[Menydh]

Los últimos de Filipinas - The last men standing in the siege of Baler, after whe war was over

More evidence that the Army of Cuba did not accept defeat and that it was not in favour of the surrender is the letter of resignation to his act of Senator by General Pando, Jefe del Estado Mayor (Chief-of-Staff) of the Army, presented to the President of the Senate on March 6th, 1898:

"It was my my belief and I could see it justified myself, when from immediate points to the enemy I asked the Government to continue the war, resuming my petition in the following sentences 'The war continues, and in brief we will be able to impose the peace that we want to'. A belief that I still hold, and of which I gave notice once again on November, in a communication directed to the Minister of War, whose answer I am still awaiting, and in which I manifested that, if by cause of difficulties that appeared to close the Treaty of Paris we had to go back again to the scenario of hostilities, I was ready to go to the place which would be considered as the most dangerous, with the sureness of defending with success our territory against the Americans."

The letter ended with: "and if I was convinced that --fortunately not something that I can be convinced of-- among the panic of that Ministery the people and the army of old had ceased to exist on May 2nd, in that instant would I break not only my act of senator, which I am renouncing now, but my sword, my uniform and my card of citizen altogether."

The Protocol of Washington was signed on August 12th, and it was the document base for the negotiations that would take place in Paris. By means of this the hostilities were in suspense. On the 13th, when they had already been suspended, the American artillery opened fire at dawn against the city of Manila, and not knowing the signaturing of the protocol and given the useless of resisting, the city surrenders.

The War of The Philippines was a different story.

In the Treaty of Paris, on December 10th, 1898, the Spanish commissionates did nothing but accepting the conditions of the winners. By virtue of this treaty, Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and The Philippines. They forgot to mention the islands Carolinas, Palaos, and Marianas, located in the Pacific. There was no longer point in keeping them, and on June 12th, 1899, they were ceded to Germany.

On January 1st, 1899, our flag was lowered from the mast in La Habana. More than 50,000 Spanish had been buried in Cuban lands.

There was still one signature pending. Leutenant Don Saturnino Martín Cerezo, on June 2nd, 1899, finally convinced of the loss of The Philippines through reading the newspapers that the besiegers left on the doorstep at night, resolved to capitulate. After the signature of the Act of Capitulation, from the church building came out a group of men who had earned the respect and the admiration of their enemies. They were the last men standing of the detachment of Baler, they were "The Last of The Philippines" (Los Últimos de Filipinas ). Since June 28th, 1898, they had been besieged by much more numerous Tagala insurrect forces, which tried by all means to take the small church building where they had sheltered, as it was the most solid building in the village. There they stayed during 337 days, suffering all kinds of hardships and refusing to give up their place in spite of the continuous assaults to which their "tiny fortress" was subject.

Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the Republic, dedicated to these men the following decree:
"Having the Spanish forces which garrisoned the detachment of Baler earned the admiration of the entire world for the courage, constance and heroicity with which that bunch of men, isolated and without hopes of getting any help, have defended their flag for a time period of one year, realizing an epic so glorious and so characteristical of the legendary courage of the sons of El Cid and of Pelayo; worshipping the military virtues and interpreting the feelings of the Army of this Republic that so gallantly has fought them, as proposed by my Secretary of War and in agreement with my Council of Government, I order that:

Sole Article. The individuals who compose the aforementioned forces shall not be considered as prisoners but, on the contrary, as friends, and as a consequence the Capitanía
General will provide them with the necessary passports that allow them to go back to their country. In Tarlak, 30th of June, 1899."

The heroes of Baler closed with honour the episode of our final presence in Asia. From there, Spain had only left to look foward to the future.


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