Recognizing and celebrating the 2024 Philippine Independence Week Celebration in Philadelphia, taking place from June 1st to June 15th.

Recognizing and celebrating the 2024 Philippine Independence Week Celebration in Philadelphia, taking place from June 1st to June 15th. WHEREAS, This year marks the 126th anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, which established the first constitutional democracy on the Asian continent; and WHEREAS, The declaration came on the heels of a successful revolution against oppressive Spanish rule, culminating with the defeat of the Spanish by the United States in the battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898; and WHEREAS, The ratification of the Treaty of Paris in December of that year transferred control of the Philippines from Spain to the United States; and WHEREAS, In 1946, After having fought together in defense of democratic principles during World War II, the United States granted full independence to the Republic of the Philippines, and the two nations have remained friends and allies ever since; and WHEREAS, Today, Filipino Americans account for the third-largest population of Asian Americans within the United States, behind only Chinese and Indian Americans; and WHEREAS, Over four million Filipino Americans, including more than 30,000 in the greater Philadelphia region, maintain their rich heritage by celebrating their culture and traditions, enhancing the quality of their own lives and enriching the lives of all Americans; and WHEREAS, Filipino Americans in the greater Philadelphia area augment the City’s strong cultural diversity…