General Camilo de Polavieja, tired of the endless battles, asked for his relief as governor

general. His request was granted and on April 15, 1897, he sailed for Spain. He was
replaced by a former governor-general of the Philippines, Fernando Primo de Rivera.

Primo de Rivera arrived in Manila on April 23. He immediately conferred with the
military commanders regarding the general situation in the Philippines. He found out to
his dismay that far from being demoralized the Filipinos were united against the
Spaniards. At the end of the month, he marched to Cavite to take personal charge of
the military operations. First he issued a decree granting pardon to those who, would
give up their arms and surrender to the government. Most Filipinos ignored this decree.
Forthwith, Primo de Rivera launched a spirited campaign against the rebels, forcing
Aguinaldo and his men to retreat to Batangas. With almost all of Cavite in the hands of
the Spaniards, Primo de Rivera issued another decree extending the benefit of his
pardon beyond May 17. His purpose was to win over the Filipinos to his policy of
attraction. A few took advantage of the governor's decree, while the rest continued
their resistance against the enemy. Aguinaldo, meanwhile, was in Talisay, Batangas,
where he had established his headquarters. The enemy surrounded the area in the
hope of capturing him, but he slipped through the Spanish cordon on June 10 and
proceeded with his men to the hilly region of Morong (Rizal). With 500 picked men, he
crossed, the Pasig to Malapad-na-bato, near Guadalupe, and from here he secretly
passed through San Juan del Monte and Montalban, and on to Mount Puray. After a
well-earned rest, Aguinaldo and his men proceeded to Biyak-na-batd, San Miguel del
Mayumo, in Bulakan, where he established his headquarters.
The Government of Central Luzon.-—News of Aguinaldo's arrival at Biyak-na-bato
reached the towns of Central Luzon. As a consequence, armed men from Pangasinan,
Zambales, the Ilocos provinces, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija, renewed their armed
resistance against the enemy. From Biyak-na-bat6, Aguinaldo and his men joined forces
with those of General Mariano Llanera of Nueva Ecija and harassed the Spanish soldiers
garrisoned
in the Central Luzon provinces. With the coming of the rainy season, Primo de Rivera's
campaigns were temporarily halted.
Meanwhile, at Puray, the rebels met in the camp of General Licerio Geronimo. Those
assembled established the Departmental Government of Central Luzon, comprising
Manila, Morong, Bulakan, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac, and Pangasinan. The
assembly elected the following:

Father Pedro Daaldan President

Anastacio Francisco Vice-President
Paciano Rizal Secretary of the Treasury
Cipriano Pacheco Secretary of the Wc
Teodoro Gonzales Secretary of the Interior
Feliciano Jocson . . . . . . Secretmy of Welfare
 The assembly also designated the field commanders with their corresponding military
rank.
The Biyak na bato Republic—Unable to persuade the Filipinos to give up their arms,
Primo de Rivera issued a decree on July 2, 1897, which prohibited all inhabitants to
leave their villages and towns. The effect of the decree was contrary to the governor's
expectations, for the people continued fighting for the Filipino cause. From his hideout,
Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in July entitled "To the Brave Sons of the Philippines"
This proclamation shows that Aguinaldo was still willing to return to the Spanish fold
provided these demands were met.
Pedro A. Paterno, who had spent a part of his life in Spain, approached Governor-
General Primo de Rivera and asked that he be made a mediator between the Filipinos
and the Spaniards. He wanted, he said, to stop the fatal conflict between the two
peopies, for he loved Spain and the Philippines, The governor-general agreed to his
request. From August to December, Paterno negotiated with Aguinaldo and Primo de
Rivera on the conditions that he thought would be satisfactory to both. On November
18, the ffrst document of what came to be known as the Truce of Biyak-na-bato was
signed by Patemo as representative of the revolutionists, and by Primo de Rivera for the
Spanish Government. Other matters were threshed out by Paterno, and on December
14 the second document known as the "Programme" was signed by Paterno and Primo
de Rivera. The following day, December 16, the third and last document of the Truce
was signed, also by Paterno and Primo de Rivera. The resulting Truce provided, among
other things:

Aguinaldo and his companions would go into voluntary exile abroad;

that Primo de Rivera would pay the sum of P800,OOO to the rebels in three
installments:
(a) P400,000 to Aguinaldo upon his departure from Biyakna-bato

To make sure that the Spanish authorities were sincere, the, revolutionists demanded
that two Spanish generals were to remain at Biyak-na-bato as hostages and another,
Colonel Miguel Primo de Rivera, the governor's nephew, to accompany the exiles to
Hongkong. Primo de Rivera agreed, d on December 23 the Spanish generals, elestino
Tejeiro and ricardo Monet, arrived at Biyak-na. bato and became hostages of the rebels.
On the same day, Aguinaldo and his men, including Pedro and Maximo Paterno,
boarded and launch and sailed for Kalumpit.The group sailed for Hongkong the same
day, December 27, with Aguinaldo in possession of a check for P400,000.
The Failure of the Truce.—January 1898 was a month of colorful festivities in Manila.
The Spaniards, happy that their lives had been spared during the hectic battles, began
a series of fiestas so lavish that thousands of pesos were spent to make the occasion,
that is, the end of the hostilities, a memorable one. There were boat and horse races,
fireworks in the evenings, a magnificent ball at the and dramas at the Zorilla Theater.
On January 23, the Te Deum was sung at the Manila Cathedral and on the 24th (Madrid
time) at the Palacio Real in Madrid.
 Meanwhile, the Filipino generals left at Biyak-na-bat6 did everything in their power to
surrender the arms given by the rebels. Some of the Filipino leaders, however, were
suspicious of Spanish aims and continued to hold on to their weapons. They expected a
continuation of th armed conflict and prépared themselves and their men for t
emergency. The Spanish authorities, on the other hand, did not trust the Filipinos. The
result was that periodic clashes occurred between the Filipinos and the Spaniards. The
clashes started in mid-February and continued until Spanish power was destroyed by
the combined Filipino-American forces a few months later.

One of the leaders, General Francisco Makabulos of Tarlac, established the Central
Executive Committee which was intended to be a provisional one "until a general
government of the Republic in three islands shall again be established." This rebel
government had a constitution, popularly known as the constitution of Makabulos,
which provided for an executive committee composed of a PreSident, a Vice-President,
a Secretary of the Interior, a Secretary of War, and a Secretary of the Treasury. It is
clear

that the Filipino leaders were not disposed to follow the letter Of the Truce, but on the
contrary felt that they could use the money given to them by Primo de Rivera -to
purchase arms and ammunition. On the other hand, the lower Spanish officials *Rested
and imprisoned many Filipinos whom they suspected Of having been involved in the
rebellion.