Depending on the definition chosen for these terms, a number of persons could alternatively be considered the inaugural holder of the office. Andrés Bonifacio is the de facto first President of a united Philippines. He was the third Supreme President (Spanish: Presidente Supremo; Tagalog: Kataás-taasang Pangulo) of the Katipunan, a secret revolutionary society. Its Supreme Council, led by the Supreme President, coordinated provincial and district councils. When the Katipunan went into open revolt in August 1896, Bonifacio had transformed it into a de facto revolutionary government with him as its head. While the term Katipunan remained, Bonifacio's government was also known as the Tagalog Republic (Spanish: República Tagala). Although the word Tagalog refers to a specific ethno-linguistic group, Bonifacio used it to denote all indigenous peoples of the Philippines in place of Filipino, which had colonial origins. In place of the Spanish Filipinas he coined the Tagalog title, Haring Bayang Katagalugan ("Sovereign Tagalog Nation") for the new state.[8][9][10][11][12] Some historians contend that including Bonifacio as a past president would imply that Macario Sacay and Miguel Malvar should also be included.[13]
Aguinaldo's Government and the First Republic[edit]
In March 1897, Emilio Aguinaldo was elected president of a revolutionary government at the Tejeros Convention.[14] The new government was meant to replace the Katipunan as a government, though the latter was not formally abolished until 1899. Aguinaldo was again elected President at Biak-na-Bato in November, leading the Biak-na-Bato Republic. Exiled in Hong Kong after the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, with the advent of the Spanish-American War he returned to the Philippines to renew revolutionary activities and formed a dictatorial government on May 24, 1898. Revolutionary forces under his command declared independence on June 12, 1898. On June 23, 1898, Aguinaldo transformed