Waiting for liberation

When the founders of the republic declared independence from Spain, years ago today, the revolutionary army was a ragtag band overwhelm ingly outgunned by colonial forces. President (milio Aguinaldo declared the country to be “under the protec tion of our powerful and humanitar ian nation,” the nited States, whose armada was parked in Manila ay.

The revolutionary forces declared Philippine independence at a time when income distribution in the country was widely uneTual, with money and power concentrated on a miniscule class that benefited from ties to the Spanish colonial regime. The vast maMority of the population was impoverished and lacked educa tion and basic health care.

The armed uprising launched by working class freedom fighter An dres onifacio was for this maMority. ,ndependence should have meant the masses liberation, even if slowly, from poverty and absence of basic public services.

The promise of that revolution re mains unfulfilled. The declaration of independence became a best efforts pledge as Spain was supplanted by a new colonial power. The nited States would only let go of its colony half a century later, after a world war, but the Philippines remained under the American security umbrella.

Today, two decades after shutting down the S bases here, the Philip pines is e[ploring greater defense cooperation with the nited States as Asia s new military and economic power, China, muscles its way around the neighborhood. The Philippines is free from its colonial yoke but remains heavily dependent on the international community for much of its e[ternal defense and development needs as well as emergency response during natural disasters.

An estimated million Filipinos live below the poverty line. The na tion is waiting for inclusive economic growth and more eTuitable income distribution. ,t is the unfinished revolution the celebration of ,nde pendence ay becomes meaningful as more people are liberated from poverty.