This Independence Day, young Filipinos ask: 'Who gets to feel free?'

A powerful essay published today, June 12, 2026—Philippine Independence Day—is making rounds online, pushing Filipinos to ask a harder question: not just "Are we free?" but "Who gets to feel free?"

The piece, titled "The Freedom We Still Owe Each Other," doesn't celebrate the day with the usual flags and parades. Instead, it digs into the gap between the kalayaan written in textbooks and the reality many young people live.

"Every June 12th, we parade the word kalayaan as if it's already settled," the essay reads. "As if it's a quest completed. But when we look around us today, it feels more complicated than that."

The essay points to a country where freedom exists on paper but feels uneven in practice. Filipinos are free to speak, but not always free from consequences when what they say challenges power. They're free to ask questions, but not always free from being dismissed or labeled.

It also references the current state of the Senate, where debates are no longer just about policy but about allegiance. Accountability—especially around painful chapters like the extra-judicial killings during the drug war—has become something people defend or deny depending on which side they stand on.

For many young Filipinos watching this unfold, the essay says, there's a quiet question underneath the noise: If truth depends on who holds power, what kind of freedom are they actually living in?

The essay describes a generation that isn't absent or indifferent, but tired. Tired of being told that speaking up is enough when systems remain unchanged. Tired of watching complex truths reduced into slogans that leave no room for grief, accountability, or repair.

"Your fatigue is real," the essay tells young readers directly. "It's difficult to grow up in a time when truth is contested, when public trust feels fragile, and when the future can seem uncertain."

But the answer to disillusionment, it argues, can't be disengagement. The future of the country won't be decided only in Senate sessions or courtrooms. It will also be decided in classrooms, communities, workplaces, and everyday conversations.

"Without justice, freedom becomes a privilege rather than a right. Without accountability, democracy becomes a performance rather than a promise."

This message comes at a time when public trust in institutions is low. A 2025 Social Weather Stations survey found that only 33% of Filipinos trust the Senate, and trust in the executive branch has dropped to 45% from 58% in 2022. Among 18-to-24-year-olds, voter turnout in the 2025 midterms was just 61%, down from 75% in 2022.

The essay ends with a call: "May we never confuse freedom with comfort, nor patriotism with silence—and may we have the courage to love our country enough to ask for more of it."