Hi Everyone!

Today is Filipino-American Friendship Day.

It is somewhat of an odd “holiday.” Filipino-American Friendship Day, July 4, is a day in the Philippines designated by then President Diosdado Macapagal to commemorate the liberation of the country by joint Filipino and American forces from the Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.

The Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1942, when it was then occupied by Japanese forces, and again for a brief period after the war. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946.

Initially, the nation’s Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on July 4. Former President Diosdado Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date on which the Philippines declared independence from Spain in 1898. Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in its place, and coincides with the United States’ July 4 Independence Day. Vivencio R. Jose, professor of comparative literature at the University of the Philippines, offered this perspective on Philippine independence: “We declared independence in 1898, established a republic in 1899, but in 1991, a certain part of the cycle was completed.” Jose insists that July 4, 1946, was also an important part of this cycle, but that the 1991Philippine Senate vote to remove the final control of the United States over its military bases in the Philippines demonstrated a sense of “self-determination” lacking in the U.S. grant of independence and has thus come to symbolize “the fulfillment of our national aspiration.”

In the Philippines, this day is celebrated in “mixed” ways. Many radical political groups protest against the United States in front of the US Embassy in Manila. By in large, the Filipino people are happy with their relationship with America and tend to celebrate the day with local American expat groups and remember the dead soldiers that fought in the Second World War side-by-side with Filipino soldiers. In the United States, there are parades in many cities that are heavily populated with Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. It is a day that all Filipinos remember America in their own way.

Have a happy Filipino-American Friendship Day and  for all our friends in the United States of America, have a very happy and safe Independence Day!

 

 

Technorati Tags: Filipino-American Friendship Day, Philippine Independence, Philippines

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