Today’s celebration of Philippine-American Friendship Day evolved from the previous years’ observance of the fourth of July as Independence Day. This day in 1946 marked the end of US sovereignty: the American flag was lowered just as the Philippine flag was raised in a ceremony at the Luneta.
President Diosdado Macapagal moved the celebration of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12. His successor, President Ferdinand E. Marcos, designated July 4 as Philippine American Friendship Day. President Fidel V. Ramos marked it as Republic Day in 1996. President Benigno S. Aquino III issued a proclamation in 2013 declaring January 23 as Araw ng Republikang Pilipino (Philippine Republic Day), the anniversary of the First Philippine Republic in Malolos, Bulacan.
From then on, July 4 has been observed anew as Philippine-American Friendship Day marked from 1946. Despite the changes in nomenclature, the word Friendship is writ large as the defining element in the two countries’ relationship.
In his Philippine Independence Day message last month, President Joseph Biden reaffirmed this bond, saying, “Our people are forever connected through our deep bonds and shared sacrifices of valor, of family, and of friendship.” Such friendship is best appreciated in three dimensions: economic, socio-cultural and defense.
The United States is the Philippines’ third-largest trading partner and one of the largest foreign investors. Two-way trade volume is nearing US$ 30 billion (P1.4 trillion). Philippine industries that thrived under the Americans were coconut oil mills, fishing and canning, sugar centrals, alcohol distilleries and cigar and cigarettes.
An eloquent testament to the vitality of Filipino-American friendship was the recent induction to the Fulbright Philippines Hall of Fame of outstanding Filipinos who studied in the US under the aegis of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF), “the longest continuously-running Fulbright Commission in the world and the oldest international educational exchange program in the Philippines” since 1951. Inducted were former Ambassador Jose Cuisia, former president of the Philippine Social Security System Corazon Dela Paz-Bernardo, and former Senator Rene Saguisag; National Artists Lucrecia Kasilag Bienvenido Lumbera, Napoleon Abueva and Abdulmari Asia Imao; and National Scientists Angel Alcala, Clare Baltazar, and Bienvenido Nebres.
2021 also marks the 70th year of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines that has been supplemented by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). Filipino and American soldiers held last April the 36th Balikatan (Shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter terrorism, and other combined military operations.
Extensive people-to-people ties bind the two countries. Nearly four million people of Philippine descent live in the United States. Around 350,000 Americans reside in the Philippines, and approximately 600,000 U.S. citizens visit the country each year. These ties have endured through formidable challenges, nurtured by goodwill, mutual trust and abiding friendship.
Javy Gamboa, Fulbright scholar in Austin, Texas (2015), reflects: “I (was) exposed to learning opportunities and innovations...immersed into US culture that has enabled me (to) grasp my own identity as a Filipino.”