By: Emme Rose Santiagudo
Both Iloilo City and the Iloilo province have prepared programs to commemorate the 121st Independence Day, today, June 12, 2019.
The historic municipality of Santa Barbara will lead the celebration in the Iloilo province with the raising of one of the largest Philippine flags in front of the Santa Barbara municipal hall at 8:00 a.m.
The ceremony will be followed by a series of speeches from the invited guests.
The highlight of the program is the civic military parade at the municipal plaza which will be mainly participated by the government troops, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and Department of Education (DepEd).
A wreath laying ceremony will also be held at the monument of General Martin Teofilo Delgado, the revolutionary leader in Iloilo.
In Iloilo City, a flag raising ceremony will also be held at the Plaza Libertad in City Proper at 7:00 a.m.
A program will also follow the flag-raising where University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Professor Alfredo Diaz will serve as the guest speaker.
Meanwhile, Martial Law survivor and now councilor-elect Eduardo Peñaredondo said that as an independent nation, Filipinos consider Independence Day as a very important celebration.
“From the view point of external control and intervention affairs estate, we could say that we highly consider Independence Day as a very important celebration for the Filipinos. It only shows we are independent nation, we are free from the intervention and oppression of other nations,” he said.
He added that the celebration of the Independence Day is also a reminder of the rich history of the country.
“We are also reminded of our history where Former President Emilio Aguinaldo and other heroes shed their blood for the sake of other nations so that we will be free from the oppression and tyranny of other big nations,” Peñaredondo said.
For the city councilor, the meaning of “independence” should not be taken literally.
“When we say independence, it should not be taken as literal and it should be taken in a deeper meaning, it depends on how you see it. In the present set-up, I would say it is not truly independent but we have, the life of our nation also depends on other nation meaning there is a symbiotic relationship between our country and other nations in a way that we entered agreements. We are committed to that, for the purposes of economy and defense our country,” he said.
