COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

• 1919-1934- Filipinos campaigned for independence and sent twelve independence missions to America.• 1935- the Commonwealth of the Philippines was finally established.• July 4, 1946- this was the preparatory step to the established of the Third Philippine Republic.

Independence aspiration of the filipinoso. 1899-1901-It’s was realize for a brief

time with the established for the First Philippine Republic, only to be lost in a war against Americans.

oDefeated in a war, the people accepted American rule, trained in the presence of democracy, assimilated American political and cultural legacies. But they never ceased to aspire for freedom.

• 1907- the Philippine Assembly and the later the Philippine Legislature passed resolution expressing the Filipino desire for independence.• The Nacionalista Party won

every election because of it’s stirring cry: ”Immediate Complete, and Absolute Independence”.

THE FIRST PHILIPPINE INDEPENCE MISSION (1919)• During the First World War the Filipinos

temporarily stopped their independence campaign and supported the United States against Germany. After the war they resumed their independence drive with greater vigor. On March 17, 1919, the Philippine Legislature passed the famous “Declaration of Purposes”, which stated the inflexible desire of the Filipino people to be free and sovereign.

• February 28, 1919- Senate President Quezon, left Manila to Washington. It consisted of 40 prominent Filipinos representing the political, educational, and economic elements of the country. The Filipinos were received by Secretary of War Baker, who extended to them the courtesies of the American nation. They presented the Filipino case before congress, and them returned home.

• President Wilson, in his farewell address to Congress on December 2, 1920, recommended the granting of Philippine Independence. Unfortunately, the Republican Party then controlled Congress, so that the recommendation of the outgoing Democratic president was not heeded.

Other independence missions • The failure of the First

Independence Mission did not discourage the Filipino people. In subsequent years other indepence missions were sent across the Pacific. The Second mission was sent in 1922, thre third in 1923, the fourth in 1924, the fifth in 1925, the sixth in 1927, the seventh in 1928, the eight in 1930, the ninth in 1931(OSROX MISSION), the tenth (one-man mission consisting of Benigno Aquino) in 1932,the eleventh in 1933, and the twelve in November 1933.

OsRox Mission• The OsRox Mission (1931) was a campaign

for self-government and United States recognition of the independence of the Philippines led by former Senate President Sergio Osmeña and House Speaker Manuel Roxas. The mission secured the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, which was rejected by the Philippine Legislature and Manuel Quezon.

• The OsRox Mission was the 9th Independence Mission in a series of missions lasting from 1919 to 1933.[1] While the previous missions gave good impressions of the Filipinos in the minds of Americans, they were marked by misunderstandings among Filipino leaders. The Americans had mixed opinions on whether to give the Philippines independence; some political leaders in the US thought that giving the Philippines independence would result in them losing their power in business.[2]

HARE-HAWES-CUTING BILL(Butler B. Hare, Harry B. Hawes and Bronson Cutting• The OsRox Mission stayed in the US the

longest and secured the passage of the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act. It would establish the Philippine Commonwealth as a transition government for 12 years before receiving independence on July 4, 1946.[ It separated the Philippine Legislature in two "camps", the Antis and the Pros. The Pros were led by Osmeña and Roxas, who supported the act as they believed it was the best one they could get out of the US Congress. Senate President Manuel Quezon led the Antis and objected the act due to its "objectionable features“.]He also believed that the act did not truly grant the Philippines independence. Aside from granting the Philippines independence, the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act also reserved military bases from the US and let American goods into the country for free. These provisions were seen as controversial.

• The Philippine Legislature ended up rejecting the OsRox Mission's work for the following reasons:

1.The provisions affecting the trade relations between the United States and the Philippines would seriously imperil the economic, social and political institutions of the country and might defeat the avowed purpose to secure independence for the Philippines at the end of the transition period.

2.The immigration clause was objectionable and offensive to the Filipino people.

3.The powers of the High Commissioner were too indefinite.

4.The military, naval and other reservations provided for in the act were inconsistent with true independence, violated dignity and were subject to misunderstanding.

THE PRO’S VERSUS THE ANTI’S• The HHC-act proved to be a disruptive factor in the

Philippine politics because it divided the people into two opposing camps – the Anti’s and the Pro’s. The Anti’s, led by Senate President Quezon, opposed the act because of it’as objectionable features. The Pro’s, headed by Senator Osmeña and Speaker Roxas, upheld it on ground that it was the best independence measure that could be obtained from Congress.

• Before the final passage of the HHC-act, Senate President Quezon, who was in Manila, expressed his objections to the pending independence legislation. In December 1932, he sent a one-man mission (Aquino) to Washington with “definite instruction” regarding his objections. Aquino, however, was won over by Osmeña and Roxas to their side.

Manuel L. Quezon Sergio Osmeña

• The following year Quezon left Manila at head of the eleventh mission. The home-bound OSROX Mission met the Quezon Mission in Paris. The two missions failed to come to an understanding. With strained relations, they returned together to Manila.

• It eclipsed the famous Osmeña-Quezon fight in 1921, which split for the first time the Nacionalistas into two warring factions – the unipersonalistas(Osmeña Wing) and the Colectivistas(Quezon Wing). On October 17, 1933, the Quezon-controlled Philippine Legislature rejected the HHC-act. The following month, Quezon himself led the twelfth mission to Washington to secure a better independence act.

THE TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE LAW(1934)• Following a series of conferences with President

Franklin D. Roosevelt and various Congressional Leaders, Quezon was able to win Congress to his side. A new independence measure, called the Tydings-McDuffie Law (so named after its sponsors Senator Millard E. Tydings and Representative John McDuffie), was passed and signed by President Roosevelt on March 24, 1934. It was a revised copy of the spurned HHC act of 1933. The only difference from the HHC act were the change in the title, the eleminetion of military reservations, and the modification of certain vague provisions.

• July 4, 1946- preparatory granting of independence.

Signing of Tydings-McDuffie Act

THE TRIUMPH OF THE ANTI’S• April 30, 1934 – Senate President Quezon

proudly returned to Manila with a copy of the Tydings-McDuffie Law.

• May 1 – The Philippine Legislature accepted the law.

• This did not end the controversy between the Anti’s and the Pro’s, for the latter insisted that the Tydings – McDuffie Law was the same as the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law.

• June 5, 1934-the issue was presented to the people in the general election. The Pro’s down in defeat. Quezon and his men surged to power by popular vote. Osmeña and Roxas were reelected to the Legislature, but they lost their respective positions as President Pro-tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House. Quintin Paredes became the Speaker of the House and Jose Clarin became Senate President Pro-tempore.

CALLING OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION • The Tydings-McDuffie Law authorized

the Philippine Legislature to call a constitutional convention to draft the Constitution of the Philippines.• May 5, 1934-the Philippine Legislature

passed an act setting the election of 202 delegates to the convention.• Governor-General Frank Murphy-

designated July 10 as the date of election of delegates to the convention.

THE DELEGATES OF THE CONVENTION

• Of the 202 delegates the majority were lawyers, including many who had been judges, legislator, and cabinet men. Others were educators, scholars, writers, physicians, farmers, businessmen, labor leaders, and religious ministers. With the exception of a few rich hacienderosand financers, the delegates were mostly of the middle class.

YOUNG AND OLD AGE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CONVENTION

TEODORO SANDIKO(74 YEARS OLD)

WENCESLAO VINZONS(25 YEARS OLD)

INAUGURAL SESSION OF THE CONVENTION• At 10:30 am in the morning of July 30, 1934-

the convention met in inaugural session at the hall of the House of Representative, Legislative Building, Manila. The Batanes delegates were delayed in coming to Manila because of the difficulty of transportation. A vast crowd jamming the Session Hall to witness the opening ceremonies.

• The convenmtionb was formally opened by Senater President Quezon. A solemn invocation over, President Quezon delivered a short speech, after which he oprdered the calling of the roll of delegates. A quorum was declared Jose P. Laurel, delegate from Batangas, was chosen temporary chairman, and he presided over the election of the Convention officers.

• The elected officers of the Convenmtion were Claro M. Recto, president, Ruberto Montinola and Teodoro Sandiko, first and second vice-president, respectively; Narciso Pimentel, secretary; and Narciso Diokno, sergeant and arms.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CONVENTION• The convention was too unwieldy a body to draft

a constitution. It was therefore, divided into two committees. There were sevebn standing commitees on the organization and the function of the Convention and forty committees of the constitution. The largest and the most powerful of these committees was the Sponsorship Committee of 87 members, with Delegate Filemon Sotto as chairman.

• According to the rules adopted by the Convention, any delegate could submit constitutional proposals. These proposals would be studied by the pertinent committees which, in turn, would make their reports to the Sponsorship Committee.

DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION• After working for sometime over the numerous

proposals received from the different committee, the Sponsorship Committee found out that it could not work fast enough owing to its large membership. Accordingly, on October 8, 1934, it created a Sub-Committee of Seven to draft the Constitution. This body was composed of Filemon Sotto (chairman), Manuel A. Roxas, Norberto Romualdez, Manuel C. Briones, Condrado Benitez, Miguel Cuaderno, and Vicente Singson Encarnacion, they were called the “seven wise men” by the press.

• October 20, 1934- the sub-committee of seven reported the finished draft of the constitution to the sponsorship committee which, in turn, submitted it to the convention.

• January 31, 1935- the convention approved the draft, with certain amendments.

• February 8, 1935- the constitution was approved by the convention by a vote of 177 to 1. Twenty-two members were absent. One member had died in August 1934. The only dissenting vote was cast by Delegate Tomas Cabili of Lanao.

• The drafting of the constitution lasted six months- from July 30. 1934 to February 1935, amidst impressive ceremonies.