26th October 1657
"Hey!! Look, look!"
"It’s the chief, he’s finally hear"
"Whoaaa, the chief is here, give way!"
"Hey, move! move!"
Exclamations rang out as soon as Tamblot arrived at the Governor’s Palace.
Although Tamblot’s face was not known by many in the crowd and could not actually be recognized by his face, they were familiar with the iconic red fabric he tied around his head, which had beco a symbol of resistance against Spanish oppression.
The people gave way to their leader almost imdiately.
Tamblot moved forward through the path created by the people with a heart full of gratitude and pride
Tamblot, seeing the governor’s castle, had a complicated expression on his face.
He could have never, in a thousand lifetis, imagined that not only would he be the spokesperson for all the people of the Philippines, but he would also succeed in kicking away the Spanish, eventually lead the nation as its leader, and take over the palace of the governor who had previously ruled the Philippines as his own property.
Tamblot, looking around, could see many soldiers he had fought with. Although he couldn’t recognize most of them, it didn’t matter, as he knew who they were and what they had done by their appearance and behaviour alone. There was softness in his eyes as if it weren’t for these people, he would have never succeeded in his endeavours, even with the help the Bharatiya’s had provided.
"Your Excellency, we are running out of ti. Please, let us proceed."
Suddenly, a voice sounded from a priest next to Tamblot. This priest was surprisingly from the Bharatiya Empire, as his clothes were the traditional saffron garnt of a Hindu priest.
Tamblot knew that this was not the ti to have a discussion with the warriors, so he simply greeted them in the gathering and proceeded to go into the governor’s hall. The priest was actually the person invited by him to hold the national establishnt ceremony.
Originally, the resistance leaders who were with him suggested that they should use their own ritual practices and ceremonies instead of using those of the Spanish or the Bharatiya Empire.
However, with a bitter expression on his face, Tamblot explained, "I’m a Babaylan, so I know the importance of our own traditional rituals and ceremonies, but unfortunately, the practice of shamanism has long been discontinued. I have no knowledge of any rituals or ceremonial steps. The sa goes for the Katalonan, as their traditions may also have been cut off.
All we have are so small rituals and ceremonies that we use to pray to the gods."
"So it is better to invite the Bharatiya Hindu priest to hold the ceremony. At least we have so familiarity with it compared to what the Spanish do. Also, in my opinion, we can use the thods and principles from the god worship of the Bharatiya civilization to enrich our own unique culture."
It was only after this consideration that Tamblot proposed inviting a priest from the Bharatiya Empire. Tamblot knew that with this move, the culture of the Philippines would beco inseparable from the Bharatiyas, which would leave the nation in danger, as the people could be influenced by the Bharatiya Empire’s priests and theologians in the future.
But this was a risk he was willing to take, as he realized that the Bharatiya Empire did not have such a strict religious construct like what he had seen with Spanish orthodoxy. He also felt that the Philippines had already beco too dependent on the Bharatiya Empire, so he might as well support this religious integration, as long as his people were not hard.
Upon entering the governor’s palace, Tamblot noticed three people. One person he recognized as Niranjan, the intelligence agent of the Bharatiya Empire. He was the first person from the Bharatiya Empire that Tamblot and his tribe ca into contact with. The other two people he did not recognize, but since they had co into the governor’s palace, Tamblot knew they were not simple characters.
He went over to greet them, while at the sa ti, he was completely ignoring Niranjan.
Niranjan had a bitter expression on his face. Although Tamblot ignoring him could be considered rude, he could not do anything about it, since what he did was indeed evil. At least from Tamblot’s perspective, he was responsible for the penetration of the Bharatiya Empire’s intelligence agents within the ranks of his leaders and his army.
Bitterness aside, Niranjan knew that things like this should not be taken too seriously, as they were all part of his job, so his face quickly recovered, and he went on to introduce the two people beside him.
"Mr. Tamblot, this right here is the Deputy Director of Bharatiya External Pragya, Jalandhar Keshav."
Jalandhar and Tamblot both exchanged namaskaras.
"And this is the Pri Minister of our empire, His Excellency Vinod."
Tamblot was surprised, as he did not expect the Pri Minister of the Bharatiya Empire to actually co in person to witness the ceremony.
Tamblot imdiately understood how much importance the Bharatiya Empire attached to today’s ceremony, especially after learning how significant the position of Pri Minister was for the Bharatiya Empire.
"I am most thankful to Your Excellency for taking the precious ti to carry out the nation establishnt with us."
Vinod imdiately smiled, "Please, don’t take such a humble attitude towards , Your Excellency. A lot of people in our empire know about your glorious deeds and are full of admiration for you."
"To tell you the truth, if it weren’t for so important matters His Majesty had to handle, he would have co here personally to congratulate you."
Tamblot felt happy hearing those words, though he wasn’t sure how much of it was true. He did realize the importance of today’s event to the Bharatiya Empire.
"Nirmal Acharya Swami, how long do we have left before the ceremony should start?"
Tamblot was curious as to why the Pri Minister asked this question. His doubt grew as he stared at the priest, who was counting numbers with his hands and muttering various words. Tamblot imdiately realized that the person was reading the star chart.
Tamblot knew there was sothing like this in the practices left by his ancestors to hold harvests in proper seasons and to find out the auspicious ti. Tamblot once again couldn’t help but feel sad for his lost knowledge.
"There are still four hours and 23 minutes, Pri Minister," the priest said.
Vinod nodded, a relieved expression on his face. The reason he had co here personally, aside from witnessing the ceremony, was also to inquire what sort of a nation Tamblot was planning on building. Would it be a kingdom with a monarchy or a republic with a governnt?
Either choice did not make too much of a difference to the Bharatiya Empire since the navy would be stationed in Manila whether they liked it or not.
But it made a huge difference for the people of the Philippines. Hence, Vijay felt he had an obligation to remind Tamblot that there was more than one way to run a country, so he sent Vinod personally as a diplomatic move.
"Sir Tamblot, if you don’t mind asking, what sort of a country are you planning on building? Is it a kingdom, a republic, or so other type of country?" Vinod asked.
Tamblot was imdiately confused. He felt like he had no other choice but to be a king, as he did not know of any other system to rule the nation. Originally, as he had no heirs and did not have much interest in power, he did not want to be king. But unfortunately, no one among his subordinates agreed to be the king, so he reluctantly had to take on the role.
Still, he had decided to pass on the throne to soone he approved of after his ti. But now, listening to the Bharatiya Pri Minister opposite him, a doubt suddenly popped up in his mind: ’Is there another way to govern a country?’
Vinod understood the confusion on Tamblot’s face, as he had expected it. "Well, sir, let explain," Vinod began.
"A kingdom is a way of governing where everything is decided by a king; this is what everyone is familiar with."
Tamblot nodded his head in agreent.
"However, a republic, on the other hand, is a way of governing a country where the top decision-maker is actually selected by the people through voting."
"An ideal republic does not have nobles, commoners, and slaves. In an ideal republic, everyone is a citizen."
Tamblot’s eyes lit up. This idea of a republic, which does not have any distinction between a nobleman and a commoner, greatly attracted him. If possible, he would want his nation to be a republic where the leader of the nation is chosen by the people. Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.
"Your Excellency, could you please briefly explain how this republic you ntioned works?" Tamblot’s expression was eager, and anyone could see that he was restless.
Vinod couldn’t help but be taken aback, as he did not expect Tamblot, who had the opportunity to beco a king, to actually be more interested in being a pri minister or a president. However, his surprise was not for long, as he quickly recovered. The decision was Tamblot’s to make, so Vinod would not offer his own opinion.
"Sure. An ideal republic would have three branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch."
"The legislative branch would contain the House of Delegates and the Senate. The House represents the population of different provinces, while the Senate provides representation to all states. Their main roles are to create laws, allocate budgets, and ratify treaties."
"The executive branch is led by the president, who serves as the head of state and commander in chief of the military. This president is elected through a national vote and is responsible for enforcing the law, managing foreign relations, and overseeing the governnt’s day-to-day operations. They are supported by a vice president and a cabinet of ministers."
"The judicial branch is headed by the Supre Court, which ensures that governnt actions comply with the constitution of the Republic as it was established. Below this Supre Court are high courts and other courts that deal with legal disputes at the national, state, tropolitan, and town levels."
Tamblot’s mind was imdiately buzzing. "This is it! This is it! This is the ideal country I want, where no one is above anyone else, where everyone can be whatever they want according to their abilities, and where there are checks and balances so that no one party can dominate everything. This is what I want," Tamblot was essentially screaming to himself in his heart.
"Your Excellency, I believe it is better for the Philippine people to have a republic rather than a kingdom. So could you please help us set up the constitution and the governnt? I will forever be indebted to you."
Vinod was surprised, as he did not expect Tamblot to actually choose the republic. He thought Tamblot would at least ask whether having a mix of both was possible. Apparently, Tamblot was completely devoid of any desire of his own; he seed to be a person whose only goal was the betternt of his people.
A look of admiration appeared imdiately on the faces of the Bharatiya in the room, including the Pri Minister and the Deputy Director of Bharatiya External Pragya.
However, even though Vinod could tell Tamblot seed to have made a decision, he tried to persuade him once more.
"I can definitely help you out, Your Excellency, but are you sure you want to make your nation a republic? Because if you want, you could actually be the king, hold the power of the executive division, and simultaneously give power to the people by giving them control over the legislative and judicial divisions."
Tamblot was intrigued. "How so?"
"You might not know this, but the Bharatiya Empire is not actually a monarchy but a constitutional elected monarchy, where the emperor is elected by the people after the current emperor’s death.
The Emperor holds the power to the Imperial Committee, which controls the executive branch, while the people elect representatives every four years to be represented in the legislative council, which is responsible for making laws, treaties, and such, benefiting the people."
"The ranks of nobility in the Bharatiya Empire are not hierarchical but are given according to rit, and the rank of nobility cannot be passed on to descendants."
"Our empire is quite special, and it is the only one in the world with such a system of governance. If Your Excellency wants, we could actually co up with a similar system for the Philippines."
Tamblot fell into deep thought, as he did not expect such a possibility. However, his mind did not change; it was as if he had an Instinctive aversion to dictators even if he did not know what it ant.
"Thank you for your suggestion, Your Excellency, but please help with setting up the constitution. I still stick with the original decision of a republic."
Vinod felt that the man was missing an opportunity, but since it was not his decision to make, he readily agreed.
For the next few hours, the basic constitution of the new country, the United States of the Philippines, was set up. The person who founded the nation, Chief Tamblot, beca the first president of the Republic of the United States of the Philippines.
With the setting up of the constitution, the Philippines beca a nation with seven states: Palawan, Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Negros, Panay, and finally Bohol.
The border between the United States of the Philippines and Mindanao was decided to be the Bohol Sea, which separates the archipelago.
The warriors did not understand what a republic was, but they were happy that their chief would be the leader of the republic and even more pleased that there would not be any nobles in their nation since the Spanish nobles left a very bad impression in their minds.
The people were happy when Chief Tamblot ntioned that the power of the nation would be in the hands of the people and that he would not take it away from them.
The rchants were happy because their business was not hindered too much and their freedom was preserved.
Overall, on 26th October 1657, with the foundation of the United States of the Philippines, the legend of the Philippine Republic began—a nation that would go on to surprise almost everyone in the world, including the Bharatiya Empire.
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