Remembering... Stand Up! Act Now!

Today marks the 111 year of Philippine Independence. June 12, 1898 concludes the Spanish-American war. Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain. The declaration, however, was not recognized by the United States or Spain, and was not generally recognized by other nations. The Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, in consideration for an indemnity for Spanish expenses and assets loss.


The Philippines celebrates its Independence Day in recognition of June 12, 1898, when the Philippines declared its independence from Spain, although its independence was only recognized on July 4, 1946, by the United States. From 1946 to 1961, Independence Day was observed on July 4 each year, but then President Diosdado Macapagal, upon the advice of some historians, reverted to the June 12 date, which up to that time had been observed as Flag Day in the Philippines. In place of the old Independence Day, President Macapagal created Filipino-American Friendship Day on July 4.




Everyone wants to be free. Freedom and Peace is what everyone wants regardless of nationality. Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty. Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise, within a specific territory, the functions of a Nation-state and be answerable to no higher authority. It is an important part of the three main political perspectives of realism, rationalism, and internationalism, as these three theories differ most in their views on sovereignty. Sovereignty has existed throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day, although it has changed in its definition, concept, and application throughout, I won't dig in through further because it might just cause confusion in the end.



I think almost everyone exercise their freedom by choosing what they want. But not all that everyone wants are acceptable. There are rules and laws to be considered and followed. But for me, I exercise my freedom to chose when it's election time here in the Philippines. I can chose who I want to lead in this country. I'm not into politics but ofcourse I chose wisely who I want to lead. Next year, in the year 2010 of May, we will be voting/electing a new president for the republic of the Philippines. I cannot say who I wish to be the next president at this time but ofcourse it is best to chose wisely. At this time, those who wish to run for candidacy are already giving hints to the public that they wish to be next president and vice president. Aside from those seats, I think we will also be voting for other local government position. What's new in the coming 2010 elections is the automated voting. I hope through this one, there will no longer be flying voters or switching and adding of votes.




What just scares me is that hackers might hack the system and poof! everything changes and manipulated in just one click. Remember that the highly secured system of Pentagon was hacked before. Some people are under estimating the power of the world wide web. This system is very much powerful and if one knows the ups and downs of the internet, it will just be easy peasy. I just hope that all precautionary measures are handled properly by our Commission on Elections (COMELEC). I'm not under estimating their capability, but it's best that they have plan B. Also, 7 Billion pesos of equipment to be used for the automated voting must be worth it.




Last Wednesday, June 10, thousands of people gathered in Makati City the business capital of the Philippines to make a stand and voice out their thoughts and feeling about the Constituent Assembly of the Philippines. Constituent assembly or "con-ass" is one of the three modes in which the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines could be amended or revised. The other two modes are via People's Initiative and Constitutional Convention. The bicameral Philippine Congress (Senate and the House of Representatives) is in a Constituent assembly mode when they formally convene to propose amendments or revisions to the 1987 constitution; and under Article XVII of the Constitution of the Philippines, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members. The process of amending or revising the 1987 constitution of the Philippines is popularly known to many Filipinos as Charter Change. Any proposed amendment or revision to the 1987 Constitution shall only be valid when ratified by the majority of Filipinos in a plebiscite.




Personally, I don't agree in changing the constitution of the Philippines. I think it will just make things worse in the Philippines' Government. Why not do or act on other things instead of making amendments in changing the constitution? There are still people who are jobless and those who cannot bring food to the table. There are still many who are homeless. Others have homes but the land they call home do not belong to them. What happened to free education? My brother cannot finish his course for four straight years because we cannot pay his tuition fee so he has to stop atleast one year. One time someone asked me, isn't it there is study now pay later? I replied there is none! That only appears on the 500 pesos bill but I don't see that into reality. There are a lot of things that our country need. I hope those who will be elected in the 2010 elections can do more..... this time....

It's Independence Day
to all Filipinos World Wide

Photos taken from
Abacan Bridge, Angeles City, Philippines