JULY 4 - Filipino-American Friendship Day Philippine Republic Day, July 4, also known as Filipino-American Friendship Day, is a day in the Philippines formerly designated to commemorate the official recognition of Philippine independence by the United States of America. Background: The Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1946. Between 1941 and 1946, during World War II Japanese occupation, it remained a U.S. territory with a government in exile headed by Manuel Quezon initially located in Australia and later in the United States. A campaign to retake the country began in October 1944, when General Douglas McArthur landed in Leyte along with Sergio Osmeña who had assumed the Philippine presidency after Quezons death. The battles entailed long fierce fighting; some of the Japanese continued to fight until the official surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946. Observation: File:1946-07-15 Philippines Independence Proclaimed.ogv Philippines Independence Proclaimed, July 4, 1946 Initially, the nations Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on July 4. Former President Diosdado Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date on which the Malolos Republic had declared independence from Spain in 1898. Philippine Republic Day was created in its place, coinciding with the United Statess Independence Day on July 4. In 1955, President Ramon Magsaysay issued Presidential Proclamation No. 212, s. 1955, which established the observance of Philippine American Day every November 15, the anniversary of the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Sometime during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Philippine–American Day was renamed Philippine–American Friendship Day and moved to July 4, overshadowing the observance of the date as Philippine Republic Day. After the Third Republic and the 1935 Constitution were discarded by Martial Law, it was impolitic to remind the public of the old republic. This is why, when President Marcos issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2346 s. 1984, reference was made to Philippine–American Friendship Day, which was relegated to a working holiday without mention of Philippine Republic Day. Delisting: During the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino, the practice of celebrating Philippine–American Friendship Day and Philippine Republic Day as a non-working holiday was formally abolished. Section 26 of the Administrative Code of 1987 specified a list of regular holidays and nationwide special days that did not include July 4. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - source: en.wikipedia.org
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 02:59:23 +0000
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