The first Unfurling of the Philippine Flag: Imus or Cavite City?
For decades, National Flag Day has been celebrated annually in Imus, Cavite. Presidential Proclamation No. 374 declared May 28 as National Flag Day, stating that ”our flag was first raised and received its baptism of fire and victory in the battle of Alapan, Imus, Cavite, on May 28, 1898.”
In 1970, the National Historical Institute, now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), installed a historical marker in Alapan with the inscription reading in part, “SA POOK DIN ITO UNANG IWINAGAYWAY ANG BANDILANG PILIPINO.”
However, some historical documents counter this. General Emilio Aguinaldo’s memoir chronicled that after the Battle of Alapan, 270 Spanish surrenderees were brought to him in Cavite Puerto (now Samonte Park, Cavite City). He wrote: “In commemoration of this glorious achievement, I hoisted our national flag in the presence of a great crowd, who greeted it with tremendous applause and loud, spontaneous and prolonged cheers …”
In “Sixty Years of Philippine History,” Felipe Buencamino wrote that he witnessed the unfurling at Teatro Caviteño from his detention tower at the Osorio Mansion.
Don Gervacio Pangilinan, a historian and revolutionary, wrote about it in his book, “La Historica Cavite.” Other references that identify Cavite City as the site of our flag’s first unfurling are Felipe Calderón’s “Mis Memorias Sobre La Revolucion Filipina” (1898-1901) and Mauro Garcia’s “Aguinaldo in Retrospect.”
Given these sources, why is the first unfurling of our flag not officially commemorated in Cavite City?
The late Wilfredo Pangilinan, grandson of Don Gervacio Pangilinan, had shared that he and other Cavite City residents and officials have been fighting for this recognition for decades. In 1998, the NHCP mentioned Cavite Nuevo in its historical marker placed at the Alapan Elementary School. However, no follow-ups were made by the Cavite City local government unit (LGU) to assert that it was in Cavite City where this historical event occurred.
In 2022, Republica Filipina Reenactment Group proposed a 2023 reenactment of the first unfurling at Teatro Caviteño for its 125th anniversary in coordination with the Cavite City LGU and then NHCP chair Emmanuel Calairo.
In his speech, Calairo said National Flag Day was celebrated twice for the first time—in Alapan in the morning and Cavite Puerto in the afternoon.
A few months later, NHCP installed a historical marker in Cavite Puerto and declared it as the site where the first unfurling occurred. In 2024, at the 126th anniversary of the Battle of Alapan, the last sentence on its 1970 historical marker had been erased.
As Cavite City Historical Society president, I proposed the project to NHCP Deputy Executive Director Alvin Alcid last year, and it received positive feedback. The Cavite City LGU is coordinating with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Museum to secure the necessary permits.
This year, I discussed with NHCP Commissioner Maria Eloisa de Castro possible amendments to Proclamation No. 374 and Executive Order No. 179. A resolution naming Teatro Caviteño in Cavite City as the actual site was also submitted to the Office of the President.
We hope that this detail about our country’s flag will be rectified for historical accuracy.
Edwin S. Guinto, edwinsguinto19@gmail.com
