Filipinos must reflect on the assertion of freedom, 127 years after the country’s national heroes offered their blood and lives to achieve the freedom we are experiencing today.

In an interview, Employers Confederation of the Philippines chairperson, Edgardo Lacson, when asked to assess how the social elite dominates politics, challenging the ideals of the 1898 revolution, replied that the memory of the hard-fought independence from foreign colonizers (Spain, United States and Japan), which was won through bloody sacrifices of our martyred heroes, “may have been dimmed into hazy memory because of excessive politics and a slow economy that ranks 53rd among 133 economies of the world.”

But global financial institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, maintained that the Philippines will remain a bright spot in Southeast Asia this year and in 2026 due to strong domestic demand, sustained investments in social services and vital public infrastructure and modest inflation.

In its flagship Asian Development Outlook report, ADB forecasts the Philippines’ gross domestic product to expand by 6.0 percent in 2025 and 6.1 percent in 2026, up from 5.6 percent growth last year, saying that the Philippines will continue to be one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia.

American leaning

On the other hand, Lacson said the Philippines is not indeed independent, as the country and the current administration continue to lean back on the United States, which was once who occupier of the country.

When US President Donald Trump assumed office last January, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was one of the global leaders who congratulated him, stating that he looked forward to working closely with his administration, as the strong and lasting Philippine-US alliance would continue to uphold their shared vision of prosperity and security in the region.

Hell it is

“Hopefully, it is not a self-fulfilling prophecy when President Manuel Quezon said, ‘I would rather have a country like hell by Filipinos than a country run like heaven by the Americans,’” Lacson said.

As of 2024, the US has consistently ranked among the top five sources of foreign direct investments in the Philippines in the past five years.

Based on data from January to November 2023, the United States emerges as the fourth-largest source of FDI for the Philippines, with a total value exceeding $110 million.

In terms of support to the Philippines’ claims on the West Philippine Sea, the US reiterated that it stands with its ally, the Philippines, to condemn the continued unsafe, irresponsible, and provocative actions of China against Philippine maritime operatives in the Mischief Reef.

This is via the virtue of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, which extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.

Politics

In terms of politics, the nation is once again divided, especially on whether to try or not Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate after she was impeached by the House of Representatives.

Unlike the 1989 revolt, where Filipinos became united to fight the Spanish colonizers, Lacson said this will not happen today because of excessive politics.

As a sign of divisiveness, of the 23 Senator-Judges of the impeachment court, 18 voted in favor of the motion to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives on Tuesday night, apparently dooming the impeachment trial, a Constitutional exercise of a free nation.

For University of Sto. Tomas Department of Psychology head, Professor Dennis Coronacion, there is a big difference between then and now when it comes to sacrifices.

“Our national heroes who lived then sacrificed their lives and their own happiness for their fellow Filipinos and the country. I just don't know if there are still people in our country who are willing to suffer and sacrifice their happiness and themselves for the good of our country. If there are, they might only be a few,” he told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

“What is sad is that most of our countrymen advance their interests when given the opportunity to serve the country,” the UST professor stressed.

Lacson echoed Coronacion, stating that independence need to be prayed hard, not fought hard.

“But the glory of our past victories in gaining independence remains elusive, and the country needs a serious soul-searching to ultimately realize our collective dreams,” according to the business group leader.