The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 14, 1897, created a truce between Spanish Colonial Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

 Fernando Primo de Rivera

Fernando Primo de Rivera

Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, 1st Marqués of Estella, 12th Count of Peña Vélez, 17th Count of Torres Rovellas, 23rd Count of Sobremonte was a Spanish politician, and soldier....

 and Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...

 to end the Philippine Revolution

Philippine Revolution

The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...

. Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries were given amnesty and monetary indemnity by the Spanish government in return for which the revolutionary Government would go into voluntary exile in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Aguinaldo would later use the money to purchase firearms.

Provisions

According to Aguinaldo, writing in 1899, the principal conditions of the pact were:
According to historian Teodoro Agoncillo

Teodoro Agoncillo

Teodoro Andal Agoncillo was a 20th-century Filipino historian. He and his contemporary Renato Constantino were among the first Filipino historians renowned for promoting a distinctly nationalist point of view of Filipino history...

, the pact was made up of three documents which together came to be known as the Truce of Biak-na-Bató and which provided, among other things:

• That Aguinaldo and his companions would go into voluntary exile abroad;
• that Governor-General Primo de Rivera would pay the sum of P800,000 to the rebels in three installments:

1. $400,000 (Mexican) to Aguinaldo upon his departure from Biak-na-Bató,
2. $200,000 (Mexican) when the arms surrendered by the revolutionists amounted to 800 stand, and
3. the remaining $200,000 (Mexican) when the arms surrendered amounted to 1,000 stand,Te Deum in the Cathedral in Manila as thanksgiving for the restoration of peace;
   • that Primo de Rivera would pay the additional sum of P900,000 to the families of the non-combatant Filipinos who suffered during the armed conflict.

Note: The Mexican dollar at the time was worth about 50 U.S. cents

According to historian Sonia M. Zaide, the agreement consisted of three parts

1. a document called "Program", generally as described by Agoncillo;
2. a document called "Act of Agreement" which reiterated parts of the "Program" document and hinted at the desire of the Filipinos for reforms but contained no definite agreement by Spain to grant such reforms;
3. a third document which discussed the question of indemnity
   Indemnity
   An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...
   
   , specifying that Spain would pay a total of $1,700,000— $800,000 as above plus $900,000 to be distributed among the civilian population as compensation for the ravages of war.

Results

In accordance with the first part of the pact, Aguinaldo and twenty five other top officials of the revolution were banished to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

with $400,000 (Mexican) in their possession. The rest of the men received $200,000 (Mexican), while the third installment was never received. General amnesty was never declared because sporadic skirmishes continued.