First Philippine Republic

(Philippines Twitter)-Philippine Republic (Spanish: República Filipina), more commonly known as the First Philippine Republic or the Malolos Republic was a short-lived insurgent revolutionary government in the Philippines. It was formally established with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution on January 23, 1899 in Malolos, Bulacan, and endured until the capture and surrender of Emilio Aguinaldo to the American forces on March 23, 1901 in Palanan, Isabela, which effectively dissolved the First Republic.

The establishment of the Philippine Republic was the culmination of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. Independence was declared on June 12, 1898. A dictatorial government headed by Emilio Aguinaldo was proclaimed on 18 June, and replaced on 23 June by a revolutionary government, also headed by Aguinaldo. The Malolos Congress convened on 15 September, and produced the Malolos Constitution. That constitution was proclaimed on 22 January 1899, transforming the government into what is known today as the First Philippine Republic, with Aguinaldo as its president. In the meantime, on December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris had been signed, ending the Spanish-American War. Article 3 of the treaty transferred the Philippines from Spain to the United States.

The First Philippine Republic was formed after the Philippine Declaration of Independence and the events of the collapse of the Spanish rule over the Philippines. It adopted the Constitución Política de la República Filipina, drawn up by the Philippine Constitutional Convention in the Barasoain Church in Malolos in 1899 to replace the dictatorial government set up by the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on July 7, 1897. The constitution was approved by delegates to the Assembly of Representatives on January 20, 1899, and sanctioned Aguinaldo the next day. The convention earlier elected Aguinaldo president on January 1, 1899, leading to his inauguration on January 23.

In 1899, after the Malolos Constitution was ratified, the Universidad Literia de Filipinas was established in Malolos, Bulacan. It offered Law as well as Medicine, Surgery and Notary Public; Academia Militar which was established on October 25, 1898; and The Instituto Burgos, an exclusive school for boys.

Philippine-American War

Tensions remained during the Philippine-American War. Aguinaldo and his men fled to Northern Luzón, trying to resist the American forces declaring the proclamation of independence on June 12, 1898 with the preliminary statement inclusive of the Luzon and Visayas, with the exception of Mindanao and Sulu being independent sovereignty states, and as being allies against American encroachment.

Following his capture at Palanan, Isabela, Aguinaldo, on April 1, 1901, announced allegiance to the United States, formally ending the First Republic and recognizing the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines.

However, Macario Sakay y de León continued resistance against the United States following the official American declaration of the war's end in 1902 and assumed the presidency of the proclaimed First Philippine Republic, becoming its second unofficial president until he was arrested, convicted as a bandit and hanged by the U.S. military in 1907.

Cabinet

OFFICIALS NAME

President Emilio Aguinaldo

Prime Minister Apolinario Mabini

Pedro Paterno

Minister of Foreign Affairs Apolinario Mabini

Felipe Buencamino

Minister of Finance and War Mariano Trías

Minister of Interior Teodoro Sandico

Severino de las Alas

Minister of War Baldomero Aguinaldo

Minister of Welfare Gracio Gonzaga

Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce León María Guerrero

Minister of Finance Hugo Ilagan

Minister of Public Instruction Águedo Velarde

Minister of Public Works and Communications Máximo Paterno