Celebrating Philippine independence
Celebrating Philippine independence
June 12, 1998, marks the centenary of the declaration of
Philippine independence from Spain, perhaps the most awaited
event in Philippine historiography since the end of American
colonial rule in 1946.
This year's June 12 commemoration is the climax of five years
of hectic preparations and a flurry of centennial-related
activities organized by the Philippine Centennial Commission
(PCC) and various "centennial movements" and organizations that
have sprouted worldwide since the formation of the PCC in 1994.
The published calendar of activities for this centennial year
alone lists more than 100 events in locations as far away as
Toronto and Colombo.
The event is expected to be celebrated by millions of fiesta-
loving Filipinos the world over with singing, dancing, parades
and processions from Beijing to Bonn, from Jeddah to Singapore.
A number of heads of state, heads of government and high-level
envoys from neighboring countries and other friendly states will
be participating in the June 12 festivities in the Philippines.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas will represent
President Habibie at the centennial ceremonies in Manila.
President Fidel V. Ramos will lead the singing of the
100-year-old national anthem and the raising of the Philippine
flag in Kawit, Cavite, where the country's first president,
General Emilio Aguinaldo, 100 years ago proclaimed independence
from Spanish colonial rule and unfurled, for the first time, the
Philippine flag.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to watch the
grand centennial parade, which will take place near historic
Luneta Park, where Philippine national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal was
executed by the Spanish Guardia Civil in 1896.
This year, the Philippines is expecting an influx of local and
foreign tourists who want to retrace history by visiting newly
restored historical sites in a so-called "Centennial Freedom
Trail", a network of historical sites relevant to the Filipino
quest for freedom.
The activities for the centennial celebration have been
envisioned to emphasize not only the historical and political
aspect of the centennial but also the transformation of the
Philippines into a globally competitive economy, in recognition
of what the country has done with its hard-won freedom.
The Philippine centennial exposition, EXPO PILIPINO, has been
built in the former Clark air base in Pampanga to showcase this
thrust on June 12.
The 60-hectare exposition site features the best of the
Philippines' precolonial and colonial past and the Filipinos'
vision of the future.
EXPO PILIPINO houses an ongoing sprawling commercial trade
exhibit, where companies from various countries have displayed
their products and services.