Philippine Embassy to Hold on-the-Spot Essay Writing and Poster Making Competition
A competition for writers and young artists for Filipino residents in Bahrain in commemoration of the 126th declaration of Philippine Independence
BAHRAINCREATIVE NONFICTIONOVERSEAS FOREIGN WORKERSOVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERSFINE ARTSWRITINGPHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE
SCOTT MAGKACHI SABOY
5/20/20242 min read
Philippine Embassy to hold Essay Writing and Poster Making Contest
The Philippine Embassy in Bahrain (PE-Manama), in partnership with the Filipino Writers Circle (FilWrite), will simultaneously hold an on-the-spot essay writing and a poster making competition on June 08, 2024 at the embassy compound.
The event is part of a series of programs and activities slated for the month of June to celebrate the 126th declaration of Philippine Independence from the Spanish colonial regime.
The essay writing category is open to Filipino residents in Bahrain who are at least 18 years old, while the poster making category is for those who are 16 years old or less. The top three winners in each contest will be awarded $300, $200, and $100, respectively.
Multi-year Theme
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NCHP) has been tasked to spearhead the commemoration of Philippine independence and nationhood from 2023 to 2026.
According to the NCHP, the theme "Kalayaan. Kinabukasan. Kasaysayan" (Freedom. Future. History) "gives focus on the freedom that our forebears struggled for in the future that they dreamed for the country and the history that we seek to remember and honor them with".
It further notes that
The multi-year commemoration seeks to highlight the events and realities that gave birth to the Filipino nation from the proclamation of Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898 in Kawit, Cavite, up to the end of the First Philippine Republic on 23 March 1901 in Palanan, Isabela. It also aims to raise from the regions and provinces across the Philippines their stories of revolutionary struggle and incorporate them into the national narrative of our independence and nationhood. The commemoration of this milestone likewise raises awareness among our people of our unique place in history as the earliest modern democracy and republic in Asia that espoused generally accepted ideals such as democracy, universal human rights, freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination as core values of the nation.
Some Historical Notes
This celebration recalls Spain's rule over the Philippine archipelago starting on June 4, 1565 until 333 years later when Filipino revolutionaries defeated the Spanish forces and officially declared the nation's liberation from Spain on June 12, 1898.
Unfortunately, the rising superpower at the time, the United States of America, saw this as an opportunity to expand its imperial interests in East Asia. America deceitfully struck an agreement with Spain, formalized as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, and bought the Philippines from the latter for only 20 million dollars.
[Read more about America's betrayal of the Philippines HERE.]
Infuriated by this treachery, Filipino revolutionaries waged war with the new colonizers during the Philippine-American War (February 4, 1899 to July 2, 1902). The technologically and tactically superior Americans eventually suppressed what they downplayed as an "insurrection", leaving over 200,000 Filipino civilians and over 20,000 Filipino soldiers dead. US forces lost only 4,200 of their own.
On July 4, 1946, the U.S.A. finally recognized the Philippines as an independent state but continues to wield considerable political, economic and cultural influence over the archipelago.
