TAGALOG OFFICERS TO AGUINALDO, AUGUST 1, 1899

Exhibit 1260.

[Original in Spanish. D.S. P.I.R, 52.4.]

AUGUST 1, 1899.

To the Honorable President of the Philipine Republic, Seņor EMILIO AGUINALDO y FAMY.

We, the undersigned, natives of this Island of Luzon, called the Tagalog colony, officers in active service in this Visayan Region, concentrated in this town of Santa Barbara, with due respect submit this truthful statement to you, protesting upon our honor and under formal oath that we are not acting with malice with regard to the conduct far from just, toward the undersigned, of the principal leaders, natives of this Visayan Island, and for the sake of clearness we shall set down our statements in separate paragraphs, beginning with the interior policy of their government.

The policy of the government of this so-called Federal State, formed by the principal leaders of this Region, Sres. Raymundo Melliza, Jovito Yusay, Ramon Avanceņa, Julio Hernandez, Francisco Villanueva, Pablo Araneta, Francisco Soriano, Nicolas Jalandoni, Magdaleno Jovellano, Florencio Tarrosa, Fernando Salas, and an infinite number of other gentlemen, has for purpose, as was stated at a meeting held in the month of February of this year, at which Seņor Raymundo Melliza stated that in order to avoid the Central Government of Luzon monopolizing our wealth, said central government availing itself for the purpose of the unitarian constitution of these provinces, it is better that we should continue the Government of our Federal State, insisting to the end that it be recognized as such State by the Government of Luzon, and in this manner we shall be the owners and only ones called upon to administer our wealth and to govern ourselves in all the islands that the Visayas comprise; by which General Diocno, on learning of this conduct which was unpatriotic and showed the little fraternity which exists between the Tagalog and the Visayan, as we show below, was greatly displeased, as is natural, that every native of Luzon should consider his love for the new Constitution of our Republic injured; considering said action on the part of the gentlemen of the Visayas as a belittlement not only of the sons of Luzon but also as a reflection upon the person of him whose sacrifices for our beloved coun_ try extend to the point of madness; to this is due the fact that the Visayan governors have neglected the expeditionary forces of General Diocno, both in their pay and their maintenance and other peremptory needs of said forces, who are those who have made the greatest sacrifices in all their conflicts both against the Spanish troops in the province of Capiz as against the North Americans in this province of Iloilo. This led to serious displeasure, causing the commission of some abuses on the part of the forces of General Diocno, who were forced to take this action by a very sacred necessity, that of their subsistence, and not for the purpose of satisfying the inherent vices of evildoers, as frequently is the case with Visayan soldiers and natives of this province, who are guilty of the most horrible crime which the Code mentions and which is, nevertheless, tolerated and left unnoticed; but the same is not the case when a Tagalog commits a theft or a soldier of General Diocno takes a cocoanut, a chicken, a sugar cane or an egg plant; then as if by lightning, to use the simile, it is known throughout the province that suc:h or such an act was committed by tho soldiers of Sr. Diocno and countenanced by the latter or by his respective commanders and officers. This gives rise consequently to the antagonism existing between the Tagalog and the Visayan; and, furthermore, this is proved by the conduct of the innumerable chiefs or commanders in this province, including the Governor and his officials, towards the Tagalogs.

#cabatuan

For these reasons we know that the Government and General Martin Delgado, the latter at the instigation of the former, several times sent unfounded complaints to the President, of the expeditionary forces of General Diocno, and that Government, forced by present conditions and accepting the false complaints of this Government, ordered the said expeditionary General to place himself with his forces under the orders of General Martin Delgado; but seeing the impossibility of fighting the antagohism that in this province is excessive, said General decided to return alone to Capiz, turning over the command to Lieutenant Colonel Timoteo Marcella who sustained the honor of his battalion against the unjust censures of this so-called Federal State Government in such a dignified manner. Lieutenant Colonel Marcella seeing his battalion dishonored by the murder of one of his soldiers in the barrio of Vito, within the jurisdiction of the town of Cabatuan, and having heard that there was an intention to disarm his force in order to be able to state that Visayans only had worked for their province, he decided to remove his force to Capiz without doubt being prompted by the desire not to increase more and more the antipathy existing between the Tagalog and the Visayan. When the withdrawal of those forces was heard in that capital, that Central Government very wisely directed General Diocno and his troops to place themselves under the immediate orders of the Superior Commander of this province, and not give up their arms as was at first desired. When General Diocno was about to obey said order and desired to return to this Zone of Santa Barbara, the General in Chief, Martin Delgado, directed that said forces should not come, for reason which we do not know, or rather at the instigation of Seņores Pablo Araneta, Adriano Hernandez and some other gentleman who are partisans of the constitution of the Federal State of the Visayas, contrary to the ideals we, the brave and fraternal natives of Luzon pursue, who in so unequal a struggle shed our blood in torrents to secure the liberty of our mother country.

At the beginning of this month of July, there came from San Isidro the commissioner of this Government of the Visayas, Sr. Marcelo Goles, who in his narrations regarding the great bravery of our army in Luzon during the present campaign against the North Americans markedly belittled the victories won by our army in that land drenched with the blood of its sons; he speaks in the same manner of the conduct of the local presidentes of Central Luzon, who he states did not receive him with the consideration due such a commissioner. Thus the governors of this province availing themselves of the version spread by this commissioner, and further displeased at not having executed their wishes of obtaining the arms of General Diocno, and, on the other hand, the said Goles not having brought any arms whatever with him when he came, stated that they would no longer send any commissioners there as they secured nothing; showing themselves discontented and deaf to the victories secured by our army against the American forces in that Island of Luzon without spreading tl1e news thereof to encourage the inhabitants of that Visayan region, among whom there already appear to be some who wish the soil on which they were born to become American; as both the rich and the poor who on the day of the bombardment concentrated in Santa Barbara and the neighboring towns, are most of them returning to the towns of Iloilo, Jaro, La Paz, and Molo, all of which are situated in territory held by the enemy, under the pretext that in those towns they enjoy more liberty and make considerable money in any business with the North Americans who as they say, pay well and treat them as they never could have expected: so that everything that is American is agreeable to the Visayans on account of convenience and profit.

From all that has been said, we see and observe without fear of being mistaken, that the Civil and Military authorities of this province are the first Americanistas who communicate with Sres. Raymundo Melliza and Juan Araneta, whose permanent residence is in the town of Molo next to the two or three barracks occupied by the Americans. A proof of this is the frequent trips to Molo of Sr. Pablo Araneta, where he meets his relative the Americanista, and probably rubs elbows here and there with Commanders of the forces of the enemy there quartered; for which reason a speedy surrender or delivery of this province is expected in view of the policy pursued so far by its authorities.

In order to corroborate what we have stated in the preceding paragraph, a citation of the following facts will be sufficient: On June 26 last trustworthy news was received to the effect that the North Americans had received re-enforcements consisting of 1,500 men, ammunition and provisions, and the General-in-Chief, Sr. Martin Delgado, by direction of the Federal Government, for the purpose of reducing the charges upon the treasury, ordered the discharge from the service of soldiers of various corps, numbering 1,000 at least, including officers. If this lack of money noted in the province is due to the number of fighters, it is on account of the little energy of the Government in levying upon the wealthy who show little willingness to contribute anything for the support of our campaign; they as well as all those connected with the Government work only for their personal ends and interests and not for our independence.

In order to prove that antagonism exists here, it is sufficient to cite the names of four Tagalog officials, Sres. Clemente Gonzalez, Elpidio Maņalac, Francisco Mateu and Leocadio Ludovico, who, when the revolution broke out in the Visayas, that is in this province, were, the first named, recommended by the principal commanders of the revolution as Colonel of the General Staff, and who, under the plea of reforms, but really on account of selfishness, for he was not of this soil, was reduced to Captain, without considering the services he had rendered at the time of the outbreak of hostilities with the North Americans, as is shown in the diary of operations; the second, Sr. Elpidio Maņalac, First Lieutenant of the Guard of Honor, was commissioned on the 7th day of January of this year to take some documents to that General Central Government, in connection with the first intimation that the North Americans had made to take the cities of Iloilo and Jaro, leaving his family lmder the care of the Goverment, and after having undergone many hardships both on sea and on land for twenty-seven days until he arrived at Malolos, on his return he found his family without means and they were in a short time going to implore public charity, not having received from the Government during his absence more than five pesos, a very insignificant amount to support a family in a city where ever:ything is very expensive. This officer upon his arrival presented the papers and periodicals which he had brought from Manila to the Government of this region, which showed little satisfaction with his services and was about to leave him in the street without anything had it not been for his protector the former President of this Government, Sr. Roque Lopez, when his services were recorded on a minute and he was appointed before the bombardment as first lieutenant of the General Staff attached to the Brigade of General Diocno. The third, that is First Lieutenant Francisco Matesi, who was commissioned in February to take some papers to that place and who also passed through many dangers on his trip going and coming, when he reported to this government after fulfilling his mission, received a promise of a promotion for his services to the next higher rank, but up to the present said officer has not received his promotion. The fourth, Captain Leocadio Ludovico, who was of assistance to some of the members of the Revolutionary Committee at the hour of the uprising, and who, on the day of the bombardment, being in the city of Jaro within reach of the cannon of the enemy, was abandoned by his anti-revolutionary Commander, Sr. Vicente Casten and some soldiers who fled. The former was supplanted by said gentleman and by Sres. Arturo Ferrera and Regino Dorillo, one against the Philippine revolution, being a Peninsular Spaniard, and the latter having been taken by the revolutionists of this province as a spy of the Spaniards; and at this moment said gentlemen are displaying the insignia of Majors of the Artillery Corps to which the said Captain belongs; and the reason for his being supplanted is that at a court martial in defending the cause of a Tagalog officer, he combatted the antagonism existing in this province. Another no less patriotic Tagalog Captain, named Claro Omaņa, who, when the revolution first broke out was one of those persecuted by the Civil Guard and the friars of this province, has now been supplanted as Captain of the General Staff by a Visayan sergeant of Ilongos volunteers; and as such he went to Manila to fight against our brothers, the Tagalogs and now wears the insignia of Captain, being in addition the first in line of promotion to a majorship.

The case of Sr. Marcelo Goles, a native of these islands, is different from what occurred to Sres. Maņalac and Mateu; when he left here to take documents to that place, he held the rank of Major and even though he did not return, he now figures of the rolls as Lieutenant Colonel. If there was favoritism formerly under the Spanish government it is now much worse; as a majority of the field and line officers of the Visayas are relatives of the personnel which constitutes the Government of this Federal State.

A Tagalog officer called Victoriano Gamboa is at present under arrest; his case was heard by a court martial one day last June and at the hearring the counsel for the defense earnestly argued against the antagonism present in this province, as is shown by the attached argument signed by said counsel. A decision in the matter is still pending.

With regard to Sr. Venancio Concepcion, who is at present in that place, we will say that he was by a unanimous vote given the treasury portfolio in addition to the rank of General of Division; but the highest commanders of this Federal State have endeavored by all the means at their disposal to secure his removal from the position he occupies, because he is not a native of this district; and to secure the removal of this gentleman they had him appointed Councillor for Capiz, an appointment that was refused by General Diocno at a meeting held in the City of Jaro, at which said gentleman said that having come to Capiz with express instructions from the President, and Capiz having been taken by the expeditonary forces which he brought with him, he could under no pretext whatever turn over the government of the Province, without superior orders from Luzon.

This has been one of the causes of displeasure and false censure directed against the expeditionary forces and General Diocno, who baffletl their purpose, which was, as they had stated on more than one occasion at full meetings, that they would at all costs prevent Luzon from monopolizing their wealth and permitting these provinces to be governed by Tagalogs.

From this is may be deduced, Honorable President, that this antagonism has existed since the beginning of the Philippine Revolution; we regret this under present conditions, because the large number of Tagalogs in this province suffer thereby. There is not an advance made but that hundred of Tagalogs are found who, it cannot be denied, have worked for the Visayan revolution. The most prominent of these is Venancio Concepcion, who in joining our ranks with his company of Volunteers raised in Iloilo, contributed greatly to the moral and material collapse of the Spanish Government of General Rios in the Visayas.

Another of the most salient points of the Visayan revolution, is the arrival in this province, before the bombardment, of the discharged soldiers of the Spanish army coming from Iligan, who, when they landed at the port of Iloilo, were rejected by the revolutionary Government and reshipped to Negros; the latter government also did not permit their landing, for which reason the Captain of the vessel decided to land them on a desert island near Iloilo, where our unfortunate brothers suffered untold privations before setting foot on land here. Both governments gave selfish reasons for their action-selfishness prevailing throughout this province-stating that they did not have funds to support so many men and that the friendship now existing with the Americans rendered more forces unnecessary. All of this happened in Iloilo, where three American men-of-war were anchored; that is to say in sight of our enemies our brothers were not permitted to land; a majority of them were natives of Luzon, anxious to shed their blood for the liberty of our beloved country. By this action, the revolutionary government painted a dark and sad picture for the Tagalogs residing in this province. And if those unfortunates are living, it is due to their having been assisted by the charitable and kindly Tagalog, Sr. Venancio Concepcion, who organized a company with them which is at present at the advanced posts of Sambag under the command of Sr. Agustin Solis.

As another proof of the antagonism existing here, we have the prisons, where the Tagalogs - both soldiers and civilians - when placed in them receive worse treatment than was accorded them during the time of the Spanish government; but such is not the case when the prisoners are natives of this province, or rather Visayans, because then they are treated as brothers, so that fraternity exists between them only.

The condition of the Tagalog officer in this province is daily becoming more critical, because it is impossible to live in this land with a family under the reforms which have been instituted by the councillors of this Government, who, in order to secure their ends, reduced to eight pesos the salary of captains, to seven that of first lieutenants, to six that of second lieutenants, and notwithstanding such a reduction, they go two or three months without paying these real defenders of the country; on the other hand the gentlemen of the Government spend a thousand pesos per month for maintenance and salaries.

Notwithstanding these reforms, the revenues did not increase according to the cash books; because the officers having no corps or assignment, and those who were fortunate enough to be friendly with the General in Chief, write monthly their receipts for $25 or $30; that is to say the the natives of this province do so, while those who are not have to suffer the pangs of hunger. And this is not all; the said General issues a proclamation prohibiting the increase in the price of rice and three days later he himself is the first to act in contravention thereof, by issuing in combination with his brother, a Colonel of Military Administration the stores of rice they had on hand at an exceedingly high price; hence the reason why the treasury of the government is empty and sometimes there is a debit two or three days after the local Presidentes have turned in the amounts they have collected for certificates and other taxes. The stores of rice belong to the General in Chief and the Colonel of Military Administration, Posidio Delgado, who are brothers.

This is all that we have the honor of submitting to you, all of it being the truth; and we do not doubt that your Supreme Authority will take the same into consideration.

God preserve Your Honor many years for our liberty and independence.

SANTA BARBARA, August 1, 1899.

(35 signatures.)