The Philippines: Past and Present Volume I Part 40

Blount makes much of disorders in Samar and Leyte. Let us consider the facts.

In all countries feuds between highlanders and lowlanders have been common. Although the inhabitants of the hills and those of the lowlands in the two islands under discussion are probably of identical blood and origin, they long since became separated in thought and feeling, and grew to be mutually antagonistic. The ignorant people of the interior have always been oppressed by their supposedly more highly civilized brethren living on or near the coast.

The killing of Otoy by the constabulary in 1911 marked the pa.s.sing of the last of a series of mountain chiefs who had exercised a very powerful influence over the hill people and had claimed for themselves supernatural powers.

Manila hemp is the princ.i.p.al product upon which these mountaineers depend in bartering for cloth and other supplies. The cleaning of hemp involves very severe exertion, and when it is cleaned it must usually, in Samar, be carried to the seash.o.r.e on the backs of the men who raise it. Under the most favourable circ.u.mstances, it may be transported thither in small _bancas_ [494] down the streams.

The lowland people of Samar and Leyte had long been holding up the hill people when they brought in their hemp for sale in precisely the way that Filipinos in other islands are accustomed to hold up members of the non-Christian tribes. They played the part of middlemen, purchasing the hemp of the ignorant hill people at low prices and often reselling it, without giving it even a day's storage, at a very much higher figure. This system was carried so far that conditions became unbearable and finally resulted in so-called _pulajanism_ which began in the year 1904.

The term _pulajan_ is derived from a native word meaning "red" and was given to the mountain people because in their attacks upon the lowlanders they wore, as a distinguishing mark, red trousers or a dash of red colour elsewhere about their spa.r.s.e clothing. They raided coast towns and did immense damage before they were finally brought under control. It should be remembered that these conditions were allowed to arise by a Filipino provincial governor, and by Filipino munic.i.p.al officials. It is altogether probable that a good American governor would have prevented them, but as it was, neither their cause nor their importance were understood at the outset. The _pulajan_ movement was directed primarily against Filipinos.

The first outbreak occurred on July 10, 1904, in the Gandara River valley where a settlement of the lowlanders was burned and some of its inhabitants were killed. Eventually disorder spread to many places on the coast, and one scout garrison of a single company was surprised and overwhelmed by superior numbers. Officers and men were ma.s.sacred and their rifles taken.

In point of area Samar is the third island in the Philippines. In its interior are many rugged peaks and heavily forested mountains. It was here that a detachment of United States marines under the command of Major Waller, while attempting to cross the island, were lost for nearly two weeks, going without food for days and enduring terrible hardships.

At the time in question there were not five miles of road on the island pa.s.sable for a vehicle, nor were there trails through the mountains over which horses could be ridden. The only interior lines of communication were a few footpaths over which the natives were accustomed to make their way from the mountains to the coast.

Troops have perhaps never attempted a campaign in a country more difficult than the interior of Samar. The traditional needle in the haystack would be easy to find compared with an outlaw, or band of outlaws, in such a rugged wilderness.

Upon the outbreak of trouble troops were hurried to Samar, and by December, 1904, according to Blount himself, there were some 1800 native soldiers on the island who were left free for active operations in the field by the garrisoning of various coast towns with sixteen companies of United States infantry.

If the nature of the feuds between the Samar lowlanders and highlanders had then been better understood, the ensuing troubles, which were more or less continuous for nearly two years, might perhaps have been avoided. As soon as it became evident that the situation was such as to demand the use of the army it was employed to supplement the operations of the constabulary.

About the time that trouble ended in Samar it began in Leyte. There was no real connection between the disorders in the two islands. No leader on either island is known to have communicated with any leader on the other; no fanatical follower ever left Samar for Leyte or Leyte for Samar so far as we are informed.

For convenience of administration the two islands were grouped in a single command after the army was requested to take over the handling of the disturbances there, in cooperation with the constabulary. The trouble ended in 1907 and both islands have remained quiet ever since. The same causes would again produce the same results now or at any time in the future, and they would be then, as in the past, the outcome of the oppression of the weak by the strong and without other political significance. Under a good government they should never recur.

Many circ.u.mstances which did not exist in 1902 and 1904 made it feasible to use the army in Samar and Leyte during 1905 and 1906. The high officers who had exercised such sweeping powers during the insurrection had meanwhile given way to other commanders. Indeed, a practically new Philippine army had come into existence. The policy of the insular government as to the treatment of individual Filipinos had been recognized and indorsed by Americans generally, but many of the objections to the use of the troops, including the heavy expense involved, still existed and I affirm without fear of successful contradiction that had it been possible to place in Samar and Leyte a number of constabulary soldiers equal to that of the scouts and American troops actually employed, disorder would have been terminated much more quickly and at very greatly less cost.

With the final breaking up of organized brigandage in 1905 law and order may be said to have been established throughout the islands. It has since been the business of the constabulary to maintain it. The value of the cooperation of the law-abiding portion of the population has been fully recognized. The newly appointed constabulary officer has impressed upon him the necessity of manifesting an interest in the people with whom he comes in contact; of cultivating the acquaintance of Filipinos of all social grades, and of a.s.sisting to settle their disagreements and harmonize their differences whenever possible. He is taught a native dialect.

The constabulary have to a high degree merited and secured the confidence and good-will of the people, whose rights they respect. There is a complete absence of the old arbitrary procedure followed by the _guardia civil_ and as a result there are frequent requests from Filipino officials for additional detachments, while the removal of a company from a given community is almost invariably followed by vigorous protests. The power of human sympathy is very great, and as the att.i.tude of constabulary officers and men is usually one of sympathy, conciliation and affection, that body has earned and deserved popularity.

The success of the constabulary in apprehending criminals has been both praiseworthy and noteworthy. The courage and efficiency which have often been displayed by its officers and men in hard-fought engagements with Moro outlaws or with organized bands of thieves and brigands have been beyond praise. Many of its officers have rendered invaluable service in bringing the people of the more unruly non-Christian tribes under governmental control, not only bravely and efficiently performing their duty as police officers, but a.s.sisting in trail construction or discharging, in effect, the duties of lieutenant-governors in very remote places which could be visited by the actual lieutenant-governors only infrequently. I later take occasion to mention the valuable work done by Lieutenant Case in the early days of Ifugao, and to dwell at length on the splendid service rendered there by Lieutenant Jeff D. Gallman, who was for many years lieutenant-governor of the subprovince while continuing to serve as a constabulary officer. Lieutenant Maimban at Quiangan, and Lieutenant Dosser at Mayoyao, have been and are most useful, though they do not hold official positions under the Mountain Province or receive any additional compensation for the special services which they render. Captain Guy O. Fort served most acceptably as governor of the province of Agusan during the interim between the resignation of Governor Lewis and the appointment of Governor Bryant and Lieutenants Atkins and Zapanta have also rendered valuable service as a.s.sistants to the provincial governor. Lieutenant Turnbull is now a.s.sistant to the governor of Nueva Vizcaya for work among the Ilongots on the Pacific coast of northern Luzon. Other constabulary officers, who have not been called upon for special service of this kind, have performed their ordinary duties in such a way as to demonstrate that they were actuated by the spirit of cooperation and have been of great help.

But the work of the constabulary has not been confined to police duty. They have been of the greatest a.s.sistance to the Director of Health in effectively maintaining quarantine, and making possible the isolation of victims of dangerous communicable diseases like cholera and smallpox, when inefficient munic.i.p.al policemen have utterly failed to do their duty. They have given similar a.s.sistance to the Director of Agriculture in the maintenance of quarantine in connection with efforts to combat diseases of domestic animals. In great emergencies such as those presented by the recent eruption of Taal volcano, and the devastation caused by great typhoons, they have been quick to respond to the call of duty and have rendered efficient and heroic service. They a.s.sist internal revenue officers. Except in a few of the largest cities they are the firemen of the islands and by their effective work have repeatedly checked conflagrations, which are of frequent occurrence and tend to be very destructive in this country, where most of the houses are built of bamboo and nipa palm, and where roofs become dry as tinder during the long period when there is little or no rain. They have aided in combating pests of locusts, and, in short, have been ready to meet almost any kind of an emergency which has arisen.

The importance of having such a body of alert, industrious, disciplined, efficient men inspired by a high sense of duty, and physically so well developed that they can continue to perform that duty in the face of long-continued privations and hardships, is beyond dispute. The results which have been obtained by the Philippine constabulary have abundantly justified the policy which led to its organization.

Its task has been no sinecure. Eleven officers and one hundred ninety-seven enlisted men have been killed in action. Forty-eight officers and nine hundred ninety-one men have died of disease. Forty-six officers have been wounded in action. Seven hundred sixty-eight men have been discharged for disability. Seven thousand four hundred twenty-four firearms and 45,018 rounds of ammunition have been captured by, or surrendered to, the constabulary. Four thousand eight hundred sixty-two outlaws have been killed and 11,977 taken prisoners. Twelve thousand two hundred sixty-two stolen animals have been recovered.

There are many things which are not brought home to the reader by such statistics. The weary days and nights on tropical trails; the weakness and pain of dysentery; the freezing and the burning of pernicious malaria; the heavy weight of responsibility when one must act, in matters of life and death, with no superior to consult; the disappointment when carefully laid plans go wrong; the discouragement caused by indifference; the danger of infection with loathsome diseases; ingrat.i.tude; deadly peril; aching wounds; sudden death, and, worse yet, death after suffering long drawn out, when one meets one's end knowing that it is coming and that one's family will be left without means or resources,--these are some of the things that the officers and men of this gallant corps have faced unflinchingly.

The work of the constabulary and of the Philippine scouts has conclusively demonstrated the courage and efficiency of the Filipino as a soldier when well disciplined and well led.

The establishment and maintenance of order in the Philippines have afforded opportunity for some of the bravest deeds in the annals of any race, and the opportunity has been n.o.bly met. The head-hunters of the Mountain Province, the Mohammedan Moros of Mindanao, Jolo and Palawan, the b.l.o.o.d.y _pulajanes_ of Samar and Leyte, the wily _tulisanes_ of Luzon, all unrestrained by any regard for the rules of civilized warfare, have for twelve years matched their fanatical bravery against the gallantry of the khaki-clad Filipino soldiers. Time and again a single officer and a handful of men have taken chances that in almost any other land would have won them the Victoria cross, the legion of honor, or some similar decoration. Here their only reward has been the sense of duty well done.

The force known as the Philippine constabulary was organized for the purpose of establishing and maintaining order. It has established and is maintaining a condition of order never before equalled or approached in the history of the islands. The policy which led to its organization has been a thousand times justified.

CHAPTER XV

The Administration of Justice

In no branch of the public administration have there been more numerous or more beneficial reforms than in the administration of justice. They have resulted in simplifying organization, in decreasing the possibility of corruption and partiality, and in diminishing the cost of litigation and the time which it requires.

For the benefit of those especially interested I give in the appendix the past and present organization of the courts. [495] The subject is too technical to interest the average layman.

The slender salaries paid to judges, the fact that in the majority of cases their appointment and promotion were due to influence and suggestion, their liability to be transferred from one court to another or from the Philippines to the Antilles, as frequently happened, and the further fact that the subordinate personnel of the courts was not a salaried one, caused the administration of justice in the Philippine Islands to be looked upon askance. There was a general belief, well founded in many instances, that lawsuits were won through influence or bribery. Clerks and the subordinate personnel of the courts were readily bribed. Indeed, they frequently demanded bribes from litigants, or from defendants in criminal cases, under promise to expedite the trials if paid to do so, or under threat to commit some injustice if payment was not forthcoming. For many years after the American occupation justices of the peace received no salaries and had to look to fees for their compensation. This system worked wretchedly. The positions were only too often filled by very incompetent and unworthy men, who stimulated litigation in order to make more money. Now all justices of the peace receive reasonable salaries.

The paying of regular salaries and the furnishing of necessary offices and supplies have done much to improve the work of justice of the peace courts, which are now presided over by men who average far better than even their immediate predecessors.

Until they were put on a salary basis the work of the Filipino justices of the peace left much more to be desired than is lacking at present. In many instances they allowed gross brutalities, perpetrated by the rich on the poor, or by the strong on the weak, to go unpunished. The following case furnished me by an American teacher is typical of what has occurred only too often:--

"On another occasion, I met the brother of my house _muchacha_, [496] a boy about eight. He had a sort of protuberance on one side caused by broken ribs which had not been set. I questioned my _muchacha_. She said her step-father had kicked the child across the room some weeks before and broken his ribs. The next day, I took the child together with Senora Bayot, the wife of the Governor's secretary, before the local Justice of the Peace. Senora Bayot translated and the child told the same story as had his sister. The Justice of the Peace issued an order for the step-father to report to him on the next day. That night my _muchacha_ told me that her step-father had threatened to kill the child if he did not tell the Justice that he got the hurt by falling out of an orange tree. The child did as ordered, and the step-father was dismissed. When I questioned the Justice of the Peace as to why he credited the second tale, he said the child was under oath then, and was not under oath in the first statements."

It was not deemed wise at the outset to appoint a Filipino judge for the city of Manila, as it was feared that there would be a lack of confidence in a Filipino who had occasion to decide cases involving large sums of money in which Americans or foreigners on the one hand and Filipinos on the other were interested; but a few years after the establishment of the new judicial system Filipino judges had won such a reputation for justice and fairness as to gain the confidence of Americans and foreigners and the appointment of a Filipino judge for the court of the city of Manila did not arouse any opposition.

Filipino judges of courts of first instance seem usually to have been actuated by a desire to do full justice. The instances in which complaints have been made against them because of partiality to party or to race are few. Some of them have been justly criticised for tardiness in cleaning up their dockets, and it is undoubtedly true that their capacity for turning out work is on the average below that of their Americans a.s.sociates.

The fact must not be forgotten that Americans are in the majority in the Supreme Court, which reviews the decisions of courts of first instance, and this undoubtedly exercises a restraining influence. It is not possible accurately to judge what would be the actions of a body of men now subject to such control if it did not exist. It is furthermore true that the Filipinos are more inclined to be suspicious of their own countrymen than of Americans, and there have been from time to time specific requests from them that judges in certain provinces be Americans.

Under the Spanish regime the fees paid by litigants were excessive and the use of stamped paper was compulsory. Its value ranged from twenty-five centavos to two pesos for a folio of two sheets according to the amount involved in the suit. Now there are fixed fees of $8 in civil suits, except in probate matters, where the fee is $12.

It was in the power of an unscrupulous litigant to make a lawsuit almost eternal. In matters involving an amount exceeding $250 it was lawful to inst.i.tute proceedings in the action whereby the decision of the main issue was suspended pending decision of the proceedings, and as a decision was appealable to the _audiencia_, this was often done by attorneys who had an interest in delaying the suit. By inst.i.tuting one proceeding after another a suit could be indefinitely prolonged.

Another method of securing delay was to object to the judge. In case the judge denied the ground of the objection, a proceeding was inst.i.tuted against him and the trial of the main issue was turned over to another judge; although the proceeding arising out of the objection did not suspend the trial of the main issue, when the time came to decide the latter the decision was withheld until the proceeding arising out of the objection was settled, and as this latter was one in connection with which other proceedings could be inst.i.tuted which might delay the decision and consequently the decision of the main issue, there was no end to the matter.

To-day all this has been stopped by the procedure in court. The challenging of judges is not allowed, although they must refrain from the trial of any matter when they are disqualified in any way as regards it. Proceedings which suspend the trial of the main issue cannot be inst.i.tuted. The procedure itself is more expeditious, the time allowances and formalities have been reduced, and all the long Spanish civil procedure regarding the presentation of evidence has been shortened. Suits are settled with a speediness previously unknown. In order to avoid delay on the part of judges in rendering decisions, an act has been pa.s.sed prohibiting the payment of their salaries without a certificate that they have no matter which has been awaiting decision for more than three months.

Owing to the inquisitorial procedure which obtained under Spanish rule, the disposition of criminal cases was even slower than that of civil cases. The cause would be commenced, either _de officio_, by the judge who had a knowledge of the crime, or by the prosecuting attorney, or by virtue of private accusation on the part of the person aggrieved. The case once started, the investigations made during the period known as the _sumario_ were conducted in the absence of the accused. The latter had no hand in the case, as it was thought that the reserve and secrecy of the procedure ought not to be violated to the end that the accused might not frustrate the evidence of the prosecution by preparing his defence. Owing many times to the inactivity of the judge or of the prosecuting attorney, to the great amount of work which weighed down the courts--for actions were begun when there was knowledge of the commission of the crime, although the perpetrators were not known--and by the manipulations at other times of the private accuser to whose interest it was to harm the accused by delaying the _sumario_, this period was often made to extend over years and years. Meanwhile the defendant was confined in prison, as no bail was allowed in any case in which the penalty was that of _presidio correccional_ (from six months and one day to six years'

imprisonment) or greater. In addition to this the circ.u.mstance that all criminal causes in the islands had to be sent for review to the proper _audiencia_, caused a large acc.u.mulation of old cases in these higher courts, and this alone made their disposition a matter of some years.

To-day the procedure is rapid. Information having been brought against the defendant, the trial is had in the same term or at most during the next term of court. Sometimes the trial is suspended owing to the non-appearance of witnesses, but it can be said that cases are rare where causes are pending in the docket of the court for a longer period than two terms. Causes appealed to the Supreme Court are disposed of promptly, and as a general rule it does not take over six months to get a decision.

Defendants in criminal cases have now been granted by the Philippine Bill certain fundamentally important rights which they did not formerly enjoy; namely, to appear and defend in person or by counsel at every stage of the proceedings; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to testify as witnesses in their own behalf; to be exempt from testifying against themselves; to be confronted at the trial by, and to cross-examine, the witnesses against them; to have compulsory process issue for obtaining witnesses in their own favour; to have speedy and public trials; to be admitted to bail with sufficient sureties in all cases, except for capital offences. None of these rights were enjoyed under the procedure in effect during the Spanish regime. A man was prosecuted without being notified of the charges against him, and he was only made aware of the case against him after the _sumario_. When all of the evidence of the prosecution had been taken the accused was heard in his own defence. He was compelled to testify, and was subjected to a very inquisitorial examination, including questions which incriminated him. Although he had the right to compel witnesses for the prosecution to ratify over their signatures the evidence against him given during the _sumario_, as the defence of the majority of the accused was in the hands of attorneys _de officio_ they nearly always renounced this privilege of the defendant, and, as has already been said, bail was not admitted in any grave offence during the trial.

No sentence of acquittal in a criminal case can now be appealed from by the government. Under the Spanish system sentences of acquittal of courts of first instance had to be referred for review to the proper _audiencia_ and the fiscal of the latter could appeal from a sentence of acquittal by it.

The Philippine Bill grants to the inhabitants of the islands other important individual rights which they did not formerly possess.

The Spanish const.i.tution was not in force here, and although the Penal Code contained provisions for punishing, in a way, officials who violated certain rights granted by the Spanish const.i.tution, citizens had no expeditious method of securing their punishment. Now the Code of Civil Procedure grants them certain special remedies by which their rights can be made good. To ill.u.s.trate: Under the Spanish regime the only remedy for a man illegally detained was to bring a criminal action against the person illegally detaining him. He did not have the remedy of the writ of habeas corpus nor the writ of prohibition against an official who attempted to make him the victim of some unlawful act. His only remedy was to bring a criminal action against such official, or to sue him for damages. He could not compel public officials to perform their ministerial duties by mandamus proceedings.

The individual rights conferred by the Philippine Bill, and the special remedies granted by the Code of Civil Procedure, a.s.sure to the inhabitants of the islands liberties and privileges entirely unknown to them during the days of Spanish sovereignty, and these liberties and privileges are adequately safeguarded.