The Americans in Cebu: The early years

Today in 1900, an American scouting party ran into an insurgent band in Cebu and drove them into the mountains, killing six of them. The month of August 1900 was not a good month for the Americans in Cebu. The day before, Lieutenant H.S. Howard of the 23rd Infantry was slightly wounded while scouting near Pardo, Cebu. On the 25th, the Americans were attacked between Cebu proper and Pardo and three soldiers were killed. In a report, August saw three American soldiers who drowned, three killed, and four slightly wounded.

Filipinos had mixed reactions to America's establishment of its colonial presence after the Spaniards. The American cause was widely supported by many Filipinos, according to several sources from both sides. The fact that many Filipinos were embracing American city governance and even siding with the Americans against the revolutionaries was recognized by the revolutionaries with dismay and growing concern. "The devastating moral effect caused on the situation of the country by the many voluntary and other surrenders of eminent individuals who occupied key offices under the revolution," an insurgent manifesto in Iloilo noted. Brigadier General Frederick Funston, an American commander, also saw the pattern and stated in 1900 that the Filipinos started to swarm the garrisoned cities for refuge.

The way the locals behaved toward the Americans had clearly changed. Filipinos served as guides for American forces, captive guerrillas tried to persuade their fellow countrymen who were still fighting to submit, while other Filipinos told American commanders about the morale of the revolutionaries or the insurgents' propaganda campaigns. Local scouts were hired by the army in increasing numbers, and their work was so successful that some American officers insisted on having more local troops under their command all the time.

The establishment of a systematized police structure in the towns was ordered by the American headquarters in Manila by June 1900, and some commanders even recommended that Filipino troops be formally recruited into the American army. Many Americans believed that the revolution had ended in July 1900 and that kindness had successfully earned the general support for American statehood.

There were several "Americanistas" in Cebu, according to another source, who "seem to have forgotten what they owe their nation," and the people of Naga, Sibonga, and Argao in Cebu were "all" annexationists, according to a third source. In reality, the leaders of Carcar, Sibonga, Dalaguete, and Argao received special recognition for being four of the first towns to swear allegiance to American sovereignty when American dignitaries like Commissioner Dean C. Worcester met with the leaders of Cebu in 1901. The revolutionaries believed that the American "strategy of attraction" --as they referred to it-- was working. When I was writing the history of Argao, Cebu, my maternal family’s hometown, I was intrigued to discover that in July of 1899, my hometown was one of the towns that received and welcomed the Americans well.  In that same month, Argao declared that it would fight rebels still loyal to the Spanish crown. Since many of my family and relatives belonged to the principalia during the Spanish period, it is clear we were also probably one of the first to welcome the Americans with open arms.

But even my hometown’s love for America eventually faded and Argao became one of the first towns in the Philippines to demand independence. As early as 1931, Argao’s leaders sent a resolution to the United States Congress reminding them of their promise to soon return our independence. And so, just like in any relationship, especially in politics, nothing lasts forever.