On May 2nd, 1962 President Diosdado Macapagal, after not receiving a $73 million payment from the US government, issued a proclamation changing the date of Philippine Independence from July 4th to June 12th. While seemingly a patriotic move this change has gradually erased Philippine history so that everyone now thinks the Philippines has been an independent sovereign nation for 126 years. What I'd like to do in this article is trace this slow change through Presidential speeches commemorating Independence Day.
First is President Roxas:
One year ago today we achieved our national independence and established the Republic of the Philippines. On this same spot, hallowed by the blood of Rizal and consecrated to his memory, the American flag was lowered and our flag, that glorious flag of our forefathers, was raised upon yonder masthead to wave thenceforth alone and unshadowed over all this land we love. (Applause)
It is well that on each anniversary of that historic event we recall the significance of that symbolic ceremony, to remind us of the magnanimity of America and to awaken in our hearts a renewed devotion to freedom, a fresh determination to defend it with our lives.
We won our independence through the processes of democracy, by the will of a free people. We will scan the pages of history in vain for another such example. In the past no star ever fell from an imperial diadem except through force and at the cost of torrents of human blood. It is to the undying credit of Americans and Filipinos that by trusting each other and having faith in one another, they cleared the way for the fullest cooperation in the consummation of the historic act we now commemorate—a priceless flowering of Christian civilization.
We Filipinos can feel proud that we were actors in that historic drama that ushered in this new age. We are grateful to America for having kept faith with us and for pointing the way for other nations to follow in the trusteeship of the peoples under their flags.
President Quirino:
Two nations celebrate today their anniversary of freedom. With the United States of America, this celebration is one of the many she has observed annually in her long and successful life as a republic. With our Republic, it is only the second in its young but promising life. To the Philippines, Fourth of July signifies both freedom to the Filipinos and gratitude to America. To America, aside from being also the historic clay of her freedom, it is now properly a continuous source of justifiable pride for the liberty she made possible for us to enjoy. To both countries it should likewise signify from now on the periodic reaffirmation of faith, friendship, and confidence in one another, based on their solemn covenants and mutual commitments.
To be sure, the Filipino people celebrate this memorable day with perhaps greater rejoicing. I shall tell you why. The recentness of our birth as a republic makes our part in this observance like that of proud parents watching fondly their child grow up. You—I—every Filipino, dead or alive, are the proud parents. Dig deep into the past or scour the present and you will find that our libertarian achievements have no parallel in the history of the world. Every man, woman and child in this vast congregation, specially those who suffered in the recent war, know how we won our independence. Our emergence as a nation has been a most painful process. We can truthfully say that this Republic is the child of storm and stress—of fire and famine. Strange as it may seem, although we are only two years old today, we have shown clear signs of amazing strength and vitality, both physical and spiritual, which surely will endure the hardest test.
President Magsaysay:
TEN years ago today, by the grace of God, we realized a dream for which Filipinos had fought and died for hundred of years. On that day was born the Republic of the Philippines, a sovereign nation of free and independent Filipinos. The road we traveled to reach that goal was long and hard. On that road our fathers and their fathers before them fought and died. During the past half century the end of that hard road came in sight. The marks of our struggle changed from blood and steel to persuasion and principle. Our final victory was won with reason rather than violence.
At the turn of the century, we shook off the grip of one foreign country only to come under the sovereignty of another. Fortunately, the new sovereign was a nation which held and still holds the freedom and dignity of man among its most cherished traditions. Within the framework of this tradition we developed our case for self-determination and independence. Our case prospered. And on July 4, 1946, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and warm friendship, the stars and stripes of America were lowered; and the flag of our Republic proclaimed to the world that we stood at last as a free and sovereign people in the community of nations.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1956/07/04/speech-of-president-magsaysay-on-independence-day/
President Garcia:
THE vast throng which we Filipinos comprise in this park is but the nucleus of an entire nation 27 million strong in joyous observance throughout the country of the Great Day of Independence.
Fourteen years ago today, from the holocaust of war our freedom rose like the Phoenix from the ashes—and with it sovereign statehood. This Republic of the Philippines is the capstone achievement of four centuries of libertarian heroic struggle.
Today we begin our fifteenth year of independence. July 4, 1946, indeed was a day to become unforgotten ever. Here at the Luneta hundreds of thousands of us watched with throbbing hearts the ceremony marking the birth of the Republic. This edifice of stone from, which I speak was not here then; nor the imposing skyline of modern buildings that we now see around us. But at the time of the proclamation of independence, it did not matter that the ceremonial grandstand was a makeshift affair, that all around were the debris of war, that the whole country was prostrate and bleeding.
Indeed July 4th, 1946 is a day that no Filipino should ever forget. But, because President Diosdado Macapagal changed the date of independence from July 4th to June 12th, that date has been long forgotten and most Filipinos operate under the delusion that the Philippines has been an independent sovereign nation since 1898.
Presidents Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, and Garcia all recognize the fact the Philippines became independent on July 4th, 1946. None of them mention the declaration of 1898. Three of them mention the fact that Philippine independence is unique in the history of the world because it came by the will of the people rather than by a violent uprising and war. Today no one mentions that history when commemorating independence day.
Even though President Macapagal changed the date of independence from July 4th to June 12th he still recognized that the Philippines became independent on July 4th.
President Macapagal.
THREE years ago today, we commenced the celebration of our day of freedom on the 12th day of June. We made the change not out of a diminution of esteem for America but out of a sense of fidelity to the verities of history. We have since commemorated the 4th of July as American-Philippine Friendship Day, also out of a sense of reality and truth. For it is a reality and a truth, indeed, one of the marvels in the annals of colonialism that after the ties of sovereignty were torn asunder between the United States and the Philippines on July 4, 1946, following forty-eight years of colonial association, instead of the relations between the two countries since then suffering a loosening, the bonds of friendship and partnership between the United States and the Philippines in defense of their security and in support of common ideals have become firmer and stronger with the passing of time.
Finally succumbing to the power of superior arms and brought under the rule of the Spanish crown, the people revolted intermittently and incessantly during the whole period of the one hundred and seventy-seven years of Spanish rule until finally a nationwide revolution led by General Emilio Aguinaldo and the founder of the secret revolutionary society, the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio, under the inspiration of the Filipino hero and martyr, Dr. Jose Rizal, exploded and succeeded, resulting in the proclamation of Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite, on June the 12, 1898, by General Aguinaldo and in the establishment of the Philippine Republic under a Constitution adopted in Malolos, Bulacan, with Aguinaldo as President of the Republic.
At about this time, war broke out between the United States and Spain. Defeated in the war, Spain ceded in the Treaty of Peace to the United States the Philippines over which it had lost physical control. Again, the Filipino people resisted the implantation of American rule but were subdued by superior arms with the capture of Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela, in 1901. Despite the magnanimity of American rule, the Filipino people continued the struggle for freedom for forty-eight years on the battlefield of peace under a new triumvirate of great Filipino political leaders, Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, and Manuel Roxas, until on July 4, 1946, the United States proclaimed, restored, and recognized the independence of the Filipino people as a free and sovereign nation.
President Ferdinand Marcos:
And we of all peoples are perhaps most aware of the costs and the perils of freedom because we know and we remember that our very First Republic that was born in Kawit, Cavite 86 years ago died soon after its founding, the victim of yet another colonial power.
We know and we remember how long it took and what sacrifices were required before we could recover our National Independence on July 4, 1946.
And we know and we remember the labors that we had to bear decade after decade thereafter, in order to preserve our right to be an independent nation and to make authentic and life-giving this blessing for our people.
To celebrate therefore, Independence Day in our country is not simply to mark by ceremony and ritual the history beginnings of our Republic; it is as ever a moment to renew those purposes upon which our nation stands and to review the difficult stages of our evolution into the nation we are today.
We are a nation today of 52 million people that is fully 26 times larger than the nation that came to birth 86 years ago.
In both the growth in size and in the time that has elapsed are vividly marked every trial that we have lived through, and every lesson that we have learned about the challenges that a free and independent nation must face.
As we learned long ago that National Independence is not won after one demonstration of the valor of our arms, so have we also known that the achievement of authentic national freedom involves many forms of struggle and effort. And it is thus the task of every generation of our people to show by deed how it can preserve, protect and promote that freedom,
In many ways the last decade and a half has been such a critical time for our country. For this has been a period when, by choice, we faced up to the many constraints on National Independence since 1946; and this has been a time too when we have had to confront grave challenges to the very life of our republic.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1984/06/12/address-of-president-marcos-on-independence-day-2/
President Marcos made these comments in 1984, 22 years after Macapagal changed the date of independence. This is the last time any Philippine President will mention July 4th, 1946 in their Independence Day remarks.
President Cory Aquino:
We first took the road to nationhood and democracy 90 years ago. It did not take long for us to lose our way. Those who tried to pick up the trail of true nationhood again, found only martyrdom.
There is no easy road to nationhood and enduring democracy. And the road signs have been erased or confused by those who do not want us to complete the journey.
Today, we recall those who sacrificed to help us find our way and rededicate ourselves to continue their search and undertake their sacrifices. We cherish their memory and acknowledge with gratitude the sacrifices they made on the altar of country and democracy.
This year, we begin the decade of nationalism, in hopes that we may celebrate June 12, 1998, the Centennial of Independence, as a nation fully free at last. Free from the threat of renewed tyranny, free from poverty, disease, ignorance, homelessness, and conflict.
President Fidel Ramos:
To whoever may ask what exactly it is we celebrate today, we have this to say:
We Filipinos are rejoicing in our coming of age—in the final proof of our ability to understand, to use and to protect the liberty our heroes won for us a century ago.
Today we mark a hundred years of learning what it takes to rise from a diverse mix of language-groups, islands and regions into a self-conscious unity—into what Rizal called “one Filipino nation”—ang sambayanang Pilipino.
This quote is interesting because just two years prior in 1996 President Ramos declared July 4th to be a special day for the commemoration of 50 years of independence.
WHEREAS, July 4, 1996 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Philippine-American Friendship Day which ushered the beginning of Philippine political independence from the American colonial rule;
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1996/06/17/proclamation-no-811-s-1996-2/
Yet, despite this admission, Ramos continued to spout the lie that the Philippines gained its liberty in 1898.
President Joseph Estrada:
One hundred years after Kawit, fifty years after independence, twelve years after Edsa, and seven years after the rejection of foreign bases, it is now the turn of the masses to experience liberation.
We stand in the shadow of those who fought to make us free—free from foreign domination, free from domestic tyranny, free from superpower dictation, free from economic backwardness. We acknowledge a debt of gratitude to Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel Quezon, Ramon Magsaysay, Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and the magnificent twelve of the 1991 senate who voted for Filipino sovereignty and honor.
This speech is from his inaugural address. There are no Independence Day speeches recorded in the Official Gazette.
President Arroyo:
Today we remember once again those historic events of a hundred and eleven years ago when a band of patriots announced to the whole world the birth of a new and sovereign nation, one with full rights to dream its own dreams, choose its own leaders, and work towards its own goals and aspirations.
Our freedom, paid for by the blood of heroes, has been challenged several times since. But our people rose to the occasion at every turn, defending their liberty with everything they had, prepared to render the ultimate sacrifice if asked to do so.
President Benigno Aquino:
It has been one hundred and sixteen years since our national anthem was formally played and our national flag was unfurled in Kawit, Cavite, as symbols of a free and unified Philippines. On that day as well, the Philippines declared its independence: a country unshackled from foreign chains, composed of citizens who had control of their own destinies.
This is what we commemorate today. For us, the 12th of June is a culmination of all the sacrifices, the battles, and the triumphs our ancestors underwent to achieve independence from Spain. We are all aware: The goals of our heroes were not fulfilled overnight. It was the result of facing and overcoming multiple setbacks and challenges, and of the cooperation of several people united by one purpose: to live dignified lives, free from oppression. There was the Propaganda Movement, which planted the seeds of change in the minds of Filipinos; the Katipunan, which grew to become a refuge to many of our heroes; the many encounters between Filipino guerrillas and Spanish forces; the publication of two novels by Gat Jose Rizal, and his martyrdom in Bagumbayan on the 30th of December 1896.
In the course of history, we continue to defend and uphold the dreams of our forefathers: After the fall of the First Republic founded in Malolos, we fought off those who invaded our lands. We rose up from the ravages of war.
President Duterte:
I join all Filipinos in celebrating the 122nd Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence.
One hundred and twenty-two years ago, our forefathers proudly proclaimed the birth of the Filipino nation. Today we honor them for their bravery, heroism and sacrifice as well as we thank them for the gifts of democracy and freedom.
President Marcos Jr.:
One hundred and twenty-five years since the Declaration of Independence in Cavite, it is appropriate to pause, to reflect on how far we have come from that profound transformative event in our history.
The heroes of our liberation would be proud to know that we have thrown off the “ominous yoke of domination”; never again to be subservient to any external force that directs or determines our destiny.
We have stayed the course and adhered to their ideals for our free and independent country: popular, representative, and responsible.
We have evolved into a healthy and vibrant Republic, with a stable government, supported by growing institutions and mechanisms, all of whose mandate and authority ultimately emanate from and are owed to the Filipino people. Then as now, it remains an unassailable, self- evident principle that sovereignty resides in our people.
Our independence was not the end, but merely the principal means to achieve full development of the Filipino. Our success and the pursuit of happiness are not just the ultimate goals of our independence; these are to be seen as the expanded notions of human freedom.
We subscribe to this; for after all, it is the “blessings of independence and democracy” that we have avowed to secure for ourselves and for our posterity.
A hundred twenty-five years on, we will view our Nation’s “development as freedom”, with more focus and determination.
We owe this to our national heroes, who had won for us this freedom that we now enjoy. We owe this to the next generations of Filipinos to whom we swear to bequeath a stronger and genuinely free Republic.
Beginning with President Cory Aquino every single President makes the claim that the Philippines became sovereign on June 12th, 1898 and ignores the actual date of independence, July 4th. It is not clear why this is the case. One could recognize the significance of both dates but, except for Ramos, that is not what any of these Presidents do.
President Arroyo, the daughter of President Macapagal, offered some insight into her thought process when she praised her father for moving the date of independence.
 |
| https://politiko.com.ph/2019/06/12/proud-daughter-arroyo-hails-father-dadong-macapagal-for-moving-independence-day-to-june-12/headlines/ |
In her speech during the 121st Independence Day celebration at the historic Barasoain Church in, Malolos City, Bulacan, Arroyo said she was proud about the achievement of her father for standing ground and believing that it was wrong to commemorate the country's freedom and sovereignty on the same date with the former colonial masters—the Americans.
"It is a great honor for my family that the one who set Independence Day on the right date of June twelfth was none other than my father, President Diosdado Macapagal," said Arroyo.
On May 12, 1962, Macapagal, barely five months into his presidency, issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28. moving the Philippine Independence Day celebration from July 4 to June 12, nearly two decades after the United States formally set the country free from its colonial rule.
Arroyo explained that her father strongly believed that July 4 was not the right day for Filipinos to celebrate their independence since it somehow connoted dependence on the United States.
"He (Macapagal) is still a congressman, he already thought that it is not right to commemorate our liberation on the fourth of July, the old date of celebration... every time we hold our Independence Day on the fourth of July, we join the country that used to be conquer us. And it seems that we are still tied to America and continue to rely on his help and defense," Mrs. Arroyo stressed.
Mrs. Arroyo said her father stood ground during his time and initiated the first step to further enhance nationalism among Filipinos.
"It is appropriate to move Independence Day to the twelfth of June — the date when General Emilio Aguinaldo announced in Kawit, Kabite, in 1898, that we are a free country, with our own stand, goals, and rights like others another free country," said Arroyo.
According to Arroyo it is not right to celebrate independence on July 4th because the United States celebrates its independence on the same date. To continue celebrating Philippine independence on July 4th "seems that we are still tied to America and continue to rely on his help and defense."
This is as stupid as if one shared a birthday with a friend and decided to celebrate the day of his conception instead just so he could have his very own special day. It is a straight out denial of history due to an ill-conceived notion of pride.
Arroyo is wrong because the Philippines continues to depend on the USA for "help and defense." The USA gives the Philippines millions of dollars in aid every single year for projects of every kind. The US military trains with the AFP. The USA and the Philippines have also signed a Mutual Defense Treaty in which the USA will come to the aid of the Philippines if they are attacked.
It would be interesting to hear what Presidents Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, and Garcia have to say about this issue but they are all dead. President Garcia is the only one who survived after Macapgal changed the date of independence but his thoughts on the issue are either not recorded or are not readily available.
