Background .|left In 1896, the Philippine Revolution began against Spanish colonial rule. In 1897, Philippine forces led by Aguinaldo signed a
ceasefire with the Spanish authorities and Aguinaldo and other leaders went into
exile in Hong Kong. In April 1898, the Spanish–American War broke out. The U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron, then in Hong Kong, sailed to the Philippines to engage the Spanish naval forces. On May 1, 1898, the U.S. Navy
decisively defeated the Spanish Naval force and blockaded Manila Bay. The American naval commander, lacking forces to conduct land operations following his unexpectedly complete victory, returned Aguinaldo and a number of other revolutionary exiles to the Philippines from Hong Kong.Aguinaldo arrived in the Philippines on May 24 and on that date, proclaimed a
dictatorial government, rekindling the
Philippine Revolution (formally established by decree on June 18). On June 12, he issued the
Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain at his ancestral home in Cavite. The Dictatorial Government was replaced by a
revolutionary government on June 23, which conducted a mass liberation of the islands from Spanish rule. It provided for the creation of the
Malolos Congress, a legislative body partially elected and partially appointed, which convened on September 15 to write a constitution. On December 10, 1898, the
1898 Treaty of Paris was signed between Spain and the United States, ending the
Spanish–American War and transferring the former's claim to the Philippines to the latter. The Revolutionary Government, through its accredited representative,
Felipe Agoncillo, previously had an unproductive audience with the President of the United States, and now sought representation in the talks at Paris; Filipino representation was not granted and Agoncillo filed a protest against the Spanish act of ceding the Philippines, characterizing it as invalid under international law and therefore not binding. Agoncillo further contested the treaty and pushed for recognition of Philippine independence with the
American Department of State and later the
United States Senate, but his protests were paid no mind. The draft constitution, chiefly written by
Felipe Calderón, was approved by the Congress in December 1898, but Mabini, through Aguinaldo, drafted amendments that allowed the President to
rule by decree until other nations gave diplomatic recognition to the country. In response, the Congress named a commission headed by Calderón to investigate the proposed amendments, with the final report thoroughly objecting to Mabini's proposals, but a compromise was made and certain provisions were included in the final constitution, approved on January 20. Aguinaldo promulgated the constitution the next day, and the inauguration of the Constitution was scheduled for January 23. The constitution was titled "Constitución política", and was written in Spanish.
Inauguration On January 23, the Revolutionary Congress, upon swearing fealty to the constitution, assumed the functions of the Assembly of Representatives. Immediately after, it proceeded to elect the President of the Republic according to the provisions of the constitution, and unanimously elected Emilio Aguinaldo, now considered as the president of a former government. He was notified of his election by a commission named by the Congress and brought in a procession from the
Malolos Cathedral, the seat of the presidency, to
Barasoain Church, the seat of the Congress, where he swore his
oath of office, administered by the President of the Congress,
Pedro Paterno; the formula read by Aguinaldo, recorded in Tagalog, was: "I swear in the name of God that I will faithfully execute my duty, execute and cause to be executed the Constitution and the Laws, and take care that nobody shall violate the Mother Country." Paterno replied with: "If you do this, may God bless you. And if you don’t, may God punish you." Aguinaldo's oath was followed by an
inaugural address. The inauguration of the Republic was celebrated by a parade of soldiers numbering 6,000 at the town
plaza, and the celebration culminated in a display of the national flag to the sound of the national march. The inauguration was celebrated simultaneously in the surrounding towns.
Philippine–American War Deputy Prime Minister of the first republic of the Philippines|leftHostilities erupted between U.S. and Filipino forces in the suburbs of Manila, which until then had been the site of tensions between the Americans who controlled the capital city and the Filipinos who controlled the surrounding suburbs. That day President Aguinaldo issued a proclamation ordering and commanding that "peace and friendly relations with the Americans be broken and that the latter be treated as enemies, within the limits prescribed by the laws of war". The fighting quickly escalated into the
Second Battle of Manila, with Philippine Republic's forces being driven out of the city.
Caloocan would be captured on February 10 by northward-moving American forces. On March 29, as American forces threatened Malolos, the seat of government moved to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. On March 31, American forces captured Malolos, the initial seat of the Philippine Republic government, which had been gutted by fires set by withdrawing Philippine Republic forces. Emilio Aguinaldo and the core of the revolutionary government had by then moved to
San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. Peace negotiations with the American
Schurman Commission during a brief ceasefire in April–May 1899 failed, The Philippine Republic core government had moved by then to
Bamban, Tarlac, and subsequently moved to
Tarlac town. Aguinaldo's party had already left Tarlac, the last capital of the Philippine Republic, by the time American troops occupied it on November13.American forces captured
Calumpit, Bulacan on April 27 and, moving north, captured
Apalit, Pampanga with little opposition on May 4 and
San Fernando, Pampanga on May 5. This forced the seat of government to be shifted according to the demands of the military situation. , the Philippine representative to the negotiations of
Paris that led to the
Treaty of Paris (1898) In October 1899, American forces were in
San Fernando, Pampanga and the Philippine Republic was headquartered not far north of there, in
Angeles City. On October 12, an American offensive to the north forced the Philippine Republic to relocate its headquarters in November to Tarlac, and then to
Bayambang, Pangasinan. On November 13, under pressure by American forces, Aguinaldo and a party departed Bayambang by rail for
Calasiao, from where they immediately proceeded eastwards to
Santa Barbara in order to evade pursuing American forces. There, they joined a force of some 1200 armed men led by General
Gregorio del Pilar. Aguinaldo had decided in aa November 13 conference in Bayambang to disperse his army and begin
guerrilla war. From that point on, distance and the localistic nature of the fighting prevented him from exercising a strong influence on revolutionary or military operations. Aguinaldo's party eluded pursuing American forces, passing through Tirad Pass near
Sagada, Mountain Province where the
Battle of Tirad Pass was fought on December 2 as a
rear guard action to delay the American advance and ensure his escape. At the time of the battle, Aguinaldo and his party were encamped in
Cervantes, about 10 km south of the pass. After being notified by a rider of the outcome of the battle and the death of del Pilar, Aguinaldo ordered that camp be broken, and departed with his party for Cayan settlement. Aguinaldo's party, traveling with del Pilar's force, reached
Manaoag, Pangasinan on November 15. There, the force was split into
vanguard and rear guard elements, with Aguinaldo and del Pilar in the vanguard. The vanguard force overnighted in
Tubao, La Union, departed there on November 16, and was in
Naguilian, La Union by November 19, where word was received that American forces had taken
Santo Tomas and had proceeded to
Aringay. Aguinaldo's force arrived in
Balaoan, La Union on November 19, pushed on the next day, and arrived at the Tirad Pass, a natural
choke point, on November 23. General del Pilar decided to place a blocking force in Tirad Pass to delay pursuing American forces while Aguinaldo's party moved on. The Battle of Tirad Pass took place on December 2, 1899. 52 men of del Pilar's 60-man force were killed, including del Pilar himself. However, the Filipinos under del Pilar held off the Americans long enough for Aguinaldo's party to escape. Aguinaldo, encamped with his party about 10 km south of the pass in
Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, was apprised of the result of the battle by a rider, and moved on. The party reached Banane settlement on December 7, where Aguinaldo paused to consider plans for the future. On December 16, the party departed for
Abra to join forces with General
Manuel Tinio. The party traveled on foot through a pass at the summit of
Mount Polis, and arrived at Ambayuan the next morning. The party pushed on to Banane, pursued closely by American forces. At this point, Aguinaldo's party consisted of one field officer, 11 line officers, and 107 men. The remainder of December 1899 was spent in continuous trek. The party was at the border of Abra and
Cagayan provinces on Aguinaldo's 31st birthday on March 23, 1900. The trek from place to place continued until about May 22, 1900, when Aguinaldo established a new headquarters in Tierra Virgen. On August 27, 1900, after American forces landed at
Aparri, Cagayan, Aguinaldo concluded that Tierra Virgan had become untenable as a headquarters and decided to march to
Palanan, Isabela. Aguinaldo remained in Palanan until his capture there by American forces with the aid of the native scouts on March 23, 1901. ==Organization==