12 Jun Philippine Independence Days
A timeline related to Philippine Independence on July 12
By John B. Labella, Ph.D.
The path to Philippine independence was not a neat, straight road.
United in aim, divided in efforts, revolts in different parts of the country eventually led to the expulsion of Spaniards from all but the most remote outposts. Thus was independence gained by the valiant revolutionaries from Cavite to Manila to Panay and Negros, to name but a few. This was to be short-lived, as the United States and later on Japan in World War II would rule us.
As we celebrate Philippine Independence, it’s worth going into some questions raised by this origin story:
Were the revolutionaries really fighting for The Filipino? Or were they Cavitenos, Ilonggos, etc. who were just incidentally from Las Islas Filipinas? At what point in our history did the concept of The Filipino take root and become widely accepted? Finally, how far have we come as a people, as Filipinos?
We invite you to dig deeper into our interesting as well as disturbing origin story at the Filipinas Heritage Library.
April 10, 1895
Northeast of Manila, a cry of independence rose inside a cave in Montalban. Andres Bonifacio and the Katipuneros gathered there resolving to win separation instead of petitioning for government reforms and to push for the revolution against Spain. On the cave wall they left behind an inscription written with charcoal: “Long Live Philippine Independence!”
August 23, 1896
At Pugadlawin, the Katipuneros issued another cry for independence. A thousand of them met at the yard of Melchora Aquino’s son. There Bonifacio urged them to tear the cedulas identifying them as subjects of Spain. The gathering cried out, “Long live the Philippines! Long live the Katipunan.” Revolutionary fervor spread to Santa Mesa, Pandacan, Pateros, Taguig, San Pedro Makati, and San Juan del Monte in Manila. The people of Cavite—in Kawit, Noveleta, and San Francisco de Malabon, now General Trias—also rose in revolt.
June 12, 1898
Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence between four and five in the afternoon in Kawit, Cavite. The national flag was raised for the first time, and the national march was first played in public. Apolinario Mabini doubted the timeliness of declaring independence as American forces began to occupy Manila. But Aguinaldo’s independence declaration reflected the belief that America was an ally. It stated that the republic was “under the protection of the Might and Humane North American Nation.”
November 1898
November 6, 1898
The leaders of Negros island, after kicking out the Spaniards, set up “the Republic of Negros.” The previous day, Aniceto Lacson had assembled a rebel force and stormed Bacolod. TheNegros elites rejected the Malolos republic and refused to be included as one of its provinces. A year later the Republic of Negros would submit to the United States and raise its stars and stripes.
November 17, 1898
Iloilo’s anti-Spanish revolutionary groups in Panay established the Revolutionary Government of the Visayas at Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
January 23, 1899
Aguinaldo inaugurates the Malolos Republic. People coming by the thousands from the nearby provinces, attend the festivities. Aguinaldo’s government had done nothing to ward the people that a war with the United States could not be prevented. The Malolos Republic lasted until March 23, 1901.
June 12, 1962
President Diosdado Macapagal moved the commemoration of Philippine Independence to June 12. Macapagal’s independence day address at Luneta justified the change of date by referring to the revolution against Spain, first led by Andres Bonifacio and then by Emilio Aguinaldo. According to him, the date was the culmination of “acts of patriotism and nationalism.” It was also the day when the Filipinos first declared to the world “a natural right to liberty” as well as its readiness “to defend it with blood, life, and honor.” Diosdado also urged a sort of nationalist examination of conscience by asking two rhetorical questions: “How enduring is our Republic today? How faithfully have we kept the ideals of freedom and democracy which our patriots and heroes, through their efforts and sacrifices and even with their blood, have etched deeply in the national conscience?”
References
Book a library visit to access.
Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People. Eighth edition. Quezon City: C&E Publishing, 2012. First edition published in 1970.
__________. Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic. Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 1960.
__________.The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan. Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 1956.
Constantino, Renato. A History of the Philippines: From the Spanish Colonization to the Second World War. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975.
Guerrero, Milagros and John Schumacher. Kasaysayan, vol. 5: Reform and Revolution. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company,1998.
Kalaw, Teodoro M. The Philippine Revolution. Kawilihan, Mandaluyong: Jorge B. Vargas Foundation, 1969. Originally published in Spanish 1925.
Karnow, Stanley. In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines. New York: Random House, 1989.
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