Independence Day 2026: Revisiting the legacy of the June 12 declaration

MANILA, Philippines — Every year on June 12, Filipinos across the nation and the world celebrate Araw ng Kalayaan, commemorating the Philippines’ independence after more than three centuries of Spanish colonial rule.

In 1964, Republic Act 4166 (RA 4166) was signed, moving the celebration of Independence Day from July 4, the date of the establishment of the Philippine Republic in 1946.

On June 12, 1898, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, who later became president, proclaimed the Philippines’ independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite, as the flag was unfurled and the “Marcha Nacional Filipina” was played for the first time.

This year marks the 128th anniversary of the occasion, a reminder of the sacrifices and courage of those who struggled for freedom and the establishment of a republic independent from Spain.

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Spain began colonizing the Philippines in 1565, when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Cebu and established the first permanent Spanish settlement before transferring the seat of government to Manila in 1571.

Earlier, Ferdinand Magellan made landfall and claimed the islands for Spain in 1521.

Filipinos resisted and waged Asia’s first nationalist revolution in 1896. On June 12, 1898, independence from Spain was declared.

After 333 years, Spain left but was replaced by the United States, which stayed for 48 years under the Treaty of Paris.

It was not until July 4, 1946, that the Americans recognized the Philippines’ independence from the United States — the reason Independence Day was previously celebrated every July 4.

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Two years before RA 4166 was enacted, then-President Diosdado Macapagal issued a presidential proclamation declaring June 12 as the day of Philippine independence.

For him, the recognition of a nation’s independence should not be accorded by any other country but itself.

“It is proper that what we should celebrate is not the day when other nations gave recognition to our independence, but the day when we declared our desire to exercise our inherent and inalienable right to freedom and independence,” he said in a public address on Independence Day in 1962.

As Macapagal pointed out, June 12, 1898, is the “true birthday of an independent Filipino nation,” stating that it was on this day that the Philippines exhibited to the world its commitment to consider itself “absolved of allegiance to the Spanish crown.” /dm