Philippine Independence Day: June 12 or July 4?

It's a long weekend here in the Philippines for June 12 is Philippine Independence Day. Independence Day used to be July 4, same as in the USA. For those in the dark, the Philippines was under American rule after Spain sold my native land to the tune of 20,000,000 Pesos to good ol' Uncle Sam. Of course, that piece of information was not taught in history classes in elementary and secondary school just like the information that Emilio Aguinaldo willingly left for Hong Kong before the turn of the century as an exile when Spain paid him 3,000,000 Pesos.

Anyway, Aguinaldo came back to the Philippines and declared June 12 ,1898 as Philippine's emancipation day from Spain. The declaration, however, was not recognized by the United States or Spain, and was not generally recognized by other nations. So! the Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the United States. The transition was pretty much hard as the Spanish speaking Filipinos had to learn a new language which was English. For more than forty years the Philippines was under various US governor generals. Their names are all over the streets of Manila: Taft, Harrison,Forbes, Wood, Gilmore, Murphy, Roosevelt and more.

After the Tydings-McDuffie act or what is known as the Philippine Independence Act was approved in 1934, the Philippines just had to wait for a 10-year transition period for the USA to grant its independence. Tough luck! Halfway through the transition period during the Commonwealth years, WW II happened. After the war, ready or not ready, the Philippines demanded that the agreement in the Tydings-McDuffie Act be honored. So on July 4, 1946, the United States of America granted and recognized Philippine Independence. In 1965, during Diosdado Macapagal's tenure as president of the Philippines, he changed July 4 to June 12 as Philippine Independence Day. What do you think Philippine Independence Day should be?

Independence Day

The Philippines is on a long weekend. The public holiday June 12 , has been moved to June 9, for economic reasons that I know nothing of. For readers who do not know the significance of June 12, well, it is the Philippine's Independence day - from 300+ years of Spanish colonization. On June 12, 1898 -though the Philippines was then still under American "guidance"- Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed under his dictatorial government, the Philippine independence day. It was against Apolinario Mabini's advice - even the US consul- or was it governor general still? - refused to attend the ceremony. The proclamation was held at Aguinaldo's balcony in Kawit, Cavite.

The Philippine flag, done in speed by Marcela Agoncillo, was designed by Aguinaldo himself. The first Philippine flag was imported from Hongkong - a precedent of the Pinoy's buying preference? The national anthem's melody was composed by Julian Felipe, a local band leader. For years, the anthem was without lyrics until Jose Palma wrote a poem that was late adopted as the lyrics.

Lupang Hinirang
Official version used since 1956

Bayang magiliw
Perlas ng Silanganan,
Alab ng puso,
Sa dibdib mo'y buhay.

Lupang Hinirang,
Duyan ka ng magiting,
Sa manlulupig,
Di ka pasisiil.

Sa dagat at bundok,
Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw,
May dilag ang tula
At awit sa paglayang minamahal.
Ang kislap ng watawat mo'y
Tagumpay na nagniningning,
Ang bituin at araw niya
Kailan pa ma'y di magdidilim.
Lupa ng araw, ng luwalhati't pagsinta,
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo;
Aming ligaya, na pag may mang-aapi
Ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo.

The Philippines is indeed a troubled country. There are those who say that the US should not have allowed-given-permitted- the Philippines its independence. Oh wouldn't that be great! We'd be the 52nd state then we need not apply for visas to travel to the mainland! Ready or not, the Philippines is a free country - that in the procurement of independence a lot of lives were sacrificed.

Filipinos, look back so we can move forward. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

picture courtesy