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Quarterly of Culture and Society.
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Philippine Quarterly of Culture & Society
14 (1986): 75-85
Henry F. Funtecha
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76 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
P.LR.- Exh. 1205 - Letter of Apolinario Mabini to President Aguinaldo, December 24,
1898. P.I.R. 9.8 shows that on December 23, 1898,Aguinaldo leftMalolos to spend a few
days inCavite Viejo and left routinematters in the hands of Mariano Trias. All important
matters were to be kept until his return.
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THE "ILOILO FIASCO1 77
yields. This has happened more than twenty times here in Luzon in the
neighborhood ofManila.13
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
-
10P.I.R.- Exh. 1208 Instructions, Malolos, December 25,1898.
"ibid.
12Ibid.
,3Ibid.
14
P.I.R.- Exh. 1198 -Letter of Roque Lopez, President, to theHonorable President of
thePhilippine Republic, Sr. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, Jaro,December 5,1898.
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78 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
We, the undersigned merchants of Iloilo, beg you to take into con?
sideration our large interestsand the probable result of a conflictwith the
natives, which inour beliefwould seriouslyprejudice and harm the trade of
these islands foryears to come.We ask you to consider theorders theyhave
received from theirchief,Aguinaldo, ofMalolos.16
15
Annual Reports of theWar Department, Report of theMajor-General Commanding
theArmy, Part 2 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899), p. 64; also, Philippine
InformationSociety,Facts About theFilipinos (Boston, 1901), pp. 82-83. Hereafter referred
to as P.I.R., Facts....
16ibid.
17Ibid.,p.55.
18
Ibid. Otis message toRios was dated December 23,1898.
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THE "ILOILO FIASCO" 79
23Blount,p. 152.
24A protest was lodged by General Ananias Diokno of the Luzon expeditionary force
with the Ilonggo officials forallowing theAmericans to land. See P.I.R.- Exh. 1235 - Incom?
plete letteraddressed to Seflor Baldomero Aguinaldo, Camp San Miguel, Iloilo, March 14,
1899.Original inSpanish.
25Blount,p. 152.
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80 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
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THE "ILOILO FIASCO" 81
and upon the central government of Luzon, and ... I have the
dependence
honor to notify you that, in conjunction with the people, the army, and the
Thus, it is, that with rising ambition, they ordered forces to Iloilo on
December 26, with the purpose of acquiring for themselves the title of
conquerors of thatportion of thePhilippine Islands.34
aggressive seizure of a
portion of its territory by a nation which has
32
War Department Report, Vol. I, Part 4, 1899, p. 64.
33
P.I.R. 40.8 -Unsigned letteraddressed to Senor Galiciano Apacible, January4, 1899.
- to Galiciano
P.I.R. 1186.10 Letter Apacible, Malolos, January 6, 1899.
35
Apolinario Mabini, La Revolution Filipino, Tomo Primero (Manila: Bureau of Print?
ing, 1931), p. 246; also P.I.R. 1186.10.
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82 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
-
36Dean C. Worcester, The Philippines Past and Present, Vol. I (New York: The Mac
millan Co., 1914), p. 137.
37
Report of General Elwell S. Otis. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899),
p. 61.
38Blount,p. 154.
39
War Department Report, 1899, Vol. I, Part 4, p. 166.
40Cited by Blount, p. 154.
41
Annual Reports of theWar Department, Part 2 (Washington: Government Printing
Office, 1899), p. 61.
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THE "ILOILO FIASCO" 83
counting senatorial noses at the time and was anxious to obtain the
46
ratification of the treaty. So General Miller and his men had to stay
aboard their transports, and the Iowa Volunteers had to be sent back to
Manila on January 29, 1899 because they had been on board their
transport continuously for three months since leaving San Francisco,
California, all idea of taking Iloilo before theU.S. Senate could act having
been abandoned/7The Harper's correspondent, mentioned earlier, left
Iloilo, returned toManila, and wrote his paper on January 23: "I returned
to Manila, and well knowing that there was nothing more to be done in
99 48
Iloilo until the Senate voted on the Treaty of Paris. This event has gone
42
Blount, p. 157.
Art
War Department Report, 1899, Vol. I, Part 4, p. 59.
44Reports of theWar Department for theFiscal Year Ended June 30, 1899, Part 2
(Washington: Government PrintingOffice, 1899), p. 79.
45SenateDocument 208, p. 58, cited by Blount, p. 163.
46
That theU.S. Administration's anxietywas justified is apparent from the fact that on
the final vote whereby theTreaty of Paris was ratified, ithad but one vote to spare. Blount,
p. 157.
47
Blount, p. 155.
48
Cited in ibid, p. 157.
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84 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
The Iloilo fiasco did indeed furnish to the insurgent cause aid and
comfort at the psychologic moment when itmost needed encouragement to
by the U.S. Senate. Miller's attack came after he had lain in Iloilo harbor
for forty-four days.
Furthermore, the shock waves of the Iloilo Fiasco were felt not only in
Manila and Malolos but also in the United States, where intellectuals, such
as Mark Twain and theAnti-Imperialist League, were fightingvigorously
against annexation of thePhilippines.
A sector of the American press criticized the mess the American
government was making of the Iloilo episode. Typical of this was the
report filedby Bass of "Harper's Weekly":
Why, if we were not ready to act and had no definite plan for the
islands, did we startan expedition to Iloilo? Why, ifwe were going, did we
49Ibid., p. 155.
50
War Department Report, 1899, Vol. I; Part 4, p. 67.
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THE "ILOILO FIASCO" 85
not start in time to relieve the Spanish garrison? Why, when once started,
did we not land; instead of making threatsand then lying inactive in the
bay? American prestige is gone in the Philippines, and it will take
bloodshed to reestablish it. All foreigners say, "What a mess your
government ismaking of this affair!" All natives say, "The Americans are
afraid of us!"51
Also, the heroic spectacle of the Ilonggos battling for survival under
the imminent threat of American warships revealed the high caliber of
Ilonggo leadership. This can be gleaned from the polite tone of their
communications to the American intruders, their civil way of dealing with
American negotiators, their courageous integrity, and the state of
discipline of theRevolutionary troops.
51
Wilcox, Marrion (ed.), Harper's History of theWar in thePhilippines (New York:
Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1900), p. 74.
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