Note 25 — Chapter XXVI · Murder As a Governmental Agency
Reading edition
“So then dear brothers, be like those of Bacnotan who have not allowed their honour to be sullied, for when they saw the Guards of Honour enter their town they drove them off at once with blows [of bolos?—Tr.] and cudgels and to the end that you may not have cause to repent of what without doubt I shall be obliged to do, comply with this order, listen to the following:
“First. Whenever the Presidente of the town, Cabezas and Cabezillas of barrios shall have knowledge of the presence in their barrios of Guards of Honour, be they many or few, and do not cause their disappearance or death, they will be immediately shot or beheaded.
“Second. Every barrio or residence of the Guards of Honour where they are going about persuading the inhabitants to follow them in their noxious work—that we may be slaves forever—will be burned and all their property together with their houses; and their sons, their fathers, mothers and their wives will be shot or beheaded to pay for their treason.
“Third and last. All the grown men in the barrios, territorial militiamen or those called ‘sandatahan’ (bolomen), corporals, sergeants and privates, and everybody who is a Filipino will go immediately to help in the fight against the Guards of Honour and our enemy, the Americans; and those who pay no heed to this or hide themselves will incur the penalty of being shot or beheaded.
“This proclamation will be read in the barrios and will be passed from hand to hand so that it may be copied to the end that nobody may have an excuse when the time comes to put into execution what has been set forth.”—P. I. R., 168. 9.