BAL A N G I G A E N CO U N T E R

NOT A MASSACRE
DEBATERS:
CUESTA, JAINA A.
BLANCO, JHODAN
MONTILLA, RONALYN
 BALANGIGA,
EASTERN SAMAR
• located on the southern coast of the
island of Samar facing Leyte Gulf

• sits at the mouth of the Balangiga

river

• to the west lies municipality

Lawaan, north is Llorente and to
the east are the municipalities of
Quinapundan and Giporlos
WHY IT STARTED?
 • On August 11, 1901, Company
C had been sent to Samar and
had occupied without
opposition the small coastal
town of Balangiga.
• The officials of the town
professed friendship for the
Americans.
• The company’s strength
consisted of seventy-three men.
• It’s company commander was
Company C, Cap. Thomas W. O’Connell ,
9th US Infantry Regiment second in command was Lt. E.
C. Bumpus, and company
surgeon was Major Richard S.
Griswold.
Tensions rose due to several reasons:
•Commanding Officer, Cap. Connell
destroyed much of the town’s stores
and threatened the townspeople’s
very existence.
•Cap. Thomas W. O’Connell order of clean up for
the preparation of U.S. Army’s inspector-general
visit inadvertently cut down vegetation with food
value, which violated Gen. Vicente Lukban’s
policies regarding food security.
•Abuses committed by the American soldiers who
were drunk, tried to molest the girl tending the
coconut wine (tuba) store.
GEN. VICENTE LUKBAN
 THE STRATEGY OF THE ATTACK
• A few days before the attack, Police Chief Valeriano Abanador
and Captain Eugenio Daza met at a secret meeting in a secluded
place along the vicinity of the town to plan the attack on the
American unit.
• Abanador and Daza disguised to recruit some able bodied group
of men as a work force aimed at preparing the town for a local
fiesta of St. Michael Archangel.
• Chief Abanador also brought a group of tax evaders to bolster the
numbers of workers.
 POLICE CHIEF
VALERIANO ABANADOR
 WHAT’S THE PLAN?
•To organize about 500 men in seven attack units
representing virtually all families of Balangiga, whose
outlying villages then included the barrios of Lawaan and
Giporlos, and of Quinapundan.

•The strategy was patterned after Mao Tse Tongs

techniques “Attack when they are weak, retreat
when they are strong principle”.
MEN DISGUISED AS WOMEN WORSHIPPERS
SMALL COFFINS FULL OF SHARP BOLOS
 THE COMMENCEMENT OF WAR
•The battle begun between 6:20 and 6:45 in the morning of
September 28, 1901, the people of Balangiga made their risky
and historical move.
•Chief Abanador signals the attack. After killing Gamlin, he fired
the rifle, raised and waved his wooden can and shouted “Atake
Mga Balangigan-on!”
The church bells was rung, carried the alarm with a
deafening sound trumpeted the signal to attack.
 CASUALTIES
Americans
• 48-killed in action Filipinos
• 8-wounded and died
later • 250 were killed
• 2-wounded
• 4-missing in action
• 4-unharmed
AMERICAN’S WORST SINGLE DEFEAT
• The United States
considers this as their
“worst single defeat”,
since the Battle of Little
Bighorn, in the history of
the 3-year war from 1899
to 1902.
 RETALIAT
ION
Gen. Jacob H. Smith vowed that he would turn
the town into a “howling wilderness”
and kill everyone over ten.
He said:
“I want no prisoners. I wish you
to kill and burn. The more you kill
and burn, the better it will please
me. I want all persons killed who
are capable of bearing arms in
actual hostilities against United
“Howling Jake” States.”
2,500 Filipinos were killed during the retaliation- Rappler.com
WAR TOLL
BALANGIGA IS AN ENCOUNTER
because….

The war was a surprise attack that the

Americans can’t decipher how it was done
by the guerillas with accurate execution.
BALANGIGA IS AN ENCOUNTER
because….

Only the Americans called it

“The Balangiga Massacre”.
BALANGIGA IS AN ENCOUNTER
because….

The actual and real massacre took

place during the retaliation of Gen.
Jacob H. Smith.
BALANGIGA IS AN
ENCOUNTER
because….
BALANGIGA IS AN ENCOUNTER
because….

Republic Act 6692 enacted on February 10, 1989,

declared September 28, 1901 of every year as
“Balangiga Encounter Day”.
IN COMMEMORATION…
Thank You!