How the treasury of the Malolos Republic vanished

The Philippine Republic of 1898 had a functioning fiscal system that supported the raising and equipping of the army and navy and provided for expenditures of the various government functions like foreign affairs, interior, public instructions, communications, and public works and agriculture, industry, and commerce.

(Photo source: University of Michigan Digital Library)

According to Leandro H. Fernandez, the 1899 budget of the republic was Mexican dollars $6.3 million, of which $4.0 million were receipts from war tax levied on all persons eighteen years old and above, and the rest came from receipts from direct taxes and customs duties, $1.0 million, indirect taxes, $0.5, and special taxes, $0.8 million. A special fund was also raised from a national loan denominated in Series A and B bonds, which yielded $0.3 million. (Fernandez, 165)

It is not known how much money was left in the treasury at the time American troops overran the penultimate Filipino capital of Tarlac in November 1899. What is known are accounts of Aguinaldo's effort to hide the money which eventually fell into the hands of American troops.

As the U.S. forces of Gen Arthur McArthur were closing in on Tarlac, President Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned a party of four Tagalog officers and twenty soldiers to hide the money and important documents of the government. Maximo B. Sevilla confirms the existence of the treasure and describes the manner it was hidden:

"As the Tagalog army suffered a succession of defeats in all fronts, the enemy of the people was triumphant; in all engagements the Tagalog soldier was no match, much like a leaf waylaid by a raging storm. Wanting in food and armaments the Filipinos were forced to retreat, precipitating the dispersion of the army of the people, like the native broom of coconut midribs freed of its shackle. The Filipino soldiers went on their own way and hid from the enemy. Only a few patriots were left fighting in the fields, defending against the swarm of the Americans. The old man Celso was sent for by the higher authorities which at that time had the seat of government in Tarlak. He was entrusted with the care of the treasury of the revolution, with instructions to hide it and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Americans. And the order was followed. The treasury was loaded in eighteen bull carts and accompanied by four officers and twenty soldiers, the group proceeded north. " (author's translation of Tagalog text found in Sevilla, 133-134)

The party traveled from Tarlac to Pangasinan over mountain passes and narrow paths and eventually, the pursuing American troops came close to overtaking them. Coronel Selso, as the leader of the party, is called, made the decision to unload the treasure into a ravine after releasing the soldiers and letting them go on their own.

Sevilla describes how the money was hidden:

"The group started hiding the treasure; there were by then only four of them and instead of digging to bury the treasure, the group decided to unload it from a gorge. As the treasure was being unloaded the sound of silver coins hitting the rocks below disturbed the silence of the night. Then they burned the paper money and the important documents which contained significant accounts of the history of the revolution, together with the boxes that were used as containers of the silver coins. It was almost daylight when they finished their task and each one went on his own way . But the flame that the group thought would seal their secret was the same signal that invited the curiosity of the Americans who sent a party to investigate." (author's translation of Tagalog text found in Sevilla, 163-164).

American troops soon discovered the treasure after one of the Tagalog soldiers surrendered and pointed to the hiding place. A swarm of American troopers and cavalrymen got their hands full. Two hundred thousand dollars were turned over to the officers of the Third Cavalry of the U.S. Army, but many American soldiers succeeded in keeping the rest for themselves.

Here is an account by United States army officer, Major Edward S. O'Reilly:

"We had been there two days when Aguinaldo's famous buried treasure was discovered. I have seen this story printed in several magazines, but I have never heard the true story told. Here are the facts of the incident. A Tagalog bull-cart driver came into the camp of the Scouts one night and asked for something to eat. After he had been fed he was questioned, and admitted that he had worked for the insurrectos. Finally, after two hours of cross-examination, he told the following story.He had driven one of the carabao carts which had hauled the baggage of the insurgent government-officials. This had included three cart-loads of silver money, many loads of furniture, and numerous boxes of documents. The money had been buried in a canyon a mile above the beginning of the mountain-trail. He had seen it buried. All of the carteros had been herded under guard after the money was buried and taken into the mountains. Fearing that he would be shot because he knew too much about the treasure, this particular cartero had escaped into the mountains and made his way back to San Nicholas. He had arrived there footsore and hungry.

"When the story was finally told, Lowe's Scouts jumped for their guns and started for the canyon. Every man had visions of great chests of silver pesos and sacks of Spanish gold. We were about halfway to the canyon when a troop of the Third Cavalry passed us on the gallop. In some mysterious manner the story of the treasure had circulated through the town. We were on foot, and of course the cavalry left us far behind in the race. When we arrived at the canyon, we saw the boxes of silver being packed on commandeered carts. A box of gold coin was also found. We learned afterward that more than two hundred thousand pesos had been turned over to the officers of the Third Cavalry. To my knowledge this was not all of the treasure. We were an angry and disappointed bunch of men. We watched those cavalrymen with war in our hearts. Every time a cavalryman moved he clanked like a sack of money. Even their saddle pockets were stuffed with silver. Drearily we hiked back to town.

"The troopers knew that they would be searched when they returned to San Nicholas. Therefore they tried every scheme to hide the coin before their arrival in town. Tying the coins in and kerchiefs, they dropped them into the bushes by the roadside, or behind rocks. The troop was drawn up in the plaza and every man was searched by the officers. Many thousands of dollars were taken from them.As it happened, the Scouts were on outpost duty on the side of town nearest the trail. That night several cavalrymen were seen stealing out past our lines, and the wise members of the Scouts realized what was going on. A number of our fellows formed a chain-guard and awaited the return of those wealthy cavalrymen. It was a case of stand and deliver, or get arrested and taken to the guard-house.

"Thus it came about that the Scouts did not altogether miss sharing in the treasure-trove. A few days later we discovered the cache of furniture from the insurgent government headquarters. In a cleared space in the jungle, a few yards from the trail, we found a great heap of desks, chairs, and furniture of every description. Most of it was made of beautiful hardwoods, - mahogany, nara, rosewood, and teak. We couldn't spend furniture at the canteens, so we left it in the jungle. " (O'Reilly,119-121)

SOURCES:

 1. Fernandez, Leandro H.: "The Philippine Republic", The Faculty of Political Science of Columbia University, New York, 1926, Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AFJ2313.0001.001

2. O'Reilly, Edward S.: "Roving and Fighting Under Four Flags", New York, The Century Co., 1918, Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ABS8584.0001.001

3. Sevilla,  Maximo B.: "Luha at Dugo, Hayag ng mga Pangyayari, buhat ng 1895 hanggang 1913", Manila, Imp. Sevilla, 1918, Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ATK9954.0001.001

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Observations of an American Prisoner of War

Aguinaldo was fighting a war, at the same time, he was running a government. These two facets of Philippine life in the 1900's were observed closely by an American prisoner of war named Albert Sonrichsen. 

Sonrichsen was arrested on charges of espionage by Filipino troops while taking photographs inside Filipino lines on January 27, 1899, a few days before the outbreak of the Philippine-American war (Blogger: not Spanish-American war as told by Wikipedia). He was in the company of American soldiers who were dressed in civilian clothes. They were held as prisoners under guard in Malolos.

At the outbreak of the war on February 4, 1899, enraged Filipinos tried to lay their hands on prisoner Sonrichsen, but the Filipino jail guards shielded him and made sure he was safe. As the war progressed and the Americans began to advance from Manila, the Filipinos retreated to the north, bringing with them all the prisoners, mostly Spaniards, including Sonrichsen.

On April 22, the prisoners were joined at San Isidro, Nueva Ecija by other American prisoners - Lieutenant Glenmore and soldiers under him, who were captured by Filipino troops in Baler, Tayabas (Quezon) during an attempt by the Americans, on orders of Admiral Dewey, to rescue the Spanish contingent holed up in a besieged church.

[Author’s note: Lt. Gilmore and fourteen crew members of the American gunboat “Yorktown” were sent in April 1899 by Dewey to Baler, Tayabas (now Quezon) to rescue the Spanish forces, consisting of eighty soldiers, three officers, and two priests, who were holed up in a church and besieged by four hundred Filipino rebels mostly armed with Mauser rifles. The rescuing Americans were ambushed and captured by the Filipinos, brought to San Isidro, and then transferred to Vigan. (Everett, 421).] 

In June, Sonrichsen became seriously ill and found himself in Vigan being treated in a Filipino hospital and cared for by a nurse. Later, he was moved to Abra, where he was allowed free movement. He taught in a Filipino school and was paid a salary equivalent to the pay of a lieutenant in the Filipino army. During this period, he observed that Filipinos under 30 have the ability to read and write, if not in Spanish, at least in their native dialect. He also noted that Filipinos took every opportunity to learn and improve themselves.

In November, he escaped and was appointed guide and interpreter to U.S. General Young's forces. In this capacity, he was able to make a comparison between the government of Aguinaldo, and the American-controlled government. If he were to make a choice, he said, he would choose the Aguinaldo government. Among his observations - Filipino soldiers are disciplined and humanely treated the prisoners; schools were established in each town, even while the war was going on; a fine college was being run in Vigan; cockfighting was strictly forbidden which was allowed by the Americans. He further remarked that the American officers do not seem to understand the native - they inspire fear, rather than respect.

Here is a letter from Sonrichsen, which was lifted verbatim from pages 298-299 of Petigrew's book, "The Course of Empire, an official record of Senator R. F. Pettigrew," recounting his captivity and his observations: 

"NEW YORK 

"December 26, 1900. 

"DEAR SIR: In answer to your letter of the 20th I hereby offer you any assistance that lies within my power. After a consultation with Messrs. Scribner's Sons, with whom I have made a contract to publish my book on the Philippines, I find that they have no objection to my position as an anti-imperialist before the public, although my narrative takes rather an unbiased stand. It gives merely an account of my ten months' experience as a prisoner of war among the insurgents of Luzon, stating facts as they presented themselves to my eyes, regardless of political factions, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions, which can not, however, but be in favor of the Filipinos.

"With regard to the authentic facts for which you have asked me, I am rather puzzled as to what you could make the best use of. If you mean anything that comes within my own personal experience, I am only too glad to serve you. Possibly I had best give you a brief outline. On January 27, I899, I left Manila in company with a friend and entered the insurgent lines for the purpose of taking photographs. We were arrested as spies and taken on to the insurgent capital at Malolos, and there held until hostilities broke out, a week later. The Filipinos certainly had every right to take us for spies, since we were dressed in civilian clothes and had a camera in our possession, my companion being recognized as a member of the American Army. 

"Upon learning that the outbreak had occurred, great excitement prevailed at Malolos. A wild rabble gathered before the gates of the prison in which we were confined and attempted to drag us out, but our guards, the insurgent regular soldiers, threw themselves in between us and the mob, fighting in our defense until we were removed to safer quarters. This rather goes to prove that the insurgents are neither savages nor armed rabble, but well disciplined and acquainted with the rules of international law.

"We were also informed by Filipino officials several days later that the outbreak was the result of a sentry's blunder and that they had hastened to apologize and offered to make reparation, but that General Otis had refused to consider all advances made by them for a peaceful settlement. In March the renewed activity of the Americans forced the insurgents to retreat to San Isidro, taking us with them. Our treatment was at times hard, but owing rather to circumstances than to the Filipinos themselves, who seemed on the whole inclined to make our lot as bearable as possible. 

"In San Isidro we were joined by Lieutenant Gilmore and several of his men on April 22.

"In May we were once more on the march, together with several hundreds of Spaniards, retreating constantly until, in June, we found ourselves in Vigan, the capital of the northern province of Ilocos.

"Here several of us became seriously ill and were sent to the local hospital. Medicines and medical skill were sadly in want. Still we were treated equally as well as the wounded Filipinos themselves, the women nursing us as they did their own. In September we were taken up the Abra River to Bangued, in the heart of the Abra Mountains, and here we were allowed the full liberty of the town, well treated and cared for. I was able to teach school here, for which I received a pay almost equal to that of a second lieutenant in the insurgent army. Many of my companions were able to do likewise; all, in fact, that were capable of speaking the Spanish language. Even during the war the Filipinos established schools in every town, and Vigan could boast of an excellent college which followed its daily routine as in times of peace. Upon the arrival of the Americans these schools and colleges were broken up, and the buildings ever since have been confiscated as barracks.

"I also observed that every Filipino under 30 could read and write, if not Spanish, at least his native dialect. The Spanish friars discouraged the study of Spanish, and for this reason the poorer people were unable to learn more than what was taught in the convent schools -reading, writing (in native dialect) Bible history, psalm singing, and the rudiments of arithmetic. Whenever given the opportunity, however, the people of all classes are anxious to learn and improve themselves.

"In November I succeeded in effecting my escape, and was appointed guide and interpreter to General Young's forces. In this capacity I was able to make comparisons between the two governments and am forced to say that I drew my conclusions in favor of the Aguinaldo government. The people were more discontented, becoming more and more so every day. Our officers do not seem to understand the natives, and inspire fear rather than respect. Cock fighting, which is strictly forbidden by the insurgents, is freely allowed in American territory. Taxes are heavier than formerly, and our soldiers have so raised the prices of food products that the poorer people are suffering heavily from want.

"These are the facts which I present to you now, but whether they are suitable for your purpose or not I can not say. Should you wish further details, I am willing to oblige you - or the cause rather - of which I am strongly in favor.

"Respectfully yours,

"ALBERT SONRICHSEN

SOURCE: Pettigrew, Richard F.: "The Course of Empire, an official record of Senator R. F. Pettigrew," New York, Boni & Liveright, 1920, University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ABZ4072.0001.001

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