LUKBAN
It was here where the British Warner , Barnes and Co . conducted its business and cornered hemp trading in the island . In the absence of passable roads , bales of hemp were brought in boats of assorted shapes and sizes from the other coastal villages and pueblos , some of them coming from long distances down mountain streams , others from numerous smaller islands which dot the coast . 8 The town itself featured a large plaza with its ancient church at the center , complimented by wooden structures like a huge convent , where the priest resided , and the municipal tribunal or town hall ( sometimes called casa real ) built nearby . Prominent residents belonging to the class of principalia had their houses built nearby of strong materials too , while the rest of the population had houses built of light materials , like nipa and bamboo , scattered all over the place .
It was into this setting that Vicente Rilles Lukban , Aguinaldo ’ s appointee as politico-military governor , arrived on December 31 , 1898 . His task : to reorganize the revolutionary government . But like many provinces that had recently been freed of Spanish rule , the local principalia had already reorganized themselves in the traditional ways . Years earlier , the gobernadorcillos ( today ’ s equivalent of town mayor ) were elected only by the principalias of the pueblo , with the priest blessing the affair and serving as the de facto adviser of the gobernadorcillo and often making the important decisions as the unofficial representative of the national government in far Manila . Thus , when Lukban arrived , the important officials were already in place . He was faced with the unpleasant task of reorganizing them in accordance with the dictates of the new revolutionary government . In that initial meeting in Catbalogan , he was accordingly met with enthusiasm , “ placing their lives and property at the disposal of the government for the attainment of the peace and independence of the Philippines .” 9
After explaining his role as politico-military governor of Samar , Lukban started making appointments : Don Antonio Muñoz , as Jefe de Governacion of the province ; Don Honorio Rosales as Jefe de Justicia ; and Don Benedicto Sabater as Jefe de Hacienda . These were old prominent families of Catbalogan who had earlier stints as pueblo officials during the Spanish regime . But who else would he appoint ? He was a stranger to the place , and knew next to nothing about the people of Catbalogan . It seemed best to appoint old experienced hands to handle the task of governance . Their major task was to reorganize the pueblo governments .
Muñoz and the other officials organized juntas magnas ( conferences ) between January 3 to February 25 , 1899 in all 40 pueblos of Samar , attended by all the jefes of each pueblo and the cabezas of each barrio . In each pueblo , three delegados were to be elected by majority vote : Delegado
17