KAWIT, Cavite — In the back garden of a mansion in Kawit lies the tomb of Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo, the man who proclaimed Philippine independence from the same house more than a century ago.
The house, now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines’ Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, was where Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. The Philippine flag was unfurled in public for the first time that day, and the national march was played. The Act of the Declaration of Independence was read before a crowd.
Aguinaldo, born in Kawit on March 22, 1869, led Filipino revolutionary forces against Spanish rule. He became the first president of the Philippines when the First Philippine Republic was inaugurated in Malolos, Bulacan, in January 1899, making him the country’s first head of state.
The independence he declared was not recognized by Spain or the United States. Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States under the Treaty of Paris in December 1898, and Filipino forces later fought American troops in the Philippine-American War. Aguinaldo was captured in Palanan, Isabela, in March 1901. Washington formally recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.
Aguinaldo died Feb. 6, 1964, at age 94, and was buried in the garden of his Kawit home. Months after his death, the government moved the celebration of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, the date of his proclamation in Kawit, through Republic Act 4166.
The tomb’s appearance has changed over the years. In the late 1960s, it followed a typical neoclassical design with elaborate fret patterns, made of plain white concrete. It was later replaced by marble slabs, reflecting a new design trend that began in the 1970s.
Today, the house and its garden draw visitors, especially around Independence Day, when national ceremonies are held at the shrine.
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