Happy 111th Philippine Independence Day!

Tomorrow is a special day for all Filipinos as we celebrate the Philippine Independence Day. It is a public holiday in the Philippines so some employees will have to spend a long weekend. However, for us who work in the call center industry, we still have to go to work. Anyway, we will get double pay for work rendered tomorrow.

Based on historical accounts, it was June 12, 1898 when General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence and sovereignty of the Philippine archipelago from the colonial rule of Spain.

However, the declaration was not recognized by the US government or Spain due to the 1898 Treaty of Paris where Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States in exchange for an indemnity for Spain’s expenses and lost assets.
The US government finally recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946 under the Treaty of Manila and we have been observing Independence Day during this day until President Diosdado Macapagal signed RA No. 4166 into law on the 4th of August 1964 designating June 12 as the Philippine Independence Day.

I just hope that tomorrow’s celebration of the Independence Day will become more meaningful to all Filipinos as we are in the brink of economic and political recession. Let us not forget that our country’s Independence was not given to us in a silver platter. Our ancestors fought hard to free us from bondage sacrificing their own lives in the process.

Happy Independence Day to all my Filipino countrymen!

Photo credit: www.filipinasoul.com