20 March

1596

King Felipe II gives the city of Manila a second coat-of-arms. It is more to the liking of the Spaniards than the first.

1784

Gov.-Gen. Jose Basco y Vargas issues a decree forbidding the confiscation of farmers' lands, carabaos, and farm implements by creditors, as well as the farmer's arrest or imprisonment while planting or harvesting their crops.

1896

Andres Bonifacio decrees that all town presidents of the Katipunan districts must hand in their collections to their respective provincial presidents who, in turn, must submit them to the supreme government of the Katipunan.

1899

Commanded by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, 25,000 well-armed revolutionary troops construct trenches at Marilao. His disciplined soldiers keep an impressive line of defense that stretches all the way from Marilao to Malolos.
In Malolos, Bulacan, “El Heraldo Filipino,” a newspaper of the Philippine Revolutionary Government, publishes the letter of Premier Apolinario Mabini to Don Galicano Apacible, chairman of the Filipino Junta in Hongkong. It reads in part: "The American soldiers, with their variety of arms, up to now cannot be said to have surpassed us in strength; and although they have made gains, they had difficulty in obtaining them. They will try to capture Malolos, believing perhaps that once Malolos falls, the war will end; not thinking that this is as great a mistake as in the case of the other territories they have captured. The people greatly desire to use guerrilla warfare in the hope of infiltrating the provinces. Since they are more or less scattered, it will be easy to destroy (the Americans), troop by troop.”

1900

Gen. Manuel Tinio orders the execution of all revolutionary officials who fail to report to the nearest guerrilla commander the movements and plans of the American imperialist troops.