The 122nd Philippine Independence Day: What are we celebrating again?
Today marks the 122nd day of Philippine Independence from Spain when the presentation of the Philippine flag was presented to our people from the balcony of President Emilio Aguinaldo’s house in Cavite. This was the first time the National Anthem was played.
Every year since my renaissance with embracing my Filipino/a/x American heritage and history, I’ve celebrated this with immense pride because of the resilience and resistance our people demonstrated during white settler colonialism from the Spanish and the US.
However today, in all honesty, it doesn’t sit well to simply post a “Happy Philippine Independence Day” as I see “independence” as something that is intersectional and temporal, something that is always changing with the times. I think about Lea Salonga’s 2015 twitter post and how relevant it is in 2020.
I think about this 2019 post from Alyssa Mangaoang, an educator at PEP/Pin@y Educational Partnerships, about the violence the US has done to the Philippines after being handed over by the Spanish.
I think about the recent Junk Terror Bill (labeled as the “anti-terrorism bill” that suppresses freedom of speech and fuels the power of the police). I think about 20,000+ extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration. I think about the shutdown of the largest broadcasting network in the Philippines after seeing a post from my friend Lakhi Siap on Subtle Filipino Traits. I think about the fear that the motherland lives in. I think about the broader question: “Who is really independent or free?”
“Independence” in the US is similar to the “independence” in the Philippines in that it’s not fixed and it’s not equitably distributed. Yes, i’m thinking directly about the Black Lives Matter movement, and how similarly my own people are being killed without due process. While the lives lost in the Philippines are not a result to 400+ years of systemic racism, they are being lost by police brutality, another reason why we should be in solidarity with our Black community in the US.
I would be remiss as an Anti-Racist Educator & Activist to not provide some of these truths when social media posts act as global stock narratives of how people learn to understand the meaning behind historical moments such as June 12th, as well as informally teach this to others through resharing and posting.
Junk Terror Bill-specific:
As Filipino/a/x Americans and people who claim to be allies, accomplices, or co-conspirators to our people, how can we use our privilege of freedom of speech and the other freedoms that we have to help support our people in the Philippines? What are you willing to risk?
Below are some ways you can take action: