PH’s 124th Celebration of Independence

 

            Let’s have a quick recap about the history of Philippines’ Independence Day before everything else, shall we?

            It all started on the second half of the 16^th century, when Spain colonized the Philippines. Living under the Spanish rules which controlled the Filipinos and their lives for 333 years eventually urged them to fight for their own rights. Emilio Aguinaldo then declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898 right when he came back from Hong Kong.

            I actually found 8 must-know facts about the Philippines’ Independence Day, and I wanted to share it. Fact number one, a mock battle between Spain and United States. After Aguinaldo declared Philippine Independence, multiple wars between America, Spain and Philippines continued. “In August 1898, the Spanish commander eventually surrendered Manila to the Americans, under the condition that a “mock battle of Manila” be staged, with Filipino insurgents being barred from the city.” Fact number two, Philippine independence was proclaimed more than once. Yes, Philippine independence was proclaimed twice. The first one was June 12, 1898, while the second one was July 4, 1946, when the World War II was done and America awarded the Republic of the Philippines complete independence. Fact number three, the color on top of the flag differs during times of war. The Philippines’ flag signifies the country’s current situation: when the blue part of the flag is on top, then the country is at peace; and when the red part of the flag is on top, then the country is on war. Fact number four, who designed the flag? Emilio Aguinaldo himself designed the country’s flag and presented it to Marcela Agoncillo in person. Agoncillo and two of her assistants completed the flag in five days.

 

            Fact number five, what do the colors of the flag mean? The color red signifies Filipino courage, blue stands for the willingness of Filipinos to die rather than surrender to colonizers, and white represents our ancestor’s passion for peace. Fact number six, the islands that the three stars of the flag originally represent. These islands are Luzon, Panay, and Mindanao. Originally, Visayas is not the one that one of the stars represented. Why Panay? Because Panay was one of the country’s most important islands and where the revolutionary movement started. Fact number seven, the missing flag. When Aguinaldo fled to Northern Luzon during the Filipino-American war, the original Philippine flag raised at Kawit on June 12 was lost in Tayug, Pangasinan. Up until today, there is still no word on its whereabouts. And last but certainly not the least, fact number eight, the Lupang Hinirang was actually the second national anthem. Lupang Hinirang, which we now recognize as our national anthem, was the second anthem of the Philippines. The first is called “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan”, which was written by musician Julio Nakpil in response to Andres Bonifacio’s request. It was performed during the declaration of Philippine Independence Day. Unfortunately, the Battle of Manila destroyed the original form of the Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan.

            This year is the 124^th celebration of our country’s independence. If it weren’t for Aguinaldo, then we wouldn’t be living with freedom today. We can now do whatever we want for our own country and not be controlled or colonized by others. We all have our own unique cultures and traditions, we don’t have to copy someone else’s. I am proud to be a Filipina. I love my country and its uniqueness as it built me for who I am.

 

References:

https://tinyurl.com/Independence-Day-Pilipinas

https://tinyurl.com/PH-Independence-Day

https://tinyurl.com/12th-of-June

https://tinyurl.com/GlobePH-IndependenceDay-Facts