National Historical Institute (1997) Documents of the 1898 Declaration of the Philippine

Independence, The Malolos Constitution and the First Philippine Republic. Manila
National Historical Institute (Proclamation)

AUTHORS BACKGROUND:
Gregorio F. Zaide (May 25, 1907 – October 31, 1988)
A Filipino historian, author and politician from the town of Pagsanjan, Laguna in the Philippines. A multi-
awarded author, Zaide wrote 67 books and more than 500 articles about history, he is known as the "Dean of
Filipino Historiographers.” He was one of the founders of the International Association of Historians of Asia
(IAHA), and president of the Philippine Historical Association for three terms. As a politician, he served as the
mayor of his hometown of Pagsanjan from 1971 to 1975.
Zaide was born in Pagsanjan, Laguna on May 25, 1907. He was known as "Goyo" to the people of his home
town of Pagsanjan. He was married to Lily Magbanua.
He retired on May 25, 1964 and entered politics, winning as mayor of Pagsanjan from 1971 to 1975. While
serving his post, he wrote a book about his town, Pagsanjan, In History and Legend, released in 1975 (of
which excerpts are published in the town's official website). Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide died on October 31, 1986.
In his time, he was the most traveled Filipino historian, with teaching and research stints at various universities
and institutions in the Philippines and around the world. He worked at the University of the Philippines
Diliman in Quezon City; at the University of Santo Tomas, San Beda College, University of Manila, and Far
Eastern University in Manila. He also taught and researched for the University of Hawaii and around
the United States, as well as at the United Nations and around Asia. As a fluent speaker of the Spanish
language, he worked in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. He became a member
of Instituto Historico de la Independencia Americana (Historical Institute of American Independence)
in Argentina and the Instituto Panamericano de Geografia e Historia (Pan American Institute of Geography
and History) in Mexico.
He was elected as President of the Philippine Historical Association and served in this capacity for three terms
- between 1965-1966 and in 1971. He was also an active member of the American Historical
Association based in Washington, D.C.. He was a member of both the National Academy of Science and
Technology (NAST) and the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP).
He was one of the founders of the International Association of Historians of Asia (IAHA). Dr. Zaide was
a Paul Harris Fellowship of the Rotary Club.
In 1956, his wrote the screenplay for the Larry Santiago Productions' movie Heneral Paua, a movie about Jose
Ignacio Paua, a Filipino-Chinese blacksmith turned general, a relatively unknown hero of the Philippine
revolution.
He became the first Professor emeritus of History at the Far Eastern University after he retired in 1964.
The earliest editions of Zaide's books were standard texts studied by students during the Philippines' immediate
post-WWII period, and became very influential because of their influence on the education of first generation
after Philippine independence, and because some of these books continue to be released in updated editions.
Zaide's historical works are generally known for their lively prose- with Palanca laureate Butch Dalisay noting
that his works were "as fascinating to [him] as a boy as any of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Martian chronicles." In
the same breath, however, these works are criticized as lacking in "the important qualifications and nuances to
be made to telling the story of our past, such as the fact that histories unavoidably took sides, and that it was
all too easy to be seduced into taking the wrong one."
In particular, Zaide has been criticized for portraying history in a way that put the Philippines' colonial
experience under the Spanish and the Americans in an over-simplistically positive light.
Zaide was a prolific writer and historian writing about 67 books, which were adopted as textbooks for high
schools and colleges. He also authored more than 500 articles in history published in both national and
international newspapers and academic journals.
Among his contributions to Philippine history are the following books:

 A Documentary History of the Katipunan

 History of the Katipunan
 Philippine Political and Cultural History
 Great Events in Philippine History
 History of the Filipino People
 History of Asian Nations
 Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings
 The Philippine Revolution
 Riquezas Filipinas en los Archivos de Mexico (Titled in Spanish language)
 Great Filipinos in History
 The Pageant of Philippine History.
 World History

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
June 12, 1898 – proclamation of the independence of the Philippines at Cavite el Viejo (Kawit)
Philippine National Flag – made in HongKong by Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina
Herboza
June 5, 1898 – Aguinaldo issued a decree setting aside June 12 as the day for proclamation of Philippine
Independence.
Julian Felipe – composer from Cavite, who showed the draft of Composition entitled Marcha Filipina
Magdalo which was later changed to Marcha Nacional Filipana
Act of Declaration of Independence – prepared by Ambrosio Riamzares Bautista, signed by 98 people,
however was promulgated on August 1.

CONTENT PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

 Declaration of the Philippine Independence
-On June 12, between four and five in the afternoon, Aguinaldo, in the presence of a huge crowd,
proclaimed the independence of the Philippines at Cavite el Viejo (Kawit). For the first time, the
Philippine National Flag, made in Hongkong by Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo, assisted by Lorenza
Agoncillo and Delfina Herboza, was officially hoisted and the Philippine National March played
in public.
 The Act of the Declaration of Independence was prepared by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista,
who also read it. A passage in the Declaration reminds one of another passage in the American
Declaration of Independence. The Philippine Declaration was signed by ninety-eight persons,
among them an American army officer who witnessed the proclamation. The proclamation of
Philippine independence was, however, promulgated on August 1 when many towns has already
been organized under the riles laid down by the Dictatorial Government.

 The Malolos Congress

- Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree on July 18, 1898 asking for the election of delegates to the
revolutionary congress, another decree was promulgated five days later, which declared that
Aguinaldo would appoint representatives of congress because holding elections is not practical at
that time. He appointed 50 delegates in all (but this number fluctuated from time to time). In
accordance with these two decrees, Aguinaldo assembled the Revolutionary Congress at the
Brasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan on September 15, 1898.

- The atmosphere was festive and the Pasig Band played the national anthem. After Aguinaldo had
read his speech congressional elections were held among the delegates present. The following
were among the most important achievements of the Malolos Congress:

1. In September 29, 1898, ratified the declaration of Philippine independence held at Kawit, Cavite on
June 12, 1898
2. Passage of a law that allowed the Philippines to borrow P 20 million from banks for government
expenses
3. Establishment of the Universidad Literatura de Filipinas and other schools
4. Drafting of the Philippine Constitution
5. Declaring war against the United States on June 12, 1899

 Malolos Constitution

- A committee headed by Felipe Calderon and aided by Cayetano Arellano, the constitution was
drafted, for the first time by representatives of the Filipino people and it is the first republican
constitution in Asia. The constitution was inspired by the constitutions of Mexico, Guatemala,
Costa Rica, Brazil, Belgium and France. After some minor revisions (mainly due to the
objections of Apolinario Mabini), the final draft of the constitution was presented to Aguinaldo.
This paved the way to launching the first Philippine Republic. It established a democratic,
republication government with three branches - the Executive, Legislative and the Judicial
branches. It called for the separation of church and state. The executive powers were to be
exercise by the president of the republic with the help of his cabinet. Judicial powers were given
to the Supreme Court and other lower courts to be created by law. The Chief justice of the
Supreme Court was to be elected by the legislature with the concurrence of the President and his
Cabinet.

 First Philippine Republic

- The first Philippine Republic was inaugurated in Malolos, Bulacan on January 21, 1899. After
being proclaimed president, Emilio Aguinaldo took his oath of office. The constitution was read
article by article and followed by a military parade. Apolinario Mabini was elected as a prime
minister. The other cabinet secretaries were: Teodoro Sandico, interior; Baldomero Aguinaldo,
war; Gen. Mariano Trias, finance & war; Apolinario Mabini, foreign affairs; Gracio Gonzaga for
 welfare, Aguedo Velarde, public instruction; Maximo Paterno, public works & communication;
and Leon María Guerrero for agriculture, trade & commerce.

 The Philippine National Anthem

- Aguinaldo commissioned Julian Felipe, a composer from Cavite province was asked to write an
an instrumental march for the proclamation of independence ceremony. The original title was
"Marcha Filipina Magdalo". This was later changed to "Marcha Nacional Filipina". The lyrics
was added in August 1899 based on the poem titled "Filipinas" by Jose Palma. The original lyrics
was written in Spanish, then to English (when the Flag Law was abolished during the American
period) then later, was translated to Tagalog, which underwent another change of title to
“LupangHinirang”, the Philippine National Anthem.
List of references:
https://www.slideshare.net/josephroa1/national-institute-1997 last access:july25,2018
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emilio-Aguinaldolast access:july25,2018
http://msc.edu.ph/centennial/independence.html
http://www.philippine-history.org/malolos-congress.htmlast access:july25,2018
http://msc.edu.ph/centennial/malolos.htmllast access:july25,2018