20 Million Dollars

Every June 12th, I deal with an uneasy feeling about celebrating Philippine Independence Day. Although it's a significant occasion in the Filipinx/o/a community, offering an opportunity for communal gathering and cultural celebration, it carries a bitter reality for me.

On June 12, 1898, what was declared as Philippine independence was, in truth, a mirage. The Treaty of Paris was being negotiated simultaneously, and this treaty marked the end of Spanish colonization. It transferred possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States, for which the U.S. paid $20 million to Spain. That sum represented the transaction that handed the Philippines over for further exploitation, marking the beginning of a new era of subjugation under American rule.

These days, $20 million doesn't go far. It's the price of a billboard campaign on Highway 101. Yet, back then, it was the price tag on our freedom—an archipelago with diverse culture, spirituality, and ancestral legacy reduced to a monetary exchange. Our nation's worth far exceeds that sum, and this realization deepens the wound of our historical experiences.