Independence Day in 2025

When is Independence Day?

This holiday is a regular holiday in the Philippines, celebrated annually on June 12th. It is the National Day of the Philippines.

Known in the Philippines as 'Araw ng Kasarinlan', or 'Day of Freedom', this day commemorates the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12th 1898.

History of Independence Day

Since the middle of the sixteenth century, the Philippines had been part of the Spanish Empire.

A secret group called ''Katipunan' consisting Philippine activists who wanted independence had been uncovered in 1896. This led to the beginning of the struggle for independence.

Did you know?

Filipino priests were among the first to voice their opposition to Spanish rule. They resented for the Spanish domination in Roman Catholic Churches, the religious leaders met with the nation’s intellectuals to discuss the country's independence.

By 1897, a truce had been signed between the revolutionaries and the Spanish with the leaders of the revolution accepting to be exiled outside the Philippines.

In 1898, after attacks on Americans interests in the region by the Spanish during the Spanish-American War, the US gave support to the independence movement, bringing back the rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo from exile, who rallied local Filipino support.

United against the Spanish with the American forces, over 300 hundred years of Spanish rule was brought to an end when Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in Kawit, Cavite, on June 12th 1898.

Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain agreed to cede the Philippines to the United States for a payment of twenty million dollars.

A year later, some Filipino's started to feel that all that had happened is that Spanish rule had been replaced by American rule, leading to the Philippine–American War. The result of that was the suppression of Filipino insurrection and ongoing American occupation with limited self-rule.

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The new country's national anthem, then known as Marcha Nacional Filipina, was first played on June 12th 1898, as incidental marching music and did not have lyrics. A year after, a Spanish poem written by Jose Palma was adapted and became the words of the national anthem. The anthem was then officially titled Lupang Hinirang in 1938.

It wasn't until July 4th 1946 that the islands gained their full independence.

The independence from America on July 4th 1946 was celebrated as the Philippine's Independence Day until 1962 when the date of June 12th was adopted to reflect the initial declaration of independence by Aguinaldo.

One Public Holiday, 16 Flag Days

As ordered by President Fidel V. Ramos in his Executive Order No. 179 in 1994, the Independence Day is to be celebrated for 16 days, starting from May 28th up to June 12th. Through this decree, the period was designated as flag days, during which all offices, agencies of government, business establishments, institutions of learning, and private homes are asked to display the Philippine Flag.

The Philippine flag was adopted in May 1898. Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista mentioned in the Declaration of Independence in 1898 that the three colours – red, white, and blue, serve as a debt of gratitude to honour the American flag. However, this was later contradicted by Emilio Aguinaldo. He clarified that the colour red stood for Filipino bravery, blue represented how Filipinos would rather die than surrender to the enemy and the colour white symbolized the Filipinos' love for peace.