Two Independence Days

For many years, Filipinos celebrated Independence Day on July 4, the date in 1946 when the United States formally recognized the sovereignty of the Philippines. However, many historians and nationalists argued that this date honored the end of American colonial rule rather than the Filipinos' own struggle for freedom. They pointed to June 12, 1898, when General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite. On that day, the Philippine flag was unfurled and the national march was played for the first time. In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal moved the celebration to June 12, and the change was later reinforced by law. July 4 was renamed Philippine–American Friendship Day. Supporters of the change believed that a nation's independence should be dated from its own declaration rather than from a grant by a foreign power. The shift thus reflected a broader effort to assert a distinctly Filipino reading of history.