THE REPUBLIC IS BORN AT MALOLOS

Ni F. Delor Angeles

LATE in the night of January 22, exactly 62 years ago today, the electric lights in Malolos glaredon.Thedustyroadswerefullofpeople soldiers shouting orders, civilians carrying bundles of sorts or sucklings for roasting, and carromatas with passengers from nearby townsandprovinces.

Earlier in the day, the trains had unloaded hundreds of government officials, military personnel, and foreign visitors. Bancas of curious folks from nearby towns in Bulacan had likewise entered the town, through the slug-gishcreekwindingbetweenthechurches ofBarasoainandMalolos,disembarkingatthe old Spanish bridge near the plaza. This multitude stumbled into different directions to the Hotel Katipunan, to government quarters, or to the houses of friends. They created a temporary housing problem, consideringthatinMalolostherewerealready more than 6000 troops, besides the officials andemployeesoftherepublicangovernment. The old town, capital of the Philippine Republic, was in festive mood. Bamboo arches. decorated with palm leaves, stood at certainsectionsoftheroadsinthepoblacion. Houses had been cleaned. Floors had been polished And curtains had been hung at windows.

There was a very good reason for all this feverish activity. The Constitution had been completed by the Revolutionary Congress and had been given executive approval. General Aguinaldo had been elected President of the Republic by the Assembly of Representatives. And January 23, the following day, was to be the inauguration of the first government under the Constitution.

The Heraldo Filipino, official organ of the republican government, reported that the inaugural ceremonies began "promptly" at 8:30 in the morning at the Barasoain Church, seat of Congress. The newspaper described in Tagalog the enthusiasm of the people, thus: "Nagsasalio ang tugtugan ng marcha nacional sa boong dinaanan Nagsisicsic ang magcabicabila ng daan sa tauong nanunuod Puno ng tauo hanggang patio (sa Barasoain)...di malagot- lagot na sigao na 'Manatili ang ating Republica!"

The inaugural ceremonies opened with the reading of the presidential decree by Pablo Ocampo, secretary of the Revolutionary Congress, promulgating the Constitution of the Republic. Then, Pedro Paterno, President of the Congress, stood up and led the members of the national legislature in the oath of loyalty to the Constitution

The oath taking over, Paterno announced that General Aguinaldo had been elected President of the Republic by the Assembly of Representatives, a fact already known to everyone in the assembly hall.

Congressionalcommittee

A congressional committee appointed by Paterno, then, hastened to the presidential quarters, at the convent of what is now the Church of Immaculate Conception, to "inform" the General of his election. Accompanied by his cabinet, military staff and other top brass, provincial governors and the presidential guard, President Aguinaldo rode in a carriage to Barasoain. Brass bands played for the presidential retinue all along the way to the halls of Congress. As the carriage proceeded along a street cordoned by soldiers in blue rayadillo, people cheered wildly. Aguinaldo was in formal black coat, complete with top hat, white gloves, bow tie and gold-knobbed cane. This was the height of his career, a long thorny road that coursed through the battlefields of Cavite, the hideout at Biyak-na-Bato, and to Hong Kong. One wonders how he felt as he watched his people, now pushing, now breaking through the cordon of troops. Pott shouting his name, wishing well- him well, wishing the Republic well, shouting because that day was their day, and shouting as if tomorrow was still theirs. MPK