June 12, 1898 – The 123th Anniversary of the Philippine Independence Day
Independence Day (Filipino: Araw ng Kasarinlán) is an annual national holiday in the Philippines observed on June 12, commemorating the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 1898.
Dr. José Rizal emerged during the time of colonalization as the leading Propagandist towards independence. His novel Noli me tángere (1886) exposed the corruption of Manila Spanish society and stimulated the movement for independence.
The Spanish then arrested Rizal, who had advocated reform but never condoned the revolution. Rizal’s public execution, on December 30, 1896, so enraged and united Filipinos as to make permanent retention of power by Spain clearly impossible.
After the defeat of the Spaniards by the American, Emilio Aguinaldo on June 5, 1898, issued a decree at Aguinaldo house located in what was then known as Cavite El Viejo proclaiming June 12, 1898 as the day of independence.
On May 12, 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28, which declared June 12 a special public holiday throughout the Philippines.
Wwhile on August 4, 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 renamed July 4 holiday as "Philippine Republic Day", proclaimed June 12 as "Philippine Independence Day".
Rizals first novel NOLI ME TANGERE was influenced through his stay in Europe and especially in Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld in 1886.
In 2019 Senator Loren Legarda with assistance of the Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia of the newly opened Consul General in Frankfurt produced the enclosed film featuring Dr. José Rizal s stay and the furniture he used during his stay in the vicarage of Pastor Ullmer. The furniture was on display at the Consul General in Frankfurt until end of 2020 and the bed and the table where Rizal adjusted and finalized his novel Noli me tangere than were shipped to the Philippines and donated to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, while the cupboard, the drawer and the mirrow remained in Frankfurt.
The pictures are the Statues of Jose Rizal in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany. The statue of Rizal was created by Anastacia Caedo (1907-1990), a master of classic sculpture , statuary and monuments of the Philippines.
Artwork shown: Rizal in Germany,James Axel Azañes, Oil Pastel on Paper, 29,7 cm x 21,0 cm, 2021
(Quotation partly from: britannica.com and wikipedia.org)