Independence Day (Filipino: Araw ng Kasarinlan; also Araw ng Kalayaan, lit. "Day of Freedom") is an annual national holiday in the Philippines observed on 12 June, commemorating the Philippine Declaration of Independencefrom Spain on 12 June 1898. It is the country's National Day.
The History
The Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896. Eventually, the Spanish signed an agreement with the revolutionaries and their leader Emilio Aguinaldo went into exile in Hong Kong.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Commodore George Dewey sailed from Hong Kong to Manila Bay leading the Asiatic Squadron of the U.S. Navy. On May 1 1898, the United States defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. Later that month, the U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.
On June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo led the declaration of Philippine independence from the Spanish colonial rule.
Philippine independence was not recognised either by the United States of America or by Spain. The Spanish government later ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The Philippine Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty. When the Americans sought to execute the terms of the treaty, a three-year conflict, now called the Philippine-American War, ensued.
The US granted independence to the Philippines on 4 July 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.[1]
4 July, the date intentionally chosen by the United States because it corresponds to its Independence Day, was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until 1962. On 12 May 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28, which declared Tuesday, 12 June a special public holiday throughout the Philippines, "... in commemoration of our people's declaration of their inherent and inalienable right to freedom and independence.[2]" On 4 August 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 renamed the 4 July holiday as "Philippine Republic Day", proclaimed 12 June as "Philippine Independence Day", and enjoined all citizens of the Philippines to observe the latter with befitting rites.[3]
Prior to 1964, 12 June had been observed as Flag Day, which was moved to 28 May (the date the Philippine Flag was first flown in battle).
Aguinaldo Shrine where Emilio Aguinaldo declared the country's independence from Spain
- June 12 -
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The house was built in 1845 and probably enlarged or improved in 1849 and in 1920. It is from its porch where Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed in 12 June 1898. The Americans thought otherwise and colonized the Philippines before finally granting its own version of independence on 4 July 1946. President Diosdado Macapagal later restored June 12 as the Philippine Independence Day celebration and relegated July 4 as Filipino-American Friendship Day. General Aguinaldo's house was declared a national shrine shortly after his death in 1964.
Again, Happy Independence Day to all Filipino's
^___^