, I will never forget that day when the Spaniards attacked the town of Maragondon, which was the same day the Bonifacio brothers were executed.”

“Manila, June 27, 1929

“Lazaro Makapagal”

(Author’s translation from Tagalog text found in Santos[Himagsikan], 30-34)

The Mystery in the Death of the Bonifacio Brothers

The death of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio had been a controversial subjectfor a long time because of the mystery that surrounded it.  The question asked was:

If they were to be killed, why was there a need to commute their sentence,  and if their sentence was commuted, why were they shot?” (Author’s translation of Tagalog text  in Santos[Katipunan], Repaged 195)

According to Santos, General Pio Del Pilar offered to solve the mystery in a statement he issued in 1929 saying that President Aguinaldo granted the brothers Bonifacio clemency, but when General Noriel received it, the Bonfacio brothers were already dead.  (Santos[Himagsikan], 34)

During the celebration of his 79th birthday, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Tejeros election, Aguinaldo was asked by his guests, who included historians and advisers, to explain the circumstances of the mysterious death of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio.  They asked him if it was true that the Bonifacio brothers were already dead when General Noriel received the commutation order.  Aguinaldo replied that this was a lie and took a draft of a statement from his private room, which he said essentially contained a similar statement that he was asked to sign, but he refused.

Aguinaldo explained to his guests that after he issued the commutation order, he was immediately approached by Generals Pio del Pilar and Mariano Noriel and several leading officials of the revolutionary government, pleading with him to recall the order for the sake of the continuity and stability of the revolution and the personal safety of the leadership.  He said that because of their entreaties, he was convinced to cancel the commutation and instructed General Noriel to implement the decision of the Council of War.   With this revelation, the guests requested Aguinaldo to formalize his statement, and he wrote in his own handwriting the following: '

“After the passage of a long time, all the debate on the death of the father of the Katipunan, the hero Andres Bonifacio, did not give value or benefit, and because things have changed and we have again gained our freedom and our lost Philippine Republic, I will remind everyone, while it may already be known to the public, that there is no mystery behind the death of the hero Andres Bonifacio. It will indeed be a mystery if that is what is written or pictured by subjective historians.

“The documents published and kept by Mr. Jose P. Santos will give credence and legitimacy to the judgment of the Council of War that tried and handed the sentence to the Bonifacio brothers to die by the shooting.

“The leadership of the proceedings resolutely confirmed the judgment and were unanimous as to the righteousness of the judgment. But when the papers were handed over to me, and because I did not want to sully the unity of our people for the revolution, because I was powerful then, I decided to amend the verdict on Andres and Procopio Bonifacio and commuted it to exile to a far-flung place.

“Now, when it became known I was approached by two members of the Council of War, General Mariano Noriel, and General Pio del Pilar, and my attention was called to the effect that ‘If you want the stability of our Revolutionary government to continue and if you want us to stay alive recall the commutation order given to the brothers.’ And so I recalled the order and instructed General Noriel to implement the verdict of the Council of War on the brothers.

“(Signed) Emilio Aguinaldo

Kawit, Kabite March 22, 1948”
(Author’s translation of Tagalog text found in Santos[Katipunan], Repaged 201)
In conclusion, Santos said: “Due to this story of General Aguinaldo, the debate about the mysterious death of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio is now resolved. The whole truth was revealed to us by the honorable former Chief of the Revolution and the first Philippine Republic through this important document that he has left with us today as a legacy for the history of our country and the Revolution.” (Author's translation of Tagalog text found in Santos[Katipunan], Repaged 202)

Sunday, January 21, 2024

A LAMENT by Mrs. Hilaria Aguinaldo

(This item is identical to Appendix VIII with the same title found on pages 398-401 of the book entitled "The Filipino Tragedy and Other Historical Facts Every Filipino Should Know," published by the author.)



Tarlac, October 5, 1899

I, a woman of limited resources, have been requested by the Red Cross Society to express to you, Filipino Soldiers, its praise and homage of gratitude for your efforts in defending our mother country – the Philippines – and preventing it from being taken away from us.

We salute you with words of respect and infinite thanks for having voluntarily renounced any remuneration from our government during such time as our mother country is in danger and for having also placed your property at her disposal in addition to your desire to fight for her, thereby putting your lives in jeopardy. Great, unsurpassed example! Were we to think of it and measure its magnitude our minds would be overcome, incapable of comprehending your chivalrous spirits. Were it not a shocking thing for us to wear trousers and to carry rifles, we would aid you in the struggle and die by your side, for what would our lives amount to if we should still have to live in slavery? As though we had seen it, the Americans will endeavor to extinguish the Filipino race for the absurd reason to prevent any future struggle between natives and Americans, so that they may reign all over the country. The so-called history of civilization affords us instances of this statement (and, if I am not mistaken, in America itself, the same thing has happened.) As an indication of what I have just stated, bad treatment which, in spite of their policy of attraction, is what they are according to our brothers in Manila and in towns captured by them. Under such circumstances, should we surrender? Never! I think that by keeping up our struggle we will be able within 10 years to attain the liberty and independence of the Philippines and that it will not take 20 years as you first thought it would. Since it is true that no one in this world is willing to endure such a thing, we should prefer death rather than slavery, for they are trying to subdue us by the efficacy of their powerful arms and not by the force of their rights, like those which we are fighting for. For this reason, I thank you, Filipino soldiers, very much. On the other hand, it is with humiliation that we, the women, are unable to render the same services as you do, gallantly fighting for the country, disregarding the quantity and quality of the arms of the enemy. Therefore, with all our hearts, we are rendering aid in the hospitals and will give you such assistance as is within our power. If there is no cloth left, we will gladly make the bandages for the wounded soldiers from our own clothing. And bear in mind that the Red Cross Society will never fail to give you assistance, even when you should unfortunately fall into the hands of the imperialists. The sacrifice is great, but as our aspirations are lofty and inestimable, we shall also sacrifice our highly esteemed lives and cherished property.

Allow me to compare our Mother Philippines with a handsome and wealthy young girl, who, on account of her two qualities, is loved by he who may happen to see her; if she disdains his courtship, she is maligned by him. In a like manner, the American imperialists, upon realizing that all their wooing was in vain, made up their minds to get the Philippines by the power of their arms, overwhelming her with opprobrium and preferring disgraceful charges against her in order to attain their desires. Their charges are entirely inconsistent. They affirm that the Filipinos are incapable of self-government, and yet they are the first in recognizing and respecting our men of learning since they urged upon our countrymen to accept positions – from the highest to the lowest ones – in the so-called Supreme Court. (We must also thank our countrymen who accepted such positions, for they will prove our capacity.) It appears that they are trying to enforce an evil procedure: whenever an American commits a punishable action against a Filipino, neither the courts of first instance nor the President of the Supreme Court has anything to do with him, but in cases where they have grounds for complaint, they file strong accusations with said bodies. It appears, further, that whatever their chief or General Otis wishes, has to be carried out. What sort of law is that? We should, however, pay no attention to it, since it is their practice in dealing with people of another race. We should only notice that they are hindering with their powerful arms our aspirations, and that they are not willing to listen to the pleadings for rights. We must, therefore, think of the best means to defend our Philippine country, even by treacherously killing them, one by one, which, in the long run, will exterminate them since we are short of arms and have sufficient rights. Although we are women, we can aid you in carrying out these “dukuts.” As an illustration, there is the case of what a member of this society has lately accomplished. An American officer is in love with her, but she refuses to reciprocate his passionate affection. The officer threatened her. The girl, acting through fear, pretended to accept him and, at the same time, appointed a place to meet him. When the officer was carrying out his designs and not having gone as far as the place appointed, he was captured by our flying guerrilla. This is not of great importance, nevertheless, it means a small loss caused to the imperialists.

I respectfully salute you, American country, famous in wealth and in sound principles, a model which all should imitate. If your fame is true, why do you allow your sons to take away what does not belong to them? I sincerely tell you that we are weak in the struggle for the lack of arms, but notwithstanding this, it is our duty to defend our country, because apart from our sacred rights, the Philippines is of our ownership. We should not have engaged in fighting each other, because it is against the agreement between our chief and your representative, Admiral Dewey, and his followers, who when they came to this country, gave us the assurance that you came here for the purpose of freeing the Philippines from slavery and to give her self-government, in addition to your saying that “Americans and Filipinos are brothers, the Spaniards are bad.” So we aided you, facilitating the landing of your troops, which cost not a drop of blood to you but plenty to the Filipinos. And when you had many soldiers here and when the Treaty of Paris was about to be ratified there [in America], unexpectedly you begun to fire against our soldiers who scared, ran away, a great many of them dying, and being unable to respond to your firing until received an order to that effect from the government, because it was strictly prohibited for them to do so. And now, we are, according to information furnished to America, charged with firing on you; due perhaps to said information, the imperialists won the popular votes in the Congress. It is logical to suppose that you give credit to such erroneous information, as everyone is apt to justify his own action, and it is especially true in the present case where you are foreseeing a new wealth. But you must realize that if such accusation were true, firstly, we, the Filipinos, would not have awaited the arrival of the American troops, but would have attacked where you were in the Tambo and Maitubig barrios, before the withdrawal of our troops from the districts of Manila; and secondly, the Filipinos are not so blind as to seek a dagger with which to stab his own body, as it would be to fight against you, famous both in wealth and bravery which we recognize. I think that you are not aware of the foregoing facts, which, for the sake of brevity, I have not fully mentioned here, because if you were, the war would have ceased long ago. Will you, the American people, permit the Filipinos to be throttled and murdered in order only that the imperialists may attain their desires, which, on the other hand, we are unable to prevent because, as I have stated above, we are fighting to defend our country? Are you complying with your Constitution, respected and esteemed by the world because of the excellence of its principles? I do not think that all of you are heedless to our claims; there is, yonder, the democratic party, under the leadership of Bryan, which advocates and demands justice be done to us by granting our independence. We know that your country was once a colony of England and the Honorable Kingdom of France assisted you in your struggle for independence. The Filipino people expect that you will not fail to imitate such exemplary conduct, inasmuch as it is but justice for you to do it. Though I am a weak woman, I can assure you that my prayer is that of the Filipino people. It is true that there are some autonomists, but they are acting as such under fear and in order that their property may not be destroyed. As they are my countrymen, I am not qualified to brand their conduct. You who read this article, judge them and say whether there is a man on earth who does not wish that his country or nation should enjoy independence. Oh! American people, in case my prayer reaches you not but is checked by the imperialists, we are, at any event, disposed to bear all kinds of sufferings.

And you, soldiers, defenders of the Philippines! If any of you has any scheme or devised which will strengthen our country, I again entreat you to produce it in order that all of us may aid you in carrying out the same, and in order that we may rest in independence which is the true peace.

(Signed) HILARIA RO. REYES DE AGUINALDO
President, Philanthropical Red Cross Society

AGUINALDO'S JUNE 12, 1899 ADDRESS IN ANGELES, PAMPANGA - 1st ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE


(This item is identical to Appendix VII with the same title found on pages 395-397 of the book entitled "The Filipino Tragedy and Other Historical Facts Every Filipino Should Know," published by the author.)

"Gentlemen: - We assembled to-day to commemorate a happy day for the Philippine people, the greatest event in our political evolution; the first anniversary of the proclamation of our independence, which took place in Kawit, on this same date in the year which has but just passed,- 1898.

"'Free and independent Philippines' was the first cry of this people, who in yearning for liberty, through love of justice, and the exercise of their own rights, made a great rush to witness in Kawit, this highly patriotic demonstration, the commencement of a new era of progress, and benefit for our adored country; and it was precisely to show to the entire world the unimpeachable facts of our most legitimate aspirations fixing the starting-point of our political march and sealing our acts with the stamp of our glorious ensign.

"The first triumph of our efforts was on May 28th of the same year; three hundred Spaniards under the command of Commander Pazos succumbed to the sharp fire of a small group of our untrained soldiers who were attacked in open field. Since that time our people have not rested nor tired; entire detachments of Spaniards have surrendered to our troops, and from day to day the people have been gaining their freedom.

"On 12th June, I898, Cavite, Bataan, Batangas, Morong, and Laguna declared themselves independent from Spanish dominion, and the opportune moment arrived for the events with which you are already acquainted; we hoisted for the first time, floating gayly and majestically in the wind this tricolor flag, the ensign of liberty, the symbol of our freedom, device of our faith ever constantly in the attainment of our unique ideal. See, here you have it! waving its clear folds which reflect in splendor the rays of the sun of liberty; behold it! Contemplate it! How beautiful, is it not? This symbolizes the virtue of our men of knowledge, the bravery of our soldiers, and the peace of the home.

"Filipinas! Dear daughter of the ardent sun of the tropics, committed by Providence to the care of illustrious Spain, be thou not ungrateful, acknowledge her, salute her, who was your mother, who nursed thee with the sap of her own culture and civilization; thou hast sought independence, thou hast emancipated thyself from her but cherish in heart the memory of more than three centuries in which thou hast lived under her uses, her language, her customs. It is true, she wished to stifle your hopes of independence, ay! in the same manner that a mother refuses, opposes, resists forever, separation from the daughter of her womb. But the joyful hour came. In the great book of the destiny of man, the Supreme Creator signaled the birth of a people, and by divine mission, thou hast achieved in His strength the sacred and inalienable right to liberty and independence. The flag that has been raised by a people worthy of the best privileges and enjoyments of liberty, and which assures our independence, we are obliged to defend at all times, even unto death; let us give courage and abnegation without limit, and even sacrifices that be necessary, and to-day, that we are provoked and brought to fight, let us go forth with our eyes fixed upon this ensign of the sun and the three stars, which signify to us our dearest ideals. Let us go forth to the fight against America, a nation powerful in elements of war and rich in resources; although we can count only upon the valor and self-denial of our soldiers and the patriotism of the Philippine people; the contest is an unequal one, but no matter. Justice and rights are on our side, for it is known the American people are opposed to annexation. Who can doubt that after we have demonstrated by positive actions our ability for self-government, or rather 'a government of the people by the people,' this same nation, which today appears to manifest a strong greed in its efforts to possess our territory by means of war, this same nation will be the one to offer us the olive branch, recognizing our independence.

"We have never hidden our hopes; we have announced before all the nations, calling the Almighty Creator and ruler of the Universe to witness that we desire nothing more than our independence, and in seeking that we do not waver one moment. We could very well accept the autonomy which America offers us -but what could we do with it if, from beginning to end, we want independence, the sum total of the aspirations of the people, according to an unhidden inevitable law marked out by the Supreme Creator? If we accept it, in order that afterward to fall by force of arms under the sway of American sovereignty-which we believe the autonomists through perfidy and knavery are attempting -we cannot accept it, we do not want to be traitors, but to show ourselves frankly and sincerely - nothing more. We persist in our idea which is the one legitimate and noble aspiration of a people who want at all costs to preserve national honor cleansed of all spot or blemish, pure as crystal, 'having a high polish, without a streak, without a flaw, without a stain,' and there will not be a single Filipino who would be an autonomist. Those who seem to be (as the people say they are), are nothing more than conventionalists who fear to lose their riches, as the war seemed to menace such loss.

"Filipinos! Let us be constant! faithful! Let us bind more strongly the cords of unity and end the conflict, crying Viva la Independencia! Viva la Union de los Filipinos! Viva el ejeicito Libertador! [Long live Independence! Long live the Union of the Philippine people! Long live the Army of Liberation!]"

The New York Times February 6, 1964 Item on Aguinaldo

(This item is identical to Appendix VI with the same title found on pages 390-394 of the book entitled "The Filipino Tragedy and Other Historical Facts Every Filipino Should Know," published by the author.)


“… his struggle for Philippine independence, his love of freedom, and his devotion to the country willcontinue to inspire his people. He was the very incarnation of the Filipino desire for liberty and freedom,”- (General Douglas MacArthur) His monument is the Republic of the Philippines.” - (U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson)


“MANILA, Thursday, Feb. 6—Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the hero of the Philippine struggle for independence, died today at Veterans Memorial Hospital. He was 94 years old.

“Frail, almost blind and unable to walk, General Aguinaldo had spent most of the last four years in the hospital. After suffering the latest in a series of strokes last week, he rallied briefly yesterday and talked with relatives.

“Emilio Aguinaldo was the first of the great Filipino revolutionaries and a forerunner of the band of Asian patriots who fought in the 20th century to free their countries from colonial domination.

“He led the Filipino revolt against Spain in 1896, fighting with a collection of barefoot peasants. Three years later he sparked an insurrection against United States troops he had once regarded as liberators.

“For almost 50 years afterwards he sat in his fortress-like house near Manila and waited—a spectator watching the parade of history. Proud, military in his bearing, he wore starched uniforms with high stiff collars.

“Finally, on July 4, 1946, his homeland was granted its independence, and

General Aguinaldo marched down Manila's Dewey Boulevard. With great ceremony, he removed the black bow tie he had worn for more than four decades as a symbol of mourning. At 80, he became a member of the Philippine Council of State, composed of elder wise men who advised the President. “I’m only a helper,” he once said, a little wistfully. “Once I was President.”

“Born to parents of middle class stock on March 22, 1869, Emilio Aguinaldo grew up at Kawit in Cavite province, about an hour's drive south of Manila. He was educated at a Catholic school in the capital.

“Even as a youth, he made a striking figure. Five feet four inches tall, slender and poised, he was a master fencer and a good shot. He cropped “his dark hair closely, and when he became famous his haircut did too; young men throughout the islands took to wearing “Aguinaldo cuts. ”

“In 1895, he joined the Association of the Sons of the Country, a revolutionary group, and the next year took part in its effort to overthrow the Spaniards. He led the assault against the Spanish garrison in Kawit and overcame its commandant in hand‐to‐hand combat.

“Armed only with bolo knives and a few shotguns, General Aguinaldo's guerrillas fell on the Spaniards at Binakayan on Nov. 11, 1896. The Spanish regulars, under Gen. Blanco, Governor General of the Philippines, were routed.

“Spain poured in reinforcements and backed the rebels into a mountain stronghold north of Manila. But the diplomats in Madrid, pressed for money and men to put down another rebellion in Cuba, decided to sue for peace.

“They persuaded General Aguinaldo to go into exile with 40 of his followers, on the condition that sweeping reforms in the colonial administration would be made. They also gave the guerrilla leader 600,000 pesos, then worth more than $300,000.

“Early in 1898. Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in the great naval battle of Manila Bay. General Aguinaldo rallied his followers and returned to the Philippines under circumstances that have never been firmly established.
“General Aguinaldo always insisted that Commodore Dewey had sought his assistance and promised that the Philippines would be free after the defeat of the Spanish. Commodore (later Admiral) Dewey, during his lifetime, said coldly and repeatedly that no such pledge had been given.

“Nevertheless, on June 12, 1898, General Aguinaldo stood on the balcony of his home in Kawit and proclaimed the independence of the Philippines. The next year, wearing a top hat. he gravely took office as his country's first President.

“The United States Government was committed, however, to a policy of colonial expansion, and the Philippines had come to be regarded as the American share of the white man's burden.

“So the American Army (one of its commanders was Gen. Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas) began a long war to subdue the Filipinos.

“The war is seldom described in American history books. Before it was over, more than a quarter‐million people had died, most of them Filipino refugees killed by disease, starvation and exposure.

“By 1901, General Aguinaldo had been pushed back to Palanan, in remote northern Luzon. On March 27, in the middle of a steaming jungle morning, the general was sitting behind his desk at his little headquarters.

“Suddenly firing broke out in the compound, and General Aguinaldo rushed to the window to shout to his men to stop wasting ammunition. When he turned back, he found himself looking down the barrel of a pistol held by an American ex-newspaperman, a brigadier general of Kansas Volunteers named Frederick Funston.

“General Funston, the son of a Kansas Representative popularly known as “Foghorn ” Funston, had marched a force of Americans and Filipinos loyal to the United States through a dense jungle to reach Palanan.

“The party's members represented themselves to the natives as Filipino insurgents who had captured the Americans and ‘were reporting with them to General Aguinaldo's hideout. Deceived by a forged letter, the rebel general had even sent them supplies. Theodore Roosevelt later described General Funston as a man of “iron courage, ” but the British considered his exploit poor cricket. General Aguinaldo himself described his captor, in the years that followed, as a man “with a big heart and fierce courage.”

“The insurgent leader after long torment, finally signed a statement ending the war and pledging his loyalty to the United States. “I believe I am serving thee, my beloved country,” he said.

“General Aguinaldo, a hero to most of his countrymen despite his capture, went back to the gingerbread‐towered house in Kawit and retired from public life. In 1935 he ran for President of the Philippines Commonwealth against Manuel Quezon and lost.

“In 1942, he went on the radio to urge General Douglas MacArthur and the combined United States‐Filipino forces on Bataan to surrender. Some years later, in his liquid Spanish, he told a visitor why:

“ ‘I was just remembering the fight I led. I saw my own soldiers die without affecting future events. To me that seemed to be what was happening on Bataan, and it seemed like a good thing to stop.

“During and after the war, he was accused of collaborating with the Japanese, but he was cleared without a trial in a general amnesty proclamation in 1948. Two of his greatest days came when he was more than 90 years old. On March 22, 1962, his 93rd birthday. President Diosdado Macapagal and American generals and admirals went to Kawait to honor him.

“He sat listening to waltzes played by a United States Air Force Band. All around him were American officers in dress whites, admiring faded photographs with inscriptions to the man Americans once called ‘ that bandit Aguinaldo.’

“Then on June 12 of that year he went to the Luneta Grandstands in Manila to take the cheers of his countrymen celebrating the republic's newly designated Independence Day. It had been 64 years since he proclaimed his country's freedom.

“He married Maria Agoncillo in 1930 after the death of his first wife, Hilaria, by whom he had six children. His second wife died last year in the Veterans Hospital.

“Both President Johnson and General MacArthur issued tributes to General Aguinaldo last night.

“ We are confident,” the President said, ”that his struggle for Philippine independence, his love of freedom and his devotion to country will continue to inspire his people. His monument is the Republic of the Philippines.”

“He was the very incarnation of the Filipino desire for liberty and freedom,” General MacArthur declared, ‘ and his country owes him much. He was a lifelong friend of mine and his death saddens me.’”


Saturday, January 13, 2024

Crises of Leadership in the Katipunan

(This write-up is identical to the article with the same title found on pages 64-80 of the book entitled "The Filipino Tragedy and Other Historical Facts Every Filipino Should Know," published by the author. The sources and references indicated here are contained on pages 402-415 of the book.)


The Katipunan, more popularly known by its initials KKK (Kataastaasang Kagalangalang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan), was wracked by leadership crises from inception in 1892 up to the time it was replaced by the Revolutionary government in 1897.


The Katipunan was established in July 1892, when Dr. Jose Rizal was banished to exile in Dapitan. In October of that year, an election was held, and the following constituted the first Supreme Council and officers:

Deodato Arellano – President
Andres Bonifacio – Secretary
Valentin Diaz – Treasurer
Ladislao Diwa, Teodoro Plata, and Briccio Pantas – Councilors 

Arellano was the brother-in-law of Marcelo H. Del Pilar, having married his sister Hilaria (Yayang).  His election as the first President of Katipunan must have been in deference to Del Pilar, who is credited with having inspired the organization of the Katipunan. 

On the involvement of Marcelo H. Del Pilar, St. Clair writes:

 “…Marcelo H. del Pilar, from Madrid, in July 1892, advised the creation of another association, which was to be similar thereto (La Liga Filipina), but which was to include the agricultural laborers and persons of little or no education, but who directed in the localities by the caciques and chiefs, were to form an enormous nucleus which should, at the proper time, give forth the cry of rebellion. He (Pilar) provided minute instructions concerning the organization and forwarded a project of regulations. Deodato Arellano (brother-in-law of Marcelo) Andres Bonifacio, Ladislao Diwa, and Teodoro Plata were those commissioned to carry into practice the project of Pilar; they discussed the regulations and added to them making them still more terrifying, agreeing that they should all immediately proceed with the preparatory works.” (St. Clair, 38-39)

 Jose Dizon testified before the Olive Commission regarding the formation, purposes, and regulations of the Katipunan, viz:

 “… on the same day in which General Despujol ordered the deportation of Rizal, there gathered in a house in calle Ilaya, Bonifacio, Arellano, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Dian, and the witness, and they agreed to form a society to be known as the Katipunan, the object and ends of which were to be filibusterism, or, in other words, the liberty of the country from Spanish rule; the six persons present immediately proceed to perform upon themselves the incision of the pacto-de-sangre, signing with their own blood a blank paper, placing after the signature, the symbolic name each chose for himself. They then drew up the program of the Society. This program was composed of 6 articles, viz: 1st: to constitute a secret society known as the Katipunan; 2nd: that the organization was to be by triangles, to the end that no more than three members should know one another; 3rd: that the initiated should pay one real entrance fee, and a half real as a monthly subscription; 4th: that as the number of the members increased they should found one or more balangay in each district; 5th: to try to gather funds to carry out the purposes of the society; 6th: that when the opportunity occurred they should reform these articles. They also agreed upon the form of oath which should be taken by the initiated, which was to promise to shed even the last drop of blood for the liberty of the Philippines. The Katipunan was founded upon masonic usage adapted to the character of the association. Its formation was one of triangles, each new Katipunero being bound to attract to the association, two others to occupy the opposite angles. This formation was eventually changed on account of the extent to which the society extended, it management becoming very difficult. The particular triangles were broken up and the association formed in three degrees. The first degree was composed of the recently initiated members. These each possessed a mask and some form of arm, either fire-arm or bolo, the cost of which was borne by the member possessing it. The members who enjoyed the second degree also possessed masks and wore as a regalia a ribbon to which was attached a medal bearing a letter (equivalent to K) of the old-time form of script of the pre-Spanish Filipino; also a sword and banner crossed. The third-degree members possessed red masks, the color being distinctive of the degree, in the same way as the color of the second-degree was green and that of the first, black. These colors were symbolic: green signified hope, and red, war. Black was but a general color common to bandits all the world over. The masks of the third degree bore a triangle with three K's in the upper part, in the ancient Filipino script, and at the base the letters Z.'. LI.'. B.'…. The inferior inscription signified ‘sons of the people.’ Each degree had its pass words and the members only knew those of their own degree.” (St. Clair, 225-228) 

Andres Bonifacio initiated the recruitment of members by the Katipunan through the triangle method, and he recruited his brother, Procopio, and Restituto Javier. Ladislao Diwa recruited Roman Basa and Teodoro Gonzales.  Teodoro Plata recruited Briccio Pantas and Valentin Diaz. (Santos[Himagsikan], 14)

 First Conflict of Leadership

The following year, the consensus was that the triangle recruitment method did not bring in as many members as desired, and it was decided to do away with the system and instead allow anyone to bring in as many recruits.  Andres Bonifacio also asked to remove Deodato Arellano from the office of the President because he was a coward and did not dare participate in meetings (Taylor[I], 230).  So, in the election of February of 1893, a new set of officers was elected as follows:

Roman Basa – President
Andres Bonifacio – Fiscal
Jose Turino – Secretary
Teodoro Gonzales and Ladislao Diwa – Councilors

A certain Tomas Remigio startled the Supreme Council after he accused Andres Bonifacio, the Treasurer, of mishandling the funds.  President Basa arranged for a meeting among the parties involved, and at that point, Bonifacio showed a tobacco box full of receipts of advances to him and other members of the organization.  Remigio remarked that the fund's purpose is to further the objective of attaining liberty for the country, not to lend the funds to the members.   The enmity between Remigio and Bonifacio blew wide open with Remigio claiming that he received information he had been ordered assassinated by Bonifacio through the Camara Secreta and proclaimed before a group in the presence of Bonifacio that he would write a letter saying that in the event he is killed, the assassin was Bonifacio.  (Tomas Remigio’s open letter kept by Jose P. Santos)

 This incident was the cause of the replacement of Basa by Bonifacio.  Pio Valenzuela narrated this event clearly in his testimony to the Olive Commission, viz:

"The President, Roman Basa, having examined the books of Andres Bonifacio, treasurer of the society, saw that he was keeping his accounts very badly, and was robbing Society.  For this reason they both resigned and insulted each other.  Andres Bonifacio called a general meeting of the Society in which he stated that Basa had said that all the initiates in the Katipunan were thieves and that the Katipunan was an association of robbers.  The members of the assembly were incensed by this insult and elected Andres Bonifacio president..”  (Taylor[I], 230-231)

After the election of Bonifacio as president, the Supreme Council was constituted by the following:

Andres Bonifacio – President
Emilio Jacinto – Secretary of State
Teodoro Plata – Secretary of War
Briccio Pantas – Secretary of Justice
Aguedo del Rosario – Secretary of Interior
Enrique Franco – Secretary of Finance
(KalawMaximo[Development],75)

 Alienation of Pio Valenzuela

On May 3, 1896, Bonifacio called a meeting of the Katipunan, which was held at the house of Valentin Cruz in Pasig, to announce that he wanted the revolution to commence. He likened the Katipunan to a pregnant woman who would have a baby before its time. Emilio Aguinaldo and two others – Benigno Santi and Santiago Alvarez, objected saying that the society was ill-prepared to rise against the well-equipped and armed Spanish army. After an exchange of opinion on the matter, it was decided to consult and seek the consent of Dr. Jose Rizal. Pio Valenzuela in the company of a blind man, Raymundo Mata, was delegated the task. Upon his return, Valenzuela reported directly to Bonifacio and the two were tight-lipped, creating apprehension among the members on whether Rizal was for or against the revolution. (Alvarez, 10-14)

In his testimony to the Olive Commission, Valenzuela said that at first Bonifacio did not want to believe in the unsatisfactory result he had obtained, “but when he was convinced he began to insult Dr. Rizal, saying that he was a coward, and using other injurious expressions,” and prohibited him from telling anyone what Rizal had told him, that the revolution was untimely and inadvisable.   But Valenzuela “communicated it to Captain Roman of Pandacan, Emilio Jacinto and others, whom he does not remember, and the news having once gotten out was spread abroad, especially by those who had offered to contribute money in the meeting at Pasig.” (Taylor[I], 229-230)  “This breach of confidence on the part of Valenzuela brought about the separation of himself and Bonifacio, and the former presented his resignation as doctor and fiscal of the society.  Bonifacio opposed the idea of his resignation, but it was finally accepted, and the former friends parted company each to work in his own sphere.” (St. Clair, 269-270)

 Alienation of Teodoro Plata

Teodoro Plata was not only a ranking member of the Katipunan. He was also Bonifacio's brother-in-law, having married Bonifacio’s sister Petrona (Nonay). After the discovery of the Katipunan, Plata was given the impossible task by Bonifacio to kidnap the Spanish Governor-General and other officials with the intent to hold them hostages as security for granting their demands. Plata refused to comply with the order and decided to stow away and disappear. Bonifacio was angered and threatened to have the head removed from the shoulders of anyone who dared to disobey him and issued orders for Plata’s capture, commanding his death wherever he should be found. (St. Clair, 134-135)

Plata was not killed or captured as Bonifacio had ordered, but he presented himself to the Spanish authorities under the amnesty program. However, he was tried and convicted of treason and shot at the Bagumbayan field (Luneta) on February 6, 1897, together with Vicente Molina, Apolonio Dela Cruz, Hermegildo Reyes, Jose Trinidad, Pedro Nicodemus, Felciano del Rosario and Gervasio Samson (page 26, “Alamnaque Manila Galante para el ano 1912, edited by D. Juan Fajardo), the same fate that befell a month earlier to Roman Basa on January 11, 1897, together with Domingo Franco, Moises Salvador, Numeriano Adriano, Antonio Salazar, Jose Dizon, Luis Enciso Villareal, Faustino Villareal, Ramon A. Padilla, Manuel Abella, Cristobal Medina, and Francisco Rojas. (Russell, 310-311)

Squabble Over Two Tin Cans of Gold Coins

After the first major engagement between the Katipuneros and the Spaniards at Pinaglabanan, where the Katipuneros were repulsed, the rebels dispersed, and each one sought his own safety. Bonifacio and his close associates and supporters fled to Balara and then to the mountains of San Mateo. While at his hiding place, he received an invitation from General Mariano Alvarez of the Magdiwang Council of Cavite for him to make a visit to the province. Bonifacio thought it was his duty to visit the places where the revolution had spread and decided to accept the invitation. He designated Julio Nakpil officer-in-charge of Pantayanin and appointed him deputy President Supremo of the Katipunan on a provisional basis. As he was prepared to leave, an ugly scene developed between him and General Luis Malinis over the custody of two tin cans of gold coins. (Alvarez, 169)

In Santiago Alvarez’s memoirs is included an account of Colonel Genaro delos Reyes about this incident, the substantive portion of which is quoted below;


He (Bonifacio) prepared to leave for Cavite and when he was ready to go, an incident soured the relations in the Katipunan ranks.  Gen.  Luis Malinis suddenly came up and demanded that one of the two tin biscuit boxes filled with gold coins they had excavated while building the defenses at San Mateo be turned over to him.  Many Katipuneros chided General Luis, saying that the trove should not be despoiled for private purposes, but should be used to help finance the Revolution.  Individual members should not profit from it, on the other hand, they should try to augment Katipunan coffers through solicitations and contributions.  This was the prevailing opinion among the rank and file, and they tried to dissuade Malinis from pursuing his demands.  But just as the Supremo and his party were about to leave,  General Malinis called his men to his side and grabbed a small cannon to aim at the Supremo’s group. 

’I was asking you to give me one of the cans of gold and you refused,” Mailinis shouted sternly; ‘now you cannot go if you do not leave both cans.’

“’Don’t you respect anybody anymore?’ I (Colonel Delos Reyes) asked quickly.
“’I still give my due respect, why not? But you must give us what is due us. You must acknowledge that we were the finders of the treasure and that we risked our lives doing so. And can you bear to leave us, your brethren, without any means even to buy our food?’
To avoid further trouble, Sec. Emilio Jacinto advised the Supremo to accede and leave one box of the gold coins with General Luis. I myself handed the box to the general.” (Alvarez, 169-170)
An account still has to surface that tells the story of what finally happened to the tin can of gold coins. Did Bonifacio take it to Cavite, or did he entrust it to someone at Pantayanin? There are accounts about Colonel Intong trying to extort information from Gregoria de Jesus while she was tied to a tree on the whereabouts of the funds of the Katipunan. Was the Colonel after the gold coins? There was also an accusation by the prosecutors during the trial of Bonifacio that he bribed some officers and men of the Magdalo and Magdiwang armies to join the army he was organizing in Limbon. At that time, Bonifacio had 35 men under him, mainly his entourage from San Mateo, armed with 30 Remingtons, 2 Mausers, and 13 percussion Muskets (Taylor[I], 307). If it was true that Bonifacio indeed gave the bribes, where did he get the funds? Did it come from the gold coins? No definite answer can be given now, and this tin can of gold coins that General Luis Malinis allowed Bonifacio to have will remain a mystery.

Bonifacio’s Unheeded Order to Arrest Vicente Fernandez

Vicente Fernandez was one of four generals appointed by Andres Bonifacio to lead in the assault of Manila during the August 29, 1896 uprising. The others were Aguedo del Rosario, Ramon Bernado, and Gregorio Coronel (Corpuz, 48). According to Corpuz, the assignment given to Fernandez was revised. He was supposed to lead a command in Morong and Laguna to support the August 29 attack in Manila. In any case, Fernandez never showed up, raised no troops, and led no uprising (Corpuz, 97). And so when Bonifacio visited Cavite at the invitation of General Mariano Alvarez, he unexpectedly found Fernandez there.

Bonifacio arrived in Cavite in the late afternoon of December 17, 1896 (Alvarez, 67). He was received with pomposity – brass band, flags, fireworks, and honor guard. People along the way shouted, “Long live the King!” (Corpuz, 97). “The following morning,” writes Alvarez, “Messrs. Emilio Aguinaldo, Baldomero Aguinaldo, Daniel Tirona, Vicente Fernandez, and others visited him. Upon seeing Katipunero Vicente Fernandez, the Supremo invoked his authority as Supremo and ordered Fernandez arrested and rigorously interrogated. He accused Fernandez, a lawyer, of negligence that had led to the defeat of the People’s troops in an encounter on 29th August 1896. But the Supremo’s order was taken as a joke and ignored right then and there in the center of the revolutionary struggle, so he stopped talking and kept his thoughts to himself.” (Alvarez, 67)

Cavite Revolutionaries Divided

The first Katipunan council that was established in Cavite was the Magdiwang council. This was done during a visit to Noveleta at 9 o’clock in the morning of Good Friday of April 1896 by Andres Bonifacio, accompanied by Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Emilio Jacinto, and Pantaleon Torres. Mariano Alvarez was named president. At five o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, the Katipunan officials, accompanied by Santiago Alvarez, proceeded to Kawit and organized another council, which came to be known as the Magdalo council, with Baldomero Aguinaldo as president. During a visit by Baldomero Aguinaldo to Mariano Alvarez in Noveleta, the former was told that the Magdalo council “should belong to the category of a local community chapter instead of a provincial level, since the supreme president of the Katipunan gave it no sanction as such.” (Alvarez, 7-8)

Mariano Alvarez unilaterally divided the towns of Cavite between the Magdiwang and the Magdalo councils. Magdalo was assigned Kawit, Bakood, Imus, Dasmarinas, Silang, Mendez, and Amadeo. On the other hand, the Magdiwang council took over the towns of Noveleta, Salinas, San Francisco de Malabon, Tanza, Naic, Ternate, Maragondon, Indang, Magallanes, Alfonso, Bailen, and Mainam. (Ronquillo, 309-310)

Right at the beginning, Mariano Alvarez was already assuming leadership of the province of Cavite. His actions were probably made on the strength of his appointment by Bonifacio as head of the combined Katipunan forces in Cavite during the meeting on August 24, 1896, to discuss the details of the plans for the August 29th uprising. However this appointment was never announced nor shown to the Magdalo officials and was not implemented. This unimplemented appointment could explain why Alvarez invited Bonifacio to come to Cavite to formally install him as the official head of the Katipunan in Cavite.

And Bonifacio did exactly that during his stay in Cavite – install Alvarez as head of Cavite. His partiality to the Magdiwang council was probably not only because his wife, Gregoria de Jesus, was the niece of Mariano Alvarez but more likely because he probably felt more comfortable siding with the Magdiwang leadership. First, he accepted the position of Haring Bayan in the reorganized Magdiwang council, relegating Mariano Alvarez to Vir-rey (Virrey) or second in command (Ronquillo, 140). Then he announced to Aguinaldo that the two councils were to be merged into one government and leadership, and appointed Mariano Alvarez as President, Baldomero Aguinaldo as Vice President, and he (Emilio Aguinaldo) as Lieutenant General. Ronquillo writes that Aguinaldo declined the appointment and courteously asked Bonifacio, “Was this, sir, the will of the people?” Bonifacio quickly answered, “No, I just did that on my own.” and continued Bonifacio, “Don’t they know, including yourself, that I am the Supremo who has the sole authority to make decisions?” Aguinaldo answered that he would not agree to the decision and would only recognize the people's will, adding that Bonifacio should have consulted the Magdalo officials before making the decision. Bonifacio retorted, “Why, did I make the wrong decision?” Aguinaldo did not respond to the question but told Bonifacio they should stop arguing about the issue because time was already against them, considering the Spaniards had massed their troops in Las Pinas, ready to march to Cavite. And if the matter of merging the councils had to be pursued, continued Aguinaldo, those who will occupy the leadership positions must be elected by the people. (Ronquillo, 552-553)

Conflict in Military Strategy Between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo

Bonifacio and Aguinaldo had disparate views of organizing the troops in the defense of Cavite. Bonifacio did not want to combine the forces of Magdiwang and Magdalo into one fighting force. Instead, he thought it better to separate the two armies, each defending his turf. On the other hand, Aguinaldo believed Magdiwang and Magdalo armies should merge and face the enemy together. Bonifacio’s approach prevailed, considering that he was then the Supremo of the Katipunan.

Corpuz describes this impasse between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio in his book, “Saga and Triumph”.  He writes: 

“.. when he (Aguinaldo) read in the Diario de Manila of the coming offensive against Cavite, he immediately went to Bonifacio in the latter’s quarters in San Francisco de Malabon.  He asked the Supremo … to assign some Magdiwang troops to help the Magdalo forces against the enemy.  (Aguinaldo’s news on strength of the enemy was garbled; he said the attack forces under Gen. Lachambre numbered 40,000 troops.)

 

“According to Aguinaldo, Bonifacio declined to grant his request, on the ground that the Magdiwang was equally in danger, vulnerable to an enemy strike from the beach or seacoast.  To this reply, Aguinaldo explained that in all their engagement with the enemy, the latter had never attempted any beach or coastal landing; Aguinaldo left.

 

“Aguinaldo relates a second meeting with Bonifacio, also, in San Francisco de Malabon.  In January 1897, he affirms, he observed movements of large enemy forces in Las Pinas, north of Bacoor; the enemy troops were being deployed to Alabang and to Sto. Domingo near Silang.  Only then he says did he believe in the newspaper reports of an enemy drive against Cavite.  He swallowed his pride and went to Bonifacio anew.  He supported his request with the opinion that the Magdiwang were safe and in no danger of being engaged in action, and with the appeal that they all join forces for the sake of the Motherland.

 

“As before, Bonifacio replied that the enemy could strike at the Magdiwang any time, which no one could anticipate or predict, and he could not, therefore, assign any troops to the Magdalo.  Aguinaldo persisted, explaining that the enemy would never reach the Magdiwang lines without first overrunning and annihilating the Magdalo.  This was because, he added, the Magdalo towns faced the enemy, while the Magdiwang towns were at the rear.  The Aguinaldo account goes on with Bonifacio sticking to his basic position that the Magdiwang could not afford to weaken its forces by lending part of its troops.  Moreover, Bonifacio anticipated that the Magdalo’s chances of beating back the strong and fresh enemy troops were low, but the latter would retreat and fall back to the Magdiwang lines; at this point, their joint forces would defeat the enemy.

 

“It was an important exchange of strategy concepts between the two leaders.  Aguinaldo says that he replied to the effect that it would be wiser to join forces earlier at the Magdalo lines, thus preventing the enemy from breaking through and reaching the Magdiwang lines.  But Bonifacio did not budge, and Aguinaldo ends his account by stating that he left Bonifacio ‘full of sadness and misgivings;”  (Corpuz, 114-115)


Being the Supremo, Bonifacio had the last say. Aguinaldo’s proposal was not considered, and as history now records, the result was a disaster - the Spaniards overran Cavite, and the decimated Revolutionary Army dispersed to nearby provinces, with Aguinaldo and remnants of his troops making their escape towards Biak-na-bato in Bulacan. This was perhaps the basis of Aguinaldo making the remark about Bonifacio’s military capability when he said: “If the Supremo commands all the forces of the revolution, he could if elected as president, lead the Revolutionary Army to destruction in just one engagement! And that would cause the downfall of the revolution.” (Ronquillo, 139)

Conflict at the Aborted Imus Meeting

On December 29, 1896, the Magdalo council invited the Magdiwang to a meeting at the friar estate house in Imus. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the merging of the two councils into one army, one government, and one leadership. While the host was Magdalo, Bonifacio took it upon himself to chair the meeting. The meeting prepared for the election to all the posts in a unified government council except the office of head of the revolutionary government which was to be reserved to Bonifacio as Supremo of the Katipunan.

Edilberto Evangelista of the Magdalo council objected to the Magdiwang proposal that Bonifacio be automatically designated head of the Filipino revolution.  He explained that the revolution was no longer the revolution of the Katipunan but, in truth, was truly a Filipino revolution, considering that the fighting force was composed not only of Katipunan initiates but largely of ordinary people.  Therefore, according to Evangelista, the election to the post of head of revolution should be done by popular vote. (Corpuz, 300)

 Nothing was achieved in the meeting because of the dispute over which faction should prevail, with each group insisting on “mine” rather than “our” point of view. (Alvarez, 70)  Bonifacio and Aguinaldo tried to conceal their deepening rift, but the unfolding events exacerbated their differences.  Santiago Alvarez writes: 

The loose talk tend to smear each other’s reputation until things came to a head one evening in January 1897.  It was nearing full moon when Gen.  Emilio Aguinaldo and Sec. Mariano Trias, on one hand, and the Supremo Bonifaco and his brother Procopio, on the other, departed that night from the house of Mrs. Estefania Potente in San Francisco de Malabon.  Mrs. Potente’s house was then being used as the headquarters of the Magdiwang government.  The four men going down the stairs were each armed with a gun.  They walked to an alley inside the town and positioned themselves two feet apart from the other pair, under the foliage of a tree.  At first, the parties exchanged some heated words and then aimed their guns at each other.  At this point, General Apoy (Santiago Alvarez) suddenly appeared, stood between the adversaries, and said sternly, ‘Shoot me first before you proceed with what you intend to do!’

 

“General Apoy, who had been secretly watching the goings-on from the house where the four men had come from, rushed out in time to stop a mishap that should never be allowed to happen.  Shortly afterwards, General Vibora arrived on the scene and helped to mediate.  The antagonists were persuaded to talk things over at the home of the Secretary of the Treasury Diego Mojica.  Then, they fetched the parish priest, Fr. Manuel Trias, uncle of Sec. Mariano Trias.  The priest tried his best to restore amicable solutions:  he had them embrace each other and afterwards thanked God and prayed for peace and love among them.  Finally, he kissed each one on the cheek and blessed them in the name of God and the Trinity.”  (Alvarez, 76)


As seen in succeeding events, the rift between the two leaders was carried over in terms of each one’s concept of military strategy and the contest for leadership of the revolution.

Conflict at the Tejeros Convention

Much has been written about the Tejeros elections in San Francisco Malabon of March 22, 1897, but the matters usually being highlighted are (1) the claim that Bonifacio was cheated and (2) that Bonifacio walked out and declared the election null and void. The more important issues that were revealed during the election are simply glossed over and not given due consideration, viz: the rejection of the Katipunan as a form of government, the loss of prestige of Bonifacio, and, finally, his conflict with Colonel Santiago Rillo.

The election at Tejeros resulted from the meeting called by the Magdiwang chaired by Jacinto Lumbreras, with the Magdalos attending. As announced by the Magdiwang, the agenda was to discuss the best way to defend the areas still under control by the Magdiwang. Severino de las Alas proposed that it was necessary to first establish a government, and the matter of how to defend the territory would fall into place. The Magdiwang countered that the Katipunan is already the government that holds authority over the islands. The Magdalos pointed out, however, that the Katipunan is neither a monarchy nor a republic and what they aspire for is to establish a government of the Philippine republic. Antonio Montenegro gave a snide remark that “To let the status quo prevail, they who were in the Revolution would be no better than a pack of bandits or of wild animals.” His remark caused an uproar among the attendees, which took time for the order to be restored. After this incident, Lumbreras gave up the Chairmanship, and Bonifacio took over. He said that while he believed the Katipunan already met the needs of the revolution, he was yielding to the assembly’s resolve to establish “another and different supreme and sovereign Katipunan.” There was unanimous approval, cheers, and jubilation at the “founding of the Government of the Filipino Republic.” And the assembly proceeded to elect the officers. (Alvarez, 84-85; Corpuz, 120)

The apparent loss of prestige of Supremo Andres Bonifacio became more pronounced during the election. Aguinaldo was not present in the meeting because he was in command of the Magdalo troops defending Pasong Santol in Dasmarinas that the Spaniards were attacking, but he was elected in absentia as President, beating Bonifacio by a wide margin. To make matters worse for Bonifacio, the assembly rejected the proposal to make him the Vice President, having garnered the next highest number of votes. In the ensuing balloting that Bonifacio allowed to proceed, he again lost, this time to Mariano Trias for the Vice Presidency. (Corpuz, 121) 

Ultimately, Bonifacio was elected to the lowest position of Director of Interior over Mariano Alvarez. Bonifacio’s election brought the assembly to another crisis. Daniel Tirona took the floor and questioned the qualification of Bonifacio to serve in the position he was elected and instead proposed to have Jose del Rosario, a lawyer and a Magdiwang, occupy the position. This violation of the rules angered Bonifacio who drew his revolver to shoot Tirona. Fortunately, Bonifacio was restrained and Tirona lost himself among the crowd.

After this incident that Tirona triggered, Bonifacio walked out and declared the election results null and void, bringing the leadership to the next crisis, the conflict between Bonifacio and Colonel Santiago Rillo.

Before Bonifacio could leave the assembly, Rillo, the head of the delegation from Batangas, asked him to reconsider his decision and accept the position to which he was elected. Bonifacio refused and made the motion to leave. Rillo then told Bonifacio that he had no power or authority to declare null and void elections that were already agreed upon by the assembly and that he was assuming the chairmanship of the meeting with the approval of the assembly, which was granted to him, and the assembly continued the proceedings and confirmed the results of the election. The assembly also sent a delegation to Pasong Santol to ask Aguinaldo to come to take his oath of office. (Corpuz, 121-122)

Crises After the Tejeros Elections

After his defeat at Tejeros, Bonifacio distanced himself from the newly established revolutionary government. The day following the elections, he issued a demand known as the “Acta de Tejeros”, signed by forty or so officials of the Magdiwang, asking all elected officials to vacate their positions because of what he claimed were irregularities that marred the elections. The Magdalos rejected the demand, saying that the elections were conducted properly according to procedures and they proceeded to organize the government. The first act of Aguinaldo was to circularize the chiefs of the towns to send reinforcement to Pasong Santol. Several groups, including some officers and men of Magdiwang, answered the call. But before the reinforcement could reach Pasong Santol, Bonifacio and Artemio Ricarte blocked their way, and the reinforcement did not proceed to its destination but was detained in a large yard (Aguinaldo[Talambuhay], 113). By the evening of that day, Aguinaldo received the news that the enemy had overran Pasong Santol and that his brother, Crispulo, who took over command of the Magdalo troops in Aguinaldo’s absence, was killed.

Realizing that his demand for the resignation of elected officials was ignored, Bonifacio organized a coup d’etat among the Magdiwang officers, with two Magdalo generals – Noriel and Del Pilar participating, in what is known as the “Acta de Naic,” or the Naic Military Agreement. Bonifacio claimed in the document signed by the forty or so plotters that Aguinaldo intended to surrender the revolution to the Spanish authorities, and it was necessary to take over the reins of government by force and annihilate the opposition, if necessary. Aguinaldo learned of the plot from Major Lazaro Makapagal who escaped from his captivity at the Casa Hacienda in Naic, where the plot was being hatched. When Aguinaldo arrived at the meeting place, Bonifacio invited him to participate in the parley, but he declined and instead went downstairs to look for the Magdalo soldiers who were being held captive. He saw them locked up in several rooms, and when the soldiers were freed and thankfully expressed their freedom jubilantly, Bonifacio and his co-conspirators were heard rushing down the stairs to flee, each one to his own separate way. (Ronquillo, 560-564)

Resolution of the Leadership Conflict

Aguinaldo did not go after the coup plotters and even invited them to join the government. He forgave his two generals and asked them to tend to their soldiers in their quarters. Except for Bonifacio most of the Magdiwang officials responded to Aguinaldo’s reconciliatory call and in early April 1897 the leadership of the Filipino Republic was constituted as authorized in Tejeros with the six officers coming from the Magdiwang, viz:
Emilio Aguinaldo – President
Mariano C. Trias (Magdiwang) – Vice-President
Pascual Alvarez (Magdiwang) – Director of Interior
Jacinto Lumbreras (Magdiwang) – Director of State
Baldomero Aguinaldo – Director of Finance
Mariano Alvarez (Magdiwang) – Director of Welfare
Severino de las Alas (Magdiwang)– Director of                 Justice
Emiliano R. de Dios – Director of War
Artemio Ricarte (Magdiwang) – Captain General
(Corpuz, 132)
On the other hand, Bonifacio fled to Limbon, set up fortifications, organized a government, and started raising an army. De las Alas complained to Aguinaldo that the troops of Bonifacio raided the town of Indang for provisions, and Aguinaldo responded by issuing an arrest order for Bonifacio. After a brief encounter between government troops resulting in the death of Ciriaco, a brother of Bonifacio, two government soldiers and the wounding of Bonifacio, the two brothers, Andres and Procopio Bonifacio, were brought to trial for conspiracy and sedition and sentenced to die by shooting.

Conclusion

In his book, “Saga and Triumph”, Onofre D. Corpuz sums up the leadership conflict of the revolution, viz:

“Generation after the event, and even into the 1980s-1990s during the decade of the official centennial celebration of many important events during the revolution, some Filipinos persisted in the view that Bonifacio’s death was the fruit of a personal Aguinaldo-Bonifacio conflict. This indicates that: the histories had not adequately clarified the true circumstances of Bonifacio’s death; or that the event itself is beyond clarification; or that, perhaps, many Filipinos have an unshakeable propensity to simplify complicated questions in terms of personal conflicts.

“It only remains to at least refer to two assessments, both written long after 1897. Both view Bonifacio’s execution within the context of the revolution. The first is that of Teodoro A. Agoncillo in his The Revolt of the Masses (1956), Chapter XVI. It is flawed by errors of colonial social history and questionable sociological analysis; but it has the well-argued proposition that Bonifacio was ‘betrayed.’ The second is that of Jose Alejandrino in his La Senda del Sacrificio, Episodios y Anecotas de Nuestras Luchas por la Libertad (1933), Chapter II. Alejandrino acknowledges Bonifacio’s patriotism and contribution as the initiator of the revolution; he stresses the legality of Aguinaldo’s assumption of leadership; he affirms that Bonifacio’s death was not in vain because it was necessary to national unity; and he credits Aguinaldo with the forging of national unity among the diverse elements of the revolution. Alejandrino was close to the events he writes; Agoncillo was not.

“Summing up, Bonifacio was an authentic hero long before his tragic death. The launching of the revolution was due to him and to no other man. But Bonifacio was not the revolution. The revolution continued without him.” (Corpuz, 130-131)






Thursday, September 1, 2022

Wilcox and Sargent Report

(This item is identical to Appendix I with the same title found on pages 339-358 of the book entitled "The Filipino Tragedy and Other Historical Facts Every Filipino Should Know," published by the author.)



“WITNESSES IN THE INTERIOR.

“Account of Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent.

“[W. B. Wilcox, Paymaster, U. S. N., and Leonard R. Sargent, Naval Cadet, U. S. N., traveled through northern Luzon with the authority of Admiral Dewey from October 5 to November 20, accompanied by an interpreter. They traveled more than 600 miles, visiting 40 towns in 9 of the 23 provinces of Luzon. Their report is endorsed by Admiral Dewey as follows:

"(Indorsement.)

"FLAGSHIP OLYMPIA,

"CAVITE, P. I., December I, 1898.

"Approved and respectfully forwarded for the information of the Navy Department.

"Especial attention is invited to this interesting and carefully prepared report, which, in my opinion, contains the most complete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present state of the northern part of Luzon Island.

"GEORGE DEWEY, Rear Admiral, U. S. N.,
"Commanding Asiatic Station."

“In addition to this official report, Messrs. Wilcox and Sargent have published several magazine articles (see Outlook for September 2 and 23, 1899 and the Independent for September 14, 1899) describing their tour, which together with the official report are reprinted in a senate document. We quote from this senate document (Senate Document 66, 56th Cong., I e. page 44) all portions bearing upon the government or the state of civilization in the islands, omitting only repetitions and descriptions of scenery.

From "The Backwoods Filipino," by L. R. Sargent.

"It will be remembered that at that date [October and November, I898], the United States had not yet announced its policy with regard to the Philippines. The terms of the treaty with Spain were being negotiated by our Commissioners in Paris, and the fate of the islands hung in the balance. In the meantime the native population, taking matters in their own hands, had declared their independence from all foreign jurisdiction and had set up a provisional government with Aguinaldo at its head.

"Although this government has never been recognized, and in all probability will go out of existence without recognition, yet it cannot be denied, that, in a region occupied by many millions of inhabitants, for nearly six months it stood alone between anarchy and order. The military forces of the United States held control only in Manila with its environs and in Cavite, and had no authority to proceed further; while in the vast remaining districts the representatives of the only recognized power on the field were prisoners in the hands of their despised subjects. It was the opinion at Manila during this anomalous period in our Philippine relations, and possibly in the United States as well, that such a state of affairs must breed something akin to anarchy.

"I can state unreservedly, however, that Mr. Wilcox and I found the existing conditions to be much at variance with this opinion. During our absence from Manila we travelled more than 600 miles in a very comprehensive circuit through the northern part of the island of Luzon, traversing a characteristic and important district. In this way we visited seven provinces, of which some were under the immediate control of the central government at Malolos, while others were remotely situated, separated from each other and from the seat of government by natural divisions of land, and accessible only by lengthy and arduous travel. As a tribute to the efficiency of Aguinaldo's government and to the law abiding character of his subjects, I offer the fact that Mr. Wilcox and I pursued our journey throughout in perfect security, and returned to Manila with only the most pleasant recollections of the quiet and orderly life which we found the natives to be leading under the new regime.

"Some years ago, at an exposition held at Barcelona, Spain, a man and woman were exhibited as representative types of the inhabitants of Luzon. The man wore a loin cloth and the woman a scanty skirt. It was evident that they belonged to the lowest plane of savagery. I think no deeper wound was ever inflicted upon the pride of the real Filipino population than that caused by this exhibition, the knowledge of which seems to have spread throughout the island. The man and woman, while actually natives of Luzon, were captives from a tribe of wild Igorrotes of the hills, a tribe as hostile to the Filipinos as to the Spaniards themselves, and equally alien to both. It is doubtful to what extent such islanders are responsible for the low esteem in which the Filipino is held; his achievements certainly have never been well advertised, while his shortcomings have been heralded abroad. The actual, every-day Filipino is not as picturesque a creature as the Igorrote. The average human imagination has a remarkable affinity for the picturesque, and the commonplace citizen of Luzon is too often overlooked in the presence of the engrossing savage. If the observer's attention can be drawn to the former, however, much that is of interest will be found in his comparatively homely life.

"In our journey, we traveled first across the province of Nueva Icija, by far the poorest and least interesting of all the provinces we visited. And yet, even here, we were greatly surprised by the intelligence and refinement of the inhabitants. While our entertainment at first was meager, for want of the wherewithal to provide a more generous one, - we could nevertheless detect the same spirit of hospitality that found vent in elaborate manifestations in the richer towns which we visited later. We were particularly struck by the dignified demeanor of our hosts, and by the graceful manner in which they extended to us their welcome. We had unlimited opportunities for conversation with the citizens of towns, and we found everywhere a class that gave evidence of considerable culture and a certain amount of education. Their education included those branches only which were taught at the schools conducted by the priesthood at the capital towns of the provinces, and was of rather an impracticable nature. The Spanish language, Spanish history (appropriately garbed), church history, and the dead languages evidently formed its leading features.

"The natives of this class seemed to have made the most of opportunities offered them, and they had the subjects above mentioned completely at command. This enabled them to give a trend to their conversation that served at least to indicate their aspirations. On the other hand, their ignorance of modern history and politics, and particularly of current events, was astonishing. What they knew of the United States had been learned like the Latin, from Spanish teachers, but was not equally reliable. Not only in the backward province of Nueva Icija, but elsewhere throughout our journey, we found the same fund of misinformation on the subject. This related in great measure to the attitude of our Government toward the two races of people that have come under its jurisdiction with an inferior political status, namely, the Indians and the negroes. Of the condition of the negroes since the war, the Filipinos seem not to be aware. They express great curiosity on the subject of the Indian question, and have evidently been taught to see in the unhappy condition of that race, the result of deliberate oppression, and a warning of what they may expect from our Government if they submit themselves to its legislation. Of ourselves, -the citizens of the United States, -they have been told that we possess neither patriotism, honor, religion, nor any other restraining or refining influence. A character has been given us consistent with the acts attributed to our nation. The natives are now undoubtedly becoming enlightened as to our true character, but it will probably be a long time before their last suspicions are removed. In the meanwhile, we cannot but hope that the good faith of our Government in any proposition it may make to the Filipino people will be accepted in advance. When it becomes a question of our fairness and our honest intentions toward them, the burden of the proof must rest on us.

"The towns of Ilagan and Aparri, with their wealthy and pleasure-loving population, provided the most elaborate entertainment. Ilagan is the capital city of the tobacco-raising province of Isabella, and is situated near the head of navigation of the Rio Grande. Aparri is situated at its mouth, in the province of Cagayan, and is the only seaport of the valley. These towns are laid out in regular streets and have many squares of substantial frame buildings. They have each a population of between ten and fifteen thousand. We spent three days at Ilagan, and I think that it was here that we were brought into closest touch with the Filipino character. The cultured class, which I have spoken of before, was strongly in evidence; and I think that before leaving we had discussed views with nearly every member of it. They all realized that they were passing through a crucial period in the history of their people, and young and old were eager to acquire all possible knowledge that might assist them to think clearly at this crisis. Their realization of the gravity of their position did not, however, rob their character of its natural gayety nor make them forget their duty as hosts. On the evening following our arrival, a ball was given in our honor, which was attended by all the elite of the town. There were present about fifty young women and twice that number of men. All were dressed in European fashion. The girls were pleasant and intelligent; the men comported themselves in all respects like gentlemen. It was hard to realize that we were in the very heart of a country generally supposed to be given. up to semi-savages. At intervals between dances many songs were sung, usually by one or two of the guests, while all frequently joined in the chorus. The national hymn was repeated several times with great enthusiasm. The ball lasted until eight o'clock in the morning, and broke up with good feeling at its height.

"On the second evening we were invited to attend the theatre, where two one-act Spanish plays were presented by the young society people of the town. The theatre itself had been constructed by the villagers only a few weeks before. It was a large bamboo structure, one end of which was used as the village market, while the stage occupied the other end. The stage arrangements were good; curtain, side scenes, and footlights en regle. In the performance of the play we saw our friends - these typical young Filipinos - in a light in which very few of our nation have had an opportunity to view them. They comported themselves with credit in a position where humor, intelligence, and artistic ability were the requisites of success.

"During our stay at Ilagan, we lived at the house of the Mayor. This building was of great size, and was built of magnificent hard wood from the neighboring forest. One wing, containing a reception room and two bedrooms, was turned over to us. The reception room was very large, with a finely polished floor and with windows along two sides. It contained a piano and a set of excellent bamboo furniture, including the most comfortable chairs and divans imaginable. There were two tall mirrors on the wall, and a number of old-fashioned pictures and framed paper flowers. In this room our friends gathered in the afternoon and took measures to make the time pass pleasantly for us. Whenever the conversation threatened to lose its animation, there was always some one at hand to accede to our host's request to play on the piano or to sing.

"The dangers incident to travel have had much to do with the confusion of dialects that prevails on the island, and this confusion is consequently more marked in the eastern than in the western provinces. The educated class of Filipinos can speak two languages that are universal throughout the island in their own class; these are Spanish and Tagalog. The ignorant natives, on the other hand, have only their own provincial dialect. These dialects are so different one from another that they must be separately studied to be understood. Dictionaries of many of them have been made by the Jesuit priests. Through the servants of our party, we had at command five dialects in addition to the Spanish and Tagalog, yet in passing through one province we failed utterly to make ourselves understood by a native whom we accosted, although we plied him patiently with these seven languages.

"There is but one individual who seems never to be daunted by the obstacles and dangers that separate him from the provinces toward which he sees fit to direct his footsteps. I refer to the Chinaman. In almost every village we visited we found at least one of that race, and in the larger towns there were many. They are the merchants of the islands, presiding over every shop, and drawing money from every village. They are deeply hated by the Filipinos, and were the object of a strict immigration law under the administration of Aguinaldo's provisional government.

"Freedom of thought marked the views of every Filipino that I have heard express himself on the subject of religion, and although I certainly have met devout Catholics among them, I judge that that church, on account of the abuses with which it has been associated on the island, has failed on the whole to secure an exclusive hold on the minds of the natives. In speaking of the Filipino people I have had reference throughout principally to one class of their society, which I have called the cultured class. If my observations of that class are just, however, I think that inferences can be safely drawn from them that extend their application over the entire Tagalog population. The great mass of this population has been kept in an unenlightened state by deliberate legislation, which has effectually deprived them of every possible opportunity for advancement. Those who have acquired education have acquired it at an extravagant cost that has placed it hopelessly beyond the reach of all but the wealthy, There are few, if any, among the number, however, who, while possessing the price of a schooling, have neglected to apply it to that end. I cannot see what better gauge we can obtain at present of the intelligence and ambition of the whole Filipino race than the progress that has been made by its favored members with the limited opportunities at their command. Throughout the islands the thirst for knowledge is manifested, and an extravagant respect for those who possess it.

" I have seen a private native citizen in a town in the interior exercise a more powerful influence than all the native officials over the minds of the inhabitants, simply because he was known to have been educated in the best schools at Manila, and was regarded for that reason as a superior man. The heroes of these people are not heroes of war, but of science and invention. Without rival, the American who is best known by reputation in Luzon is Mr. Edison, and any native with the slightest pretension to education whom you may question on the subject will take delight in reciting a list of his achievements. The ruling Filipinos, during the existence of their provincial government, appreciated the necessity of providing public schools to be accessible 'to the poorest inhabitants. Had events so shaped themselves as to have provided an opportunity for carrying into effect the plans formed on this point, it seems possible that the mental plane of the entire population might have been raised gradually to a surprising height.

" Out of respect to the statements of other people which the narrative of my experience may seem to contradict, I wish to say that I have found the native of the interior of Luzon an astonishingly different character from the one ordi narily met in Manila. Previous to my journey, I regarded those whom I had encountered in that city with great dislike, and after my return I was unable to overcome that feeling. They are not a fair sample of the race, and I cannot expect any one who has formed his judgment on the subject merely from observations of that type to express an opinion similar to mine, as recorded above.

"From " The Military Filipino," by L. R. Sargent.

"The provisional government which assumed control of Filipino affairs in Luzon Island after the downfall of the Spanish power was a military one. The president of the so called republic was general of the army and had at his command all the forces of the state, while military officers filled the high positions throughout the provinces. It was continually asserted by those in power that this disposition of the control of affairs had been resorted to merely to tide over the existing emergency and that it should continue only until the establishment of a permanent peace. As long as it remained in force, however, the concentration of power was absolute, and, moreover, no change of government could be contemplated without the co-operation of the controlling class. In the event of peace the population hoped to see the reins of the government placed in their hands, but if opposition were offered they certainly had not the power to seize them. The military class controlled the situation, and with it, in great measure, the destiny of the people. Accordingly as they were actuated by motives of patriotism or of personal ambition they could, if unmolested, inaugurate a just and liberal government, or they could set upon the galled shoulders of their race a yoke as cruel as that they had just cast off.

"It will never be known how they would have stood this crucial test. The peace they had anticipated is further from them now than ever, and it has been decreed to a stronger power to relieve them of the responsibility of the vital decision. Yet they have not been deprived of importance. They still retain the official voice of their people, and it is with them that our nation is now at war. In view of their preeminent position in Luzon affairs, past, present, and future, some interest must attach to every observation of their character, especially to such as tend to show to what extent they represent the feelings and aspirations of the great mass of the Filipino population, and in what measure they have at heart the most genuine interests of their race.

"The leaders of the military element have been drawn, almost without exception, from the younger generation of that enlightened class of Filipinos of which I have spoken in a previous article as existing everywhere throughout Luzon Island. They possess, of course, many qualities in common with their older kinsfolk, in whose charge they have been reared; and yet they differ from them so significantly on many points as to deserve particular attention. The characters of men are not set to such rigid lines as to remain unchanged by the sudden attainment of authority, and the Filipino, like his brother of every other land, assumes a new demeanor with his uniform of office.

"Throughout the period of my association with both classes, I found the distinction apparent between civilians and military officers. Had Mr. Wilcox and I been provided for our journey with the customary credentials required of travellers in that country, many of the evidences of this difference which came to our notice would have been missing. Starting without passports, however (in fact, after having been refused them by Aguinaldo), our status was such as to invite all possible arrogance on the part of the officials, while throwing the most favorable light on the hospitality of the natives. Under the circumstances, I am inclined to think that there was a surprising lack of arrogance in the attitude which the officials assumed toward us. Yet there was a dignity in their bearing, and in some cases a coldness, caused by their suspicions of the motive of our journey, which were entirely lacking in their civilian countrymen. 'Armor is heavy, but it is a proud burden, and a man standeth straight in it.' So these young Filipinos, vested with the authority of their office and supporting the responsibility of their duty toward the state, assumed a manlier and more independent bearing than the genial and conciliatory one of the older men.

"In the opposition which they frequently offered to our plans we found much that was inconvenient, but nothing that was unreasonable from their point of view. We found them hard to cajole or to 'bluff,' or to move by any means other than a fair and open statement which they could clearly understand. Before the end of the journey, we came to regard the military Filipino as the only stumbling-block to our progress. And yet, in spite of the annoyance he caused us and of the frequent changes in our itinerary induced by his persistent opposition, we learned to admire him far beyond his simpler and more amiable countrymen.

"It could easily be seen that we did not control a monopoly of the admiration expended on this subject. The older men looked with manifest pride on the evidence of the firm purpose and quick decision of their sons and nephews, even while endeavoring, in many instances, to mollify the rigor of their methods; and the young officers themselves evinced great complacency when they dwelt upon the subject of their past achievements in the field and of the efficiency of their subsequent administration of affairs. The experience through which they had passed had imparted to their character a respect for their own ability and confidence in their own resources that is woefully lacking in the untried Filipino.

" Prior to my departure from Manila I had witnessed many examples of this deficiency in the national character, and had considered them of considerable significance. I remember on one occasion having observed a native coachman, whose carriage had been overturned by a collision, standing helplessly in the road regarding the wreck with an expression of utter despair, while he wrung his hands together and repeated in tones of the most agonized self-pity the expression, ' Pobre Filipino! Pobre Filipino!' He was still in this attitude when an American soldier near by took the matter in hand, and in a very short time had the horse on his feet, the carriage right side up, and the harness readjusted. I thought at the time that if the Filipino race possessed no more stamina than that/displayed by this coachman and no more readiness and resource to assist them in confronting unforeseen situations they would be indeed fortunate to have always at hand the ready support of a stronger power.

"I was not aware of the hardening effect upon the national character of the events even then occurring, and did not guess that the identical qualities whose absence I had noticed were being rapidly inculcated by the first phases of that experience to whose success I had considered their presence indispensable.

" Other qualities than these, moreover, are awakening from a dormant state. Prior to the advent of the great incentive of his life that came with the revolution, the native displayed in all his undertakings but little endurance and less perseverance. His existence was so ordered that no permanent good could come to him or his family from even the most continued endeavor, and he labored, therefore, for some temporary emolument only. He never had at stake a prize really worth the winning, and there was nothing within his horizon that appealed to him as deserving of as much attention as his own physical comfort.

" It was this that he considered first when set to any task, and he refused always to work under a strain. He recognized the limit to his powers within which he could work at ease, and, if forced beyond this limit, he promptly 'threw up the sponge.' In our party, at one time, among the number of our packmen were several old natives whom we had picked up at a little inland town. They belonged to the ' ante bellum' type of Filipino, and seemed scarcely cognizant of recent events. One day toward nightfall, noticing that one of these packmen was missing, we sent back over the trail to ascertain what had become of him. He was found about five miles in the rear, resting by the roadside, the picture of ease and indifference. In answer to our indignant inquiries, he merely replied that he had felt tired and stopped to rest. When ordered to proceed, and threatened with punishment if he loitered, he made the distance to camp in good time. It was not a case of exhaustion, of physical inability, but merely of an inconvenient weariness and entire absence of grit. Such was the old, purposeless, unawakened Filipino, and he bears a marked contrast to the vigorous and enthusiastic young insurgent soldier, whose every energy is at the service of the cause he has espoused, and who has endured every hardship and braved every danger in its support.

" We heard many tales, and were in a position to authenticate them to a great extent, of deeds that told in glowing terms of the endurance and courage the Filipinos could display when impelled by a sufficient motive. The revolution in Luzon Island was by no means a simultaneous uprising of the population, and in its early stages the force that opposed the Spanish power was not overwhelming in its numbers. In the provinces far in the interior, particularly, the earlier encounters found the advantage in the hands of the Spaniards, whose opponents were but small bands of the most daring and desperate natives of the vicinity, poorly armed and entirely without organization or discipline. Yet these pioneers of rebellion did win brilliant and surprising victories, and, by their success, encouraged their more timid neighbors to join their fortunes to the cause.

"In a district embracing the capital city of Nueva Vizcaya, a band of twenty Filipinos were for several days the only natives in open rebellion, and they conducted hostilities unaided against a force of Spaniards ten times their number. The Spanish commander, alarmed at the signs of discontent among the population, undertook to proceed with his troops to a neighboring town possessed of stronger defences. He was ambushed three separate times on the march by the little band of rebels, and suffered a large loss. Reports immediately swelled the ranks of the insurgents, and before the week was out the entire province was in their hands. The leader of the gallant little band of patriots, Lieutenant Navarro, is one of the very few officers whom I have met who represent the more ignorant class of the population. He could not speak Spanish, nor read nor write his own language, and on that account, at the time of our visit, had not risen above the rank of lieutenant.

"In many of the provinces the revolution received its start from detachments of Aguinaldo's expeditionary forces, which were sent across the island from the more populous districts on the western coast. These detachments -in some cases mere squads - performed remarkable service.

"At the time of our journey the patriotic enthusiasm of the population was everywhere at its height. The boast of every inhabitant was the national army whose organization was then being rapidly perfected. Commissions Venerere eagerly sought by the young men of the higher class, and there were more volunteers for service in the ranks than could be armed or uniformed.

"It was universally asserted that every preparation should be made to defend the newly-won independence of the island against all foreign aggression. The older Filipinos, especially those of wealth and influence, declared their desire to give every support in their power to the cause, and were as much a part of the warlike movement as those who actually took up arms. The great majority of the latter, both officers and enlisted men, were extremely young. I have met a brigadier-general of 21 years of age, many captains of 18, and lieutenants of 15 and I6. Captain Natividad, a particularly young officer of that rank and a member of a prominent Luzon family, explained that it was the aim of his government to rest its defence in the field in the hands of those of its supporters who were at that age that is most forcibly swayed by the love of military glory. For the desperate encounters that might await its army in the future, it desired that sort of valor of which discretion is not the better part.

"That the civil power should be placed in the same hands was a dangerous experiment, but at the same time a necessary one. The first object of the Filipinos had been to win their independence; the next to defend it. For both these purposes they had need of their best fighting material, and the selection was made accordingly. The result proved more fortunate than they had any reason to hope. While exercising absolute authority throughout the island and governing entirely by military law, the leaders of the army appeared, nevertheless, to endeavor to mete out justice to all classes alike. They continued, moreover, to assert their intention to relinquish their temporary power when the establishment of a permanent peace should make such a step possible, and gave most encouraging proofs of the good faith with which they spoke.

"A tendency was apparent in many individual instances to treat the entire civilian population with contempt, and the lower element of it with oppression and abuse. In one or two districts through which we passed this spirit was particularly marked, but it was not countenanced as a rule, and had been made the subject of special order from the authorities at Malolos. On the whole, as far as I could judge, the tendency was upward. The young officers displayed an earnest desire to improve their minds for the benefit of the state, and seemed to be impelled by the ambition to prove themselves worthy of the trust that had been confided in them.

"I passed one evening, about the middle of November, in the 'Comandancia' at San Fernando, in the province of Union, where were quartered over forty officers belonging either to companies stationed at the town or to the staff. of General Fina, the commander of the northwestern district. Our conversation was confined, as usual, to a great extent, to professional subjects: but I remember the visit particularly on account of the presence of a number of Spanish textbooks on infantry tactics, which were distributed among the officers and were evidently in almost constant service. * *

[Stars are as given in the Senate Document.] How many of these eager young students of the rudiments of military science have since learned their final lesson of war? "

From "In Aguinaldo's Realm," by L. R. Sargent.

"While the towns of this province [Nueva Vizcaya] are larger and more pretentious than those of Nueva Ecija, they are situated farther apart and are more completely isolated one from another. The forests between are inhabited by tribes of Igorrotes, who are a constant menace to travelers. On one road over which we passed a party of 20 Filipinos had been murdered to a man only a few days before our arrival. The character of the country.offers every opportunity for such savage attack, the trail frequently leading through thick forests or plains of rank grass meeting overhead. Although we considered our party strong enough for its own protection, we were usually provided with an escort of Filipino soldiers.

"Frequently we were joined by natives who had been waiting an opportunity to go from one town to another in safety, bringing the number of our party at one time up to forty-seven. Often from high points on the road we could see the smoke of at least one Igorrote camp-fire, frequently within a few miles of a large Filipino town. There can hardly be any direct method of attack against these savages, since they build no villages and have a vast wilderness for refuge; but at the time of our visit the Filipinos had already begun to build small forts at the points most frequently subject to their menaces - a step in advance of any the Spaniards had taken.

"At the towns we had previously visited we had occasionally seen numerous Spanish prisoners, all of whom were apparently enjoying full liberty within the limits of the town. At Iligan we saw Spanish soldiers and semi-civil officials in the same status; but the priests had been differently dealt with; they were too dangerous to be left at large, we were told, and were accordingly confined in a convent. We saw them one morning, to the number of 84, lined up in the street in charge of a squad of Filipino soldiers.

"At Aparri I witnessed a ceremony which, at the time, I considered pregnant with significance, and I have seen no reason since for changing my opinion. During our entire journey we had noticed the existence of a distinct civil and military government. The civil government was simple and efficient, consisting of four officials for each province and four for each town. The military government consisted of an officer in command of a military district, having under his orders one officer as military governor of each province and one as governor of each important town. The military government was the dominant one. We remarked on this condition several times, and were told that it would last only during a state of war. At Aparri we received proof of the sincerity of this statement. Word had been received from Hongkong that our commissioners at Paris, negotiating the terms of the treaty of peace, had plainly indicated that it was their intention not to return the islands to Spain. Relieved from their great apprehension of this action, the Filipino population began at once to see rosy visions of peace descending on their war-torn country. Steps were immediately taken to adjust existing conditions to the new state of things. Colonel Tirona, the governor of the northeastern military district, took the lead by relinquishing the control of affairs in the provinces comprised in his district in favor of a civil official chosen by the people. I was present at the impressive ceremony which solemnized this change in the province of Cagayan. The ceremony took place in the cathedral at Aparri and was attended by all the local officials of the towns of the province, as well as by any military officers that could be spared from their duties. Colonel Tirona placed the usual insignia of office- a gold-headed cane - in the hands of the governor elect at the close of a short speech, in which he said that now that a state of peace seemed probable he desired to divest himself of the unusual authority that it had been necessary for him temporarily to exercise and to assume his proper position as a servant - not a ruler- of the people. The governor, in reply, expressed his thanks to the Colonel and to all of the expeditionary forces, for the incalculable service they had rendered the people of the province in freeing them from Spanish rule, and declared the purpose of the people to expend the last drop of their blood, if necessary, in defending the liberty thus gained against the encroachments of any nation whatsoever. The governor then took the oath of office, being followed in turn by each of the three other provincial officers, the heads of the departments of justice, revenue, and the police. It was the Colonel's intention to have a similar ceremony performed in each of the other provinces under his control. Had the Filipino Government been allowed to work out its own salvation, this movement could hardly have failed to have become historical.

"At Aparri we saw proof also of the extent of Aguinaldo's authority. Four natives had been tried for robbery and attempted murder and had been sentenced to death. At the time of our visit they were awaiting the arrival from Malolos of the ratification of their sentence by the president.

"Everywhere we travelled the greatest loyalty toward Aguinaldo was expressed. Now, at the time of his reverses it is possible, though I am far from convinced, that he represents but one element of his people; then, in his prosperity, he certainly represented them all - at least in northern Luzon. At that time the enthusiasm of the people was tuned to the highest pitch. In every village every man was training in arms. Companies were formed of boys from eight years upward. Wooden guns were furnished them, and they were drilled systematically every day. The women were also imbued with the spirit. Many and many a time have the people of a village gathered in a large room of the " presidencia," where the paymaster and I were quartered, and put their whole hearts into the songs in which their patriotism found vent. Of these songs the national hymn was the favorite and no one within hearing ever failed to join in the chorus:

"Del suelio de tres siglos
"Hermanos despertad!
"Gritando, ' Fuera Espafia!
"Viva la libertad '

"From your sleep of three centuries,
"Brothers awake!
"Crying 'Away with Spain!
"Live liberty! '

"We wished to see the interior provinces on this side of the island, but were prevented by the authorities. Already the hope was fading that freedom from Spain meant freedom for government. The feeling toward Americans was changing, and we saw its effect in the colder manner of the people and in their evident desire to hustle us along by the most direct road to Manila.

"Although the spirit was evidently missing, we were nominally treated with every distinction. A mounted escort was furnished us, which rode ahead with guidons to clear the road. The towns in these western coast provinces are larger and more numerous than those in the valley of the Rio Grande. The military element is much more in evidence, as well as the native religious element which has succeeded the Spanish priests."

"In the latter part of November Paymaster Wilcox and I returned to Manila. A few minutes after our arrival I attempted to engage the services of a Filipino coachman, and found him sullen and insolent almost beyond belief. I thought of the courteous gentleman and respectful servant I had met in the interior, and wondered where among them I should class this brute. Yet they are all three one: and together they make up the Filipino. Good treatment makes of him the respectful servant; education makes of him a gentleman that no man need be ashamed to greet; but anything that he interprets as injustice arouses something in his nature that makes of him a stubborn and intractable brute. If all were known about the Filipino, public sentiment about him, while it might riot be changed, would at least be softened. There are qualities in him too fine to be wantonly destroyed. If the brute must be broken, let us hope that the respectful servant and the gentleman will be encouraged.

"From Official "Report of Tour Through Island of Luzon."

"In the villages of Humingan and Lupao there are a few Spanish prisoners, -priests, soldiers, and civil officials. We have seen representatives of each of these three classes in these towns. We could detect no signs of previous ill treatment nor of undue restriction. On the contrary, they appeared to possess the freedom of the town in which they lived.

" 12. The towns in this section are neither large nor important. Humingan, the largest, has not over two or three thousand inhabitants. The church, with the convent attached, is the largest building in each town; it is built of planed wood, whitewashed. There are three or four houses of planed wood in each town, the rest of the village consisting of grass huts. The presidente locale and other local officers are native Filipinos. Most of them have received a certain amount of education at religious schools in Manila. They are intelligent men and extremely eager to learn news from the outside world. Their knowledge of modern history and geography, however, is extremely limited, and their ignorance of current events is surprising. We brought them their first definite information with regard to Cuba, and to their own present status. One or two of them had heard of the Congress at Paris, but no one had any ideas as to its object, nor as to its relation to themselves. They were well grounded on only three points, - the destruction of the Spanish fleet in Manila Harbor, the surrender of Manila, and the declaration of the Philippine Government at Malolos of the independence of the islands and the establishment of a republican form of government, with Senor Aguinaldo as president. Even on these points the details they had received were very inaccurate.

"37. There are many Spanish prisoners in this town - civil, office, priests, soldiers. Eighty-four priests paraded in the street for our inspection. The greater number of them were dressed in civilian garb, only four or five of them wearing the robes of their office. Nearly all of them wore long hair and beards. They appeared in good health, and we could detect no evidence of maltreatment. These priests had been assembled from different parts of the province. They are kept under stricter guard than either of the other two classes of prisoners, for the reason that the native officials fear that if permitted to go among the people they will use the influence they possess through their position in the church to incite them against the Philippine government. We also met Don Jose Perez, a Spaniard who had previously been governor of the island. He was well dressed and appeared to be enjoying all the ordinary comforts.

"43. We were hospitably entertained at the Aparri; two balls were given in our honor. The town has a population of 20,000 inhabitants. It has many handsome houses and several well-defined streets. The military force stationed here consists of 300 soldiers, in addition to which the harbor has the protection of the gun boat ' Philippina,' which carries two guns of a calibre of about three inches. There are several officers here, three captains, and five or six lieutenants. The colonel goes from town to town in his district, and Commandante Leyba spends part of his time at Tuguegarno. There are no Spaniards here, with the exception of two or three merchants: one of these representing the company of the steamer 'Saturnas,' we have met. He is pursuing his business entirely unmolested.

"46. We remained at Vigan all next day, November I2. It had rained during the night, rendering impassable a part of the road to the next town. We walked through the town and visited the houses of several tradespeople. At one of these houses we heard the first and only definite complaint which came to our ears during the entire journey on the part of the natives against the present government. These people complained of the taxes imposed upon them, and even went so far as to say that they preferred the Spanish government. This statement was made in the presence of a party of six natives, and was acquiesced in by all; they were all, however, of the same family.

"52. The foregoing narrative of our journey is designed to give a general description of the country we passed through and of the methods of travel, and to illustrate by its incidents the character and grades of intelligence of its people and their attitude toward Americans, especially toward ourselves as military officers. The information we have acquired on certain points is summed up in the following paragraphs —

"INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION OF THE NATIVES.

"53. The Philippine officers, both military and civil, that we have met in all the provinces we have visited, have, with very few exceptions, been men of intelligent appearance and conversation. The same is true of all those men who form the upper class in each town. The education of most of them is limited, but they appear to seize every opportunity to improve it. They have great respect and admiration for learning. Very many of them desire to send their children to schools in the United States or Europe. Many men of importance in different towns have told us that the first use to be made of the revenues of their government, after there is no more danger of war, will be to start good schools in every village. The poorer classes are extremely ignorant on most subjects, but a large percentage of them can read and write.

"RELATION BETWEEN RICH AND POOR.

"54. There is a very marked line between these two classes, and this has been broadened by the insurrection for the reason that military officers must equip themselves with out pay, and that civil officers have numerous expenses for which they receive no return. All officers, civil and military, have therefore been chosen from the richer class; and the political and military power of the provinces is in the hands of that class. The private soldiers are fed and clothed by the government and allowed a very small amount of spending money - in the western provinces, thirty cents in silver per week.

"ATTITUDE OF THE MILITARY TOWARD THE CIVIL CLASS.

" 55. In the provinces of the East that we have visited, there appears to be little or no friction between the civil and military classes. Officers and privates, as far as we could observe, treat civilians with consideration. In the provinces of Ilocos, Sur, and Union there is a marked difference. The officers are more domineering. In travelling in these provinces we had many opportunities to observe this attitude. When accidents happened to our carriage, the officer commanding our escort called to our assistance every native in sight. When they did not answer to his call promptly we have seen him strike them with his riding whip. One man had a serious wound on his face where an officer had struck him with his pistol butt. He came to us for redress, after having appealed in vain to the military officer in command of the town. An order from Don Emilio Aguinaldo, dated October i8, 1898, calls the attention of his officers to the evils of this practice, and orders them to correct it in themselves and instruct all sergeants, corporals, and privates on the attitude that they should maintain toward civilians.

"DOMINION OF THE CHURCH.

"56. In the provinces of Nueva Icija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabella, and Cagayan, the native priests have no voice whatever in civil matters. "The Catholic Church itself seems to have very little hold on the people of these provinces. Many men have expressed to us their preference for the Protestant Church. In Ilocos, Sur, and Union there are many more priests than in the other provinces mentioned. Every pueblo and barrio has its cura, and there are higher officers of the church in the larger towns. They appear to have an important influence in all civil matters.

"POPULAR SENTIMENT REGARDING INDEPENDENCE.

"57. Of the large number of officers, civil and military, and of the leading townspeople we have met, nearly every man has expressed in our presence his sentiment on this question. It is universally the same. They all declare that they will accept nothing short of independence. They desire the protection of the United States at sea, but fear any interference on land. The question of the remuneration of our government for the expense of establishing a protectorate is never touched upon. On the subject of independence there is, again, a marked difference between the four provinces first visited and those of Ilocos, Sur, and Union. In the former there is more enthusiasm, -the sentiment is more of the people; in the latter, is more of the higher class and of the army. In these provinces we have seen signs of actual discontent with the existing state of things.

"ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES.

"58. There is much variety of feeling among the Philippines with regard to the debt of gratitude they owe the United States. In every town we found men who said that our nation had saved them from slavery, and others who claimed that without our interference their independence would have been recognized before this time. On one point they are united, however, viz., that whatever our Government may have done for them it has not gained the right to annex them. They have been prejudiced against us by the Spaniards. The charges made have been so numerous and so severe that what the natives have since learned has not sufficed to disillusion them. With regard to the record of our policy toward a subject people, they have received remarkable information on two points, - that we have mercilessly, slain and finally exterminated the race of Indians that were natives of our soil, and that we went to war in I86I to suppress an insurrection of negro slaves, whom we also ended by exterminating. Intelligent and well-informed men have believed these charges. They were rehearsed to us in many towns in different provinces, beginning at Malolos. The Spanish version of our Indian problem is particularly well known.

"PREPAREDNESS FOR WAR.

"59. The Philippine government has an organized military force in every province we have visited. They claim it extends also in Ilocos Norte, Abra, Lepanto, Bontoc, and Benguet. With regard to its existence in Ilocos and Benguet we can speak with assurance. We have met two officers with the rank of captain who are regularly stationed at Laoag, the capital city of Ilocos Norte, and also the commandante of the province of Benguet. The latter officer had come to San Fernando to obtain instructions from General Tino, and was about to return to Trinidad, the capital of that province. The number of troops under arms can only be given approximately. There are comparatively few in Nueva Icija; an estimate number of not over 300. In the military district embracing the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabella, and Cagayan, Colonel Tirona, Commandante Leyba, and Commandante Villa agreed in giving the number of soldiers under arms actually as 2000. An estimate, founded on the size of the garrisons in the towns we visited, would bring the number nearly up to that figure. In the western military districts the number of forces is about double that number, leaving out those stationed in the interior provinces of Abra, Lepanto, Bontoc, and Benguet, of which we know nothing positively. In the coast provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Union, a conservative estimate of the forces is 350o. In most of the pueblos the garrison is but little larger than those in the towns of the western districts; but there are many barrios, each one of which has its guard of soldiers, never less than 12. In the eastern military district we met not more than 25 officers, and in the western district over 60. There are rifles enough for all, principally Remingtons, but many Mausers. In every cuartek there are at least as many rifles as there are soldiers in the garrisons. The arms are more numerous in the eastern than in the western provinces. It is safe to estimate the number of rifles in the eastern district as at least twice the number of the soldiers. Commandante Villa and other officers made the statement that 40,000 rifles were being distributed among the people of that district. We have seen no proof of this statement. Ammunition is said to be plentiful, and it appears so from the fact that the soldiers use it freely hunting deer. With regard to the total force of the Philippine army, actual and reserve, we cannot speak from our own knowledge.

"Colonel Tirona claimed that 200,000 men from all the islands could be put on the field well armed; and several other officers have independently given the same statement. Every officer that we have seen carried a Spanish sword and revolver. They wear these weapons constantly, but regard them with contempt, preferring the bola at close quarters. The ' Philippina,' which was at Aparri during our visit, carries two guns of a calibre of about three inches. These are the only guns we have seen, with the exception of two revolving cannons in the palacio at Malolos. We saw no fortifications. The Spaniards have left numerous stockades in the wilder regions, and the natives have built a few others. There are also numerous barricades thrown up during the insurrection. In the towns the Spaniards defended themselves in the houses for want of protection. The military spirit pervades the eastern district, where every town and barrio has organized companies of its children, which are drilled every day. In the western district we did not see any children under arms. The officers have had no military education except that which they gained during the insurrection. Spanish drill tactics are used, and most of the officers are still studying the elementary text-book.

"Respectfully submitted,

"W. B. WILCOX, "Paymaster, U. S. N.
"LEONARD R. SARGENT, "Naval Cadet, U S. N."