LUKBAN
Chapter 10
Surrender of Lukban ’ s forces
It took several days before the dailies in the US headlined the capture of Samar ’ s guerrilla chief Vicente Lukban , and when they finally wrote their stories , they were careful to add color to them . Thus in the New York Times for instance , Lukban was described as “ one of the most energetic and ferocious of rebels . He is a half-breed , a mixture of Chinese and Filipino stock , and has been an irreconcilable from the first …” He lived in the fastness of Samar “ from which he would descend upon the coast towns , and his reign of terror was so complete that the entire population of the island paid tribute to him as the price of freedom from attack .” 1 The other papers wrote with similar bias .
This negative perception of Lukban and the local guerrilla movement reflected the official attitude of the American generals towards the insurgent leader , who gave them a hard time in Samar and dealt them decisive blows in a few local battles that involved entire town populations . The examples of Catubig in April 1900 and Balangiga in September 1901 had put them to disgrace in the eyes of the American public . Hence , the subsequent brutal military operations following Balangiga had become vengeful acts that violated their own rules of war , even as they tried to redeem their tarnished image .
To be sure , many of these officials heaved a sigh of relief . After all , Lukban ’ s capture was the most important military event next to Gen . Emilio Aguinaldo ’ s seizure the earlier year . 2 But Lukban ’ s troops had to be subdued as well to install peace in Samar and pave the way for the total subjugation of the rebellious segments of the population . In this Lukban had to be tapped . But he demurred at first . Eventually , however , he wrote letters from his place of confinement , urging surrender after he saw the futility of further fighting . He realized that his base among the towns had become shaky and unreliable as they were occupied and controlled by American troops .
But Col . Claro Guevarra , Abuke and his other leaders had not given up even after they learned of Lukban ’ s capture . In fact , Guevarra immediately assumed the vacant leadership post , became a general , and
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