Supreme Court Justice Alexander Gesmundo addresses Bulacan leaders and residents during the 125th Philippine Independence Day celebration at the Barasoain Church historic grounds in the City of Malolos on Monday, June 12. (Photo courtesy of Bulacan government)
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan—The 125th anniversary of Philippine Independence Day was also celebrated at the historic Barasoain Church here on Monday, June 12, amid a heavy downpour to honor the founding fathers of the country’s democracy and freedom.
Flowers were offered at the monument of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in front of Barasoain Church shortly before 8 a.m.
Supreme Court Justice Alexander Gesmundo led the occasion, along with Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando, Vice Gov. Alex Castro, Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad, and government employees, at a makeshift stage near the Aguinaldo monument.
Gesmundo paid tribute to the heroism of Aguinaldo and other Filipino leaders for gallantly winning the battle and achieving the freedom and democracy that modern Filipinos enjoy 125 years later after the Philippine Revolution.
Fernando said Bulakenyo leaders and residents must continue to value the sacrifices of the founding fathers of Philippine freedom and democracy through “integrity and the honest work and services they do every day.”
Barasoain Church is one of the key annual Independence Day rite venues after Gen. Aguinaldo declared the country’s independence on June 12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite.
Aguinaldo led Pedro Paterno and other educated Filipinos in the Malolos Congress held at Barasoain Church, which led to the drafting of the Malolos Constitution on Sept. 15, 1898, just a few months after the June 12 Independence Day declaration.
On January 23, 1899, the said Malolos Constitution was also ratified at the Barasoain Church, which gave the country its own set of rules of the land and became known as the First Philippine Republic and the First Republic in Asia. INQ
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