UNSUNG ALIENS IN OUR HISTORY

Turn of the Century – Spain’s royal feudal reign in Las Islas Filipinas hangs by a thread and the manifestations of a former world power’s eventual corrosion is at dawn. A steady decline in the ranks of the royal army followed the liberation of the provinces by Filipino revolutionary forces led by Emilio Aguinaldo upon his resumption of the Revolution through the persuasive actions of American diplomats in Hong Kong. Victory was within reach. The ilustrados saw that the Spanish regime was finished and rushed to join the sublime call to turn the tide of the second installment of the Revolution. (Aguinaldo ceased organized military operations in December 1897 in the Pact of Biak-na-Bato due to subsequent losses. He was then exiled to Hong Kong). Thousands of volunteers, cash and food contributions, poured in from all over the country. Among the ilustrado converts was Gen. Antonio Luna, who had studied Military Science and Tactics in Spain and guerilla warfare in Belgium who was appointed as Commissioner of War by Aguinaldo. In weeks, Aguinaldo had an efficient, fiercely patriotic army. The army was taking in hundreds of Spanish prisoners of war everyday.

            On June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine Independence from Spain. The national flag was unfurled and the national anthem played for the first time.  But what seemed like a conclusion to over 300 years of feudal rule signaled the beginning of another colonial phase in our history. Unaware that the Philippines was no longer in contention for sovereignty but rather a prize at that time were the revolucionarios. The United states of America, only known then as an economic nation, entered into an accord with Spain to hold a mock battle to save little of what is left of Spain’s honor in the Islands, with the added condition that not one Filipino insurgent would be allowed inside the city. Filipino soldiers and officers alike wept in rage as the American flag (stars and stripes) was hauled up over the capital city they had besieged for months. The US upstaged a war the Filipinos were already about to become triumphant and the Philippine revolution was degraded to a “minor sequel in a comic-opera war, lost in the clamor and shuffle of greater events.” (So much for “Our Constitution does not permit us to take colonies” bit) Years later, the Japanese Imperial Army took over until the so-called “Liberation”. The American masters stayed and played on for a few more years before finally returning the Archipelago to the Filipino people on July 4, 1946. (July 4 is the US Independence Day. Was it a coincidence? It is more like a lifetime branding of slaves or colonial subjects to me). 

Unfortunately, most history textbooks only provide students with enough information to pass their subjects but never with things that would inculcate nationalism in their hearts and would weave the right cultural and moral fibers in their identities as Filipinos.

Aguinaldo, Bonifacio, Jacinto, Mabini, Del Pilar, and Luna. These are names commonly associated to the Revolucion. Their names would echo in perpetuity in our history books indeed but what about the individuals who sacrificed and wept in frustration as much as these famous figures? Without them, there could never have been a Revolucion.

Left in deeper obscurity are the Aliens in the Philippine Revolution. No, not the likes of E.T., Kokey, Roswell creatures, or that character in David Lynch’s “Eraserhead.” I am talking about individuals of foreign origins joining the Filipinos’ plight in realizing freedom and shared with their heartbreaks likewise

Unknown to many, the Philippine Insurgent Records contain documents about David Fagen, a black American who fought on the side of Aguinaldo’s army in the Fil-American War. David Fagen is a man whose name is rarely known today. But a little more than 100 years ago, this young, Black soldier was the subject of sensational headlines in American newspapers. Standing tall at six feet, he was a defector who earned the rank of captain in the Filipino forces (He was a Corporal in the Black Amerian infantry). It was reported that he led Filipino guerillas in numerous raids against American outposts and supply trains. American and Filipino officers and men told stories of his "cunning" and "audacity." An avowed hater of "whites." Fagan learned to speak Tagalog rather well, according to accounts, and lived-in with a Filipina. He was described as a fierce warrior and reportedly "salvaged" a number of white Americans captured by Filipino troops. He was hunted down after the defeat of Emilio Aguinaldo's army, and believed to have been assassinated.

How did a six-foot tall Afro-American end up in the ranks of the Philippine Army?

Rudy Rimando (President of the Bainbridge Island Filipino American Club), historical novelist William Schroeder recounted, “In mid-summer 1899 during the Fil-American War, companies of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Black infantry Regiments arrived by ship from San Francisco. In his book, Smoked Yankees and the Struggle for Empire, Dr. Gatewood speaks of the black soldiers' dismay when they learned that Uncle Sam and Jim Crow had marched arm in arm into the Philippines. In many ways, the racial prejudice the men faced in the ranks was far worse than they’d experienced as civilians. Not surprisingly, racial prejudice directed toward blacks co-existed with prejudice against the Filipino. In time, the Asian pejorative or derogatory terms "dink," "gook," "slope" and "gugu" became interchangeable with "nigger," "coon" and "sambo." To further complicate matters, the black soldiers discovered they weren’t fighting Spanish troops, but Filipino resistance fighters instead. These were men and women seeking freedom from oppression in their own land - something the black soldiers knew well. This was the moral dilemma that weighed heavily on their hearts – the black man's quest to achieve first-class citizenship through battlefield heroism meant bringing virtual slavery to another colored race. The soldiers spoke of being "caught between the devil and the deep blue sea," and they searched for a moral compromise. In time, the black Americans developed an affinity for the Filipinos. They liked each other. They called each other "Cousins of Color." In the midst of this chaotic backdrop, my protagonist, Private David Fagen, decided he could no longer participate in the destruction of another colored race, and one late light in November 1899, he defected and joined Aguinaldo’s army.” For the next six months Fagen, who had a $1000 price on his head, led his dwindling band in a cat-an-mouse game to avoid capture by the U.S. Army.

Nothing more is known of Fagen, only the date he signed up for service and the date he defected. At the end of 1901, a native hunter named Anastacio Bartolome, walked into and American army outpost with the slightly decomposed head of a Negro in a sack, claiming it was Fagen. He said he had killed the fugitive guerilla when his hunting party came upon Fagen group near a river in the jungle. With this grisly evidence in hand, the US Army closed the investigation on him. David Fagen placed himself in the Philippine Army and let him navigate through that dark period in history where the United States first experimented on Imperialism, which resulted in a violent, bloody clash of cultures and national wills.

           Black Americans were not the only ones who deserted the US Army at that time. Even white soldiers joined the Revolution. One revolutionary veteran recalled that in June 21 of 1900, some of the American soldiers defected and joined the Filipinos. Among the deserters were Privates John Wagner, Edward Walpole, Harry Dennis, John Allance, and a certain Private Meeks. On November 25, another deserter by the name of Private William Hyer, joined the Filipinos. Another deserter is Private Laurie Macklin, whose story entitled "The Apostate," was included in of the Philippine-American War stories in Trail of Blame, a book written by William Pomeroy and published in 1971. Macklin's story is a composite of several true incidents of desertion. These men apparently felt outraged by the inhumane treatment of the Filipinos by their fellow Americans.

Another interesting yet unknown character is Telesforo Carrasco y Perez, a Spaniard in Aguinaldo’s armed forces. According to accounts, as can be read in his journal which was translated from the original Spanish into English by the late National Artist Nick Joaquin, Telesforo was born in 1873 in Guadahortuna, Granada, in Southern Spain. He died in San Pablo, Laguna on September 22, 1916 at the age of 43. He had lived here in the Philippines some two dozen years, was married to a Batanguena from Tanauan, and had two children by her. Such in brief is the rather brief history of Telesforo Carrasco y Perez, the Andalusian who became a veteran of the Philippine Revolution.

In his pictures, Telesforo Carrasco looks very Andaluz and romantic; raven-haired and dark-eyed, with a thin and straight nose, delicate lips, sleek face narrow with oval chin ajut. He was a person of refinement having been born to a wealthy family and brought up in the glamorous city of Cordoba but he preferred to loiter in the streets. To cut the story short, he ended up in the army, to be disciplined at a young age of 17. He later volunteered to serve in the Philippines where he arrived in September of 1892. He served with the army and the Guardia Civil. At the time of the Revolution, he was with the rural constabulary.

When Spain lost the Philippines he surrendered to Pablo Tecson in Bulacan on June 1, 1899, eight years after he arrived in the Philippines. He waived repatriation to Spain and found himself serving in the ranks of the Philippine Army initially as an instructor then as a junior officer in Aguinaldo’s army in the war against the Americans. Eventually, among various assignments and missions, Telesforo became a part of Aguinaldo's rear guard at Tirad Pass. There he witnessed the death of his commander, General Gregorio del Pilar, who was killed by an American sniper.

As a testament to his valor, his family said that after his death a street in Binondo was named after him, but they are unsure if the street still bears his name today. Nick Joaquin says, “It may be that City Hall’s habit of changing Manila street names has made a victim of Calle Carrasco.”

Telesforo is not a rare case in the Spanish army. In his book, Nick Joaquin further stated, “…there were many other Spaniards who joined the Revolution and fought under Aguinaldo; but Telesforo was one of the few who left a record of his passage. The record is doubly valuable because it is not a reminiscence composed long after the Revolution but a journal or diary kept at the very time the event was unfolding.”

Some mestizo Mexicans and native Mexican Indians also made their way to the Philippine army. Very little is known about them but history supports their existence. The discovery of the Islands prompted the arrival of the Mexican Indians here in the Philippines. By the time Miguel Lopez de Legaspi was sending expeditions to chart the different parts of the Islands in the 1500’s, he brought with him Aztec Indian chiefs for exploration. The Indians probably intermarried with the natives later. Other Mexican Indians who came with Legázpi and aboard succeeding vessels had blended with the local residents so well that their country of origin had been erased from memory.

In Pampanga and nearby regions however, traces of Indian culture can be found. Words such as achuete, atole, avocado, balsa, bangueta, cacahuete, cacao, caimito, calabaza, camachile, camote, calachuche, chico, chocolate, coyote, nana(y), tata(y), tiangui, tocayo, zacate, and zapote are just some of their influences. In line with the American plans of Pacification against the military uprising of the first Philippine Republic, a specialized tactical army division was organized. This specialized force (equal to what we know today as Philippine Scouts) was commanded by American officers but mainly composed of Filipino elements. This followed the long-established tradition of colonial powers using native troops to quell dissent, under the principle of Divide and Conquer. One experimental unit of this type, the first of its kind, is the Macabebe Company, which was established in the month of September 1899 under the command of Lt. Mathew Batson, U.S. Army. The Macabebes, incidentally were descendants of the Mexican Yaqui Indians who were brought here in the Philippines by Spain. The said unit was an experimental one considering that Lt. Baston’s superiors, including General Arthur Macartur (father of General Douglas Macarthur), did not trust the Filipinos enough to arm them with standard issue equipments despite the Macabebes’ reputation of loyalty to Foreign Masters. They were used as interpreters and guides. But it did not take long for Baston to convince his superiors of the Macabebes’ loyalty. Not all of these descendants of the Yaqui Indian tribe of Mexico dedicated themselves to the side of the Americans. Some, after experiencing discrimination and racial abuse, defected to the side of Emilio Aguinaldo. Segismundo Pobre, a veteran of the Revolution in Cavite under the direct command of President Miong, recalled witnessing a number of men from La Pampanga fashioning long black hairs. Unfortunately, there is little information and data on the Macabebes’ role in the Philippine Army.

Curiously, Filipinos of Sepoy descent and culture may have landed roles in the Filipino Forces as well. Sepoys or soldiers from the far land of India were transported to the Philippines via war vessels during the brief British occupation of Manila from 1762-1764 as a result of the Seven Years' War. The said war was mainly between France and England. Since the Spanish royal family maintains special relations with France under the Bourbon Dynasty, Spain, together with all her colonies including the Philippines sided with the French. To cut the story short, the Spanish army succumbed to the naval superiority of the British. The Indian soldiers, who came with the British, deserted in droves and settled in Cainta, Rizal, which explains the uniquely Indian features of generations of Cainta residents. French mercenaries who came with the British also settled in various locations around Manila. Some of the descendants of the Sepoys and French integrated with Filipino Forces in Cainta, Rizal.

The thought that native Filipinos alone did not participate in one of our nation’s greatest episodes of struggle for liberation and humanization should inculcate the value of History and infuse the spirit of Nationalism. Shouldn’t the fact that even personages of foreign ethnicities irrigated our lands void of liberty, with their blood, make us see our History as a priceless source of wisdom?

This piece of historical trivia should provide us with the notion that the significance of this historical trivia does not merely lie in the legends and myths that encompass all those who fought for the subjugated and oppressed Filipinos. It is in the appreciation of how individuals, native and alien, decided who their real brothers and sisters and who their real enemies were.

Sources: Looking Back, A Spaniard In Aguinaldo’s Army: The Journal of Telesforo Carasco y Perez,
Cousins of Color by William Shroeder,
The Saga of David Fagen: Black Rebel in the Philippine Insurrection by Joseph Ryan