We are about to celebrate EDSA Day the day after tomorrow. It is thus important for us to reflect on its meaning to us as a country and as a people. Baby Boomers and those from Generation X and Generation Y understand it, but how about the millennials?
The long and often painful struggles of the Filipino people from 1521 to 1986, or a period of 435 years was a history of subjugation, exploitation, oppression, and then revolutions. The years under Spain lasted 377 years if we count from the time Ferdinand Magellan landed in Cebu and was killed by Lapu-Lapu in Mactan up to 1898, when General Emilio Aguinaldo dared to declare independence in 1898. But a good 44 years should be deducted from 377 because from 1521 to 1565, the Philippines were not subjugated by any foreign power until Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived Manila in 1565, then entered into a blood compact with Rajah Sikatuna in Bohol.
But whether 377 (from 1521 to 1898) or only 333 years (from 1565 to 1898), all those years have wounded and scarred the Filipino psyche, and left the Philippine culture wounded and battered by the trauma left by the Spanish oppressors. From 1898 to 1900, the Filipinos were never truly independent because the Kingdom of Spain entered into the Treaty of Paris with the USA, whereby the entire archipelago of 7,1017 islands were ceded by Spain to America for payment of US$20 million. From 1900 to 1935, the Philippines was colonized by the Americans. We were never free until July 4, 1946, when the USA granted the Filipinos their independence.
We were celebrating Philippine independence every fourth of July, just like the Americans from 1946 until the early 1960s when President Diosdado P. Macapagal reverted to the June 12, 1898 independence declared in Kawit, Cavite, by President Aguinaldo. After Aguinaldo, presidents Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña Sr., Manuel A. Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon F. Magsaysay, and Carlos P. Garcia adhered to July 4 as our Freedom Day. The only exception was President Jose P. Laurel Sr. who was installed by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1942 during the dark days of the Japanese occupation.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos continued the June 12 celebration since 1966 when he assumed the presidency. He declared martial law and he remained president until February 22, 1986 when the EDSA People Power Revolution removed Marcos forcibly and installed Corazon C. Aquino. Then presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph E. Estrada, Gloria M. Arroyo, Benigno S. Aquino III, and Rodrigo R. Duterte adhered to June 12 as our Independence Day. Perhaps, we have three independence days, namely: June 12, 1898, July 4, 1946, and February 22, 1986.
To me, the date is not important. What matters most is the answer to the question: Are we really free after 1898, after 1946, and after 1986? The answer remains to be seen, and remains to be explained.