Labanan sa Paye: Balik-Tanaw sa mga unang buwan ng pananakop ng mga Amerikano sa isla ng Marinduque

Hulyo 31, 2020, ika-120 taong anibersaryo ng makasaysayang Labanan sa Paye

Lumang larawan ng bahagi ng simbahan ng Boac noong inokupa ito ng mga Amerikano para gawin nilang kampo pagkadaong nila sa Laylay. Wala pang labanan na nagaganap. Makikita ang flagpole habang nakawagayway ang kanilang bandila

Mga tala bago maganap noong July 31, 1900, ang engkwentro sa Sitio Paye, Balimbing, Boac na ginugunita ng mga Marinduqueno bilang ‘Labanan sa Paye’. 

Ito  ngayon ay isang special, non-working holiday sa buong lalawigan naaayon sa RA 9749; inaprubahan noong 2008, na nagdeklara sa Hulyo 31 ng bawat taon bilang Araw ng Labanan sa Paye sa lalawigan.

Bukas, ito ay ipagdiriwang sa bayan ng Boac sa panahon ng pandemya sa pamumuno ni Boac Mayor Armi DC Carrion. May pag-aalay ng bulaklak sa makasaysayang lugar sa Paye kung saan may dambanang nakatayo, subalit ang programa ay sa Boac Covered Court isasagawa sa ilalim ng "new normal" dulot ng pandemya.

Panauhing pandangal si Noel Rene Nieva mula sa lahi ng mga bayani ng Paye na sina Police Delegate Calixto Nieva at 2nd Lt. Gregorio Nieva. Magbibigay din ng kanilang mensahe sina Gov. Presbitero J Velasco, Jr., Cong. Lord Allan Velasco at Mayor Carrion.

Dambana ng Labanan sa Paye

Balik-Tanaw

Abril 25, 1900 dumaong sa may Laylay ang dalawang US navy gunboats. Kasama dito ni Col. Edward E. Hardin ang isang batalyon ng 29^th US Voluteer (USV) Infantry. Deretso silang nagmartsa sa direksiyon ng Boac at inokupa ang simbahan ng Boac, walang kumontra, walang insidente.

Dahil inakala nilang tahimik sa isla, iniwan ang isang company (A/29) sa Boac at lumisan ang isang company patungo sa iba pang isla para kanilang maokupa.

Larawan ng pagdating sa Laylay ng mga sundalong Amerikano noong 25 Abril 1900

Walumput-walong sundalo lamang ang natira, kayat pitumput-dalawang tauhan ng Company D, 38^th USV sa pamumuno ni Major Charles H. Muir ang ipinadala rito para reinforcement. Inikot ang isla pero wala silang namataan na mga guerilla at ang mga sibilyan ay namundok na rin.

Unang engkwentro

Mayo 19 isinama nina Muir at Capt. John Jordan ang limamput-pitong tauhan ng D/38 para manmanan ang kabundukan. Nakarating sila sa Santa Cruz at nakarating doon ng 7:00 Linggo ng umaga. Mga 1,000 tao ang kanilang nadatnan na nakikinig ng misa. Nagsipagtakbuhan pagkakita sa mga Amerikano, habang paakyat sa itaas ng bundok ang maraming guerilla.

Nagkaroon ng putukan at ginamitan ng mga Amerikano ng “bush tactics o Indian style” ng paglusob ang mga Pilipino. Ilang oras din ang inabot ng paggapang ng mga Amerikano sa bundok hanggang 300 yarda na lamang ang layo nila.

Tumirada na ng paglusob ang grupo ni Muir. Nagsipanakbuhan ang mga Pilipino sa ibat-ibang direksyon. Naiwan ay anim na patay na Pilipinong sundalo at isang bihag. 

Panalo ang mga Amerikano sa unang sagupaan sa Marinduque at wala silang casualty.

Sinundan ni Muir ang kanilang tagumpay sa pamamagitan ng paggalugad sa interior ng isla ng apat na araw. Nakabihag sila ng tatlumput-anim na mga gerilya ni Col. Maximo Abad na nakakalat sa ibat-ibang lugar. Dahil dito, napasuko ng mga Amerikano si Martin Lardizabal ang sibilyan na gobernador at si Abad na ang namuno.

Bilang tugon, ipinag-utos ni Muir na lumabas na sa simbahan ng Boac ang kanyang mga sundalo para magamit naman ng mga tao para sa mga misa ang simbahan.

Pagdating ng Hunyo, ipina-recall ni Bates sina Muir at Jordan at lahat nilang kasamahan (38^th USV) sa Luzon at ipinalit sa kanila ang Company F, 29^th USV sa pamumuno ni Capt. Devereux Shields.

Santa Cruz naman ang ginawang garrison ni Shields, at dahil tag-ulan tila walang umasa na may magaganap na di inaasahan. Ni wala silang balita tungkol kay Abad.

Kuha sa Sta. Cruz Church nang ginawa rin itong garison ng mga Amerikano, 1900. Larawan mula sa koleksiyon ni Curtis Shepard.

Si First Lieutenant William S. Wells naman, ang commander sa Boac, ay tila kampante na sa bayan dahil para sa kanya ay tahimik dito. Walang na-appont na over-all commander para sa buong isla.

Ang peligrosong sitwasyon ng mga Amerikano ay lumitaw noong July 31, 1900 ng inambush ng mga gerilya ni Kapitan Teofilo Roque ang isang bihirang pagmamanman sa kabukiran ng grupo ni Lt. Wells. Isang account mula sa The US Army's Pacification of Marinduque, Philippine Islands ni Andrew J. Birtle na pinagmulan ng panulat na ito, ay ganito ang nakasaad:

"The precariousness of the American position became evident on 31 July, when Teofilo Roque's Guerrilla ambushed one of Lieutenant Wells' rare forays into the countryside. Roque's force wounded two Americans and captured two others before the patrol escaped.

"That night the victorious guerrillas set fire to a portion of Boac in an effort to drive the Americans out. In this they failed, though many of Boac's inhabitants fled, leaving the town virtually deserted.

"The episode also succeeded in paralyzing Company A, which retired to the church, venturing out only twice over the next two months..."

Subalit ng maganap ang paglusob sa Paye ng ating mga sundalo ay wala nang urungan, wala nang atrasan. At nasundan pa ito pagkaraan ng isa at kalahating buwan ng isang labanan sa bahagi ng Torrijos-Sta. Cruz na gumulantang sa buong puwersang militar ng mga Amerikano nang makarating ang balita sa Amerika. Naging laman ng kanilang mga pahayagan ang para sa kanila ay mapangahas na pagkilos ng mga Marinduqueno.

Tampok sa mga pahayagan sa Estados Unidos ang naganap sa isla ng Marinduque.  Mula sa pananaliksik ni Curtis Shepard (Ulongbeach.com)

Doon nila unang narinig ang tungkol sa isla ng Marinduque at ang matinding pagtanggi at paglaban ng mga taga rito sa pananakop ng mga dayuhan kapalit ng kanilang buhay.

What the Battle of Pulang Lupa is all about

Video: Philippine-American War in Marinduque 1900.-1901. Historical photos and footages on the commemoration of the Battle of Pulang Lupa in Marinduque. Featuring "Awit sa Pulang Lupa" written and composed by Eli J. Obligacion, with Teatro Balangaw and Marinduque Provincial Capitol Choir..

Battle of Pulang Lupa, September 13, 1900

From 1899-1901 during the Philippine American War there were numerous encounters between Philippine and American Forces. In seven of the engagements where Filipinos had the upper hand that spelled victory, two of them occurred in the island of Marinduque. (These were the Battle of Paye, and the Battle of Pulang Lupa).

The other Filipino victories took place in the Battle of San Mateo (Morong), Siege of Catubig (Samar), Battle of Makahambos Hill, Battle of Mabitac, Battle of Balangiga (Samar).

The Battle of Pulang Lupa, however, is considered a milestone in Philippine History. This was the engagement that sent shock waves through the American high command and was considered the worst defeat suffered by the Americans during that war.

This battle however, led to the first application in the Philippines of concentration camps in the island’s town centers, a highly coercive measure that finally led to the surrender of the Filipino soldiers led by Lt. Col. Maximo Abad with his remaining men on April 15, 1901.

The success of this population concentration first experimented in Marinduque was then applied to other provinces in the country including Batangas, Laguna and Samar.

Of the harshness and hardships suffered by the people of Marinduque, Gov. Gen. William H. Taft, future U.S. president said: “The severity with which the inhabitants have been dealt with would not look well if a complete history were written out”.

Some details of that history appears in The U.S. Army's Pacification of Marinduque, Philippine Islands, April 1900-April 1901 by Andrew J. Birtle.

On the Battle of Pulang Lupa that took place on September 13, 1900, Birtle wrote in part:

“While the Boac garrison cowered, Shields endeavored to maintain some semblance of pressure on the guerrillas, making thirteen expeditions during July and August. None of these operations went more than ten miles from Santa Cruz, which, like Boac, was down to about twenty-five percent of its pre-occupation population. Protected by the people and the island's difficult topography, Abad easily avoided Shields. In August, however, Shields made some headway on the civil front, organizing the election of a pro-American mayor and arresting twenty-five civilians on charges of aiding the guerrillas.

"On 11 September, Shields decided to take advantage of a visit by the gunboat U.S.S. Villalobos. Leaving Lieutenant Wilson and forty-one men to hold Santa Cruz, he loaded fifty-one enlisted men, a hospital corps-man, and his black servant onto the gunboat and sailed to Torrijos, disembarking that evening. The next day he had his first contact with insurgent forces since his company had been on the island, dispersing a band of twenty guerrillas and destroying their cuartel.

"On the thirteenth, Shields led his detachment into the mountains with the intention of returning to Santa Cruz. Well informed about Shields's movements, Abad had concentrated nearly his entire force of approximately 250 riflemen and 2,000 bolomen along a steep ridge overlooking the trail. Shields walked right into the ambush. A fire fight ensued for several hours before Shields ordered a retreat into a covered ravine. What began as a slow withdrawal quickly turned into a race down a rocky stream bed, as the Americans scrambled to escape the pincers that were moving to surround them. After retreating for about three and a half miles, the beleaguered detachment entered a rice field near the barrio of Massiquisie (Masagisi). Here renewed enemy fire forced the Americans to take cover behind some paddy dikes. Shields fell seriously wounded.

"After ordering that a message be passed to the senior NCO, Sergeant James A. Gwynne, to lead the command out of the closing trap, Shields raised a white flag to surrender himself and the other wounded. The insurgents thought the flag meant that the command was surrendering. So too did Gwynne, who later claimed never to have received the escape order, and thus the entire force lay down its arms. All told, the Insurgents killed four Americans and captured fifty, six of whom, including Shields, were wounded. Shields later claimed that the Filipinos lost thirty dead, though this number was never confirmed.

"After months of hiding, Abad in a few short hours had destroyed nearly a third of the entire American garrison on Marinduque.”

Recognizing the Battle of Pulang Lupa:

While the Battle of Pulang Lupa is not mentioned in Philippine History textbooks, it has been commemorated annually in Marinduque since 1965.

The Battle of Pulang Lupa was first celebrated in Marinduque on September 13, 1965, during the incumbency of President Diosdado Macapagal, with Miguel Manguera as governor of Marinduque. 

The event was then known at that time in press releases as “Marinduque Day” by virtue of Macapagal’s Proclamation 435. The following year, under President Ferdinand Marcos (under Proclamation No. 104), September 13 was likewise declared as a special public holiday in Marinduque the more to inspire the people "to greater deeds for their country".

A similar Proclamation No. 2306 s. 1983 was issued by Marcos declaring a special public holiday in Marinduque to commemorate the heroism of our forefathers in the 'Battle of Pulang Lupa'. 

During the Second Regular Session of Congress (1988), however, Republic Act No. 6702 was passed, an Act declaring September Thirteen as “Battle of Pulang Lupa Day” and a Special Non-Working Holiday in the Province of Marinduque. This was sponsored by then Cong. Carmencita O. Reyes and was finally passed on September 22, 1988 (by Congress) and December 2, 1988 (by Senate) respectively. The Act lapsed after the prescribed period and came into force without the signature of President Corazon C. Aquino.

Precursor ba ang 2018 GE3 asteroid? Ano naman yung bulalakaw na bumagsak sa Marinduque

Galing sa Spaceweather

Ay sobrang lapit ngani naman, munsikan ng sumalpok sa kasalukuyang mundo natin na nagakagulo na mandin. Tingni sa pic ng NASA (itaas).

April 15, 2018 dumaan. Ang 2018 GE3 ang pinakamalaking asteroid na dumaan malapit sa Earth sa kasaysayan ng scientific observation.

Batay sa intensity ng liwanag na sinalamin nito, ang 2018 GE3 ay nasukat na 48 hanggang 110 metro ang lapad, ayon sa NASA-JPL. Kaparehong Class ito ng 60-meter Tunguska impactor na pinalugmok ang isang kagubatan sa Siberia noong 1908.

Tunguska impactor, Russia 1908

Maihahambing din sa Chelyabinsk meteor - isang ~ 20-meter asteroid na sumabog sa may sakop ng Russia noong Pebrero 15, 2013, na naging mapanira sa mga bintana at nagpalugmok sa mga nakapanood, isang fireball iyon na mas maliwanag kaysa sa araw.

Chelyabinsk fireball event

Ang 2018 GE3 ay tinatantiyang 5 hanggang 6 na beses na mas malawak kaysa sa fireball na iyon.

Precursor kaya ito ng isa pang mas matindi?

Post sa FB ko March 29, 2018 tungkol sa Masaguisi event.

Ano naman iring bumagsak sa Brgy. Masaguisi sa Marinduque?

Kamakailan lamang mandin ay nagulantang ang isang komunidad sa Sta. Cruz, Marinduque sa barangay Masaguisi. Dahil sa isang bulalakaw na bumagsak dito noong March 26, 2018.

Pinagbagsakan ng bulalakaw. Nagapoy-apoy pa.

Naging usapan ng mga Marinduque netizens dahil marami ang nakakita at may nakakuha pa ng mga larawan kasama na ang pinagbagsakan.

Mga nabulabog sa pagbagsak ng bulalakaw

Piraso ng bulalakaw diumano

May larawan ding lumabas na nagpapakita ng piraso ng 'bulalakaw' na bumagsak subalit ang image sa itaas ay nanatiling hindi naberipika.

Battle of Pulang Lupa/Battle of Masaguisi

Battle of Pulang Lupa commemorative stamp issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation in 2000.

 “The marker stands at the site of the famous battle won by the Marinduquenos over the well-armed American forces on Sept. 13, 1900. The Americans led by Capt. Deverieux Shields surrendered to the Marinduque Revolutionary Forces led by Col. Maximo Abad. They were held captive for a month and were released on October 14, 1900 upon orders from the Revolutionary Government in Cavite.” – says the Battle of Pulang Lupa Historical Park Signage in Poctoy, Torrijos, Marinduque, courtesy of the Department of Tourism, LGU Torrijos and Philippine Tourism Authority.

This battle has been commemorated from the early 60s when September 13 was first declared as ”Marinduque Day” under the administration of Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, then by President Ferdinand E. Marcos who issued a proclamation referring to it also as “Marinduque Day”. It was only during the term of President Corazon C. Aquino when a law was passed (RA 6702) in 1988 declaring September 13 of every year as “Battle of Pulang Lupa Day”.

Teatro Balangaw group re-enacting the battle.

This blogger composed and directed "Awit sa Pulang Lupa" performed by Teatro Balangaw and the Marinduque Provincial Capitol Choir in several commemorations from 1995-2007.

Up to the present, no study has been made on the origin of “Pulang Lupa” as a place-name. Stories, however, are being told that it refers to pulang lupa, red soil that could be found in the mountain range of Kambindol, (apparently an older name of the same mountain range that could be traced to older maps, there are stories that Kambindol's origin was "Kang Bindoy", in reference of Hermenegildo Flores, Kapitan Bindoy, a local revolutionary leader from Sta. Cruz executed by the Spaniards during the Philippine-Spanish war in Marinduque). Other stories attribute the origin of Pulang Lupa to that bloody battle that transpired there in 1900.

But where ‘there'?  That a historical marker stands at the site of that famous episode in local history, a site even listed as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute, is not evidence. Not evidence that the battle happened atop that rugged mountain which offers a great panoramic view of the north-eastern and south-eastern sections of Marinduque. All accounts of the battle (and there are numerous accounts now available from primary sources) contradict this repeated claim of where it happened, as well as books with stories of that battle written by some of the world’s foremost historians.

‘Pulang Lupa’ as a place-name does not appear in eyewitness reports, soldier’s diaries, nor in U.S. military records relating to that war, nor in newspaper articles published in the U.S. during that period. The name appears, however, in a very brief account of the battle written by local historian, Ramon Madrigal, in 1963. 

www.ulongbeach.com Battle of Pulang Lupa Page

A highly informative website that contains significant literature, first-hand accounts and photos of the American engagement in Marinduque available in U.S. libraries, that have been researched and compiled by a Marinduque history and culture enthusiast, Curt Shepard and his Filipina wife Dalia, could be found on www.ulongbeach.com. This will prove invaluable to historical researchers and may prompt a desire to know more.

In an earlier post entitled ‘Pulang Lupa: Scanning Masaguisi this time’ (Sept. 11, 2010), I pointed out a location mentioned in primary sources that the 'Pulang Lupa site' could not be the ‘battle site’ as we have been made to believe all these years. A place where, as described by Capt. Shields, he fell seriously wounded. This was a rice field near Masaguisi (written by the Americans as Massiquisie), where renewed enemy fire forced the Americans to take cover behind paddy dikes. Read Pulang Lupa: Scanning Masaguisi this time!

By his own account, Shields and his companions had to march in a brook and run over an extremely rocky bed. Then he took a direction that led to Masaguisi. There he was again wounded with the bullet passing through his neck and mouth, falling partly in a small stream until he was lifted out of the water. Carried by his men about two hundred yards farther until they were captured by the local forces. Some of his men were even captured in a swamp near the seashore.

“What began as a slow withdrawal quickly turned into a race down a rocky stream bed, as the Americans scrambled to escape the pincers that were moving to surround them, the beleaguered detachment entered a rice field near the barrio of Massiquisie” , (From American War Department Record).

Incontrovertible proof that the battle took place in Masaguisi

To the point, here now comes a publication, The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History – Spencer C. Tucker ABC-CLIO. 2009.  It is a book that covers the conflict between the U.S. and Spain and with the Philippines “with a depth and breadth no other reference work can match”.

BATTLE OF MASSIQUISIE (BATTLE OF MASAGUISI)
Event Date: September 13, 1900

Excerpts:

"In early September, the presence of the U.S. Navy (ex-Spanish) gunboat Villalobos gave Shields the opportunity to deploy his forces in Torrijos, located on Marinduque’s southeastern coast. Ordering First Lieutenant M.H. Wilson and 41 soldiers by water to land on September 11 near Torrijos. There the Americans scattered a group of 20 guerillas and demolished their compound.

"On September 13, Shields and his troops marched into the interior, intending to return to Santa Cruz. Abad then massed virtually his entire insurgent force of some 250 men with rifles and another 2,000 with bolos beside a vertical height overlooking the path. Shields led his detachment right into the trap. Following several hours of fighting, he ordered a withdrawal into a concealed gorge.

But this soon became a dash through a rock-strewn stream as he and his men struggled to flee the insurgent flanking columns that were attempting a double envelopment. After withdrawing for more than 3 miles, the harassed Americans took cover in a rice paddy close to the town of Massiquisie (Masaguisi); guerilla rifle fire compelled them to seek shelter behind paddy dikes. Shields was among the wounded.

"With no other recourse, Shields surrendered his entire force. Four Americans died in the action, and all others were taken prisoners, 6 of them wounded. The Americans estimated that 30 insurgents had perished in the fight, but this figure was never verified. Following months of stealth, in less than a day of fighting Abad had eliminated a third of the U.S. force on Marinduque.

"The Battle of Masaguisi, prompted sharp reprisals from the Americans, who reinforced their garrison on the island and launched a number of stronger punitive raids, which did little to cripple guerilla activities." - RODNEY J. ROSS

The truth, however, is that the guerilla activities were eventually crippled with the setting up, first time on a Philippine island, of five concentration camps for Marinduque's population of 50,000. The experiment was then applied in those days to various Philippine provinces.

Of the Marinduque episode, Governor-General Howard H. Taft, would be U.S. President said:

"The severity with which the inhabitants were dealt with would not look well if a complete history of it were written out".

See previous post, Marinduque Battle of Pulang Lupa: Day of Filipino victory yes, but Americans retaliated with long reign of terror and severity they'd rather forget that part of history!