In accordance with the decrees of June 18 and 23, 1898, Aguinaldo convoked the Revolutionary Congress at Barasoain, Malolos. Peace and order conditions in some provinces were such that Aguinaldo was compelled to appoint their delegates to Congress. Consequently, on September 4, he appointed fifty delegates to the Congress. This number was increased by ten on September 10. The number of delegates to the Congress fluctuated from time to time.
The Malolos constitution is the first important Filipino document ever produced by the people's representatives. It is anchored in democratic traditions that ultimately had their roots in American soil. It created a Filipino state whose government was "popular, representative and responsible" with three distinct branches -- the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The constitution specifically provided for safeguards against abuses, and enumerated the national and individual rights not only of the Filipinos and of the aliens. The constitution as a whole is a monument to the capacity of the Filipinos to chart their own course along democratic lines. In a period of storm and stress, it symbolized the ideals of a people who had emerged from the Dark Ages into the Light of Reason.
