When the Insurgent movement had progressed sufficiently far, the leaders collected their adherents and obtained recognition as the heads of their provinces or districts.  For example, representatives of the towns of Pampanga assembled at San Fernando on June 26, 1898, and under the presidency of General Maximo Hizon agreed to yield him “complete obedience as military governor of the province and representative of the illustrious dictator of these Philippine Islands.” [368] The town of Macabebe refused to send any delegates to this gathering.  Commissioners, in almost every case officers of Aguinaldo’s army, were empowered by him to establish the so-called republican government.  They appointed delegates who proceeded to the smaller towns and held elections; but whenever possible the commissioner of Aguinaldo presided.  In many cases these delegates were lieutenants of the army.  The commissioners selected the electors, for they had all to be “marked out by their good conduct, their wealth, and their social position,” and they had all to be in favour of independence.  They then presided at the elections, which were viva voce.  They apparently selected the people to be elected, and forwarded a record of the proceedings to the central government.  The election had to be approved by the dictator or president before the successful candidates could assume the duties of their offices.  Later on, the military commanders remote from the seat of government were authorized to approve elections and install the successful candidates, but the records of election had even then to be forwarded to the capital for approval, the action of the commissioner not being final.

The commissioners do not seem to have been able to find many men who had the necessary requisites for electors.  In the town of Lipa, Batangas Province, with a population of forty thousand seven hundred forty-three, at the election held July 3, 1898, a presidente was chosen for whom twenty-five votes were cast.  On November 23, 1898, an election was held at Vigan, Ilocos Sur, for a presidente to succeed one who had been elected representative in congress.  One hundred and sixteen votes were cast.  The population of Vigan is nineteen thousand.  On October 5, 1898, at Echague, Isabela Province, a presidente was elected for whom fifty-four votes were cast.  The population of Echague is fifty-four thousand.  On October 2, 1898, at Cabagan Nuevo, Isabela, one hundred and eleven men voted out of a population of sixty-two hundred and forty.  On January 29, 1899, the town of Hernani, in Samar, elected its municipal officials under the supervision of V. Lukban.  Fifty-four men voted.  The town has a population of twenty-five hundred and fifty-five.

The elections, so-called, were not always held without protest.  For example, the town of San Jose, Batangas, protested unavailingly to Aguinaldo against the result of an election held at 10 P.M., in a storm of rain.  Men who had been on friendly terms with the Spaniards were usually excluded from all participation.  If in spite of the precautions taken men were elected who were disliked by the commissioner or his supporters, the election could be set aside on the ground that the person elected was not an adherent of the revolution.