About

Despite the declaration of Philippine independence by Emilio Aguinaldo on June 12, 1898, this aspiration did not become reality until July 4, 1946. The Filipino people still had to endure two more bloody conflicts against foreign invaders. In between those wars we endured decades of American colonization and went through a transitory Commonwealth period. And even after the flag of the United States was lowered and that of the Republic of the Philippines finally raised, the damage wrought by both the Japanese Occupation and the bloody struggle for liberation brought about many new obstacles to economic stability and political independence. The question then lingered about the kind of freedom we had gained, and what price had been paid to win it.