First Philippine Republic
The Philippine Republic (Spanish: República Filipina), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire (1896–1898) and the Spanish–American War between Spain and the United States (1898) through the promulgation of the Malolos Constitution on January 22, 1899, succeeding the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. It was formally established with Emilio Aguinaldo as president.[13][Note 1] It maintained governance until April 1, 1901.[Note 2]
Philippine Republic
Manila (until February 5, 1899)
Secular state
Majority:
Roman Catholicism
Minority:
Folk religion, Sunni Islam
Emilio Aguinaldo (first)
Miguel Malvar (last; unofficial)
Apolinario Mabini (first)
Pedro Paterno (last)
January 23, 1899[Note 1]
April 1, 1901[Note 2]
298,719 km2 (115,336 sq mi)
7,832,719
Following the American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines, issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898, and proclaimed successive revolutionary Philippine governments on June 18 and 23 of that year.
In December 1898, Spain and the United States signed the 1898 Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish–American war. As part of the treaty, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. The treaty was not formally proclaimed until April 11, 1899, when mutual ratifications were exchanged. In the meantime, on January 23, 1899, the Malolos Constitution establishing the First Philippine Republic had been proclaimed and, on February 4, 1899, fighting had erupted in Manila between American and Filipino forces in what developed into the Philippine–American War.[c] Aguinaldo was captured by the American forces on March 23, 1901, in Palanan, Isabela, He declared allegiance to the U.S. on April 19, 1901, effectively ending the Philippine Republic.[16][17]
The First Philippine Republic is sometimes characterized as the first proper constitutional republic in Asia,[18][19][20] although there were several Asian republics predating it – for example, the Mahajanapadas of ancient India, the Lanfang Republic, the Republic of Formosa, or the Republic of Ezo. Aguinaldo himself had led a number of governments prior to Malolos, like those established at Tejeros and Biak-na-Bato which both styled themselves República de Filipinas ("Republic of the Philippines"). Unlike the founding documents of those governments, however, the Malolos Constitution was duly approved by a partially elected congress and called for a true representative democracy.[13][21]
Organization[edit]
Presidency[edit]
Executive power was exercised by the President, through his cabinet secretaries. The incumbent president of the Revolutionary Republic initially assumed the presidency. Presidents were to be elected by the legislature to terms of four years and to be eligible for reelection.
In addition to his basic powers, the 1899 Constitution assigned the following duties to the presidency:[11]
Military[edit]
When Philippine independence was declared on June 12, 1898, the Philippine Revolutionary Army was renamed the Philippine Republican Army. Aguinaldo then appointed Antonio Luna as Director or Assistant Secretary of War by September 28, 1898, and the Philippines first military school, the Academia Militar was established in Malolos.
When the Republic was inaugurated on January 23, Luna had succeeded Artemio Ricarte as the Commanding General of the Republican Army. With such powers at hand, Luna attempted to transform the weak, undisciplined revolutionary army into a disciplined regular army for the service of the Republic.[68]