 “Officers in the army of the Philippines were almost totally composed of Americans,” observed the Spanish historian José Montero y Vidal.“They received in great disgust the arrival of peninsular officers as reinforcements, partly because they supposed they would be shoved aside in the promotions and partly because of racial antagonisms.” As punishment for this dissent, many military officers and public officials were exiled, including Novales, who was exiled to Mindanao to fight pirates.Undeterred, he secretly returned to Manila.