"In order to prove that I endeavoured to make the proper investigation for the purpose of proving whether slavery really existed in this province, I have the honour to annex an affidavit by Agapito Telan, a resident of Ilagan, in which it appears that he sold Igorrotes of the Ifugao tribe to several residents of this town. I was unable to ascertain the numbers of Igorrotes of the same tribe sold by Modesto Sibal, Lorenzo Montevirgen, Lorenzo Montalvo, Andres Castro, and Cosme Ferrer, who are engaged in the same business as Agapito Telan, as it appears from the deposition of the latter, for the reason that these persons did not appear before me, although in 1902 I had on several occasions verbally requested the late municipal president, Mr. Pascual Paguirigan, to cause them to appear in an unofficial manner. I was not surprised that they did not appear before me, as Paguirigan was involved in the investigation, as it happened in the case of the aforesaid Agapito Telan, who appeared before me when I asked the acting municipal president to have him do so. "I was afraid to direct those persons to appear before me by means of written orders, because I had not document or complaint whereon to base them, as required by the procedure now in force, and feared that on account of the unlawful nature of the summons they might proceed against me for coaccion, and sue me besides for damages. "According to my personal observation and to what I have seen in the other pueblos of this Province of Isabela, but principally in the provincial capital, the Igorrotes who are said to be slaves cannot be considered as such since the times of the military government, as they are considered and treated as members of the family of the chief of the household. Nevertheless, I am and shall continue to be inexorable in the prosecution of slavery, as it is a crime and should be prosecuted as such, in order to prevent at least that the persons engaged in this business commit this crime again. "It is my humble opinion that an act should be passed to the end of eradicating this practice which has become general throughout the Cagayan Valley. [68] Otherwise, as I have seen in my continual efforts, the provincial authorities cannot do anything to check the evil, however they may try. It is necessary that some one should be made to feel the rigour of the act suggested and suffer the punishment designated by it. "As a rule the inhabitants of this province already understand personal liberty and know that a person is entitled to go wherever he pleases, which liberty has given birth to the humane treatment of the fellow-men which now prevails.