Today is our true Independence Day

We should celebrate Independence Day on July 4, and not June 12. The truth is that we were not truly independent on June 12, 1898. The declaration made by the Magdalos led by Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite, was not recognized by the international community of nations. In fact, on December 10, 1898, the Kingdom of Spain sold the Philippine Islands to America by virtue of the Treaty of Paris.

- Atty. Josephus B. Jimenez

An independent state is defined by international law as a community of people, more or less numerous, bound together by a common purpose, occupying a permanent territory, with an established government, imbued with sovereignty and to which the greater bulk of people render habitual obedience. Thus, the elements of an independent state include people, territory, government, and sovereignty.

And evidence of sovereignty includes habitual obedience by the people and recognition by the international community of nations. The so-called independence proclaimed by Aguinaldo did not enjoy the habitual obedience of the people from the Visayas and Mindanao. It did not even have the obedience of the people from Bicol, from the Ilocos and from the far-flung islands of Palawan, Mindoro, Masbate, and Marinduque.