Why Philippine Independence Feels Hollow?

By Aya Clamor

This year’s celebration of Philippine Independence Day, like many in recent memory, risks devolving into a hollow ritual. Political and economic realities endured by the majority of Filipinos betray the spirit of the 1898 revolution. Independence, after all, implies more than mere territorial sovereignty. It implies the self-determination of a people; politically, economically, and socially. In these essential dimensions, the Philippines remains deeply unfree.

The persistent legacy of debt, elite capture, and dynastic politics continues to obstruct any meaningful realization of democracy or development. Sixty years of debt-driven governance have entrenched a model in which policy-making is largely reactive to fiscal crises, shaped by neoliberalism, and skewed toward the interests of the ruling class. This has produced not only structural economic inequality but also a governing apparatus that is fundamentally unaccountable to the broader public. Debt has become not merely a fiscal instrument but a mechanism of control, leash around the neck of public policy.

I remember being a child, listening to my grandmother’s story about village carabao. It was, by all accounts, the strongest creature in the barrio, able to till the hardest soil and carry loads no man could lift. But each evening, after the day’s labor, it returned to the same wooden post and stood there, unmoving. “It is not the strength of the rope that holds it,” she would say, “but the memory of being bound.” That image never left me. I see in that carabao a reflection of our nation, immense in strength, rich and resilient beyond measure, yet still tied to a post. Not by physical chains, but by the learned helplessness bred from decades of economic dependency and political subjugation. We are a people mighty in potential but kept docile by a system that has convinced us our rope is unbreakable.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the recent performance of the 19th Congress, which history may judge as among the most morally bankrupt and politically complicit institutions in contemporary Philippine politics. In a matter of weeks, it demonstrated extraordinary disdain for the democratic process and the needs of the working majority. It summarily killed the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, refused to pass the urgently needed P100/P200 wage hike for workers, and once again postponed the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections. All these decisions represent a broader pattern of contempt for democratic accountability and social justice.

The rationale offered by Senate leaders for blocking the wage hike was technocratic at best and deceptive at worst. Claims that such a measure would harm small businesses or destabilize the economy are unconvincing in light of the government’s continued willingness to pass pork-laden budgets that benefit political patrons. The 2025 General Appropriations Act, is arguably the most corrupt budget in post-EDSA history. Freedom from Debt Coalition estimates that roughly PhP 2 trillion, is allocated to debt servicing alone, crowding out funding for essential public services. As of today, the nation’s debt has soared to PhP 16.75 trillion.

This is the same Congress that railroaded the most clientelist national budget in modern memory. Instead of exercising and aligning public expenditure with long-term national priorities, legislators indulged in tactical rent-seeking; the use of lump-sum appropriations and off-budget accounts continues to subvert both transparency and accountability. Such practices persist with impunity speaks to the broader decay of democratic institutions in the country.

Debt has played a central role in this process. What began as debt for development have become shackles of dependency. Under pressure from international financial institutions (IFIs), successive administrations slashed social spending, and prioritized debt servicing over social services. The result is a state that serves ruling class before citizens.

In this context, the continuing dominance of political dynasties is not merely a symptom of a flawed political culture but a structural feature of Philippine democracy. The 2025 midterm elections saw the reaffirmation of clan-based control over political institutions, with 70 to 90 percent of elected offices held by entrenched families. Despite constitutional mandates to prohibit political dynasties, no enabling law has been passed. In this context, the continuing dominance of political dynasties is a structural feature of Philippine democracy. 2025 midterm elections saw the reaffirmation of clan-based control over political institutions, with 70 to 90 percent of elected offices held by entrenched families. Despite constitutional mandates to prohibit political dynasties, no enabling law has been passed, and very few political actors have shown genuine commitment to dismantling this bureaucratic order.

Implications are dire. When governance is monopolized by a few families and public resources are weaponized for political patronage, the very notion of citizenship is hollowed out. Ordinary Filipinos are reduced to clients in a patronage network rather than empowered participants in democratic governance. In such a system, Independence Day becomes not a celebration of freedom but a reminder of its betrayal.

It is no longer sufficient to critique the failures of individual lawmakers or administrations. What we are witnessing is a systemic crisis; a convergence of economic dependency, political oligarchy, and institutional decay. The crisis of representation in the Philippines today is a predictable outcome of a political economy that prizes loyalty over accountability, and expediency over justice.

For us to reclaim the true meaning of independence, structural change is imperative. This includes passing a genuine anti-dynasty law, taxing the wealth, institutionalizing participatory budgeting, reversing regressive economic policies, and ensuring the independence of the judiciary and other oversight institutions. Most critically, it requires the political mobilization of the working classes and the marginalized sectors of society.

How much longer shall we continue to perform the rituals of freedom while remaining bound, politically by entrenched dynasties and economically by a debt regime that subordinates the public good to personal interests?

Aya Clamor, 25, is a Program Staff of Freedom from Debt Coalition and National Executive Council of Partido Lakas ng Masa