Keep fighting for freedom, Loren urges Filipinos

Senator Loren Legarda stressed yesterday that Filipinos must do a lot of soul-searching on whether the Philippines has indeed gained independence, over a century since the declaration of Philippine Independence by General Emilio Aguinaldo.

"When General Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of Filipinos in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, it was in the context of the Philippines declaring itself free from subjugation by a foreign power," said Loren.

"Today (June 12), one hundred eleven years to the day since that unfurling of the Philippine Flag and the playing of the Philippine National Anthem for the first time in Kawit, we Filipinos must ask ourselves whether we are truly free as a people," the senator added.

Loren then raised the following questions in asking all Filipinos to continue fighting for freedom against all forms of oppression.

"Have our people been freed from the bondage of poverty, the shackles of social inequity and the vestiges of colonialism?

"Have we become the true masters of our own fate or are we still imprisoned by notions that we are weak and that we cannot help but be dependent on other nations like the United States?"

For her part, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must also confront the ideals of her late father, former President Diosdado Macapagal.

"As leader of our nation and as the daughter of the man who caused the shift of our Independence Day celebration from July 4 to June 12, must ask herself if the charter change initiative her administration has been trying to ram down our people's collective throat is in keeping with her father's vision of independence."

Loren stressed that there can be no true claim to freedom unless the social barriers that discriminate between the rich and the poor are brought down.

"Any Independence Day celebration will be hollow if under the veneer of the festivities, flag-waving and breast-beating, Juan dela Cruz lives a hand-to-mouth existence while many in government enrich themselves off the fat of the land."