Significance of US Fourth of July celebration to Pinoys

Filipinos used to observe their independence day on the same day that Americans celebrate their independence.  Then during the time of President Diosdado Macapagal, the commemoration of Philippine independence was moved from July 4 to June 12.  
 
For Filipinos, the Fourth of July before marked the day when the United States granted the Philippines her independence (July 4, 1946).     
 
For Americans, the Fourth of July is the day to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  This date marks the fateful day when the U.S. declared her independence from Great Britain.
 
Filipinos celebrate their independence these days on June 12 to remember General Emilio F. Aguinaldo’s proclamation of Philippine independence, a “questionable proclamation” wherein Aguinaldo uttered the words “and under the protection of the Mighty and Humane North American Nation.”
 
The declaration made by Aguinaldo did not create a sovereign nation out of the Philippines for two reasons.
First, in declaring and proclaiming the “independence” of the Philippines from Spain, Aguinaldo sought and obtained the protection and blessing of the U.S.  Thus, his proclamation was not made “independently and freely.”   
Second, Aguinaldo’s proclamation was not even recognized by any sovereign nation at the time when it was made.
 
And there might be a third reason.  There is the lingering issue whether Aguinaldo was the leader of the Philippine revolutionary government at the time when he made his independence declaration.
 
After Aguinaldo’s proclamation, the U.S. could not contain itself from annexing and adding the Philippines to its territorial possessions.  
 
In simple analogy, the act of the U.S. in supporting Aguinaldo was a prelude to a military takeover and a military-led occupation of a young nation that was striving to be free and independent--- following the revolution started by Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan on August 23, 1896 against Spain.          
 
After annexing the Philippines, an American expansionist rule began that was both violent and oppressive.
 
In the absence of a faithful documentary or movie about the havoc wrought by American expansionism and colonialism in the Philippines, the Oliver Stone movie “Born on the Fourth of July” comes to mind.  In the movie, Stone explored and tackled the evils of the Vietnam War.  
 
The war waged by Filipino freedom fighters against the occupying American forces erupted on February 4, 1899.  Only recently had this war been labeled as the Philippine-American War, where just like in Vietnam, so many people died and perished--- 20,000 American soldiers and half a million Filipinos.   
 
What happened more than a century ago in the Philippines has been erased in the memory and consciousness of many Filipinos.  
 
But these historical truths should not be forgotten.
 
In the United States, American colonial rulers in the Philippines tried to silence opposition to the American expansionist rule there by spreading untruths and false information about America’s presence there.  
On July 4, 1901, Governor General William H. Taft instituted a complete civilian administration in the Philippines in an effort to conceal the military initiated “pacification campaigns” against Filipino freedom fighters and revolutionary forces.  Leading Filipino freedom fighters and their revolutionary movement were labeled as outlaws, bandits, and thieves--- to justify the military campaigns, violence, and extrajudicial killings that were so rampant during those days.    
 
On July 4, 1902,  President Theodore Roosevelt declared the end of the Philippine-American War.  But in reality, the war and opposition to the United States colonization of the Philippines did not end then.  The war and hostilities actually went on for a decade more.
 
It was actually in 1946, in the aftermath of the conclusion of World War II and the end of the experimental Commonwealth government, that the U.S. granted the Philippines her independence--- and coincidentally, it was also on a Fourth of July day.      
 
There are still many historical truths hidden or forgotten somewhere that have to be discovered and re-discovered.  
 
Should Filipinos celebrate independence day every August 23rd, the day (August 23, 1896) when Andres Bonifacio declared Philippine independence against Spain?  
Let us continue to discover and re-discover the forgotten chapters in the history of the Philippines.  As they say, the truth will not only allow us to move forward.  It will also set all of us free! - Philippine News
 
Jojo Liangco is an attorney with the Law Offices of Amancio M. Liangco Jr. in San Francisco, California.  His practice is in the areas of immigration, family law, personal injury, civil litigation, business law, bankruptcy, DUI cases, criminal defense and traffic court cases.