Malolos_Congress

Malolos Congress

Malolos Congress

Legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines


The Malolos Congress (also known as the Revolutionary Congress),[3] formally known as the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. Members were chosen in the 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, at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. President Emilio Aguinaldo presided over the opening session of the assembly.

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After the promulgation of the Malolos Constitution on January 22, 1899, replaced the revolutionary government with the Philippine Republic,[lower-alpha 2] the Malolos Congress became the legislative branch of that government, designated in the constitution as the Assembly of Representatives.[4]

Sessions

  • Regular session: September 15, 1898 – November 13, 1899
  • Special session: February 4, 1899

Leadership

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

Members

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.
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In 2006, it was asserted by the president of the Bulacan Historical Society, engineer Marcial Aniag, 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.[6] Five of the 85 delegates did not have a college degree.[6]

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.[7]

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[7] while Paterno submitted a constitutional draft based on the 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.[7] Its proclamation resulted in the creation of the Philippine Republic, which replaced the Revolutionary Government.

Notes

  1. In the book Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic by Teodoro Agoncillo, the Malolos Congress had 193 delegates (42 elected and 151 appointed).[2]
  2. Now commonly referred to as the First Philippine Republic; see the Philippine Republic article for further info.

References

  1. 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))
  2. Agoncillo, Teodoro A. (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.
  3. Guevara, Sulpico, ed. (2005). "Decree of June 23, 1898 establishing the Revolutionary Government". The Laws of the First Philippine Republic (the laws of Malolos) 1898–1899. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library (published 1972). pp. 37-38. Retrieved February 9, 2021.. (English translation by Sulpicio Guevara)
  4. Balabo, Dino (December 10, 2006). "Historians: Malolos Congress produced best RP Constitution". Philippine Star. Retrieved August 12, 2013.

Further reading


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