111 Years of Philippine Independence + the First Ever Filipino Google Doodle

Today, June 12, 2009 marks the 111th year of Philippine independence. And what a way to begin the day! At the first stroke of the day, shortly after midnight, Google Philippines posted its first ever Filipino Google Doodle on its page, www.google.com.ph.

My heads-up came from Aileen (Google’s country consultant for the Philippines) who sent out the news via Plurk. The Plurk thread became viral with many midnight plurkers reposting the doodle over and over on their own timelines.

Everyone knows the Google logo on its search homepage. But a Google Doodle is a fun twist to the logo which Google does on special events such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, other international events or special days commemorating celebrity personalities like Albert Einstein. Click on THIS LINK to meet Dennis, the guy behind Google Doodles and THIS LINK to view past such doodles.

ABS-CBNNews.com wrote this about the Filipino Google Doodle and how it came into existence for this day:

“This is the first-ever Google doodle for the Philippines so we wanted to make it very classic and meaningful for Filipinos. We created a special doodle on the Google Philippines homepage for June 12, 2009 to commemorate the Philippines’ Independence Day,” said Jay Trinidad, Regional Product Marketing Manager, Consumer Products, Google Asia Pacific.

“Google doodles also celebrate important local events and holidays such as this one. It is our honor to celebrate more than a century of national excellence and achievement with all Filipinos in our own creative and Googley way. On behalf of Google, I wish my fellow Filipinos another century of increasing prosperity and success. Mabuhay ang Pinoy!”

Trinidad said Google designers used the sun with its eight rays, which represents the eight Philippine provinces that pledged their support to the revolution, and used it as the first ‘O’ in the Google logo.

“We also used red, white, and blue, the Philippines’ national colors, which stand for patriotism, equality, and justice, respectively. We also incorporated the flag’s three stars in the design, symbolizing the three major geographic regions of the country,” he said.

On June 12, 1898, revolutionary forces under Emilio Aguinaldo, the country’s first and youngest President, declared independence from Spanish colonial rule. The Philippine Independence Day doodle is based on the country’s current national flag, which is very similar to the one Aguinaldo raised 111 years ago.

The Filipino Google Doodle will only be up on the search homepage today so I am making this post to preserve its significance forever on my blog.

I want my children to see how important it is to preserve and continue to love this independence that had cost so many lives in the past and which we must preserve with our own lives too for the future generations.

I experienced the Martial Law years as a college student and as a first-time working girl. I met Charito Planas as a student in the United States and listened intently as she spoke about her escape and self-exile together with Ninoy and others, the small-time job in a pizza parlor she had to hold to eke out a living, and her love for the Philippines. I remember feeling the despair and hopelessness of the nation when Ninoy Aquino was murdered — ominously, on my birthday, August 21. I joined NAMFREL as a volunteer for Operation Quick Count during the 1984 and 1986 snap elections. My siblings and I went out into the streets during the EDSA Revolution just to be among the crowd supporters. And I was there in EDSA II as a mother, this time bringing along one of my daughters so she too could witness history and what it was like to fight for the right to democracy.

I love my country. I love the Philippines. And I fervently hope that my children will grow up to once again see it led by people who truly and sincerely love it too. Way beyond personal/vested interests. No politicking. No corruption. Plain and simple HONEST government service to the people.