LUKBAN
Chapter 9
Lukban’ s Capture
General Emilio Aguinaldo’ s capture on March 23, 1901 by American General Frederick Funston started a domino-like effect on the other generals of the Philippine revolution.
On March 29, 1901, General Nicolas Capistrano, commander of Filipino guerrilla forces in northern Mindanao Island, surrendered in Sumilao, Bukidnon province followed by Gen. Licerio Geronimo the next day in San Mateo, Morong, a day after the fall of Geronimo,
General Ludovico Arejola gave up in Camarines. On April 17, 1901, Col. Maximo Abad turned himself in to the Americans in Marinduque.
From April 19, 1901 when Aguinaldo issued calls to lay down their arms, 11 more field commanders of the Philippine revolution surrendered, starting with Gen. Isidoro Torres of Bulacan on April 24, 1901 to General Arcadio Maxilom in Cebu on October 27, 1901. That year seems to have been marked in Philippine history as the year of surrender to American rule. 1 Hundreds of thousands Filipino lives were lost, most of them civilians who were caught in the crossfire or purposely done in to make the leaders give up. Many of the revolutionary leaders, who belonged to the illustrado class, wanted to retire in peace, finding no purpose in further pursuing war as an instrument to reach their political aims.
But Gen. Vicente Lukban of Samar was too far away and too engrossed in his own guerrilla war to be caught in the whirlwind of surrenders. He too was offered tempting terms of surrender a number of times, such as the governorship of the province and other privileges, none of which made headway in his stubborn skull. According to this enemies,“ He may have had another reason for continuing to resist. He had been at Biaknabato, and it is possible that the efforts to make him surrender had made him believe that he was so important that if he held out a little longer and increase his military activity, the Americans would consider it worthwhile to offer him a handsome sum in return for peace in Samar. It is true that no statement to this effect appears in the
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