12 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT JUNE 12

1. ORIGINAL flags used during the Philippine-American have been

turning up on eBay, as more and more Filipino veterans who kept
them as souvenirs have been passing on. While the flags haven the
same basic elements of red, white, blue with three golden stars and a
sun, the shades of the color vary, depending on the available cloth
and the individual taste of their owner. Emilio Aguinaldo’s flag was
adopted as the Philippine flag in 1920. Commonwealth President
Manuel L. Quezon standardized its design in 1936. Before then, the
sun in the flag could have more than eight rays and usually had facial
features like eyes, a nose and a mouth.

2. A small silver thimble often goes unnoticed in one of the glass cases
in the Malacañang Museum. This thimble, better hung on a charm
bracelet, was used by Marcela Agoncillo when she sewed and
embroidered the first Philippine Flag in Hong Kong in 1898.

3. When Julian Felipe’s “Marcha Nacional Filipina Magdalo” a.k.a. the

“Marcha Aguinaldo” was first played as incidental music during the
Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898, it had no lyrics. Jose
Palma composed a poem and set into Julian Felipe’s music in August
1899. The “Marcha Aguinaldo” later became the Philippine National
Anthem.

4. The Declaration of Independence was read from a window of

Aguinaldo’s home in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. The iconic
“Independence Balcony,” seen in hundreds of postcards and souvenir
photos, was added to the house only in 1919.

5. Emilio Aguinaldo did not read the long-winded Declaration of

Independence aloud to the crowd gathered outside his home on June
12, 1898. His adviser, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, did. After this,
Rianzares was effectively fired.

6. Aguinaldo designed a flag that was to become our national symbol in

1897, while he was in exile in Hong Kong. The first flag was made in
 Hong Kong by: Marcela Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza and Jose
Rizal’s niece Delfina Herbosa de Natividad. The house where our flag
was born is no more, but the marked historical site is presently a
children’s playground.

7. Among the 99 signatures on the Declaration of Independence is that

of one Amercian, a certain M.L. Johnson, a colonel of the U.S.
artillery, who attended the program and signed his name to that
historic document.

8. Contrary to popular belief, the Declaration of Independence was read

in the afternoon, not in the morning, of June 12, 1898 to give people
time to travel to Kawit and witness the event.

9. The Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Malolos

Congress on September 29, 1898. The founding fathers then
celebrated the event with a historic lunch of French-sounding dishes
composed of seven appetizers, eight entrees, five desserts, four
wines, two liqueurs, and coffee or tea.

10. At the time of the Declaration of Independence, the 29-year-old

Emilio Aguinaldo held the title “Dictator” rather than President of the
Philippines.

11.The series of flags known to every schoolboy as “The Evolution of the

Philippine Flag” is not an illustrated history of the development of
our flag. Rather, these were the different war standards used by our
heroes from the Philippine Revolution to the Philippine-American
War.

12. June 12 became our official Independence Day in 1962, as

mandated by President Diosdado Macapagal. Before that, the
Philippines celebrated its independence day on July 4, just like the
United States of America.
1. ORIGINAL flags used during the Philippine-American have been
turning up on eBay, as more and more Filipino veterans who
kept them as souvenirs have been passing on. While the flags
haven the same basic elements of red, white, blue with three
golden stars and a sun, the shades of the color vary, depending
on the available cloth and the individual taste of their owner.
Emilio Aguinaldo’s flag was adopted as the Philippine flag in
1920. Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon
standardized its design in 1936. Before then, the sun in the flag
could have more than eight rays and usually had facial features
like eyes, a nose and a mouth.
 2. A small silver thimble often goes unnoticed in one of the glass
cases in the Malacañang Museum. This thimble, better hung on
a charm bracelet, was used by Marcela Agoncillo when she
sewed and embroidered the first Philippine Flag in Hong Kong in
1898.

3. When Julian Felipe’s “Marcha Nacional Filipina Magdalo” a.k.a.

the “Marcha Aguinaldo” was first played as incidental music
during the Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898, it had
no lyrics. Jose Palma composed a poem and set into Julian
Felipe’s music in August 1899. The “Marcha Aguinaldo” later
became the Philippine National Anthem.

4.The Declaration of Independence was read from a window

of Aguinaldo’s home in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898.
The iconic “Independence Balcony,” seen in hundreds of
postcards and souvenir photos, was added to the house
only in 1919.
5. Emilio Aguinaldo did not read the long-winded
Declaration of Independence aloud to the crowd gathered
outside his home on June 12, 1898. His adviser, Ambrosio
Rianzares Bautista, did. After this, Rianzares was
effectively fired.

6. Aguinaldo designed a flag that was to become our national

symbol in 1897, while he was in exile in Hong Kong. The first
flag was made in Hong Kong by: Marcela Agoncillo, her
daughter Lorenza and Jose Rizal’s niece Delfina Herbosa de
Natividad. The house where our flag was born is no more, but
the marked historical site is presently a children’s playground.

7. Among the 99 signatures on the Declaration of

Independence is that of one Amercian, a certain M.L.
Johnson, a colonel of the U.S. artillery, who attended the
program and signed his name to that historic document.
8. Contrary to popular belief, the Declaration of
Independence was read in the afternoon, not in the
morning, of June 12, 1898 to give people time to travel to
Kawit and witness the event.

9. The Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Malolos

Congress on September 29, 1898. The founding fathers then
celebrated the event with a historic lunch of French-sounding
dishes composed of seven appetizers, eight entrees, five
desserts, four wines, two liqueurs, and coffee or tea.

10. At the time of the Declaration of Independence,

the 29-year-old Emilio Aguinaldo held the title
“Dictator” rather than President of the Philippines.
11. The series of flags known to every schoolboy as “The
Evolution of the Philippine Flag” is not an illustrated
history of the development of our flag. Rather, these
were the different war standards used by our heroes from
the Philippine Revolution to the Philippine-American War.

12. June 12 became our official Independence Day in

1962, as mandated by President Diosdado Macapagal.
Before that, the Philippines celebrated its independence
day on July 4, just like the United States of America.
A detail from an original flag used during the
Philippine-American War now preserved in the
Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite.