Republic Day (Philippines)

Philippine Republic Day
The Flag of the United States is lowered while the Flag of the Philippines is raised during independence ceremonies, July 4, 1946.
Official name	Republic Day
Also called	Filipino-American Friendship Day
Observed by	Philippines
Type	Secular, heritage, governmental
Significance	Initially, celebration of the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946 Later, celebration of friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and the United States
Date	July 4
Next time	4 July 2017 (2017-07-04)
Frequency	annual

Initially, celebration of the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946

Philippine Republic Day, also known as Filipino-American Friendship Day, is a commemoration in the Philippines held annually on 4 July. It was formerly an official holiday designated as Independence Day, celebrating the signing of the Treaty of Manila, which granted Philippine Independence from the United States of America in 1946.

The Philippine Islands were an American possession from 1898 to 1946, first as a territory and then as a Commonwealth beginning in 1935. Between 1941 and 1945, the Empire of Japan occupied the Islands during the Second World War; the Commonwealth government-in-exile headed by President Manuel Luis Quezon was based in Australia and later in the United States.

A campaign to retake the country began in October 1944, when General Douglas MacArthur landed in Leyte along with Sergio Osmeña, who succeeded to the presidency after Quezon's death in 1944. The battles entailed long fierce fighting; some of the Japanese continued to fight until the official surrender of the Japan on 2 September 1945. The country gained complete independence on 4 July 1946.

Initially, the nation's Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on 4 July. President Diosdado Macapagal moved it to 12 June, the date in 1898 on which Emilio Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain. Philippine Republic Day was created in its place and kept as a holiday under Macapagal, coinciding with the United States's own Independence Day.