May 22-23, 1899: Filipinos negotiate with the Schurman Commission
The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Montana, issue of Aug. 29, 1899, page 15.
With the Philippine army unable to contain the American offensive, President Emilio Aguinaldo created a peace commission to negotiate an armistice. He appointed 23-year-old General Gregorio del Pilar to head the Filipino panel, with Captain Lorenzo Zialcita, Alberto Barretto and Gracio Gonzaga as members.
The armistice sought by the Filipinos was rejected. The American panel insisted on the recognition of United States sovereignty which the Filipinos understood to mean the unconditional surrender of the Filipino army.
Ten days later, on June 2, Pedro Paterno, the head of Aguinaldo’s cabinet, issued a manifesto recognizing the futility of the peace efforts with the Americans and exhorted all Filipinos to continue the struggle: “To war, then, beloved brothers, to war.”
