The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 1 of 2)Worcester, Dean C. (Dean Conant)
History
The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 1 of 2)
Worcester, Dean C. (Dean Conant)
Philippines; Philippines -- History -- 1898-1946
Villa entered Ilagan on the 15th of September at 8 o'clock at
night. Hastening to the _convento_, with a company of well-armed
soldiers, he had his men surround the three priests who awaited him
there, then summoned the local priest to a separate room and demanded
money. The priest gave him all he had. Not satisfied, Villa leaped
upon him, kicking him, beating him and pounding him with the butt of
a gun. Many of his associates joined in the disgraceful attack. The
unfortunate victim was then stripped of his habit, obliged to lie down
and received more than a hundred lashes. When he was nearly senseless
he was subjected to torture by water, being repeatedly lifted up when
filled with water, and allowed to fall on the floor. While some were
pouring water down his nose and throat, others spilled hot wax on his
face and head. The torment repeatedly rendered the priest senseless,
but he was allowed to recover from time to time so that he might
suffer when it was renewed.
The torturing of this unhappy man lasted for three hours, and
the horrible scene was immediately succeeded by another quite as
bad. Villa called Father Domingo Campo and, after taking from him
the little money that he had, ordered him stripped. He was then given
numberless kicks and blows from the butts of rifles and 150 lashes,
after which he was unable to rise. There followed the torture with
water, on the pretext that he had money hidden away.
Meanwhile the houses of Spaniards and the shops of the Chinese were
completely sacked, and the men who objected were knocked down or cut
down with bolos. Numerous girls and women were raped.
On September 15 Leyba received notice of the surrender of Nueva
Vizcaya. I quote the following from the narrative above referred to:--
"Delfin's soldiers [281] were the most depraved ever seen:
their thieving instincts had no bounds; so they had hardly
entered Nueva Vizcaya when they started to give themselves
up furiously to robbery, looking upon all things as loot;
in the very shadow of these soldiers the province was invaded
by a mob of adventurous and ragged persons from Nueva Ecija;
between the two they picked Nueva Vizcaya clean. When they had
grown tired of completely shearing the unfortunate Vizcayan
people, leaving them poverty-stricken, they flew in small
bands to the pueblos of Isabela, going as far as Angadanan,
giving themselves up to unbridled pillage of the most unjust
and disorderly kind. Some of these highwaymen demanded money
and arms from the priest of Angadanan, but Father Marciano
informed them 'that it could not be, as Leyba already knew
what he had and would be angry.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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