IN CELEBRATION of the 116th Independence Day of the Philippines, a descendant of late President Emilio Aguinaldo talked about how Philippine sovereignty is challenged and taken for granted.

Emilio Aguinaldo-Suntay, great grandson of the country's first president and caretaker of the first Philippine flag, told media the Independence Day is no longer relevant today.

"If you look at it, our sovereignty is very much challenged from the South in Sabah to the very West which is close to Baguio," he stressed noting the threats of China and other countries.

He added that for so long, "we Filipinos have enjoyed so much the fruits of our liberty."

However, he called at least for one day a year, we should pause and reflect on the fruits we are all enjoying.

Suntay strongly believes that thee Filipinos are free. However, he expressed disappointment on the divisions despite the expected unity among people.

"Malaya tayo pero kanya-kanya. That is the problem, when we are free, we tend to take our freedom for granted," he said.

He said freedom nowadays means going separate ways pushing own personal interests to the extent the real essence of freedom is disregarded.

"This 116th year, we as caretakers of the flag, as symbol of our own unique race should get back to the values of before," he said encouraging all of us to recall the greatness of our forefathers who fought for our independence.

He ended of enjoying too much the gifts of liberty on our own personal interests, all of us Filipinos should also once in awhile think of the little things we can do for the country.