To begin with, does the twelfth of June still matter to the Filipino people?

This question has been bothering me for the longest time now, particularly since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.

While the entire globe was busy with the ongoing pandemic, I could not help but wonder if my fellow countrymen still knew the value of the 12th of June and the actual meaning of independence. Or has it just become another senseless word to be included in our vocabulary? 

The vast majority of our fellow citizens are currently living paycheck to paycheck because of the damage and losses that Covid-19 has contributed to Filipino families. Perhaps, anybody who is oblivious of his or her surroundings would notice and would know how ineffective the government system is during this time. Thousands of Filipino workers were deprived and restricted from their jobs– employees and staff were unduly cut off due to lack of funding, drivers were no longer able to work and serve, and even online sellers were called to pay their taxes.

Furthermore, there are our overseas Filipino workers who are struggling to enter the country due to ineffective and biased Covid-19 protocols and restrictions, causing a number of our OFWs to die. Thousands of workers are continuously on the brink of losing their jobs at the end of the nearly three-year-long community quarantine, which has almost crippled the economy and the industrial sector. In addition to these scenarios, many death and terrorism cases have also been reported during the time of pandemics.

The ceremony and celebration of Independence Day in the Philippines throughout this time of pandemics have been astonishingly low. There were no commemorations across the country, with very little personal involvement from residents and even the authorities. There were few celebrations because many regions of the country are still under quarantine.

Now with a few of these incidents stated above, do we really think that the Filipinos still and must commemorate and value our Independence Day?

My answer is no and yes, respectively.