History

Independence Day (Philippines)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the national holiday. For the day the Philippines gained its independence
from the United States, see Philippine Independence.
Independence Day
[1]

Araw ng Kalayaan

Aguinaldo Shrine where Emilio Aguinaldo declared
the country's independence from Spain
Official name Araw ng Kasarinlan
Also called
Araw ng Kalayaan
Twelfth of June
Observed by Philippines
Type National
Significance
Declaring Philippine Independence
from Spain
Date June 12
Next time 12 June 2014
Frequency annual
Related to Republic Day
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 Independence from Spain on 12 June 1898. It is the country's
National Day.
History
Main article: History of the Philippines (18981946)
See also: Philippine Declaration of Independence


The Flag of the United States of America is lowered while the Flag of the Philippines is raised
during the Independence Day ceremonies on July 4, 1946
The Philippine Revolution began in August 1896. In December 1897, the Pact of Biak-na-Bato,
an agreement between the Spanish colonial government and the revolutionaries, created a truce
between the parties. Under terms of this agreement, Emilio Aguinaldo and other revolutionary
leaders went into exile in Hong Kong.
[2]

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 Dewey
defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. Later that month, the U.S. Navy transported
Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.
[3]

On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo led the declaration of Philippine independence from Spanish
colonial rule. Philippines independence was not recognized 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 Philippines 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.
[4][5]

The US granted independence to the Philippines on 4 July 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.
[6]

4 July, the date 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.
[7]
" 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.
[8]

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 in Alapan, Imus, Cavite in 1898).
References
1. President of the Philippines. "DECLARING THE REGULAR HOLIDAYS, SPECIAL
(NON-WORKING) DAYS, AND SPECIAL HOLIDAY (FOR ALL SCHOOLS) FOR
THE YEAR 2013". PROCLAMATION NO. 459. Official Gazzette, Philippine National
Governemtn. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
2. Halstead 1898, p. 126.
3. Agoncillo,, Teodor A. (1990). History of the Filipino people ([8th ed.]. ed.). Quezon
City: Garotech. p. 157. ISBN 978-9718711064.
4. De Ojeda, Jaime. [ The Spanish-American War of 1898: A Spanish View. Library of
Congress: Hispanic Division.
5. Koenig, Louis W. (1982). The Presidency of William McKinley by Lewis L. Gould:
Review. Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3: pg. 448.
6. TREATY OF GENERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. SIGNED AT MANILA, ON 4 JULY 1946
(PDF), United Nations, archived from the original on 2011-07-23, retrieved 2007-12-10
7. Diosdado Macapagal, Proclamation No. 28 Declaring June 12 as Philippine
Independence Day, Philippine History Group of Los Angeles, retrieved 2009-11-11
8. AN ACT CHANGING THE DATE OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY FROM
JULY FOUR TO JUNE TWELVE, AND DECLARING JULY FOUR AS PHILIPPINE
REPUBLIC DAY, FURTHER AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION TWENTY-
NINE OF THE REVISED ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, Chanrobles Law Library, August
4, 1964, retrieved 2009-11-11