127 years ago today, we declared independence from Spain after 377 years of colonial rule.
But this independence was short-lived, as the country soon found itself a colony again, this time of the United States, through the Treaty of Paris.
The American colonial period stretched for more than four decades, broken only by four years of Japanese occupation, before the nation declared itself independent again in 1946.
We commemorate our Independence Day today with appropriate ceremonies that rightly extol the sacrifices made by our forebears and re-affirm our commitment to freedom and democracy.
Independence has allowed us to build a government structure and political institutions that suit our particular characteristics as a nation and as a people.
We also strive to give the widest possible leeway for the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom to peacefully assemble, among others.
The challenge at this point is to strengthen our system of governance anchored on democratic ideals and a system of checks and balances.
While Filipinos are free to choose their leaders from the national level down to the smallest political unit—the barangay in what is supposed to be free and fair elections, the prevalence of political dynasties throughout the country has given rise to massive vote-buying and poll violence.
While the country stands proud among the international community, and freely relates with other countries on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence, we face grave threats to our national sovereignty and territorial integrity in our western flank.
Beyond the enjoyment of political freedoms, the greater challenge now is to extend this freedom to the economic and social realms, so that we can ensure freedom from poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease.
We can do this by creating jobs, attaining food security, and improving the welfare and over-all quality of life of our people.
The government must pursue more aggressively the war against corruption, and strive to uplift the quality of life of millions of Filipinos still trapped in poverty.
And we must pursue our own development based on our own particular needs and our own concrete conditions. We should make globalization serve national development.
On this day, we join the rest of the nation in commemorating the 127th year of Philippine independence.
We must assert our sovereignty as a nation, but, more important, we must do everything possible to give our people the means to improve their lives so that they can look forward to the future with hope and confidence.
