American Colonialism: The Balangiga Massacre Aftermath

Wena Mae Lavide and Marilyn Torre

BSAIS-IA
Santo Niño College Foundation Inc.

In the past few decades, the Filipino opposition was particularly strong in the

Samar, the third largest island in the archipelago. Unquestionably, Samarnons are

valorous. As a matter of fact, it was Samar who represented the second most intense

defiance towards American governance in the Philippines, with the Muslim Moros on the

Southern Islands holding the distinction of the most fervent opposition (Cubbison,

2018). The fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by

General Emilio Aguinaldo due to the reason that they sought independence rather than

a change in colonial rulers. The Philippine-American war was brutal on both sides. U.S.

forces burned villages, as well as implementing civilian reconcentration policies, and

torturing suspected guerillas, while the Filipino fighters also captured and tortured

soldiers and terrorized civilians who had an alliance with the Americans. One event that

truly galvanized the military spirit for revenge was the massacre at the Balangiga that

opened the floodgates of destruction, torture, and even death (Catron, 2013).

The reason for the arrival of the Americans in the Balangiga, which is located in

the Eastern Samar, is still being disputed. One of the reasons was that the Mayor of

Balangiga, Presidente Pedro Abayan, requested the American troops to protect them

from Moro pirates. But one supported reason is that the Company C arrived in the

Balangiga Port on August 11,1901, because they wanted to prevent the use of the port

to smuggle supplies to the Filipino guerillas. This reason is supported with a letter from
First Lieutenant Edward Bumpus of Company C (Akiboh, 2020). The relationships

between the American troops and the Balangiganons were, at first, friendly, but

thereafter, their friendly relationship ended due to the fact that the two native women

reported that they were sexually harassed by some soldiers of Connell. And most

significantly, Connell became increasingly concerned with the sanitary condition of the

town. He asked the citizens to clean up in fear of the cholera outbreak, but he got no

response. Additionally, the chief of police offered him 80 workers to pay off the taxes,

which he accepted (Cubbison, 2018). Because of the unfair and injustice treatment, it

resulted to insurgency— they planned to attack the American troops in their breakfast

where they had no weapons and the bolo men sees it as their weakness. At 6:30 a.m.

on Saturday, September 28, Company C was at breakfast. That morning, the Filipinos

attacked, leaving Company C almost annihilated. Truly, the Balangiganons were brave

to defend their rights but it was the start of the terror; the nightmare awaiting them. The

Americans were horrified after knowing this; many blamed Connell and they sought

vengeance.

Filipinos suffer great loss than the Americans after the massacre, “A total of 25

men were the survivors of the attack, 22 were wounded and the 2 died on their way

home. They arrived at Basey at 4 a.m. the next morning, where Captain Edwin

Bookmiller was stationed with Company G. They despised the Filipinos and trust no

one” (Akiboh,2020). On that very same day, they’ve returned to Balangiga and Captain

Bookmiller ordered his men to round up all Filipinos in the area, they gunned them and

set fire on the town. As the town burned, Bookmiller famously declared, “They have

sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind.” Although as fifty Americans perished,
hundreds of Filipinos died and thousands over the next year. They’ve suffered and

experienced a storm. Significantly, “As a result, Samar was renamed “Howling

Wilderness”, and General Jacob H. Smith issued an order to kill anyone over the age of

ten who harbored anti-Americans sentiments.” Over the next year, the US Army

practiced a scorched earth policy on Samar. They trudged through dangerous jungles,

burning towns, taking food, and either killing the people or taking them to coastal

villages for internment. Thousands of Filipinos, mostly noncombatants, were killed

during the Samar campaign. It became the most gruesome campaign of the entire

Philippine-American War (Akiboh, 2020). American forces also waged a genocidal

campaign that resulted to thousands of deaths and the leveling of Balangiga. It was true

brutality that the Balangiganons experienced. The Americans also had an impact to the

history of the Balangiga, members of the 11 th infantry occupied Balangiga and

confiscated the bells. For the Balangiganons, the bells symbolize their fight for

independence and that it can honor those who fought for their town (Akiboh, 2020).

The Balangiga Massacre aftermath greatly affects the lives of Samarnons;

therefore, this incident was a proof that the destruction it resulted was a vicious way to

elucidate the abuses of the colonial power. Revisiting the colonization that takes place

in the Philippines is significant since it promotes controversy— or analyzing of how

these myths played in another culture alongside with its inherent contradictions and also

it is significant because it has been unduly forgotten (McMahon, 2000). So, it is clear

that the contradictions in American identity are not exposed for the first time by the

American colonization of the Philippines, but that they have their roots deep in the

American experience, both literary and historical. What distinguishes this period,
heretofore, this kind of self-definition/and or oppression had been a domestic affair

(McMahon, 2000). American colonialism is different but still it’s colonialism; no matter

what aid they’ve provided us, the scar that they made is still in our hearts, especially in

the hearts of Balangiganons.

REFERENCES:

Akiboh, A. (2020, December 6). The "Massacre" and the aftermath. US History Scene.
https://ushistoryscene.com/article/balangiga/

Catron, K. D. (2013, April). The Ironic Hypocrisy of Killing: How Sanctioned

Counterinsurgency Policies of the Philippine War Ends in the Court-Martial of
Major Littleton Waller. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1023225.pdf?
fbclid=IwAR2gZrd7f9ipOE7e3E0NcUzs-
uNeLZolprsSVZLCVfGPVpU6EsiMoDKwMmA

Cubbison, D. R. (2018, June 4). The bells of Balangiga. WyoHistory.org | The Online
Encyclopedia of Wyoming History.
https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/bells-balangiga

McMahon, J. M. (2000). The American Colonization of the Philippines and the Self-
examination, Self-presentation and Re-presentation of American Identity. CUNY
Academic Works. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=5369&context=gc_etds