CAVITE – The city government of Bacoor and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) unveiled on Tuesday, August 1, a new historical marker commemorating the 1898 Bacoor Assembly.

A ceremony at the Cuenca Ancestral House honored the 125th anniversary of the official declaration of Philippine independence on August 1, 1898.

Photo from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' Facebook page (MANILA BULLETIN)

The 1898 Bacoor Assembly was a gathering of close to 200 local leaders from different provinces called “presidente mayor” organized by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo to ratify the document on the declaration of Philippine independence.

The commemoration was led by Mayor Strike B. Revilla, Cavite 2nd District Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, NHCP Chair Emmanuel Franco Calairo, and Cuenca Ancestral House Administrator Manuel Advincula Cuenca.

Photo from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' Facebook page (MANILA BULLETIN)

Mercado-Revilla, in her speech, said the House of Representatives approved in May House Bill No. 7986 or “An Act Declaring August 1 of Every Year a Special Working Holiday to be Known as the ‘Promulgation of the Solemn Declaration of Philippine Independence.’”

Photo from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' Facebook page (MANILA BULLETIN)

The bill was sponsored by Mercado-Revilla, with fellow Caviteño representatives Adrian Advincula, Elpidio Barzaga, Roy Loyola, Jolo Revilla, and Aniela Tolentino, along with Manila Rep. Edward Maceda.

Senator Bong Revilla also sponsored Senate Bill 2356 with the same title, now under the evaluation of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts.