Aguinaldo wastes little time in setting up…

Aguinaldo wastes little time in setting up an independent government after returning to the islands.

On June 12, 1898, a declaration of independence, modeled on the American one, is proclaimed at his headquarters in Cavite.

It is at this time that Apolinario Mabini, a lawyer and political thinker, comes to prominence as Aguinaldo's principal adviser.

Born into a poor indio family but educated at the University of Santo Tomas, he advocates "simultaneous external and internal revolution," a philosophy that unsettles the more conservative landowners and ilustrados, who initially supported Aguinaldo.

For Mabini, true independence for the Philippines will mean not simply liberation from Spain (or from any other colonial power) but also educating the people for self-government and abandoning the paternalistic, colonial mentality that the Spanish had cultivated over the centuries.

Mabini's The True Decalogue, published in July 1898 in the form of ten commandments, uses this medium, somewhat paradoxically, to promote critical thinking and a reform of customs and attitudes.

His Constitutional Program for the Philippine Republic, published at the same time, elaborates his ideas on political institutions