Revolutionary Government of the Philippines (1898–1899)

The Revolutionary Government of the Philippines (Filipino: Pamahalaang Panghimagsikan ng Pilipinas) was an insurgent government established in the Spanish East Indies on June 23, 1898, during the Spanish–American War, by Emilio Aguinaldo, its initial and only President.[2] The government succeeded a dictatorial government which had been established by Aguinaldo on June 18,[3] and which was dissolve and replaced by this government upon its establishment.[4][5] This government endured until January 23, 1899, when the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution established an insurgent Philippine Republic government which replaced it.[6][7]

For other provisional governments established in the Philippines, see Revolutionary government in the Philippines.
Revolutionary Government of the Philippines

Pamahalaang Panghimagsikan ng Pilipinas
1898–1899
Territory claimed by the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines in Asia
StatusUnrecognized state
CapitalBacoor, Cavite
(June 1898 – Aug 1898)
Malolos, Bulacan
(Aug 1898 – Jan 1899)
Common languagesTagalog, Spanish
Religion
Roman Catholicism
GovernmentRevolutionary republic
President 
• 1898
Emilio Aguinaldo
President of the Cabinet[1] (de facto Prime Minister) 
• 1898
Apolinario Mabini
LegislatureRevolutionary Congress of the Philippines at Malolos
Historical eraPhilippine Revolution
• Established
June 23, 1898
August 13, 1898
December 10, 1898
January 23, 1899
Area
1898300,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi)
CurrencyPeso
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Spanish East Indies
Dictatorial Government
Military Government of the Philippine Islands
Philippine Republic

Four governmental departments were initially created, each having several bureaus: foreign relations, marine and commerce; war and public works; police, justice, instruction and hygiene; finance, agriculture, and industry.[8] A Revolutionary Congress was established with power "[t]o watch over the general interest of the Philippine people, and carrying out of the revolutionary laws; to discuss and vote upon said laws; to discuss and approve, prior to their ratification, treaties and loans; to examine and approve the accounts presented annually by the secretary of finance, as well as extraordinary and other taxes which may hereafter be imposed."[9]

On August 14, 1898, two days after the Battle of Manila of the Spanish–American War and about two months after Aguinaldo's proclamation of this revolutionary government, the United States. established a military government in the Philippines, with General Merritt acting as military governor.[10]

The Revolutionary Cabinet

Aguinaldo appointed his first Cabinet on June 15, consisting of Baldomero Aguinaldo as Secretary of War and Public Works, Leanardo Ibarra as Secretary of the Interior and Mariano Trias as Secretary of Finance; the secretaryship of Foreign Relations, Marine, and Commerce was provisionally left in the charge of the Presidency. On September 23, the cabinet was reorganized to six departments.:[11]

On January 2, 1899, when it became certain that Cayetano Arellano would not accept the secretaryship of foreign relations, that secretaryship fell to Apolinario Mabini. Mabini had to that time been Aguinaldo's principal advisor and he was also named the president of the Cabinet[12]

Cabinet of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines[11]
DepartmentSecretaryTerm
President of the CabinetApolinario MabiniJanuary 2, 1899 – May 7, 1899
Secretary of War and Public WorksBaldomero AguinaldoJune 15, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Secretary of InteriorLeonardo IbarraJune 15, 1898 – January 2, 1899
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Cayetano ArellanoSeptember 23, 1898 – January 2, 1899
Apolinario MabiniJanuary 2, 1899 – May 7, 1899
Secretary of Treasury/FinanceMariano TriasJune 15, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Secretary of JusticeGregorio AranetaSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Secretary of Fomento (Welfare)
including Public Instruction, Public Works, Communications, Agriculture, Industry and Commerce		 Fernando CanonSeptember 23, 1898 – January 2, 1899
Gracio GonzagaJanuary 2, 1899 – May 7, 1899
Officials with Cabinet-level rank
Director of DiplomacyTrinidad Pardo de TaveraSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of Navy and CommercePascual LedesmaSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of WarFelipe BuencaminoSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of Public InstructionArsenio Cruz HerreraSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of Agriculture and IndustryJose AlejandrinoSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of Public WorksSeverino De las AlasSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of CommunicationsJose ValesSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of HygieneJose AlbertSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of JusticeJose BasaSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899
Director of Registry and DeedsJuan TongcoSeptember 23, 1898 – May 7, 1899

The Malolos Revolutionary Congress
Opening of the Malolos Congress in 1898

The legislative body of the Revolutionary government was called the National Assembly. Members (Representatives) were chosen in Philippine Malolos Congress elections held from June 23 to September 10, 1898. The Assembly consisted of elected delegates chosen by balloting in provincial assemblies and appointed delegates chosen by the president to represent regions under unstable military and civilian conditions. The Revolutionary Congress was opened on September 15, 1898 in Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan. President Emilio Aguinaldo presided the opening session of the assembly

Leadership
  • President of the Revolutionary Congress
Pedro Paterno
  • Vice President/Deputy
Benito Legarda
  • Secretary
Gregorio S. Araneta and Pablo Ocampo

Members (Representatives)
Soldiers of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during a session of the congress.
Emilio Aguinaldo (seated, center) and ten of the delegates to the first Assembly of Representatives.
National Assembly Representatives (members) by province as of July 7, 1899.[13][14]
ProvinceElectedAppointed
Manila40
Batangas40
Bulacan40
Cavite40
Camarines40
Ilocos Sur31
Ilocos Norte60
Laguna40
Pampanga40
Pangasinan22
Iloilo04
Cebu04
Leyte04
Albay41
Cagayan12
Bataan30
Isabela21
La Union12
Nueva Ecija30
Tarlac30
Zambales21
Sorsogon03
Negros Occidental03
Negros Oriental03
Samar03
Capiz03
Antigua**03
Bohol03
Zamboanga03
Misamis03
Calamianes***03
Masbate03
Mindoro12
Morong20
Lepanto30
Batanes Islands11
Nueva Vizcaya11
Abra10
Padre Burgos (Benguet)12
Catanduanes02
Paragua***02
Palaos*01
Totals6868
136****

*Modern-day Republic of Palau.
**Renamed to Antique.
***Currently parts of Palawan, Paragua corresponding to mainland Palawan.
****Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo, in his book Malolos, numbered the delegates as of July 7, 1899 at 193 (42 elected and 151 appointed).[15]

In 2006, it was asserted by the president of the Bulacan Historical Society, engineer Marcial Aniag, asserted that among the 85 delegates who convened in Malolos there were 43 lawyers, 17 doctors, five pharmacists, three educators, seven businessmen, four painters, three military men, a priest and four farmers.[16] Five of the 85 delegates did not have a college degree.[16]

Ratification of the Declaration of Independence

One of the first acts of the Revolutionary Congress was the ratification on September 29, 1898 of the Philippine Declaration of Independence against Spain which had been proclaimed on June 12, 1898.[17]

The Malolos Constitution

Mabini had planned for the Revolutionary Congress to act only as an advisory body to the president and submitted a draft of Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic .,[18] while Paterno submitted a constitutional draft based on Spanish Constitution of 1869. The Congress, however, began work to draft a constitution. The resulting document, the Malolos Constitution, was promulgated on January 21, 1899.[19] Its proclamation resulted in the creation of the First Philippine Republic, which replaced the Revolutionary Government.

Citations
  1. Kalaw 1927, p. 118
  2. Duka 2008, pp. 167–174
  3. Elliott 1917, pp. 491–493 (Appendix E: Aguinaldo's Proclamation of June 18, 1898, Establishing the Dictatorial Government)
  4. Kalaw 1927, pp. 423–429 (Appendix C.)
  5. Guevara 1972, p. 35
  6. Guevara 1972, pp. 120–122 (items 28, 28a and 28b)).
  7. Elliott 1917, pp. 493–497 (Appendix F: Aguinaldo's Proclamation of June 23, Establishing the Revolutionary Government)
  8. Elliott 1917, pp. 493–494 (Appendix F, Chapter I : Of the Revolutionary Government)
  9. Elliott 1917, pp. 495–496 (Appendix F, Chapter II : Of the Revolutionary Congress)
  10. Halstead 1898, pp. 110–112
  11. Kalaw 1927, pp. 117–118
  12. Kalaw 1927, p. 118
  13. Kalaw 1927, p. 121 (citing Volume II, Galley 2 of Major J. R. M. Taylor's translation and compilation of captured insurgent records (Taylor 1907))
  15. Teodoro A. Agoncillo (1897), Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic, University of the Philippines Press, pp. 224 and Appendix F (pp, 658–663), ISBN 978-971-542-096-9
  16. Balabo, Dino (December 10, 2006). "Historians: Malolos Congress produced best RP Constitution". Philippine Star. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  17. Kalaw 1927, p. 125
  18. Kalaw 1927, p. 125
  19. Kalaw 1927, pp. 125–132

References

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