13/06/2026
A piece of AMCI history, beautifully told by Jay De Guzman (Batch 1993). Reposted with permission.
๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ
In 1998, while most of the country marked the centennial of Philippine independence through ceremonies and events, a group from the Ayala Mountaineers Club, Inc. (AMCI) chose a different way to remember.
They went out and walked it.
Together with the Philippine Centennial Commission and the Department of Tourism, AMCI retraced the route taken by President Emilio F. Aguinaldo from November 1899 to March 1901โback when the First Philippine Republic was on the move, constantly evading American forces.
It wasnโt an easy route then, and it definitely wasnโt easy now.
The trail cut across mountains, rivers, and remote communities. And somewhere along the way, it stopped being just about covering distance. The more they walked, the more it sank inโthis was the same ground where people once carried the burden of a young nation trying to stay free.
Aguinaldo wasnโt alone on that journey. He had his family, his cabinet, and his soldiers with him. They were tired, hunted, and constantly movingโbut they kept going. Not because it was easy, but because they believed in something bigger.
And a hundred years later, AMCI got a glimpse of what that must have felt like.
There were moments on the trek when things slowed downโentering a small town, talking to locals, hearing stories passed down through generations. These places werenโt just stops on a map. They were part of the story. Their ancestors had once given shelter, food, and support to a struggling government on the run.
Thatโs why the plaques mattered.
When AMCI awarded Plaques of National Appreciation to these towns, barrios, and sitios, it wasnโt just ceremonial. It felt personal. It was a quiet way of saying: we remember what your people didโand it mattered.
The entire route stretched farโacross Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, up through the Cordilleras, and down to Isabela. From the China Sea all the way to the Pacific. It crossed two major mountain ranges, but more than that, it connected stories that might have otherwise faded with time.
The trek was divided into four legs, each led by different teams. Every group carried a part of the journey forward. Some sections were tougher than others, but all of them shared the same weight of history.
Only two participantsโDennis Ausa and Bert Barlaanโcompleted the entire route from start to finish. But honestly, finishing wasnโt the only thing that mattered.
Because even walking a portion of that path was enough to change how you saw things.
You start to realize that independence isnโt just something you read about. It was carriedโstep by step, through exhaustion, fear, and uncertaintyโby people who refused to give up.
And in retracing that journey, even just a part of it, AMCI didnโt just celebrate independence.
They experienced it.
