JULY 4 has been observed as Philippine-American Friendship Day. This was the day when, after more than 48 years of direct American rule from 1898 to 1946, the country was granted independence and became a republic.

Officially declared as Philippine Republic Day in 1964, July 4 remains a remembrance of our country’s relationship with the United States. In reality, it is not a relationship between friends. In truth, we are not independent but remain a neocolonial state, self-governed but subservient to an imperialist power.

The United States has since then become a world power, waging war and invading smaller countries at will, maintaining its hold over others through its military might and lopsided treaties and agreements.

Our relationship with the US consists of unequal economic treaties that forced us into the liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of different aspects of our country’s economic life. These policies have only brought the country to worsening economic crises over the years. This translates to daily suffering of the Filipino masa in the form of high prices of commodities and basic services on one hand and low wages on the other.

It is because of the economic policies imposed by globalization that our country could not rise from the mire of an export-oriented and import-dependent economy. It prevented us from advancing agriculture and industrialization that would sustain the needs of the Filipino people primarily and create surplus for export secondarily.

The ballooning foreign and internal debt of the Philippines, now at around P16.92 trillion, is proof of the worsening economy under the tutelage of US imperialism.

Our country’s relationship with the US is also made up of military agreements, the latest of which is the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), supplementing the Mutual Defense Treaty (1951) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (1999). These agreements allow US military troops free access and basing in different sites across the country, numbering nine at present, stepping down on our country’s sovereignty.

With these lop-sided agreements in place, US troops apportion our country’s much-needed resources, such as wide tracts of land, air and sea ports for troop movements and for storing massive military weaponry, including ballistic missiles. The Philippines is used as a staging ground for military objectives in the Asia-Pacific. With the prevailing tension between the US and China over Taiwan, and China’s provocations in the West Philippine Sea, the US is quickly dragging us into war.

The unrestricted presence of US military forces in the country is a clear indication that they have our country’s military under their control and supervision. Philippine troops have exhibited obedience in implementing strategies and tactics in repressing their fellow Filipinos. The so-called “war on terror” pushed by the US government is loyally being implemented by the Philippine military, killing and maiming and committing all kinds of atrocities on Filipinos who were unjustly tagged as terrorists.

The Balikatan and other military exercises conducted jointly by US and Philippine troops, like the recent HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) live firing in Fort Magsaysay, are objectionable for causing fear and disrupting the daily life of citizens and for damage to the environment. They are a blatant display of the US military’s superiority over our inferior troops and second-hand weapons.

Let this day be a reminder of the colonialist brutality of the US in the Balangiga Massacre in Samar in 1901. American troops under the command of Brig. Gen Jacob “Howling Jake” Smith went on a brutal revenge after a major defeat from local guerrillas. US troops massacred whole communities, killing an estimated 50,000 residents of the island, including children as young as 10 years old. US troops then took the bells of Balangiga and brought them to America as trophies.

We should recognize the US as a hegemonic power that wants to rule over the world. It attacked Libya, Iraq, and many other nations to cow them into submission. It is backing Israel in the ongoing genocide of Palestine and persecuting immigrants and citizens in its own country, to the strong opposition of its citizens.

This day is an opportune time to unite as nationalistic Filipino citizens and push for a foreign policy that strives for true independence and self-reliance. The Philippines can prosper once it is free from the clutches of US imperialism and enjoys fraternal relations with countries based on mutual respect and solidarity.

Unite against US imperialism! – BAGONG ALYANSANG MAKABAYAN- PANAY