YESTERDAY, June 30th, the Philippines celebrated Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day. 

Created in 2003, this policy was created as a means of strengthening their relationship with countries that had “shared history, values, and traditions,” particularly with that of our previous colonizer, Spain.

June 30th, in particular, was chosen because this was when Former President Emilio Aguinaldo commended the Spanish soldiers in the Church of Baler who surrendered after 337 days, serving as the last bastion of the Spanish occupation in the country.

Concerning this holiday, Senator Edgardo J. Angara stated: “Spain does not see us only as a former colony, and we should not regard Spain only as a former colonizer.”

It’s rather easy, however, to move past the atrocities that happened during the Philippines’s colonization, when you were the one that did the colonizing. 

For those who suffered and were mercilessly killed during this time, forgetting probably isn’t as easy.

A dark history

If one were to ask about the Spanish rule in the Philippines, the mind would immediately wander to one of the great lasting impacts they left us with: Christianity. 

Until now, many Filipinos willingly continue to practice this faith, just as they enjoy many other things brought to our country by the Spaniards, even though originally, Filipinos were so against the idea of a new religious system that they would even hold uprisings just to oppose this.

For over 300 years, the country was under Spanish rule. During this time, it was the church that held most – if not all – the power. 

They were granted the ability to excommunicate anyone, for example, as seen in the unjust murder of the three martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Apolonio Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora – otherwise known as the GOMBURZA. 

The GOMBURZA, who fought against abuse from the Spanish friars and lauded equal rights among priests, were publicly killed by Spanish priests after they were accused of taking part in the Cavite Mutiny. 

After Spanish prosecutors bribed a witness to testify against them, they were killed by garrote for all to see. 

Aside from our religion, our linguistics were heavily affected by the Spaniards as well, with members of the elite and ruling classes learning the language of their colonizers. It was what Aguinaldo and his confidantes spoke; it was the language in which both the national anthem and the Declaration of Independence were written. 

Even now, about 30% of Filipino words have a Spanish origin, which we now use in our day-to-day lives. 

Despite that, however, only a small percentage of Filipinos were privileged enough to be educated during those times, as the Spaniards limited the education degrees and teachings Filipinos would receive. Oftentimes, only the rich were able to afford education, if anything. 

Much of our culture, such as our openness with women being in charge and men being effeminate also changed; these things, along with homosexuality, tattoos, and much more, started to be looked at as wrong or taboo come our colonization. 

Slowly but surely, the Spanish infiltrated every aspect of Philippine life and culture, even if they had to do so by force. Under Spanish rule, warfare and slavery were infinitely expanded.

It was no longer the Spaniards trying to help the Filipino people, but rather Filipinos who started to work for the Spaniards, as many of them were forced into heavy labor jobs such as building structures, joining the military, or trading goods, with many of these jobs being done without any form of compensation whatsoever.

Moving forward, when the Spanish government started instituting economic reforms that solely benefited the Spanish population, certain groups such as the Katipunan were formed, with thousands of Filipinos fighting for freedom.

There were thousands, however, who had to suffer before this freedom was reached: innocent people killed, women sexually abused – countless abuses done unto our people, many of which we cannot even name. Many of which we do not even – and will probably never – know of. 

By the end of it all, Spain sold the Philippines to the U.S. for USD 20 million, from one colonizer to the next. Until now, their influence is still felt. Their identity, onto us, is still imposed. 

As per Vonas Media, the history of the Philippines is one that has been marred by centuries of both Spanish and American colonial rule, with the atrocities they faced during this time often being downplayed, which leads to others justifying the violence and cultural erasure felt by the Filipino people. 

They write: “This distortion not only misrepresents the past but also hinders the nation’s ability to confront and learn from its historical truths.”

Historical revisionism

Time and time again, the abuses the Philippines faced during Spanish rule seem to either get buried and downplayed, with historians arguing that abuses in the Philippines were not as severe as those felt by Spanish colonies in America, or that the country did not suffer any such demographic decline. 

Historian Linda Newson, however, explains that warfare intensified in the region upon the arrival of the Europeans and that Spaniards heavily benefitted from the slave trade that already existed within the region, seeing as the Asian slave trade was only abolished in 1679, and before then, thousands of slaves were being sold to both Mexico and America. 

So much of our history and culture has been erased as we have been colonized time and time again, with many making fun of us – even our kind making fun of us – because we cannot even seem to grasp any firm concept of a singular national identity. 

Until now, many lump Filipinos together with people of Spanish descent, even going so far as to say that we shouldn’t even be identifying as Asian at all.

That is not to say that we should hold anger towards Spain, or that we should not allow ourselves to heal. There are, after all, many good things that they have been able to contribute to us and our culture. 

The introduction of Christianity however – albeit this did, in the end, lead to the diminishing role of women and transgender people in Philippine society, as within this new religion grew a negative stigma against priestesses and transgender priests. How many of those, after all, do you see in the modern day?

(As stated by Jose Pascual: “The success of Christianity in the Philippines destroys the status of women and transgender in Filipino society.”)

That still does not, however, erase everything else that they did to us and our country. 

There is no problem with celebrating the bonds we have now with other countries; there is, after all, always room for growth and improvement. I have, however, never heard news of Spain issuing an apology toward the Filipino people for the injustices committed during their time in the Philippines, nor have I seen any actual attempts to fix the damage that they have done. 

We, however, have to live with everything that has been left behind – the internalized racism, as well as the homophobia, misogyny, and oppression of our own countrymen. Our colonizers may be gone, but the problems they have left continue to live on.

It’s okay to forgive, yes, but that doesn’t mean we have to forget. Especially considering the fact that we continue to suffer the effects of our colonization even now, years later, while our colonizers have easily managed to just leave it all behind. 

How I wish we had the privilege to do the same.