On this date every year, Filipinos commemorate the Declaration of Philippine Independence. Flags are raised nationwide in celebration of the country’s emergence as a sovereign nation. Around the country, wreaths are laid at the monuments of Filipino heroes who paid dearly for the freedom we now enjoy. To complete the celebrations, speeches are delivered, abundantly praising the bravery of our heroes. This is our way to remember and honor the sacrifices of every Filipino who fought for our freedom.
Historical facts show that from 1946 to 1962, we celebrated Independence Day every July 4, the day that the Philippines was granted independence—on July 4, 1946—by the United States of America. However, on May 12, 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal (father of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring, “Araw Ng Kalayaan should be celebrated every June 12, starting on June 12, 1962, to rectify the historical error.” Macapagal said President Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines on June 12, 1898, in Cavite el Viejo (Kawit, Cavite). The Philippine Congress thereafter passed Republic Act 4166 declaring June 12 as the Philippine Republic Day.
Thus, onJune 12, 1962, the “June 12” Philippine Independence Day was observed for the first time throughout the country. In Manila, both President Diosdado Macapagal and the aged General Emilio Aguinaldo took part in the afternoon ceremonies at Luneta.
In his speech, Macapagal reviewed the history of Philippine resistance to, and uprisings against, foreign aggression and domination, beginning with Lapu-Lapu’s defiance of Ferdinand Magellan who was killed in Mactan in 1521. He spoke of Rajah Soliman, Rajah Lakandula, Magat Salamat, Francisco Dagohoy, Diego Silang and his wife Gabriela, Apolinario de la Cruz, and finally, of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo and Jose Rizal.
Macapagal said: “There had been other Asian revolutions before. But the revolution that culminated on June 12, 1898, was the first successful national revolution in Asia since the coming of the West, and the Republic to which it gave birth was the first democratic republic outside of the Western Hemisphere.”
All Philippine newspapers on June 12, 1962, carried a message from US President John Kennedy to President Macapagal: “It is with pleasure that I join the people of the United States in extending our best wishes and warmest felicitations to Your Excellency and the people of the Republic of the Philippines on the occasion of Philippine Independence Day.” Similar messages were received from a number of other heads of state, including Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
Here’s a curious thought: What if the Spaniards didn’t come to trample our sacred shores? What would have happened if we were not colonized at all? Obviously, there would be no Philippines and no Filipinos (as a people we would be called by another name).
In his article “Are Filipinos Asians?” published by The Diplomat, the premier international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, Mong Palatino wrote: “Composed of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippine archipelagic state was a political creation of Western colonizers. It was Spain during the 16th century that united the major islands of the Philippines.”
Indeed, what would have happened if our Spanish colonizers had not united the Philippine archipelago? By virtue of its proximity to the Asian giant, Luzon could have become a territory of China, while Mindanao could have become a province of Malaysia or Indonesia. As we celebrate Independence Day, let’s remember that it was Spain that united the major islands of the Philippines in the 16th century. As Palatino said, “if it hadn’t occupied the islands, the Philippine nation state wouldn’t have existed.”
Image credits: Jimbo Albano