[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PHILIPPINES CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHARLES F. BASS

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 10, 1998

  Mr. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Philippines 
Centennial Celebration. On June 12, 1998, the Philippines will 
celebrate the 100th Anniversary of their independence from Spanish 
rule.
  Nearly a century ago, a revolution in the Philippines ended more than 
300 years of Spanish domination in the area and established the first 
democratic republic in Asia. The makings of the revolution began in the 
late nineteenth century with the children of the elite business class. 
They had been educated in Europe and exposed to ideas of independence 
and revolution. Among these nationalists was Jose Rizal, whose novel 
Noli Me Tangere sparked the revolt against Spain. Followers of Jose 
Raizal formed a secret group of reformists and radicals called the 
Katipunan. Eventually, in August of 1896, tensions in the Philippines 
had raged to the point that the Katipunan's leader, Andres Bonifacio, 
declared complete severance from the colonial government and the 
revolution began.
  The Philippine-Spanish Revolution began at the same time that the 
Spanish-American War was being fought halfway around the world. The 
Americans came to the aid of the Philippines, and on June 12, 1898, 
Emilio Aguinaldo, a leader of the Katipunans, declared victory over the 
Spanish colonial government and established the Philippine Republic.
  The survival of the Philippine Republic over the last 100 years has 
not been without difficulty. The Philippines has survived American 
colonialism, a four year occupation by Japan during World War II, the 
complete wartime destruction of Manilla, Ferdinand Marco's martial law 
regime, and a devastating volcano called Pinatubo.
  However, even with all of these struggles the Philippines is on the 
road to prosperity. It has been over a decade since the People's 
Revolution ousted the Marcos regime and instituted the democracy that 
now exists. The Philippine economy has been rejuvenated and stands 
poised to join in the globalization of the East-West world market.
  It is fitting that in the year of their centennial, the dictators are 
gone, the volcanoes are quiet, and the Philippines appear to have 
reached what Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed nearly 100 years ago: that an 
independent Philippines, ``today begins to have a life of its own.''

                          ____________________