LUKBAN records, but such propositions in all times and places are verbal ones.” 2
Indeed, instead of surrendering, he took over the command in Leyte after Gen. Ambrosio Mojica’ s surrender, then issued commands in Spanish which, to the Americans, seemed to have come from“ a war department in Madrid rather than in the mountain fastness of Samar”. 3 His enemies thought that because of the high-falutin’ language, such orders were not understood by his foot soldiers and so were not obeyed. But they seemed to have overlooked that Lukban had competent lieutenants, like college-educated Florentino Peñaranda, who translated these into Waray-waray before issuing them for mass consumption. 4
Besides Lukban probably thought he had the upper hand in the ongoing guerrilla war. On October 16, 1901, less than three weeks after the Balangiga encounter, 400 bolomen attacked Company E, 9th Infantry Regiment United States Infantry, under 1 st Lieut. George W. Wallace, in Lower Gandara, Samar, killing 10 and wounding six others. 5 This was followed by an attack on the same regiment on December 10 that year in Dapdap, that historic portion of the Gandara river where some of the early Spaniards came to settle. In this encounter, 18 American soldiers were annihilated. 6
Then Santa Margarita, a town close of Calbayog which had a strong American detachment, was also attacked by the insurgents on the night of January 2, 1902. This was one of those towns that served as concentration camps for natives allied to the Americans. It had a police force with armed volunteers. When they learned that they were about to be attacked, they lighted up their houses and sounded their drums and talutang( bamboo sounding material), which signalled resistance to the insurgents. But the insurgent commander, Major S. Quioson, ordered an attack with a full force, telling his men that anyone offering resistance was to be shot. Four volunteers were killed thus. The local town chief, Benedicto Culili, was about to strike an acting officer Sr. Norona, but he was prevailed upon by his companions. The insurgents took 18 volunteers as prisoners and two other suspected spies to be tried by the revolutionary court, but many of the suspected traitors were able to escape in the dark. They burned 300 newly built houses, cut the telegraph lines to Calbayog and their posts taken down. 7
From the documents captured in the house of suspected traitor Alejo Kastellano, the insurgents learned that the Americans had abandoned the towns of Weyler, Relles, Santa Margarita and Natividad. They were concentrating their forces in Calbayog. 8
On January 8, Col. Claro Guevarra reported on an uprising in Guiuan, in the southern tip of the island. This was confirmed by Maj.
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