On 12 June 1898, ninety-eight persons, including one American, signed the Declaration of Philippine Independence from the Crown of Spain in Kawit, Cavite. The Philippine flag was officially raised and the Philippine National Anthem played, both for the first time in public.

The journey from 12 June 1898 to 12 June 2024 has been long and difficult for the Filipino people.

We have gone through two wars (the Filipino-American War and World War II), Martial Law and years of internal strife. Many lives, futures and fortunes were lost in our struggle for freedom. Thus, Independence Day is not only a time for celebration; it is likewise a time for commemoration. As Rizal wrote, “You who are to see the dawn, welcome it, and do not forget those who fell during the night.”

It is also a time for reflection. The freedom we have won should be cherished, cared for, defended, and used for the progress of our country and our people. As Apolinario Mabini warned us: “Many believe that once they have gained freedom, they can do what they please, good or bad. This is a great error. One is free only to do good, never to do evil.”

The struggle for independence was not only aimed at gaining political freedom. It was, as importantly, also meant to correct economic and social inequities in society and to provide the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health, and physical protection.

Today, 126 years after we declared our independence, we enjoy the blessings of physical freedom. We have a democratic system with three co-equal branches of government. We have elections every three years. However, as to whether there exists the real society our forefathers had fought, worked, and died for — a just society where there is a rule of law, free of corruption, where people have secured the basic things in life, I leave it to the reader to answer.

Today, there is a real threat to our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). If reports are correct, the external threat is already inside our country. Surveys show that people perceive corruption to be high and there is much to be desired from the government’s delivery of basic services. The rule of law is weak. Self-rated poverty is high. The national debt is at its highest. We have real problems in education which will consequently affect the productivity and competitiveness of the labor force of the future.

This is not the free and prosperous nation our forefathers had fought, bled, and died for. This situation must be corrected. We have to band ourselves together, use diplomatic, military and whatever means to assert our rights in the WPS and neutralize the threats that have entered our shores. We must decry corruption and vigorously fight it. We have to strengthen our educational system. We have to ensure clean, honest, fair and meaningful elections. We must prepare our people, our physical infrastructure and our technical systems to meet the political, economic and security challenges of the future.

We must defend the hard-earned political freedom we now enjoy. We must ensure that every Filipino can be provided with the basic needs. We must make a conscious effort to bequeath to our children and future generations a free and prosperous society. How we manage the present, in light of the past, and prepare for the future, is up to us. As Rizal wrote: “Our misfortunes are our fault, let us blame nobody else for them.” At the end of the day, our future is in our own hands.

Let it be that the next generations of Filipinos will celebrate Independence Day as a truly free, prosperous and learned people. Let it be that they can proudly say that “not everyone slept during the night of our forefathers.”