A growing Filipino diaspora means plenty of celebration worldwide for Philippine Independence Daybr br In the Philippines — where Spanish and later US colonial rule persisted for nearly four centuries — June 12 is the real Independence Day. That date in 1898 was the pivotal moment when the island nation first made a bold move for autonomy.br br Ahead of this year's holiday in Manila, the nation’s capital, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos in a video message to display the country’s flag everywhere “as we continue to fight for independence. Independence in different aspects of our being Filipinos, but more than this independence in our territory, our sovereignty.”br br Since 2023, the Philippines has faced increasingly tense territorial confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea.