After my visit to the Aguinaldo Shrine, Jandy and I returned to our car and retraced our way back to Brgy. Binakayan, also within Kawit, this time in search of the home of where Baldomero Aguinaldo (February 26, 1869-February 14, 1915), Emilio Aguinaldo’s first cousin, lived as an adult.
Check out “Aguinaldo Shrine” and “Liwasang Emilio Aguinaldo“
Baldomero was also a lieutenant-general during the Philippine Revolution (he figured in the battles of Binakayan-Dalahican, Noveleta, Zapote River, Salitran and Alapan), Emilio’s right-hand man and a member of the latter’s cabinet (Auditor General, Director of Finance, Secretary of the Treasury, Auditor of War and Secretary of War and Public Works). He also helped draft and signed the Constitution of Biak-na-Bato. During the Philippine-American War, he returned to the battlefield as commanding general of the Southern Luzon provinces.
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| Baldomero Aguinaldo Shrine |
Built with narra and molave wood in 1906 and now painted in pastel blue and white, this typical 2-storey country home of a gentleman farmer was turned over by his grandson, former Prime Minister Cesar E.A. Virata (who also happens to be the father of my U.P. classmate Steven) to the Philippine government in 1982. This shrine has a museum on the ground floor with a diorama of the Battle of Binakayan. On the second floor are antique furniture such as a turn-of-the-century upright piano. Opposite the house is the former kamalig (storage shed for produce), now a museum showcasing Cavite’s role in the revolution. On the walls are photographs and drawings of Cavite’s military heroes.
Behind the house, in a quiet corner, is the family plot where Baldomero, his wife (Petrona Fauni Reyes-Aguinaldo), their 2 children (Leonor and Aureliano) and their spouses (Dr. Enrique T. Virata and Liwanag Virata) are all buried. The shrine is now administered and managed by the National Historical Institute (NHI) which installed a historical marker here on June 12, 1983.
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| NHI Historical Marker |