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
Leyba now went to Bayombong to carry out the established programme
with the priests. There he found Governor Perez of Isabela, who had
taken with him certain government moneys and employed them to pay
salaries of soldiers and other employees. He insisted on the return
of the total amount and threatened to shoot Perez if it was not
forthcoming. The Spaniards of the vicinity subscribed $700 which they
themselves badly needed and saved him from being shot. The priests
of the place were then summoned to Leyba's quarters and were beaten
and tortured. One of them was thrown on the floor and beaten nearly
to death, Leyba standing meanwhile with his foot on the unfortunate
man's neck. Another was given six hundred lashes and countless blows
and kicks. Leyba stood on this man's neck also. When the victim's back
ceased to have any feeling, his legs were beaten. Leyba terminated
this period of diversion by kicking Father Diez in the solar plexus
and then mocking him as he lay gasping on the floor. That afternoon
one of the priests, so badly injured that he could not rise unaided,
was put on a horse and compelled to ride in the hot sun to Solano.
Villa and Leyba had their able imitators, as is shown by the following
description of the torturing of Father Ceferino by Major Delfin at
Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, on September 27:--
"They wished to give brave evidence of their hate for the friar
before Leyba left, and show him that they were as brave as
he when it came to oppressing and torturing the friar. This
tragedy began by Jimenez again asking Father Ceferino for
the money. The priest answered as he had done before. Then
Jimenez started to talk in Tagalog to the commanding officer
and surely it was nothing good that he told him, for suddenly
Delfin left the bench and darting fire from his eyes, fell
in blind fury upon the defenceless priest; what harsh words
he uttered in Tagalog while he vented his fury on his victim,
striking him with his clenched fist, slapping him and kicking
him, I do not know, but the religious man fell at the feet of
his furious executioner who, being now the prey of the most
stupendous rage, could scarcely get his tongue to stutter and
continued to kick the priest, without seeing where he kicked
him. Getting deeper and deeper in the abyss and perhaps not
knowing what he was about, this petty chief made straight for
a sabre lying on a table to continue his bloody work. In the
meantime the priest had risen to his feet and awaited with
resignation new torments which certainly were even worse than
the first, for he gave him so many and such hard blows with
the sabre that the blade was broken close to the hilt. This
accident so infuriated Delfin that he again threw himself upon
the priest, kicking him furiously and striking him repeatedly
until he again threw him to the ground, and not yet satisfied,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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