Federal State of the Visayas | |||||||||||||||
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1898–1899 | |||||||||||||||
Status | Autonomous regional government [1] | ||||||||||||||
Capital | Iloilo City | ||||||||||||||
Common languages | Spanish and Visayan | ||||||||||||||
Government | Revolutionary federal state intended as a federated state within a federal republic | ||||||||||||||
President | |||||||||||||||
• 1898–1899 | Roque López | ||||||||||||||
• 1899 | Jovito Yusay | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | Philippine Revolution | ||||||||||||||
• Panay revolt | March 1898 | ||||||||||||||
• Date of Establishment | December 2, 1898 | ||||||||||||||
• Decree abolishing the federal state by Emilio Aguinaldo | April 27, 1899 | ||||||||||||||
• Absorption to the First Philippine Republic | September 23 or October 5, 1899 | ||||||||||||||
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The Federal State of the Visayas (Spanish : Estado Federal de Visayas, Hiligaynon : Pederal nga Estado sang Visayas, Filipino : Pederal na Estado ng Visayas) was a revolutionary state in the Philippine archipelago during the revolutionary period. [2] It was a proposed administrative unit of a Philippines under a federal form of government.
A revolutionary group, the Comité Conspirador (Conspirators Committee), was organized in the town of Molo in Panay island in March 1898. The group, which planned an uprising against the Spanish colonial government, regularly held meetings at the residence of Francisco Villanueva. The organization later became the Comité Central Revolucionario de Visayas (Central Revolutionary Committee of the Visayas) as support for the group grew. They commenced a revolution in Panay in August 1898 and established a temporary revolutionary government in November 1898, which would later be known as the Gobierno Provisional del Distrito de Visayas (Provisional Government of the District of Visayas). [2] The rebels were led by Gen. Adriano Hernandez y Dayot. [3]
The Spanish–American War which sparked in Cuba reached the Philippines. On May 1, 1898, US Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish Navy in Manila. The Spanish designated Iloilo City as the colonial government's capital after Manila fell to the Americans on August 13, 1898, and later installed Roque López as president of the provisional government in Santa Barbara town in Iloilo. Diego de los Ríos was named Governor General over the Philippines. The Spanish armed the Iloilo Voluntarios (Iloilo Volunteers), a battalion composed mainly of Ilonggos believing that they are loyal to the Spanish crown. However, Ilonggo revolutionaries, calling themselves the "Ejército Libertador" (Liberation Army), started a revolt gaining control of all of Panay within days, except for Iloilo, Jaro, La Paz and Molo. [4]
The Panay government, along with the two cantonal governments and other governments in Leyte and Samar were represented in the Malolos Congress which ratified the declaration of Philippine Independence although they had reservations in regards to the Malolos-based government by President Emilio Aguinaldo. Within the month when the congress was convened, these governments recognized the authority of the Malolos Government but retained governance over its jurisdiction. The Visayas governments still had the ability to exercise taxation and maintain their own armies. [2]
A convention was held at Santa Barbara town on November 17, 1898 which saw the establishment of a provisional revolutionary government with Roque Lopez elected as president. The Philippine flag was raised on a bamboo hoist at the Bermejo house at the town plaza. [4]
At least two other governments were established in the Visayas; The Cantonal Government of Bohol in August 1898 and the Cantonal Government of Negros in November 1898. [2]
Visayas-based leaders proposed that an independent Philippine nation be a federation. To promote this ideal, the Cantonal governments of Bohol and Negros, as well as the Provisional Government in the Visayas which exercised powers over Panay and Romblon formed the Federal State of the Visayas on December 2, 1898. The governance of the federal state was patterned after the United States federalism and the Swiss confederacy. [2] The government was reportedly created following consultations with Emilio Aguinaldo. Roque Lopez who was the president of the provisional government in Panay became the federal state's president and Iloilo City was designated as the Visayas capital. [3]
Visayas officials made the draft of the terms of surrender of Spanish Governor General Diego de los Rios in December 1898. De los Rios left Iloilo on December 24 and Vicente Gay was installed as mayor of Iloilo City. The city was turned over to the Visayas government. [3] A triumphal parade to Iloilo City was made on Christmas Day which ended in the hoisting of the Philippine flag in Plaza Alfonso XII (now Plaza Libertad) in front of the city hall. [2]
A junta was appointed by the Federal State of Visayas and officials expressed the need to establish a federal republican state over Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and maintained allegiance to Aguinaldo. Elections were planned as soon as peace was established. [3]
The dissolution of the federal state is disputed by various sources. The federal state was abolished by Central government in Malolos by Emilio Aguinaldo on April 27, 1899. Historian Gregorio Zaide says that Jovito Yusay, the last president of the federal state, dissolved the Visayas government on September 23, 1899 by decree. The instigation of the Consejo de Luzon, a Tagalog faction, was the cause of the state's demise at an undetermined date according to the Philippine Revolutionary Records. General Martin Delgado agreed to form a politico-military government after discussing with local military leaders without seeking consent from the civilian federal government on September 21, 1899 and dissolved the federal state on October 5, 1899 by issuing a decree citing Aguinaldo's earlier decree. [1] A politico-military government was installed in Iloilo with Martin Delgado as governor. [1]
The Negros Republic, a component state, later became an American protectorate before it was absorbed into a U.S. administered Philippines.
# | President | Took office | Left office | Vice President |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roque López | December 2, 1898 | January 7, 1899 | Vicente Franco |
2 | Raymundo Melliza | January 7, 1899 | July 16, 1899 | Nicolas Jalandoni |
3 | Jovito Yusay | July 16, 1899 | September 23, 1899 | Ramón Avanceña |
The Visayas, or the Visayan Islands, are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are also considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan peoples.
Iloilo, also called Iloilo Province, officially the Province of Iloilo, is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independent from the province. Iloilo occupies the southeast portion of the Visayan island of Panay and is bordered by the province of Antique to the west, Capiz to the north, the Jintotolo Channel to the northeast, the Guimaras Strait to the east, and the Iloilo Strait and Panay Gulf to the southwest.
Visayans or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous distinct ethnic groups, many unrelated to each other. When taken as a single group, they number around 33.5 million. The Visayans, like the Luzon Lowlanders were originally predominantly animist-polytheists and broadly share a maritime culture until the 16th century when the Spanish empire enforced Catholicism as the state religion. In more inland or otherwise secluded areas, ancient animistic-polytheistic beliefs and traditions either were reinterpreted within a Roman Catholic framework or syncretized with the new religion. Visayans are generally speakers of one or more of the distinct Bisayan languages, the most widely spoken being Cebuano, followed by Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) and Waray-Waray.
Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of the island of Panay. According to the 2020 census, Iloilo City has a population of 457,626 people, making it the most populous city in Western Visayas. For the metropolitan area, the total population is 1,007,945 people.
Aniceto Ledesma Lacson is a Filipino revolutionary general, sugar farmer, and businessman. He is also known as the first and only president of the Negros Republic from 1898 to 1901, and for leading the Negros Revolution alongside Juan Araneta.
The Hiligaynon people, often referred to as Ilonggo people or Panayan people, are the second largest subgroup of the larger Visayan ethnic group, whose primary language is Hiligaynon, an Austronesian language of the Visayan branch native to Panay, Guimaras, and Negros. They originated in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the region of Western Visayas. Over the years, inter-migrations and intra-migrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynon to different parts of the Philippines. Today, the Hiligaynon, apart from the province of Iloilo, also form the majority in the provinces of Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Capiz, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato.
The Philippine Republic, now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire (1896–1898) and the Spanish–American War between Spain and the United States (1898) through the promulgation of the Malolos Constitution on January 23, 1899, succeeding the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. It was formally established with Emilio Aguinaldo as president. It was unrecognized outside of the Philippines but remained active until April 19, 1901. Following the American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines, issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898, and proclaimed successive revolutionary Philippine governments on June 18 and 23 of that year.
The Republic of Negros was a short-lived revolutionary entity which had existed on the island of Negros first as a canton of the First Philippine Republic and later as a protectorate of the United States.
Diego de los Ríos y Nicolau was a Spanish Lieutenant General who was known as the last Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. He also served in the Glorious Revolution, the Third Carlist War and the Ten Years' War.
Molo is a district in Iloilo City, Philippines, located in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay in the Western Visayas region. It is the most densely populated district in the city. According to the 2020 census, Molo has a population of 76,393 people, making it the second-most populous district, after Jaro.
Ancestral houses of the Philippines or Heritage Houses are homes owned and preserved by the same family for several generations as part of the Filipino family culture. It corresponds to long tradition by Filipino people of giving reverence for ancestors and elders. Houses could be a simple house to a mansion. The most common ones are the "Bahay na Bato". Some houses of prominent families had become points of interest or museums in their community because of its cultural, architectural or historical significance. These houses that are deemed of significant importance to the Filipino culture are declared Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), previously known as the National Historical Institute (NHI) of the Philippines. Preservation is of utmost importance as some ancestral houses have come into danger due to business people who buy old houses in the provinces, dismantle them then sell the parts as ancestral building materials for homeowners wishing to have the ancestral ambiance on their houses. These ancestral houses provide the current generation a look back of the country's colonial past through these old houses.
The following lists events that happened during 1899 in the Philippine Republic.
Salvador Estrella was a Filipino general who fought in the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. For his courage in battle, he earned the moniker "red blooded."
A revolutionary government or provisional government has been declared a number of times in the Philippines, by various insurgent groups.
The Revolutionary Government of the Philippines was a revolutionary government established in the Spanish East Indies on June 23, 1898, during the Spanish–American War, by Emilio Aguinaldo, its initial and only president. The government succeeded a dictatorial government that had been established by Aguinaldo on June 18 and was dissolved and replaced by this government upon its establishment. This government endured until January 23, 1899, when the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution established an insurgent Philippine Republic government that replaced it.
The Governor of Iloilo is the local chief executive of the Philippine province of Iloilo. The governor holds office at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol located at Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the governor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term. In case of death, resignation or incapacity, the vice governor becomes the governor. Along with the governors of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, andGuimaras, he sits in the Regional Development Council of the Western Visayas Region.
Gen. Leandro Fullón y Locsín was a Philippine general and government administrator who fought against both the Spaniards during the Philippine Revolution and the United States invasion force during the Philippine-American War.
Raymundo Melliza was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the second governor of Iloilo during the American occupation of the Philippines and was also an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President in the 1935 elections as a running-mate of former President Emilio Aguinaldo.
The Cry of Santa Barbara was a call for revolution held in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, against Spanish rule in the Philippines on November 17, 1898. It was led by Martin Delgado.