Malolos

It was the site of the constitutional convention of 1898, known as the Malolos Convention, that led to the establishment of the First Philippine Republic led by Emilio Aguinaldo, at the sanctuary of the Barasoain Church. The convent of the Malolos Cathedral served as the presidential palace at that time. The First Philippine Republic is sometimes characterized as the first proper constitutional republic in Asia, although there were several Asian republics predating it – for example, the Mahajanapadas of ancient India, the Lanfang Republic, the Republic of Formosa, or the Republic of Ezo. Aguinaldo himself had led a number of governments prior to Malolos, like those established at Tejeros and Biak-na-Bato which both styled themselves República de Filipinas ("Republic of the Philippines"). Unlike the founding documents of those governments, however, the Malolos Constitution was duly approved by a partially elected congress and called for a true representative democracy.