12 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY

If you’re a true-blooded Filipino, you know how significant June 12 is to the Philippines.
For those who don’t know, it’s only the country’s Independence Day. June 12, 1898 was
the day Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite. Witnessed
by a huge crowd, this day was the first time the Philippine flag was raised in public.
Emilio Aguinaldo then became the first president of the country.

Every year, June 12 is highly celebrated in the country as well as in other countries
around the world with Filipino communities. This year, the Philippines will be celebrating
118 years of independence. The anticipation is evident almost anywhere. You’ll start to
see flags decorated in the streets, malls and hotels in Cebu, even on vehicles.

In commemoration of this national holiday, here are some interesting facts (some less-
known to many) that you should know about Philippine Independence Day.

1. Filipino priests started the movement for independence.

A lesser-known fact about Philippine independence is that Filipino priests were actually
the ones who started the opposition. Resenting the Spanish domination in the Roman
Catholic churches, the religious leaders met with the nation’s intellectuals to discuss
declaring the country’s independence.

2. Filipinos formed a secret society to rebel against Spain.

This secret society was formed in Manila in 1892. Emilio Aguinaldo joined the group in
1894 and became the leader. As the society’s numbers began to grow, the Spanish
discovered their plans forcing them to act sooner than originally planned.

3. According to Julian Felipe, Philippine independence was proclaimed on a

Sunday afternoon, between 4 to 5 PM.

4. Spain and the U.S. did not recognize Aguinaldo’s declaration of

independence.

Although Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898, this was not
recognized by Spain and the U.S. because Spain sold the Philippines to the U.S. in the
Treaty of Paris on Dec. 10, 1898.

5. Philippine Independence Day used to be celebrated on July 4.

The United States granted the Philippines its independence on July 4. This date is now
considered the Filipino-American Friendship Day. In the early 1960s, the Philippine
Historical Association lobbied for June 12 to be the official Independence Day once
again. In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal issued a proclamation recognizing such
change. It was in 1964 when the country began celebrating Independence Day on June
12 again.

6. Emilio Aguinaldo himself designed the Philippine flag.

Aguinaldo then visited Marcela Agoncillo in her Hong Kong home and asked her to
make the flag. With the help of her daughter Lorenza and Jose Rizal’s niece Delfina
Herbosa de Natividad, Agoncillo hand-sewed the Philippine flag which took 5 days to
complete. The stars, sun and the triangle were made with fine satin.

7. The three stars in the flag originally stand for Luzon, Panay and Mindanao.

While most Filipinos today know that the three stars represent the three major island
groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the stars were originally meant to represent
Luzon, Panay and Mindanao where the revolutionary movement began.

8. The flag’s colors (red, white and blue) were a salute to the American flag.

This little bit of trivia was mentioned in the Declaration of Independence which was
written by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista. However, in Emilio Aguinaldo’s succeeding
speeches, he stated that the color red stood for Filipino bravery, blue represented how
Filipinos would rather die than surrender to the enemy and lastly, the color white
symbolized the Filipino people’s love for peace.

9. The colors of the Philippine flag can be used as signals.

One thing that makes the Philippine flag unique is that its colors not only symbolize
things, they are also used to indicate the nation’s current state. In peaceful times, the
flag is raised with the blue strip on top. On the other hand, if the country is in a state of
war, the flag will be flown with the red strip on top.

10. There was an earlier version of the National Anthem but Emilio Aguinaldo
preferred something different.

A Filipino in Hong Kong composed the earlier version of the National Anthem which
Aguinaldo brought home. However, he wanted something with a marching beat. He
then asked Julian Felipe to make some changes. Felipe’s composition featured elements
from the Spanish Royal March. Aguinaldo approved the revision.

11. The first Philippine anthem was commissioned by Andres Bonifacio.

Not many Filipinos may know that there was a Philippine anthem, the very first one,
before the National Anthem we now know as Lupang Hinirang. It had the title
“Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan” and was composed by Julio Nakpil upon the
request of Andres Bonifacio.
12. The original copy of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence is kept
in the National Library.

The document was one of the many revolutionary papers that were stolen from the
National Library. Fortunately, it was returned in 1994 by Milagros Guerrero, a professor
in the University of the Philippines.

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

If you’re an expat who’s been living in the Philippines for quite a number of years, then
you should know that we always celebrate Philippine Independence on June 12.
However, there are a couple of things that even Filipinos are not aware of (or may have
forgotten) regarding this date.

THE ORIGINAL. This is a photo of the first flag that was flown in the Aguinaldo
ancestral home in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. You can find this at the Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo Museum in Baguio City./IMAGE Watawat.net
Here are a couple of things you need to know about June 12, more commonly known
as Araw ng Kalayaan or Philippine Independence Day:

1. It was declared on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite. On this faithful day, we
were proclaimed free from 333 years (yes, it was that long) of Spanish rule by Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo. However, it wasn’t Aguinaldo who prepared, wrote, and read it: it was
his adviser, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, known as Don Bosyong.

2. The National Anthem was composed by Julian Felipe, but wasn’t called
“Lupang Hinirang.”

It was called “Marcha Nacional Filipina.” It didn’t have lyrics until 1899, when Jose
Palma wrote a poem that people started singing to the tune of “Marcha Nacional.” It
wasn’t until 1938 that it was officially given the title “Lupang Hinirang.” It was sung in
Spanish until 1956, when it was first heard and sung in Tagalog.

3. The Treaty of Paris wasn’t meant to give us freedom from Spain.

The treaty was a deal between Spain and the United States, making the former cede
control of the Philippines to the latter for a cool US$20 million, which is roughly US$571
million today. That’s how much our country was in 1898.

4. June 12 wasn’t our original Independence Day.

It used to be July 4, the day when we were granted independence by the United States
after WWII. Former Pres. Diosdado Macapagal had it moved in 1962 via Presidential
Proclamation No. 28. July 4 is still celebrated as Republic Day or Filipino-American
Friendship Day.

5. The Philippine Flag wasn’t flown for the first time on June 12.

Rather, it was first flown on May 28, 1898 after the Battle of Alapan. This was
recognized by both Macapagal former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos, who declared that National
Flag Day be celebrated from May 28 – June 12 via Executive Order No. 179. This also
means we celebrate Philippine Independence for 16 days.