Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Famy Aguinaldo , QSC PLH ( – ) was a Filipino general , politician , and independence leader . He had an instrumental role during the Philippines ' revolution against Spain , and the subsequent Philippine – American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation . Aguinaldo became the Philippines ' first president . He was also the youngest ( at age 29 ) to have become the country ' s president , the longest - lived former president ( having survived to age 94 ) and the president to have outlived the most number of successors . Early life and career . Emilio Aguinaldo was born on in Cavite Viejo ( present - day Kawit ) , Cavite , to Carlos Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy , a Chinese mestizo couple who had eight children , the seventh of whom was Emilio . The Aguinaldo family was quite well - to - do , as Carlos Aguinaldo was the community ' s appointed gobernadorcillo ( municipal governor ) Emilio became the Cabeza de Barangay of Binakayan , a chief barrio of Cavite del Viejo , when he was only 17 years old . In 1895 a law that called for the reorganization of local governments was enacted . At the age of 26 Aguinaldo became Cavite Viejo ' s first capitan municipal . First marriage . On he married Hilaria del Rosario ( 1877 – 1921 ) . They had five children : Carmen Aguinaldo Melencio , Emilio Aguinaldo , Jr , Maria Aguinaldo Poblete , Cristina Aguinaldo Suntay and Miguel Aguinaldo . Hilaria died of leprosy on at the age of 45 . After his wife ' s death Aguinaldo married Maria Agoncillo on at Barasoain Church until her untimely demise on at the age of 82 . Revolutionary and political career . Philippine Revolution . In 1894 , Aguinaldo joined the Katipunan , a secret organization led by Andrés Bonifacio , dedicated to the expulsion of the Spanish and independence of the Philippines through armed force . Aguinaldo used the nom de guerre Magdalo , in honor of Mary Magdalene . His local chapter of the Katipunan , headed by his cousin Baldomero Aguinaldo , was also called Magdalo . On January 1 , 1895 , Aguinaldo became a Freemason , joining Pilar Lodge No . 203 , Imus , Cavite . He would later say : The Katipunan revolt against the Spanish began in the last week of August 1896 in San Juan del Monte ( now part of Metro Manila ) . However , Aguinaldo and other Cavite rebels initially refused to join in the offensive alleging lack of arms . Their absence contributed to Bonifacio ' s defeat . While Bonifacio and other rebels were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare , Aguinaldo and the Cavite rebels won major victories in set - piece battles , temporarily driving the Spanish out of their area . On Aguinaldo and a group of katipuneros defeated Spanish forces led by General Camilo de Polavieja at the Battle of Zapote Bridge in Cavite . General Edilberto Evangelista , civil engineer , revolutionary and trench builder , was killed in the battle . The province of Cavite gradually emerged as the Revolution ' s hotbed , and the Aguinaldo - led katipuneros had a string of victories there . Presidency at Tejeros . Conflict between the Magdalo and Magdiwang Katipunan factions led to Bonifacio ' s intervention in the province of Cavite . The Cavite rebels then made overtures about establishing a revolutionary government in place of the Katipunan . Though Bonifacio already considered the Katipunan to be a government , he acquiesced and presided over a convention held on in Tejeros , Cavite . There , the republic of the Philippines was proclaimed , with Aguinaldo being elected president . Bonifacio was elected Director of the Interior but , after Daniel Tirona questioned his qualifications for that position , became angered and declared " I , as chairman of this assembly , and as President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan , as all of you do not deny , declare this assembly dissolved , and I annul all that has been approved and resolved . " Execution of Bonifacio . Bonifacio refused to recognize the revolutionary government headed by Aguinaldo and attempted to reassert his authority , accusing the Aguinaldo faction of treason and by issuing orders contravening orders issued by the Aguinaldo faction . At Aguinaldo ' s orders , Bonifacio and his brothers were arrested and , in a mock trial lasting one day , convicted of treason , and sentenced to death . After some vacillation , Aguinaldo initially commuted the death sentence , but cancelled his commutation order after being convinced by General Manuel Noriel , president of the Council of War , and others prominent in his government that the death sentence must stand . Andrés and Procopio were executed by firing squad on at Mount Hulog , Maragondon , Cavite . Biak - na - Bato Presidency . On the same day as the execution of the Bonifacio brothers , the Spanish army launched an attack which forced insurgent forces under Aguinaldo into a general retreat . On Aguinaldo arrived at Biak - na - Bato in San Miguel , Bulacan , and established a permanent headquarters there , located in Biak - na - Bato National Park in what is now known as " Aguinaldo Cave " . In late October 1897 , Aguinaldo convened an assembly of generals at Biak - na Bato , where it was decided to establish a constitutional republic . A constitution patterned closely after the Cuban Constitution was drawn up by Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer . The constitution provided for the creation of a Supreme Council composed of a president , a vice president , a Secretary of War , and a Secretary of the Treasury . Aguinaldo was named president . Pact of Biak - na - Bato and exile in Hong Kong . From as early as , Fernando Primo de Rivera , as Spanish Governor - General of the Philippines had been encouraging prominent Filipinos to contact Aguinaldo for a peaceful settlement of the conflict . On , Manila lawyer Pedro Paterno met with Aguinaldo at Biak - na - Bato with a proposal for peace based on reforms and amnesty . In succeeding months , Paterno conducted shuttle diplomacy , acting as an intermediary between de Rivera and Aguinaldo . On and Aguinaldo signed the Pact of Biak - na - Bato , under which Aguinaldo effectively agreed to end hostilities and dissolve his government in exchange for amnesty and " $ 800 , 000 ( Mexican ) " ( Aguinaldo ' s description of the amount ) as an indemnity . The documents were signed on and . On , Aguinaldo and other insurgent officials departed for Hong Kong to enter voluntary exile . $ 400 , 000 , representing the first installment of the indemnity , was deposited into Hong Kong banks . While in exile , Aguinaldo reorganized his revolutionary government into the so - called " Hong Kong Junta " and enlarging it into the " Supreme Council of the Nation " . Return to the Philippines and Philippine Declaration of Independence . On April 25 , the Spanish – American War began . While the war mostly focused on Cuba , the United States Navy ' s Asiatic Squadron was in Hong Kong , and commanded Commodore George Dewey , it sailed for the Philippines , one of two Spanish colonies in the Pacific ( the other being Guam ) . On , in the Battle of Manila Bay , the squadron engaged and destroyed the Spanish navy ' s Pacific Squadron and proceeded to blockade Manila . Several days later , Dewey agreed to transport Aguinaldo from Hong Kong to the Philippines aboard the USS McCulloch , which left Hong Kong with Aguinaldo on May 16 . arriving in Cavite on May 19 . Aguinaldo promptly resumed command of revolutionary forces and besieged Manila . On in Cavite , Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in which he assumed command of all Philippine forces and established a dictatorial government with himself as dictator . On Aquinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain and on , he issued a decree formally establishing his dictatorial government . On , Aguinaldo issued a decree replacing his dictatorial government with a revolutionary government , with himself as President . First Philippine President . The insurgent First Philippine Republic was formally established with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution on in Malolos , Bulacan and endured until the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo by the American forces on in Palanan , Isabela , which effectively dissolved the First Republic . Aguinaldo appointed two Prime Ministers of the Philippines in his tenure , Apolinario Mabini and Pedro Paterno . He had two cabinets in the year 1899 . Thereafter , the military situation resulted in his ruling by decree . Philippine – American War . On , American forces captured Manila during the Battle of Manila and on established the United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands , with Major General Wesley Merritt as the first American Military Governor . On the night of , a Filipino was shot by an American sentry . This incident is considered the beginning of the Philippine – American War , and precipitated the 1899 Battle of Manila between American and Filipino forces . Superior American firepower drove Filipino troops away from the city , and Aguinaldo ' s government had to move from one place to another as the military situation developed . Aguinaldo led resistance to the Americans , then retreated to northern Luzon with the Americans on his trail . On , Aguinaldo was captured at his headquarters in Palanan , Isabela . On , Aguinaldo took an oath of allegiance to the United States , formally ending the First Republic and recognizing the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines . After Aguinaldo ' s surrender , some Filipino commanders continued the revolution . On General Miguel Malvar issued a manifesto saying , " Forward , without ever turning back . . . All wars of independence have been obliged to suffer terrible tests ! " General Malvar surrendered to U . S forces in Lipa , Batangas on . The war was formally ended by a unilateral proclamation of general amnesty by U . S . President Theodore Roosevelt on . Post - presidency . U . S . territorial period . During the American occupation , Aguinaldo supported groups that advocated immediate independence , and helped veterans of the struggle . He organized the " Asociación de los Veteranos de la Revolución " ( Association of Veterans of the Revolution ) , which worked to secure pensions for its members and made arrangements for them to buy land on installment from the government . The display of the Philippine flag was declared illegal by the Sedition Act of 1907 . This law was repealed on . Following this , Aguinaldo transformed his home in Kawit into a monument to the flag , the revolution and the declaration of Independence . , his home still stands and is known as the Aguinaldo Shrine . Aguinaldo retired from public life for many years . In 1935 , when the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in preparation for Philippine independence , he ran for president in the Philippine presidential election , 1935 , but lost by a landslide to Manuel L . Quezon . The two men formally reconciled in 1941 , when President Quezon moved Flag Day to , to commemorate the proclamation of Philippine independence . During the Japanese occupation , Aguinaldo cooperated with the Japanese , making speeches , issuing articles and radio addresses in support of the Japanese — including a radio appeal to Gen . Douglas MacArthur on Corregidor to surrender in order to " spare the innocence of the Filipino youth . " After the combined American and Filipino troops retook the Philippines , Aguinaldo was arrested along with several others accused of collaboration with the Japanese , and jailed for some months in Bilibid prison . He was released by presidential amnesty . Aguinaldo was 77 when the United States Government fully recognized Philippine independence in the Treaty of Manila , in accordance with the Tydings – McDuffie Act of 1934 . Post - American era . In 1950 , President Elpidio Quirino appointed Aguinaldo as a member of the Council of State , where he served a full term . He returned to retirement soon after , dedicating his time and attention to veteran soldiers ' " interests and welfare . " He was made an honorary Doctor of Laws , Honoris Causa , by the University of the Philippines in 1953 . In 1962 , President Diosdado Macapagal changed the celebration of Independence Day from to . Aguinaldo rose from his sickbed to attend the celebration of independence 64 years after he declared it . Death and Legacy . Aguinaldo died of coronary thrombosis at age 94 on at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City . A year before his death , he donated his lot and mansion to the government . This property now serves as a shrine to " perpetuate the spirit of the Revolution of 1896 . " In 1985 , Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas made a new 5 - peso bill depicting a portrait of Aguinaldo on the front . The back features the declaration of the Philippine independence on . Printing was discontinued in 1995 , when it was replaced with a 5₱ coin whose obverse features a portrait of Aguinaldo . Media portrayal . A 2012 biopic film based on his life as the first president of the Philippine Republic , stars the Laguna Gov . Jeorge Estregan as Aguinaldo .