A shared Independence day
There was a time the Philippines and the United States shared the same July 4 Independence Day. The first was in 1946. When the Philippines finally earned its own “Araw ng Kasarinlan,” severing tether from US’ colonial hold, that day was marked with public jubilation, especially among veterans and many others who fought under the US flag in World War II.
The national euphoria signaled the end of long years’ resistance against Spanish and American dominions and Japanese occupation. And a promise of reconstruction of the massive wreckage of the country’s cities and towns. Behind the rejoicing however lurked reality that it was freedom in name only and that independence was heavily shaped by the terms imposed by the U.S.
From Spanish Colony to American Territory
The 48 years of colonial rule by the US began in 1898 in the aftermath of the Spanish-American war when Navy Commodore George Dewey effectively decimated Spanish fleet in the Pacific. Owing to its defeat, Spain ceded the Philippines to the Americans for $20 million, marking a major shift in global power as Spain had to give up its its more than 300 years’ rule on the former.
Governed under various treaties and US laws during the Commonwealth years, the Filipinos were eventually made US nationals but the promise of independence was agonizingly slow in coming. The waiting was exacerbated yet with the advent of WWII in the Pacific that downed near-total US military assets in Hawaii and the Philippines by incessant Japanese bombing.
World War II and the Price of Loyalty
Philippine Independence Medal from the collection of Dr. Ricardo T. Jose
The war years deepened the contradictions of the Philippine–American relationship. Filipino soldiers fought and died under the US flag, believing that shared sacrifice would finally secure genuine sovereignty. Yet even as the battles raged in Bataan, Corregidor, and across the country, Washington’s policymakers were already outlining the postwar conditions that would bind the soon-to-be independent nation to American strategic and economic interests.
By the time the Treaty of Manila was signed on July 4, 1946, the Philippines emerged into independence carrying heavy constraints. The Bell Trade Act—passed only 2 days before granting Philippine independence, required the new republic to favor parity rights to American citizens and corporations, allowing them equal access to Philippine natural resources. It also pegged the peso to the dollar (1USD=2PhPesos) and tied war rehabilitation funds to compliance with US economic terms.
Independence at a Cost
The United States Congress offered $800 million pegged as “ post–World War II rebuilding funds” but required that the Philippine Congress ratify the Bell Trade Act. (Source: “Philippine Parity Rights Plebiscite, https://dbpedia.org/page/Bell_Trade_Act). This money effectively functioned as leverage: the Philippines had to accept all economic conditions of the Act to receive the funds. One crucial requirement was amending the Philippine Constitution to allow United States equal access to mining Philippines’ natural assets– minerals, forests, land and other resources.
For many Filipino leaders, these conditions felt like an economic servitude and continuation of colonial rule but with a different name.
Still, independence mattered deeply. After nearly half a century of American governance layered atop three centuries of Spanish rule, Filipinos could finally claim a national government of their own. The first Independence Day celebration was marked by parades, speeches, and the raising of the Philippine flag and the lowering of the Stars and Stripes. The moment resonated profoundly with a nation rebuilding from wartime devastation.
The years that followed, however, triggered debates over what true sovereignty must look like. Lingering American military presence (14 installations per 1947 Military Bases Agreement) did not sit well with nationalist Filipinos who also questioned trade agreements and the political influence exerted through aid and diplomatic pressure.
Why June 12 Replaced July 4
Souvenir program of July 4, 1946, Independence Day Celebration from the collection of Dr. Ricardo T. Jose
In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal changed Philippine Independence Day from July 4 to June 12—the date Emilio Aguinaldo first declared independence from Spain in 1898. Macapagal’s initiative served as a moving tribute to Aguinaldo who was still living at that time and joined the historic festivities in Manila.
Reclaiming June 12 was more than a change of dates. It was historical correction, asserting that the Filipino struggle for freedom did not begin with American approval nor end with American departure. It reframed the nation’s narrative around its own revolutionary heritage, honoring the generations who fought for self-determination long before the United States entered the picture.
Pursuit of genuine freedom continues
Today, the dual dates—June 12 and July 4—remain intertwined in the country’s memory. Together they reveal the often painful journey toward nationhood, reminding Filipinos that sovereignty is not a single event but an ongoing project shaped by history, struggle, and the continuing pursuit of genuine freedom. ###
Commemorative stamps celebrating independence day from the collection of Dr. Ricardo T. Jose
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Connie Triggiano is currently Board Secretary of Circa-Pintig, a Chicago community theater organization. She works as Academic and English tutor assisting foreign students to pass IELTS, TOEFL, Celpic, ESL and other English exams to gain admission to universities in English speaking countries. She also trains greencard holders to pass US citizenship exams and interview. She worked for many years as Vice-President of Chicago-based Leo Burnett Advertising in its Manila office where she managed the advertising accounts of the country’s biggest brands: Procter & Gamble, Pepsi Cola International, BPI, Vicks, Wyeth and Cathay Pacific. She edited a travel newspaper in Singapore and taught college freshmen in a local university. Connie graduated with a BA degree, major in English, from the University of San Francisco in California while working as an information officer for a United Way agency. She took up MS in Advertising at the Asian Institute for the Development of Advertising, UST Graduate School.
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