12 JUNE

1898 - Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, leader of the so-called second phase of the Philippine Revolution against Spain, proclaims the Independence of the Philippines "under the protection of the Powerful and Humanitarian Nation," that is the United States of America and thereby ceasing "to have any allegiance to the Crown of Spain" and unfurling a blue, red and yellow flag that could have been partly inspired by the Stars-and Stripes banner of the imperialist United States; ironically, within eight months, the Bald Eagle nation will show the pathetically deceived Aguinaldo its true color as it invades the fledgling Southeast Asian republic by instigating the hostilities with the Filipino troops under a vile pre-arranged plan on February 4, 1899, with the resulting savage Filipino-American War (1899-1914) lasting for over ten bloody ten years; more than a year earlier, during the second phase of the Himagsikan that intersected with the Spanish-American War, Dewey and other American military and diplomatic officials began to con Aguinaldo into stupidly agreeing to an "alliance" to fight Spain, making verbal assurances that the U.S. was supposedly an 'ally' that would honor Philippine Independence;  with Aguinaldo allowing the free entry of the future enemy American soldiers, the U.S. managed to position themselves for the infamous Mock Battle of Manila that falsely made it look like that the Americans--instead of the Filipino revolutionaries--defeated the Spaniards in the archipelago, and then eventually for the invasion of the Philippines that led to the Fil-Am War, America's first war of colonial expansion.


Photo credit: http://www.beda7882.com/Photos/Phil_History/Philippine-Independence-Declaration-1898.jpg