What is freedom without independence?

Tomorrow, we are supposed to celebrate our 126th Independence Day. But are we truly independent? Can we stand alone and be able to defend our national sovereignty and territories? Do we have enough resources to survive without aid or assistance from others?

Freedom is a political and constitutional idea while independence is an economic and military concept. The Philippines has political and constitutional freedom, liberty, and democracy. But our country is not truly independent. We depend on other countries to produce our food including rice, and rely on other nations to supply us with oil. Alone and unaided, we cannot even defend our territories from China. We are dependent on our allies, mainly the US. The conclusion is therefore inevitable and truly unavoidable: we are only free, we are only democratic, but we are not independent.

The USDA's Economic Research Service monitored our annual importation of rice to have an annual average of 3.8 million metric tons to feed 117 million people minus 12 million who are abroad as migrant workers, expats, and immigrants. Each year also, the Philippines imports no less than 44 million barrels of crude oil mostly from the Middle East, the greatest bulk coming from Saudi Arabia which supplies 56.79% of our oil needs. The net import bill of oil in the Philippines is no less than $20 billion every year. The net import bill refers to the difference between all imports and all exports.

On other needs, like health, over the past 20 years, the US, which is the world's largest provider of bilateral assistance to health, has given the Philippines no less than $582 million or ?29.6 billion. For COVID-19 response, the US granted the Philippines $100 million or ?5 billion. The US also provided nearly $4.5 billion or ?228 billion in total assistance to advance the Philippines' development goals. A large chunk of the aid to the Yolanda victims was contributed by the US. The Philippines, like all third-world countries, cannot claim independence when it comes to the economic and financial needs of the country and its people.

Japan accounts for 57% of the cumulative development assistance commitments the Philippines received from 1966 to 2017. Japan has given to the Philippines over that period a total of $28 billion or ?1.5 trillion. Japan is PEZA's largest investor contributing a total of 28% in total investments which generated ?798 billion, as well as $16.3 billion in exports and created 342,845 jobs across 877 PEZA-registered business enterprises. In addition, Japan has paid no less than ¥198 million or $550 million in terms of reparations in connection with the Second World War.

Over and above all these, the Philippines relies on more than a hundred countries as job providers for 12 million Filipinos who are working as migrant workers, expatriates, and immigrants. More than $32 billion are remitted to the country, thereby infusing the Philippine economy with a large amount of foreign exchange, and thus helping the Philippine economy survive and grow. All of the above are strong indicators of our country's dependence on other economies in other nations. This is precisely our point: the Philippines has freedom, liberty, and democracy, but it has no independence.

And when we do not have economic muscles, even our political freedoms are under grave and imminent risks of being lost. True and lasting political freedom, liberty, and democracy can survive only on a long-term basis if they are anchored on the strong foundation of a stable economy.

When the people are so poor, they may even bargain away their freedoms and liberty. Democracy is under constant threat when the national economy is weak and people are suffering from endemic poverty and social injustice.

The Filipinos cannot sing the national anthem with passion and fervor if they are hungry and angry. I am deeply sad for our country and people.