Artifact: Death Record of Victoria Flora Aguinaldo. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's Daughter
On August 21, 2021, the death record of Victoria Flora Aguinaldo was posted by an administrator of the Facebook page, "Sementeryo: Heritage Cemeteries of the Philippines," with this caption: "This is the actual death record of the infant daughter of General Emilio Aguinaldo, Victoria Flora Aguinaldo, born during his northern Luzon retreat." (The image was attributed to David John Paul Sanglap.)
The text was written in Spanish, and it was translated as follows: "On Nov 12, 1899, was buried in the parochial cemetery, the body of Victoria Flora Aguinaldo y del Rosario, filipina (sic), toddler, child of Señor Emilio and Señora Hilaria del Rosario of Cawit, Province of Cavite. Died yesterday because of sickness at the age of 4 months. Buried for free. Certified true." [Signature of priest]
Today, the church cemetery being referred to has been abandoned and is now a residential area, with the Catholic Church property already donated to the occupants (according to parish priest, Fr. Reydentor Mejia). Only the arched portal made of brick remains.
Another historical record, however, claims that said daughter was buried "in the church," which I take to mean inside the church per se. Growing up, I saw with my own eyes a curious marker on the floor of the church (middle area, left side when facing the altar), but I can no longer remember what was on it, and when I inquired an elder (forgot who), she said it was a marker for "Aguinaldo's daughter," at a time I had no inkling who Aguinaldo could be, much less his daughter. So which is which?
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