Aguinaldo Shrine 5.4

The Aguinaldo Shrine is a National Shrine of the Philippines located in Kawit, Cavite in the Philippines, where the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898. To commemorate the event, now known as Araw ng Kalayaan or Independence Day, a national holiday, the Philippine flag is raised here by top government officials on June 12 each year. The house is now a museumHistoryThe shrine is the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, officially the first President of the Philippines, the only president of the First Philippine Republic. The house was built in 1845 made from wood and thatch and reconstructed in 1849. Here Aguinaldo was born on March 22, 1869.Independence dayOn June 12, 1898, the independence from Spain was proclaimed from the window of the grand hall. The Declaration of Philippine Independence was read by its author, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista The Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Malolos Congress on September 21, 1898.