One Philippine study:
American colonial policy suppressed Philippine nationalism by military campaigns against resistance groups - the members of which is branded as brigands and outlaws –and by the Sedition Law (1901) which imposed the death penalty or a long prison term on anyone who advocated independence from the United States even by peaceful means. The Flag Law (1907) prohibited the display of the Philippine flag, that symbol of Filipino nationalism, from 1907 to 1919.
American public policy further undermined Filipino nationalism through the educational system which imposed the English language as a medium of instruction, projected American society and culture as models to be emulated, omitted all mention of Filipino resistance to American conquest and the cruel suppression of that resistance, inculcated the idea that Filipinos must undergo tutelage in self-government to deserve independence, and presented the United States as our generous benefactor.
Although the beneficiaries of American education began to imbibe American values and culture and to like American consumer goods, the majority of Filipinos remained faithful to the ideal of independence. Politicians therefore had to declare in campaign speeches that they would work for “immediate, complete and absolute independence”, in order to get the people’s votes.
Manuel L. Quezon himself had worked secretly against the Jones Bill. Because they had acquiesced to the growth of a dependent economy, these leaders could not very well explain the economic realities to the people nor could they espouse economic independence since they were the beneficiaries of economic dependence. Independence therefore remained a political goal.
So this is what the bill designating March 6 as Bud Dajo Day and moves toward true nationalism is all about.
'Bud Dajo Day' bill filed in Lower House
A bill designating March 6 as "Bud Dajo Day" to commemorate the massacre of Muslims by American soldiers in 1906 has been filed in the lower chamber of Congress a week after President
Rodrigo Duterte presented photos of the incident at the Malacañan Palace.
Should the bill be passed into law, government agencies and local government units will be mandated to hold activities that would "raise public awareness on the events in Bud Dahu, Jolo, Sulu, on March 5 to 8, 1906 and its continuing significance to the Bangsamoro people and the Philippines."
Similar awareness campaigns about the bloody massacre at the crater of Bud Dahu are also expected to be rolled out in all school levels, both in public and private academic institutions.
“For us to truly assert an independent foreign policy we must be steeped in our history from the point of view of our people and continue to proclaim it around the world,” said Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate who re-filed House Bill 3599.
“We must never forget the abuses and atrocities done against the Filipino people and we should learn from its bitter lessons,” Zarate added.
The bill was first filed by Zarate in 2013 during the 16th Congress, but the issue of the Bud Dajo massacre made headlines after Duterte brought it up at an ASEAN Summit meeting last week.
Aside from the Bud Dajo massacre, the president has also blamed the United States for the Balangiga Massacre in 1901 where residents over the age of 10 were ordered killed by US General Jacob Smith following a successful attack on US forces by Filipino rebels.
