First Republic

The defeat of Spain following the Spanish-American War let to the short-lived independence and establishment of the First Philippine Republic. The schools maintained by Spain for more than three centuries were closed for a short period but were reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of Interior. The Burgos Institute (the country's first law school), the Academia Militar (the country's firstmilitary academy), and the Literary University of the Philippines were established. Article 23 of the Malolos Constitution mandated that public education would be free and obligatory in all schools of the nation under the First Philippine Republic. However, the PhilippineAmerican War hindered its progress.

The Philippine Republic (Spanish: Repblica Filipina, Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), 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,[Note 1] 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. On June 12, 1898, at Aguinaldo's ancestral home in Cavite, Philippine independence was proclaimed and The Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence was read. The act had been prepared and written in Spanish by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, who also read its proclamation.[1] The Malolos Congress convened on 15 September, and produced the Malolos Constitution.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] The PhilippineAmerican War then ensued. Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. forces on March 23, 1901 and swore an oath accepting the authority of the United States over the Philippines and pledging his allegiance to the American government. On April 19, he issued a Proclamation of Formal Surrender to the United States, telling his followers to lay down their weapons and give up the fight, effectively ending the First Philippine Republic.[5] Subsequently, the U.S. continued its annexation of the islands pursuant to the Treaty of Paris.[4][6] The Philippines was under US sovereignty until 1946, when formal independence was granted by the Treaty of Manila.[7] 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 Constitucin Poltica de la Repblica Filipina, drawn up by the Philippine Constitutional Convention in the Barasoain Church in Malolos in 1899 to replace the revolutionary government proclaimed by Aguinaldo on June 23, 1898[8] That revolutionary government had replaced the dictatorial government which Aguinaldo had proclaimed on May 24,[9] and had formally established by decree on June 18.[10] The constitution was approved by delegates to the Assembly of Representatives on January 20, 1899, and sanctioned by Aguinaldo the next day.[3] The convention had earlier elected Aguinaldo president on January 1, 1899, leading to his inauguration on January 23. Considering that the Philippine-American War which was to soon follow the adoption of the constitution would prevent the legislature from meeting, and considering that the government was not to survive that war, three parts of the constitution which effectively gave president Aguinaldo unrestricted power to rule by decree are of particular interest.