Members of the Knights of Rizal march on Madison Avenue in New York City during a commemoration of Philippine Independence Day | Photo by Ricky Rillera/PDM
In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal stated, “The recognition of the independence of a nation should not be accorded by any other country but itself.” And so it was, by presidential proclamation, that Philippine Independence Day was moved from July 4, 1946 to June 12, 1898. President Macapagal was referencing the “independence of a country,” the Philippines, “cannot be accorded by another country,” the United States, “but itself,” presumably the Philippines.
Independence, at least in the most commonly accepted definition, is a condition of a nation, country, or state where residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government and usually sovereignty over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a dependent territory. The commemoration of the independence day of a country or nation celebrates when a country is free from all forms of foreign colonialism, free to build a country or nation without any interference from other nations. Under this definition, the Philippines was never independent in any sense of the word on June 12, 1898.
The Philippine-American War was yet to be fought to its eventual end – the defeat of Filipinos by a new occupying colonial power, the United States. Self-government was only evident among the collaborators, and our history is replete with such, from the days of the encomiendero and the makapili. The Philippines was then a ‘possession’ of the United States based on the Treaty of Paris – $2.86 per Filipino. By any definition, the Philippines did not have sovereignty over its territory as the archipelago was ceded to the United States after Spain lost the Spanish-American War.
To pacify the population, the Torrens Title system was introduced to the Philippines by the Americans – thus validating the Spanish land titles under the encomienda system that prevailed for over 300 years – then rewarding Filipino collaborators during Spanish rule and converting them into collaborators during the American occupation. This legacy has perpetuated the economic system that prevails to this day.
Recent findings during the budget planning 2024 revealed a third rail in Philippine policy-making involving the unfunded pensions of military and other uniformed personnel now nearly 50% of the Philippine economy – a whopping Php9 Trillion. This, too, is part of the price of the relative peace the country enjoys. And to think designers of the Maharlika Investment Fund is considering reneging on the annual allocation of Php290B to this pension defies the rationale set forth by preceding administrations and risk unrest that may threaten our fledgling democracy, invites foreign interference at a time of weakness and further loss of sovereignty over territory that we shall be unable to defend for lack of economic resources.
Hence, if leeway was allowed and allowances made, a Philippine Independence Day in 1946 instead of 1898 would make our Republic a mere 76 years old instead of 125 years old. Compare the Philippines to China, the new People’s Republic in 1949. India in 1947. Vietnam in 1945 plus 20 years of the U.S.-Vietnam War, 2021 Vietnam’s GNI was $3,590 v. Philippines $3,550.
Something happened after Philippine independence when our country’s economy, under relative peace, was overtaken by a country that fought a 20-year war against arguably the world’s only superpower. By the way, most of the ordinances dropped on Vietnam likely came from the two largest U.S. military bases outside of the U. S., Clark, and Subic. For a time, the Philippines hosted thousands of Vietnamese refugees.
Hence, if leeway was allowed and allowances made, a Philippine Independence Day in 1946 instead of 1898 would make our Republic a mere 76 years old instead of 125 years old. Compare the Philippines to China, the new People’s Republic in 1949. India in 1947. Vietnam in 1945 plus 20 years of the U.S.-Vietnam War, 2021 Vietnam’s GNI was $3,590 v. Philippines $3,550.
Today, the world hosts de facto Filipino refugees in the form of overseas contract workers and a burgeoning immigrant workforce. Filipinos do not cross the Rio Grande but cross oceans in search of a better life and, in the process, sustain a republic that seems to envy them in return. Politically disenfranchised like the Balikbayan who won a mayoral election only to be disqualified for being a dual citizen. Throwing more obstacles than ease of registration for overseas absentee voting. Every overseas Filipino is a modern-day hero if they keep remitting foreign exchange back home. Purport to establish a bank for their benefit only to use it to profit some more by them. These are not the ways to independence.
Since 1946, the Philippine peso has drifted from Php2 to the U.S.$ to Php55-56 today. Then there’s the Bell Act. When the Philippines became independent on July 4, 1946, its economy had been thoroughly devastated by World War II. Payment of war damage claims by the U.S. government and an influx of capital was desperately needed. The Bell Act set quotas on Philippine exports to the U.S., pegged the Philippine peso to the U.S. dollar at 2:1, and provided free trade between the two countries for eight years, followed by gradual application of tariffs for the next 20 years.
Many Filipinos objected to the so-called Parity Amendment, which required amending the Philippine constitution allowing U.S. citizens equal rights with Filipinos in exploiting natural resources and operating public utilities; nonetheless, some powerful Filipinos involved in these negotiations benefitted from the arrangement. Even in 1946, Philippine Independence was a farce. And again, unpatriotic Filipinos owned the day.
Independence requires patriots. We may have a few, but never enough – not before we kill each other first for greed, power, or other selfish gain.
Imagine if revolutionary America found George Washington orchestrating the murder of the likes of Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, and Franklin. America would be unrecognizable today. This was precisely what befell our Republic during its infancy. To this day, we seem to have the lingering misfortune of a shortage of patriots, or how else can we explain the inextricable poverty amid billionaires and millionaires while the masses, a typical family of 5, subsist on P1,400 a month?
Alas, independence remains a veneer for our nation and our people. But we shall soldier on with our parades and festivals because we are very good at that. Happy Independence Day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Crispin Fernandez advocates for overseas Filipinos, public health, transformative political change, and patriotic economics. He is also a community organizer and leader, and freelance writer.
