By Emil Justimbaste The Freeman, 1998
THE situation of katipuneros in other
towns were not as desperate as that of the group which fled to Carcar that
fateful Holy Thursday, April 7, 1898. Arcadio Maxilom and Emilio Verdeflor,
earlier appointed as captain and lieutenant by the revolutionary government
president Luis Flores, had just arrived Thursday in Tuburan.
It was his hometown and his power base, being a former capitan of that town. He did not know what happened to the katipuneros that day. Immediately, he went to Ernesto Tabotabo, one of the wealthiest residents of Tuburan, recruiting him into the KKK. The latter aceepted without hesitation.
Their first task was to make the guardia civil at the tribunal surrender. And surrender they did without firing a shot, including their firearms. In preparation for the battles ahead, Maxilom also urged the local KKK members to make bladed weapons and spears from anahaw (a type of palm tree). That was when he learned of the katipunan's defeat in the city.
Meanwhile, Bonifacio Aranas, one of the katipunan's early members, fled to the mountains of Cebu together with other members after San Nicolas and the city were recaptured by the Spaniards. His area of operations were now the mountains of Toledo and Balamban.
Then on April 11, Aranas and his men raided some barrios near the poblacion of Toledo, capturing local prominent men like Angel Libre, Jose Rodriguez, Francisco Villaester and Juan Climaco. Climaco was an ex-capitan of Toledo and owned large tracts of lands in barrio Madugo. His house was made into the headquarters of the katipunan in the area.
At that time, a farmer by the name of Claudio Bacus was also organizing his own group in the mountains of Toledo and Balamban. He soon established links with Aranas and agreed to cooperate with him in their operations.
On 12th of April, the guardia civil detachment of Balamban offered to surrender to Aranas. But the offer looked suspicious. So Bacus and Aranas approached the tribunal from two different positions, expecting to be tricked by the enemy.
They were right. Shots rang from the bell tower and from trenches near the church. The katipuneros returned fire, then engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand skirmish. The latter had to scamper to the forest. Sgt. Claudio Gomez who led the loyalists fell from the bolo of Bacus, while the priest escaped by boat to Cebu.
After that incident, Aranas left Balamban for Tuburan to coordinate with Arcadio Maxilom and Tabotabo. Bacus on the other hand went to Toledo to consolidate his forces.
Pro-Spanish residents had deserted the streets when the katipuneros led by Aranas passed by Asturias. Eugenio Alonso, the owner of 400-hectare hacienda near the problacion, also fled. Many Asturias residents wanted to join KKK
It was his hometown and his power base, being a former capitan of that town. He did not know what happened to the katipuneros that day. Immediately, he went to Ernesto Tabotabo, one of the wealthiest residents of Tuburan, recruiting him into the KKK. The latter aceepted without hesitation.
Their first task was to make the guardia civil at the tribunal surrender. And surrender they did without firing a shot, including their firearms. In preparation for the battles ahead, Maxilom also urged the local KKK members to make bladed weapons and spears from anahaw (a type of palm tree). That was when he learned of the katipunan's defeat in the city.
Meanwhile, Bonifacio Aranas, one of the katipunan's early members, fled to the mountains of Cebu together with other members after San Nicolas and the city were recaptured by the Spaniards. His area of operations were now the mountains of Toledo and Balamban.
Then on April 11, Aranas and his men raided some barrios near the poblacion of Toledo, capturing local prominent men like Angel Libre, Jose Rodriguez, Francisco Villaester and Juan Climaco. Climaco was an ex-capitan of Toledo and owned large tracts of lands in barrio Madugo. His house was made into the headquarters of the katipunan in the area.
At that time, a farmer by the name of Claudio Bacus was also organizing his own group in the mountains of Toledo and Balamban. He soon established links with Aranas and agreed to cooperate with him in their operations.
On 12th of April, the guardia civil detachment of Balamban offered to surrender to Aranas. But the offer looked suspicious. So Bacus and Aranas approached the tribunal from two different positions, expecting to be tricked by the enemy.
They were right. Shots rang from the bell tower and from trenches near the church. The katipuneros returned fire, then engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand skirmish. The latter had to scamper to the forest. Sgt. Claudio Gomez who led the loyalists fell from the bolo of Bacus, while the priest escaped by boat to Cebu.
After that incident, Aranas left Balamban for Tuburan to coordinate with Arcadio Maxilom and Tabotabo. Bacus on the other hand went to Toledo to consolidate his forces.
Pro-Spanish residents had deserted the streets when the katipuneros led by Aranas passed by Asturias. Eugenio Alonso, the owner of 400-hectare hacienda near the problacion, also fled. Many Asturias residents wanted to join KKK
Battle at Tuburan
In Tuburan, Aranas, Verdeflor, Batobalonos and their men were joyfully received by residents led by Maxilom and Fausto Tabotabo. Maxilom had earlier returned to Tuburan after he heard of katipunan reverses in the city. But instead of getting discouraged, he redoubled efforts to recruit new members.
For a while, Tuburan was a liberated town. The shouts of KKK members "Mabuhi ang Pilipinas" and"Mabuhi ang Katipunan" reverberated in the streets. At the house of Tabotabo, amulets like the ones introduced by Leon Kilat were being made according to specifications. Training of residents to fight against Spanish rifles also went on.
The Tuburan katipuneros were reinforced by the presence of Enemecio and Samuel Maxilom, both brothers of Arcadio, who had recruited members and assembled in the mountain of Anijao.
It would not be long before they would have their first taste of battle. On April 15, warning shots told them there were two boats slowly approaching Tuburan. Hastily, katipuneros assembled at pre-arranged places under their respective jefes and took their positions.
At 7:00 am, Spanish soldiers led by cazadores and Tagalogs of the 73rd regiment disembarked, marched to the town center and started firing at suspected hiding places. Then the katipuneros returned fire and surrounded the loyalist troops. A shooting spree erupted, resulting in several casualties from both sides. The loyalists had to retreat.
An hour later, the loyalists from the other boat disembarked, but they did not wade ashore immediately. The second gunboat trained its guns on poblacion, hitting houses and trenches which the katipuneros could do nothing about. The had to retreat to the mountains. With them were other civilians who had not evacuated earlier.
So the soldiers went ashore to an empty town. They started looting valuables and slaughtering domesticated animals for food. After raping the town, they carried dead Spaniards to their boats, but left the dead bodies of loyalist Filipinos. Then they burned the houses, sparing the convent, church and municipal building.
When the Spaniards left, the residents went back and treated their wounded comrades. It was their worst tragedy. They lost their properties and buried their dead, friends and foes alike. In the final count, 80 loyalist soldiers and three of their officers died.
On the side of the katipunan, 45 were slain here. The number included relatives of Maxilom, seven cousins and his own brother, Cesario.
On April 18, the Spaniards came to stay longer. Another boat asrrived, forcing residents to flee for their lives to the mountains. The loyalist soldiers took Tuburan and quartered themselves in the convent and church.
In Toledo
Claudio Bacus was less lucky. In the town of Toledo, he heard of pro-Spanish agitators led by capitan municipal Francisco Rodriguez, the former cuadrillo chief in force. In ensuing confrontation, he killed Rodriguez and his men.
Bacus then roamed the countryside, recruiting new members into the movement. One British couple, a certain Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, gave support to his group and allowed them to recruit among his farm laborers.
But an encounter with loyalist troops there left Bacus routed. He and 40 of his men were surrounded and massacred.
In Sudlon mountains
That dawn of Good Friday in April 1898, Jacinto Pacaña, the wife of Candido Padilla and Eugenio Gines escaped from Labangon. The group went directly to Jacinto's farm in Barrio Bukawe, then transferred to another corn barn in Biasong where Pedro Abarca joined them. Gen. Montero had a P500 reward on the heads of each of the three.
Soon, they transferred to a cave but that too was discovered. They left for the wooded areas in Sudlon where they built trenches.
When the Tabal brothers (Rafael, Natalio, Quintin and Serafin) of Sudlon heard about them, they were invited to their place and offered a refuge. Jacinto was happy to accept Tabal's offer. He then persuaded his wife and children to leave for the foothills of Labangon and live there. The Spaniards were not noted for harming women and children.
The male members of group - Jacinto, his two sons Felipe and Dalmacio, a son-in-law, Eugenio Gines and Pedro Abarca - accompanied Tabal to mountains of Sudlon. From there, Jacinto got in touch with other revolutionaries, using trusted couriers.
Luis Flores was found in Arsobing mountains near Barrio Paril, while the Aliño brothers were at Bucatol, Talisay. Padilla remained at Buhisan hills six kilometers from the city proper. Addiction to opium prevented him from going up with the group. He was later captured and executed.
Flores arrived on the second week of May, followed by other leaders, among them Arcadio Maxilom. The latter had been hiding in the mountains of Anijao after the battle of Tuburan. On May 20, he left Anijao with his men and 12-year old son Emiliano and went to Sudlon to help reorganize the KKK. It was here that they plotted the second phase of the revolt.
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