From the Saltbeds by Restituto C. Basa

WE used to celebrate our independence day on July 4, the same day the Americans celebrate theirs.

When Diosdado Macapagal, father of our incumbent president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was president, he issued a decree that we celebrate Philippine independence day on June 12.

Our July 4 independence day celebration was imposed upon us by the United States of America. This was because we used to be a colony of the United States (from 1900 to 1946).

On July 4, 1946 America granted us our independence.

Macapagal changed our independence day celebration from July 4 to June 12. Since then, we have been celebrating our independence on June 12.

For the benefit of our young people, who do not know the rationale of these two independence day celebrations:

We first celebrated our independence on June 2, 1898. This was the day we won our freedom from Spanish rule as a result of the Katipunan revolution.

On June 12, 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo raised the Philippine flag at the balcony of his house in Kawit, Cavite and proclaimed to the whole world that we have won our independence from Spain effective that day.

But shortly after we gained our independence from Spanish rule, America invaded our country. We resisted American occupation. We fought them in what is now known as the Philippine-American war.

Weak as we were, after more than 300 years of Spanish exploitative rule, and America was a mighty military power, we were easily defeated.

Thus we came under American rule from 1900 up to 1946.

Then there was the Japanese interlude. While we were under American rule, Japan invaded the country and ruled us from 1942 up to January 1945.

Spain gave us her legacy, the Spanish language and culture. The most important legacy of Spain to us is the Roman Catholic religion.

America gave us the English language and the Protestant religion.

With the English language, we, Filipinos, can communicate with other peoples of the world. English is one of the languages of the United Nations. Carlos P. Romulo was elected President of the U.N.

We have a body of literature written in Spanish, the best known of which are the two novels of Jose Rizal (the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo).

Our historic Malolos Constitution was written in Spanish as well as the Aguinaldo independence proclamation.