Celebrating independence day, but are we truly free?

By Joshua Corcuera

The date is June 12 and you know what it looks like around the country: Philippine flags waving in the streets, Filipinos spending the day in parks and public spaces, and so on. On this special day, we celebrate the country’s independence from the Spaniards. However, it is essential to take note that the Americans colonized us shortly afterward, then the Japanese briefly during the Second World War, before we became free from foreign colonizers on July 4, 1946 in what is otherwise known as Philippine Republic Day. This, however, is little known by the general public unless you have read your history books meticulously. But, a more pressing and more relevant question is this: as an independent nation, can we say that we are truly free?

Sure, we have our own people, our own armed forces, our own territory, our own government, our own identity, all of which are free from external or foreign control. It is reasonable and safe to say that we are a sovereign nation. Beyond this, however, we have to acknowledge the fact that, although we are free from external control, we are not free from the intimidations of foreign forces particularly our northern neighbor, China. In recent years, the Chinese military and several other Chinese shipping vessels were seen in the West Philippine Sea. Worse, there are issues in which Chinese fishing vessels have rammed Philippine fishing boats such as the Gem-Ver Vessel in Reed Bank back in 2019. The 22 Filipino fishermen were only fortunate to be rescued by their Vietnamese counterparts.

Aside from affecting the livelihood of Filipinos relying on the West Philippine Sea, foreign vessels are alleged to have damaged the environmental landscape of such body of water. Assuming that such is true, this is not only a damage to the Philippines and to the Filipino people, but also damage to all of humanity because environmental features such as corals and marine wildlife must be preserved by all nations and by everyone, regardless of where it is situated.

Besides the intimidation of foreign forces on our country, we also have to admit that, although we are now a sovereign and independent nation, we are not yet free from the chains of poverty and inequality. Last 2018, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported that 17.6 million Filipinos — or roughly 16.6% of the population — are living in poverty. Not to forget, the pandemic worsened the socio-economic status of the masses especially that the-powers-that-be implemented one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world — yet still failed to solve the public health crisis while our neighboring countries lived for the most part of the pandemic as if they were unaffected, notably Vietnam. We are also not yet free from the attacks — specifically the killings — committed by our fellow Filipinos which is, frankly speaking, worse than being attacked by people of foreign descent.

Altogether, the Philippines may be a free, independent, sovereign nation, but it is far from a nation free of all the problems the world has to offer. From poverty to human rights abuses, from inequality to foreign intimidation on our territory, we still have a long way to go. Nevertheless, we should move forward.