First Philippine Republic

The Philippine Republic (Spanish: República Filipina; Filipino: Repúblikáng Pilipino), more commonly known as the First Philippine Republic or the Malolos Republic, was a nascent revolutionary government in the Philippines. It was formally established with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution on January 21, 1899, in Malolos, Bulacan, and endured until the capture of President Emilio Aguinaldo by the American forces on March 23, 1901, in Palanan, Isabela, which effectively dissolved the First Republic.

The First Philippine Republic was established after the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire (1896–1897) and the Spanish–American War between Spain and the United States (1898). 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 established a revolutionary Philippine government. In December 1898, Sovereignty over the Philippines was transferred from Spain to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, making the United States formally the Philippines colonial power. The Malolos Constitution establishing the First Philippine Republic was proclaimed the following month. The Philippine–American War began in February 1899, which the Philippine Republic lost.

The Philippine Republic was the first constitutional republic in Asia. Although there were several Asian republics predating the First Philippine Republic for example, the Mahajanapadas of ancient India, the Lanfang Republic, the Republic of Formosa or the Republic of Ezo, the Republic at Malolos was the first to frame a comprehensive constitution duly approved by a partially elected congress.