COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

8/11/2019 COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

1/20

COMMONWEALTHGOVERNMENT OF THPHILIPPINES

1935-1946


2/20

DEFINITION OF COMMONWE

a political community founded for the common goodSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/

founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreementof the people for the common good

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/

a group of countries or states that have political oreconomic connections with one another

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://www.merriam-webster.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/


3/20

HARE-HAWES-CUTTING A(BUTLER HARE,HARRY HAWES, & BRONSON CU

OsRox Mission (which stands for Osmea and Roxassuccessfully lobbied for the enactment of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, which was passed by the Congress on January 13,1933 over President Herbert Hoovers veto in 1932.

The U.S. Senate approved the bill four days later on January17, 1933. It required the Philippine Senate to ratify the law.

Rejected by the Philippine Legislature due to tariff,immigration provisions, and indefinite retention of U.S. militarybases in the islands.


4/20

TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE LAW(MILLARD TYDINGS & JOHN MCDUF

In 1934, a new mission (the QuAquAl Mission, made up ofQuezon, Benigno Aquino Sr., and Rafael Alunan) negotiated theTydings-McDuffie or the Philippine Independence Act, which seta ten-year transition period to be known as the Commonwealthof the Philippines, followed by the recognition of the

independence of the Philippines by the United States.


5/20

1935 PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALCONSTITUTION

A constitutional convention was convened in Manila in July 1934. It presided over by Claro M. Recto with 202 elected Filipino delegates wdecided that the constitution to be written would cover not only thtransitional Commonwealth, but would apply to the Republic as well

The convention finished its work on February 8, 1935 and submitted itthe President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, for certificatiothat its provisions complied with the Philippine Independence Act.

It was certified on March 25, 1935 and it was subsequently ratified the Filipino people in a plebiscite on May 14, 1935.


6/20

1935 PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALCONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines providedfor a presidential system of government with a unicamerallegislature. It had the power to enact laws for the Philippines,known as Commonwealth Acts, through the National Assembly.


7/20

1935 PHILIPPINE GENERAL ELECOn September 16, 1935, a million Filipinos had trooped to the poll

elect their two highest officials the President and Vice President

Candidates for presidency included:

former president Emilio AguinaldoIglesia Filipina Indepediente leader Gregorio AglipayManuel Quezon

Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and his running mate SePresident pro tempore Sergio Osmea were elected as President aVice President, while voters elected representatives for the nunicameral National Assembly and for local positions.


8/20

COMMONWEALTH INAUGURATIO

On November 15, 1935 the new Philippine Commonwealtinaugurated at the legislative building in Manila.

The new government established nation-building policies in preparfor independence. These included national defense, econdevelopment, continued Filipinization of the government, reformeducation, improvement of transport, industrialization, and colonization of Mindanao.


9/20

The Commonwealth was meant to lay down the foundations for anindependent, fully-functional state. Its priorities could be seen in thefirst laws enacted by the new National Assembly:

Commonwealth Act No. 1 - established the Philippine Army and a nationaldefense policy;

Commonwealth Act No. 2 - established the National Economic Council;

Commonwealth Act No. 3 - created the Court of Appeals.

Womes Suffrage Act gave the women the right to vote and to run for aposition in the government.

December 1937 proclaiming the national language of the Philippines basedon Tagalog language.

SOME SIGNIFICANT FACTS


10/20

1935 PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTCONSTITUTION

the 1935 Constitution was amended in 1940 to permit the re-election of the president and the vice president, to restore thesenate and thus shift the legislature back to the bicameralsystem, and to establish a national electoral authority, theCommission on Elections. The proposed amendments wereratified in a plebiscite held on June 18, 1940.


11/20

WORLD WAR II: THE THREAOF JAPAN

With war looming over the world following German aggression inEurope and the Japanese annexation of Manchuria, the NationalAssembly conferred emergency powers on the government. ThePhilippine Army was placed under the command of the UnitedStates Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE), headed by DouglasMacArthur.

Filipinos re-elected Quezon, Osmena, and legislators to fill seatsin the newly create bicameral congress on November 11, 1941.

War in Asia broke out on December 8, 1941 following the Japanesebombing of Pearl Harbor. Japanese bombed Camp John Hay inBaguio City, Clark Air Base in Pampanga, and, Nichols Field outsideof Manila.


12/20

WORLD WAR IIOn December 24, 1941, President Quezon and his war cabinet evacuated to

the island stronghold of Corregidor in Manila Bay and two months later leftfor Australia, en route to the safety of the United States.

The Commonwealth Government continued to function in exile, gainingrecognition from the world community as a member of the United Nations.President Quezon continued to represent the Commonwealth of thePhilippines in Washington, D.C.

During this exile, Quezon became ill with tuberculosis, and later he died ofit. Osmea replaced him as the president.

Osmea gave his inaugural address in Washington, D.C., making him thonly Philippine President thus far to deliver an inaugural address outside

the Philippines.


13/20

Manila was declared an open city to prevent its destruction onDecember 26, 1941, and it was occupied by the Japanese onJanuary 2, 1942.

When General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines to escape toAustralia on March 1942, he left General Jonathan Wainwright in

command. General Wainwright took his command on the island ofCorregidor and placed Major General Edward P. King in command ofthe troops on Bataan.

WORLD WAR II


14/20

On April 3,1942 Japanese attacked American and Filipino troops inBataan.

While in exile, McArthur ordered a general counterattack againstthe Japanese. The commanding officer on Luzon, Major General

Edward King, ignored this ridiculous order to avoid furtherdestruction.

Trusting to the mercy of the Japanese, he surrendered his troops onApril 9,1942.

WORLD WAR II:THE FALL OBATAAN


15/20

Infuriated by the lengthy American resistance on Bataan, and the heavy they had suffered themselves, the Japanese vented their rage on their sickexhausted prisoners of war whom they subjected to the atrocities of the BDeath March and the harsh conditions of Japanese "hell camps".

The Bataan Death March was a 60-mile (96.56km) forced march under blazwithout food and water of American and Filipino prisoners of war by Jaforces during World War II.

Thousand of troops died because of the brutality of their captors, who starvebeat the marchers, and bayoneted those too weak to walk.

WORLD WAR II:THE FALL OBATAAN


16/20

WORLD WAR II:THE FALL OCORREGIDOR

After the fall of Bataan, the Imperial Japanese Army then concentrated onthe island of Corregidor. Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright refused tsurrender.

The island was relentlessly pummeled by the Imperial Japanese artillery foseveral weeks. The island was surrounded and cut off from receiving anreinforcements and supplies from the United States. Food, water anammunition had dropped to critical levels.

On the night of May 5, the Imperial Japanese landed troops and tanks. Theyquickly began advancing towards Malinta Tunnel where there were thousandof patients and nurses.


17/20

WORLD WAR II:THE FALL OCORREGIDOR

To avoid a massacre Wainwright was forced to surrender the troops on Corregidor athe other three fortified islands but General Masahara Homma refused Wainwrigoffer of surrender.

General Homma warned Wainwright during surrender negotiations that he woexecute all prisoners of war unless the surrender applied not only to Corregidor but all American and Philippine troops still resisting the Japanese on other islands of tPhilippine archipelago.

The American-Filipino troops on the outer islands were getting conflicting messafrom General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur did not want these islands to surrender wanted Sharp to create Guerrilla units and hide in the hills. Finally Colonel TraywiWainwright's emissary, reached General Sharp to express the severity of the situatiowhere eventually the U.S. commanders on the Visayan Islands, Mindanao and C

surrendered.


18/20

Meanwhile, the Japanese military organized a new government in the Philiknown as the Second Philippine Republic, which was headed by president Laurel. This government ended up being very unpopular.

The resistance to the Japanese occupation continued in the Philippinesincluded the Hukbalahap ("People's Army Against the Japanese"), whichof 30,000 armed people and controlled much of Central Luzon. Re

Philippine Army also fought the Japanese through guerrilla warfare, and successful, since all but 12 of the 48 provinces were liberated.

The American General Douglas McArthurs army landed on Leyte 20,1944, and they were all welcomed as liberators, along wCommonwealth troops when other amphibious landings soon followed. Fcontinued in remote corners of the Philippines until Japan's surrender in A

1945, which was signed on September 2 in Tokyo Bay.

WORLD WAR II


19/20

RESTORATION OF THE COMMONWEAOF THE PHILIPPINES

After the War in the Philippines, the Philippine Commonwealth was restored.

On April 23, 1946, the first postwar election was held, in which Manuel RoElpidio Quirino were elected President and Vice President.

Roxas took his oath of office on May 28, 1946 as the third and last President Commonwealth of the Philippines in front of the ruins of the Legislative BuilManila. In the succeeding weeks, pursuant to the provisions of the PhiIndependence Act, the Commonwealth of the Philippines became the Repubthe Philippines the Third Republic.

Thus, on July 4, 1946, Roxas would again take his oath as President, this tiPresident of the newly-inaugurated and independent Republic of the Philippin


20/20

In spite of the years of Japanese occupation, the Philippines

became independent exactly as scheduled a decade before,

on July 4, 1946.

Documents

COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES