Nicolas G Ricafrente

​General Emilio Aguinaldo in exile

Aguinaldo, center, second row; Miguel Primo de Rivera at his right.

    General Emilio Aguinaldo went on voluntary exile in Hong Kong in the last week of December 1897, pursuant to the terms of the Truce of Biak-na-Bato. He was accompanied by some of his men and Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Primo de Rivera, nephew and private secretary of Governor General Fernando Primo de Rivera.  His exile and the truce however, brought only unsteady peace.  It served only as a respite for the Madrid government because Spain was fighting another revolution in Cuba.  Many promises made like the granting of reforms were not honored, along with the agreed indemnity which was only partially paid.  Also, released prisoners on amnesty were re-arrested and hundreds were executed.  On the other hand, many Filipino generals in the country, suspicious of the government,  kept their armies and surrendered only unserviceable firearms.  In February 1898, skirmishes again  erupted.  
     Aguinaldo for his part kept the first payment for indemnity given to him in a bank for use  in  the continuance of the revolution. Later he was  informed by Miguel Primo de Rivera  that he (Aguinaldo) and the other leaders would not be allowed to return to the country.
     While the truce of Biak-na-Bato was failing, a change in government in Spain brought in a new colonial administrator, General Basilio Augustin y Davila, replacing Governor General Primo de Rivera in early April.  Augustin had very little or no knowledge at all about the situation in the Philippines. 
     Meanwhile, the revolution in Cuba, Spain’s other distant colony,  had turned from bad to worse. On February 15, 1898 the American battleship USS Maine which was sent to protect and evacuate U.S. citizens mysteriously blew up at Havana harbor.  On April 21, 1898 U.S. Congress passed a resolution declaring a state of war with Spain.  This was followed by a formal declaration of war on April 25.
     Aguinaldo recalled in his memoirs that in Singapore,  between April 22-25, 1898, he met with U.S. consul to Singapore  E. Spencer Pratt and consul to Hong Kong Rounsenville Wildman. The two consuls reportedly, persuaded him to resume the revolution in the Philippines with the assurance from Commodore George Dewey, according to Pratt, that the United States would at least recognize the independence of the Philippines. 
     On April 25, U.S. Commodore (promoted admiral in May)  Dewey, commander of the U.S. Asiatic Naval Squadron based in Hong Kong, was ordered to engage the Spanish armada of Admiral Patricio Montojo in Manila Bay.
    When Dewey’s U.S. naval squadron entered Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 and defeated the Spanish armada, many Filipinos believed that an ally had finally come to help them liberate the country from Spanish domination.  They would be proven wrong because the United States annexed the country by virtue of a treaty with Spain that led to the Philippine-American war.
      General Aguinaldo did not meet Dewey personally in Hong Kong, but he took the word of the U.S. diplomats. Upon consultation with the Junta Patriotica (Hong Kong Junta)  it was decided that he return to the country to resume the revolution. Before he left, he made arrangements with Consul Wildman for the purchase of arms and ammunition.  Wildman received a total of 117,000 pesos: 50,000 for the first shipment of  2000 rifles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition and later, 67,000 pesos for a second  shipment which was not returned even as the arms never arrived. 

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General Emilio Aguinaldo returns;
The second phase of the revolution begins

The Philippine flag was first unfurled on May 28, 1898 at Teatro Caviteño.

    In the early afternoon of  May 19, 1898, General Emilio Aguinaldo arrived in Cavite from Hong Kong aboard the revenue cutter McCulloch.  With his adjutant and secretary Colonel Jose Leyba, he met Admiral George Dewey aboard the flagship USS Olympia.  Reportedly, they talked about the previous conferences initiated by U.S. Consuls E. Spencer Pratt and Rounsenville Wildman and the first arms shipment being delayed in China for which, Dewey offered to dispatch a boat to expedite its arrival.
     The return of Aguinaldo emboldened belligerent Filipino troops and stirred the spirit of patriotism once again. The following day, May 20, seventy two (72) Filipino volunteers in the Spanish army from San Roque and Caridad in Cavite  defected to Gen. Aguinaldo.  They were dispatched to Dalahican to prevent the Spanish soldiers from entering Cavite Puerto.  In the evening of the same day, Aguinaldo sent Colonel (later General) Luciano San Miguel  to the revolutionary armies of Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Tayabas (now Quezon), Bulacan, Morong (now Rizal), Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and other parts of Southern Luzon to carry the order to raise arms against the Spaniards. The following day, he issued a proclamation setting May 31 as the date of renewed uprising. 
     When the revolutionary troops began to arrive on May 21 and May 23, Aguinaldo transferred his headquarters to the mansion of fellow Mason Maximo Inocencio at Calle del Arsenal (now P. Gomez Street in Samonte Park, Cavite City).  Here, on May 24, 1898 he established a dictatorial government which was according to him,  “to last only until the time when these islands, being under complete control, may form a constitutional republican assembly and appoint a president and cabinet, into whose hands I shall then resign the command of these islands.”
    Aguinaldo later relocated his government to the former Spanish Casa Gobierno Civil in Cavite Puerto.  He was here when the first shipment of rifles, ammunition, and other  armaments of war  arrived at the dock of the Cavite Arsenal.  These were immediately distributed to various provinces.  In the evening of May 27  the Revolutionary Army of Kawit started distributing the firearms and ammunition in the district of Alapan, Imus.  The following day May 28, while the arms were still being distributed, more than 270 Spanish naval infantry soldiers sent by General Leopoldo Garcia Peña, the Spanish military commander of Cavite arrived to seize the reported consignment of arms.  
    The Filipinos engaged the Spanish troops from ten o’clock in the morning until three in the afternoon when the Spaniards surrendered.  The prisoners were brought to Teatro Caviteño, the Military General Headquarters in Cavite and presented to General Emilio Aguinaldo.  Elated, Aguinaldo took out the Philippine flag he had brought from Hong Kong and for the first time waved it amid cheers of victory  in front of the gathered crowd. This was the first victory of the revolutionaries and the first unfurling of the Philippine flag is now celebrated as Flag Day.

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The revolution gains headway

The Santa Lucia gate of Intramuros. The gate faced Playa de Santa Lucia. The moat was filled and the shore (playa) was reclaimed after the Philippine-American war to give way to what is now known as Roxas Boulevard.

The province of Cavite, hotbed of the revolution in 1896 had about 2,800 Spanish troops in 1898 assigned in various detachments.  At the outbreak of renewed hostilities, General Peña found his troops outnumbered by the combined forces of Generals Luciano San Miguel,  Mariano Noriel, Artemio Ricarte and Juan Cailles.  Reinforcements from Manila were sent but were intercepted in Laguna by a combined force under Generals Paciano Rizal and Pio del Pilar.  
      By the end of the month, the whole province of Cavite was practically in the hands of the revolutionaries. General Peña and his surviving troops who retreated to San Francisco de Malabon had surrendered.
     After these initial victories, town after town around Manila fell to rebel forces.  Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tayabas, Camarines, Ilocos, Cagayan, Laoag and more provinces rose to arms. With the neighboring towns at the hands of the Filipino troops, the seat of Spanish colonial power, the "distinguished and ever loyal" city of Manila found itself in relative isolation.   (Before the end of September, 1898,  the revolutionaries had 9,159 Spanish prisoners, 8,200 of  them officers and soldiers and were virtually in control of the whole Luzon.)
      The city of Manila was actually the Spanish enclave of Intramuros.  As the capital city it was the political, religious, and educational center of the archipelago.  It had a residential area, military installations, government buildings, customs clearing house, plazas and such amenities much like a modern city today. Intramuros (literally, "within the walls") was  a fortification surrounded by moats and accessed only through its guarded gates equipped with draw bridges. It was heavily defended by cannons located on the parapets of its perimeter walls.  Its northern section was at the mouth of Pasig River while its western side was bounded by the seashore called Playa de Santa Lucia.  To the south but about three kilometers away was Fort San Antonio Abad near Manila Bay in Malate. 
      After Dewey defeated the Spanish armada and blockaded the city by sea, General Aguinaldo deployed his troops and  started  a siege, creating more than 22 kilometers of  trenches and fortifications in strategic positions.  The Manila waterworks in San Juan del Monte was captured and passage through the Pasig river was cut-off.  Manila became  a virtual captive of its own walls, denied of  food supply and water. 
      On June 6 and 7, 1898, Aguinaldo offered to accept an honorable surrender if made by  Governor-General Augustin's colonial government. However, out of Spanish pride and honor his offer was refused.   General Aguinaldo continued the siege, confident that prolonged hunger and thirst would eventually force the demoralized Spaniards to surrender.

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The Truce of Biak-na-Bato

Pedro Paterno, Emilio Aguinaldo and Fernando Primo de Rivera

The trial and execution of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio on charges of sedition and treason caused  disunity in the ranks of the revolutionary armies in Cavite.  The momentary distraction enabled Governor General Polavieja to retake many of the territories held by the Filipinos.  Polavieja however, resigned his post and on April 23, 1897, Fernando Primo de Rivera was appointed Governor General of the Philippines for the second time.  He issued a decree granting pardon to those who would surrender until May 17.  When this was ignored he launched a full scale campaign which forced General Aguinaldo to retreat to Batangas. 

Primo de Rivera soon learned that in spite of  rebel setbacks in Cavite the revolution was still in high spirits.  He extended his deadline for pardon but few heeded his policy of attraction.  He realized too that the people were united in their cause and the revolution could not be contained.  Meanwhile, Aguinaldo and his army had eluded capture in Batangas and established a new headquarters in Biak-na-Bato, San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan.  Here in July, was also established what is known as the “Biak-na-Bato Republic” with a provisional constitution copied from the Cuban constitution of Jimaguayú. 

In late July or early August, 1897, Pedro A. Paterno, approached Governor General Primo de Rivera and offered to mediate between General Aguinaldo and the colonial government.  Having been acquainted with Paterno who stayed in Spain for some time, Primo de Rivera accepted the offer and informed the Cortes Generales of his decision to call for a truce. Negotiations started in August and by December, three documents were signed; Paterno representing the revolutionaries and Primo de Rivera, the government.  Aguinaldo signed the documents on December 15, 1897.

The truce also known as the “Pact of Biak-na-Bato” provided for the voluntary exile of Aguinaldo; the payment of 800,000 pesos (Mexican) with 400,000 as first installment upon Aguinaldo’s departure,  200,000 when the arms surrendered exceeded 700 pieces and 200,000 when the Te Deum (a traditional christian hymn of praise and thanksgiving) was sung and general amnesty proclaimed by the Governor General.  The last document, signed on December 15 provided for the payment of an additional amount of 900,000 pesos to the families of non-combatants who suffered during the conflict.

To ensure the sincerity of the government, it was also agreed that two Spanish generals would serve as hostages and remain in Biak-na-Bato and that the Governor General’s nephew, Miguel Primo de Rivera would accompany Aguinaldo and party to Hong Kong.  Aguinaldo and the other exiles sailed for Hong Kong from the port of Sual, Pangasinan, on December 17, 1897

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General Aguinaldo's military headquarters in Mayumo, Bulacan

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Intramuros

The seal of Manila, "the distinguished and ever loyal city" and an 1851 map of Intramuros

Intramuros being a walled and fortified city was well defended and was also protected by inner and outer moats with drawbridges that regulated entry through its eight gates:   Puerta Almacenes, Puerta de la Aduana, Puerta de Santo Domingo, Puerta Isabel II, Puerta del Parian, Puerta Real, Puerta Sta. Lucia, and Puerta del Postigo.  It had an area of 64 hectares with massive perimeter walls extending up to more that six and a half meters in height.  Built along the designs of medieval European forts, it was vulnerable to the classic siege strategy which the Filipinos employed, cutting off escape routes and denying its occupants of food and water. 

However, the “mock battle” of Manila staged by the Americans and the Spaniards on August 13, 1898 prevented the surrender of the Spanish colonial government to the forces of Aguinaldo.  Filipinos were denied their final victory and were ignored in the surrender negotiations; thus aggravating the already souring Filipino-American relationship.

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Revolutionary government in Bacoor

General Aguinaldo moved the seat of his revolutionary government from the Casa de Gobierno Civil in Cavite Puerto to the house of Juan and Candida Cuenca  in Bacoor, Cavite on July 15 until it was transferred to Malolos, Bulacan on September 10, 1898.
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The first Philippine flag

​On May 28, 1898, after the decisive victory of the Filipinos in Alapan, Imus, Cavite, Spanish prisoners were presented to Aguinaldo at his headquarters in Teatro Caviteño in Cavite Puerto.  Elated, Aguinaldo brought out the flag and unfurled it for the first time, in front of a large crowd.

Philippine independence is proclaimed

The Aguinaldo house prior to the installation of galvanized iron roof and the building of the iconic balcony and tower. It was Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista not General Emilio Aguinaldo, who waved the Philippine flag in one of its windows.

    With the momentum on the side of the revolutionaries, the fall of the colonial government was imminent.  Spaniards and loyal insulares were trapped in Intramuros, short of food and water; cut off from  the city’s arrabales (suburbs) which were teeming with Filipino troops. The last effort of Governor-General Augustin Davila to win the hearts of the Filipinos was the convening of the first and only Consultative Assembly in response to the instigation of some Spaniards and loyal Filipinos with Pedro A. Paterno, the broker of the Truce of Biak-na-Bato, as president. But as a mere advisory body  this assembly had no real power and authority.  Even if it were only for propaganda or morale boosting purposes, it came too late. The convention was held on May 28 which, as it turned out, the day of the first decisive victory of Aguinaldo’s army in Alapan, Imus.  (Paterno for his part, would later shift his allegiance to the revolutionary forces.)
      On June 5, preparations were started for the proclamation of independence.  On June 12 in the afternoon, in the presence of a huge crowd, General Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence at his house in Cavite el Viejo (Kawit).   Ambrocio Rianzares Bautista wrote and read the "Act of Declaration of Independence". The Philippine flag was officially hoisted, and   Julian Felipe’s Marcha Nacional Filipina (now the Philippine national anthem), was played for the first time by a band from San Francisco de Malabon.  

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Aguinaldo reorganizes the government

      With Apolinario Mabini as his chief adviser, General Aguinaldo on June 18,  issued a decree providing among others, the reorganization of local governments and the election of delegates to constitute a revolutionary congress.  Another decree issued on June 23 provided for the appointment of delegates in provinces where elections were not yet possible. 
      Aguinaldo also decreed on June 23, 1898 the change of government from dictatorial to revolutionary and created the departments of Foreign Affairs, Navy and Commerce; Finance, Agriculture and Manufacturing Industry; War and Public Works;  Police and Internal Order, Justice, Education and Hygiene. His first appointments were Baldomero Aguinaldo as Secretary of War and Public Works; Leandro Ibarra for the Department of Interior and Mariano Trias as Secretary of Finance.  To Apolinario Mabini  went the Department of Foreign Affairs, a post refused by Cayetano Arellano.  General Aguinaldo also appointed several Filipino diplomatic agents abroad (France, England, Australia, Japan) to work for the recognition of Philippine independence. To the United States, he assigned Felipe Agoncillo.

Acta de la proclamacion de independencia del pueblo Filipinas

The Act of Declaration of Independence of the Philippines was written and read by lawyer Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, General Aguinaldo's war counsellor. The document was signed by 97 Filipinos and one retired American artillery officer, Colonel L.M. Johnson.
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The Academia Militar

The Spanish army’s Ordenanza del Ejercito, 1896 edition provided the basic framework  for the reorganization of the Philippine Army.  Ranks and insignias were regulated and the “rayadillo” was adopted as standard uniform.   
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Public schools re-open; new schools are established

Barasoain church, site of the revolutionary congress, the Instituto Burgos, the university and the military academy

    Aguinaldo’s new government placed an important priority to education.  On August 29, 1898, Secretary of Interior Leandro Ibarra ordered the provincial governors to re-open public schools.  In Malolos was established Instituto Burgos the equivalent of a national high school, which offered in its curriculum, languages (Spanish, French, English and Latin);  Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Philosophy and Spanish Literature.  A decree issued in October created the Universidad  Literaria de Filipinas with Drs Joaquin Gonzales and Leon Ma. Guerrero serving as presidents in succession until it ceased  operation because of the Philippine-American war in 1899.  These schools were housed in the convent of Barasoain church.
     In Malolos was also established upon the recommendation of General Antonio Luna, the first Philippine Military  School, the Academia Militar on October 25, 1898.  Its director was Colonel Manuel Bernal Sityar, hijo (Junior), a Spanish mestizo born in Cavite Puerto, an 1882 graduate of Academia Infanteria de Filipinas in Manila and the Academia Militar de Toledo (1895) in Spain; a former lieutenant in the Spanish Civil Guard who defected  to Aguinaldo's army in San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias), Cavite.  

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Revolutionary newspapers

​Aside from the official organ of the revolutionary government, "El Heraldo de  la Revolucion", privately owned newspapers and periodicals helped inform the people and inspired them to unite for the cause of freedom.  The most popular was “La Independencia”, edited and partly owned by General Antonio Luna, which came out on September 3, 1898.

The staff of "La Independencia" was composed of prominent Filipino writers in Spanish. Left to right, front row: Fernando Ma. Guerrero (Fulvio Gil), Joaquin Luna, Cecilio Apostol (Catullo); middle row: General Antonio Luna (Taga-Ilog), Florentina Arellano, Rosa Sevilla, Salvador del Rosario (Juan Tagalo); last row: Mariano del Rosario (Tito-Tato), Clemente Jose Zulueta (M. Kaun), Jose C. Abreu (Kaibigan), Epifanio de los Santos (G. Solon), Rafael Palma (Dapithapon)

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Malolos Congress convenes; drafts constitution 

The opening of congress and the published constitution

By the first two weeks of September, there were more than fifty delegates to the revolutionary congress. The number of delegates would increase (193 elected and appointed as of July 7, 1898) but would fluctuate because some representatives were often needed in the field.  It was a unicameral body, with representatives from cities and provinces in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.  It was a gathering of urban and rural intellectuals, revolutionaries, conservatives and Freemasons; a representative assembly of diverse cultural, social, educational, economic and political  backgrounds.  
    On September 15, 1898, the congress  was formally inaugurated in Malolos, Bulacan, the  revolutionary capital of the Philippines. The venue was the Catholic church of Barasoain. In the afternoon the congress formally convened after electing its officers.  Elected president was Pedro A. Paterno.  
      Pursuant to the edict of June 23, a permanent Commission of Justice was created on September 17 . Also on this day committees were formed including the committee to draft the constitution of which, Felipe Calderon was elected chairman. On September 29, 1898, the congress ratified the June 12 proclamation of independence in Kawit, Cavite.  On the same day “El Heraldo de la Revolucion”, official organ of the revolutionary government was first published.  
      Apolinario Mabini, in drafting Aguinaldo’s decrees envisioned a government that would reflect the popular will and therefore, wanted an assembly of provincial representatives that would lend it popular support and serve as its main advisory body.  The congress however, proposed the framing of a constitution and argued that a constitution was imperative for the country’s international recognition.  Mabini wanted to defer the framing of a constitution until conditions could provide a proper environment for delicate deliberations, but had to yield to the majority. 
      Mabini nevertheless, submitted his “Constitutional Plan of the Philippine Republic” but it was set aside for allegedly being too Masonic.  Congress also set aside Paterno’s draft constitution because it was too close to the Spanish constitution of 1869.  In the end it was Felipe Calderon’s draft constitution presented on October 8, 1898, that was considered.   This version was formulated with the advice of Cayetano Arellano and said to be inspired by  the constitutions of Belgium, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil and France. Deliberations were started on October 25. 
     A contentious issue was Calderon’s proposal to make Catholicism the state religion.  Liberal delegates like Apolinario Mabini, Antonio Luna and other Freemasons were against it.  The first voting was a tie but when it was voted upon for the second time, delegate Pablo Tecson (a native of Bulacan), representing the province of Cagayan, cast the single winning vote in favor of  separation of church and state.  The provision was contained in Article V of the Malolos constitution:  “The state recognizes the freedom of equality of all religions, as well as the separation of church and state.”
     The constitution created three branches of government, Executive, Legislative and Judicial, but was unique according to historian Teodoro A. Agoncillo, in the sense that it provided a legislature more powerful than the executive and judicial branches.  Apart from having the authority to appoint the President of the Supreme Court and the Solicitor General (with the concurrence of the President and Secretaries), Calderon included a provision for a Permanent Commission composed of Assembly delegates to sit as a legislative body whenever the Assembly was not in session.  The obvious reason said Agoncillo, was to “prevent the Executive from usurping the powers that could make him powerful enough to institute an oligarchy of ignoramuses."  That the Legislature   created by congress was unicameral was justified by Calderon as to avoid delay in administrative efficiency.
      Malolos congress in its diversity and in spite of political intrigues, proved to be an exercise of democratic process.  In a very short time, it was able to address the primary legal bases  of government.  It produced a constitution that was substantially a modern, forward looking fundamental law with many provisions still in place today - separation of state powers, protection of civil and political rights, freedom of speech, religion and  assembly;  right to redress of grievances, right to privacy, protection from illegal searches, arrests and detention;  women’s rights; protection of property and free, compulsory public education.  It also presented a holistic view (Article 34)  of the significance of the role of the Assembly by urging its  members to  represent the whole nation and not exclusively the voters who chose them. 
    On January 21, 1899  the constitution was promulgated establishing a republican form of government. With a civil government in place, the auspicious inauguration of the Republic in Malolos, Bulacan on January 23, 1899, affirmed the Philippines as one nation, democratic, sovereign and free.

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Aguinaldo's first cabinet under the new republic was composed of Masons 

Apolinario Mabini, Mariano Trias, Baldomero Aguinaldo, Teodoro Sandico and Gracio Gonzaga

On January 2, 1899, General Aguinaldo formed his Council of Government or cabinet.  He appointed Apolinario Mabini, his chief adviser as Secretary of Foreign Affairs and cabinet president.  His other appointees were: Mariano Trias, Secretary of Finance;  Baldomero Aguinaldo, Secretary of War; Teodoro Sandico, Secretary of the Interior;  and Gracio Gonzaga, Secretary of Welfare, Public Instruction, Public Works, Communications, Agriculture, Industry and Commerce.  All of them were Masons from different symbolic lodges of the Grande Oriente Español.  
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Himno Nacional de Filipinas
Philippine National Anthem

Jose Palma

The Philippine national anthem was originally titled “Marcha Magdalo” composed by Julian Felipe.  It was later changed to “Marcha Nacional Filipina.”  Its original lyrics were  from the Spanish poem “Filipinas”, written by Jose Isaac Palma, published in the revolutionary newspaper “La Independencia” in its first anniversary issue on September 3, 1899.  

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Filipinas 
por Jose Palma

Tierra adorada
Hija del sol de Oriente,
Su fuego ardiente
En ti latiendo está.

¡Tierra de amores!
Del heroísmo cuna,
Los invasores
No te hollarán jamás.

En tu azul cielo, en tus auras,
En tus montes y en tu mar,
Esplende y late el poema
De tu amada libertad.

Tu pabellón, que en las lides
La victoria iluminó,
No verá nunca apagados
Sus estrellas ni su sol.

Tierra de dichas, de sol y amores,
En tu regazo dulce es vivir.
Es una gloria para tus hijos,
Cuando te ofenden, por ti morir.

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References and sources of images:   IGLPI Journal No 1, November 2008; IGLPI Journal No 3, December 2010. Philippine Center for Masonic Studies;  Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People, 4th Edition. Quezon City:1973;  Agoncillo, Teodoro A. Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic. 1997 Edition. University of the Philippines Press, Quezon City: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/ acc 12/1/2012; //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intramuros, acc. 12/1/2012;://filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/07/philippine-declaration-ofindependence_05.html. acc. 12/1/2012;  http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/philippineindependence.htm,acc. 12/1/2012