Through a letter delivered by one of the recruits under him, Capitan Roque reported that the news of my martial law declaration had been well received by the gobernadorcillo and the principales of Mogpog.
I was expecting a warm welcome into the town—but not as warm as the one that would greet us after the nearly two-hour journey.
If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought a fiesta was going on. Even from a distance, we could see the colorful banderitas and the crowd lining the main street, and we could already hear the lively music of the rondalla.
Greeting us at the entrance of the pueblo were Capitan Roque and his soldiers, along with the principalia led by Mogpog's gobernadorcillo, Don Fernando Lagran.
"What a momentous event for our young country, Gobernador—and how happy I am to be part of it," the old town mayor told me as he shook my hand. Already then, I knew the afternoon would only get better.
