Notwithstanding the underlying bad blood between the Tagalog and the Kapampangans —specifically the Macabebes—for the latter’s role in the capture of the Cavite-born Emilio Aguinaldo, it was actually an Ilocano who started the series of events leading to the capture of El Presidente. ^[0]

A native of Ilocos Norte, Cecilio Segismundo first worked as a police for the Spanish but later defected to the Katipunan and then was assigned as a corporal and messenger under Major Nazario Alhambra. An embattled Aguinaldo—holed up in the remote Isabela town of Palanan—had tasked him to carry an important letter to his subordinates requesting reinforcements and supplies. ^[0]

However, after almost a month of trekking in the harsh hinterlands, Segismundo surrendered to the Americans in Pantabangan town, Nueva Ecija. With the promise of a commission in the Philippine Army and a $300 reward, he revealed the whereabouts of Aguinaldo, allowing the American General Frederick Funston to capture him. ^[0]

Although Aguinaldo would later say that the Americans forcefully extracted the information out of Segismundo, Funston’s officers countered that he talked freely after being well-fed and without ever being tortured.

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