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Emilio Aguinaldo Facts & Worksheets

Emilio Aguinaldo was a Filipino revolutionary, politician, and military leader who is officially recognized as the first President of the Philippines.

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Emilio Aguinaldo was a Filipino revolutionary, politician, and military leader who is officially recognized as the first President of the Philippines. Although he was acknowledged as the first president of a constitutional republic in Asia, he had a reputation of running an administration that failed to receive any foreign recognition.

See the fact file below for more information on the Emilio Aguinaldo or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Emilio Aguinaldo worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER

  • Born in Kawit, Cavite on March 22, 1869, Emilio Famy Aguinaldo Sr. was the seventh of eight children to Carlos Jamir Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy-Aguinaldo.
  • He attended Colegio de San Juan de Letran but failed to finish his studies because of an outbreak of cholera in 1882.
  • Aguinaldo served as the “Cabeza de Barangay” in 1895 when the Maura Law called for the reorganization of local governments. At 25, he became Cavite el Vieojo’s first municipal governor-captain while he was on a business trip to Mindoro.

PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION

  • On January 1, 1895, Aguinaldo enlisted in the Freemasonry, under the codename “Colon.”
  • On March 7, 1895, Santiago Alvarez pushed Aguinaldo to join the Katipunan, a militant secret society led by Andres Bonifacio, which advocated the expulsion of the Spanish and the independence of the Philippines through an armed revolt. In his affiliation, he used the codename Magdalo in honor of Mary Magdalene. His cousin Baldomero Aguinaldo was appointed leader in the Sangguniang Magdalo, a local chapter of Katipunan in Cavite.
  • The Katipunan-led Philippine Revolution against the Spanish started in the last week of August 1896 in San Juan del Monte. However, Aguinaldo and his men refused to join the revolt due to the lack of arms. Bonifacio and other rebels were pushed to make use of guerrilla warfare, but Aguinaldo and the Cavite rebels won major victories because of their intensive and strategic planning and well-timed set-piece battles.
  • On August 31, 1896, he initiated the attack by starting a skirmish to the full Kawit Revolt. With his army of bolomen, he raided the town center of Kawit. Before the battle, Aguinaldo commanded his troops not to kill anyone in his hometown. Upon his group’s arrival in Kawit, the guards, armed with Remingtons and with no idea of the preceding events, were caught by surprise and surrendered immediately. The guns were confiscated and taken by the Katipuneros, and the revolt was a major victory for Aguinaldo and his army. Later that afternoon, they raised the Magdalo flag at the Kawit town hall to a large group of people that had gathered after they heard of the city’s liberation.

BATTLE OF IMUS

  • In August 1896, synchronous attacks broke out and triggered the revolution in Manila. From Kawit, Aguinaldo and his 600 men marched and started a number of battles at Imus that eventually resulted in open hostilities against Spanish authorities assigned there.
  • On September 1, with Captain Jose Tagle’s help, they marched towards Imus to draw the Spanish out. A Spanish relief column headed by Brigadier-General Ernesto de Aguirre was sent from Manila to assist the harassed Spanish defenders of Imus.
  • With only a hundred men and supported only by cavalry, Aguirre declared that he had been dispatched to restrain an insignificant commotion. Aguinaldo and his men retaliated but faced heavy losses that almost ended his own life. Despite the success, Aguirre did not continue the siege as he felt the shortage and inability of his troops, and returned to Manila to get reinforcements.
  • On September 3, Aguirre returned with a larger force of 300 men. When the Spanish armada set foot at the Isabel II Bridge, they were assaulted by concealed rebels.

BATTLE OF BINAKAYAN-DALAHICAN

  • Frightened by the prior battle, led by Aguinaldo in Imus, in September 1896, Governor-General Ramon Blanco y Erenas commanded the fourth Battalion of Cazadores from Spain to assist him in suppressing the rebellion in Cavite.
  • On November 3, 1896, the battalion came in with a squadron of 1,328 men and some 55 officers. Moreover, Blanco called 8,000 men from Cuba and Spain to side with him in restraining the rebellion.
  • Before the land attacks, Spanish naval raids were ordered on the shore of Cavite, where cannons blasted the rebels in Bacoor, Noveleta, Binakayan, and Cavite Viejo.
  • The most defended zones in Noveleta were the Dalahican and Dagatan shores, safeguarded by Magdiwang soldiers, led by General Santiago Alvarez. The nearby fishing village of Binakayan in Kawit was guarded by Magdalo under Aguinaldo’s watch.

BATTLE OF ZAPOTE BRIDGE

  • Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja was now informed of the main revolts in Cavite and decided to start a two-pronged attack to win against the revolutionaries, commanded by Aguinaldo. He ordered General Jose de Lachambre, who had more men, to seize Silang and drag the Katipuneros from the rear.
  • On February 17, 1897, Aguinaldo commanded his soldiers to plant bombs along the bridge of Zapote and place sharp bamboo sticks in the river beds under the bridge.
  • Hours later, 12,000 Spanish men crossed the bridge. The trap was sprung, and the bombs were blasted, killing a number of Spaniards and injuring thousands more. The revolutionaries came out of the bushes and fought with the enemies charging across the river.

RIVALRY WITH BONIFACIO

  • Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio’s rivalry was considered the country’s most infamous and intriguing, being filled with secrets and deception that the public has only recently started to uncover.
  • On March 22, 1897, the two factions of the Katipunan, Magdalo and Magdiwang, were set to gather in Cavite for the Tejeros Convention, to discuss the Katipunan’s defence of Cavite and establish a revolutionary government, to quell the clash between the two chapters. Although Bonifacio did not show bias, it was assumed that the Magdiwang was more supportive of Bonifacio than the other group, whose leaders consisted of discontented members of the rich principalia, including Aguinaldo.
  • At the Convention, while others were suggesting a monarchy, Bonifacio proposed a democratic republican government by nominating leaders of the revolutionary administration. During the elections, he was nominated for the Vice President position, but got defeated and accepted his loss. He was then nominated for the last and lowest position of Interior Secretary, and won.
  • However, Daniel Tirona rejected the result, pointing out Bonifacio’s lack of credentials to be in the government. Tirona advised that a lawyer be assigned the position instead. Insulted, Bonifacio declared the Convention invalid and walked out with his troops.
  • Mariano Alvarez wrote a letter to his uncle, mentioning how fraudulent and deceitful the meeting was, with some Cavite men exploiting and threatening the members prior to the election.
  • Bonifacio, on the other hand, departed for Naic, Cavite, where he wrote the Acta de Tejeros, signed by himself and 44 significant officers of the Katipunan. Proclaiming the Tejeros Convention as invalid and void, this document mentioned the lack of due process and the underhand deception that stained the elections. The Acta de Tejeros reflects Bonifacio’s insulted yet planned move against Aguinaldo’s takeover of the Katipunan.
  • A month later, Bonifacio issued the Acta de Naik, a signed document proclaiming the treason and betrayal of the Revolution by some of the leaders of the Katipunan, including Aguinaldo.

BIAK-NA-BATO AND EXILE

  • Spanish troops started an assault that led Aguinaldo’s men into retreat. On June 24, 1897, the latter reached Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan. From there, he created a headquarters in what is now known as “Aguinaldo Cave” in Biak-na-Bato National Park.
  • In March 1897, Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera encouraged well-known Filipinos to contact Aguinaldo for a peaceful arrangement of the conflict. On August 9, Manila lawyer Pedro Paterno met with Aguinaldo at Biak-na-Bato, handing over a proposal for peace based on reforms and amnesty.
  • In late October 1897, Aguinaldo gathered generals at Biak-na-Bato to discuss and decide the start of a constitutional republic.
  • On December 14 to 15, 1897, Aguinaldo signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, agreeing to drop the hostilities and dissolve his government in exchange for amnesty and Php800,000 (Mexican) in compensation.
  • On December 23, Aguinaldo and some officials moved to Hong Kong to join the voluntary exile. There, he reestablished his revolutionary government into the “Hong Kong Junta”, which later became the “Supreme Council of the Nation”.

RETURN TO PHILIPPINES

  • The Spanish-American War commenced on April 25, a conflict which ended the Spanish empire in the Caribbean and Pacific.
  • The first battle in the Spanish American war took place in the sea near the Philippines where, on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey, leading the United States Pacific fleet, defeated the Spanish Armada under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón’s command, without even sustaining any casualty, at the Battle of Manila Bay.
  • Commodore Dewey permitted Emilio Aguinaldo to go back to the Philippines. Aguinaldo’s men seized the Spanish squadron on land, winning and ending the Battle of Manila, where the Spanish gave up Manila, but the Americans made a pact to protect them from Filipino persecution.
  • Aguinaldo headed the resistance to the Americans, then left for northern Luzon with the Americans on his track. On June 2, 1899, Aguinaldo sent a telegram to his rival in the military hierarchy, Gen. Antonio Luna, asking him to go to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, for a convention at the Cabanatuan Church Convent. Three days later, Luna reached Cabanatuan but was stood up by Aguinaldo. As soon as he was about to leave, he was shot and stabbed to death by Aguinaldo’s men; however, Aguinaldo did not punish his men who murdered the general.
  • About two years later, shortly after the Battle of Tirad Pass and the death of Gregorio del Pilar, Aguinaldo was arrested in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901 by US General Frederick Funston, with the assistance of the Macabebe trackers.
  • Funston soon noted Aguinaldo’s “dignified bearing”, “excellent qualities”, and “humane instincts”. The latter promised to loyalty to the United States on April 1, 1901, which spared his life, formally ended the First Republic, and acknowledged the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

  • In 1919, when the American government allowed the Philippine flag to be raised, Aguinaldo turned his home in Kawit into a monument to the flag, the revolution, and the declaration of Independence.
  • When the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in 1935, as preparation for the country’s independence, Aguinaldo ran for president but lost to a Spanish mestizo, Manuel L. Quezon. In 1941, they reconciled when President Quezon moved Flag Day to June 12 to celebrate Philippine independence.
  • Aguinaldo chose to live privately, until the Japanese invasion in the country during World War II. He collaborated with the Japanese, writing them speeches, issuing articles and radio addresses in approval of the Japanese, including a radio request to Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Corregidor to give up in order to have mercy on the flower of Filipino youth.
  • After the Americans’ colonization of the country, Aguinaldo was arrested, together with those accused of collaboration with the Japanese. He was detained in Bilibid prison for months until being released by presidential amnesty.
  • Aguinaldo was present during the grant of independence to the Philippines in 4 July 1946, when the United States government approved the full restoration and recognition of Philippine sovereignty.
  • Aguinaldo was 93 years old when President Diosdado Macapagal officially changed the date of the Philippine Independence in 1962 from July 4 to June 12, 1898, the date Aguinaldo assumed to be the true Independence Day.

POST-AMERICAN ERA

  • In 1950, President Elpidio Quirino made Aguinaldo a member of the Council of State, where he served a full term. He retired after, spending his time and attention to veteran soldiers’ interests and welfare.
  • He died on Februrary 6, 1964, of coronary thrombosis at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.

Emilio Aguinaldo Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Emilio Aguinaldo across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Emilio Aguinaldo worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Emilio Aguinaldo who was a Filipino revolutionary, politician, and military leader who is officially recognized as the first President of the Philippines. Although he was acknowledged as the first president of a constitutional republic in Asia, he had a reputation of running an administration that failed to receive any foreign recognition.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Emilio Aguinaldo Facts
  • El Presidente
  • Jar of Facts
  • Philippine Presidents
  • Ask Aguinaldo
  • What Makes a President?
  • Hero?
  • Dear Ka Miong
  • Day of Independence
  • Members of Magdalo
  • Aguinaldo’s Arrest

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