Today, being Philippine-American Friendship Day, it behooves on us to reflect on the quality of the relations between the Philippines and the United States. July 4 used to be called our Philippine Independence Day because it was on July 4, 1946, that the US government formalized the declaration of Philippine Independence. It was in 1898 that the Treaty of Paris was signed between Spain and the US, whereby the Philippine Islands were ceded by the Spanish to the Americans. Thus from 1898 to 1946, or for 48 years, our islands were colonized by the USA.
President Emilio Aguinaldo, earlier on June 12, 1898, declared Philippine Independence but such declaration was questioned by many political law experts because there was no international recognition. But today, we celebrate June 12 and not July 4 as our Freedom Day. It was President Diosdado Macapagal who caused the change, in on our efforts to veer away from the shadows of Uncle Sam and assert our so-called true Independence.
Today, President Rodrigo Duterte has led the nation farther away from the US and tries to develop closer ties with China. This direction is a complete turnaround from the foreign policies of former presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph E. Estrada, Gloria M. Arroyo, and Benigno S. Aquino III, who were all pro-American. President Marcos started an independent foreign policy. Thus, the US helped in his ouster in 1986 via the EDSA Revolution. EDSA was also a CIA-supported mutiny, which Cory and Cardinal Sin glorified as a peoples' revolution.
But then again, all factors being considered, to the mind of this writer, despite all its imperfection, America is still the Philippines' greatest friend. We are too bonded with the US due to our long historic ties. There is no alternative to the USA. China has selfish ambitions to grab our territories, Japan has inflicted too much damage on our people, and Russia is devious. We have no other friend but the US. More than one million Filipinos live there. Long historical partnerships and our joint struggles have proven that the US is better than any ally. I know that the US, especially under Trump, does not respect us much. But we have nowhere else to go.
Spain exploited us for 377 years. Japan devastated our country for four years. China is now grabbing our islets and seas. Russia helps the CPP-NPA-NDF. Only the US is helping one million Filipinos in the land of milk and honey. The US is not perfect but it is a lot better than the rest. Even with Trump and Duterte, the friendship still holds.