Group wants August 23 as new Independence Day

MANILA, Philippines - If a private organization would have its way, it would change the date of the Independence Day to August 23 instead of June 12 and call it Araw ng Haringbayan (Sovereign People's Day).

The Pugad Lawin Philippines Inc. is now petitioning Congress, through the help of the Quezon City Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr., to support the group's August 23 advocacy.

In the petition, PLPI national president Dominador Alcala said that if Congress decides to retain June 12 as Independence Day, August 23 should at least be declared a national non-working day to be called Araw ng Haringbayan.

"We are aware that our campaign for a new independence day is an uphill fight, that's why we have to get the city council also involved in this effort," Alcala said in a press statement.

According to Alcala, Haringbayan was a word coined by Katipunan supremo Andres Bonifacio in referring to the sovereign people and to the free nation that the revolutionary movement  called the Haringbayan ng Katagalugan.

Alcala said that the August 23 campaign started in May when the PLPI decided to seek Ferrer's help in the organization's advocacy.

August 23, 1896 is know in Philippine history as the Cry of Pugadlawin where some 1,000 Katipuneros, led by Bonifacio, gathered at Pugadlawin to launch Asia's first revolution against colonial rule.