Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines in May 1898 to resume the revolution against Spain with support from the United States. However, the US soon distanced itself from Aguinaldo and planned to take control of Manila without Filipino assistance. In June and July 1898, over 12,000 US troops arrived as Aguinaldo's forces fought the Spanish. A staged battle was held in August allowing Spain to surrender, after which the US took control of Manila despite Aguinaldo's hopes for independence, worsening relations between Filipinos and Americans.

1. AND
THE DECLARATION OF THE
PHILIPPINE
INDEPENDENCE
Presented by John Christian Suarez

2. In 1896, the Philippine Revolution began. In December
1897, the Spanish government and the revolutionaries
signed a truce, the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, requiring that
the Spanish pay the revolutionaries $MXN800,000 and
that Aguinaldo and other leaders go into exile in Hong
Kong.
LOOKING BACK

3. THE RETURN OF GENERAL EMILIO
AGUINALDO WITH HIS GROUP
(THE HONGKONG JUNTA)

4. In the run up to the Spanish-American War,
several American Consuls – in Hong Kong,
Singapore and Manila – sought Emilio
Aguinaldo’s support. None of them spoke
Tagalog, Aguinaldo’s own language, and
Aguinaldo himself spoke poor Spanish. A
British businessman who spoke Tagalog,
Howard W. Bray, agreed to act as
interpreter. Aguinaldo and Bray maintained
later that the Philippines had been
promised independence in return for
helping the U.S. defeat the Spanish.
THE RETURN OF GENERAL EMILIO
AGUINALDO WITH HIS GROUP
MAY 19, 1898:

5. AGUINALDO
RETURNS
• On May 1, 1898, the United States defeated the Spanish in the Battle
of Manila Bay. American President William McKinley decided to seize
Manila from the Spanish colonizer of the Philippines. He then ordered
the Assembly of Eight Corps. of the American Army consisting of
11,000 soldiers under the command of Major General Wesley Meritt.
• After the Battle of Manila Bay, Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the
Philippines to restore the Filipino resistance, and help American
forces defeat the Spaniards. The U.S. Navy agreed to transport him
and his group back aboard the USRC McCulloch, and on May 19,
they arrived in the Philippines.

6. • General Emilio Aguinaldo and some of his men met with Commodore
George Dewey to talk about how they will resume their revolutionary
activities synchronized with the American forces. After the meeting,
on May 24, General Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in which he
assumed command of all Philippine forces and announced his
intention to establish a Dictatorial Government with himself as a
Dictator.
RETURN OF AGUINALDO AND THE DECLARATION
OF THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE
• The news about the return of the Filipino revolutionary leaders with
the American on their side quickly scattered across the country. All
Filipino enlisted men serving in Spanish army units deserted to join
General Aguinaldo’s command, and the Philippine revolution against
Spain continued.
• Later, places such as Imus, Bacoor, Parañaque, Las Piñas,
Morong, Macabebe, and San Fernando, as well as some
entire provinces such as Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva
Ecija, Bataan, Tayabas (now Quezon), and the Camarines
provinces, were liberated by the Filipinos and the port of
Dalahican in Cavite was secured.

7. RETURN
OF
AGUINALDO
AND
THE
DECLARATION
OF
THE
PHILIPPINE
INDEPENDENCE
• At the end of May, the United States Department
of the Navy ordered Dewey (Newly promoted
Admiral) to distance himself from Aguinaldo in
case he made untoward commitments to the
Filipino forces.
• The official directive was not necessary; Dewey
had already made up his mind beforehand: “From
my observation of Aguinaldo and his advisers
I decided that it would be unwise to cooperate
with him or his adherents in an official
manner… In short, my policy was to avoid any
entangling alliance with the insurgents, while I
appreciated that, pending the arrival of our
troops, they might be of service.” [RIGHT,
Aguinaldo’s headquarters inside the Cavite navy
yard, May 1898].
• The immediate objective was to capture Manila, and it
was thought best to do that without the assistance of
the revolutionaries. Dewey referred to the Filipinos as
“the Indians” and promised Washington, D.C. that he
would “enter the city [Manila] and keep the Indians
out.” The war with Spain was still ongoing and the
future of the Philippines remained uncertain.

8. • By early June, with no arms supplied by Dewey, Aguinaldo’s forces
had overwhelmed Spanish garrisons in Cavite and around Manila,
surrounded the capital with 14 miles of trenches, captured the Manila
waterworks and shut off access or escape by the Pasig River. Links
were established with other movements throughout the country.
RETURN OF AGUINALDO AND THE DECLARATION
OF THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE
• In the eyes of the Filipinos, their relationship with the United States
was that of two nations joined in a common struggle against Spain.
Aguinaldo’s 12,000 troops kept the Spanish soldiers bottled up inside
Manila until American troop reinforcements could arrive. Aguinaldo,
on the other hand, was concerned that the Americans would not
commit to signing a declaration of support for Philippine
independence.
• According to John Foreman, an American historian of the early
Philippine-American War period, "Aguinaldo and his inexperienced
followers were so completely carried away by the humanitarian
avowals of the world's greatest republic that they willingly consented
to cooperate with the Americans on mere verbal promises, rather
than a written agreement which could be held binding on the U.S.
Government.”

9. RETURN
OF
AGUINALDO
AND
THE
DECLARATION
OF
THE
PHILIPPINE
INDEPENDENCE
• The first contingent of America, the 2nd Division of the Eighth Corps of
American Army with their Commander Army Brigadier General (One-Star
General) Thomas McArthur Anderson, arrived in Cavite on June 30, 1898.
He sent a letter to General Emilio Aguinaldo requesting their cooperation in
the military operations they would conduct against the Spanish forces.
General Aguinaldo responded but the content was only to thank General
Anderson for the letter and for their arrival, and did not comment about the
military operation.
• On July 17, another American contingent came into the
Philippines, the 2nd Brigade of the Eighth Division under the
command of Brigadier General Francis Greene . On July 25,
1898, Major General Wesley Meritt finally arrived with his staff
and on July 30 the third contingent under General Arthur
MacArthur also finally arrived. By this time, some 12,000 U.S.
troops had landed in the Philippines.
• The Spanish cause was hopeless, but General Fermin
Jaudenes, Spain’s last governor in the islands, had to plan a
way to save the honor of his country. General Jaudenes tried to
negotiate through British and Belgian diplomatic mediators. A
secret agreement was made between General Jaudenes and
American military commanders in the early August of 1898.

10. • The Spanish had feared the Filipino revolutionaries; that even if
they surrendered, they felt that they still would be massacred by
the angry Filipinos. The Spanish and American forces both agreed
to put up a show of fight and, on the arranged signal, Spain would
surrender. In this way, the Governor General would be spared the
embarrassment of giving up without a fight, and both sides would
be spared casualties.
RETURN OF AGUINALDO AND THE DECLARATION
OF THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE
• In our history, it was called the mock battle of Manila. It was staged on August 13,
1898. The attackers rushed in, and by afternoon the United States flag was flying
over Intramuros, the ancient walled city that had been the seat of Spanish power for
333 years.
• On the evening of August 12, General Merritt ordered General Anderson to notify
Aguinaldo to prohibit the insurgents under his leadership from entering Manila,
stating, "Do not let your soldiers enter Manila without the approval of the
American commander; you will be under fire on this side of the Pasig
River." The revolutionaries were angry because they had been denied victorious
to entry into their own city. However, the relationship between the Filipino
Revolutionaries and the American Army deteriorated further as it became evident
to Filipinos that the Americans were here to stay.

11. CONCLUSION
• General Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the
Philippines on May 19, 1898 to restore the
Filipino resistance, and help American
forces defeat the Spaniards.
• On May 24, 1898, Aguinaldo established a
dictatorial government, but plans were afoot
to proclaim the independence of the country.
• Commodore George Dewey was later
honored with promotion to the special rank
of Admiral of the Navy; a rank that no one
has held before or since in the US Navy.
• In late May, Dewey was ordered by the U.S.
Department of the Navy to distance himself
from Aguinaldo.
• Aguinaldo was concerned that the Americans
would not commit to signing a declaration of
support for Philippine independence.
• The first contingent of American troops arrived
in Cavite on June 30, the second under General
Francis V. Greene on July 17, and the third
under General Arthur MacArthur on July 30. By
this time, some 12,000 U.S. troops had landed
in the Philippines.
• Mock Battle of Manila was staged on August
13, 1898.
• The relationship between the Filipino
Revolutionaries and the American Army
deteriorated further as it became evident to
Filipinos that the Americans were in the country
to stay.

12. THANK YOU!
Presented by John Christian Suarez