12/06/2026
๐ต๐ญ๐ต๐ญ๐ต๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐! ๐ต๐ญ๐ต๐ญ๐ต๐ญ
Today, we feature a portrait of a central figure of Philippine Independenceโthe 1950 ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ (1869-1964) ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐
๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ by ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง ๐. ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ณ.
Painted when Aguinaldo was in his 80s, this piece captures the leader in the exact year President Elpidio Quirino appointed him to the Council of State, an advisory team composed of former presidents.
More than five decades earlier, on 12 June 1898, the then-General Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite. However, following the fall of the First Republic, which had bravely defended itself during the Philippine-American War, control over the Philippines was effectively transferred to Washington, D.C.
In 1934, the United States issued the Tydings-McDuffie Act, establishing a 10-year transitional period under a Commonwealth government moving towards independence. While the Commonwealth government was set to lapse in 1944, the brutal Japanese occupation of the Philippines derailed this timeline. Philippine independence was later moved to 4 July 1946, coinciding with that of the United States.
Nearly 16 years later, in 1962, Aguinaldo, despite poor health and an advanced age, would himself witness the restoration of June 12 as the countryโs Independence Day through President Diosdado Macapagal's issuance of Proclamation No. 28 (1962).
As we commemorate the 128th anniversary of Philippine Independence, this portrait honors one of the few individuals who played a pivotal role inโand lived to witnessโthe Philippinesโ long and arduous journey towards self-determination and nationhood.
