Quest for freedom

WHEN I was a young boy, in the peaceful town of Bauan in Batangas where I was born and raised, the 12th of June every year is the celebration of Philippine Independence from Spanish conquistadores. I remember those times that I would pause from peddling banana cue, camote cue or empanada to watch parada na may musiko (civic-military parade) in the streets lined up with people gaily waving small Philippine flags. That remained to be my conscious thoughts of June 12, 1898. That despite the grant of Philippine independence by the Americans on July 4, 1946, the country continues to celebrate June 12 as Independence Day. And July 4, then celebrated as Republic Day, was commemorated as Filipino-American Friendship Day.

During my four years in high school then to my sophomore year in college in 1984, the idea of independence evolved and was given another context. The quest became one for freedom — no longer from foreign conquerors but against a "domestic oppressor." The struggle was to break free from an authoritarian leader or a dictator, depending upon which political fence one sits.