Manila: While trying to stir Filipinos’ sense of patriotism as the country marked its 115 years of independence from colonial Spain, President Benigno Aquino III carefully avoided evoking statements that could infuriate its neighbours.
In a speech he delivered during the 115th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence, Aquino said his government is committed to
protect the Filipinos’ hard-fought independence through peaceful means.
“It will never be the policy of this administration to take advantage of other countries. If we have disagreements with them, the world knows that we have the readiness to sit down and talk with them so that issues can be resolved through peaceful means,” he said.
“We ask nothing from them but respect our sovereignty, territorial integrity and nationhood, as we would respect theirs,” the President said.
The Philippines has lately been figuring in territorial disputes with its neighbours, particularly China, which claims large areas of the South China Sea as part of its maritime domain, as well as Taiwan.
Taiwan had protested the shooting of a fisherman last May in the Balintang Channel, a sea territory claimed by the Philippines.
Aquino said while the Philippines aims to settle disputes through dialogue, it is not giving up territory without defending it.
The President said that with the signing of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernisation Act last December, the military can now better perform its mandate of upholding the sovereignty and defending the territorial integrity of the country at all times.
“P35 billion has been allotted for the country’s five year programme to improve its defence capabilities,” he said.
Likewise the President also urged Filipinos of their patriotic oath to serve the country.
Aquino likewise, exhorted overseas Filipino workers to remain faithful to serving the country.
“The June 12 commemoration celebrates the country’s independence from Spain which ruled the country for more than 330 years.In June 12 1898, revolutionary forces under rebel general Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence from the balcony of his home in Kawit town in Cavite province south of Manila.
As Spanish colonial forces are being defeated by Aguinaldo’s forces, Americans entered the fray. An agreement was signed on December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris, ceded the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The event was preceded by the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the US forces under then Admiral George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay.
