TOWARDS THE FULL INDEPENDENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES

American Policies in the Philippines

Insular Government

The Americans do not know how will they administer the Philippines since they have no idea how to deal with the Filipinos.

With the establishment of a Philippine civil administration , it was placed under the authority of the U.S. Bureau of Insular Affairs.

During the early years of territorial administration, the Americans were reluctant to delegate authority to the Filipinos.

Schurman Commission

Jan. 20, 1899 Headed by Dr. Jacob

Schurman, president of Cornell University.

This commission studied the existing conditions in the Philippines and to give recommendation to the President.

According to the commission, they acknowledged Filipino aspirations for independence; they declared, however, that the Philippines was not ready for it.

Recommendation of the Schurman Commission

Establishment of civilian government as rapidly as possible (the American chief executive in the islands at that time was the military governor).

Establishment of a bicameral legislature, autonomous governments on the provincial and municipal levels.

A system of free public elementary schools.

Taft Commission

March 16, 1901 Headed by William H. Taft,

a lawyer from Ohio. President McKinley gave

him executive and legislative powers as a commissioner.

Their primary goal is to establish a civil government in the Philippines.

With the success of the commission, Taft became the first Civil-Governor of the Philippines.

Recommendations of the Taft Commission

Establishment of a judicial system including a Supreme Court. This was to replace antiquated Spanish ordinances and organized a civil service.

Establishment and modification of laws to replace Spanish laws in the Philippines.

An establishment of a public school system through Education Act of 1901.

The settle the issues of friar estates.To give importance to the natural resources in

the Philippines.

Spooner Amendment

Originally sponsored by Senator John Coit Spooner, it is a congressional amendment to the Army Appropriations Act of 1901 that called for the end of the U.S. military government in the Philippines by the terms of the Treaty of Paris.

It was believed in the United States that their resistance was due to the harshness of military government.

The Spooner Amendment authorized Pres. William McKinley to supplant military rule with civilian government, which was inaugurated in July 1901.

The passage of the Spooner amendment was a significant milestone in the development of U.S.–Philippine policy because it allowed the President to govern the Philippines by authority of Congress and not by his wartime authority as Commander in Chief.

Cooper Law

Philippine Organic Act of 1902This law was passed by Senator Henry A.

Cooper of Wisconsin.This law will establish a Philippine Assembly

and the foundation of the Insular Government of the Philippines.

Also, the law gave Filipinos all the civil liberties like the Americans.

This law also gave provisions to have Filipino representation in the Congress but without voting powers.

The passing of the Cooper Law

According to Cooper, the Senate branded the Filipinos as pirates, savages, barbarians, and incapable of a civilization.

Cooper was disgusted by this and recited the Mi Ultimo Adios by Jose Rizal.

His speech was applauded and the law was passed.

“Pirates! Barbarians! Savages! Incapable of civilization.’ How many of the civilized, Caucasian slanderers of his race could ever be capable of thoughts like these, which on the awful night, as he sat alone amidst silence unbroken save by the rustling of the black plumes of the death angel at his side, poured from the soul of the martyred Filipino? Search the long and bloody roll of the world’s martyred dead, and where—on what soil, under what sky—did Tyranny ever claim a nobler victim?”

- Henry A. Cooper

Philippine Assembly

Sedition Law

Enacted in 1901.Any forms of aggressive or passive

resistance to the American rule in the Philippines are forbidden.

The scope of the law was not just limited to the following: speech, play, publications etc.

Any violation of this law will be punished with either exile or death.

Brigandage Act

Enacted in 1902.It was enacted with the help of the

Philippine Commission.A law forbidding Filipinos to establish

a nationalist movement.Any form of resistance against the

Americans will be branded as a bandit or traitor.

Flag Law

Enacted in 1907This law forbids

the display of the Philippine Flag.

In response, Gregorio Aglipay had a habit sewn in the design of the Philippine Flag.

Jones Law

Philippine Autonomy Act Enacted on August 29, 1916 by

Senator William A. Jones of Virginia. This law guaranteed Philippine

Independence provided there is a functioning and well-formed government in the Philippines.

This law also created the House of Representatives and the Philippine Senate.

This law extends the Bill of Rights to the Filipinos.

Also, the law abolished all existing laws against Philippine Nationalism such as the Sedition Law and the Flag Law.

Philippine Independence Missions

Its objective was to send a representative to have dialogues with American lawmakers in the matters of the exact date of Philippine independence.

The Philippine Congress funded the Filipino delegates in these independence missions.

Most of these independence missions ended up as failures since they were not successful in convincing American lawmakers to define the definite date of independence.

Years of the missions: 1919, 1922, 1923, 1930, 1931 1932

OsRox Mission

1931 Representatives Sergio

Osmeña and Manuel Roxas were sent as delegates in the Independence Mission.

They were successful in their mission and was able to bring home an independence law entitled Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law.

Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law

Dec. 1932 Authored by Representative

Butler B. Hare, Senators Harry B. Hawes and Bronson M. Cutting.

This law was vetoed by then President Herbert Hoover. His veto was overruled by the US Senate.

The American High Commissioner in the Philippines and the Philippine Senate rejected to ratify the law since there are provisions that gave the U.S. president the right to maintain land and other properties reserved for military use.

Contents of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law

Guaranteed Philippine Independence in 10 years.

The Foundation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

Establishment of military bases in Mindanao.

Imposition of tariffs and quota on all Philippine exports to the United States.

L-R: Congressman Butler B. Hare, Senators Harry B. Hawes and Bronson M. Cutting

Tydings-McDuffie Law

Philippine Independence Act of 1934

Legislated by Senator Milliard Tydings and Representative John McDuffie.

Manuel Quezon personally headed this independence mission and was successful.

The law was ratified in the Philippine Senate and signed it into law on March 24, 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Contents of the Tydings-McDuffie Law

This law has little or no different from the original Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law.

This was simply a political machination of Quezon to further strengthen and solidify his political ambitions to become a president.

L-R: Senator Milliard Tydings and Representative John McDuffie

Sakdalista

A movement was founded in 1930 by a right wing leader, Benigno Ramos, a writer and discontented former government clerk.

It draws strength from illiterate, landless peasants, the movement advocated a drastic reduction of taxes on the poor and a radical land reform, including a breakup of the large estates.

It also opposed the policy of the dominant Nacionalista Party of accepting gradual independence from the United States, demanding instead immediate severance of all Philippine-American ties.

Sakdal voiced its opposition to Tydings-McDuffie law, demanding that the Philippines be given "complete and absolute independence" on or before December 31, 1935.

May 1, 1935 Partially armed mobs seized municipal buildings in 14

towns such as Bulacan and Laguna. The uprising was crushed the next day, with the loss of

about 100 lives. Ramos fled to Tokyo and the Sakdals were disbanded, but

rural conditions remained a source of frustration and dissension and led to numerous other such peasant rebellions.

Economic Policies

The Americans tried to limit Philippine trade through tariffs and quota.

This was to prevent the influx of Philippine raw products to the United States since it might upset commerce and their market.

But the Americans are allowed to trade with the Philippines without tariffs and quota.

Later on, these economic restrictions were eased by different laws and called for the establishment of a national bank.

Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act

Legislated by Sens. Sereno E. Payne and Nelson W. Aldrich.

A bill lowering certain tariffs on goods entering the United States.

In this law, 650 tariff schedules were lowered, 220 raised, and 1,150 left unchanged.

There are provisions that allowed free trade with the Philippines.

For example, tobacco exports from the Philippines to America had annually increased as a result of the bill passing by 1915.

L-R: Senators Sereno E. Payne and Nelson W. Aldrich.

Underwood-Simmons Act

Revenue Act of 1913Legislated by Rep. Oscar Underwood

and Sen. Furnifold McLendel Simmons.

It lowered basic tariff rates from 40% to 25%.

It measures vastly increased the free list, adding wools, iron, steel, farm machinery and many raw materials and foodstuffs.

L-R: Rep. Oscar Underwoodand Sen. Furnifold McLendel Simmons

Philippine National Bank

Founded on July 22, 1916.Opened at Escolta with Henry Parker Willis became the

first president of the bank.Its primary mandate was to provide financial services to

Philippine industry and agriculture and support the government's economic development effort.

PNB was authorized to grant short and long-term loans to agriculture and industry.

Filipino farmers then could avail of loans with interest between 8% to 10% per annum.

PNB was also authorized to receive deposits, open foreign credits and rediscount bills.

It has also functioned as the de facto Central Bank of the Philippines until 1949.

The Philippine National Bank LogoIt featured what will be the coat-of-arms of the Philippines

5 Peso BillFeaturing William McKinley

The Protestant Faith

The dominance of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and Protestant animosity towards Catholicism were prominent reasons for the start of Protestant missionary activity.

The Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist leaders met together in New York to discuss how to bring the Protestant message to the Filipinos.

To further discuss the comity agreement, these three specific major agenda items were given: To organize the Evangelical Union Choose a common name for Protestant churches Delineate the geographical work allotments for each church.

From 1898 to 1905 there were different Protestant missions agencies joining the comity agreement, namely:

Methodists (1898, most of lowland Luzon and north of Manila); Presbyterians (1899, Bicol, Southern Tagalog area and some parts

of Central and Western Visayas); Baptists (1900, Western Visayas); United Brethren (1901, Mountain Province and La Union); Disciples of Christ (1901, Ilocos, Abra, and Tagalog towns); Congregationalists (1902, Mindanao except for the western end); Christian and Missionary Alliance (1902, Western Mindanao and

Sulu Archipelago).The Seventh-day Adventist Church and Episcopal

Church came in later because they wanted to go to all parts of the archipelago.

Roman Catholic Reaction

Archbishop Jeremiah Harty, the first American Archbishop of Manila, decided to counter the rise of Protestantism and Filipino-based Christianity throughout the Philippines.

He asked the Vatican to sent more Roman Catholic missionaries to the Philippines to replaced the Spanish clergies who left the Philippines.

As a response, The Vatican sent missionaries from France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and the United States.

Like the Protestants, they vigorously do missionary works. This made the Filipinos remain as Roman Catholics.

Archbishop Harty also called for the establishment of new Roman Catholic schools all over the Philippines to further strengthen the Roman Catholic faith.

Archbishop Jeremiah Harty

The first American

Archbishop of Manila

Education

It is education that became one of the lasting legacy of American rule in the Philippines.

U.S. Army soldiers had already began teaching Filipinos the English language thus in effect laying down the foundation of the Philippine public school system.

They introduced the public school system and the use of English as medium of instruction.

Also, the educational system was based on democratic traditions and practical application of laws and principles.

For the first time, religion was not a compulsory subject instead, it was made optional due to the separation of church and state.

Because of these educational policies, more than 100,000 Filipino children were enrolled in the primary level.

The high school system supported by provincial governments, special educational institutions, school of arts and trades, an agricultural school, and commerce and marine institutes were established as well.

Thomasites

Derived from the transport vessel, the USS Thomas. They will become the pioneer teachers in the Philippines.

365 males and 165 females will become the first Thomasites upon their departure from San Francisco.

They were deployed all throughout the Philippines even as far as Jolo.

Many of them will die of tropical diseases or will became victims of native hostilities to foreigner.

Nonetheless, their mission was a complete success in laying the foundation for a more modern and progressive education in the Philippines.

Thomasites Curriculum: 1902-1935

The Thomasites taught the following subjects: English Agriculture Reading Grammar Geography Mathematics General courses Trade courses Housekeeping and household arts Manual trading Mechanical drawing Freehand drawing Athletics (baseball, track and field, tennis, indoor baseball and

basketball).

USS Thomas

Uncle Sam offering Education

Thomasites

Thomasites with their students

Pensionado

They were called as such because the government covered all their expenses.

They were sent to the U.S. to continue their studies and to become expert in their desired fields or professions.

In return, they were to teach or work in government offices after they finished their studies.

There were successful Filipino scholars like Judge Jose Abad Santos, Francisco Benitez, Dr. Honoria Sison, Tomas Mapua, Carlos Quirino, and Francisco Delgado.

Higher Education

Many institution for higher education were established during the American period, most of them were Normal Schools (teacher’s college). These are:

Philippine Normal School (1901, Philippine Normal University) Cebu Normal School (1915, Cebu Normal University) Iloilo Normal School (1902, West Visayas State University) Zamboanga Normal School (1904, Western Mindanao State

University)  National University (1901) Centro Escolar de Señoritas (1907, Centro Escolar University) University of Manila (1914) Philippine Women University (1919) Institute of Accountancy (1919, Far Eastern University) Mapua Institute of Technology (1925)

Philippine Normal School (1901, Philippine Normal University)

Cebu Normal School (1915, Cebu Normal University)

Iloilo Normal School (1902, West Visayas State University)

Zamboanga Normal School (1904, Western Mindanao State University) 

National University(1901)Centro Escolar de Señoritas

(1907, Centro Escolar University)

University of Manila (1914)Philippine Women University

(1919)

Mapua Institute of Technology (1925)

Far Eastern University (1919)

Vocational Schools

Vocational schools were also established as part of the American educational system in the Philippines. These are: Philippine Nautical School (reopening the

Academia Nautica Real; Philippine Merchant Marine Academy)

Philippine School of Arts and Trades (1901, Technological University of the Philippines)

Central Luzon Agriculture School (1907, Central Luzon State University)

Philippine Nautical School (Philippine Merchant Marine Academy)Philippine School of Arts and Trades

(1901, Technological University of the Philippines)Central Luzon Agriculture School (1907, Central Luzon State University)

University of the Philippines

Founded in 1908 through Act No. 1870 of the first Philippine Legislature, known as the "University Act" by authority of the United States.

The act specified the function of the University, which is to provide advanced instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences, and arts, and to give professional and technical training.

Protestant Institutions

Because of the coming of Protestantism in the Philippines, they also established their respective institutions of higher education in the Philippines. These are: Silliman University (1901,Presbyterian) Central Philippine University (1901, Baptists) Adventist University of the Philippines (1917,

Seventh-day Adventists) Northern Luzon Adventist College (1923, Seventh-

day Adventists

Silliman University (1901,Presbyterian)

Central Philippine University (1901, Baptists)

Adventist University of the Philippines (1917, Seventh-day Adventists)

Emergence of Roman Catholic Institutions

As a response to the rise of Protestantism in the Philippines and the formation of non-sectarian institutions, the Roman Catholic Church decided to expand their institutions of higher learning. These are:

San Beda College (1901, Benedictine) La Consolacion College (1902, Augustian Sisters) University of San Agustin (1904, Augustinian) Assumption College (1904, Religious of the Assumption) Saint Scholastica's College (1906, Benedictine Sisters)

Saint Paul University Philippines (1907, Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres) De La Salle University (1911, Christian Brothers) St. Louis University (1911, Scheutists or CICM) St. Theresa's College (1915, Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM) ) Maryknoll College (1925, Sisters of the Maryknoll Congregation; Miriam

College) Adamson University (1932, Vincentian) San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Manila (1941, Augustian Recollects)

San Beda College (1901, Benedictine)

La Consolacion College (1902, Augustian Sisters)

University of San Agustin (1904, Augustinian)

Assumption College (1904, Religious of the Assumption)

Saint Scholastica's College (1906, Benedictine Sisters)

Saint Paul University Philippines (1907, Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres)

De La Salle University (1911, Christian Brothers)

St. Louis University (1911, Scheutists or CICM)

St. Theresa's College (1915, Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM) )

Maryknoll College (1925, Sisters of the Maryknoll Congregation; Miriam

College)

Adamson University (1932, Vincentian)

San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Manila (1941, Augustian Recollects)