ESTADO FEDERAL DE BISAYAS
ROQUE LOPEZ LETTER, DECEMBER 25, 1898

Exhibit 1209.

[Original in Spanish. Copy. P.I.R., Books A.6.]

PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC,
FEDERAL STATE OF VISAYAS, ILOILO,
Dec. 25, 1898.

To the PROVINCIAL PRESIDENTE OR TO THE MILITARY CHIEF OF DUMAGUETE, ORIENTAL NEGROS.

Philippine Republic. Federal State of Visayas, Iloilo. To the Provincial Presidente or to the Military Chief of Dumaguete, Oriental Negros.

There is a heading which says: Office of the President of the Philippine Revolutionary Government; and a stamp which says: Revolutionary Government of the Philippines, Office of the President.

Instructions transmitted by the President of the Philippine Revolutionary Government to the Revolutionary Committee of Iloilo.

1st. Not to recognize the sovereignty of the American Government, and the Commissioners on landing shall prepare with the committee other committees inside and outside of Iloilo, the latter shall prepare forces in order to attack the Spaniards hours before the delivery of the garrison to the Americans. Within the garrison some of our soldiers shall attack, while others will go to the depots of arms and quarters in order to extract all the arms and ammunition whigh they can. The attack 'Of those within will be in combination with those outside, and those who have no rifles and only bolo arms, tell them to be brave and determined, because the Americans fear the bolo more than the rifle itself. Select uneducated persons to take charge of the attack with bolo arms as the educated ones usually become discouraged at the sight of a larger force of the antagonists. Here we have attacked a hundred against thousands, and bolos against rifles, but we have availed ourselves of uneducated persons, brave and determined, promising them commissions of General, etc. etc., and thus we have succeeded in winning.

2nd. It may happen that at the moment of attack the Spaniards may ask the Americans for a parley, and may make promises. In such a case neither believe nor accede anything, but continue the operations of attack until the enemy is made to surrender.

3rd. The two preceding paragraphs shall apply in case that the garrison has not yet been delivered by the Spaniards to the Americans, but in case that the attack has not been effected for any reason whatsoever, then our forces shall continue to enter towards the garrison, gaining ground and well prepared, but without firing until the Americans begin. When the Americans attack respond immediately provided they are within reach of our rifles, with certainty of doing harm; for if this certainty should not exist, our forces should not fire but lie down and await the firing of the Americans to cease. Then aiming well, and always advancing, boldly attack them with almost a certainty of victory, above all showing them the bolo, for here in Manila it has been seen more than fifty times that the American at the beginning shows himself firm and stubborn but at the sigh of the determination of our soldiers and the brilliancy of the bolos, they have yielded. These are practical cases which the seņores commissioners can confirm to the committee, a recent case of four Americans having died through fear having presented itself. If the Americans should offer to let our forces enter without attacking, one of our emmisaries to parley should at once be sent to the American General, in order to state that we, Filipinos, do not want them not anyone else as sovereigns and that they will only be received if they will sign a document that they are our friends and promised to leave at once. This document [is] to be signed by the American General and communicated to all the foreign consuls and residents in the city. At the same time there shall be circulated proclamations ordering all Filipinos, under penalty of death, to respect the persons and property of all foreigners, as well as the lives and honor of all the Spaniards or Americans, prisoners, who shall be humanely treated.

4th. In case that our forces should have taken the garrison of Iloilo before the Americans, and the latter should attempt to land by force, our soldiers shall conceal themselves well in order to deceive them, and allow them to land up to triple or quadruple the number of ours and when they are within our rifle shot, taking care to give them a volley in order to diminish them one·half or as much as possible. If they should reply by rapid firing our soldiers shall cease firing and will lie down, unless the enemy should continue to advance, for in the latter case, our soldiers shall fire at their own discretion, that is, one by one and they shall also fire one or two volleys in sucession until they are able to make the enemy fall back, halt or surrender. The object of the strategy of presenting a lesser number against quadruple the number of the enemy, is not only to secure always losses to the enemy but also to secure in case of victory double the number of ammunition used and also to secure a considerable number of rifles from the enemy's dead. In order to better deceive the Americans in case that they shall attempt to land by force our forces shall build supposed trenches, and holes. Our soldiers shall place themselves in these holes in order to fire on the enemy, in which place they will be safe, while the enemy will fire at the supposed trenches without causing any damage whatever. Before landing, the Americans will surely bombard: no reply will be made to this bombardment and no force shall be presented to the view of the Americans in order that the latter being deceived will proceed to disembark, our commanders in such a case shall act in accordance with the instructions above given and which will be observed in any point of our territory.

5th. In case that launches with landing parties should enter our rivers they should be allowed to enter in numbers compatible to our forces and when they are within our rifle shot our soldiers will be ordered to fire, taking care to have four good marksmen aim their shots at the helmsman and the captain of the launches, endeavoring not to do any harm to the hulls in order to utilize said launches after the victory.

6th. In case that gunboats should enter, they should be permitted to approach as far as our cannon and then taking good aim fire the shots at the hulls of the gunboats, in order that the latter shall soon sink in the water, thus preventing that their guns shall do much damage. At the same time orders should be given for a rifle voHey at the soldiers who may be on the gunboats.

You are hereby authorized to issue these instructions to all the military chiefs of our territory of Visayas and Mindanao. MALOLOS, December 25, 1898. E. AGUINALDO.

(Signed) R. LOPEZ,
President.

To the SEŅORES OF THE ILOILO COMMITTEE.

[NOTE BY COMPILER. The copy from which the foregoing translation was made bears the following certificate.]

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH SEPARATE BRIGADE,
Iloilo, P. I., May 23rd, 1902.

A true copy of a true copy recorded in Volume 25, pages No. 4251 to 4254, of the insurgent records on file in this office. The original has been forwarded to Headquarters Division of the Philippines.

(Signed) ROBERT H. NOBLE,
Captain 3rd C. S. Infantry, Adjutant General