The Philippines: Past and Present Volume I Part 23

(Signed) "_J. N. Leyba_." [292]

Blount states that conditions existed "just like this, all over Luzon and the Visayan Islands." [293] Unfortunately this was only too true!

The troops complained of by Leyba were made up of Aguinaldo's fellow townsmen. They never obeyed any one else, and left a trail of murder and rapine behind them. Aguinaldo never punished them, and from the time when one of them tried to murder their commander until a guard composed of them murdered General Antonio Luna in June, 1899, they are mentioned only with fear and execration.

Blount describes with enthusiasm the establishment of civil government in Cagayan.

Perhaps Americans will be interested in knowing who was its head and how it worked. The "elections" were held on December 9, 1898, and Dimas Guzman was chosen head of the province. He was the man subsequently sentenced to life-imprisonment by Blount, for complicity in the murder of Lieutenant Piera. In describing his method of conducting his government he says that the people doubted the legality of attempts to collect taxes; that the abuses of heads of towns caused rioting in the towns, in which only Ilocanos took part; and that he not only did not report these things but contrived to conceal them from foreigners in the province. [294]

His failure to report these troubles and disorders to his government is of interest, as Blount alleges [295] that differences between the local authorities were in a number of cases referred to the Malolos government for settlement.

Blount says [296] that General Otis's reports were full of inexcusable blunders about the Tagalogs taking possession of provinces and making the people do things, and cites the relations between Villa and Dimas Guzman to ill.u.s.trate the error of these allegations.

He has elsewhere [297] referred to Villa as the "arch-fiend" in the matter of torturing the unhappy Spaniards as well as the Filipinos who incurred his ill-will. We have seen that Guzman proved an apt pupil and did credit to his instructor in connection with the torturing of Lieutenant Piera, but it nevertheless appears from Guzman's own statements that his relations with the Insurgent officers and their subordinates involved some rather grave difficulties. Of Major Canoy, for instance, he says:--

"I must add that the said Major Canoy is such a remarkable character that he saw fit to give my cook a beating for not taking off his hat when he met him. He insulted the delegate of rents of Cabagan Viejo for the same reason. He struck the head man of the town of Bagabag in the face. He put some of the members of the town council of Echague in the stocks, and he had others whipped." [298]

It was really incautious for Governor Guzman to complain of these conditions because Major Canoy and his party won, and the Governor had to resign.

But the day of reckoning came. It was in consequence of the atrocities committed by the Tagalog soldiers in the Cagayan valley that Captain Batchelder was able a little later to march practically unopposed through the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Cagayan with one battalion of American negro troops, for whom he had neither food nor extra ammunition, and that Tirona surrendered the Insurgent forces in the valley without attempting resistance!

CHAPTER VII

Insurgent Rule in the Visayas and Elsewhere

Referring to the conditions alleged to have been found by Sargent and Wilc.o.x in the Cagayan valley, Blount says:--

"Had another Sargent and another Wilc.o.x made a similar trip through the provinces of southern Luzon about this same time, under similar friendly auspices, before we turned friends.h.i.+p to hate and fear and misery, in the name of Benevolent a.s.similation, they would, we now know, have found similar conditions." [299]

So far as concerns the provinces of Mindoro and Palawan, and the great island of Mindanao, he dodges the issue, alleging the unimportance of Mindoro and Palawan, and claiming that "Mohammedan Mindanao"

presents a problem by itself. Under such generalities he hides the truth as to what happened in these regions.

I agree with him that there was essential ident.i.ty between actual conditions in the Cagayan valley and those which prevailed under Insurgent rule elsewhere in Luzon and in the Visayas. I will go further and say that conditions in the Cagayan valley did not differ essentially from those which prevailed throughout all portions of the archipelago which fell under Insurgent control, except that in several provinces captured friars and other Spaniards were quickly murdered whereas in the Cagayan valley no friar was quite killed outright by torture. Those who ultimately died of their injuries lived for some time.

Let us now consider some of the actual occurrences in these other provinces, continuing to follow the route of our tourists until it brings us back to Manila.

_South Ilocos_

The first province visited by Messrs. Wilc.o.x and Sargent after leaving Aparri was South Ilocos. The conditions which had prevailed at Vigan, the capital of the province, shortly before their arrival, are described in a letter signed "Mariano" and addressed under date of September 25, 1898, to Senor Don Mena Crisologo, from which I quote extracts:--

"_Dear Mena_: I read with a happy heart your letter of the 3rd instant, and in answer I have to say:--

"On the 22nd of August a ma.s.s meeting was held for the election of the local presidente of this town, and I was elected to the office; and on the 1st instant the Colonel appointed me Provisional Provincial President of this province, so that you can imagine the position I am in and the responsibilities which weigh on me.

"Your house is occupied by the Colonel, in view of the fact that it is not rented.

"I have here eleven friar prisoners and the d.a.m.ned priests who escaped from here have not as yet been returned, but it is known that they are prisoners in Cagayan, and as soon as they arrive here I will treat them as they deserve.

"It is with great regret that I have to relate the events and misfortunes which we have been suffering here since the arrival of the troops, as all the detachments are supported by the towns, and here in the capital where the commissary is established, our resources are exhausted, owing to the unreasonable demands of the commissary, because he never asks what is only just and necessary, but if he needs provisions for 200 men, he always asks enough for 1000. And notwithstanding this, the most lamentable and sad occurrences are taking place almost daily in the different barrios, and often in the town itself; the soldiers are guilty of many abuses and disorderly acts, such as rapes and murders, which usually remain unpunished by reason of the real authors thereof not being found, and when they are found and reported to their commanders, the latter do nothing. One night the house and estate of Sario Tinon in Anannam was sacked by six armed men, who threatened him and took his money, his wife's jewels and the best horses he had. Thank G.o.d that his family was at the time in the capital, and it appears that now the authors of this act are being discovered.

"I am at the present time working with Father Aglipay to have the forces stationed here replaced by our volunteers which I am recruiting, in order to prevent in so far as possible the frequent acts of barbarity which the former are committing in the province.

"When the friars from Lepanto arrived here, they were made to publish the following proclamation:--

"'_Proclamation_.--We, the friars, declare that all the acts committed by us against the honest Filipinos when we discharged our respective offices, were false and in contravention of the rights of the Holy Church, because we only wished to deceive and prejudice the honest inhabitants of the Philippines; for which reason we now suffer what we are suffering, as you see, according to the old adage that "he who owes must pay." And now we inform all you honest Filipinos that we repent for the acts above referred to, which are in contravention of the laws and good customs, and ask your pardon.--_Vigan_, September 13, 1898.'

"All of which I communicate to you in order that you may form an idea of what is taking place here, and take such steps as may be proper for the common good, and especially for the good of this town, hoping that with the aid of your valuable protection the abuses and disorders suffered by the residents will be stopped." [300]

The province of Abra, now a subprovince of South Ilocos, was evidently no exception to the general rule, for there is on file a letter to Aguinaldo with twenty-six signatures, protesting bitterly against the oppression of the poor, in the effort to compel them to contribute war taxes, complaining against the misuse of supplies gathered ostensibly for the soldiers, and stating that the pet.i.tioners will be obliged to take refuge with the Igorots and Negritos, if not granted relief. [301]

Apparently the trouble grew, for on December 27, 1898, the "Director of Diplomacy" telegraphed to Aguinaldo concerning it, saying:--

"Most urgent. The discontent in the provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac and Yloco (Ilocos) is increasing. The town of Bangbang rose in revolt the 25th and 26th of this month, and killed all of the civil officials. It is impossible to describe the abuses committed by the military and civil authorities of the said provinces. I urge you to send a force of 100 men and a diplomatic officer to reestablish order. The matter is urgent." [302]

I find nothing important in the Insurgent records concerning conditions in La Union at this time. Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan, which were now revisited by our tourists, have already been discussed.

_The Province of Manila_

Conditions in Manila Province, as distinguished from Manila City, left much to be desired.

Admiral Dewey made a statement applicable to the territory adjacent to the city and bay of Manila in a cablegram to Was.h.i.+ngton dated October 14, 1898, which reads as follows:--

"It is important that the disposition of the Philippine Islands should be decided as soon as possible... . General anarchy prevails without the limits of the city and bay of Manila. Natives appear unable to govern." [303]

Of it Blount says:--

"In this cablegram the Admiral most unfortunately repeated as true some wild rumours then currently accepted by the Europeans and Americans at Manila which, of course, were impossible of verification. I say 'unfortunately' with some earnestness, because it does not appear on the face of his message that they were mere rumours. And, that they were wholly erroneous, in point of fact, has already been cleared up in previous chapters, wherein the real state of peace, order, and tranquillity which prevailed throughout Luzon at that time has been, it is believed, put beyond all doubt." [304]

Blount seems here to have overlooked the fact that the admiral himself was in Manila Bay and in Manila City at the time he sent this cablegram. The statements in question were not rumours, they were deliberate expressions of opinion on the part of a man who had first-hand information and knew what he was saying.

They were not the Admiral's only allegations on this subject. When testifying before the Senate committee he said:--

"_Admiral Dewey_. I knew that there was no government in the whole of the Philippines. Our fleet had destroyed the only government there was, and there was no other government; there was a reign of terror throughout the Philippines, looting, robbing, murdering; a reign of terror throughout the islands."

_La Laguna_

Having brought our tourist friends safely back to Manila, we must now leave them there and strike out by ourselves if we are to see other provinces.

La Laguna lies just east of Manila. Of it we learn that:

"Laguna Province was so overrun by bands of robbers that the head of the pueblo of San Pablo ordered the people to concentrate in the town to avoid their attacks." [305]

_Bataan_