The American Legacy
The unresolved land question created agrarian unrest, revolts, insurgencies, and the continuing political and social
problem in Mindanao.
2.
How did the Philippine military
evolve under the colonial rule of the
United States?
a) The organization of the Macabebe Scouts
The US occupation forces were quick to employ the only Filipino armed contingent to remain loyal to the Spanish forces
up to the end.
The Spanish 72nd Macabebe Regiment was organized by a
Spanish haciendero, Col. Eugenio Blanco, who had a farm in
Macabebe during the 1896 Revolution. In the Spanish Order
of Battle compiled by James Nelson, Regiment No. 72 (the
Macabebe Regiment) was assigned to the Visayas with one
battalion and headquartered in Manila but was temporarily
deployed at that time (1897) in Mindanao.23
Memorial to villainy: The Macabebes were used as mercenaries by the Spaniards and later
by the Americans.
The remnants of the Macabebe Regiment remained loyal to
the Spanish forces up to the end, even when most Filipino
soldiers under the Spanish Army had defected to the revolutionary forces. They were immediately employed by the
71