our original independence day was the same date as america, july 4. a date declared by the US for the country. historians urged then president Diosdado Macapagal (why oh why did you create such an evil spawn of a daughter? why!) to change it to june 12, originally Flag Day.why june 12? in 1998, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippines and unfurled our flag to the people for the first time.
we were yet to be free from the spaniards. the war to drive them out was still ongoing.
i take pride in this day. i take pride that we did not wait to be declared independent by our conquistadors, rather we claimed it for ourselves. we did not need to win the war, we just need to know it was time to reclaim what was justly ours.
were we truly independent? technically not. we were turned over to the americans, who in the wake of world war 2, the coward douglas mcarthur left us to fend for ourselves upon the arrival of the japanese. he only came back when the war was over and it was safe for his sorry ass to come back and be safe in holding true to his promise.
now that our conquistadors are gone, we fight a new war. a sad war because it is our fellow Filipinos who oppress us. this greed for power has deprived farmers of their land, students of their education, squatters of their homes.
last week, a farmer activist fighting for land reform. last wednesday, thousands gathered in makati to express outrage for the 'timeliness' of a constitutional assembly just a few months before elections. for the last 60 years... we have been a confused nation managed by power-hungry elitists. i want to be independent from that. i want my countrymen to be fed, to be educated, to be nursed.
but how? sigh.
