By Anthony Divinagracia

(June 12, 2025) — The 1998 sci-fi blockbuster “Armageddon” launched the fictional space shuttles “Freedom” and “Independence” to stop a killer asteroid that was about to hit Earth.

Only “Freedom” was left to complete the mission. And “Independence”? The ship was destroyed, but its tragic fate was not in vain. Armageddon never happened. End of story.

In that same year, the Philippines celebrated the centenary of its independence from more than three centuries of Spanish rule. Despite Spain’s refusal to recognize Philippine independence, the “Acta de la Proclamación de la Independencia del Pueblo Filipino” was read at the Aguinaldo mansion in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. An American, Colonel L.M. Johnson, was one of the 98 signatories of the country’s independence declaration.

But what are we actually celebrating today — freedom or independence?

Freedom translates to Filipino as “kalayaan” while independence is “kasarinlan.” In a 2023 column, the imminent public historian Xiao Chua distinguished between “kalayaan” and “kasarinlan.” The word “kasarinlan” is more akin to independence or “pagsasarili”, while other translations point to sovereignty. “Kalayaan” on the other hand can be understood as freedom, from the root word “laya.” Chua added that “laya” came from “calaya-an” which Fray Mariano Sevilla of Bulakan, Bulacan conceived from the lexical womb of the Italian term “liberia” in his translation of the Flores de Mayo prayer book for the Virgin Mary in 1865. “Kalayaan” was the name of the Katipunan newspaper.

Chua’s good friend, historian Ian Alfonso, provided more nuancing to the “kalayaan-kasarinlan” discussion. For him, “kalayaan” pertains to the “separation from a colonial power or occupation from another people of a certain nation, country or race.” In so saying, the Philippines has since enjoyed “kalayaan” after detaching itself from, if not disposing of the oppressive rule of foreign powers like Spain, the United States, and Japan.

But the context takes a different turn under “kasarinlan” which, according to Alfonso, meant shunning the “influence or control of someone who is not part of your group or nation, and only those in the group should govern.” The term which can be conjugated into “pagsasarili” serve a more profound translation — sovereignty.

“Kalayaan” in Katipunan parlance is not just about being free but also enjoying “kaginhawaan ng buhay” as an offshoot of freedom from bondage. In other words, “kasarinlan” is more forward-looking and aspirational, bereft of the impeding conditions that govern most freedoms. Our forefathers enjoyed various freedoms – in education, commerce, and religion, among others. But such freedoms were limited and fleeting, often subject to the discretion, standard, or whim of the colonial power.

Jose Rizal was free to study the humanities and write poetry, but not to criticize the excesses of the Spanish colonial officials in his novels. Andres Bonifacio was free to work as a bodegero but not to organize an uprising against Mother Spain. Del Pilar was free to pen essays but not to compose satires that attack Spanish religious sensibilities. Emilio Aguinaldo was free to perform his duty as cabeza de barangay but not to decimate the ranks of the guardia civil and the granaderos. Antonio Luna was free to engage Rizal in a duel or slap Felipe Buencamino but not to kill Arthur McArthur’s troops in the plains and hinterlands of Luzon. Overstepping the bounds of these freedoms entail punishment or reprisal from the colonial authority.

Freedom as a legal and political construct is not absolute. There is freedom of expression but its inflation could be slander or oral defamation. Press freedom is for journalists to exercise with prudence lest they be charged with libel. Religious freedom is fine, but to use it as a pretext for murder, rape, or extortion is a crime.

Independence on the other hand is claiming a country’s inherent and inalienable right to self-determination, self-government, and self-mastery. It is deciding and directing one’s personal destiny, outside the dictates of an external authority. An independent foreign policy for instance means determining what is good for the country and putting its interest ahead of everyone else. This is more attuned to sovereignty. A financially independent person need not rely on the seasonal generosity of a friend or the temporal pity of a relative. Judicial independence is to decide cases sans pressure from the other branches of government.

Most historians and students of history take cognizance of the fact that the Americans “recognized” Philippine independence. It was never granted to the Filipinos by the United States as a goodwill present or a friendly reward. To say that it was granted is to undermine the courage and sacrifice of the Filipinos who fought to claim and secure the country’s long-cherished independence as freemen. The Truman declaration on July 4, 1946 may have posed a condition for the Americans to “grant” the Filipinos its independence: to have “clearly demonstrated their [our] capacity for self-government.” Despite the contradiction in terms, the United States still nevertheless yielded to the reality that the Filipinos were already independent before the Americans interloped on the islands in the guise of manifest destiny and exceptionalism.

ALSO READ: INDEPENDENCE DAY | June 12, 1898 should be celebrated today – historians

“On behalf of the United States of America, I do hereby recognize the independence of the Philippines as a separate and self-governing nation and acknowledge the authority and control over the same of the government instituted by the people thereof, under the constitution now in force,” the Truman declaration said.

ALSO READ: INDEPENDENCE DAY | How U.S. intrusion ruined June 12, 1898

For De La Salle history professor Jose Victor Torres, “kasarinlan” is “beyond being in a state of freedom,” which comes with responsibility.

“Freedom is just being in a state of doing what you want. Independence is a state where you are to do what can be done,” he said.

Ateneo de Manila University history lecturer John Rey Ramos described “kasarinlan” as more social than political.

“‘Yun [kasarinlan] rin yung model ni Rizal nung pino-promote niya yung La Liga Filipina, na ang balak niya sa nation-building ay kumbaga inaalagaan natin yung isa’t isa, even if under tayo sa pamumuno ng mga Espanyol,” he said in an interview over History with Lourd’s Independence Day special.

Riza’ls Liga advocated for collective independence hinged on “kapwa” and “bayanihan” — indios helping fellow indios. It bespeaks of the innate connectivity of everyone’s “loob,” beyond the ken of any colonial power. The first respect, after all, is self-respect.

Now, what are we celebrating today? Freedom or independence?

Both. A country that aspires the respect and admiration of its equals should afford its people the exercise of freedom and independence. Unlike the blockbuster that averted the fictional end of times, Independence need not be a casualty to fulfill the cause of Freedom. And in so saying, Freedom provides the warmth of reason under a climate of rightful Independence.

June 12, 1898 is not the end of our story.