Pro-US statehood movements persisted even after the US granted independence to the Philippines in 1946.
Several organizations have lobbied for US annexation, and even made it a campaign platform.
The following is the timeline of Pro-US statehood movements:
September 19, 1971 - Former congressman Rufino Antonio launches via a newspaper advertisement the Philippine Statehood USA movement, which claims 1.25 million supporters. Its target is to reach 10 million members by 1973 to enable a plebiscite that will vote on the country’s statehood. The annexation to the US is believed to save the Philippines from "disasters" such as graft and corruption.
May 8, 1972 - Congressman Joaquin Roces moves for a congressional inquiry on the movement.
May 14, 1972 - The Statehood Philippines Movement registers as an official political party. This move is said to be a step toward fulfilling a claim that the group will field candidates in the next elections if the planned 1973 plebiscite does not materialize. (No plebiscite or elections are held because of the imposition of Martial law in September 1972.)
1981 - Banking on a campaign platform of US annexation of the Philippines, the Federalist Party’s Bartolome Cabangbang runs for president against then reelectionist Ferdinand Marcos.
August 30, 1986 - The first International Statehood Conference is held in Arizona, USA, where Philippine and Puerto Rican delegates push for 51st and 52nd statehood. The conference aims to develop a process that will expedite both country's statehood dreams.
January 30, 1988 - The New Philippine Movement for US Statehood (or Statehood Movement), composed of Filipino-American members, formally petitions the US Congress to declare the Philippines as the 51st Federal State. The group informs the US Congress of its plan to submit a petition with 15 million signatures.
July 4, 1988 - Statehood Movement supporters meet in an international convention in New York City to formalize the link up of all groups supporting the annexation of the Philippines as a US state.
October 18, 2003 - Members of United Supporters of America (USA), a group that seeks to make all Filipinos US citizens, march to the US Embassy in Manila in support of US President George W Bush who is in the country for a state visit.
March 2004 - The Third Option Proponents (TOP) Party, another organization that advocates the Philippines' US statehood, is founded.
We are asking all Filipinos from around the globe to sign this petition to once and for all end tyranny and corruption in the Philippines.
We advocate for the re-annexation of the Philippines, a former U.S. colony, to the United States. We feel this is the only thing certain to protect the people from tyranny and massive graft and corruption from the highest office in the land down to the barangay level.
Corruption has brought forth unimaginable catastrophes in the lives of millions of Filipinos under its so called "independence", much much worse than all colonizations and wars that the country's been though that people line up as early as 12:AM just to secure a passport to work overseas.
Like Crimea's return to Russia, we feel the same with the Philippines towards the United States of America. Rather than just becoming a "pivot" to Asia, the US will expand her jurisdiction and influence in the region.
The Philippines was tagged "The Sick Man of Asia" and "Zaire of Asia." If independence was ever going to work for the Filipino people, it would have done so by now. It clearly has not. Rather, the millions of Filipinos are needlessly suffering because of corrupt politicians despite the country's massive natural resources.
The problem is that not only is there no light at the end of the tunnel, there's not even a tunnel! Filipinos are in a sand pit, and as they try to scramble out, the sides cascade down around them, threatening not just to keep them there deep in the hole but even to bury them.
We believe, from reputable surveys and evidence, that there is substantial sentiment for the Philippines to become a US territory. We also believe there is a reservoir of good feeling toward Filipinos from the days of World War II when Yanks and Filipinos fought and died side by side against the Japanese, and that this reservoir of good will may win millions of people in the United States to this cause.
We seek to become part of the United States not to avoid our civic responsibilities but truly to live up to them. We offer the United States not a servile colony but a valuable partner in its vital work in the world. We share the ideals of the people of the United States and seek to be one with them.
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The Re-annexation of the Philippines to the United States petition to United Nations was written by PStatehoodUSA and is in the category Politics at GoPetition.