Individual activity # 1

Discuss the events that became the turning points of Philippine History

a. Spanish-American War

The ensuing war was pathetically one-sided, since Spain had readied neither its army nor its navy for a
distant war with the formidable power of the United States. In the early morning hours of May 1, 1898,
Commodore George Dewey led a U.S. naval squadron into Manila Bay in the Philippines. He destroyed
the anchored Spanish fleet in two hours before pausing the Battle of Manila Bay to order his crew a
second breakfast. In total, fewer than 10 American seamen were lost, while Spanish losses were
estimated at over 370. Manila itself was occupied by U.S. troops by August. The elusive Spanish
Caribbean fleet under Adm. Pascual Cervera was located in Santiago harbor in Cuba by U.S.
reconnaissance. An army of regular troops and volunteers under Gen. William Shafter (including then-
secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders”) landed on
the coast east of Santiago and slowly advanced on the city in an effort to force Cervera’s fleet out of the
harbor. Cervera led his squadron out of Santiago on July 3 and tried to escape westward along the coast.
In the ensuing battle all of his ships came under heavy fire from U.S. guns and were beached in a
burning or sinking condition. Santiago surrendered to Shafter on July 17, thus effectively ending the
brief but momentous war.

b. Mock Battle of Manila Bay

On April 30, Dewey’s lookouts caught sight of Luzon, the main Philippine island. That night, under cover
of darkness and with the lights aboard the U.S. warships extinguished, the squadron slipped by the
defensive guns of Corregidor Island and into Manila Bay. After dawn, the Americans located the Spanish
fleet, a group of out-of-date warships anchored off the Cavite naval station. The U.S. fleet, in
comparison, was well-armed and well-staffed, largely due to the efforts of the energetic assistant
secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), who had also selected Dewey for the command
of the Asiatic squadron. At around 5:40 a.m., Dewey turned to the captain of his flagship, the Olympia,
and said, “You may fire when ready, Gridley.” Two hours later, the Spanish fleet was decimated, and
Dewey ordered a pause in the fighting. He met with his captains and ordered the crews a second
breakfast. The surviving Spanish vessels, trapped in the little harbor at Cavite, refused to surrender, and
late that morning fighting resumed. Early that afternoon, a signal was sent from the gunboat USS Petrel
to Dewey’s flagship announcing that the enemy has surrendered. Spanish losses were estimated at more
than 370 troops, while American casualties were fewer than 10.

c. Malolos Constitution

A committee headed by Felipe Calderon and aided by Cayetano Arellano, the constitution was drafted,
for the first time by representatives of the Filipino people and it is the first republican constitution in
Asia. The constitution was inspired by the constitutions of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil,
Belgium and France. After some minor revisions (mainly due to the objections of Apolinario Mabini), the
final draft of the constitution was presented to Aguinaldo. This paved the way to launching the first
Philippine Republic. It established a democratic, republication government with three branches - the
Executive, Legislative and the Judicial branches. It called for the separation of church and state. The
executive powers were to be exercise by the president of the republic with the help of his cabinet.
Judicial powers were given to the Supreme Court and other lower courts to be created by law. The Chief
justice of the Supreme Court was to be elected by the legislature with the concurrence of the President
and his Cabinet.

d. Malolos Republic

The Malolos Republic was the culmination of the Philippine Revolution, which began with the Katipunan
and led to the creation of the First Constitution and Republican Government of Asia. To commemorate
this, President Benigno S. Aquino III, by virtue of Proclamation No. 533, s. 2013, declared January 23 of
every year as “Araw ng Republikang Filipino, 1899.” The First Republic traces its origins to the Revolution
of 1896, which began under the leadership of the Katipunan, a secret society with a structure patterned
after Freemasonry, and which aimed to attain independence for the Philippines. It was led by the
President of the Supreme Council; the most well-known of whom was Andres Bonifacio. The Katipunan
had members in Manila and other provinces in the Philippines. Due to political and other differences
between the members from Manila and other provinces, divisions arose in the organization, prompting
its leaders to call for a convention to try and reunify the society.