CLARK FREEPORT -- SM City Clark, in cooperation with the Philippines Children's Fund of America (PCFA), commemorated the Filipino-American Friendship Day at the Mall's Event Center last Friday.
The event featured a free concert performance from the PCFA. The Philippine Air Force Band Drill, on the other hand, entertained park goers at the Bayanihan Park late in the afternoon.
In a statement, mall officials said the mall aims to popularize the celebration, especially in Angeles City. The city once played host to a multitude of American servicemen coming from then Clark Airbase. Today, other nationalities flock to this city for business and leisure trips, earning for it the title "City of Friendship."
A fireworks display was also staged at night.
Filipino-American Friendship Day was designated by former President Diosdado Macapagal every July 4 to commemorate the liberation of the country by joint Filipino and American forces from the Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.
The Philippines was a US territory from 1898 to 1942, when it was occupied by Japanese forces, and again for a brief period after the war. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946.
Initially, the nation's Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on July 4. Former President Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date on which the Philippines declared independence from Spain in 1898.
Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in its place, and coincides with the US' July 4 Independence Day. (IOF)
