The Grimm in Uncle Sam and Juan dela Cruz’s Relationship: A Postcolonial Critique

Keith Martin C. Quimno

Is the celebration of the Philippine – American Friendship Day a reinforcement of Uncle Sam’s superiority?

The answer to this question lies on how we understand the relationship of a former colonizer and a former colony. Postcolonialism, a theory generated through Edward Said’s Orientalism and through the observance of the political and cultural reforms made by anti-colonial movements, offers a promising line of thought in the understanding of the Post-Colonial. The term ‘postcolonial’, according to Rajesh James, refers to the unpresentable in the colonial while the hyphenated term ‘post-colonial’ refers to a period after colonialism.

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America shares a ‘special relationship’. This means that they are extremely close allies who have close historical, political, economic, and military relations. The two countries shared numerous bilateral agreements which significantly influenced the Philippine society. It was until 1992 when the last US military base completed its withdrawal from the Philippines, but bilateral military relations continue with the existence of the Visiting Forces Agreement approved on 1999 and the Balikatan exercises which occurs annually. The two countries also continue to enhance with trade and investment; the United States has traditionally been the Philippines' largest foreign investor and the Philippines is considered as one of US’ largest beneficiary in terms of economic aid.

A Friend or a Foe?

Western influence made a change on the Filipino way of life. Through the long history of US presence in the Philippines, many US products, food, and other commodities have entered the Philippine market and had been common on shopping lists of Filipinos. Nowadays, it is common to see Filipinos craving to eat at foreign fast-food stores than on the usual ‘karinderya’. Here we see how colonialism paves way to what Frantz Fanon (1961) call as the colonialisation of the mind. That colonialism does not only provide former colonizers the ownership of geographical locations but also the psychological inclinations of those who became their former colonies.

Subjects of colonialism are made to feel that they are ‘inferior’ in a society which is controlled by ‘superior’ colonizers. Because of this, Franz Fanon said, those who are titled to be ‘inferior’ creates the compromise of using the same things that their colonizers use and doing the same things that their colonizers do to deal with the psychological inadequacy of their society. This can be attributed to the structure of a strong US soft power.

Are the US bases really gone from the Philippines?

It is documented that the Philippines is free from any foreign military base and that it holds sovereignty. But Edward Said (1993) writes that “postcolonial independence involves not only the recovery of geographical territory but also the reclamation of the culture”. US Military bases may have long been gone from the Philippines, but the base which holds and thrusts their culture into that of the Philippines is still very much in existence.

_______________________
References:

(1)James, R. (2014). Postcolonialism: A Brief Overview. Retrieved: August 26, 2014 from http://www.academia.edu/2662908/Postcolonialism_A_Brief_Overview

(2)Simon, S. (2013). US-Southeast Asia Relations: Philippines – An Exemplar of the US Rebalance. Retrieved: August 26, 2014 from http://csis.org/files/publication/1302qus_seasia.pdf

(3)Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs - Fact Sheet (2014). U.S. Relations with the Philippines. Retrieved: August 27, 2014 from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2794.htm

(4)Embassy of the United States - Manila, Philippines. Doing Business in the Philippines. Retrieved: August 26, 2014 from http://manila.usembassy.gov/doing-business-local.html

(5)Philippines: Foreign Military Relations (1991). Retrieved: August 26, 2014 from http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-10526.html

(6)Images courtesy of Google Images

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The Post Imperial Japan: The Philippine Post Colony

Charles Augustine R. Albaño

Japan was once the greatest military power in Asia that dominated the region for decades. In terms of military might, industrialization, wealth and technology, Japan is still in its prime. Throughout history, even until this very day, Japan's supremacy over the region has not yet faltered despite the limitations of its constitution. It is a force to be reckoned with, its power shall never be underestimated, and its interests shall never be undermined for Japan is still one of the leading world powers.

The Colonialist History

In history, Japan had once been a major threat to the world, long before its rise to power in the 2nd World War. It was once an isolated nation that barred its contacts from the outside world to enjoy the prosperity they had experienced until Commodore Perry of the United States of America attacked their shores. The event was a life-changer to honorable people that they would do anything to regain their honor. As one of the world's fastest-learners, they sent their most brilliant scholars to Europe, such as England and Germany, to study the knowledge of the outside world for their advantage. Once they had acquired the knowledge they required, it marked the beginning of their rise to power.

Japan tried to convince the countries of Asia to establish an East-Asia Co Prosperity Sphere, an organization that was meant to foster the trade and military relations of all the East Asian and Southeast Asian States. Majority of these states were against this proposition, especially China, because Japan had its motives of its own: to dominate over the region. In order to persuade them, Japan declared war and conquered the region by force. They had made an alliance with Germany and Italy to bolster their chances of victory, hence the birth of the Axis Powers. Japan fought the world in order to get what they wanted to the extent of fighting against the United States of America, which is one of the greatest powers. They enjoyed their short-lived victory for quite sometime until the Allied Forces retaliated and ended with the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Hence, it marked their defeat and their honor was sullied with their military powers being leashed.

Despite their fall in World War II, they had rose again to power. Although not militarily, but their economy is a form of power to be dealt with. Alongside with their prosperous economy, they had, and still have, the soft powers that influences the entire world. Its soft power is a major threat that even the strongest powers in the world, including hegemons, have fallen into their influence. Japan is strategically positioning itself to become a major power that the world may not contain.

Philippine-Japan Friendship Day

As stated earlier, Japan is powerful in terms of economy and soft power. Soft power is Japan's ace weapon in colonizing states, regardless of the power that a state possesses. Since Japan can impel its influence to hegemons, how much more the Philippines?

Philippine-Japanese Friendship Day is a day to commemorate the friendship between Filipinos and Japanese. Every year, Filipinos and Japanese alike in the Philippines celebrate this day and hold series of events to bolster the friendship between the two nationalities. In most instances, Filipinos would play Japanese songs, exhibit cosplays, hold manga conventions, and a lot more. During the day, the Japanese would offer free art exhibits and films that are much related to the Japanese culture in order to entice the Filipinos of their way of life. Despite fostering the friendship, one cannot notice that the Filipinos showcase their culture. Friendship per se is not a negative impetus, unless when the other has an ulterior motive.

This friendship day is somewhat one-sided. Based on observations, the Filipinos are overly enticed to the Japanese culture that they forgot to express their own. Filipinos watch excessive anime and overly read manga to the extent that they had not managed to express an art of their own. Surely there are notable Filipino artists, but they have been overshadowed by this trending culture. Filipinos are hospitable and friendly people, but they are overly friendly that they become naive. They had forgotten history and what Japan had done to its people because Japan is superb in covering up its mistakes, which does not only apply to the Philippines.

In terms of economic supremacy, the Japanese have accomplished in influencing the Filipinos. Japanese have owned leading brands and the biggest industries in the world. Most Filipinos trust Japanese brands due to high quality and their reasonable prices. An example of the industries that the Filipinos are enticed to are the automobile industry. Approximately, 70% of the automobiles that are owned by Filipinos are Japanese cars, most especially Toyota. This alone indicates that the Japanese have successfully penetrated the Philippine market.

The Japanese have also successfully coerce its influence in terms of government assistance. There are several contracts with the Japanese companies that entails assisting the Philippine government in its projects. In Cebu alone, there are two major projects that were built through the assistance of Japan. They are the South Road Properties (SRP) and the Marcelo Hernan Bridge, the newest bridge that connects from mainland Cebu to Mactan island. These projects also have the Japanese flag indicated in the signs of these projects. One can notice the signs before entering the SRP tunnel and every suspension of the Marcelo Hernan bridge. Thus, the influence has further spread towards the government.

The Filipinos have not yet significantly countered the influence of Japan. The Japanese the tradition has created a big impact towards the world, including the Philippines. It has dominated in many aspects that the non-Japanese, including the Japanese, are not aware of. the two-sided soft power influence over major powers and one-sided soft power influence over the weaker ones, such as he Philippines. The weak ones are not in the position to go against this because they have not yet possessed the capacity to counter the dominating influence. The Filipinos can hardly challenge the idea of Japanese post colonialism because it had already successfully infiltrated into the system and the culture of the Filipinos. Thus, Japan has succeeded in post colonizing the Philippines.

Conclusion

The Japanese would persist on to re-igniting the spirit of Imperial Japan. The Japanese people are not hasty that they would not mind taking centuries to regain their honor as they have done during the Meiji era. The Japanese have the intelligence, skills, talents and technologies to further their goal. Their soft power and economy are means to posture themselves for their future plans to come. Friendship days are nothing but illusions created by the dominating powers to exert their influence over to the minor states. Japan is no exemption. The first phase of their road to conquering is almost complete for they have successfully penetrated world markets and various cultures. Hence, these questions remain: will there be a next phase? What would the next phase be? The answer is uncertain, but one thing is definite: they will always have interests. There is no such thing as permanent alliances, only permanent interests (Henry Temple, 1852).

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Celebrating Juan's Friendship with Joe

Carl Lindl Silvela

Filipino-American Monument in Corregidor
http://www.haringlakbay.com/post/corregidor-filipino-american-friendship-park/

The relationship of Philippines and America is a rich vibrant palette of colors ranging from the brightest hue to the darkest shade. They shared memories worth to reminisce yet at the same time, moments better to be forgotten. The connection of both countries has been very visible in their culture, systems and alliances. Our culture has been influenced much by the Americans. It is no wonder why we are called Little Brown Americans by some as we embody most of their culture-from beauty pageants to eating fries and burgers. Our educational system, laws and even our constitution is a mere replica of that of the Americans’. Alliances also enrich the bond as Balikatan Exercises and other military and commercial partnerships were being engaged by both. History provides why Filipino-American Friendship day should be celebrated.

Not too many Americans know, but July 4th, beside a celebration of American independence and a celebration of freedom, is also Philippine-American Friendship Day. Philippine Republic Day, July 4, (also known as Filipino-American Friendship Day) is a day in the Philippines designated to commemorate the official recognition of Philippine independence by the United States of America. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946. Initially, the nation's 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, and it coincides with the United States's Independence Day on July 4.

In the Philippines, fourteen American Corners were established in various universities and one of which is in the University of San Carlos. Through the AC, the Fil-Am Friendship Day was being celebrated by the academe but not limited to which. The corners provide a variety of activities- movie marathons, quiz bowls, trivia boards, information dissemination through social media and etc. The Friendship Day is filled with fun activities yet still relevant to the theme.  The Department of Tourism celebrates the event through the revival of the friendship day accented with the sale exposition of variety products. Despite of the fun celebration, others are not in favor of the event initiating rallies on the roads and burning figures of Filipino and American politicians.

The celebration of the Fil-Am Friendship Day poses a controversy whether soft power is exhibited by means of cultural diplomacy. The introduction of American culture to the Filipino mentality is a question whether soft power is incorporated to achieve influence through beliefs and morals created by society (Kim, 2011). Even the ideal of democracy we continue to believe started during the American occupation. The erection of American Corners was also questioned as part of power expansionism of America wherein the embassy and consular offices were already established. Whether there is cultural diplomacy taking place or not, what matters most is the friendship of Filipinos and Americans nurtured by time in the light of liberalism.

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The Illusion of Camaraderie: A Postcolonial Critique On Why Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day Is Not Worth Celebrating

By John Anthony F. Almerino

 

Postcolonial critique is straightforward when it comes to enumerating and defining the (almost entirely) negative effects of colonialism to the colonized country. Frantz Fanon (1961) views colonialism as essentially destructive due to its dehumanizing tendencies, claiming that colonial subjugation inflicts mental and physical damage upon the colonized people and denies them of their very own culture.[1]

The Philippines was under Spanish colonial rule for more than 300 years. Early historians marked the beginning of Philippine history in the 16^th century in concert with the Spanish discovery of the islands. But pre-colonial evidence (in the form of artifacts and written documents) confirmed that a Filipino civilization existed prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.[2] A unique Filipino culture was already budding before Spain eventually found the archipelago and “civilized” it. 

This fact considerably undermines the Spaniard’s attempts of justifying more than 300 years of colonial rule other than for simply advancing their national interests. The imposition of Western ideals and values against the subaltern culture is founded upon the baseless belief on the “backwardness, irrationality, and wildness of the East” and the need of Western intervention to civilize it.[3] Edward Said (1978) refers to these prejudiced intellectual assumptions as “Orientalism”.

Postcolonialism is vehement in insisting that colonization is bereft of any moral justification. Said describes Orientalism as nothing more but a social construct propagated by the West to self-justify the moral implications of colonization. The suppression of the native culture during colonial subjugation often leads to the decay (and eventual death) of the said culture, which in turn creates complications in the social and beliefs system of the colonized. For instance, the destructive effects of Spanish colonization are noticeable in the daily manifestations of modern Filipino culture. Very few Cebuanos for example can count beyond ten in native tongue, often mistaking the Spanish diez (10), onze (11), or veinte (20) as Cebuano. Furthermore, the native belief system of Anitos is now rarely practiced except for a few mountain tribes in the country. Majority of Filipinos are either Roman Catholics or Muslim, and most of them presently denounce the native religion with derogatory terms such as “pagan”, “savage”, and even “satanic”. Another critique that comes to mind is the divisive system of government that the Spaniards imposed during colonization which allegedly gave rise to regionalism and regionalist mentality.

The celebration of the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day scrutinized under postcolonial thought is therefore futile and hypocritical. A good number of arguments against the continuance of this specific friendship day can easily be formulated. They are as follows:

Argument One: The Philippines and Spain Has Very Little Diplomatic Relations

It’s quite ironic to note that despite 300 years of occupation, we presently have very little diplomatic contact with Spain. A few state visits here and there, has not really amounted to any significant improvement in our relations. Spain ranks only as Philippines’ 28^th largest trading partner in 2011, way below compared to other countries which we had virtually no contact since globalization (such as Canada).[4] Furthermore Spain is not a significant political ally in terms of current international issues, and has not exerted any effort to back us up. Defense Minister Jose Bono, a member of the Spanish delegation, captures the relations between the two countries succinctly as being comparable to a tree where there are “more roots than fruits”, saying that bilateral cooperation between the two has not really flowered.[5]

Argument Two: Destruction of Culture Is Something Not Worth Commemorating

While many Filipinos consider the great contribution of Spanish influence to Filipino culture, there are also a considerable number of people who abide by postcolonial critique in believing that Spanish colonization only brought the destruction of our country’s native culture. The death of archaic Filipino words, the rise of regionalism, the antagonism between Christians of Muslims, can all be attributed to Spain’s 300+ years of divisive and disruptive reign. 

Argument Three: There Is Actually No Friendship Between Us And Spain (And Perhaps There Will Never Be)

When Spain sold us to the US under the Treaty of Paris in 1898, all Filipino revolutionaries could have probably uttered “good riddance” in relief. In fact, prior to the treaty, many were so excited about this so called “liberation” that Emilio Aguinaldo celebrated independence way too prematurely (the Spanish-American War was still going on) on June 12, 1898. After Spain ceded control of the archipelago to the Americans, there has been no contact with our most influential Colonizer ever since. The camaraderie and friendship that the Friendship Day with Spain promotes is something that was not there in the first place and probably will never be realized.

Argument Four: Neocolonialism

Though a separate line of thought and academic discipline in itself, neo-colonialist argument against Friendship Days are closely related to postcolonial assertions. The celebration of such superficial ceremonies only strengthens the former colonizer influential hold on the former colonies through aid and cultural exchange programs. The Philippines is Spain’s biggest recipient of aid in Asia.[6] Various programs set to promote the Spanish language and culture is also being promoted by Spain in the country. The Instituto Cervantes-Manila for example, a non-profit organization established by the Spanish government has been sponsoring the training of Filipino teachers in the Spanish language.

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[1] The Wretched of the Earth (1961) by Frantz Fannon

[2] See The Laguna Copperplate Inscription by Hector Santos at http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/lci/lci.htm#lci_graphics

[3] See Orientalism (1978) by Edward Said for a more thorough discussion

[4] Statistics from Our Spanish Ties by Babe Romualdez. The Philippine Star. Retrieved Aug. 13, 2014 at http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2013/09/22/1236691/our-spanish-ties

[5] Ibid.

[6] “Philippines is only country in Asia to receive aid from Spain -ambassador". InterAksyon. Retrieved Aug. 13, 2014 at http://interaksyon.com/article/53204/philippines-is-only-country-in-asia-to-receive-aid-from-spain---ambassador

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The Philippine Fourth of July

Jeramy Loreto

http://www.clarkisit.com/celebrating-4th-july-filipino-american-friendship-day/

The quest for Philippine independence is a series of sacrifices, tragedy but in the end was the sweet taste of freedom. In shaping Philippine history, series of colonizers clothed the country, Spaniards, Japanese, and Americans accordingly. The United States being the last colonizer of the country played a great role in achieving its independence. When the late Pres. Manuel Roxas retook his oath as president of the Philippines eliminating allegiance to the United States, this marked the day of Philippine independence. Starting 1946, every Fourth of July used to be considered as the day of Philippine independence. During Pres. Macapagal’s administration, in Proclamation No. 28, s. 1962, the date of Philippine independence was moved to June 12 because it is the date that the Spaniards proclaimed in Aguinaldo’s revolutionary government. And with that, they historians believed that July 4 is only the restoration of that same strand of independence.

So what happens every Fourth of July?

The Philippine-American friendship day that we ceremoniously celebrate every Fourth of July used to be every November 15. In 1955, Pres. Magsaysay issued Proclamation No. 212, s. 1955, stating the observance of Philippine-American day every 15^th of November.

“WHEREAS, the observance of the Philippine-American Day last year has proved the value of keeping alive the spirit of friendship and mutual helpfulness between the American and Filipino Peoples.”        –An excerpt from the Proclamation No. 212

In Marcos administration, he issued Proclamation No. 2346, s. 1984 stating that the celebration was to be renamed Philippine-American Friendship day and was moved to every Fourth of July and also to commemorate the Philippine Republic Day. The practice of celebrating Philippine-American Friendship day as a working holiday started during President Aquino’s term when they specified a list of holidays in the Administrative Code of 1987. Proclamation No. 811, s. 1996, issued by Pres. Ramos once again commemorates the celebration not with a holiday but with public celebrations.

This is the Philippine kind of historic Fourth of July. 

 Source:

www.gov.ph/Official-gazette/

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Philippine-American Friendship Day 2014: Another Year Of Strengthening The Knot

Lourdes Anne C. Gamalo

The American Corner of the University of San Carlos Downtown Campus' official poster for its annual celebration of the Philippine-American Friendship Day last July 4, 2014

Nota Bene: Before narrating the details of what transpired during the Philippine-American Friendship Day, the member assigned to this task (documentation), would like to inform the readers ahead of time that the member can only provide a few information regarding the occasion due to another academic event in conflict with the schedule of the highlighted celebration

Every July 4th of the year, American Corner located inside Fr. Bernard Bonk Library of the USC-DC would hold its celebration of the Philippine-American Friendship Day. This year, the staff of American Corner along with its librarian Mrs. Lorna Eguia and in partnership with Team Superpower of International Relations and Foreign Service 141: Special Topics in International Relations class hosted this year's celebration with fun and games as it filled the corner with American banners, flags and pamphlets and gave prizes and souvenirs to both the visitors and the participants. 

The event started (based on the poster) with a film showing. Fortunately, the team was just in time to join the crossword puzzle as they competed with a few students from different courses (probably from the School of Business and Economics... just a wild guess). The participants were five all-in-all, one boy and four girls. As the competitors were set, the working scholars of the American Corner (since Miss Lorna was away) served as the facilitators of the game, they simply walked them through with the instructions (concise and quick as expected). The participants were provided with the same sheet of paper, on it was the the puzzle set they had to fill in; they were only given 10-15 minutes to finish the puzzle. We could all feel the rush as the facilitators held their breaths while keeping track of the time while the participants were busy filling in the empty crossword boxes. 

As the game ended, the participants were asked to stay and relax as the facilitators deliberate the answers of each and every one of them. After the checking, they announced that it resulted to a tie; each of the participants were given goodies form American Corner such as Americanized pens and pencils. At the end of the game, each of them were given certificates of participation. 

After the fun game, the competitors, along with the students from different courses took a seat and watched another fictional movie fitting to the crowd. It was just the right movie for the majority of the visitors in the room (referring to the female population, obviously). 

Overall, the celebration provided an energetic aura, giving the students all the more reason to stay in and participate. The students were able to socialize, have fun, and learn - all at the same time!

Well, let us admit that celebrating and hosting events of any Friendship Day with the Philippines is beneficial for the students because it gives them a sneak peak of the culture and history of the foreign country. Not only does this serve as a channel of learning for the students, but it also helps us remember and strengthen our knot of friendship with our neighbors who provided us assistance in keeping our country prosperous and secure. 

American-azing, is it not?

The students were welcomed with star-spanggled 

decorations courtesy of the American Corner!

Meet the Crossword Puzzle contestants! (the fifth one too the photo, by the way)

The participants did not crack under pressure! 

Yay! Groupie with President Obama! 

Jeramy strikes a pose with a long lost relative! (Just kidding)

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Feliz Dia de la Amistad Filipino-Espanyola: Celebrating Filipino-Spanish Friendship Day

Janica Tujan

The preparation for the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day was so sudden that we only had the weekend to prepare each of the members’ tasked. Before anything else, the members of the working committee for the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day was composed of third year IRFS majors and one fourth year IRFS major belonging to team Titan which made this event under team Titan.

The composition of the working committee for the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day are only those who were willing to work on the celebration of the event. It was right after the IRFS Track Orientation when the track adviser approached those who expressed their willingness to help come up with an activity in celebration of the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day and asked them to plan something, it need not be a big event so long as the message of the celebration which was to raise awareness was delivered. Due to the lack of time, the working committee only came up with an information hoisting drive through giving out brochures on the fourth floor of the Ernest Hoerdemann (Law Building) for Political Science Majors. The brochure shows bits and pieces of “did you know?” facts about Spanish relationship with Filipinos and some personalities in relation to the two countries as well. The working committee divided the tasks to accomplish in order to finish it over the weekend and distribute it first thing on Monday morning.

Morning of June 30, the brochures were ready to be distributed. The working committee divided the brochures so each of them could distribute it during their vacant hours of the day. Some of the brochures were placed next to the magazines displayed at the Baristo for reading purposes. Some people were delighted to receive the brochures because they learned something new but some could hardly care less about what the brochure is about and did not even care that on that day we celebrate or commemorate Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day. Perhaps they were skeptical about the rationale behind the celebration of this event considering that we used to be a former colony of Spain and the great discomfort it has brought upon our ancestors.

The information included by the working committee on the brochure are more of stock knowledge, some used the site Wikipedia so there was not really a scholarly grounding on the information used by the working committee. See the sample of the brochure that was distributed below.

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Typical Ways of Observing Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day with Insights

Janice Paglinawan

Philippines and Spain has shown that independence hasn’t hindered the multi-faceted historical relationship between the two countries. Through common culture, religion and interlinking events, it’s almost natural for bilateral development agreements and understandings to foster.

Since Republic Act. No. 9187, s. July 22, 2002, was approved on February 5, 2003 and the first Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day was inaugurated in 2003, more of the friendship day observances were focused mainly on ceremonial purposes. From wreath laying ceremonies to formal communication and acknowledgment from both countries’ government. Furthermore, typical ways of observing the friendship day was concentrated in Spain funding projects in the Philippines in the area of legislation, culture, education, language and sports.

Although Philippines benefited from these project activities, however later on the activities grew bigger in event scope and audience through info hoisting and cultural exchanges that involved the Philippine populace.

Based on Philippines have more to gain from this friendship through cooperation in the areas of energy, tourism, heritage conservation and the creative arts s well as through language and education according to Senator Angara. With a more proficient Spanish language and culture-rich Philippines, it would boast a more Hispanic tourism industry. In comparison to the celebrations in Spain with the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, Philippines possess more importance and significance to this occasion than their Spanish counterparts.

I believe that the friendship days should contain more of Philippines not commemorating the past colonial experiences, although its significance is understandable, but should focus critically on what Philippines should do with its “original identity” associated with its Spanish influence. According to Ricardo Punzalan, “a new paradigm must be developed to guarantee the preservation not only of the contemporary and colonial archives, but to ensure the inclusion and representation of the indigenous traditions in framing the national memory.”[1] That new paradigm can co-exist with the friendship day observances through activities that promotes cross-culturalism stated by Margaret Kumar as “the multicultural and multilingual diversity has led to a constant ‘crossing’ of ideas, values and linguistic terminology between cultural groups.”[2] This is a vital foundation for Philippines to concur and define the “Philippine identity”, not only with its history with Spain, but also with its other colonial pasts with Japan and USA.

*You can read the complete "TYPICAL WAYS OF OBSERVING PHILIPPINE-SPANISH FRIENDSHIP DAY CONCERNED WITH INSIGHTS" document here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwB62atcHx21dWliVWM2MTljTFU/edit?usp=sharing

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[1] Punzalan, R. (2005) Cultural Diversity and Post-colonial Realities: Challenges of archival training in the Philippines.

[2] Kumar, M. (2000) Postcolonial Theory and Cross-culturalism: Collaborative “Signposts” of Discursive Practices.

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PHILIPPINE- SPANISH FRIENDSHIP DAY

by Janine Galang

The Law designating the friendship day with Spain is REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9187. The Republic Act declares that June 30 of the year is the Philippine Spanish Friendship Day. his law makes the Philippines the only country to celebrate a friendship day with its former colonizer. In the said act, it may be commemorated as Fil- Hispano Day and will / may be organized by a Inter- Agency Committee, consisting of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs as Chairman, the Executive Director of the National Historical Institute and the Mayor of Baler, Aurora as Co- Vice Chairmen, and an Undersecretary of the Department of Education, Undersecretary of the Department of Tourism and one (1) representative each from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the University of the Philippines History Department, as members. The Philippine Ambassador of Spain and the Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines shall also be ex officio members of the committee.

The implementation of this act was on the basis of the fact that June 30, the date of the said celebration, is  a day when President Emilio Aguinaldo commended the besieged Spanish soldiers in the Church of Baler for their loyalty and gallantry, which is discussed in Section 1 of the Republic Act. Section 2 states that Philippine-Spanish Day The Thirtieth of June of each year is hereby declared as Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day to commemorate the cultural and historical ties, friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and Spain. It is hereby declared as a national special working holiday and a special non-working holiday in Aurora Province.

Since it’s enactment in 2003 which was initiated and authored by Senator Edgardo Angara and signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine Spanish Friendship Day has paved ways to numerous bilateral agreements about economic and cultural cooperation between Philippines and Spain. This celebration is an indication of the desire of the Philippines to strengthen its ties with Spain and Europe. For its part, Spain, parallel to the European Union, has declared it her policy to pay greater attention to its ties with Southeast Asia. Naturally for Spain, this should start with its former colony, the Philippines.

 Retrieved from http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno9187.html

 Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/starweek-magazine/2012/08/19/839584/baler-history-filipino-spanish-friendship

 Retrieved from http://archive.today/SRXJt#selection-713.0-713.330

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Everyone Needs Friend: Why We Celebrate Phil-Am Friendship Day

Danica Blanche Fernandez

A child poses in front of a Fil-Am Standee
http://www.libotero.com/filam-friendship-day-celebration-ayala-center-cebu/

A lot of debates have been going on whether to continue celebrating country-country friendship days. The first of the critics begs to know what is there to celebrate anyway when in celebration we remember the oppressions and the turmoil from the hands of our oppressors, the colonizers. Of all friendship days, the Philippine-America Friendship Day is the most significantly commemorated- note that I used the word commemorate.

I cannot begin to jot down the significance of our continued alliance with the world’s superpower. We’re like those little brown pups ever so loyal to our master who vowed to feed us with imported milk, protect us from stray dogs and tend for us affectionately. Pups grow and their masters grow. Have we been too dependent on our master that we have forgotten that we have the capacity to grow and mature on our own, too?

America was there. Always. Maybe we should just forget the whole oppressive 44 years. After all, America was always there. Maybe we should just be complacent and keep America happy. America will always be there.

Could there be any more manifestation of post-colonialism than how Western Philippines is? Physically and by declaration, we are an independent sovereign state. Politically, we are indebted. Economically, we are skating on thin ice. Emotionally, we found ourselves still very attached to our closes colonizer, America. Homi Bhaba’s Location of Culture (1994) focuses on the politics, emotions, and values that exist in the between the colonizer and the colonized. Cultures are more than 'us' and 'other'. They are the sum of their histories. Bhabha likes to use the word 'hybrid', meaning composed of mixed elements, to describe post-colonial people and experiences.

We cannot help but tag ourselves with our colonizers. The Spaniards have left so much influence in our culture. The Americans heavily influenced our education which proved to be a powerful tool in keeping your colonies.

Despite of all the identity-confusion and poor-puppy analogy, I would vote for the status quo and celebrate Phil-Am Friendship Day. One, because there is so much to commemorate and celebrate for between both countries. Two, it would be very strategic on our part to keep America on our side with the brewing tensions in China. Everyone needs a friend on that. And lastly, this is the 21st century. This is the era of globalization, fluidity and borderlessness. People and cultural diplomacy is as important as Foreign Service Diplomats.

Everyone needs a friend.  

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