Oh, to be Filipino and free….

I love my country. I am proud to be a Filipino. That being said, I am not patriotic. I do not think I’ve earned that description. I do not think I will EVER earn that description.I’ll be one of the first to admit that we are not a faultless and perfect nation. (Who is?) There are times I say that I was born in the wrong country. Half-jokingly, of course. I criticize, I mock, I rant, I rage. But, at the end of the day, I’m still proud to be one.

June 12 is our country’s Independence Day, basically commemorating the day the Philippines was declared to be finally independent from Spanish rule, which lasted for 333 years.

To this day, arguments are still ringing loud, with the main question being: “Are we truly free?”

Let us not discount the fact that, for some reason, “independence” and “freedom” has become synonymous whenever this day rolls around.

Freedom has become a relative term. Each has his or her own definition. It looks like there is never going to be a conclusive answer to that question, then.

(But then again, the mere fact that we can ask that question and share our two cents’, and discuss about it… isn’t that already some sign of a degree of freedom?)

Below are some photos taken during the Independence Day program and celebration of the City Government of Baguio, held at the Baguio Convention Center.