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.