| Philippine Republic Day | |
|---|---|
 TheFlag of the United States is lowered while theFlag of the Philippines is being raised during independence ceremonies, July 4, 1946. | |
| Official name | Republic Day |
| Also called | Filipino–American Friendship Day |
| Observed by | Philippines |
| Type | Secular, heritage, governmental |
| Significance | Initially, celebration of the establishment of theRepublic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946 Later, celebration of friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and the United States |
| Date | July 4 |
| Next time | July 4, 2026 (2026-07-04) |
| Frequency | annual |
Philippine Republic Day (Tagalog:Araw ng Republikang Pilipino), also known asPhilippine–American Friendship Day,[1] is a commemoration in thePhilippines held annually on July 4. It was formerly an official holiday designated asIndependence Day, celebrating the signing of theTreaty of Manila, which granted Philippine independence from theUnited States of America in 1946.[2]
The Philippine Islands were an American colonial possession from 1898 to 1946, first as aterritory and then as acommonwealth beginning in 1935. Between 1941 and 1945 during theSecond World War, theEmpire of Japanoccupied the Islands; the Commonwealthgovernment-in-exile headed byPresidentManuel Luis Quezon was based in Australia and later in the United States.[3]
A campaign to retake the country began in October 1944, when GeneralDouglas MacArthur landed inLeyte along withSergio Osmeña, who had succeeded to the presidency after Quezon's death on August 1, 1944. The battles entailed long fierce fighting; some of the Japanese continued to fight until the officialsurrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. The country gainedcomplete independence on July 4, 1946.[4]
Initially, the nation's Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on July 4. PresidentDiosdado Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date in 1898 on whichEmilio Aguinaldo issued thePhilippine Declaration of Independence from Spain. Philippine Republic Day was created in its place and kept as a holiday under Macapagal,[5] coinciding with the United States' ownIndependence Day.[6]
In 1955, PresidentRamón Magsaysay had 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.[2][7] Sometime under the rule of PresidentFerdinand Marcos, Philippine–American Day was renamed "Philippine–American Friendship Day" and moved to July 4, overshadowing the observance of the date as Republic Day.[2] After the1935 Constitution was suspended undermartial law and later superseded by the1972 Constitution, it was impolitic to remind the nation of the oldThird Republic.[2] 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 Republic Day.[2]
In 1996, PresidentFidel V. Ramos celebrated the day as Republic Day.[8]
The practice of celebrating Philippine–American Friendship Day and Republic Day as a non-working holiday was formally abolished in 1987 under PresidentCorazon C. Aquino.[9] Section 26 of the Administrative Code of 1987 specified a list of regular holidays and nationwide special days that did not include July 4.[10]
On January 9, 2013, PresidentBenigno Aquino III issued Proclamation No. 533, declaring January 23 as "Araw ng Republikang Pilipino" (Philippine Republic Day), the anniversary of the proclamation of theFirst Philippine Republic.[11]
On April 5, 2018, PresidentRodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11014, declaring January 23 of every year as "First Philippine Republic Day," making it a special working holiday nationwide.[12]
At the urging of the Americans, Quezon's government-in-exile moved from Australia to the United States.
Macapagal kept July 4 as a national holiday, though: Philippine Republic Day, which is still on the books but scantly observed. It is sometimes referred to as Filipino-American Friendship Day. Despite the colonial history, relations between the one-time colony and master are still good; many Filipinos remember how hard the U.S. fought to end Japanese occupation.
