LUKBAN
A system of guerrilla warfare should be pursued in groups or sections of 20-25 or less members to harass the enemy and not letting him rest .
Do not fire until you are 40-50 meters , so that you will not miss and the bullets will find their target .
Soldiers in battle must not kneel or lie down on the ground because Americans aim very low . It being a well-known fact that many of our men have died from bullets in the head or chest , while if they stood up , the bullets would pass or hit them in the leg , feet or thighs , which wounds are not mortal or serious . Take into consideration the topography . Have large stores of munitions in the mountains , taking into consideration the fact that this war is to be prolonged for a long period , until America or its government grants us our longed-for independence , and our victory lies in the prolongation of the war . 15
Lukban did not miss the opportunity to take a swipe at the declarations of the Americans as they tried to explain their presence in Samar . In a letter addressed to the local presidentes issued on March 17 that year , he answered the edicts and pronouncements issued by his enemies point by point .
According to the Americans , they came to the islands of Leyte and Samar “ for the sole purpose of opening all ports and in this way allow commerce to go on as before ; they have not come to oppress the inhabitants but to aid and protect them in their lives and property .”
Lukban ’ s answer : “ They established their own government , dictate reforms and collect taxes . Why rob , why sack , why rape , to say nothing of the innumerable abuses committed in the towns they have occupied ? In one year , Samar was able to create arsenals producing ammunitions and cartridges with no better equipment than old sewing machines .”
The Americans said they would “ not interfere with the religious practices or beliefs of the people .”
Lukban answered : “ Why profane images of saints and temples ? Why rob and sack sacred edifices ? In Gandara , they made kindling wood of the saints they found in the church , and made the church their sleeping place . On the following morning when they left , the church was a veritable privy , and it sickens me to think of it . While sacking in Catbalogan , they took an image of the Virgin Mary which they found and stripped it of its clothes and its gold and silver ornaments and then threw it to the water . In Paranas , they went inside the church when the priest was celebrating the mass and created a disturbance .”
The Americans declared : “ Every man who seeks his own welfare will
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