The Philippines: Past and Present Volume II Part 25

"This is what I am able to inform you, in fulfilment of the respected order of the Chief.

"G.o.d guard you many years.

"San Cristobal, August 3, 1900.

(Signed) "C. Gonzales." [108]

The organization of munic.i.p.al governments by the Philippine Commission, in towns north of Manila, especially aroused the ire of Insurgent leaders, one of whom issued an order declaring traitors all persons who accepted munic.i.p.al office under the Americans. [109]

In October, 1900, we find General Vito Belarmino ordering that Filipinos in Ambos Camarines who accept office under Americans "be treated as traitors," and that "commanders of columns and detachments will cause their forces to fall on those pueblos in which there are individuals who are in favour of the organization of such unpopular and therefore despotic governments." [110] One Tuason, an American adherent, is notified that he and two other persons, who are named, will be shot and their bodies hung on the cathedral tower as a lesson to the inhabitants. [111]

In La Laguna province Cailles, who was now in command there, found himself compelled not only to fight the Americans in the field, but to combat their growing popularity in the towns, and he promptly inaugurated a reign of terror, ordering the death of any person whom he considered an undesirable. His victims were shot, bayoneted or boloed. If they took refuge within the American lines, they were followed and a.s.sa.s.sinated. In his book of letters sent, [112] there appear the names of thirty-one men whom he ordered killed between August 20, 1900, and April, 1901. Some of these men were described as highwaymen or a.s.sa.s.sins, and probably deserved their fate, but others were cla.s.sed as "spies" or "traitors," and certainly did not, unless in this country where it is claimed that Aguinaldo had his people a unit at his back it was an offence worthy of death to prefer peace and order under American rule to conditions such as Insurgent rule fostered.

Cailles did not hesitate to report the results of his orders for the a.s.sa.s.sination of individuals, giving full and grewsome details. The following is a sample circular letter on this subject, sent out by him:--

"To the local Chiefs and Commanders of Columns, of the province:--

"On this date I have received a communication from the Presidente of Santa Cruz which is as follows:--

"Sr. General: ... I am pleased, much pleased my General, to inform you with much satisfaction of the end in this world of the villain, of the great traitor, Salvador Reyes, in the following manner:--

"This morning at 8 o'clock, according to the reports of Srs. Lazaro Alfonzo and Modesto de los Reyes, who would gladly give their lives for our honour and glory, your coachman told them that the traitor was proceeding to the northern part of the town. They followed him and upon coming to the front of the house and shop of Cabezang Jacinto Talcon, the aforementioned Sr. Modesto attacked him with a bolo like a tiger, with all the strength of his body and soul, hitting by chance his left jaw, when the other, that is to say, Sr. Lazaro Alfonso, followed the first, catching the traitor by the throat with his right hand and with the other fired three pistol shots at him, one of which missed and the other two took effect in the traitor's shoulder, from the effects of which he fell like a stone upon his face.

"Lastly, Sr. Modesto stabbed him with a bolo, and upon seeing that he was dead, took away his revolver, and carrying the traitor by his belt to Calle de Maria Christina, threw the body down. This was done in plain daylight and in plain view of everybody...." [113]

"On January 6, 1901, 'the lieutenant-general of the Philippine Islands' ordered that all persons who disobeyed the orders of the Katipunan were to be tried and sentenced. A member of the organization who found that any person was contemplating taking action opposed to the purposes of that venerable society was authorized to kidnap him, and when the Katipunan laid hold upon a man he was henceforth seen no more among the living." [114]

The organization of the Federal Party caused an outburst of fury among the Insurgent leaders beside which that aroused by the organization of munic.i.p.al governments was mild.

Throughout the islands the murdering of officers, members and agents of this party was ordered, and even those who sympathized with its ends were to be shot.

The following is a sample of the orders sentencing to death the adherents of this truly patriotic organization:--

"March 22, 1901.

"Senor Emilio Zurbano y Kajigal,

"Lieutenant Colonel and Military Governor of the Province of Tayabas.

"2nd. In view of the preceding section, the Local Presidentes and Commanders of the columns of this province, will carefully watch their respective jurisdictions in order that not one agent of the enemy nor of the Federal Party, may be secretly able to obtain any signatures of the residents, they shall seize any one who may do it and send him to me with all the possible safeguards for the execution of what is ordered in the foregoing section.

"3rd. All persons who may show themselves to be inclined to the Federal Party, will also be captured and shot on being arrested prior to the proceedings and legal formalities, because being inclined towards this party, is the same as declaring oneself a traitor to the country.

"4th. The commander of a column or local presidente who shall tolerate the existence of the Committees of the Federal Party in his jurisdiction, being able to avoid it, will be tried and in case he is found guilty, will be discharged from his duty and will also be shot, as a traitor to his country.

"5th. The presidentes of the popular committees, will furnish detailed information to the local presidentes and commanders of columns of persons within the towns occupied by the enemies who are engaged in the propagation of the Federal Party or in getting adhesions in any way, either directly or indirectly, to the said party, and the presidente of the popular committee who may fail to accomplish so sacred a duty, will also be punished with the penalty of death.

"6th. When any of the representatives of the federal party, or any of its adherents cannot be captured on account of remaining constantly with the enemy or being protected by him, the local presidentes and commanders of the columns will procure by all means the execution of the said representative or adherent within the line of the enemy through persons of known decision and of patriotism worthy of all commendation.

"7th. All the citizens living in the province of Tayabas who may be representatives or adherents to the Federal Party, aside from the criminal liability which he incurs personally, will be deprived of the benefits of his property, which will be seized by the Government, who will take charge of the profits of the same.

"8th & last. The Local Presidente of the pueblo in which exists any Committee of the Federal Party and the Commander of the column to whose protection the pueblo is entrusted on pain of incurring the punishment detailed in section third of the present proclamation, will proceed to the total destruction of the pueblo in which there is a federalist committee, if, after having been ordered to disband it, at the expiration of seven days the same continues in its traitorous and criminal functions.

"Issued at the Military Government, March 22nd, 1901.

"Emilio Zurbano, "Lieutenant Colonel, Military Governor." [115]

On March 3, 1899, Antonio Luna, general in chief of operations about Manila, directed that all persons who either directly or indirectly refused to aid the execution of his military plans were to be immediately shot without trial. Nothing could have been more sweeping than was his order, and the commanders of detachments of insurgents found in it an authoritative statement that the lives and property of the inhabitants of the Philippines were theirs to do with as they chose. [116]

Mabini made this vicious and cruel order the subject of bitter protest, writing to Aguinaldo, on March 6, 1899, a letter in which he says that Luna has grossly exceeded his powers, and making the very pertinent inquiry "if an educated man [117] can hardly understand his duties, how will the uneducated one understand his?" He suggests that it would be better to remove Luna. [118] It does not appear that this order was ever modified.

I might furnish many similar data, but enough of orders. Any one who is not convinced by these extracts from the official Insurgent records that murder was a duly authorized governmental agency under the Philippine "Republic" is not amenable to reason or influenced by incontrovertible facts.

But were these brutal instructions carried out? They were, indeed, with a ferocity and a cold-blooded barbarity which make one shudder. Fortunate indeed was the man who was really shot, like the presidente of Nagcarlan, [119] and it made no difference if innocent bystanders were wounded or killed as well.

One of the common methods of procedure with victims of "dukut" was to bury them alive. A number of individuals suffered this fate at Taytay, near Manila. They were taken out at night, made to kneel beside graves already dug, hit over the head with an iron bar and knocked into their last resting places and the earth was shovelled in on to them. They were confessed by a native priest, and people of the town were required to stand by and see them meet their end.

An American lawyer who afterward defended some of their murderers when the latter were apprehended and brought to trial, told me that among other grewsome details furnished by his clients, who shamelessly admitted to him their guilt, were the following:--

A victim who watched the murder of others, while awaiting his turn, did not want to be struck on the head and begged that as a special favor the blow from the iron bar be omitted in his case. His request was granted, whereupon he climbed into his grave, lay down, covered his face with his handkerchief, and directed his murderers to proceed. I could cite numerous specific cases in which persons were buried alive, and will do so if my word is called in question. [120] If not, enough of this!

Burning alive was occasionally resorted to. [121] More frequently, the victims had their eyes put out, their tongues cut out, and were then turned loose to shift for themselves. Justice Johnson, [122] of the Philippine Supreme Court, has described to me a case in which four policemen of a town which had received him in a friendly manner, were served in this way, and the procedure was a comparatively common one.

Taylor gives the following account of certain incidents which occurred in Ilocos Sur:--

"On page 154 is a record of part of the murders of a body of men in the town of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur Province, who, in July, 1900, calling themselves 'Sandatahan,' appointed a chief executioner, a.s.sistant executioners and a requisite number of grave-diggers, and then, with set purpose, proceeded to a.s.sa.s.sinate all persons who manifested reluctance to join them or to contribute to their support or to the support of the insurgents in the hills whom their leader claimed they were serving. They operated secretly at night, the leaders usually selecting their victims one at a time; and when they were secured they were conducted to a lonely beach covered with tall gra.s.s where the grave-digger had already dug the requisite number of graves and where the executioners were already a.s.sembled. There in the presence of the a.s.sembled band, men and women, bound and helpless, were placed upon the brinks of their opened graves, their bodies were run through with swords and bolos and then buried. The band then dispersed, each man going to his own home. These operations were continued with industrious persistency through two months or more until the lengthening row of graves reached, in the language of one of the witnesses, 'about thirty, more or less.'" [123]

The Insurgent leaders themselves reported in a most businesslike manner their orders for a.s.sa.s.sination and the results of their activities in this direction.

The following are sample communications of this sort:

"Headquarters Camp No. 6.

"Tierra Libre (Free Soil), Saluyan (Laguna Province) "November 18th, 1900.

"General Juan Cailles, "Military Governor of La Laguna:

"In Nagcarlang it appears that there will be soon a spy, one Juan, a native of Binang, for he has already commenced to disobey the committee, and so I with much prudence have ordered his eternal rest. The inhabitants have left the town and no one will serve either as barber or laundry-man to the Americans.

(Signed) "Julio Infante." [124]