Independence means the quality or state of being independent. It also means freedom from the control or the influence of others. It is the state of being able to do things and make own decisions, without the help of the influence of others. A country needs to be recognized by other countries around the world. Independence Day in the Philippines is held every June 12 and commemorates the Philippines’ declaration of independence from the Spanish colonial rule. This year, we are celebrating our 124th Independence Day.
The original Independence Day was held in 1898 in present-day Kawit, Cavite where General Emilio Aguinaldo read out the “The Act of the Declaration of Independence”. This was an important milestone for the Filipinos, but the Spanish government did not recognize their independence. They then went on to give the Philippines to the United States of America after the Spanish-American war as part of their peace treaty. After the war and the Philippines’ treaty with the United States of America, independence was granted to the Philippines on July 4, 1946, coinciding with the American Independence Day. July 4 was celebrated as Independence Day until 1964. After mounting pressure from the community, the government declared that June 12 would be the Philippines’ Independence Day and a national holiday. July 4 in the Philippines would then become the Philippines’ Republic Day ( Independence Day 2022, 2023, 2024 retrieved from www.publicholidays.ph, June 4, 2022 ).
July 4 became Republic Day, still a national holiday, in 1964. During the period of Martial Law under President Ferdinand Marcos, July 4 was changed to Philippine-American Friendship Day and relegated to a working holiday. President Corazon Aquino did away with Philippine-American Friendship Day altogether, but President Fidel V. Ramos restored it on the occasion of the 50th anniversary ( July 4, 1946: The Philippines Gained Independence from the United States retrieved from www.nationalww2museum.org, June 5, 2022 ).
Our independence was not simply bestowed upon us. It is not just simply received by us. It is earned by us, especially by our ancestors. Our ancestors had given their lives for our independence. They were fighting all foreign invaders who wanted to colonize our country. They were offering their sweat, their blood, and even their lives for our country to gain independence against any foreign invaders. That is why, every one of us, Filipinos must treasure our independence. It is hard-earned by our ancestors, so we should treasure our independence for the rest of our lives.
We must celebrate Independence Day every year to give proper honor and importance to our independence. Every Filipino must participate in the celebration of our Independence Day. We can offer flowers to the monuments of our heroes who led our ancestors in fighting the colonizers of our country. We can put our flag in front of our houses, offices, schools, government buildings or offices, and others. We can also put our flag in our vehicles like our motorcycles and cars. We can conduct a program wherein our Filipino heroes and culture as well are given importance in the program. We can visit our ancestors who are still alive- ancestors or war veterans who took part during the war against our colonizers. Our government can also design projects and programs for our war veterans so that they feel valued. These are just some of the things that we, Filipinos can do to give proper importance to our independence.
In celebrating our Independence Day every year, our youths should also be involved in the celebration. It is really important so that it will be engraved in the hearts and minds of the youth how important our independence is. Aside from that, the youth must be involved in our Independence Day celebration because they are the ones who will continue the legacy of the celebration in the times to come. In other words, so that the youths will be properly guided in the celebration of our independence and for them to know everything about our independence and our history. It is because our youths need to know our past as it is needed for them to face the future. Let us remember that we cannot reach our destination in the future if ever we will not look back to our past. Everybody can learn from the past, and that learnings from the past can be used by everybody who is facing the future.
So, it is proper to treasure our Independence Day. It is proper for everyone to give proper importance to our Independence Day. It is because without our Independence Day, we Filipinos will still be under the power and influence of other countries, and for sure we cannot easily do what we wanted to do.
Let us all treasure our Independence Day in every possible way that we can so that we can give honor and respect to all the men and women behind the acquisition of our independence.
