Happy Independence Day!!!
Today, June 12, is celebrated as Philippine Independence Day!
Diosdado Macapagal was the Philippine president who designated June 12 as our day to celebrate independence. He wrote:
“A nation is born into freedom on the day when such a people, moulded into a nation by a process of cultural evolution and sense of oneness born of common struggle and suffering, announces to the world that it asserts its natural right to liberty and is ready to defend it with blood, life, and honor.”
The promotion of a healthy nationalism is part of the responsibility of the leaders of newly independent nations. After they lay the foundation for economic development, they promote nationalism and spur the search for national identity. This we can do by honoring our distinguished forebears and notable periods in our history. A step we took in this direction was to change the date for the commemoration of Philippine Independence day.
When I was a congressman, I formed the opinion that July 4 was not the proper independence day for Filipinos and should be changed to June 12– the date General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Filipinos in Kawit, Cavite, in 1898.
You can read the rest of the article at its source: Macapagal, Diosdado. “June 12 as Independence Day” in Hector Santos, ed., Philippine Centennial Series; at http://www.bibingka.com/phg/documents/whyjun12.htm. US, 30 April 1997.
Happy Independence Day!
Tags: Philippine Independence Day, June 12, Diosdado Macapagal
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