The Bacoor Assembly was a historic meeting held on August 1, 1898, in

Bacoor Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 664,625 ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The assembly was convened to promulgate the

Philippine independence The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from Spanish colonial rule, which President Emilio Aguinaldo had declared earlier in June 1898 in

Kawit Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit (), is an urban municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,535. It is one of ...

. The assembly was held at the

Cuenca Ancestral House The Cuenca Ancestral House (''Bahay na Tisa'') is a historic residential building in Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines. History It served as the residence of Juan and Candida Cuenca. On July 15, 1898, the house became as the headquarters of the Katipuna ...

, which served as the seat of Aguinaldo's revolutionary government.

Apolinario Mabini Apolinario Mabini y Maranán (; July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903) was a Filipino revolutionary, revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and Politician, statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Philippine Revolution# ...

, serving as the legal and constitutional adviser, drafted the Act of Independence used at the Bacoor Assembly, which was signed by around 200 local officials representing 16 provinces in the country. Then, Aguinaldo approved the said Act, which was disseminated worldwide.

Outcome

In September 1898, the

Malolos Congress The Malolos Congress (), also known as the Revolutionary Congress () and formally the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. From 1898 to 1899, prior to the Philippine Declaration of I ...

ratified the Bacoor Assembly document as ''Acta Agusto Uno.'' The Philippines' declaration of independence, however, was not recognized internationally. In December 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, in which

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

ceded the Philippines to the US.

Recognitions

In 2018, the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

installed a historical marker at the Cuenca Ancestral House to mark the venue of the Bacoor Assembly. In addition, in 2024, the Philippine government approved the Republic Act No. 12073, also known as the Bacoor Assembly of 1898 Act, declaring August 1 as a special working holiday.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1898 in the Philippines History of Cavite History of the Philippines (1898–1946)