The Legacy of the First Philippine Republic

1. Introduction
The Philippines is a beautiful country found in the South Eastern part of Asia. It is filled with abundant resources. It has fertile, arable lands, diverse flora and fauna, extensive coastlines, and rich mineral deposits. It boast of many different kinds of natural water forms, such as swamps, bays, lakes, rivers, falls, straits, and gulfs. It is the Pearl of the Orient Seas.
It is due to these characteristics that the Philippines had been conquered by many nations. The Spaniards held captive the Philippines the longest. But the Filipinos fought hard to attain their freedom from the Spaniards. And in June 12, 1898, General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence from Spain and established the First Philippine Republic.

2. Significance of the Topic
We, as the children of this Nation, should learn about our history and establish our sense of “national sentiment” in order to preserve our flourishing culture from invading nations. We need to protect the legacies that our forefathers fought hard to attain. But, in order to protect it, we must first learn what they had given us. We must refresh minds to our history, as we tend to forget who we really are.

3. Content
The First Philippine Republic had left us with 8 legacies:
a. Freedom/Liberty
b. Independence
c. Unity
d. National Symbols
e. 1st Republic in Asia
f. Inspiration for other Nations
g. Literary
h. Victory from a World Power

A. Freedom/Liberty
The First Philippine Republic had brought the freedom and liberty. We became prisoners in our country, with no rights to speech, movement, work, business and no safety. We cannot move freely without the interference of the government. We cannot speak for ourselves. We had been treated like lowly savage beasts, waiting to be tamed. But these endless sufferings called upon our ancestors to start the countless revolts and, soon, started the Philippine Revolution. Now, we are free to speak, move, work, and business.
B. Independence
The First Philippine Republic signifies the long awaited independence from the Spanish rulers. We had suffered for 333 years under the Spanish conquerors. We became slaves in our own country. But these endless sufferings had awoken the nationalism in the hearts of our ancestors and had called upon them to take arms against their foreign conquerors. We carry until today our own government.
C. Unity
The First Philippine Republic showed the unity of the different provinces in our country. The Spaniards had divided our lands so that no unity may be formed to prevent large scale revolutions. That is why the countless revolts had failed. Only one province had taken a stand against the Spaniards and no help from the neighboring provinces came. But the love for the country of our ancestors had called upon each individual to stand against the conquerors as one nation, and not just one province.
D. National Symbols
The First Philippine Republic gave birth to two of our National Symbols, the Philippine National Flag and The Philippine National Anthem.
E. 1st Republic in Asia
The First Philippine Republic gave birth to the 1st Republic in Asia. That revolutionary government had replaced the dictatorial government which Aguinaldo had proclaimed on May 24, and had formally established by decree on June 18.
F. Inspiration for other Nations.
The First Philippine Republic inspired our neighboring country to rise up against their conquerors. This also established a strong bond between these countries and formed the MAPHILINDO.
G. Literary
The First Philippine Republic protects the literary legacies of our ancestors. The Philippines has a larger and more vigorous artistic community than any other Southeast Asian nations. We have beautiful kundimans, poems, paintings, dance, pottery, and many more.
H. Victory from a World Power
The First Philippine Republic symbolizes our victory over the Spaniards, who is a world power. It shows that the Philippines is not a weak nation and we have the characteristics that can match against the world powers.

4. Conclusion
Over-all, it shows that the Philippines is a wonderful country. We have wonderful characteristics that we can be proud of. We have flourishing culture that we can boast to others. We can match against those countries that are on the top right now. We need to protect these legacies. We, as the future of this country, must pass on, not the legacies of the other country, but the legacies of our ancestors to our children.

5. Reference

Documents on the 1898 declaration of Philippineindependence, the Malolos Constitution and the First Philippine Republic (1997). Manila : National Historical Institute.

Saulo, A. (1914). Emilio Aguinaldo : generalissimo and president of the First Philippine Republic-first Republic in Asia. Quezon City : Phoenix Pub. House.

Garcia, M. (Eds.). 1969. Aguinaldo in restrospect : a volume issued to commemorate the centenary of General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy : with documents of the Philippine-American War, 1898-1901, and the first Philippine Republic. Manila : Philippine Historical Association, 1969.

Grunder, G. & Livezey, W. The Philippines and the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Feuer, A.B. (Eds.). (2002). America at war : the Philippines, 1898-1913. Westport, Conn. : Praeger.

Almario, V. (Eds.) (2003). Pacto de sangre : Spanish legacy in Filipinas. Manila : Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day Committee.