GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a constitution of Cuba * * * adequate to secure a stable, orderly, and free government.
The constitution adopted by the Cuban people was not entirely satisfactory to Secretary Root, but being the result of conscientious deliberations by the representatives of the people of Cuba, it was accepted. On December 31, 1901, the people of Cuba chose their provincial governors, their councilors, and members of the house of representatives, and the presidential and senatorial electors. These last met on February 24, 1902, in order to choose the president, vice-president, and senators. After the election of these officials the American Government made ready to transfer to their hands the reins of government. The condition of stability had been fulfilled, and on May 20, 1902, the military governor, on behalf of the President of the United States, read the memorable document which transferred to "the duly elected representatives of the people of Cuba the government and control of the islands," and declared "the occupation of Cuba by the United States and the military government of the islands" to be ended. A "stable government" has, therefore, been construed to mean, in the case of Cuba, a government duly chosen by the people. This was the clear interpretation adopted by the American Government. It is evident that this is the same interpretation given to the phrase "stable government" as used in the preamble of the Jones law. That the Filipinos now have a government of this sort, a government constituted by the people, able to preserve order and to comply with its international obligations, can not be denied by any fair-minded man who knows the conditions of the country. Our present government is a government based on the peaceful suffrage of the people, 287
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES representing the whole country, deriving their powers from the people and subject to the limitations and safeguards which the experience of constitutional government has shown to be essential to the maintenance and protection of individual rights. Our central, provincial, and municipal governments rest upon the peaceful suffrage of the Filipino people. The Insular Government has at its disposal a complete governmental machinery recognized and supported by the people. The guiding part of this machinery is already in the hands of the Filipinos. There is a Philippine Legislature whose members are elected by the qualified voters of the islands, which legislative body is invested with general legislative powers within the limitatioNs laid down by the Jones law. In said legislature the non-Christian element is represented by nine members appointed by the Governor-General. We have also a judicial system based upon the American principle of independence of the judicial department. Our laws and our courts are of the modern type, like those of the most progressive nations of the west. Our codes are based on Spanish and American jurisprudence, taking from the Spanish substantive laws, their conciseness, symmetry, and philosophy, and from the American laws of procedure their facility, ('.ommon sense, and efficiency. The limitations and safeguards for the protection of individual rights are thoroughly ingrained in the political life of the Filipino people and no political change that might take place would in any way impair them. We have, therefore, a stable government in the Philippines which fulfills all the conditions required by the United States in other cases of recognition of new States, especially in the case of Cuba, and this government is now in operation and is practically controlled and directed by the Filipinos themselves. If the Governor and Vice-Gov288
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS ernor General of the Philippine Islands were to be suddenly withdrawn from the Archipelago and in their place Filipinos were appointed, no part of the governmental machinery would suffer thereby and every piece thereof w,ould move as regularly and as orderly as at present. The testimony of the representatives of the American Government in the islands during all the time that the Philippine Government Was in the hands of the Filipinos bears out the assertion which we made in regard to the conditions of stability of the Philippine Government. Says Governor H:;trrison: There are about 1,000 municipalities in the Philippines, all of which are governed by elective Filipino officials. There are about 42 provinces in the islands likewise governed by Filipinos. There are two elective houses of the legislature composed entirely of Filipinos. Out of seven members in the cabinet six are Filipinos, and most of the heads of the executive departm1'!nts of the Government are Filipinos to-day. It is true t hat there are still some 700 Americans in the Philippines, but fOlf the most part they are teachers, professors, and scientists, and to my mind a class of men who would be desired by t.he Filipinos even if they had complete independence. That presents a picture of practical autonomy. It has been going on for the last two and a half years, or ever since the recent charter has been given us by Congress, and in my opinion, during those two and a half years the Filipinos, having been given an opportunity, have satisfactorily demonstrated the fact that they have already established and are maintaining the stable form of government which is prescribed in the preamble to the Jones bill as a prerequisite to their independence.
On another occasion he said: By temperament, by experience, by financial ability, in every way the 10,000,000 Filipinos are entitled to be free from every government.
Vice-Governor Charles E. Yeater, in an official telegram to the Secretary of War, reports: The capacity for initiative and the constl'uctive spirit evidenced by the legislature, the first organized under the Jones law, is worthy
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES of great commendation. Its capacity to investigate government problems and to act expeditiously but with due caution is certainly unprecedented in history, considel-ing that for three centuries this people had practically no political rights and were debarred from the benefits of education. American legislative practice and procedure has always been examined, and with few exceptions followed. As indicative, however, of their independent frame of mind it may be noted that a single legislative .committee has had charge of both appropriations and ways and means since 1907, and under the provisions of the Jones law has ' adopted substantially the basic principles of the English budget system instead of maintaining a rigorous application of the theory of the separation of governmental powers as far as the legislative and executive departments are concerned, the latter directed by an American. This legislature has given to the secretaries of the various departments the right to appear before either house to defend publicly the measures proposed by the executive or to oppose measures originated in such houses. Finally, as one of the representatives in these islands of the United States Government, I wish to attest the patriotism of the Filipinos and their loyal attachment to the United States Government. This legislatu~e which has just terminated its sessions has acted with judgment and prudence in what it has done and left undone during its term now drawing to a close, and should be credited for the wisdom with which it has guided and directed the Filipino people in the paths of order and tranqlllillity during these recent years of almost universal turmoil and unrest. Perfect peace has prevailed here and all provincial and municipal government instrumentalities of force have no function to perform.
In regard to honesty and efficiency, the Philippine government can be favorably compared to the bâ‚Źst in the world. No charge of bribery has been made against any high official. Cases of misappropriation of public funds have been exceptionally few, a.nd only subordinate officials were involved. The offending parties have been discharged from the service, and whenever sufficient evidence for conviction was availa.ble they were prosecuted: Efficiency in the civil service has been maintained at a high standard. Appointments of chiefs and assistant chiefs of division have been hased strictly on merit and 290
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS not political considerations. In most cases men who had served for a long time have been promoted to these positions with a view to the efficiency of the service. Every citizen has enjoyed civil and political rights without hindrance and amid public peace and safety. Religious tolerance has grown to such an extent that all Christian denominations are working in perfect harmony; Mohammedans and Christians in Mindanao and Sulu respect each other's religious practices. Moral campaigns have been carried on at all times, wJth appreciable results in the uplift of the people. The progress made along material and economic lines in recent years shows the entire confidence of all the residents of the Philippines in the orderly and stable conditions of the country. III. NATIONAL SENTIMENT HAS INVARIABLY BEEN FOR COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE
It would seem to be entirely unnecessary to discuss the question of whether or not the Filipinos desire to be independent at this time, but some doubt being entertained by a number of American citizens as to whether the Filipinos, after being given the opportunity to manage their domestic affairs, would not prefer, for their best interest, to continue certain relations of political dependence with the United States, we have decided to devote this chapter to a treatment of the present aspirations of the people in relation to the independence problem. If the historical events in the Philippines in 1896 and 1898 are studied, it will be seen that the longing for independence was the most powerful sentiment behind the revolution against Spain the latter year. With the breaking out of hostilities between the United States and Spain the Filipinos saw their chance to destroy Spanish dominion 291
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES and to declare their independence. They turned a deaf ear to the alluring promises made by the Spanish authorities, and, with the moral and material support of the Americans, they-the Filipinos-were fortunately able to defeat the Spanish forces and to seize practically all of the territory of the islands. Then the Filipinos organized a government under Aguinaldo, whose authority spread throughout the islands and received the approbation and consent of the people. This aspiration for independence was the thing that moved the Filipinos to go through the sufferings and sacrifices of another war against the Americans in 1899, in spite of the fact that they know beforehand the weakness of their forces and the certainty of their defeat in the face of the formidable power and the unlimited resources of the people of the United States. It has frequently been said that the war against the Americans was but the work of a group of Tagalos, but the extent and duration of the military operations carried on by the American forces and the unanimous resistance with which they met everywhere prove that the national sentiment of the Filipinos was opposed to a new domination. The Filipinos accepted peace, not for the purpose of giving up their aspirations for independence but only to change their method of obtaining them. They were willing to go through the training in self-government which was required of them in the hope that they would thus secure their independence sooner. They were convinced of their own capacity, and therefore instead of obstructing the work of reconstruction. and progress inaugurated by the American Government, they heartily lent their cooperation, at the same time bending every energy to secure larger opportunities to show in actual practice and in the exercise of great responsibilities what they could do in governmental affairs. 292
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The history of the last 10 years, from the organization of the Philippine Assembly, when for the first time the people ~re permitted to express their opinion in regard to their political future, proves beyond doubt the firm and unswerving determination of the Filipinos to obtain a full recognition of their international sovereignty. Speaker Osmefia, in a speech delivered at the close of the legislative session on June 19, 1908, made the following utterances: Through all the vicissitudes, difficulties, and reverses the ideal of the Filipino people has remained unalterable. The adverse fortune of Filipino arms has not shaken the aspirations of the people, neither has the false hope so often held out in the midst of people's misfortunes, of the possibility of the Philippines being made a State of the great American Union ever made them hesitate in the least. The Filipino people accepted peace; principally because they expected justice from the American people. Far from holding aloof from or making difficult the work of the Government in its impiantation. they did everything they could to promote and improve it. They went to the polls when the municipal government was established; they also willingly took part in the government of the Province:;> when amid countless difficulties, and when the ruins of the revolution still loomed grim and terrible they were called upon to do so; and they chose their representatives when the solemn hour came for the most difficult test of their capacity to manage their own destiny. But neither before nor after did they yield to promise or fear; before and after they aspired for their national independence both when they cast their vote in favor of a free and independent life and when yesterday on the battle field they offered the lives of their best sons for the sake of our country and of her ideals. We must thus speak clearly in this august place, where fallacy does not lurk, where deceit has no place, and where truth finds its seat, and where justice presents itself with all of its lofty attributes; we must speak thus in this place where we feel with full sense of responsibility our love, our most legitimate veneration for the Philippines. The Filipino people aspire today, as before taking up arms for the second time against Spain, as thereafter in the din of arms, and then in peace, for their national independence.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Allow me, gentlemen of the house, following the dictates of my conscience as a delegate, as a representative of the country, under my responsibility as speaker of this house, to declare solemnly, as I do now before God and before the world that we believe that our people aspire for their independence; that our people consider themselves capable of leading an orderly life, efficient for themselves and for others, in the concert of free and civilized nations; and that we believe that if the people of the United States were to decidQ at this moment the Philippine cause in favor of the Filipinos, the latter could, in assuming the consequent responsibility, comply wlth their duties to themselves and to others without detriment to liberty, to justice, and to right.
At the close of the legislative session on May 20, 1909, the following resolution was passed by the Philippine Assembly: Whereas at the meeting of June 19, 1908, the assembly approved and adopted the following words of the speaker, to wit: "Allow me, gentlemen of the house, following the dictates of my conscience as a delegate, as a representative of the country, under my responsibility as speaker of this house, to declare solemnly, as I do now before God and before the world, that we believe that our people aspire for their independence; that our people considex themselves capable of leading an orderly life, efficient for themselves and for others, in the concert of free and civilized nations; and that we believe that if the people of the United States were to decide at this moment the Philippine cause in favor of the Filipinos, the latter could, in assuming the consequent responsibility, comply with their duties to themselves and to others, without detriment to liberty, to justice, and to right." Whereas the Hon. Manuel L. Quezon, delegate from Tayabas, attended said meeting and voted in favor of said resolution, and said Hon. Manuel L. Quezon is now elected Resident Commissioner of the Philippine Islands in the United States: Therefore be it Resolved, That this house state to the Resident Commissionerelect, Hon. Manuel L. Quezon, that the members thereof would be hij?:hly satisfied if, upon his appearance before the Congress of the 294
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS United States and when he finds opportunity therefor, he should make known to said Congress our aspiration for independence as expressed at the meeting of the assembly on June 19, 1908.
Resident Commissioner Mr. Quezon, in fulfilling the instructions contained in the above resolution, delivered a speech in the House of Representatives on May 14, 1910, in the course of which he said: Mr. Chairman, from what I have said it can be seen that the affairs of the islands are not in a very encouraging state; rather, that the outlook is depressing. The Filipinos, however, are patiently and hopefully looking forward to brighter days. 'Weare aware that you have not gone to those islands for your own profit; we are aware that you have not gone there to subjugate us, but to emancipate us. The lesson of your history-the most brilliant hifltory of all the nations of the world-is inconsistent with any other motive in your dealings with the Filipinos than that of making them free. This great Republic, founded and reared by libertyloving people, can not undertake any task not in keeping with right, justice, happiness, and liberty for all mankind. We have an un!1haken faith in the future destiny of our beloved fatherland, since its fate was committed to your care. We firmly believe and sincerely trust that the day will soon come when this Congress, composed of the representatives of a God-fearing people, will generously give to us the blessings of that freedom which has made you so happy, so prosperous, and so great, and which is, after all, the keynote of the happiness and prosperity of every people. When that time comes-and let us hope that it may happen tomorrow-the day When was raised in the Philippines the ever-glorious Stars and Stripes will eternally be the best celebrated day of our national life.
In a memorial submitted to the then Secretary of War, Mr. Dickinson, by the Nacionalista Party on September 1, 1910, the following was said: These facts are mentioned with the object of showing that the persistency of the Filipinos in being independent is bound up in the recolledions of that short period of their past in which, associated with the Americans, they threw down the secular power of a sovereignty and experienced the satisfaction and happiness of governing themselves, their interests and their future. Then, they understood how satisfactory and sweet to the citizens is the yoke imposed by
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES the power of its own laws and the government by men of its own race, and how close and loyal is the cooperation which exists between people and government to better the interests of the country and to enter resolutely and without embarrassment into the wide ways of human progress. Then the FUipinos abandoned all the vicious practices which the former sovereignty had extended over all the masses and recovered the good qualities which people free from all yoke possessed. This moved the Filipinos to resist with all their force the new American domination, and to submit to it only when they fully understood that they might be independent in a more or less short period. The efforts of the Filipinos in defense of that government, the blood which its soldiers shed, and the money which was employed in the service of the Filipino flag, recalls to them constantly that short period of its happiness and makes them consider the present as a temporary situation which they desire to abbreviate as much as possible in order to acquire the satisfaction of their nation'a l ambitions and their intentions of elevation and enrichment of the country.
On February 3, 1911, the Philippine Assembly passed the following resolution: Resolved, That the assembly ask, as it hereby does ask, the Congress of the United States immediately to recognize the independence of the Filipino people in the form expressed in the memorial of the N acionalista Party, dated September 1, 1910; Resolved further, That the assembly adopt each and every conclusion and proposition contained in said memorial; and Resolved further", That this resolution be transmitted by cable to the Congress of the United States and to the Resident Commissioners of the Philippine Islands, suggesting that they present and support the same in Congress before the termination of the present session of said Congress.
On February 1, 1912, the Philippine Assembly reiterated its petition in the following terms: Resolved, That the Philippine Assembly reiterate, as it hereby reiterate, the petition for immediate independence of the Philippines to the Congress of the United States; Resolved further", That this resolution be transmitted by cable to the Resident Commissioners, in Washington, recommending that the same be conveyed to and supported in said Congress.
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS On February 11, 1913, in view' of the change of administration in the United States, Speaker Osmefia, in his speech at the close of the legislative session, made the following declarations: There in America another party now comes to power-the Democ.ratic Party. Old in history, new in victory, this party has been unceasingly fighting for the ideals of the Filipino people for more than a decade. It stated in a solemn manner before all the nations in its Baltimore platform the following: "We reaffirm the position thrice announced by the Democracy in national cOllvention assembled against a policy of imperialism and colonial exploitation in the Philippines or elsewhere. We condemn the experiment in imperialism as an inexcusable blunder, which has involved us in enormous expenses, brought us weakness instead of strength. and laid our Nation open to the charge of abandonment of the fundamental doctrine of self-government. We favor an immediate declaration of the Nation's purpose to recognize the independence of the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established, such independence to be guaranteed by us until the neutralization of the islands can be secured by treaty with other powers. "In recognizing the independence of the Philippines our Government should retain such land as ~ay be necessary for coaling stations and naval bases." We trust that the meaning of these words, which are clear and unmistakable, will be transmuted into reality. I believe and hope that this will be done, because the American -people are just. The die is cast, and God, who has never failed the other people will not fail ours. In the meantime let us remain quiet; let everyone stay in his rank, fighting as he can; let us carryon our campaigns with courage and disinterestedness, and either we are entirely mistaken or the days to come will be to the Filipino people, who have struggled so much and suffered so much, days of vindication, days of liberty.
On October 16, 1913, the Philippine Assembly passed the following: Resolution sending to the President of the United States of America through the Governor-General of the Philippines a message from the Philippine Assembly in the name of the Filipino people. 297
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Whereas the President of the United States has sent through the Governor-General the Hon. Francis Burt.on Harrison, as message to the people of t.he Philippines, and said message was duly delivered on the 16th day of October, 1913, its text being as follows: "We regard ourselves as trustees, acting not for the advantage of the United States, but for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands. "Every step we take will be taken with a view to the ultimate independence of the islands and as a preparation for that independence. And we hope to move toward that end as rapidly as the safety and the permanent interests of the islands will permit. After each step taken experience will guide us to the next. "The administration will take one step at once, and will give to the native citizens -of the islands a majority in the appointive commissions, and thus in the upper as well as in the lower house of the legislatUl'e a majority representation will be secured. "We do this in the confident hope and expectation that immediate proof will be given in the action of the commission under the new arrangement of the political capacity of those native citizens who have already come forward to represent and to lead their people in affairs." Therefore, be it Resolved, That the Philippine Assembly, in the name of the people of the Philippines, pray, as it hereby prays, the chief executive thereof to kindly forward to the President of the United States the following message in reply: We, the representatives of the Filipino people, constituting the Philippine Assembly, do solemnly declareThat the right of the Filipino people to be free and independent is evident to us, so that pursuing the line of progress for themselves, theirs is the responsibility to labor for their prosperity in all lines and direct their own destinies. This was the aspiration of the people in entering into the contest with Spain, and the presence of the American flag in Manila Bay first and later in the interior of the archipelago did not modify but rather it affirmed that aspiration in spite of reverses in war and difficulties in peace. The people, when called upon to deposit their ballots, ratified once for all this
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS aspiration, and the national representation since the inauguration of the assembly has but acted in harmony with the popular will. So, in the midst of the most adverse conditions, the ideal of the people has not faltered, and it is so stated respectfully and frankly on this occasion to the authorities of the United States. On the other hand, our faith in the justice of the American pE'ople has been as great and as persistent as our ideal. We have waited patiently, confident that sooner or later mistakes and injustice would be corrected. The message of the President of the United States to the Filipino people tells eloquently that we have not waited in vain. We accept this message with love and gratitude, and we consider it a definite statement of the purpose of the American Nation to recognize the independence of the islands. The immediate step to concede us a majority on the commission puts into our hands the instruments of power and {)f responsibility for the institution by ourselves of a stable Philippine government. We fully recognize and we are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the confidence placed in us by the Government of the United States. We appreciate the appointment of the Hon. Francis Burton Harrison as governorgeneral considering it the unequivocal announcement of the new era, wherein we expect that the attitude of the people be {)ne of decided cooperation and support. We believe that the experiments of imperialism have ended, and that the policy of colonial exploitation has passed into history, The time for suspicions has passed, and upon the opening of the doors of opportunity to Filipinos the weight of responsibility is made to rest upon them, which it were inexcusable cowardice to evade or refuse. Hence in a few days good understanding has been arrived at between Americans and Filipinos which, in the past 13 years, could not take root. Weare convinced that each step taken, while relieving the American Government of its responsibilities in the islands, will fully demonstrate, as in the past, the actual ability ')f the Filipino people to establish self-government and under such government guarantee permanently the life, the property, and the liberty of the residents of the islands, whether native or foreign. We do not mean by this that there will be no difficulties or hindrances. We do not even hope that the campaign, open or secret, of the enemies of the Philippine cause will quickly end, but we feel sure that through the use of the faculties intrusted to us the Filipino people, by the grace of God and the help of America, will proudly emerge from the test, however difficult it be; and
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Resolved further, That a committee of seven be appointed by the speaker of the assembly to go to the office of the GovernorGeneral and deliver to him this resolution duly certified.
At the last meeting of the session ending February 28, 1914, Speaker Osmeiia submitted, before closing his speech, the following declaration, which was unanimously . adopted: We, the representatives of the Filipino people, constituting the Philippine Assembly, solemnly make the following DECLARATION
In ratifying, as we do hereby ratify, the national aspiration to independence so often expressed by this assembly in previous sessions, especially in that of the 3rd of February, 1911, we ratify our faith in the imm<>rtal principles of the Declaration of Independence made by the American people in 1776. This declaration, though written by Jefferson, belongs to humanity and yet holds good. Above the egoism of people clothed at times in the dazzling mantle of feigned generosity and the pride of nations obsessed by the f1.eeting triumphs of an imperialism, ambitious and aggressive, the history of many years tells us that the advancement and greatness of a nation may be firmly established without abandoning the fundamental principles of self-government, and that this doctrine may be preserved with loyalty and love through all changes and through the passing of many generations. We consider the policy of the present President of the United States, a.nd of his representative in the Philippines, the 'GovernorGeneral, as rightfully inspired by the principles of that declaration. Hence, in contrast to the previous administration, which, actuated by the idea of colonial expansions, could find but vague and indecisive words in tracing its line of conduct in the Philippines, the present administration from the first moment found within its sphere of action categoric and definite declarations as to what in its judgment should be the future of a Christian people of 8,000,0100 placed merely by the chances of war in the hands of the United States. These forceful declarations were made despite the persistent and apparently organized efforts principally of those who, being responsible for having established a government by force yesterday, are attempting now, under the specious pretext of subserving the 300
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS interest of the Filipino, to keep the people of the United States by every possible means from doing justice to the Filipinos. The President of the United State!'!, as leader of the party in power, and as the exponent of the ideas of its people in vogue now, has already l'!tarted to rectify erroneous theories in respect to the Philippines, exemplified in 15 years of imperialistic administration. It is now within the constitutional authority of Congress to definitely decide the insistent demands submitted to it. with honor for the Americans and with justice for the Filipinos. Besides the basic principles of government established since remote ages, after the long suffering and weariness borne by those who, like us, were oppressed and sought liberty, Congress has the good fortune to possess another specific rule, and ultimately solemnly adopted in three national conventions, and one of which, after ratification in Baltimore, won the campaign that culminated in the election of the present majority in Congress. We earnestly and respectfully -urge the early adoption by Congress of those legislative measures that in its wisdom it believes should he adopted to make the promises of independence to the Philippines immediately effective. Respecting ourselves, the Filipinos, we regard the early adoption of such legislation essential to our life as a people. Not only because we are contending with strong adversaries many miles away, far from our soil and our environment, and that we are destitute of the power of the ballot, but because it is fundamental for the permanent effectiveness of our efforts in behalf of the progress and welfare of our people that we have in our hands the guaranties of our future. In insisting on the immediate control of our affairs we are not actuated by the single desire to burden ourselves with the heavy weight of new responsibilities, but because we wish right now to establish ,t he permanent bases of our political nationality, a.nd, step by step, with confidence and assurance, to move forward, so that without unnecessary and sudden changes we may build with our own hands, piece by piece, and following the pattern which popular conscience advises us to be the best, the governmental structure, having as its main duty the promotion of happiness, the preservation of peace and the protection of life and property of the natives and of the foreigners of good will who may live and settle in our Philippine territory.
On February 16, 1915, the Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly approved the following resolutions: 301
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Resolved by thlJ Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly in joint session assembled, in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento Building in Manila, That the Governor-General be, and be is hereby, requested to send the following message from the Philippine Legislature to the President of the United States. "We express our deep gratitude for the unwavering interest j3hown by the President in behalf of the people of the Philippine [~lands. This reiteration of intention to support the Filipino people in their petition for an independent government shows the sincerity and perseverance with which the administration proposes to carry out the plan for the independence of the Philippines, and that this intention is the same as that communicated to the people of the Philippine Islands in so solemn a manner on the 6th of October, 1!)13, and afterwards ratified by the President in his subsequent messages to Congress. "For our part, we again reiterate, in the name of the Filipino people, the national desire and purpose set forth on many former occasions. We have already made such substantial progress in local government that it has been deemed wise and desirable to give to the people the practical management of their affairs, both municipal and provincial. The result of the reform extending popular control in provincial government has demonstrated that the hopes of success of those responsible for this measure, adopted because of full confidence in the capacity of the people, has justified the action. The confidence of the Government of the United States has been also fully justified by the result of extending Filipino control in the insular government. Notwithstanding that the tumult of the world's greatest war still continues and that everywhere the effect has been felt in financial and economic crisis, yet in spite of the limited resources of our government and the continuing limitations of our commerce, the government of the Philippine Islands has successfully met its every necessary expenditure without resort to additional loans either from the United States or foreign Governments. "Btlt, living not alone for the present, our foresight goes far beyond, and we wish to assure a .stable future for our people. We desire an increase of the elements of our national life and progress. We ask yet more, and for that reason in reiterating, as we hereby do reiterate, our urgent petitions for liberty and independence for the people of the Philippine Islands we, the elected representatives of the Filipino people, express our confidence that the efforts of the President of the United States to secure the fulfillment of his
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G()VERNMENT AND POLITICS promises and the realization of our lawful hopes will obtain early and complete success."
On February 4, 1916, the Philippine Assembly unanimously approved the following political declaration: It has always been customary with the Philippine Assembly at every session before adjournment to ratify its faith in the principles of liberty and independence of the Filipino people, not because such principles need be repeated each time in order to find a firm lodgment in the heart of the popular chamber, no; but to demonstrate to the world that neither time nor circumstances, often disheartening, has succeeded in diverting the representatives of the people from the line. of conduct mapped out since the beginning of their public life. During that period of our struggle against dominant imperialism we felt it our duty to face the fact, and, despite the precarious situation and the timidity of a few people, frankly to state to our sovereign, the American people, the sole ambition of our existence. And so we did. At the dawn of a new era for the Philippines those sacred principles which heretofore were abhorred by some now find the doors of hope opened, so that all, without any exceptions, may freely enter and receive a hearty welcome. The news coming from the Senate of the United States would indicate that the final hour has struck. In the acts of the insular administration here, as well as in those of the United States Government, the most sincere intentions to do us full justice are apparent. For this reason the Philippine Assembly, the depository of popular aspirations, can not but see with satisfaction that its long and persevering efforts and its insistent and fervid demands are upon the point of being crystallized into material and tangible form. On the eve of such transcendent events, after the uncertainty and struggles of the past, and in the midst of our hopes for speedy emancipation, we, the representatives assembled, turn our eyes now to the Capitol of the United States and once more await with persistence and faith the enactment of the pending measure. The .tenacity, efforts, activities and sacrifices shown by our Resident Commissioners have been no small factor in the struggle now about to effect this happy consummation. They have been, and are, the guiding spirits of this great campaign. We applaud their splendid and patriotic work, and we recognize that no one could have done within so short a time what they have done in behalf of this country. We expect that as Members of the House of Representatives they
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES will lose no opportunity to move the patriotism of the American people and appeal to the sentiments of humanity and justice of their Representatives. Our fervent desire is that the longed-for measure be not delayed in its passage. We Filipinos earnestly desire it. Once again we are one in this plea, as we were in the revolution. We feel confident that Divine Justice will grant us in peace what it could not grant us in time of war.
On October 16, 1917, the same Philippine Legislature approved another joint resolution, which says: Be it re80lved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines, in joint session assembled in. the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento: That the Governor-General be, and hereby is, requested to send the following message to the President of the United States: "The Philippine Legislature deems it a duty incumbent upon it to voice the unequivocal expressions of the loyalty of the people of these islands to the cause of the United States of America in the present war and in this solemn manner to ratify and transmit the same to the American people. 'We realize that in this war there are being tried in the balance the greatest principles of humanity and right which in future will be the foundation of the stability, and security of all nations, whether they be great or small or belong to one race or another. "Our loyalty to the cause is based on the evident justice of the enforced intervention of the American people in this war, in which they have been guided solely by the supreme interest of defending universal democracy and upholding the right of small nations to live in confidence and security under their own governments, safe from the threats and perils of autocracy and imperialism. "We firmly believe that the final triumph of democracy, in securing for the world the principle of nationality for the benefit of the small nations will finally enable our people to attain the ideals for which we have always struggled, namely, our constitution into a free and independent nation, with a democratic government of law and order, ready to be another instrument of democracy and universal progress."
On November 20, 1918, upon receipt of official notification of the signing of the armistice, the Philippine 304
INAUGURATION OF THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC
Maiolos-Barasoain, Bulacan, Janual'Y 23, 1899
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Legislature approved the following message to the President of the United States: Whereas the Chief Executive has just informed the legislature that it may take official cognizance of the termination of hostilities in Europe under the terms of the armistice laid down by the United States and her associated Governments; and Whe'reas said terms of the armistice are such as to insure the advent of peace: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senatf'. and Hottse of Rep'resentatives of the Philippines, assembled in joint session in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento, That a message of the most heartfelt congratulations be sent to the President of the United States for the brilliant success obtained by the United States in the terrible war just ended, together with the expressions of the confident expectation of the Filipino people that this victory of power shall be converted into the victory of right by the glorious realization of the great ideals of humanity, justice, and liberty and self-government enunciated and reiterated by President Wilson; Be it further resolved, That this body express, and does hereby express, the gratitude of the Filipino people to the United States for the part they were allowed to take in the most far-reaching enterprise ever undertaken by democracy, the first part of which, foug'ht in the field of arms, has successfully ended; Be it .finally resolved, That the Filipino people, which have unqualifiedly sided with the United States when the war was thrust upon her, hereby renew their adherence to the noble purposes sought in the war, and they place themselves again, as heretofore, at the pleasure of the American people, ready to eon tribute their modest but cordial and determined service in the forthcoming task of reconstruction and peace. The Filipino people believe that Providence, in choosing the American people as the leaders in this stupendous and immortal enterprise, has ordained in His high designs that through the complete development and application to all people, of the principles which have given birth to the United States the fruit of victory, gained at the cost of untold sacrifices, shall not have come to naught; that the world be made safe for democracy; that the rights and liberties of the small nations be forever secured and guaranteed; that the people desiring to be free be liberated and allowed to establish, without fear or hindrance, a government of their own choosing, and change it at will, when so demanded by their best interests; that the weak be not at the mercy of the strong;
305
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES and that the spirit of selfishness and domination be destroyed, and established in its place among all free men of the world, a new kingdom of constructive and equal justice, based upon foundations that will make it universal, secure, and permanent. And when all these things shall have been accomplished the universal belief shall have been confirmed, that the war which has happily ended has been fought in the interest of free humanity and the everlasting peace of the world.
In each and every one of these documents the sentiment of the Filipinos for their independence, a living sentiment, constant and ever-growing, is reflected. Neither the years that have passed nor the benefits received from the American Government have in any manner changed this sentiment. The Filipinos to-day, more than ever, believe that the time has come when the political relations between the two countries should be settled and adjusted with a view to a 'final solution. It is for this reason that the legislature enacted a law creating a committee on independence, charged with the duty of studying the means of and taking the necessary steps for' negotiating with the Government of the United States the terms of the independence of the Philippines. This committee has deemed it necessary to send to the United States a special mission, which is not a political body. The economic interests of the country predominate in it. Out of the 26 full-fledged members, 14 have no official connections, are not in active politics; 4 officially represent agricultural interests; 2 represent industrial interests; 4 represent commercial interests; 1 represents the Catholics of the country; 1 represents the laborers; 1, formerly a Resident Commissioner in Washington, is now a business man; and 1 represents the medical profession. These 14 men have official representation of the economic forces of the country, and they are all for the immediate independence of the Philippines. 306
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Nothing could better explain the present attitude of the the Filipinos and their determination to obtain their independence from the Government and people of the United States than the documents hereto appended, where the legislature defines the powers of the Philippine mission and states its duties. Respectfully submitted, L. QUEZON, President of the Philippine Senate, Chairman; RAFAEL PALMA, Secret(JffY of the Interior and Senator Fourth District (Mamila), Vic~-chairma:Y/,; DIONISIO JAKOSALEM, Secreta'ry of Commerce and Communications, membe1'; PEDRO M. SISON, Sena.tor Second District (Pwngasinan) , rrt,ember; V. SINGSON ENCARNACION, Sena.tor First District (!locos), member; RAFAEL ALUNAN, Representative (Occidental Negros) , majority floor leader, member; EMILIANO TRIA TIRONA, Representative (Cavite) , minority floor leader, member; GREGORIO NIEVA, Representative (Tayabas) , member; MARIANO ESCUETA, Representative (Bulacan) , member; MANUEL ESCUDERO, Representative (Sorsogon) , member; PEDRO AuNARIO, Representative (Mountain Province), member; PABLO OCAMPO, former Resident Commissioner fr01'lt the Philippines to the United States (1907-1909), member; FILEMON PEREZ, former Representative (Tayabas) , representing agricultural interests, member; JOSE REYES, former governor of Misamis, representing agricultural interests, member; DELFIN MAHINAY, former representative (Occidental N egros), represernting agricultural interests, member; CEFERINO DE LEON, former representative (Bulacan) , repre-
MANUEL
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES
senting agricultural interests, member,' JORGE Dean, College of Law, University of the Philippines, member,' TOMAS EARNSHAW, representing industrial interests, memberr; PEDRO GIL, representing industrial interests, member; MAURO PRIETO, representing commercial interests, mem~ ber; JUAN B. ALEGRE, representing commercial interests, member; CARLOS CUYUGAN, representing commercial interests, member; MARCOS ROCES, representing commercial interests, member; GREGORIO SINGIAN, Physician and Surgeon, member; GABRIEL LA 0, lawyer, member; CRISANTO EVANGELISTA, Labor Representative, member; JAIME C. DE VEYRA, Resident Commissioner from the Philippines in the United StGJtes, member exofficio; TE.ODORO R. YANGCO, Resident Commiss1;oner from the Philippines in the United States, member ex-offioio; QUINTIN PAREDES, AttorneyGeneral of the Philippine Islands, technical adviser; CONRADO BENITEZ, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, University of the Philippines, technical adviser; ENRIQUE ALTAVAS, chief of land registration office, technical adviser; CAMILO OSIAS, Assistant Director of Education, technical adviser; JOSE A. SANTOS, Assistant attorney-general, technical adviser,' JORGE B. VARGAS, major, Philippine National Guard, aid; ARSENIO N. Luz, editor uEl Ideal;" FRANCISCO VARONA, associate editor uEl Debate;" MAXIMO M. KALAW, assistant professor, University of the PhUippines, secretary. BOCOBO,
308
v INSTRUCTION OF THE COMMISSION OF INDEPENDENCE TO THE PHILIPPINE PARLIAMENTARY MISSION
(April 19, 1922) Gentlemen, in compliance with a resolution of the Philippine Legislature, the commission of independence is sending you to the United States to continue the work already begun for independence and to obtain from the people and Government of the United States the immediate recognition of the absolute and complete independence of our country. A resolution to this effect has been approved by the commission of independence, and is attached hereto. The mission shall bring before the P.resident and Congress of the United States this just demand of the Filipino people. The sacred promise made by the American people to grant us our independence as soon as a stable government could be established in our country should be without delay complied with. The Filipino people have not only demonstrated their capacity to establish a stable government but, in fact, such a government has already been established and has been functioning for a long time. Knowing as we do America's love for liberty and justice, and her respect for her given word, we are confident that our voice will no longer be ignored. It is not our purpose, neither is it the purpose of the Filipino people, to obtain independence by halves or independence which is not consecrated to the principle that the Filipino people shall be free to solve their domestic questions and determine their external relations. The necessity of discussing what guaranties should be established to insure the stability of the existence of an independent Philippine government seems to have vanished 309
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES as' a result of changes in international relations and the salutary effects of the disarmament conference, especially the ratification of the so-called four-power treaty relative to the problems of the Pacific. N either is it any longer necessary to dwell upon the progress of our country under the administration of Filipinos in accordance with the government authorized by the Jones law, because this progress has been in a great measure recognized in the report of the special mission sent to these islands last March by President Harding. There are reasons, however, why we shouTa question certain parts of the report of that special mission, especially those which refer to the stability of the present Philippine government. The second independence mission should be fully informed of the effects the extensive publicity given to that report has made upon American public opinion in general and upon their Government officials. It shall be the special care of the mission in the event that public opinion in America has been unfavorably impressed by the report to give out truthful and actual facts and describe the actual conditions in the islands as well as the satisfactory results obtained under the present government, together with the bright prospects which the future holds for the establishment of 路a government completely and absolutely independent. This second mission may consider itself fully authorized to organize and reorganize itself in the form that it may deem convenient, and, taking into account unforeseen difficulties and unfavorable circumstances, it is also authorized to detail, if it so deems convenient after the immediate work of the mission is accomplished, a portion of the delegation to remain in America to organize new publicity agencies or to extend those already in existence. The independence commission is aware of the enormous and various difficulties which will probably confront 310
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the work of the second mission to the United States. It is also aware of the complexity of the problem the mission has to solve and the circumstances it will have to contend with in order to obtain positive results. The commission hopes and is confident that the second mission will know how to meet whatever difficulties may arise and 路 will be equal to the occasion, sparing no efforts or time to achieve success. But if after having exhausted all the means within its power and command it fails to attain the object for which it has been sent or if in the course of its negotiations new aspects or questions present themselves which the mission tloes not deem within its province to solve and decide, it shall make a report and recommendation to this commission in order that new or additional instructions may be sent. The declaration of purposes and the instructions to the first Philippine mission of 1919 shall be taken as the principal guide for the work of the second mission. In complying, however, with those instructions as well as with the present the second mission shall consider itself authorized freely to act without embarrassment and in consonance with the spirit rather than the letter of said instructions and declaration of purposes, since the primordial object which actuates us in this great campaign is to secure the absolute, complete, and immediate independence of the Philippines.
311
VI FILIPINO ApPEAL FOR FREEDOM THE PHILIPPINE PARLIAMENTARY MISSION'S STATEMENT OF ACTUAL CONDITIONS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND A SUMMARY OF PHILIPPINE PROBLEMS PHILIPPINE PARLIAMENTARY MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES, JUNE 17, 1922
Hon. Manuel L. Quezon, president of the senate, chairman on the part of the senate. Hon. Sergio Osmefia, speaker house of representatives, chairman on the part of the house. Hon. Pedro Guevara, senator, chairman pro tempore on the part of t~e senate. Hon. Jose G. Generoso, representative, chairman pro tempore on the part of the house. Hon. Antero Soriano, senaltor, member. Hon. Santiago A. Fonacier, senator, member. Hon. Ceferino de Leon, senator, member. Hon. Teodoro Sandiko, senator, member. Hon. Guillermo F. Pablo, representative, member. Hon. Pedro Abad Santos, representative, member. Hon. Celestino Gallares, representative, member. Hon. Vicente Llanes, representative, member. Hon. Juan Nolasco, representative, member. Hon. Emilio P. Virata, representative, member. Hon. Proceso Sebastian, representative, member. Hon. Teodoro M. K;alaw, secretary of the interior, honorary member. Hon. Jorge B. Vargas, director of lands, secretary. Prof. Maximo M. Kalaw, dean, College of Liberal Arts, University of the Philippines, chairman of technical advisers. 312
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Mr. Wenceslao Trinidad, collector of internal revenue, technical adviser. Prof. Jorge Bocobo, dean, College of Law, University of the Philippines, technical adviser. Dr. Antonio G. Sison, professor, College of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Philippines, technical adviser. Mr. Arsenio N. Luz, ex-Philippine commercial agent, New York, technical adviser. Dr. Justo Lukban, ex-mayor city of Manila, technical adviser. Mr. Benito Razon, merchant, assistant secretary. Dr. Jose Albert, professor, College of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Philippines, physician. Mr. Ricardo Summers, clerk of Manila court of first instance, secretary to President Quezon. Mr. Francisco Zamora, private secretary to Speaker Osmefia. Mr. Pablo de Guia, bank examiner, disbursing officer. Mr. Carlos P. Romulo, assistant editor, the Philippines Herald, publicity agent. MEMORIAL TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES .:''''''''~.,-
With the deepest sense of loyalty and confidence in the American people, the Philippine Legislature has decided to send the present parliamentary mission to the United States. The mission brings a message of good-will and friendship from the Filipino people to the people of the United States, and is charged to resume the negotiations for the independence of the Philippines begun by the first mission sent in 1919. The people of the Philippine Islands yearn to see the fulfillment of their aspirations for national existence. This desire, always strong, has grown with every year. While 313
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES the great war was on they desisted from active agitation for independence, not because it had become less dear to them, but because they felt the broad issues of freedom and democracy for the world depended upon the outcome of that war, and because their loyalty and affection to the United States bade them lay aside for the moment their own cause for the sake of that which embraced all mankind. Realizing that the war ideals of America were their own, that the struggle for democracy and the rights of smaller peoples was also their own struggle, they placed all the resources of the islands at the disposal of the United States and offered their sons for the battle fields of Europe. As expressed by the then highest American representative in the Philippines, "Every sentiment, every impulse, every hope of the Filipinos was enlisted in the cause of the United States." THE FIRST PHILIPPINE MISSION
With the ending of the war the Filipino people felt that the principle for which they had contended had triumphed with the triumph of the Allies and the associated powers. With hopes renewed and faith strengthened, they resumed the work for their own cause. Hence, on March 8, 1919, the Philippine Legislature approved what was officially known as the "Declaration of purposes," which remains today an official authoritative pronouncement of the people on what should be their attitude toward, and relations with, the United States. The Philippine Legislature declared that the "stable government" required in the preamble of the Jones law as the only prerequisite to independence had already been established in the Philippines; hence "a full and final exchange of views between the United States of America and the Philippine Islands" was deemed necessary. The time had come for the fulfillment of the American pledge. The 314
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS first Philippine mission was asked to "convey to the Government of the United States the frankest assurances of the good-will, friendship, and gratitude of the Filipino people and to submit with as much respect as confidence the question of Philippine independence with a view to its final settlement." PRESIDENT WILSON'S RECOMMENDATION
When the first mission reached the United States, however, it found the American people and Government still absorbed in their international problems. The President was in Europe negotiating the treaty of Versailles; but realizing that the fulfillment of the American obligations toward the Philippines could not be delayed any longer, he requested the Secretary of War to receive the mission in his behalf and express~d the belief that the end was almost in sight of the work undertaken in the islands by Americans and Filipinos. Soon thereafter, when the American people and Government had been relieved of many of their pressing international burdens and distractions, the petition of the Philippine Legislature through the Philippine mission received the favorable indorsement of the administration in Washington. President Wilson, in his message to Congress on December 2, 1920, officially recognized the fulfillment of the only condition required of the Philippines as a prerequisite to a separate national existence--a stable government-and formally recommended the immediate granting of independence. He said: Allow me to call your attention to the fact that the people of the Philippine Islands have succeeded in maintaining a stable government since the last action of the Congress in their behalf, and have thus fulfilled the condition set by the Congress as precedent to a consideration of granting independence to the islands.
315
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES I respectfully submit that this condition precedent having been fulfilled, it is now our liberty and our duty to keep our' promise to the people of those islands by granting them the independence which they so honorably covet.
This recommendation was made after the highest representative of America in the Philippines, the Governor General, had officially certified both to Congress and to the President of the United States that a stable government had already been established in the islands. EVERYTHING
W AS READY FOR FULFILLMENT OF PROMISE
It is a fact, therefore, that immediately prior to the coming into power of the present administration the Philippine question was on the eve of solution. The solemn covenant, as the author of the Jones law had called it, between the American and the Filipino peoples was about to be fulfilled. The ~hilippine Legislature had declared that there was a stable government in the Philippines, and the highest Magistrate ([)f the United States and the American representative in the Philippines concurred in the view. We beg to submit that the last 15 months that have elapsed since the new administration has assumed office have not altered the situation. The same stable government exists. Contrary to what some may aver, the phrase "a stable government" does not convey a vague and indefinite condition. It has a specific and well-established meaning. The international relations of the United States for the last century and a half, especially her dealings with the South American countries, bear this statement out. President McKinley, in addressing the Cuban people, defined a stable government as one "capable of maintaining order and observing its international obligations, insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of its citizens as well as our own." It must be remembered that the term "stable government" in the Jones law had been adopted 316
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS directly from the American promises to the Cuban people. It can not, therefore, but have the same meaning. It is worth noting that recently a similar interpretation has been given to that phrase by the League of Nations. WOOD-FoRBES REPORT DOES NOT DENY STABLE GOVERNMENT
No American official, whether of the past or the present administration, has denied the statement of the Philippine Legislature, the certificate of the Governor General, and the finding of the President of the United States to the effect that we have established the "stable government" required by the Jones law, in accordance with the interpretation the universal usage has assigned to these words. Eve~ the report of the Wood-Forbes mission, which is unwarrantably severe and critical, does not deny this assertion. McKINLEY'S AND ROOT'S DEFINITION OF STABLE GOVERNMENT
There are apparently in President McKinley's estimate two main elements in a stable government--:-first, ability to maintain order and insure peace and tranquillity and the security of citizens; second, ability to observe international obligations. To those two elements Mr. Root in his instructions for the Cuban people added the following: It must rest upon the peaceful suffrages of the people and must contain constitutional limitations to protect the people from the arbitrary actions of the government. All these elements are to be found in the Philippines today. PRESENT PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT SATISFIED ALL CONDITIONS
It is admitted by the Wood-Forbes mission that order has been properly maintained and that our insular police or constabulary "has proved itself to be dependable and thoroughly efficient" (p. 23 of the report). The tranquillity 317
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES and security of the citizens are not jeopardized. "They are naturally an orderly and law-abiding people" (p. 19), said the report. As to obligations for international life, the WoodForbes mission recognizes that there are people in our service that would do credit to any government. "We find that the legislative chambers are conducted with dignity and decorum and are composed of representative men" (p. 45), observed the Wood-Forbes report. The Filipino people are by nature and tradition hospitable and courteous to foreigners. There has been no antiforeign agitation or outbreak. The business of foreigners has been amply protected and will continue to be so protected under an independent Philippines. During the shortlived Philippine Republic prisoners of war were treated according to the law of nations, and there was security for foreigners. ORDERLY ELECTIONS
The insular, provincial, and municipal governments of the Philippines rest on the free and peaceful suffrage of the people. The people elect members of the insular legislature, provincial governors, members of the provincial boards, municipal presidents, and members of the municipal councils. Speaking of the elections of 1919, the report said: Interest in the elections was widespread and election day passed without any serious disturbances. There was a general, quiet acceptance by the minority of the results of the popular vote * * * (p. 42).
The elections hel,d a few days ago, though vigorously contested, have again demonstrated the capacity of the Filipino people for the orderly exercise of popular franchise. 318
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTIES
The structure and workings of our government also conform to the standard defined by Mr. Root in that it is "subject to the limitations and safeguards which the experience of a constitutional government has shown to be necessary to the preservation of individual rights." The Filipino people fought for such constitutional safeguards during the Spanish regime. A modern bill of rights was inserted in the constitution of the Philippine Republic. Our present constitutional limitations and safeguards have been in operation since 1900, when President McKinley, in his instructions to the second Philippine Commission, set down as inviolable rules the fundamental provisions of the American Bill of Rights. These provisions, with slight modification, were later included in the organic act of 1902, ' and again set fort~ in the Jones law of 1916. For more than 20 years, thetefore, the Philippine government has been subject to constitutional practices. They are embedded in the political life of the people, and no matter what political change may occur in the Philippines they will find no material alteration. An impartial judiciary is there to enforce them. COMPETENT JUDICIARY
"The supreme court," said the Wood-Forbes report, "has the respect and confidence of the Filipino people" (p. 24). The courts of first instance, now mostly presided over by Filipinos ever since 1914, have maintained a standard which, in general, compares favorably with the State courts of the Union. From August 31, 1911, to September 1, 1913, during the last two years of Governor Forbes's administration, only 25.1 per cent of the decisions appealed from these courts were reversed by the supreme court. From March 3, 1919, to March 4, 1921, another period of two years with Filipinos in control, the percentage of re319
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES versals was decreased to 20.8 per cent. The number of cases disposed of by the courts of first instance from 1906 to 1913, inclusive, was as much as 82,528. The total number of cases disposed of for the same length of time, with Filipinos in control (1914 to 1921, inclusive), was 117,357, or an increase of 34,829, or 42 per cent. GENERAL PROGRESS
The last eight years, in which the Filipinos have been given a larger control of governmental affairs, have also seen a notable increase of the agencies of social and political progress, such as schools, roads, public buildings, hospitals, etc. In 1913, when the Filipino people had even less share in the government than they have now, there were enrolled in the public schools 440,050 pupils; in 1921 there were nearly a million (943,422). In 1913 there were only 2,934 public schools; in 1920 there were 5,944. In 1913 there were 2,171 kilometers of first-class roads in operation; in 1921 the figure was 4,698.8, in addition to about 5,000 kilometers of second-class roads. In 1913 there were no dispensaries where the poor could be given medical treatment; in 1921 there were over 800. In 1913 the appropriation for medical aid to the poor was P1,548,317.25; in 1921 the sum was P3,153,828. Social and economic progress has also been tremendous during this period. In 1913 there were hardly a dozen women's clubs; in 1921 there were 342 in active work. In 1913 the volume of Philippine commerce was only 1'202,171,484; in 1920 it swelled to 1'601,124,276. The cultivated area in 1913 was 2,361,483 hectares, as compared with 3,276,942 hectares in 1920-238.7 per cent increase. The present conditions in the Philippines, even as alleged in the Wood-Forbes report, compare favorably with those existing in many nations whose right to national sovereignty is not open to the least question. 320
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS These are incontrovertible facts which no impartial witness can deny. COMPLETE AND ABSOLUTE INDEPENDENCE DESmED
The present parliamentary mission in which all political parties of the Philippine Islands are represented-the two wings of the Nationalist Party, on the one hand, and the Democrata Party, on the other-has been sent by the Philippine Legislature to ask for immediate, complete, and absolute independence of the Philippines. This desire is not born of ingratitude toward the United States nor does it show lack of appreciation of the risks and dangers of international life. It is the logical outcome of more than 20 years of patient labors jointly undertaken by the Americans and Filipinos. The Filipino people firmly believe that the time has come when this question should be settled once for all. Further delay in the fulfillment of America's pledge contained in the Jones law will only result in injury to the best interests of both peoples. THE FAVORABLE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION
Three years ago the impreSSion of the members of the first Philippine mission was that the main objection in the minds of many Americans to the immediate independence of the Philippines was the danger of foreign aggression. While this is entirely outside of the question as to whether we have complied with the requirements of the Jones law, it may not be amiss to call the attention of those Americans to the great change in international affairs which has taken place since the visit of the last mission. THE WASHINGTON CONFERENCE
Wholesome relationship has especially been established in the Pacific area. The recent Washington conference has cleared away many doubts and misgivings. 321
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Surely, after that conference has been hailed the world over as a solid foundation for international peace, the United States can not, without showing lack of faith in her own work, now say that she will not grant independence to the Philippines for fear of foreign hostile designs. In the words of the President of the United States, that conference was calledto provide some means whereby just, thoughtful, righteous peoples, who are not seeking to seize something which does not belong to them, can live peaceably together and eliminate cause of conflict.
While the Filipino people realize that the international situation is not a necessary part of the condition prescribed in the Jones law as a prerequisite to independence, they crave the distinction of becoming the first nation to take advantage of the new order of things brought about by the Washington conference. IRELAND, EGYPT, AND INDIA
To the favorable international atmosphere may be added the fact that the first of colonial powers is already reversing her former policies. She has granted recognition of freedom and equality to peoples hitherto held as subjects and vassals. Egypt has regained her independence. The Irish people have been asked to enter into an agreement with England, looking to the establishment of a free State. Liberal institutions are now being established in India. TRIUMPH OF AMERICAN IDEALS
We see in all these events the gradual triumph of American ideals, especially of that fundamental American principle that declared that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. 822
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Hence we come to America in the full expectation that the United States can do no less than other nations have done to their dependencies; that she can not now refrain from practicing those principles which were initiated by her and followed by her sister nations; that she can not now refuse specific realization of those purposes and ideals, which found eloquent expression in her spokesmen both in times of war and in times of peaceful reconstruction; and that she will make the Filipino people a determining factor in the relationship that should exist between the United States and the only unincorporated and subject country now under the American flag. MISSION HAS FULL POWERS
We therefore submit our case with faith and confidence, frankly and without evasion. It is the case of the Filipino people whom in fact and in law we represent, for certainly under the present circumstances no other agency can speak or act with as much authority on what the Filipino people want or on Philippine conditions in general as their duly accredited representatives. That is the very essence of representative government. THE TIME FOR INDEPENDENCE Is THE PRESENT
We reiterate that the present is the time for the United States completely to discharge its obligations to the Philippines. The Filipino people have fulfilled their part in the covenant with America. Their relations with the United States are of the most cordial and friendly nature. If the independence of the Philippines could now be secured as an amicable agreement between the two peoples, nay, even as an act of magnanimity on the part of a sovereign power, how much would that mean for the peace of the world! How much more would that add to the prestige of the 323
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES United States when she again appears before the world as a champion of democracy and human liberty! Very respectfully, MANUEL L. QUEZON, chaiJrman on the part of the senate; Senators PEDRO GUEVARA, ANTERO SORIANO, CEFERINO DE LEON, SANTIAGO FONACIER, TEODORO SANDIKO. SERGIO OSMENA, chairman on the part of the house of representatives; Representatives JOSE G. GENEROSO, GUILLERMO F. PABLO, CELESTINO GALLARES, VICENTE LLANES, JUAN NOLASCO, EMILIO P. VIRATA, PROCESO SEBASTIAN, PEDRO ABAD SANTOS. TEODORO M. KALAW, honorary member; JORGE B. VARGAS, secretary of the mission. MAXIMO M. KALA w, technical adviser; WENCESLAO TRINIDAD, technical adviser; JORGE BOCOBO, technical adviser; ANTONIO G. SISON, technical adviser; ARSENIO N. Luz, technical adviJser; JUSTO LUKBAN, technical adviser. . ACTUAL CONDITIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
I.
GENERAL DATA AND PROGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES (1914-1921 ) AREA
There are 7,083 islands, ranging in size from the islet inhabited only by tropical birds to Luzon, with its million of people. The total land area of the Philippine Archipelago is 114,400 square miles. This is in excess of the combine areas of the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. It is 7,000 square miles less than the area of Great Britain. Luzon has 40,814 square miles; Mindanao has 36,906 square miles. N ext in order are Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, BohoI, and Masbate. 324
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS CLIMATE
The Philippine Islands have a mildly tropical climate. The nights are cool, and sunstrokes are unknown. The temperature record for the past 30 years shows an average of 80 Q• In April, May, and June, the hot months, the mean average is between 83 Qand 84Q. In November, December, January, and February, the cool months, the mean average is between 77Q and 79 Q. Baguio City, a summer resort, has a mean average maximum of 80Q and a minimum of 53 Q• The recorded death rate per 1,000 whites in Manila for 1917 was 8.8 as compared with 16.5 for New York, 15 for San Francisco, 14 for Chicago, 18 for Glasgow, and 22 for Belfast. POPULATION
The total popul~tion of the Philippines, according to the census of 1918, is 10,314,310, of which 10,250,273 are Filipinos. Out of this 9,381,357 are Christians and 932,953 are non-Christians of all varieties-Mohammedans, 372,464; Buddhists, 740; Pagans, 402,790; and the rest belonging to other religions. The following is the classification according to citizenship: Filipino ............................................ . 10,250,273 Chinese ............................................ . 43,802 Japanese ........................................... . 7,806 American · ........................................... . 5,774 Spanish ............................................ . 3,945 English ............................................ . 1,140 German ............................................ . 286 French ............................................. . 182 Swiss .............................................. . 125 Others ........................•...................... 977 Total ........ , .......................................................... . 10,314,310 325
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
The Philippine Islands are divided into 1,289 municipalities and municipal districts, which compose 48 Provinces, 11 special Provinces, and 2 chartered cities. LITERACY
Literacy in the Philippine Islands in 1918 was 49.2 per cent of population over 10 years of age; in Spain in 1910, 40.7 per cent; in Porto Rico in 1910, 35.5 per cent; in Siam in 1915, 11.7 per cent; and in British India in 1911, 5.9 per cent. Persons with academic degrees in the Philippine Islands, 9,428, or 2.9 per thousand. Male population of voting age, 2,061,753. Of this 53.3 per cent are qualified to vote according to the organic law. GOVERNMENTAL RiEFORMS SINCE
1913
(a) Abolishment of the appointive commissioners or upper house of the Philippine Legislature. (b) Reorganization of the executive departments, providing for appearance of cabinet members in legislature, regrouping bureaus and offices along scientific lines, and unifying their responsibilities. (c) Establishment of a budget system ahead of the United States. (d) More autonomy granted Provinces and municipalities. PRESENT GOVERNMENT
All expenses of the Philippine Government are borne by the Filipino people. The passage of the Jones Act by Congress in August, 1916, gave the Filipinos a very large share in their own government. With the exception of the offices of Governor General, vice governor, and insular auditor, all of 326
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the important executive and administrative offices in the islands are in the hands of native Filipinos. All members of both branches of the legislature are Filipinos, as are also the provincial and municipal officials. There has been established in the Philippines a stable government of, by, and for the Filipinos, a condition precedent to the granting of their independence. The time for America to fulfill its pledge has already come, and that time is now. JUDICIARY
The official records of the Supreme Court of the Philippines demonstrate that during the last two years preceding Filipino autonomy 25.1 per cent of the appealed decisions of the lower courts were reversed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, while during the last two years of Filipino control of the government the reversals were only 20.8 per cent, or nearly one-fourth less, erroneous decisions under Filipino self-government than before that time. In 1913 there were 12,000 pending cases disposed of, which in 1921 the number rose to 16,000, or an increase of one-third. From 1907 to 1913, for a period of seven years before Filipino autonomy, the average yearly number of decrees of titles to land issued by the Philippine courts was only 1,935, while from 1914 to 1920, seven years of Filipino self-government, the average yearly number was 12,396, or an increase of six times. EDUCATION
Education in the Philippines under Spanish system began with the early Spanish settlers. The University of Santo Tomas, in Manila, having today an attendance of over 700 students, is a quarter of a century older than Harvard .. 327
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES During the seven years preceding the appointment of a majority of Filipinos on the commission (1907-1913) P45,859,000 were spent for public education; in 1914-1920, P78,094,OOO were spent. In 1913 there .were only 2,934 public schools; in 1920 there were 5,944. In 1913 there were only 440,050 pupils; in 1921 there were nearly 1,000,000. SOCIAL WELFARE
The appropriation for medical aid to the poor in 1913 was P1,548,317; in 1921 the sum was P3,053,828. (b) In 1913 there were no dispensaries where the poor could be given medical treatment; in 1921 there were over 800. (c) In 1913 there were hardly 12 women's clubs; in 1921 there were 342. (a)
ROADS
In 1913 there were only 2,171.6 kilometers of firstclass roads, 2,034.3 kilometers of second-class roads, and 3,118.3 of third-class roads in operation; in 1921 there were 5,066.2 kilometers of first-class roads, 2,044.8 kilometers of second-class roads, and 3,036.6 of third-class roads. (1 kilometer equals five-eighths of a mile.) AGRICULTURE
The total number of farms is 1,925,276, and 96 per cent of them are owned by the Filipinos. Ninety-one per cent of the urban property (consisting of houses and lands) is owned by Filipinos. The cultivated area in 1920 was 3,276,942 hectares, as compared with 2,361,483 in 1913, or 38.7 per cent increase. 328
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS COMMERCE
In 1913 the total foreign commerce was only P202,171,484; in 1920 the sum was P601,124,278. In 1913 the imports from the United States were about 50 per cent of the total imports of the Philippine Islands. Since that time gradual increase was recorded to the extent that in 1920 our imports from the United States represent 70 per cent of the total imports. REAL PROPERTY
Since 1913 the number of parcels of taxable property in the regular provinces has an increase of 1,700,000, or more than 100 per cent increase. The volume of real properties subject to taxation has also an increase of over P800,000,000, or about 280 per cent increase. II.
BRIEF HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION PRE-SPANISH PHILIPPINES
It is difficult to know the actual conditions of the Philippines without some reference to her past. The preSpanish history of the Philippines is still shrouded in mystery. However, there are several outstanding facts which prove that while the islands might have been a part at some time or other of some Indian or Malayan empires, their connections were slight. They retained a great deal of the qualities of independent communities. One American investigator, Prof. Austin Craig, of the University of the Philippines, claims that a veritable native imperial family reigned in the islands before their discovery by Magellan in 1521, and that the first Spanish colonizers simply dest~oyed all records of such Philippine dynasty so as to facilitate the conquest of the archipelago. 329
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC
Filipino dissatisfaction with Spanish misrule was shown by more than a hundred revolutions which, according to the same American professor, occurred in the Philippines during the Spanish regime. We may mention the most important of them, the revolt of 1896-1898. The last part of that revolution was held under the very eyes and with the help of American officials. It extended throughout the entire Philippines, having wrested from Spanish hands 路 practically every foot of Philippine territory except Manila, which was in the hands of the Americans. It set up the first r~public in the Far East based on a constitutional government. The Philippine republic has merited the commendation of such prominent Republicans as the late Senator Hoar and John Barrett, ex-director of the Pan American Union. The end of the republic was brought about by the Filipino-A.merican war, which lasted for three years. It was, naturally, a one-sided struggle, but it was a struggle which showed-the firmness and the desire of the Filipino people for an independent existence. They wanted an independent republic. Had the Filipino people received assurances that America would ultimately free them, the war would have been avoided. INDEPENDENCE ASPIRATIONS
Defeated, the Filipino people laid down their arms determined that what they had failed to gain in war they would secure through the justice, magnanimity, and square dealing of the American people. They then began their campaign for independence with peaceful means. They accepted American government, anxious to prove to the American people not only their political capacity but their untiring desire to be free. At first the independence movement was not an organized one, because in the early years 330
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS of American occupation a law had been passed by the Philippine Commission which practically prohibited all agitation for independence. The only political party which could very well exist under these conditions was the Federal Party, which advocated statehood and permanent annexation to the United States. This party, however, soon saw the unpopularity of its stand, for it could not find supporters either in the Philippines or in the United States, and so as soon as conditions permitted the advocacy of separation it left out the statehood plan and advocated independence after a period of preparation. In the meanwhile a strong independence party had been formed called the N acionalista Party, and at the first national election to the Pliilippine Assembly in 1907 this party won popular favor. If there was any doubt as to the attitude of the Filipino people on independence this was dispelled by the action of the Philippine Assembly, the first national representative body to be convoked following American occupation. At the end of the first session this representative body unanimously ratified the closing address of Speaker Osmeiia on the question of independence. The speaker, in part, had said: Permit me, gentlemen of the chamber, to declare solemnly before God and before the world, upon my conscience as a deputy and representative of my compatriots, and under my responsibility as president of this chamber, that we believe the people desire independence, and that we believe ourselves capable of leading an orderly existence, efficient both in internal and external affairs, as a member of the free and civilized nations.
By virtue of the Philippine bill passed by Congress in 1902 the Philippine Assembly was allowed to send a representative to Washington to voice the aspirations of the Filipino ,people. In 1907 the Hon. Pablo Ocampo was sent to Washington as Resident Commissioner, who, in pur331
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES suance of the mandate of the assembly, advocated the independence of the Philippines. His successors, especially the Hon. Manuel L. Quezon, who was Resident Commissioner from 1909 to 1916, continued with vigor the campaign for independence in the United States. EARLY AMERICAN POLICY TOWARD THE PHILIPPINES
America, on the other hand, soon announced a policy of attraction. She adopted the policy of extending step by step the governmental powers to the Filipino people. President McKinley, the man most responsible for the acquisition of the Philippines, said in the very beginning of American occupation: The Philippi es are ours, not to exploit but to develop, to civilize, to educate, to train in the science of self-government.
In his instructions to the first Philippine Commission on the 20th of January, 1899, he expressed the hope that the commissioners would be received as bearers of "the richest blessings of a liberating rather than a conquering nation." Doctor Schurman, president of the first Philippine Commission, construed the American policy to meanEver increasing liberty and self-government * * * and it is the nature of such continuously expanding liberty to issue in independence.
President Taft, while civil governor of the Philippine Islands, on the 17th of December, 1903, said: From the beginning to the end of the state papers which were circulated in these islands as authoritative expressions of the Executive the motto that "the Philippines are for the Filipinos and that the Government of the United States is here for the purpose of preserving the Philippines for the Filipinos," for their benefit, for their elevation, for their civilization, again and again appear * * *. Whether an autonomy or independence or quasi independence shall ultimately follow in these islands ought to depend solely on the question: Is it best for the Filipino people and their welfare? 332
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS When Mr. Taft was Secretary of War in April, 1904, in the course of a speech upon the Philippines he said: When they-the Filipinos-have learned the principles of successful popular self-government from a gradually enlarged experil"nce therein we can discuss the question whether independence is what they desire and grant it or whether they prefer the retention of a closer association with the country which, by its guidance, has unselfishly led them on to better conditions.
In 1908, after the Philippine Assembly had been opened, President Roosevelt, in his message to Congress, said: I trust路 that within a generation the time will arrive when the Filipinos can decide for themselves whether it is well for them to become independent or to continue under the protection of a strong and disinterested power, able to guarantee to the islands order at home and '-protection from foreign invasion.
President Wilson, in a message to the Filipino people delivered by Governor Harrison in Manila, October 6, 1913, said: We regard ourselves as trustees acting not for the advantage of the United States, but for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands. Every step we take will be taken with a view to the ultimate independence of the islands and as a preparation for that independence.
And in his message to Congress on December 2, 1913, the President said: By their counsel and experience rather than by our own we shall learn how best to serve them and how soon it will be possible and wise to withdraw our supervision. THE JONES LAW AND ITS PROMISE
In 1911 the Democratic Party, which had advocated independence, secured control of the American House of Representatives, and the following year the chairman of the Committee on Insular Affair~, Congressman William 333
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Atkinson Jones, reported a bill providing for a qualified independence within eight years and for complete independence in 1921. In 1914 a bill was passed by the House of Representatives providing for independence as soon as a stable government could be established in the islands. The bill, however, was crowded out of the calendar in the Senate and failed to be passed. The independence movement was constantly gaining ground, and two years afterwards, in February, 1916, when Congress again took up the Philippine question, the Senate passed the so-called Clarke amendment, which would grant the Philippines independence within four years, although the time might be extended upon the advice of the President to Congress. It was contended in the House of Representatives, however, that it would be unwis'e to set a definite date for independence, for nobody knew what the situation would be at the time. What the House did was simply to repass the Jones bill it had passed in 1914. The Senate receded from its position and passed the House bill, which thus became the formal pledge of the American people to the Filipino people. The title of the Jones law is "An act to declare the purpose of the people of the United States as to the future political status of the people of the Philippine Islands, and to provide a more autonomous government for those islands." The declaration of purpose is contained in the following preamble: Whereas it was never the intention of the people of the United States in the incipiency of the War with Spain to make it a war of conquest or for territorial aggrandizement; and Whereas it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein; and Whereas, for the speedy accomplishment of such purpose, it is desirable to place in the hands of the people of the Philippines as large a control of their domestic affairs as can be given them with334
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS out in the meantime impairing the exercise of the rights of sovereignty by the people of the United States in order that by the use and exercise of popular franchise and governmental powers they may be the better prepared to fully assume the responsibilities and enjoy all the privileges of complete independence: Therefore * . * *.
The Jones law was received by the Filipino people as the real pledge of the American people, for the other statements of American Presidents were mere executive opinion not necessarily binding on the United States. The Jones law has become a virtual constitutional compact between the American and Filipino peoples, by means of which the Filipinos have accepted a temporary government under American sovereignty, subject to the conditions: First, that it shall be autonomous, or chiefly in the hands of Filipinos; second, that American sovereignty shall not now be impaired; and, third, that it shall be only preparatory to a complete independence, such independence to be granted "when a stable government can be established in the islands." It is, to quote the words of its author, the late Congressman Jones, "the everlasting covenant of a great and generous people, speaking through their accredited representatives, that they (the Filipinos) shall in due time enjoy the incomparable blessings of liberty and freedom." FILIPINO COOPERATION DURING THE WAR
After the passage of the Jones law the Filipino people began the establishment of the stable government demanded by Congress as prerequisite to the granting of independence. Shortly afterwards the United States entered the war and immediately all agitation for independence ceased. It was deemed that an independence campaign during the war might embarrass the United States. The Filipinos responded to the confidence reposed in them by the Government of the United States by themselves 335
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES offering the service of 25,000 men. The Filipino people contributed a submarine and a destroyer to the fleet of the United States, and 6,000 of their men served in the United States Navy as volunteers. Four thousand Filipinos in Hawaii, who could have claimed exemption from the draft under the citizenship clause of the draft law, insisted on being enrolled under the Stars and Stripes. With the limited resources of the Philippines, poor as the Filipino people are, compared with the United States, with the aid of American residents in the islands, they gave half a million dollars to Red Cross funds and subscribed nearly $20,000,000 for Liberty bonds. The Philippine allotment to the third Liberty loan was only $3,000,000, but $4,625,000 was subscribed. The allotment to the Fourth Liberty loan was $6,000,000, but $12,123,000 was subscribed. "N 0 other American territory," said Governor General Harrison, "has been more loyal to the United States than the Philippines." Upon the ending of hostilities in Europe the final adjustment of the Philippine independence question became the topic of political discussion in the Philippines. It was thought that the time ~ad come, now that the United States had ended its war with Germany to take up the Philippine question for its final definite solution. THE DECLARATION OF PURPOSES
On March 17, 1919, the Philippine Legislature passed the "Declaration of purposes," which officially stated the attitude of the Filipino people on this vital problem. It was the authoritative voice of the Filipino people addressing the United States and the world. What the Filipino people said in this declaration of purposes was, briefly, that the time had come for the final and definite adjustment of the independence question. They reiterated their firm belief in the good faith of the American people in extending the blessings of self-government 336
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS and holding out generous promises of independence. They referred to the Jones law as a veritable pact or covenant entered into between the American and Filipino peoples whereby the United States promised to recognize the independence of the Philippines as soon as a stable government should be established in the Philippines. They then solemnly stated that they had already performed their part of the covenant with America, that there is now a stable government in the Philippines satisfying the conditions of stability required by the United States of other countries, and that therefore it was now for the American people to perform their part of the covenant. The declaration of purposes read: The Philippine question has reached such a stage that a full and final exchange of views between the United States of America and the Philippine Islands has become necessary. We need not repeat the declarations respecting the national aspirations of the Filipino people. Such declarations have been made from time to time in the most frank and solemn manner by the constitutional representatives of the Philippine nation and are a mattel路 of permanent record in public documents covering more than a decade of persistent efforts, particularly during the last three years. America, on her part, has been sufficiently explicit in her purposes from the beginning of her occupation of the Philippines. * * * In applying the principles enunciated in documents and utterances on the Philippines to the conditions now existing in the islands, the Independence Commission will find the following facts: That there exists at present in the Philippine Islands the conditions of order and government which America has for nearly a century and a half required in all cases in which she has recognized the independence of a country or the establishment of a new government, not even excepting the case of General Huerta's government in Mexico, which she refused to recognize because it was stained with blood and founded on intrigue, violence, and crime. That there exist likewise in the Philippines all the conditions of stability ancl guaranties for law and order that Cuba had to establish to the satisfaction of America in order to obtain her independence, or to preserve it, during the military occupation of 1898-1903 and during the intervention of 1906-1909, respectively. 337
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES That the "preparation for independence" and the "stable government" required by President Wilson and the Congress of the United States, respectively, contain no new requisite not included in any of the cases above cited. That these prerequisites for Philippine independence are the same as those virtually or expressly established by the Republican administrations that preceded President Wilson's administration. Therefore, so far as it is humanly possible to judge and say, we can see only one aim for the Independence Commission, independence; and we can give only one instruction, to get it. Thus America, in adding another glory to her banner by establishing the first really democratic republic in the east, will apply a second time, generously and freely, the same measure of humanity and justice that she applied in the case of Cuba.
The representative of the American Government in the Philippines who supervised the establishment of the Government under the Jones law, Governor General Harrison, has concurred in the claim of the Philippine Legislature as to a stable government. He reported to Congress through the joint committees which heard the Philippine mission that there was already in the Philippine Islands the stable Government demanded by Congress, namely, "a government elected by the suffrages of the people, which is supported by the people, which is capable of maintaining order and of fulfilling its international obligations." President Wilson in his farewell message to Congress officially certified that the Filipino people have already performed the condition imposed upon them as a prerequisite to independence and recommended the immediate granting of independence. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE
J ONES
LAW
The coming of the Republican Party does not alter the constitutional position of the Filipino people. The Republican Party is just as much responsible for the present independence policy as the Democratic Party . . 338
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS While the Jones law was passed during a Democratic administration, the fundamental policy it sets forth-the establishment of a stable government as a prerequisite to independence-is eminently a national policy. It was the condition imposed by American Presidents upon the struggling peoples of South America. It was the policy of Presidents Grant and McKinley. It was President Grant who as early as 1875 expressed the idea that as soon as the Cuban people had set up a stable government their independence would be recognized. This policy was supported by President McKinley. When he urged Congress to declare war on Spain to liberate Cuba he definitely stated that as soon as the Cuban people had established in the island "a stable government, capable of maintaining order and observing its international obligations, insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of the citizens as well as our own," Cuban independence would be recognized. The Cuban people were told by the Secretary of War, Mr. Root, through the military governor, Gen. Leonard Wood, to 'establish "a stable, orderly, and free government"; and as soon as this was done, as soon as the Cuban people had elected its officers and established a government capable of maintaining order and fulfilling international obligations, then it was declared that there was a stable government in Cuba and American sovereignty was withdrawn. The Democrats simply adopted the Republican policy for the recognition of Cuban independence and applied it to the Philippines. The phrase "stable government" was first used in the Democratic platform in 1900 drafted by Mr. Bryan. That platform read, in part, as follows: We favor an immediate declaration of the Nation's purpose to give the Filipinos, first, a stable government; second, independence; and, third, protection from outside interference.
Mr. Bryan confessed that he just borrowed that policy from the Republican record in Cuba, and in accepting the 339
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES nomination for the Presidency he declared that if elected he would recommend to Congress the establishment of "a stable form of government in the islands, just as we are now establishing a stable form of government in Cuba," and the granting of independence "to the Filipinos, as we have pro路mised to give independence to the Cubans." That policy has been carried in practically every Democratic platform since 1900 until it was, with the help of the Republicans themselves, as we have seen, inserted in the Jones law in 1916. The Filipino people, on the other hand, remain firm in their decisive attitude on the Philippine question. All political parties are committed to the immediate, complete, and absolute independence of the Philippines. The declaration of purposes has been ratified by every subsequent legislature, and hence 'it continues to be the great independence charter of the people. It is the guide of the present Philippine P~,rliamentary Mission. THE GOVERNMENTAL STEPS TAKEN
In obedience to the administrative policy extending governmental powers to the people, liberal steps were taken from time to time. At first municipal governments were established in the islands; then came provincial governments. The Filipinos were also given initial participation in the central government with the appointment of Filipino members in the commission and in the supreme court. In 1907 an elective assembly was convened to participate in lawmaking. With the coming of the Democratic Party into power, this policy of extending self-government was more rapidly pursued. In October, 1913, President Wilson appointed a majority of Filipinos on the commission. With the control of the Filipinos in the two branches of the legislature, the upper house having both legislative and executive duties, 340
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS a substantial amount of autonomy may be said to have been established in the Philippine Islands. After three years of experiment with a Filipino-controlled legislature, another more decisive step was taken in the direction of self-government. This was the enactment of the Jones law, often called "the Philippine autonomy act," in 1916. The Jones law is the culmination of the different steps taken by the American Government from the time of President McKinley, when he enunciated the policy of teaching the Filipinos the science of self-government. It gave the Filipinos an elective senate, thus completing t4eir control of legislation, subject to the Governor General's veto power. It also authorized the Philippine Legislature to reorganize all the executive departments, with the result that today all the political offices, with the exception of the Governor General and the Vice Governor, are in the hands of the Filipinos. But the Jones law, as we have seen, did not only extend in a very large measure the autonomy of the Filipinos but also contains in its preamble the solemn promise of independence. The following statement of conditions chiefly relates to the period covering the years 1914 to 1921, inclusive, in which the direction of governmental affairs was chiefly left to the Filipinos: III.
GOVERNMENTAL REF'ORMS
(A) THE ABOLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION
When the American Government decided for the first time to try the experiment of colonial government in the Philippine Islands, they had no light to guide them save the experience of those European nations which had colonies in far eastern Asia. Ignorant of the Philippine conditions, the American statesmen at first thought that the problem of governing the islands was similar to the task of the 341
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES European powers in governing their neighbors--Java, the Malay States, and India. Their first idea was, therefore, to study the colonial systems of these countries. One of the first public documents printed by the American Congress in 1899, accompanying the treaty of Paris, was devoted to the study of the colonial systems of the Orient for their application in the Philippines. But upon a closer observation of Philippine conditions they found that the principles of European colonization would not work in the islands not only because American aims were more altruistic but because political conditions were entirely different. Roughly, colonial government in our neighboring countries is based on the existence of native rulers, rajahs or princes, whose authority has been for centuries recognized by the natives themselves. Apparently and ceremoniously the native princes still rule, but in reality it is their respective European "adviset$" or "resident generals" who are the actual rulers. Instead of establishing a new form of government; abolishing the rajahs and native rulers, the Dutch and the English simply improved the native institutions, using these same rulers as instrumentalities through which to impose their own will. Now these conditions do not exist, and have not existed in the Philippines for more than 200 years. The greatest political service of Spain to the Philippines was the abolishment of this native system of government and the extinction of royal or princely families. The establishment of Christianity in the islands sowed the first seeds of equality and democracy, and the centuries of Spanish domination completely effaced from the Christian population all blood and family distinction. Upon the coming of the Americans the Philippines had at least a system of local government by suffrage, however defective and limited in practice it was. The work of propaganda for reforms in Spain had brought to the 342
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS front national leaders, recognized by all the Christian Filipinos not for their princely blood, for they had none, but for their unquestioned ability. The leadership and martyrdom of our national hero, Jose Rizal, was a proof that the Filipinos could look at some one man as a national guide and inspiration. They had long discarded the tribal conception of social organization. The establishment of a Philippine Republic and the subsequent war with the United States made it even more apparent that the people could establish a national government after the occidental type. It was for these reasons that the American statesmen who had been stUdying the governmental forms of Java and the Malay States desisted from their original idea of applying this type of government in the Philippines. There was a potential democracy in the islands. Without belittling what America has done for the Philippines, there is no getting away from the fact that the progress toward democracy in the Philippines has been due mainly to the materials that America found there. This made America's task a great deal easier. That was why even the early military governors of the Philippines found no difficulty in continuing to a large extent the municipal government of the island, giving it a larger autonomy. The first local elections in the Philippines took place under the supervision of military officers. After the extension of municipal autonomy came the establishment of provincial government under a board composed of an elective governor and two other provincial officials appointed by the Governor General. Following the popular demand, the provincial government was again changed, and complete provincial autonomy was given under a provincial board totally elected by the people. The Congress of the United States, in passmg the organic act of 1902, decided to call a national assembly in 1907 to participate in the national lawmaking. Being the only representative governmental organ, this as343
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES sembly became the exponent of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people. It typified all the ideals of the people, and every step toward a more liberal form of government was advocated and fought for by that body, It insisted that, being the popular body, it should initiate all appropriation bills. It also fought for the control of the Resident Commissioners in the United States. The law provided that the two representatives in Washington should be elected by the two houses, but inasmuch as the intention was to send representatives of the Filipino people and not of the administration and because the upper house was controlled by Americans the assembly argued that it should have the final say as to the choice of these men. There were continuous conflicts on other governmental matters between the lower house and the appointive commission. Deadlocks were constant on the appropriation bills, the representatives of the people being solidly opposed to the financial policies of the American-controlled upper house. The provision in the law to the effect that in case of such deadlocks the total sum of the previous appropriation law would, upon the advice of the Governor General, be considered a.ppropriated for the ensuing year left the popular chamber with very little financial power. Add to this the fact that the upper house, or the Philippine Commission, had exclusive jurisdiction over the non-Christian parts of the archipelago, almost one-third of the total area of the islands, and we may know just how much power the assembly had. The government then established, the mixture of a representative institution and an irresponsible executive and administration, was hence very unsatisfactory. That type of government has failed wherever it has been established. It failed in the early English colonies, where, as in the Philippines, the lower house became the stronghold of the people and the governor and his council the representatives of the Crown. It failed in Canada, where because 344
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS of threatened separation from the mother country the system had to be completely abolished and a responsible government established, a government wherein not only the lower house is subject to the people's call but also one in which the chief executive merely acts as a passive and ceremonial figure, leaving all governmental affairs in the hands of a select body, the cabinet, responsible to the people or their representatives. The defect of the system, noticeable even after a majority of Filipinos had been given control of the upper house, was one of the reasons which led the Congress of the United States in 1916 to enact the Jones law, abolishing the commission and establishing the senate in its stead, and giving the Philippine Legislature power to reorganize the executive departments. (B) THE REORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS
There were several reasons why the reorganization of the executive departments was imperative. In the first place, the Jones law authorizes such reorganization, and it was necessary to ratify in the statute books of the Philippines the new executive power granted to Filipinos to make the departmental secretaries responsible to the legislature. In the second place, it was urgent that there be a more logical and scientific regrouping of bureaus and offices. This need had long been felt even before the passage of the Jones law, and for that purpose the emergency board provided in the Philippine appropriation law of 1915 was authoriz~d to act as an efficiency board "to investigate and analyze as minutely as possible the organization of the bureaus of the insular government for the purpose of determining the utility of each of them, the possibility of their improvement by eliminating all duplication of work * * * and in general indicating such changes in the direction and 345
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES organization of the bureaus as will tend to simplify the system of work followed and result in economy and increased efficiency." In the third place, it was necessary to provide for a harmonious action and cooperation between the executive heads and the legislature. And, in the fourth place, it was felt that the new department heads should have more authority and power over the offices and bureaus under them. These were on the whole the problems which were met by the reorganization act. The reorganization act, as finally passed (Act No. 2666, as amel!ded by Act No. 2803 and incorporated as Chapter V in the Administrative Code) provides several means whereby the responsibility of the executive heads to the legislature can be effected. The secretaries of departments, excepting the secretary I of public instruction, are appointed at the beginning of each legislature and with the consent of the Philippine Senate instead of for good behavior as before. This, by inference, means that the executive heads are to be appointed after each triennial election, and that they are to be chosen in obedience to the popular will as expressed in such election. Members of the legislature can become at the same time cabinet heads. It is true, however, that because of the provision of the Jones law prohibiting members of the legislature from occupying positions created by them, no cabinet post was open to a member of the legislature except the secretaryship of the interior, and this was later filled by a senator; but in the subsequent elections all the cabinet posts, if deemed necessary, could be filled by legislative members. Secretaries of departments may be called by either of the two houses of the legislature for the purpose of reporting on matters pertaining to their departments. The importance of this should not be overlooked. As expressed by Senator Palma, this provision "may not look like very much on paper, but in reality it signifies a 346
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS great deal. The department heads will not only have to give the information required of them, but being often subjected to minute interrogation they will have to explain and defend their official acts. If the houses can demand of them that they give an account of their official acts, they are responsible to the houses, though ultimately responsible to the Governor General." Acts 222 and 1407 of the Philippine Commission, which were responsible for the organization of the executive departments up to 1916, left a great deal to be desired in the way of a logical and scientific arrangement of bureaus. The departments, as created by the first act, were denominated the department of the interior, department of commerce and police, department of finance and justice, and department of public instruction. Senator Palma said: The mere mention of the names given to these departments shows that organization to be theoretically defective. No country in the civilized world has organized a department of commerce and police, because commerce and police involve completely contrary and antagonistic ideas. The commerce is essentially pacific, while the police is essentially warlike. Nor is it good logic to join finance and justice, because, as the chairman of the select committee which has had this bill under examination said very well yesterday, finance and justice do not imply homogeneous ideas nor do they include identical functions; on the contrary, our experience leads us to affirm that the jurist does not always have a thorough knowledge of finance, but that in the majority of cases lawyers are the poorest financiers of the world, at least so far as the management of their own interests is concerned. Act No. 1407 reorganized the departments and bureaus and offices of the government, abolishing certain bureaus and offices and creating others in their stead. This organization was not better than the previous one, because under it bureaus whose activities were very dissimilar were kept in the same department. In the department of the interior the bureau of health remained side by side with that of lands, and the bureau of agriculture with that of quarantine service. In the department 347
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES of commerce and police the constabulary continued side by side with the bureau of public works, and the bureau of posts together with that of port works. The department of finance and justice still performed its legal functions at the same time as the work of collecting customs dues and internal-revenue taxes. The department of public instruction continued to solve educational problems and have charge at the same time of the bureaus of supply and printing, a rare combination, indeed.
In the reorganization of the departments the plan of the efficiency board was cp,iefly followed. Instead of the old four departments, there were to be six departments, to correspond to "the six principal purposes which a fairly well-organized government has to accomplish," to wit: (1) The political direction of the various local administrative units, such as departments, provincial and municipal governments, and special governments (the- department of the interior); (2) T~e guardianship of the State over the mental development and physical welfare of the citizens (the department of public instruction) ; (3) The collection of the public revenues and administration of the finances and business of the government (the department of financ~); (4) The enforcement of the law and maintenance of order and safeguarding of the citizens and their rights (the department of justice) ; , (5) The guardianship in connection with the preservation of the natural resources and the development of its sources of wealth (the department of agriculture and natural resources); and (6) The carrying out of such work and services as can not be performed _by private citizens, conducive to the common welfare and public pro-sperity (the department of commerce and communications).
We have stated that the fourth reason 'for the reorganization Was to give greater control and power to the department heads. Heretofore each bureau was almost a department by, itself. It used to send its estimates dire.ctly to the legislature, through the executive secretary, and the department head had almost nothing to do with it. It had 348
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS great power of making regulations. The control of the department head was very slight. The reorganization act, therefore, as amended by Act No. 2803 (sec. 79-c of the Administrative Code), provides that the department head shall have direct control, direction, and supervision over all bureaus and offices under his jurisdiction, and may, any provision of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, repeal or modify the decisions of the chiefs of said bureaus or offices when advisable in the public interest. Even in the matters of appointment and removal and the enactment of regulations the department head has been given control. He has the power "to promulgate all rules, regulations, orders, circulars, memorandums, and other instructions" for the "proper working and harmonious and efficient administration of each and all of the offices and dependencies of his department." Chiefs of bureaus can promulgate circulars of information or instructions only upon authorization by the department head. The department head also, upon the recommendation of the chief of the bureau or office, has the power to appoint all subordinate officers and employees whose appointment is not expressly vested by law in the Governor General. He may remove or punish them, except as especially provided otherwise in accordance with the civil service law. The department head also may change the distribution of the employees or subordinates among the several bureaus and offices. Under the former executive organization the Governor General was a department :secretary himself and had under his control the executive bureau, besides the bureau of audits and the bureau of civil service. Under the new law the executive bureau was transferred to the department of the interior with the provision that the foreign correspondence and the giving of passports would be retained in the Governor General's office. 349
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES All executive functions of the Philippine government, as provided by the Jones law, are subject to the supervision and control of the Governor General, and it was through liberal interpretation on the part of Governor Harrison that a great deal of the control and supervision of the department was delegated to the other department heads. Section 74 of the Administrative Code as amended states, after a repetition of the Governor's ultimate and supreme executive power, that "the departments are established for the proper distribution of the work of the executive, for the performance of the functions expressly assigned to them by law, and in order that each branch of the administration may have a chief responsible for its direction and policy. Each department secretary shall assume the burden and responsibility of all activities of the government under his control and supervision." There is in each department an undersecretary to aid the secretary of the department in the performance of his duties. The undersecretary holds his office during good behavior, for unlike the secretaryship there is no provision for a periodic renewal. He performs the duties of the secretary in the latter's absence. Upon the inability of both the secretary and the undersecretary to act, the Governor General may temporarily designate a secretary or undersecretary of another department to perform the duties. Besides the six regular departments of the government for administrative purposes, there are four other officials who have departmental authority over the offices under them. They are the Governor General, who has departmental authority over the bureau of audits, the bureau of civil service, and over all other offices and branches of the service not assigned by law to any department; the president of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives, who are department heads for the officers and 350
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS employees of the senate and house, respectively; and the chief justice of the supreme court, who is the department head of employees in the supreme court. The following are the bureaus and offices under their corresponding departments: Office of the Governor General: Bureau of audits, bureau of civil service, Philippine National Guard. Department of the interior: Bureau of non-Christian tribes, Philippine General Hospital, board of pharmaceutical examiners and inspectors, boards of medical, dental, and optical examiners, board of examiners for nurses, executive bureau, Philippine Constabulary, commissioner of public welfare, cities of Manila and Baguio. Department of public instruction: Bureau of education, Philippine health service, bureau of quarantine service. Department of finance: Bureau of customs, bureau of internal revenue, bureau of 't he treasury, mint of the Philippine Islands, bureau of printing. Department of justice: Bureau of justice, courts of first instance and inferior courts, general land registration office, public utility commission, Philippine Library and Museum, bureau of prisons. ,Department of agriculture and natural resources: Bureau of agriculture, agricultural colonies, bureau of forestry, bureau of lands, bureau of science, weather bureau. Department of commerce and communications: Bureau of public works, bureau of posts, bureau of supply, bureau of commerce and industry, bureau of labor, bureau of coast and geodetic survey. The heads of the six departments constitute the cabinet. Formerly, by an executive order of the Governor General, it acted as his advisory board. It met once a week for the discussion of departmental measures. With the 351
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES creation, however, of the council of state the cabinet as a unit ceased to act as an advisory body of the Governor General. (C) THE COUNCIL OF STATE
The intent and spirit of the Jones law is to grant the Filipino people the largest amount of self-government compatible with American sovereignty and to create a government in which the "counsel and experience" of the people will play the greater part. Now, what are the means or instrumentalities by means of which the Filipinos as a people can exercise that power of self-government and can give their "counsel" in the government of their country? Heretofore. when there was only one governmental organ responsible to the Filipinos, the Philippine Assembly, everybody looked to this organization as the faithful exponent of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people. It represented the national "counsel" of the people. Its speaker was considered the most prominent Filipino official, for he exhibited the double representation of his district and of the entire assembly. The Filipino people looked to the speaker for the success or failure of any part they were taking in the government. Under the Jones law two other factors or instrumentalities of government were given to the Filipinos: To the lower elective house was added an elective senate, and the Philippine Legislature was given the power to reorganize the executive departments, with the exception of the department of public instruction. This latter provision has been interpreted as meaning that henceforward all the heads of departments should be Filipinos with the exception of the secretary of public instruction. If the new autonomy meant anything, it was that these three organs of government-the lower house, the upper house, and the Filipino 352
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS executive heads-should be responsible mainly to the Filipino people instead of to the President of the United States. The fundamental defect of the Jones law is the absence of responsible and undivided leadership in these three organs of government and the lack of one single body which can properly represent and effectively carry out the "counsel" of the nation. Five years ago, upon the passage of the Jones law, attention was directed to that urgent need. The Filipino elements in the government composed of the secretaries of departments and the houses of the legislature must have a coordinate understanding, a common leadership. There was first an idea to place party leadership out;.. side the legislative chambers. It was also felt that the important executive positions should ' now be filled by responsible leaders. A movement was therefore started to make the secretaryship of the interior the position of leadership of all the three organs of government granted to the Filipinos. In a caucus of the majority members of both houses, held on December 22, 1916, a resolution was passed urging Speaker Osmefia to leave the speakership and accept the secretaryship of the interior. Speaker Osmefia, after mature deliberation, declined the secretaryship of the interior in a long memorandum submitted to the caucus of the majority members of the two houses on' January 3, 1917. He said that he was "entirely in accord with the principle of a united and responsible leadership," but that under the then existing circumstances he feared that the leadership should not be in the executive department. The problem of an open and responsible leadership thus remained unsolved. To solve it and to have a definite body which could advise him on matters of importance, with the acquiescence and support of Filipino elements in the government, the Governor General decided to create a 353
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES council of state. He first announced his desire in his message of October 16, 1918, when he said that he was "now ready to establish a council of state to include the authorized spokesmen of the two houses of the legislature in addition to the members of the cabinet to advise the Governor General on matters of public importance." An executive order was subsequently issued to that effect, and the members of the cabinet and the presiding officers of both houses were appointed members of the council of state "to aid and advise the Governor General on public matters." In a sense, however, the council of state was not a new creation. Ever since the establishment of civil government here there has always been some sort of a council of state in the Philippines. It is not meant that there have been bodies in the past with the name of "council of state," but that the principle underlying the present council of state has always been followed by American Governors General. Our governors have always endeavored, in their government of the Philippines, to secure the advice of the most representative Filipinos that they could get. That was the reason back of Governor Taft's preliminary steps when he called into power three prominent Filipinos, Doctor Tavera, Mr. Legarda, and Mr. Luzuriaga, the leaders of the only political party in existence-the Federal Party-and had them appointed to the commission. Governor Taft began the practice of consulting the Filipinos whom he thought represented the best opinion of the people of the Philippine Islands. This practice was inspired by President McKinley, who always told the American people that American sovereignty was acceptable to and in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the great masses of the Filipino people. What the leaders of the Federal Party were at that time to the civil governor the present leaders of the Nacionalista Party, as represented in the council of state, are to the Governor General, with only two incidental dif354
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS ferences. The leaders of the Federal Party were not elected by the people, directly or indirectly, and their power was also smaller. Because these Federal leaders were not elected by the people it was not certain that their advice and counsel was approved by the people. As it turned out, in the first national election of 1907 the Filipino people repudiated them and elected a majority of the opposing party to power; but save for these incidental differences the principle back of the practice of securing the counsel of prominent Filipinos in the government of the Philippines was one and the same. It is the same principle underlying th<; present council of state. The usefulness of the council of state as a coordinating and advisory body is recognized by the present Governor General (Gen. !leonard 'Vood), who immediately upon his inauguration publicly stated that there would be no change in the council of state, and has sihce been meeting the council as frequently and regularly as his predecessor. (D) OUR BUDGET SYSTEM
Nearly all struggles for constitutional government have centered on the control of the public purse. It was the greatest issue in the struggle between King John and the English barons. As a result of the struggle the Magna Carta provided that "no scutage (tenant's tax) or aid (contribution) shall be imposed except by the common council of the nation." In the American Revolution the battle cry was that taxation without representation is tyranny. That voice was re-echoed in France when in 1789 the people's control over the revenue was declared to be one of the "prerogative laws of the State." The Philippine bill of 1902 provided that all appropriations must be made by law. (Sec. 5, par. 15.) This apparently gave the Philippine Assembly, established in 1907, coequal power with the Philippine Commission on money 355
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES matters. But such was not the fact. The other provision, that in case of a deadlock on an appropriation bill the entire sum appropriated the year before shall be considered as appropriated for the ensuing year (sec. 7, par. 3), gave the Governor General almost dictatorial power in fiscal matters. He could create offices in defiance of the opposition of the representatives of the people and could dispose in whatever way he wished of all the money of the government so long as the entire sum did not exceed the sum previously appropriated. Thus, while other popular legislative bodies had the distinction of commanding and controlling all money bills, serving thereby as a great check upon the executive, the Philippine Assembly was deprived of this function and was, as a result, a considerably weaker body than most legislative assemblies. Under the circumstances the budget system could not have been established. There was no executive responsi.;. ble, or who could be made responsible, to the Philippine branch of the legislature and to whom the preparation of the budget could be intrusted. Nay, it was even more advantageous for the Filipino people to demand one principle of the congressional system-the initiation of all money bills in the lower house. This demand, after a long struggle with the commission, was gained, although with no great advantage, for there being constant deadlocks between the two houses on appropriation bills, the fiscal power remained practically in the hands of the Governor General. That there was a lack of a systematized plan in our previous financial system can be easily seen in the number and nature of appropriation bills annually passed by the Philippine Commission and the Philippine Legislature. From April 3, 1915, to March 16, 1916, for instance, 37 acts were passed carrying a total appropriation of over 356
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 38,000,000 pesos. These acts showed a lack of systematized groupings of objects for the easy comprehension of the public or the legislature. The procedure followed in the submission and preparation of estimates was similar to the American Federal practice. Thirty days before the opening of the regular session each bureau chief sent to the executive secretary a statement of the receipts and expenditures of his bureau or office during the year and an estimate of the receipts and necessary expenditures thereof for the ensuing fiscal year. Like the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, the executive secretary simply compiled these estimates and sent them to the legislature. He had no power of revision or coordination. There was no executive responsible for the fiscal plan of the government. Bills appropriating money were considered on their individual merits and not on a well-defined fiscal plan for the entire country. Such, in brief, was the system of government finance in vogue prior to the enactment of the Jones law. The coming of the Jones law did not immediately solve the problem. The law did not provide for a budgetary system, and there were some who doubted whether it could be made possible under its provisions. Section 21 of the Jones law states that "the Governor General shall sup mit to the Philippine Legislature within 10 days of the opening of each regular session a budget of receipts and expenditures, which shall be the basis of the annual appropriation bill." This provision and the fact that the Governor General still retained, according to law, supreme executive power created in the minds of some the doubt as to whether the executive could be intrusted with the framing of the budget. The establishment, however, of a cabinet largely responsible to the legislature overcame the objection. 357
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES But there was another difficulty. Under section 21 of the Jones. law, it is the Governor General who is to submit a "budget of receipts and expenditures." Should he and not the cabinet draft the budget? In the former case the legislature might not be willing to give up its prerogative of preparing financial measures. Again the Governor General came to the rescue and, following the generous spirit of the Jones law, delegated the formulation of the budget first to the cabinet and later to the council of state. The old 'p ractice of having bureau chiefs prepare and submit estimates was changed. Their estimates must now go to the department secretary and then to the department of finance for revision. The Governor General in a message sends the budget as prepared by the council of state to the legislature for approval, amendment, or rejection. Before the preparation of the budget, a general line of policy is first agEeed upon by the council of state. Once the general policy is decided, a circular is sent in July to all offices and bureaus requesting them to send in their estimates, which should include the probable receipts and the proposed expenditures for the coming year. These estimates are made under the supervision and control of the department heads, who have the power to cut down or add items. These different estimates are then submitted by the department heads to the secretary of finance, not later than August 20 of every year. The main work of the department of finance is to coordinate the different departmental estimates in accordance with the general plan agreed upon at the council meeting. It often happens that a certain item submitted by a departmental head is already duplicated by another item from a different department. Any conflict between a departmental head and the secretary of finance is submitted to the council of state for decision. The final budget is approved at the meeting of the council. 358
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Once the budget is definitely approved by the council of state the Governor General submits it with a message to the legislature. The message is read by the secretary of finance in a joint session of the legislature. . The lower house, by agreement with the upper, is the first one to take up the budget. It sets a date for the appearance of the secretary of finance to explain the details of the budget and to answer all questions propounded by the members. This appearance usually lasts a number of days, and full opportunity is given the members, especially those of the minority party, to discuss the several items of the bill. To explain further the details of the budget, the individual departmental secretaries may be called, although this is not often done, the secretary of finance generally assuming responsibility for the whole budget. It is the accepted rule in the discussion of the budget that the legislature may diminish the estimates but may not increase them. Once the budget is approved in principle, it is sent to the committee on appropriations, with instructions to draft the appropriation bill in accordance with the budget. This committee again examines the different items of the budget and then frames and submits its appropriation bill. The committee generally follows the instructions of the House and suggests in its bill only those changes that are absolutely necessary. When the appropriation bill is approved by the house it is sent to the senate where the secretary of finance again appears to explain the different items contained therein. The financial plan of the council of state does not cover all the proposed financial activities of the government. It usually leaves a surplus for the legislature to appropriate the way it pleases. This takes the form of new ventures and activities. The totality of the English budgetary prin359
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES ciple is not, therefore, as yet followed, whereby all requests for money must come from the executive. But a long and decisive step has already been taken toward financial reform. The system also requires that all money received from whatever source must be paid into the treasury by the collecting officer, and no disbursement of public funds can be made without specific authority of the legislature. In carrying out this principle and for the purpose of recording accurately the actual cost of each unit of the government, a departure has been made from the established accounting methods. Intergovernmental payments for special services rendered must be entered in the accounts as receipts on the part of the receiving bureau and as expenses on the part of the bureau making the disbursements. To make the budget system sufficiently elastic to meet changing conditions, an emergency board, of which the secretary of finance is the chairman, two members of the legislature, the insular auditor, and the attorney general as members, was created. In the general appropriation act this board is given a substantial amount with which to supply the additional funds that the various units of the government may need for purposes authorized by the appropriation . . As an additional safeguard against possible abuse of power, the actions of the emergency board do not become operative until the approval of the Governor General, and of the presidents of both houses has been secured. IV. PUBLIC ORDER
It was one of the conditions for the establishment of the Philippine Assembly in 1907 that there be complete peace and that the Governor General certify that fact to the President of the United States. Governor General 360
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Smith did certify the fact that there was complete peace that year, and thus facilitated the establishment of the Philippine Assembly. From that year peace has continued up to the present. It suffered no alteration either during the economic crisis or amidst the hardships of the World War. Every official report from 1907 to the present has testified to the peace and order that obtains and has always obtained in the Philippines. Thus the first requisite of a stable government has been accomplished. Two institutions are charged with the keeping of public order and they are the municipal police and the insular police, or the constabulary. The municipal police are supported by municipal funds, but is subject to the supervision of the Philippine Constabulary in so far as its organization and discipline are concerned. The spirit of peace and order is so well cemented in the Philippines that there are municipalities which have no more than 3, 5, or 7 policemen each. The Philippine Constabulary is the insular police which helps the municipal police in cases of necessity and when the municipal authorities so require. There are about 6,000 constabulary soldiers. The constabulary also helps the bureaus of the government in the furtherance of their work, such as in enforcing quarantine measures, controlling diseases, keeping prisoners, etc. As to the efficiency and success of the constabulary, the report of the Wood-Forbes Mission itself might be quoted. It admits that it is "dependable and thoroughly efficient." It should, moreover, be noted that during the first years of its establishment the constabulary was the subject of criticism on the part of the public. It has today secured the support not only of the officials of the government, but also of the people. As in other branches of the government, Filipinization has been established and there 361
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES is today fewer and fewer American officers as the following figures will show: Number of American officers
1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1 908 1 909 1910 1911 1 912 1913 1 914 1915 1916 1 917 1 918 1919 1920 1921
....................... ........................ . ...................... ....................... . ...................... ... .................... ... . ................... ........... ........ .... ................ ........ .......... . .......... .. . ..................... . . .................. . ....
180 186 334 315 304 278 260 236 258 276 247 268 268 239 210 194 106 43 25 17 14
............... ... ... .. ................ ........ ... .................. ... .................... ...
........................ ....................... ...................... " ........ . ................ ........................
NumNumTotal ber of ber of numFiliher of enlisted pino men. officers officers
3 7 11
14 15 20 57 83 59 50 75 54 58 90 131 123 250 304 323 358 362
183 193 345 329 319 298 317 319 317 326 322 322 326 329 341 317 356 347 348 375 376
II
5,000 5,317 6,000 6,729 6,852 4,773 4,778 4,723 4,267 4,067 4,159 4,283 4,621 4,793 5,002 5,105 5,505 5,348 5,597 5,817 5,968
It will be noted that the official personnel continued on the increase up to and including 1903 at which time it was reduced by 6. The greatest number of American officers, 334, was obtained in 1903. Since that year the Filipino officers have been gradually on the increase and the American officers on the decrease. At the close of the calendar year 1921, the American officers numbered 14 and the Filipino officers numbered 362. V. THE CIVIL SERVICE
From the beginning of American occupation it has been the policy to give all positions in the government to Filipinos whenever there are competent persons to fill ,them. 362
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS This policy was laid down by President McKinley when he instructed the second Philippine CommissionThat in all cases the municipal officers, who administer the local affairs of the people, are to be selected by the people, and that wherever officers of more extended jurisdiction are to be selected in any way, natives of the islands are to be preferred, and if they can be found competent and willing to perform the duties, they are to receive the offices in preference to any others.
This instruction of President McKinley has been placed on the statute books of the Philippines and is still the law today_ The appointing officers are enj'Oined to prefer, first, citizens of the Philippines, and, second, honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines of the United States. While that was the law ana has been the law since American occupation, there were times when the Filipino people thought that it was not being carried out as the strict letter and spirit demanded. From 1907 and 1908 up to 1913, there was very little Filipinization in the Philippine civil service. In 1913 there were actually more Americans in the civil service than in 1907 and 1908. Many of these Americans filled mere clerical positions which could very well have been held by qualified Filipinos. From 1913, however, FilipinizatTon grew with the arrival of Governor General Francis Burton Harrison. It has continued growing up to the present. The proportion of Filipinos to Americans during the period 1914-1921 is shown in the following list: Number ofYear. 1914 1915 1916 1917
.......
......... ........ .........
Americans. 2,148 1,935 1,730 1,310
I Filipinos. I 7,283 7,881 8,725 9,859 363
Percentage. Total. 9,451 9,816 10,455 11,169
Ameri. Ilplnos. cans. r FT 23 20 17 12
77 80 83 88
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Number ofYear. 1918 1919 1920 1921
... , ... ....... ....... .......
Americans. 948 760 582 614
Percentage.
IFilipinos. I
Total.
10,866 12,047 12,651 13,240
11,814 12,897 13,143 13,854
Americans.
IFilipinos.
8 6 4 4
92 94 96 96
President McKinley's policy has been followed to the letter with no detriment to public service, in fact with the same if not greater efficiency which kept pace with the growth of Government activities and the general progress of the country. The discussion of the various government bureaus which follows will amply prove this statement. VI. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
From 1914 t6 1921 justice was impartially administered in the Philippines. The judiciary was free from political, family, or other improper influences. Delay in the final decision of cases was no worse than in the United States. The selection of judges and prosecuting attorneys was at least as careft;tlly done as in the preceding years. It is admitted on all hands that the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands, whose members are appointed by the President of the United States, by .and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a majority of them being Americans, is above all influence, enjoys the confidence of the people, and is composed of men learned in the law and of exceptional talents. The Wood-Forbes mission says of the supreme court: The supreme court has the respect and confidence of the Philippine people.
This being so, we believe that the best way to ascertain whether or not the courts of first instance during the new regime have rightly and impartially administered justice 364
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS is to compare the percentage of appealed decision affirmed and reversed by the supreme court in the two periodsbefore and after 1914. If the decision of a court of first instance is affirmed by the highest court in the islands, after a review of the case, such affirmance utterly destroys all claims of mistake, ignorance, partiality, political or family influence, or other improper motive. The data in the following table, compiled from records in the office of the clerk of the supreme court, are full of interest: Decisions appealed from Affirmed. Period.
Total.
Num-I Per cent. ber.
,
\. \
Aug. 31, 1911Sept. 1,. 1913 .. 1,454 Mar. 3, 1919Mar. 4, 1921 .. / 1,782
I Reversed. I Num-I Per ber. cent.
Modified.
INum-I Per ber. cent.
I 62.5
910 1,194
67.0
I
I
365
25.1
372
20.8
I
I I 179 I
12.2
2161
12.1
I
To understand the above figures it should be noted: (1) That September 1, 1913, and March 4, 1921, are the dates when the resignation of Governors General W. Cameron Forbes and Francis Burton Harrison took effect, respectively; (2) that for the purpose of comparison only the supreme court decisions during the last two years of each administration can be given, because a period of one to four years elapses between the decision of the courts of first instance and that of the supreme court. The figures in the above table show that there was a larger percentage of decisions affirmed and a smaller percentage of decisions reversed by the supreme court during the time when the Filipino people enjoyed substantial autonomy than befure that period. This fact indicates that the 365
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES administration of justice has been considerably improved with the Filipinos in greater control. With regard to the alleged delay in the administration of justice, the number of pending cases is not so large as is believed in some quarters. According to the 1921 report of the Attorney General, there were 26,664 cases pending in the courts of first instance on December 31, 1921. Of these pending cases, 6,108 were probate and 2,707 land registration, which, as everyone knows, are necessarily cumbersome and complicated. Said report also states that in the supreme court there were pending decision 306 cases and 914 cases docketed but not submitted for decision. Therefore, in both the first instance and supreme courts, there were all in all only 27,884 cases. No figures are available as to the cases pending in the justices of the peace courts on December 31, 1921. However, the report of the secretary of justice for 1920 shows that 8,046 cases were pending in the justice of the peace courts on December 31, 1920. The following show the number of cases disposed of by the courts of first instance each year from 1906 to 1921, inclusive: Cases d·i sposed of
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
................... . 7,410
................. . 6,834 ................. . 7,777 ................. . 10,447 ................. . 9,745 ................. . 12,630 ....................... .
........................... Total ...................
12,928 14,797
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
. 82,568
..................
••
13,404 15,052 14,560 14,987 13,213 12,667 16,600 16,874
..................
117,357
.................. .................. .................. .................. ......................... ........................
..
IO
.........
Total
••
...........
The above figures show that the number of cases disposed of by the courts of first instance for the eight years, 1906 to 1913, inclusive, was as large as 82,568. The total 366
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS number of cases disposed of for the same length of time (1914-1921, inclusive) under the new regime was even greater, 117,357, or an increase of 34,789, or 42 per cent. The average number of cases disposed of each year during the first period was 10,321, while in the second period (1914-1921) the average was 14,669, or 42 per cent. This increase is the more striking when it is remembered that the abolition of the court of land registration took place during the second period and the adjudication of land titles under the Torrens system was transferred to the courts of first instance. The law's delay is a traditional problem the world over. The above number of pending cases does not therefore constitute an evil peculiar to the Philippines nor is it due to Filipino fault. Even in the United States the people are confronted with the same problem. Viscount Bryce, speaking of the administration of justice in the United States, says in his recent work, Modern Democracy (Vol. II, p. 88) :
* * * Nevertheless even it things are less bad than the causes at work might have made them, clear it is that the incompetence of judges does in many States involve immense waste to litigants through appe;>als and . other delays, and through the uncertainty into which the law is brought by decisions in inferior courts likely to be reversed on appeal. Though the administration of civil justice leaves much to be desired, that of criminal justice is far worse. There are few States, perhaps only two or three outside New England-New Jersey is one -where it is either prompt or efficient. All through the;> rest of the country, South and West, trials are of inordinate length, and when the verdict has been given, months or years may elapse before the sentence can be carried into effect. Many offenders escape whom everybody knows to be guilty, and the deterrent effect of punishment is correspondingly reduced. In a speech at the annual banquet of the American Bar Association in the summer of 1921, at Cincinnati, Mr. C. A. Severance, president of the association, said: 367
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES When the Chief Justice told us, as he did the other day, that the state of the courts was such that a bill proposing that we have 18 additional judges in the Federal courts had been prepared, and should be passed because of the necessity that exists, he told us nothing we did not already know. The congestion of the Federal courts has become such that it is almost a public scandal. (See Journal of the American Bar Association, November, 1921, p. 612.)
The Hon. Henry D. Clayton, judge of Federal district court, Alabama, says: One of the contributing and patent causes of the law's delay which lies in the power of the legislative department to remedy is the fact that in many States and in some of the Federal districts there is not the sufficient judicial force t o dispose of the present litigation and that which is constantly increasing as the country grows in population and develops in commerce and industry. Besides, the courts are constantly having to deal with much new legislation, amendatory and original; consequently there is from this source increased litigation, involving interpFetation and application of statutes, resulting in the accumulation of cases. Because of all these facts and other similar things court dockets become congested and all cases can not be reached for trial until after undue delay in some of them. (See Journal of the AmE'rican Bar Association, January, 1D22, p. 45.)
The Hon. William H. Taft, Chief Justice of the United States, said, in an address at the 1921 meeting of the American Bar Association at Cincinnati: The congestion which exists in many of the districts of the United States-and it has been growing because of the gradual enlargement of the jurisdiction of the courts under the enactment by Congress of laws which are the exercise of its heretofore dormant powers-路has been greatly added to by the adoption of the eighteenth amendment and the passage of the Volstead law. Something must be done, therefore" to give to the Federal courts a judicial force that can grapple these arrears and end them. The Attorney General has beE'n much impressed with the great increase in business in the courts, and has recommended to the President and to Congress the adoption of a law which, it seems to me, will much facilitate the dispatch of business in the courts of the
368
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS United States. tember, 1921.)
(See Journal of the American Bar Association, Sep-
Mr. Edwin W. Sims, of the Chicago bar, says in an article in the Journal of the American Bar Association, November, 1921: On Ayril 1, 1920, 135 persons previously indicted for murder were awaiting trial in Chicago. In 1,904 cases the accused were at liberty on bond. In the majority of cases so much time had elapsed since indictment that witnesses had disappeared, evidence had been lost, and successful prosecution made most difficult. * * '" Chap was indicted for murder March 4, 1911, and released on $10,000 bonds. In compiling its report on continuances, the Chicago Crimes Commission ran across the case, and in December, 1919, eig'ht and onehalf years after the crime was committed, the defendant was placed on trial. (See Journal of the American Bar Association, November, 1921., pp. 598-599.)
The foregoing goes to show that in the United States no less than in the Philippines there is need of action to relieve the present congestion of cases. As for the Philippines, the legislature on February 14, 1921, created seven new positions of auxiliary judges of the courts of first instance. In discussing the law's delay in the Philippines we should never overlook the fact that there are certain unavoidable causes which in large measure prevent the prompt administration of justice. These causes are not found in the United States. They are: (1) The interpretation of testimony from the vernacular to Spanish; (2) judges in the Philippines are judges not only of law but also of fact; (3) the law in the Philippines is in a formative condition; and (4) the remoteness of many municipalities from the provincial capitals, together with the difficulty of transportation. 369
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES As to the first factor, almost all witnesses testify in the Philippine dialects. The questions are in Spanish or English, so they are interpreted to the local dialect. The answers, which are in the local dialect, are then translated into Spanish for the purposes of record. The translation in both cases takes up at least as much time as the original questions and answers, and often much time is lost in the discussion of the proper interpretation. With regard to the second cause of delay, there is no trial by jury in the Philippines. Hence, the judge decides not only the questions of law involved but also the issues of fact. It is thus that the task of one judge and a jury in America is performed by one man in the Philippines. The third factor, that the law is in a formative condition, arises from the blending in the Philippines of the Spanish civil law and the Anglo-American common law. Our laws of procedure and evidence are derived from American sources, while our civil law, much of our commercial law, and most of our penal law are Spanish. This has created many difficulties in the application of the law in a given case, because (a) the u~derlying principles and the actual working of American procedure and evidence are new in the Philippines, and (b) frequently it is hard to determine how far the new legislation has affected the old law, for the new code of civil procedure in many respects touches upon substantive law, and, further, every lawyer knows that the questions of the right and the remedy are inseparably bound up together. Moreover, our constitutional law and administrative law, as well as our laws on marriage, corporations, negotiable instruments, insolvency, salvage, insurance, chattel mortgage, and many crimes are American in origin, and many Filipino judges and lawyers, who are generally Spanish speaking, meet with difficulties in studying and applying American authorities and cases. 370
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The fourth cause of delay is the remoteness of many municipalities from provincial capitals, together with the difficulty of transportation. This makes it extremely hard for witnesses to appear before the courts, and many cases have to be continued when one or more witnesses can not go to the provincial capital. The selection of judges has been at least as careful under the new regime as before. Most of the Filipino judges of first instance, appointed during the Philippine Commission regime before 1913, were members of or had sympathies for the Federal, later Progresista Party. It is true ,also that a maj ority of the appointees to the first instance bench since 1913 belong to or had sympathies for the Nacionalista Patty, but this is because the great bulk of the members of the bar' were N acionalistas, and there was a yery limited number of attorneys to choose from who were of the Democrata Party. It can not be said that the legal knowledge of the judges selected since 1913 is lower than that of those appointed before that year. As a matter of fact, before 1913 many judges of first instance were appointed who had neither training in the local law nor practiced law in the Philippines, whereas the appointees since 1913 had schooling and practice in Philippine laws. As to the independence of the judiciary, it must be stated that formerly the Governor General had power under the law to remove any judge of the court of first instance at pleasure. This power was abolished under the new regime, so that today no judge of the court of first instance can be removed by the Governor General "unless sufficient cause shall exist, in the judgment of the supreme court," after such judge has been heard in his own defense. Needless to say this new law has placed the judges beyond the influence of the chief executive. 371
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES There are no proofs that the present provincial fiscals, or prosecuting attorneys, are less efficient than those before 1913. On the contrary, the greater number of criminal cases 'filed and disposed of from 1914 to 1921 would seem to indicate that the service of the prosecuting attorneys has been improved. It is to be noted also that before 1913 several persons who had not taken or had failed in the Philippine bar examinations were appointed prosecuting attorneys-a practice which was discontinued during the time of more Filipino control of the government. Inasmuch as most of the justices of the peace are not lawyers, there is much room for reform in the organization of the justice of the peace courts. However, the qualifications of Philippine justices of the peace compare favorably with those of other countries. The Administrative Code provides in section 207 that "no person shall be eligible to appointment as justice of the peace or auxiliary justice unless he shall be (1) at least 23 years of age; (2) a citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States; (3) of good moral character; and (4) admitted by the supreme court to practice law, or be a person who has at least finished the course of legal study in a recognized school, or shall have passed the civil-service examination for clerk of court, or an examination to be held in each Province before a board composed of the judge of the court of first instance, the provincial fiscal, and a practicing lawyer appointed by the judge, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the attorney general, with the approval of the secretary of finance and justice." A plan is now being studied in the Philippines looking toW\ard the consolidation of several towns into one district, to be under the jurisdiction of one justice of the peace, who shall be a lawyer. 372
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS VII. ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC LANDS
In no other bureau is the growth of Government activities so manifest as in the bureau of lands. LAND TITLES
Homesteads.-During the last eight years, from 1914 to 1921, the number of homestead applications received, as well as the number of applications acted upon (canceled, approved, approved canceled, and patented), has considerably increased, as compared with the figures for the eight years previous to 1914; that is to say, from 1906 to 1913. The following table bear out the above statement:
will
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160 515 192 322 309 326 739 835
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5,825 6,591 5,926 7,975 7,692 7,734 5,128 3,729
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467 1,067 1,825 1,470 1,814 2,224 3,492 4,285
Total number of applications acted upon for 8 years. Average number of applications acted upon each year for 8 years.
Total number.1
Average number.2
7,017 9,315 12,387 14,554 16,972 18,332 24,326 29,062
2,080.5
50,600.
6,325
1 1 .............. .. ............... . ........ . ...... . ............... . .............. .. .............. .. ........ . ...... . .............. ..
16,644
1,404. . . . . . .. . ...... . 2,992 ...... " ....... . 3,236. . . . . . .. . ...... . 3,233. . . . . . .. . ...... . 3,640. . . . . . .. . ...... . 4,532. . . . . . .. . ...... . 4,921 ............... . 6,524 ............... .
Pending.
r. . . . . .. .......
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Total ............. q2,65S[
................. ................. ................. ................. ................. ................. .................
. .................
Patented.
4 ........ 6 ........ 23. . . . . . . . 2 ........ 5 1 60 1 74 27 ~ I 106
1
1
332 889 1,495 858 1,129 1,445 1,941 2,014
ApApproved proved. canceled.
CanI celed.
ceived./
Re-
................. 1,543 I 131 ................. 2,643 1 172 ................. 2,023 I 307 ................. 1,463 i 610 ................. \ 2,210 1 679 ................. 2,995 718 ................. 3,706 1,450 ................. 4,962 1,755
Total ............
2
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
Year.
Homestead applications
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The foregoing table shows that the total number of homestead applications received for eight years, from 1906 to 1913, was 21,445, and that the number for the following eight years, from 1914 to 1921, the period of Filipino selfgovernment, was 62,656, or an increase of 41,211, or 192 per cent, for the second period. It will also be seen from the above table that the total number of applications acted upon for eight years, from 1906 to 1913, was 16,644, while the number for 1914 to 1921, eight years also, was 50,600, or an increase of 33,956 (about 200 per cent) for the second period, which was the time of Filipin') autonomy. It will be seen likewise that the average number of applications acted upon each year for eight years, from 1906 to 1913, was 2,080.5, while the number for 1914 to 1921, also eight years, was 6,325, or an increase of over 200 per cent for the second period. It is also to be noted that the number of applications patented in 1913 was 106, which was increased to 739, or six times, in 1920, and to 835, or seven times, in 1921. SALES
The following table shows the number of applications for sale of public land received, acted upon, and pending each year from 1906 to 1921, a period of 16 years:
375
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1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
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Approved canceled. Canceled.
..
Patented.
.
Total acted upon. 'Pending.
Total number.!
Average number.2
!
337 431 1 3541 6831
10
....
SECOND PERIOD. 1914-1921
......
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14 . .... ... 21 92 · .. · .... 1....... · 7 ............. 721 16 1 49 ........ 66 104 . ..... .. ....... . 76 6,0 . ........... .............. .. 20 . ....... 85 65 .. .............. 411 11 . .............. " 17 ............ . 28 90 .. ............ ........... .. 58 104 . ........... .............. . 21 ............. .. 28 49 631 193 .. ............ ............. .. 27 .............. . 48 2 77 1641 141 277 ............. . . .............. 52 1 3 85 220 265 385 .. · .... ·1···· .. ·· 46 207 .-" 4 353 81 91.5 7321 1,047 I ...... , .. I· ...... ·1· . ! -'. . • . • .! ·1 · ." , ... ·1· ...... ·1· ...... ·1
Approved
1 184 79 4 460 I······. ·1········ 268 133 254 664 .............. .............. .. irO 7 104 .1 .................... 156 282 10 757 . ............ .............. .. 115 1 ................... 24 447 1,044 . .............. ............. 137 283 3 .................. 17 387 14 603 1,205 .............. . . ...... ,. ..... 185 716 ................ . 361 1 421 145 14 732 1, 445 1........ ................ ................... 1,025 43 10 128 5 186 2,309 ........ . ............ .................... 17 99 15 165 2,766 ........ ............. 573 I 34 1 328 Total .. · .. ·1 2,6261 4,8511···· .. , .. J • • • • • • • ·1······· ·1······· ·1······· ·1········1 1 Total number of applications acted upon for 8 years. 2 Averagl" number of applications acted upon each year for 8 years.
.....................
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................. ..
Total
....................
.................
....................
.................
.....................
.......... . ...........
............
Year.
Received.
FIRST PERIOD. 1906-1913
Sales applications
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS From the above table we know that the total number of sale applications received during the eight years from 1906 to 1913 was 1,047, compared with 4,851 for the next eight years from 1914 to 1921. There is, therefore, an increase of 3,804, or 364 per cent, during the second period. We likewise see that from 1906 to 1913, eight years, the number of sale applications acted upon was only 732, while the number for 1914 to 1921, eight years also, was 2,626, which was an increase of 1,894, or 258 per cent, over the first period. The average number of sale applications acted upon each year was 91.5 for 1906-1913 and 328 for 1914-1921. LEASES
The following table gives the number of lease applications received, contracts executed, contracts executed void, and applications canceled from 1906 to 1921, 16 years:
377
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• .. •• .. • .. • . . . . • . . . . 1
• .. ••• . . . . . . . . . • .... 1
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
2
1
Contract executed void. Application canceled.
Total applications acted upon. Pending.
Total number. 1
Average number.2
98 78 103 166 317 237 332 137 1,468 66 52 47 136
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........ ........
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74 2451· .. ·· ... , ........ 2611 ................ 64 313 ................ 53 306 177 , 127 508 ................................ 92 119 131 620 105 112 842 194 201 778 . .............................. 117 9371 I....... ·1· ...... ·1· ...... ·1· ...... ·1· ...... ·1 81 .... · .. ·1 11 1 5 1 39 2 29 6 9 3 6 1 7 ........
SECOND PERIOD, 1914-1921
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FIRST PERIOD, 1906-1913
Lease applications
Total number of applications acted upon for 8 years. Average number of applications acted upon each year for 8 years.
....................................... ........................................ Total ................ 1
.................... \
. . . . . . . . . . • .... • .... 1
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1906 1907 1908
Year.
Application received.
---
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS We learn from the foregoing table that the total number of lease applications received from 1906 to 1913, eight years, was 493, while from 1914 to 1921 the number was 1,468. There was, therefore, an increase of 975, or 197 per cent, for the second period. This table also shows that during the period of 1906 to 1913, eight years, the number of lease applications acted upon was only 275, while the number was 937 for 1914-1921, which means an increase of 662, or 240 per cent, for the second period. The average number of lease applications acted upon each year was 34.3 for 1906 to 1913, and 117 for 1914-1921. FREE PATENTS
The following table gives the number of free patent applications received and acted upon (canceled and patented) as well as the number of patents canceled from 1906 to 1921:
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Patents canceled.
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1,81?6
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355 g8
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338 97 102 280
1
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1. . . . "
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........ . .......
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4,566
861 2,003 2,219 758 776 661 1,169 955
J
360 611 544 369 343 673 889 777
Total acted upon.
523 , ........ , 1,906 ........ 2,117 · · .. •· .. 1 475 3 258 ........ 306 1,071 ........ 887
SECOND PERIOD, 1914-1921
3,405
I
541 , ! ..... ....: ........ . 369 I........ . ...... . 207 1 139 3 478 J91 4 529 358 .<" 2 307 1 465 5
Total number of applications acted upon for 8 years. ' 2 Average number of applications acted upon for 8 years.
1
15,417
• ••••••• 1
. ••••••• 1
1,191 1 1,375 1 1,137 1 1,819 1,203 562 I 670 1 767 I
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1----[1 3~0 I.· ... ·.. 1. ...... .I' I 611 I·· ..... · ....... .
3,320 7,173 2,577 I 2,449" ........ 8
Received.
.................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
Total ... " ........
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 ... . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. 1911 ....... " " ....... " 1912 • • • • • • . . . . • . • . . . • • • • 1913 •.•.•• . . • • . • . . . . • • • •
Year.
FIRST PERIOD, 1906-1913
Free patent applicatwns
11,620 10,992 9,910 10,971 11,398 11,299 10,800 ],0,612
1
1. . . . . . . . 1
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1........
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9,402
.......... ........ ........ ........ . ....... . ....... . ....... ........... .
4,566
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1,175
......... . ....... . ....... . ....... . ....... . ....... . ....... . . .........
5"71
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3,289 9,351 11,884 13,964 ........ [ ....... . 13,621 12,9561" .... 12,067 .,....... ...... . 11,290 ............... .
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The above table shows that the number of free patent applications received from 1906 to 1913 was 15,417, while from 1914 to 1921 the number was 8,724, or a decrease of 6,693, or 76 per cent for the second period. The number of applications canceled from 1906 to 1913 was 3,405, while the number for 1914-1921 was 1,856, or a decrease of 1,547, or 82 per cent for the second period. The number of applications patented for the first period (1906-1913) was only 1,147, compared with 7,543 for the second period, or an increase of almost six times for 1914-1921. The total number of applications acted upon for the period of 19061913 was 4,566, while from 1914-1921 the number was 9,402, or an increase of 4,836, or 105 per cent for the second period. The average number of free patent applications acted upon each 'year for the first period was 571, while in the second period the number was 1,175. It appears from the foregoing table on isolated surveys that the average number of parcels surveyed in six years, from 1908 to 1913, was 6,168 annually, and the average yearly number for eight years, from 1914 to 1921, was 9,807, or an increase of 42 per cent for the last eight years. Taking the average for the last six years, 1916 to 1921, the yearly average of p~rcels surveyed was 9,813, while, as already stated, the average for 1908-1913, was 6,168, or an increase of 42 per cent for 1916-1921, the last six years of Filipinization of the service. The above figures further show the increased efficiency of the bureau of lands during the period of Filipinization of that bureau. ADJUDICATION OF LAND TITLES
Cases disposed of: The number of land-registration cases disposed of (title confirmed, title denied, and application dismissed) has increased from 1914 to 1920, seven years, compared with the seven years from 1907 to 1913, as shown by the following table: 381
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1
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Total .. , .... " .. ,., .....
1914 ........................ . 19141 ..................... , .. 1915 ... ,', .. , .... , ... , ..... ,' 1916 .. ,"', .... ,., ... , .. " .. . 1917 .. "." ... '.,,', .. ",.", 1918 .. ,', .. , ........ ', . .... ,. 1919 ",' .... ,.,",.,.".,., .. 1920 .... ,.' ... , .. , ...... ,.".
1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
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689 767 1,019 885 1,374 830 807
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783 ........... ... - .... . 831 ..... _.. __ !.........• 1,155 .......... \ ......... . 995 ......... 1,649 ................... . 915 .......... . ........ . 876 .......... \ ......... .
ed upon.
I' Total act- ' Total for
•
747 999 982 928 992 1,002 1,857
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8,282
1
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS It will be seen that the total number of cases disposed of for the first seven years from 1907 to 1913 was 7,204, while the total number of cases disposed of for the second seven years from 1914 to 1920 was 8,282, or an increase of 1,078, or 14 per cent for the second period. The average number of cases. disposed of each year from 1907 to 1913 was 1,029, while from 1914 to 1920 the average yearly number was 1,183. The court of land registration ceased to exist on July 1, 1914, and its work was transferred to the courts of first instance. The total number of cases disposed of from 1915 to 1920, inclusive (six years), was 7,091, as compared with 6,421 for six years, also from 1908 to 1913, inclusive, or an increase of 670, or over 10 per cent for the 1915-1920 period. DECREES OF TITLE ISSUED
The following table shows the number of decrees of title issued from 19'06 to 1920: Decrees of title issued Year. 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
Iof decrees.
Number
IofNumber parcels.
598 729 896 707 1,888 1,434 7,297
728 1,057 1,255 1,178 3,080 2,575 9,169
-----
Total .............â&#x20AC;˘................. Yearly average ......................... .
13,549 1,935
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920
3,956 1,249 5,786 37,762 10,198 13,538 14,288
Total .............................. . Yearly average ......................... .
86,777 12,397
383
1
I
19,042 2,720
5,873 2,795 7,'()94 40,779 11,503 15,465 16,093 99,602 14,229
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES The total number of decrees of title issued for 1907 to 1913 (seven years), as shown above, was 13,549, while from 1914 to 1920 (also seven years), the total number was 86,777, or an increase of 73,228, or 541 per cent for the latter period. The average number of decrees of title issued each year from 1907 to 1913 (seven years) was 1,935, while the average from 1914 to 1920 was 12,397. As above stated, the Court of Land Registration was abolished on July 1, 1914. The total number of decrees of title issued from 1908 to 1913, inclusive (six years), was 12,951, affecting 18,314 parcels, while the number of decrees of title issued during the years from 1915 to 1920, inclusive, was 82,821, affecting 93,729 parcels. In other words, for the second period, after the abolition of the Court of Land Registration there was an increase of 69,8.70 decrees, or 516 per cent increase, and 75,415 parcels, or 411 per cent increase. VIII. EDUCATION
It is conceded by all that the greatest reform established since American occupation is the public-school system. The support the Filipino people have given to public schools can not be gainsaid even by the most bitter critic of Philippine accomplishments. The first bill passed by the Philippine Assembly in 1907 was the appropriation of P1,000,000 for the building of rural schools. Since 1913 up to 1921, the growth and progress of the public schools as compared with a similar period prior to that time is simply enormous. The progress in education is manifested also in the recent census of 1918, which gives 49.2 per cent as the literacy of the population over 10 years of age. This is considerably greater than the figure given by the previous census. 384
THE PHILIPPINE SENATE IN ITS LAST REGULAR SESSION
This Body Was Abolished by the Constitution of the Philippines, Providing a Unicameral National Assembly
I
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Figures speak naturally louder than words. We shall, therefore, confine our observations to the authentic figures which will follow. PROGRESS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Number of pupils.-The enrollment of pupils in the public schools below the University of the Philippines from the school year 1908-9 to 1920-21 is as follows: Year.
Enrollment.
Number.
... ·.
1908-9 1909-10 1910-11 1911-12 .. 1912-13 · 1913-14 · . 1914-15 1915-16 · 1916-17 · 1917-18 · 1918-19 · . 1919-20 . 1920-21 .
. ·. . . .
··
1
Average yearly in~ crease in 5 years.
Increase over previous year.
I Per
cent.
I
Number.
I Per
cent.
......... ·1··········
570,502 83,826 17 16,815 2.5 . .. ................................... 587,317 23,176 3.9 ........................................ 610,493 1 80,828 1 13.2 529,665 .................. .. .................... 1 89,615 1 16.9 19,325 11.3 440,050 621,114 180,980 41 .................. .. .................... 621,114 .................. .. .... . ............ .. .................. . .................. 638,548 17,434 2.8 .................. . .................... 675,997 37,450 5.8 .................. .. .................... 1 671,398 4,599 .67 .... '" ............ .................... 681,588 10,190 1.5 \ .......... .................... 791,628 110,036 16 .................. .. .................... 943,422 151,796 19 61,174 8.3
.
Decrease.
In 1908-9 the enrollment was 570,502, which decreased to 440,050 in 1912-13 and increased to 943,422 in 1920-21, or more than twice as large as in 1912-13. The great increase in enrollment in the public schools during the last five school years of Filipino autonomy (1916-17 to 1920-21), as compared with the five school years from 1908-9 to 191213, is seen from the above table. The average yearly decrease from 1908-9 to 1912-13, the last five years before Filipino autonomy, was 9,325, or 1.3 per cent, turned into average annual increase during the last five years of Philippine self-government (1916-17 to 1920-21) of 61,174, or 8.3 per cent. 385
~
00
0)
~~
4,412
4,194 4,295 4.121 3;364 2,595 3,913 3,837 4,143 4,288
Primary.
I
I
1
Decrease.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _1
1919 1920
.... .... .... .... .... .... I .... , .... ....
Year.
1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
-
I
J
I
193 I 198 I 245 I 283 I 296 I 278 I 309 I 351 I 368 I 423 501 6MI
Intermediate.
1
i
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37 38 路 38 38 1 43 44.1 41 I 44路 1 46 , 48 I 5Q
Secondary.
I
~"
4,963
4,74J
4,324 4,431 4,404 3,685 2,934 4,235 4,187 4,538 4,7'{)2
Total.
-
I
I
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I
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16 1 21 40 1 1 8 4 1 2 20 1
I~
I
1~15 I}
1
416
I
181 I
10.5
1 4.8
Per cent. I Number. I Per cent.
Average yearly inI!rease.
1_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
493 107 1 27 1719 1751 1,301 1 48 351 164 45 f 116 9U
Number .
Increase over previous year.
Number of schOOLS
The avera~e enrollment each year during the five-year period (1908-9 to 1912-13) was 547,611, while the number was 752,606 for the five years from 1916-17 to 1920-21, or an increase of 37 per cent during the latter period. Number of schools.-The following table shows the number of public schools from 1909 to 1920: t.:Ij
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The number of schools rose from 2,934 in 1913 to 5,944 in 1920, or an increase of 102 per cent. The average annual decrease of schools from 1909 to 1913 (five years preceding Filipino autonomy) was 181, or 4.8 per cent, while the average yearly increase from 1914 to 1920 (no figures being available for 1921) was 416. Number of teachers.-The number of teachers has also increased, as shown in the following table:
Year.
1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920
......................... ,
Number of Filipino teachers.
Number of American teachers.
8,774 9,007 9,086 8,360 7,671 9,462 9,845 10,963 12,303 13,227 14,433 17,575
825 732 683 664 658 612 538 506 477 406 374 341
Total.
9,599 9,732 9,769 9,024 8,329 10,074 10,383 11,469 12,780 13,633 14,807 17,916 I
It will be seen from the above table that the number of Filipino teachers rose from 7,671 in 1913 to 17,575 in 1920, which means an increase of 9,904, or 129 per cent. The number of American teachers dropped from 658 in 1913 to 341 in 1920. Amount of money spent for schools.-There has likewise been a constant increase in the amount spent in education. The following table shows the amount spent from 1907 to 1920:
387
~
00 00
1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920
3,112 3,498 3,924 5,412 3,998 4,254 4,471 4,590 4,905 4,708 5,177 6,068 10,188 12,802
2 Decrease.
1 No data available.
........... ........... ....•...... ........... ........... ....••..... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ...........
Year.
285 209 208 277 386 473 443 464 431 716 468 450
I I I
I
1
217\ 228 I 1,508 1,672 2,134 2,516 2,325 2,211 2,456 2,303 2,165 2,395 '3,615 4,099 3,716 4,3&,8
I
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174 199 344 375 352 479 617 683 800
(1)
(1)
(1) (1)
(1)
VolunI Insular. 1 ?r?- ,Munici-t tary. vmclal. pal. contrlbution.
1---1
4,837 5,399 6,343 8,137 6,715 6,916 7,512 7,710 7,888 7,919 9,702 11,500 14,955 18,420
,/ ,,-'
,-
TotaL
I 151 562 944 1,794 21,422 201 797 198 178 31 1,783 1,798 3,455 31,165 23 18 31 23
.4
3 11 17 28 217 3 12 2.6 2
Per Amount I cent.
Increase over previous years.
Expenditures for education (in thousands of pesos)
I
8
6,551
I
.'ii,i55 '1' ..... i4
................................
........ ,........
.............. . ................ ................ .............. .. ................ .............. ..
.............. .
.............. .. ................ .............. .. .............. .
.............. .
Per cent.
................ ................ ................ .............. . ................ ................
IAmount.
I
Average yearly increase in 7 years.
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS It will be seen that the total amount spent for publie education for seven years from 1907 to 1913 was P45,859,000, while the amount spent for seven years from 1914 to 1920 was P78,094,000, which means an increase of P32,234,000, or 70 per cent, over the first period. The average amount spent each year during the first period (1907-1913) was P6,551,400, while the average amount spent each year for the second period (1914-1920 Filipino autonomy) was P11,155,000. The cost per student based on total expenditures and the average daily attendance for all schools in 1908 was PI8.26; in 1914, PI6.52, and in 1920, P28.97. The per capita cost of education was PO.50 in 1903, PO.59 in 1907, PO.79 in 1914, and P1.81 in 1920. In 1918, under Filipino self-government, the Philippine Legislature in Act No. 278.2, voted P30,705,824 for the extension of free elementary instruction, to be spent in five years, this amount being the largest ever set aside. The director of education in his 1920 report has thâ&#x201A;Ź following to say on this measure of the legislaturâ&#x201A;Ź: Of the P30,7,05,824 carried in Act 2782 for the extension of elementary education, there was available for expenditure during 1919 the sum of P735,000; during 1920, the sum of P3,919,000; and there will be available for expenditure during 1921 the sum of P6,305,400, during 1922 the sum of P8,710,440, and during 1923 the sum of Pll,035,984. The P3,919,o.OO which became available for expenditure during 1920 was distributed as aid to the Provinces and to the municipalities for the opening of new elementary schools, for the maintenance of elementary schools already established, and for the opening of new classes in elementary schools already established. Nearly 65 per cent of this sum was spent for the opening of new schools and for the opening of new classes in old schools. Through the extension program it has been planned to double the enrollment in the public elementary schools, to effect larger increases in the salaries of municipal teachers, and to abolish the col389
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES lection of tuition fees in intermediate schools-all of this to be dorie during the five-year period from January 1, 1919, to December 31, 1923. The inauguration of the extension program has given such great impetus to the growth of the public schools and has given such great encouragement to the people who are most vitally interested in the growth of these schools that, in spite of the fact that only about 15 per cent of the total sum appropriated in Act 2782 was available for expenditure during 1919 and 1920 (the first two years of the fiveyear period mentioned above), surprising results have been attained, among the most important of which are: The opening of 1,713 new primary schools; the opening of 226 new intermediate schools; the employment of 6,302 additional primary and intermediate teachers; the abolition of the collection of tuition fees in intermediate schools; an increase in the annual enrollment in the primary and intermediate grades of 261,768 pupils; a large increase in the number of primary and intermediate school buildings; an increase of 62 per cent in the average monthly salary paid municipal teachers.
Permanent sch.pol buildings.-The number of permanent school buildings constructed up to 1913 was 624, which number rose to 1,04S in 1920. In other words, during the seven years (1914-1920) of the Filipino autonomy, 67 per cent more permanent buildings were erected than during the 12 years from 1902 to 1913. Salaries of Filipitno teachers.--The following table shows the gradual increase in the salaries of municipal and insular Filipino teachers from 1909 to 1920: Salcwies of Filipino teachers
-------------------------------------,---------[-------Municipal I Insular Year. teacher.
1909 1910 1911 1912
teacher.
43.97 44.66 46.15 49.88 50.31
19U~
Average yearly increase
.85 390
1.58
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
--------------------------------1 Municipal 1-----I Insular Year.
teacher.
21.34 22.05 22.88 23.98 25.72 30.65 37.86
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920
Plverage yearly increase ............. .
teacher.
---50.77 I 56.32 I
2.75
55.88 56.58 59.75 65.83 71.76 3.49
It will be seen that the average yearly increase in four years, from 1909 to 1913, was PO.85 for municipal teachers and P1.58 for insular teachers, while the average yearly increase in six years, from 1914 to 1920, was P2.75 for municipal teachers and P3.49 for insular teachers. It will be observed also that while the increase from 1909 to 1913 was P3.42 for municipal and P6.34 for insular teachers, the raise from 1916 to 1920 was P14.98 for municipal and 1>15.88 for insular teachers. Attainments of Filipino teachers.-During Filipino autonomy the attainments of Filipino teachers were considerably improved, as shown in the following table: Percentages of intermediate graduates or better School year: 1909-10 ............................•................. 25.16 1912-13 60.22 1916-17 ...........................................•.. 85.80 1919-20 .................................•............ 95.87
The above data are taken from the thirteenth and twenty-first annual reports of the director of education, on pages 48 and 14, respectively. They show that the qualities of our public-school teachers were improved nearly 100 per cent during Filipino autonomy. Efficiency of teaching.-Centralization, with authority vested in technical men, is in large measure responsible for 391
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES the efficiency of the public-school system in the Philippines. Leading educators in the United States praise the Philippine system and are suggesting its adoption in the United States. Teachers are trained both before and during their service. Educational training is given by the College of Education of the University of the Philippines, the Philippine Normal School, the normal schools in Albay, Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Iloilo, and Pangasinan, and normal courses in five provincial high schools. As to the training of teachers while in the service Dr. Luther B. Bewley, director of education, says in his annual report for 1921'
.
Since the demand for trained teachers in our schools is so much . greater than the supply, there is only one thing for us to do, and that is to employ each year large numbers of teachers without professional training, with the idea of giving them the necessary training in the service. We have been confronted with this problem so long that we have b~en able, after yeal'S of effort, to develop facilities for the training of teachel's in the service that will compare favorably with the same fa:cilities of most other school systems of the world. Among the facilities or agencies that we now have for the training of teachers in the service are vacation assemblies, summer schools, normal institutes, model classes, supervision, reading courses, teachers' meetings, and teacher pensionadoships. The teachers' vacation assembly in Baguio and the teachers' vacation assembly in Manila are alway's looked upon by public-school teachers all over the islands as two of the foremost of the educational events of the year. THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Attendance.-The rapid growth of the University of the Philippines is shown by the following table on attendance: 392
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Academic year attendance 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14 1914-15 1915-16 1916-17
................ . 1,400 1,398 ................ . 1,502 ................ . 2,075 .................. 2,398 ................. 2,975 ................ .
1917-18 1918-19 1919-20 1920-21 1921-22
................. ................. ................. .......... ....... . ................
3,289 3,336 3,441 3,878 4,718
We believe there are few, if any, State universities in America that have grown so fast in such a short time as the University of the Philippines. In 10 years the attendance rose from 1,400 in 1911-12 to 4,718 in 1921-22, or an increase of 237 per cent. Degrees granted.-The following table shows the number of degrees granted by the University of the Philippines:
393
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-1,9111,9,2,9,3 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 192119221 Total.
--
226 3 .... :h,Aj,: ' : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :: 1,\ ,'2, ,49, ,83, ,1,03,1,1:,6, 208 162 3 4 3 2 1 B. S. in Chern................. \ ... ·1·· ............. ' .~. . . ... .... 1 2 6 15 28 B. S. in Com. ................... ., .. \ .... \ . . .. ..~ ~ ...< . . . .. .... 3 9 1 1 B. S. in Gov't .................. , ............./. - ;:~ .................... 3 1 B. S. in Lib. Sc. ............... . ... ,. . .. .... .... .... .... . ... 2 2 B. S. .......................... .... .... .... 3 1 2 2 3 .... M. A. . ......................... I· 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 M. S........................... \.... .... . . .. 2 1 1 1 Sc. D. .......................... .... 1 .... H. S. T. C. .................... .. .. I .. ' .. \.. .. 1 10 15 29 36 62 61 35 B. S. in Ed. . .................. I .... \ . . .. .... 2 6 9 13 19 30 15 M. A. in Ed. . ................. /. . .. . ... I . . . . . ... 1. . . . 1 B. Agr. ........................ 21 4 5 11 19 9 11 16 30 32 31 45 . ... 1 . . Master Farmer ................. I···· 1.... 9 24 7 5 1 71 2 3 1 2 B. S. in Agr. . ................. I 11 1 1 2 4 2 1 1 M. S. in Agr. . ................ I .... \. . . . 1 .... .... ............ 2 1 5 C. E .... · ..... 7 .... 1 5 B. S. in Mech. Eng. ............ . .. ·1· .. .- .... \ .... 1 M. S. in Mech. Eng'. ............ ····1···:···· .... 3 5 4 15 15 3 5 B. S. in C. E. . ................. I·· . ·1 .... \. . .. . ... 1 2 5 1 2 M. S. in C. E. . ................ I···· I· ... ,. . .. . ... 8 14 7 3 2 2 4 5 D. V. M....................... \ .. :.1..... .... 5 LL. B. ........................ .... .... 19 18 35 20 29 29 23 19 17 32 2 2 LL. M............................. \ .... 1........ 1 .... I· .. · .... LL. D. . .........•............. I 1 .... I 1 1 "
Degree,
Deg1'ees granted by the University 0/ the Philippines
Qt
co
CI.:>
Total ......................
M. D. . ........................ B. S. Jr ...................... B. S. in Forestry ............... Graduate in Pharmacy .......... Pharmaceutical Chemist ......... B. S. in Pharmacy ............ Dental Surgery ................. Doctor of Tropical Medicine .... Doctor of Public Health ........
9
8 1
8
4
5
I
1
22
13
1
8
28
....3 ....3
23 \ 24
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25 I
197 8 2 86 52 26 12 12 1
1
106 \ 177 190 262 : 263 336 435 1 262[293! 2,417
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12
22
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19
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES The two preceding tables show that, considering the limited resources at its disposal, the University of the Philippines is meeting the demands upon it as satisfactorily as could be reasonably expected. Faculty.-The following table shows the membership of the faculty of the University of the Philippines: Americans.
Rank.
Deans
Filipinos.
Total.
1
................................... ,. ............
5 2 35
Directors ........................................ Professors .................................................. Professorial lecturers .............................. Associate professors ................................. Assistant professors ................................. Instructors ............................................... Lecturers .................................................... Total ..................................................
4 19
4 3 18 13 8 42 95 25
5 53 22 19 53 99 44
96
208
304
9 11 11
I
9
\
The foregoing table shows that there are 141 per cent as many Americans as Filipinos holding the highest ranks (professor and associate professor). The president of the university is an American. The university has always done its utmost to secure the services of American professors of high standing in the United States, but, due to insufficient funds, the university could not in many cases compete with the American universities. However, the American professors now in the university are, on the whole, highly capable, and their study of the local field in their respective lines has rendered them particularly useful as teachers and researchers. IX. SANITATION
The sanitation of the Tropics is always a difficult thing. The Orient is behind the West in her sanitation. But any impartial observer will see that the period of greater Filipino control has meant a greater progress in 396
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS sanitation to the Philippines. In this case, again we shall not be content with glittering generalities, but will get down to actual facts. ORGANIZATION
From 1909 to 1913 there were more Americans in the higher grades of the service. Up to 1913 the chiefs ~f hospitals were all Americans, with the exception of that of Butuan. Of 17 medical inspectors but 2 were Filipinos, the rest Americans. There were 9 junior medical inspectors, all Filipinos, and 27 district health officers, 5 of whom were Americans. Till 1914 there were 11 Provinces organized into sanitary divisions, with a total of 54 divisions, 6 Provinces into municipal health districts, and 21 Provinces into boards of health. In 1921 all the Provinces, including t hose of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, were organized into sanitary divisions, totaling 307 in all and embracing 639 municipalities, of which 46 sanitary divisions correspond to Mindanao and Sulu. Up to 1914 there were only 91 physicians employed as municipal health officers and 205 sanitary inspectors. At the beginning of 1920 there were 333 physicians employed by the Philippine Health Service, of which 219 physicians were municipal health officers and 503 sanitary inspectors and nurses, excluding those employed by the Provinces and municipalities. Between 1909 and 1914 no health officer had any other means of transportation for inspection trips than the ordinary transportation peculiar to each Province. At present 10 Provinces have automobiles for the exclusive use of the district health officers and their employees. These automobiles are sometimes used for trans397
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES porting sick people to hospitals and are ready at all times for emergency calls and immediate investigation of suspected cases of dangerous communicable diseases. Till 1914 the only source of information of morbidity and mortality in the Provinces was the statistics kept in the quarterly reports. At present a daily telephone report of the number of deaths occurring during the previous 24 hours is checked with the normal rate for each town, and any increase is immediately investigated in order that the proper sanitary measures may be taken without delay. This is one of the boons brought about by the implantation of the automatic health control. LABORATORIES
Up to 1914 Bulacan was the only Province which had an established laboratory. In 1920 there were 21 provincial laboratories, exclucling those in Mindanao and Sulu. These laboratories are under the control of the district health officers. MEDICAL RELIEF
There is about one physician to each 10,000 inhabitants in the Philippines, and it would be absurd to expect that such a small number could attend to a greater number of births and deaths. It can not, however, be denied that this number has been increasing every year, with the graduates coming from our two colleges proportionately with the number of inhabitants. Thus, for instance, in the Provinces in the year 1910 the number of decedents with medical attendance was 3.88 per cent of the total number of deaths, 4.91 per cent in 1914, 6.77 per cent in 1917, 6.47 per cent in 1918, 6.56 per cent in 1919, and 7.78 per cent in 1920. The increase, although slight, was steady during the years just mentioned. 398
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS In the city of Manila, where the proportion of practicing physicians to the population is larger, the number of deaths with medical attendance was, therefore, larger, being over 50 per cent of the total number of deaths for the last five years. The same thing may be said with regard to the proportion of births attended by physicians. In this connection mention ought to be made of the fact that a large number of births and deaths are reported as having had no medical attendance, although they may have really had, for the sim.ple reason that many physicians are not inclined to extend a death certificate, unless they have given assistance to the very end, although they may have attended the deceased at the beginning of his ailment. The same is true in the Provinces to a more or less extent. As a further proof that medical assistance, compared with that of recent years, has increased we may cite the large number of hospitals and dispensaries established not only in the different Provinces but also in villages and barrios, to which the sick go for treatment. In 1914 the number of our dispensaries was 60. These dispensaries were increased to 784 in 1919, and to this number 155 more have to be added as having been established in 1920. With reference to the total number of persons who have attended the dispensaries and hospitals in the Provinces, we may say that their number has increased in proportion to the number of dispensaries established. The total number of patients treated in the hospitals or rural dispensaries for the last five years aggregate 1,621,650, distributed as follows: 158,709 in 1917, 500,052 in 1918, 332,555 in 1919, 349,768 in 1920, and 280,576 in 1921 which, compared with the number of patients treated in the few dispensaries in 1914, which was only 11,596, show a notable progress in the matter of medical assistance bestowed upon the community in recent years. With these figures and this information, we do not pretend to show that a large propor399
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES tion of the Filipino people are at present enjoying adequate medical service, but we do want to demonstrate that in recent years greater attention has been bestowed upon these activities, filling up the want noted in past. years, by increasing the number of hospitals and dispensaries commensurate to the means at command of the Philippine Health Service. Up to 1914 there were 60 public free dispensaries, in which 11,596 patients were treated. In 1919 there were 784 dispensaries, in which 228,923 patients were treated. During 1920, 155 more dispensaries were established in the Provinces. Up to 1914 there were two insular and six provincial hospitals. In 1920 there were nine insular hospitals, excluding the Philippine General Hospital and the Southern Islands Hospital, which are at present administered under the secretaryship of the Department of the Interior, eight hospitals in the Department of Mindanao and SuIu, and three provincial hospitals. INFANT WELFARE
Only one organization existed prior to 1909. In 1915 infant-welfare work was inaugurated as a means to forestall the high infant mortality, arid since then there have been established 615 institutions, including women's clubs, puericulture centers, maternity homes, gotas de leche, dispensaries, and baby contests. DISPOSAL OF EXCRll1TA
As late as 1909 very few private houses outside of the city of Manila had water-closets. The system in general use was the so-called surface type. At the end of 1919 400
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS there were 140,565 Antipolo closets, both public and private, and 5,169 septic tanks. Of the Antipolo closets, 1,798 were available for public use. WATER SUPPLIES
Only 100 artesian wells: and 1 gravity water system (Manila) furnished safe drinking water in 1909. At the end of 1919, the city of Manila included, there were 2,547 artesian wells and 51 gravity systems furnishing safe, potable water to a population of about 2,600,000. LEGISLATION
The most salient feature of the laws enacted by the legislature relative to public health during the period 19131921 is their constructive character. In response to the growing activities of the health service the appropriation has been augmented from year to year, as may be gleaned from the following figures. They represent the insular, provincial, and municipal appropriations available for the Philippine health service, including the different sums allotted to fit from time to time by the emergency board: Philippine health service .appropriations 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915
............. Pl,524,530.36 ............. 1,851,324.18 ............. 1,994,730.33 ............. 1,892,353.78 ............. 2,224,103.75 ............. 1,456,358.90 ............. 1,466,460.87
1916 ............. Pl,303,488.77 1917. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,253,656.08 1918. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,014,230.80 1919. . .. . .. . .. ... 2,827,536.00 1920............. 3,453,828.00 1921. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,053,828.00
It should be noted, however, that prior to 1915 the Philippine General Hospital was under the administrative supervision of the director of health and its maintenance therefore included in the general appropriation of the bureau of health. Barring this item out, the appropriation for 1921 represents about three times that for 1913. 401
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES In 1915 the old bureau of health was reorganized, coming into existence as the Philippine health service. The council of hygiene was created with the purpose of advising and assisting the director of health in the administration of the Philippine health service, and the procedure to secure funds for health purposes in the provinces was provided for, thus placing it out of the whims of local politics. MORTALITY AND NATALITY
The average death rate for the period of 1914-1919 was 28.62 per 1,000 population, while that of the previous six years (1908-1913) was 32.28, showing a decrease of over 4 per thousand, in spite of the epidemics of smallpox, influenza, and cholera during the former period. In the provinces the average mortality rate was 27 per 1,000 for the period of 1914-1919, and 26.19 for 1908-1913. There was an increase of less than 1 unit, due possibly to the 0ccurrence of three extensive and serious epidemics that swept the islands during 1918 and 1919, viz., influenza, cholera, and smallpox, which diseases caused a combined mortality of about 107,787 during 1918 alone. Undoubtedly a more complete death registration brought about by the improvement in the provincial health organization was partly to account for the frightful number of deaths. The following comparative table represents the total number of deaths which occurred in the city of Manila and in the provinces in accordance with the report submitted to the director of health. Comparing the total number of reported deaths during those last years, caused by said four dis/eases, it is evident that in all and in each of said diseases, mortality has notably diminished from 1918. 402
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Comparative table of deaths caused by preventable diseases in Manila and P1'ovinces Total number of deaths, Years,
1918 1919 1920
T yp h 01'd .
Ma 1" ana.
B"b" er1 en.
4,395 3,810 2,652
41,014 37,956 26,660
12,597 12,387 12,509
I Tuberculosis. 29,318 29,653 25,239
INFANT MORTALITY
In spite of repeated epidemics it is gratifying to say that the infant mortality has greatly decreased from 425.95 during the period of 1908-1913 to 329.48 for the period 1914-1919 in Manila, due chiefly to the efforts of the service with the cooperation of private institutions. In this connection it is worthy of note that the rate for 1920213.02-was the lowest ever attained in Manila. The main factors that have influenced this remarkable decrease of infant mortality rate were the campaign against infantile beriberi, the enactment of a law for the preparation of tiqui-tiqui extract, the organization of public health nursing division, which has lately extended its activities to the Provinces, and the establishment of women's clubs, puericulture centers, maternity homes, etc. A further decrease in the future in the light of actual experience may confidently be expected. In the Provinces the infant mortality rate has gone parallel with the curve of general mortality, for the reasons already given. The averages are 177.95 for the period of 1908-1913 and 186.28 for 1914-1918. The natality in the Philippine Islands has run quite a puzzling curve, especially in Manila. Birth rates have been steadily decreasing, both in Manila and in the Provinces, 403
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES during several years past. The average birth rate during the six-year period of 1914-1919 was 33.59 for Manila and 38.46 for the Provinces as against the average for the period 1908-1913 of 36.97 for Manila and 39.93 per 1,000 population for the Provinces. We sincerely confess that no satisfactory reason could be given to explain this decrease in the natality in the Philippine Islands. In order to make a more thorough investigation as to the causes of this decrease a longer period of time would be necessary to have a comprehensive view of the matter. If we examine and compare the curves of rates for Manila and the Provinces, we have to admit the existence of a common factor that has influenced both. May it perhaps be explained by the effects of the World War? COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
In regard to communicable diseases, the service has not yet passed through the stage of epidemic eradication. Much work has already been done along this line from the American occupation to the present time, but it must be understood that in dealing with the control of communicable diseases, many of which are endemic in the Philippine Islands, the time that has elapsed is so short as to expect to put them under complete control. Moreover, an important factor, which should not be lost sight of, in the control of these diseases is its constructive feature, and this, it should be said, has hardly been started, when waves of epidemic outbreaks again appear, keeping the activities of the service within the limit of more eradication and limiting its efforts to active epidemic campaign. The eradication of epidemics is a problem depending upon many complex factors, which, although slowly, are nevertheless being steadily eliminated. 404
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Plague has been completely eradicated. The last case of plague in human being was registered in 1914. The rat campaign is, however, being continued, and since 1915 not a single rat was found positive for plague bacilli. Smallpox and cholera had been under control for a good number of years, but due perhaps to the conditions brought about by the World War and influenced by the dreadful epidemics of influenza serious outbreaks of these diseases occurred during 1918 and 1919. Vaccinations against these diseases have since been performed in the whole Philippine Islands-3,523, 749 vaccinations against smallpox and 200,619 vaccinations against cholera-with the gratifying result that but very few cases and deaths were registered in both Manila and the Provinces. The typhoid fever problem has now entered the prosodemic stage-well determined contact infection-and the question of its complete eradication will largely depend upon the extension of hygienic education. and the improvement in general sanitation. Typhoid vaccination has been pushed during the past year, making it compulsory for all contacts, food handlers, and food vendors. In connection with this campaign other measures, such as the finding of carriers, the improvement of water supply, the establishment of good sewage disposal have been given impetus. During 1920, 18,938 vaccinations against typhoid were performed. DYSENTERY, DIPHTHERIA, AND LEPROSY
Cases and deaths are decreasing, in general, although there was a slight increase in Manila from 10 deaths to 11 per 10,000 population. Two types of dysentery are responsible for this number of cases and deaths, but the increase, according to a partial investigation, was due most405
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES ly to the bacillary type, the amebic being on the decrease on account of the improvement achieved along sanitary lines in provincial towns. Cases and deaths from diphtheria have been steadily decreasing. The campaign for searching for and isolating of carriers, started since 1914, has brought about this satisfactory result. Leprosy is one of the diseases that has received more attention from the health authorities and the powers that be during recent years. Segregation has undoubtedly been instrumental in the relative decrease of the number of lepers found. The modern treatment of leprosy has been studied and tried with promising results, and on account of its importance will be discussed separately in this memorandum. INFLUENZA AND TUBERCULOSIS
The endemic wave of influenza reached the islands at the end of the second quarter, 1918. This wave, however, lasted scarcely two months, to reappear and decimate the population during the last quarter of the year. This disease alone has doubled the general death rate for the year 1918 and contributed to a large extent to increasing the number of deaths from several diseases, especially respiratory. Cases and deaths from tuberculosis have also gone up, especially after the influenza epidemic. But it is just to say that the service has not paid much attention to it, the campaign being largely in the hands of the Antituberculosis Society, a private institution which is, in great part, supported by the government. In general, the figures for these communicable dis路 eases, with the exception of diphtheria, plague, and leprosy, have gone up. But this increase is merely apparent, as 406
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the same is mostly due to the improvement in reporting cases and deaths which resulted from the enforcement of regulations for compulsory notification. TREATMENT OF LEPROSY
A committee for the investigation and treatment of leprosy was created on May 3, 1920, consisting of the following members: Two medical officers of this service, one of whom was appointed chairman. One bacteriologist from the bureau of science. One chemist from the bureau of science. Three professors from the medical faculty of the University of the Philippines. The preliminary report of this committee has been most encouraging. The legislature was requested to appropriate the sum of P600,000 in order to give adequate treatment for one year to 5,000 segregated lepers, but in view of the depleted state of the insular treasury it was reduced to P100,000. It is interesting to cite at this juncture one of the conclusions of the committee on leprosy investigation in its preliminary report: In view of the * * * results obtained, it is certain that there are at hand new methods of treatment which in the short time that we have used them have caused remarkable alleviation of the symptoms of this disease, and which, if used systematically over longer periods, will probably produce permanent cures in a greater percentage of cases treated than any of the methods heretofore available.
X. LOCAL ADMINISTRATION
There are five political units in the Philippines for the purpose of local administration, namely, Provinces (which are divided into regular and special), subprovinces, char407
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES tered cities, municipalities, and municipal districts. The regular PrQvinces are those governed by the general provincial law and are wholly self-supporting and enjoy complete representative government. The special Provinces are those organized by special acts and are neither wholly self-supporting nor enjoying entirely a representative government, their status being only temporary to become sooner or later regular Provinces. A subprovince is a political subdivision within a regular Province, directly administered by a subprovincial governor on account of its geographical situation. The chartered cities are those governed by special charters on account of their special conditions, like Manila and Baguio. The regular municipalities are those governed by the general municipal law; and the municipal districts are th0se political units which, for some reason or other, can not maintain themselves as regular municipalities. There are 37 Fegular Provinces and 2 special Provinces under the executive bureau, and 9 special Provinces under the bureau of non-Christian tribes, 2 subprovinces, 2 chartered cities, 889 municipalities, and about 400 municipal districts. The regular Provinces were formerly governed by a provincial board composed of one elective governor and two appointive members, all of which are now elective. The special Provinces were formerly governed by a provincial board composed of one appointed provincial governor and two appointed members. Now, 7 out of 11 of our special Provinces elect their provincial governors and third members. The subprovinces are governed by the provincial board of the corresponding main Province but, as stated above, are being administered through their own subprovincial governors. The government of the city of Manila is vested in a mayor appointed by the Governor General . and a municipal board elected by the people of the city. The 408
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS municipal board, which is the legislative body for the city, consists of 10 members, including the chairman. The government of the city of Baguio is vested in a mayor, a vice mayor, and three other members, two of them elected by the people. These five persons constitute thel city council. There is also an advisory council composed of five Igorotes presided over by the mayor or other member of the city council, whose duty is to make suggestions, and recommendations to the city council in matters of general interest. The Governor General appoints the mayor and vice mayor and one member of the city council and all the members of the advisory council. The regular municipal government is vested in a president, a vice president, and a council, all elected by the people. The government of the municipal districts is also vested in a president, a vice president, and a council, all appointed by the provincial governor of the Province. Practically all the officials and subordinate employees of these different kinds of our local governments, whether appointed or elected, are Filipinos, and practically all the responsible officials in our local governments are elected by the people. We can, therefore, safely say that the people or their authorized representatives govern our Provinces and municipalities. Our provincial and municipal governments are acting under specific powers granted them by the legislature. They have also what we call a general welfare clause authority granted them by law, but they can only act under this authority with the supervision of the department of the interior. The principal aim of the administration is to give our provincial and municipal governments as great a local autonomy as compatible with the existing laws. Formerly, Provinces, municipalities, and chartered cities were under the administrative supervision and control of the Governor 409
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES General, but after the reorganization act all our local governments were transferred to the department of the interior, acting through the executive bureau or the bureau of non-Christian tribes, as the case may be. But neither the department of the interior nor the executive bureau intervenes by means of executive requirement, except in rare instances, as such policy has been found to work curtailment on the autonomy of our Provinces and municipalities. Accordingly, our Provinces and municipalities are not subj ect to intervention by the central government so long as they confine themselves within the province of their legal powers. Acting within these powers our Provinces and municipalities are self-governing communities, petty commonwealths. N either the department of the interior nor the executive bureau intervenes on their own initiative in the acts, resolutions, etc., of the municipalities, and the executive bureau takes cognizance of questions involving such acts and resolutions only when appeal is taken pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Code, in which case only the point of legality or illegality of an act or resolution concerned is decided. When a protest is filed by a person or persons affected, the bureau passes upon the protest and, if found to be well founded, makes the necessary and proper suggestion to the provincial board, which invariably takes action accordingly. As a rule, the question of the convenience or wisdom of a measure is left primarily for the municipality to decide, and the central government does not interfere unless there is a clear abuse of authority or wanton or capricious exercise thereof. This is also true of administrative charges formulated against municipal officials. Although the executive bureau, with the approval of the secretary -of the interior, is empowered to conduct special investigation of charges formulated against municipal officials, 'it has never made use of such power except in rare instances where the interest 410
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS of justice and good government so require. The investigation and punishment of municipal officials are thus left entirely in the hands of their own immediate chiefs. Comparing the number and result of administrative cases for 1909-1913 with those for 1914-1920, we give the following comparative ta.bles: Number I of Number officials of cases. found guilty.
Officials. I
1909-1913.
Provincial ... Municipal ... Total ...
.I II I
I 5 929 934
I
Officials.
Number of Number officials of cases. found guilty.
I
1914-1920.
5 671
Provincial .. Municipal ..
2 660
676
Total
...
662
1 419 420 1
The above table shows that from the year 1909 to 1913, inclusive, five years, there were accused 5 provincial officials and 929 municipal officials, of whom all of the former and 671 of the latter were found guilty. On the other hand, from the years 1914 to 1920, inclusive (seven years), there were accused only 2 provincial officials and 660 municipal officials, of whom only 1 of the former and 419 of the latter were found guilty. This result is most gratifying. It shows a constant improvement in our municipal administration, a better realization on the part of our municipal officials of the responsibilities contracted by them with their constituents-the people whose sovereign will has exalted them to position and power. It is gratifying to note that this policy of granting" greater autonomy to our local Provinces and municipalities is productive of good results. Our provincial and municipal officials now more than ever appear to understand the responsibilities they have assumed and their adrninistra411
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES tion has been characterized as a rule by initiative, prompt action, and devoted interest in the welfare of the community. Rarely have they adopted ordinances and measures which could not stand the test of propriety. Some of their acts have been found beyond the sphere of their powers, defective in form, but these cases were few, and whenever found to occur investigation showed that the error has been committed with the wholesome intention of serving public interest, not for any selfish or personal end. The--t!Iiief sources of revenue of Provinces and municipalities are the cedula tax, the percentage of the internalrevenue taxes accruing to them, the land tax, the fees for cattle, registration, and the municipal licenses and rents and profits derived from the municipal utilities, privileges, and properties. The policy with reference to taxation is to permit Provin~es and municipalities to increase local taxes, especially those proceeds intended f.or education, sanitation, and permanent public improvements. One of the most significant and substantial results obtained from the extension of popular control over our local governments and the Filipinization and local autonomy policies observed during the past years is the remarkable improvement of the finances of our Provinces and mtlTIicipalities notwithstanding the difficulties encountered due to the economic crisis of recent years. Some facts about this improvement of our local finances should be known: During the period of 1914-1920 a general revision of assessment of real properties was conducted in all Provinces in accordance with the law. From this assessment we find an increase of 1,703,449 in the number of lots of taxable real property on December 31, 1920, as compared with the number of taxable property on September 30, 1913. This increase is about 100 per cent. Likewise the value of real properties subject to taxation for the periods ending on the dates above mentioned has increased, the increase val412
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS uation being P822,985,360, or about 280 per cent. The increase, of course, means increased revenue from the real property tax source for our local governments. The collection of local taxes by provincial treasurers and their deputies has also shown a remarkable degree of improvement since the time of our autonomous government. In the exercise of their supervisory function the department of the interior and the executive bureau have been suggesting ordinances imposing taxes. Local governments in almost all cases have accepted the department's suggestion and the result is quite remarkable. A study of the revenues of the Provinces and municipalities during 1914-1920 as compared with the period 1909-1913 shows an increase of 1,090 per cent, the average percentage of yearly increase being 1'55.5 per cent. Some concrete figures about the market collections in our Provinces and municipalities should also be known. During the years 1909-1913 the market collections of the Provinces under the executive bureau were P3,964,810.81, or an average per annum of P792,962.17, while during the period of 1914-1920 our market collections in the Provinces and municipalities reached the total of P7,940,370.62, or an average per annum of P1,154,732.78. Notwithstanding the fact that the revenue collections in our Provinces and municipalities have been greatly and remarkably increased every year, the amount of money collected has proved to be insufficient to cover the financing of the whole program of intellectual and moral development and to meet other growing needs of these communities. To remove this difficulty, it has been found necessary to give our Provinces and municipalities greater autonomy in the imposition of local taxes. In fact, there is already a bill submitted to our legislature in this respect, and we hope that the same will become law in an immediate future. 413
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES The program of improvements most heartily accepted by our local officials is the establishment of more schools and school buildings, market buildings, roads and bridges, artesian wells, waterwork systems, electric-light plants, municipal presidencias, provincial capitols, etc. This program is路 so extensive, and so intense is the people's desire for its execution, and at the same time the funds in the government's treasury so insufficient, that it has been found necessary in almost all the Provinces of the archipelago either to solicit voluntary contributions from the people in money and other effects or materials, or to ask for loans from the central government, payable by installments. Another fact which is worthy of mention here is the dissemination of English as the only recognized language in all official correspondence in our Provinces and municipalities. From the very beginning of American government in the islands the policy has been to make the English language the common and official language in the Philippines. Such desire found expression in an act passed by the Philippine Commission in 1904 making the English language the official language of all courts and their records, beginning 1906 (this period, however, was extended by later acts of legislature), and in the executive order of the Governor General of August 8, 1912, requiring all the officials and employees of the government, except the courts, to use whenever possible the English language in writing their correspondence, and the provincial boards and municipal councils in their minutes and in their correspondence. There is, however, a proviso in said executive order to the effect that where it is not practicable to carry this policy into effect the offices concerned should inform the executive bureau, whose chief is empowered to modify the rule in such case. It is, indeed, very gratifying to note that from 414
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 1914 to 1920 only 28 requests for exceptions from the provincial boards and 54 from the municipal councils were made to the executive bureau for permission to continue the use of the Spanish language in their minutes and ,i n their official correspondence. It is no exaggeration to say that now almost all provincial boards and municipal councils have adopted and are now using the English language with success. XI. LABOR
The last administration, being in closer touch with the people, has naturally shown a much deeper regard for those affairs which directly touch the life of the people. The interest of the government in a more harmonious relationship between labor and capital is a proof to this fact. Upon native initiative, a bureau of labor has been established for the promotion of better relations between capital and labor. It urges legislation for the improvement of the condition of the laborers. It compiles data on labor conditions and is empowered to inspect shops, factories, and other industrial and commercial establishments which employ labor. Another important work of the bureau of labor is to settle differences between employers and labor unions. The bureau acts as an arbitrator in questions affecting them in order to avoid strikes or to settle strikes which have been called by laborers. Under its auspices committees on conciliation and arbitration are often appointed. The decision of the committee in order to be binding must be approved by at least two members of the representatives of each party. The committee can also appoint an arbiter, whose decision shall be compulsory on both sides. 415
.I
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES The bureau of labor is empowered through its attorney to bring suits gratuitously for poor laborers when their attempts at peaceful and amicable settlements prove futile. It also maintains employment agencies where those who need work may apply, and superintends the interprovincial migration of laborers. The activities of the bureau before and after 1914 are shown in the comparative figures contained in the following tables:
416
ANDRES BONIFACIO MONUMENT, BALINTAWAK, RIZAL
...;J
"""
~
Total ,
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
Total ,
1909-10 , 1911 1912 1913 .. "
Year.
1
I
I
I I
,
I
342
10 11 17 50 84 67 68 35
49
13 5 20 11
Number.
-
63,040
1,017 336 4,485 5,842 16,289 4,150 11,139 19,782
10,695
3,105 222 4,488 2,880
Workers involved.
Strikes and other industrial disputes.
I
I
I
I
I
_,',
4
6
I
I
I .1
228 \
4 8 7 40' 62 43 51 13
32
I
I r
~路l路
-o~
..
I 114 \
6 3 10 10 22 24 17 22
17
7
-- -
-r
.~
.
..:....
-
275
6 6 7 47 83 54 46 26
34
8 3 15 8
I
I
II
..
67
1 13 22 9
3
4 5 10
15
5 2 5 3
Nonunionist.
Status. Unionist.
.... _. 51'" ........ 16 --~ 4 "--':1
7 I
I
Against worker.
Adjustment.
With advantage to worker.
1
-
I
I
I
237
6 11 13 37 50 50 48 22
30
3 5 14 8
Wages.
19
105
o UJ
~
~
~
~
4
13 34 17 20 13
"'d
4
o
~ t:;
~
Z
ttj
6 3
~
ttj pj
Z
..........
I
o
<:
!;J
10
..........
All other causes.
Causes of conflicts.
Comparative statement of the important activities of the bureau of labor from the middle of the year 1909 (yea?' of creation) up to 1921, inclusive
...."'00"
Total '"
1909-10 1911 ...... 1912 ...... 1913 ......
-
Number of claimants.
1
W
ages.
I
~ler
causes.
0
Causes. Can-
favor 1 Against 1 celed of worker. or disworker. missed.
In
Adjustment.
I
I
I
I
753 264 795 ], 795 1 027 940 5{}7 1,041 1 327 337 2392 455 2478 : 619 3605 775 I
I
558 / 1,881
138 890 800 I
31 17 7
515 I . 43 II I I 725 128/ 669 1 126 69 458 37 560 51 276 56 336 66 326 500 105
1
341 182 292 \
374 266 273 212 '95 178 247 344\
357 II
17 118 215 !
4,474
6,226
3,850 \~11,989
I
I
1,003 \ 1,265
......
......
108\ 10,598.77\
I
61 41 61
85,885.51
42 337 \ 6,931.09 9,107.87 ,396 133 1254 6,662.44 6,503.20 33 352 2,494.58 52 180 1139 6,282.63 23,626.04 1145 120:5 ...... 24,277.66
93 /
14 40 23
1 - - 1 - - -! -
I
I
I
37 199 299
collected. Not
Total involved.
138,238.74
8,817.93 18,273.79 24,517.22 14,471.72 25,981.28 12,048.08 12,048.85 22,079.87
I
I
16,572.931
I
1
P405.89 I 6,206.70 \ 2,792.14 7,168.20
224,124.25
.
27,171.70 15,749.,02 27,381.66 31,179.66 20,974.92 28,475.86 18,330.71 35,674.89 46,357.53
P565.44 6,717.73 4,801.37 15,087.16
1-----P159.55 I 511. 03 1 2,009.23 7,918.96
COOlected.
Amount.
1
Dismissed included. 2 75 and 86 claims were pending in 1919 and 1920, respectively, but were subsequently acted upon in the year following. 3 56 claims were pending at the close of 1921.
Total ...
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
I
I
I
i--I----I----/----I I I I 1 "'jI 23 531 7I 16 I 7 16. . . . . .
Year.
-
I Claims and complaints.
1
Conflicts between maste1'S and servants and employers and wQ1'kpeople regarding the payment of wages, etc. ttj
CJ).
ttj
Z
H
'ij 'ij
H
t'I
::t:: H
'ij
ttj
::t::
t-3
o"%j
>
H
t:J
ttj
o'ij
t'I
Z o ~ o
....co
~
2,592
Total.
I
I
26
2 12 12
2,307
I
I1 178
, 1
1
I
I
I
I
1
I........... I
I
Perpetual.
18 213 12 283 8 262 30 279 38 252 385 ................... 55 387 17 246
534
105 149 147 133
Temporary.
Degree of incapacitation.
.
=
-'I"
~r
1
I
I
1
I
"
...~
,;,.-
,
3,,044
291 351 342 367 341 427 551 374
738
123 210 215 190
Total.
I
1,890
220 209 244 285 158 1250 282 250
372
13 82 161 116
Indemnified.
I
I
1,112
113 100 98 82 183 1143 269 124
366
110 128 54 74
Not indemnified.
79,658.90
8,307.22 9,817.92 8,696.27 6,713.41 7,579.25 8,743.76 11,516.99 18,284.08
1_________
I\
I I
15,980.71
$1,821.17 3,383.08 5,238.23 5,538.23
Amount collected as indemnity.
The cases of 31 victims were still pending for solution
559
60 56 72 58 51 42 109 111
178
1859 56 45
Fatal.
Victims.
Labor accidents
1 These figures refer to cases of accidents. at the close of 1921.
________ I
267 323 301 349 193 393 460 306
.... .... ... . .... .... .... .... ....
914 915 916 917 918 919 920 1 921
639
Total .
I
123 168 170 178
Number of accidents.
909-10 . 911 .... 912 .... 913 ....
Year.
I
Ul
o
1-4
t"'I t-3 1-4
I-d
o
t:I
>-Z
zt-3
l:tj
a=
z
~
<: l:tj
~
o
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Number of home seekers and contracted laborers, including members of families, recruited by the bureau ' of labor since its creation up to ,December 31, 1921 Home seekers and contracted laborers, including members of families: 1909-10 ........ :.................................... 126 1911 ................................................ 3,390 1912 ................................................ 2,244 1913 ................................................ 5,799 'ro~al
........................................... 11,559
1914 ............................................... . 1915 ............................................... . 1916 ............................................... . 1917 ............................................... . 1918 ............................................... . 1919 ............................................... . 1920 (this number includes home seekers indirectly recruited by the bureau of labor) ................... . 1921 ,(recruitment for home seekers was suspended by the middle of June, 1921, due to the retrenchment policy of the government) .................................. .
4,028 1,(l85 2,019 4,442 7,919 3,011 16,281 3,168
Total .................... . ...................... 41,953
Registration and placements of workers Year.
Registered.
Placed.
Percentage.
1909-10 ................ . 1911 .................. . 1912 .................. . 1913 .................. .
1,864 2,204 5,612 5,631
973 1,334 2,598 2,501
52.2 60.5 46.3 44.4
Total .............. .
15,311
7,406
48.37
... .............. .
4,473 3,076 5,304 7,056 5,992 3,834 4,497 3,765
3,145 2,971 4,103 5,385 5,736 3,403 3,416 3,028
70.3 96.6 77.4 76.3 95.7 88.8 75.9 80.4
Total .............. .
37,997
1914 1915 1916 1.917 1918 1919 1920 1921
~
I
-- -
31,187
I
82.7
NO'l'E.-The above figures comprise the number of persons of different trades registered and placed by the agencies of the bureau of labor, wit,!l the exception of contracted laborers and home seekers; a detailed statement of the same appears in another table. 420
I:\:)
...."""
2,761
1918
1,.71
628 I
225 I
319 I
1,.71
438
187
297
447
229
180
193
I,
1,953
1,093
677
I,
249
75
104
65
72
64
40
\___
1,113
503
113
167
131
93
59
47
\ W ~men'l Minors.
7,320 5,6381 66.1
2,705
1,281
948
645
841
342
260
568
I
I
Men.
733
465
347
Total. ~
Emigrants returning to the Philippines.
NOTE.-The data on emigrants corresponding to the period of time from 1909 to 1914 were not classified as to sex and class, inasmuch as this activity came under the jurisdiction of the bureau of labor in 1915 by virtue of Act 2486. The approximate number {)f emigrants to Hawaii was 19,039 in the above period of time. No data are available of the number of emigrants who have returned to the Philippines from 1909 to 1912. The number of emigrants who have returned to the islands from 1913 to 1914 is 169.
_____________ I,
23,7881,.,"6
5,74.8 I
I
6,814
1921
I
3,0~2
I I
3,454
1920
3,181 I
3,797
I
178 I
2,191 I 284 I
157 I
1,877 I
2,030 I
180 I
1,777 I
I Women. I Minors.
I I I
J
I Men.
1919
Total ...............
2,598
1917
2,150
1916
I
2,214
1915
Year. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ \ Total
Emigrants to Hawaii.
Movement of Filipino laborers to and from the Territory of Hawaii
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES From the year 1914 to 1921 the bureau of labor has recruited and sent to different places of the archipelago 41,953 laborers and home seekers, and has given employment to 31,187 men and women of different trades. The effect of this campaign has been, of course, the dissemination in the mind of the laboring class of the necessity of moving from the congested places of the island to thinly populated and uncultivated regions. This gives them an inducement to cultivate the soil and become small landowners. In order to attain the best possible results in the campaign of the bureau relative to the intermigration of laborers, committees of propaganda have been organized in different points of the islands. These committees cooperate with recruiting agents in convincing the people of the benefits of intermigration, and encouraging them to stay in their own country rather than go abroad in the expectation of high wages. Actually there are 1,868 committees of propaganda with a membership of 11,612. XII. SOCIAL PROGRESS (A) WOMEN'S ACTIVITIES
The first woman's organization of a nonsectarian character to gain considerable prestige and recognition in this country is the Woman's Club of Manila. It was organized in 1910 by prominent ladies of Manila at the initiative of Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt. Since its organization this club has always been a cosmopolitan one, and its membership list has always contained the names of prominent ladies in the city-Americans, English, French, Filipino, and others. Through its various committees the club succeeded in establishing four day nurseries in the city of Manila; in 422
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS getting put up the flower market, formerly located at the foot of the Bridge of Spain, but now in the botanical gardens; in getting an industrial teacher for the insane women at San Lazaro, and a teacher for the women prisoners at Bilibid. The club also contributed much toward the success of the Liberty loan campaigns in the islands, and helped greatly in Red Cross work during the war. During the most critical moment of the World War, the Woman's Club of Manila, through its civic committee, conducted an island-wide campaign in home gardening and poultry raising. This was in the year 1916 and it marked the beginnIng of the organization of branch woman's clubs in different parts of the islands. At that time one or two women's organizations were in existence in some of the more progressive Provinces, but the interest of the women was only local. For the purpose of giving proper instructions to the women about organizing clubs several interested members of the Woman's Club of Manila went out to the Provinces to lead the organization. The names of Mesdames Wrentmore, Levant, Brown, Westerhouse, Pond, Kalaw, Apacible, Calderon, Agcaoili, Morente, Vamenta, Delgado, and the Misses Barreto, Fernandez, Almeda, Lopez, and Wrehtmore (now Mrs. Francis B. Harrison), will always be remembered in connection with the arduous trips made to the Provinces to get the provincial women interested and to appeal to their patriotism. ~t that time the sole aim was to help win the war by working in the Philippines for a more stable supply of food products for local consumption. Incidentally, work in connection with the Liberty loan campaigns and the Red Cross drive were carried on as a part of the task of the women. The provincial women responded splendidly to the appeal made to them. It was surprising to note how quick423
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Iy clubs sprung up in towns where women never ventured out to do anything of the kind before. In less than six months many women's clubs were organized. By the end of the year 1918, 190 clubs were in good working order, reporting splendid work in home gardening and poultry and hog raising, and working harmoniously with the government officials in civic matters of interest to the country in general and their town in particular. Since 1918 the growth of the clubs in the Provinces has been very steady and encouraging, until today there are 342 woman's clubs established from far-north Cagayan to southern J 010. And the Filipino women by doing this have stepped out from their old ,shell of seclusion and taken up their responsibilities side by side with the men, and hand in hand with their /'listers in the most progressive countries of the world. In the year 1921, at the convention held in Manila, these clubs decided to federate, and we now have the National Federation of Woman's Clubs of the Philippines. The federation holds an annual convention at which delegates from the various woman's clubs in the islands come to attend. It is primarily a charitable organization, taking no part in religion or politics. Since the close of the war the work of the clubs has extended to a wider field of action. Food production continues to be one of its activities, for with better and a more varied diet, there will be stronger mothers and, consequently, stronger babies and children. The principal activity, which appeals to the club women generally, is the work in connection with the infant mortality campaign. With the conveniences of the law recently passed providing for insular aid to all charitable organizations desiring to carryon permanent work in child-welfare work, the interest of the 424
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS women has become more keen. Women's clubs are trying their best to raise funds for their work. The most progressive ones have started to do work of their own accord, and already dispensaries and health centers have been established in the bigger towns. Besides these two activities, the clubs take up the problem of civic betterment in their localities. Schools and playgrounds have been established through the initiative of some clubs; streets and parks have been widened and made more attractive; and markets and other public conveniences have always received attention from interested club women. But the most salient result of club work in this country is the educational influence it is bearing upon the Filipino woman. It is the ardent expectation of every club woman in the Philippines to work ultimately for a better standard of living, especially among the laboring class, in order to give their children a fair ,start in life by giving them a good home. The clubs will continue to carryon the work they have started as enumerated in the foregoing paragraphs. The present program of work, as outlined and discussed at the last convention, is as follows: 1. Infant mortality work-in correlation with the plans of the public welfare commissioner. 2. Sanitation and town improvement. 3. Food production. One enc~uraging feature of club work in this country is that it is attracting the sympathy of the government, a case which is not true, in a financial sense, in other countries. The clubs here work in coordination with the different branches of the government which have something to do with their activities. Such are the bureau of agriculture in the food-production campaign and the bureau of health in sanitation and town improvement. These two 425
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES government institutions help the clubs by giving advice and suggestions and instructing their field employees to help the clubs as much as possible. The financial aid of the government to deserving clubs is g~ven through the public welfare commissioner's office. The public welfare commissioner is taking an unselfish interest in those clubs doing creditable work and always extends insular aid to them upon proper application to carry on activities dealing with child-welfare work. A group of clubs in one of the Provinces made a petition, indorsed by the federation, requesting the Governor General to set aside a day to be known as mother's day in the Philippines. This petition was favorably acted upon, and the Governor General has proclaimed the first Monday of December of every year as mother's day in the Philippines. The clubs are also petitioning their legislators to pass a law providing for the establishment of a proper juvenile court in the city. This petition has been presented for the third time at the last session of the legislature and favorably recommended by the Governor General in his message, but no action was taken on it. The clubs will continue to petition for it until they get it established. Another petition which has created quite a stir among our legislators is the one asking for the complete abolition of cockpits in the islands, cockfighting being known as the national sport of the Filipino people. In its place athletic games are recommended as a better sport. This petition was headed by several of the representatives and senators and a bill was presented in both houses of the legislature. Both bills were killed after a deliberate discussion in both houses. There are at present 342 women's clubs in the Philippines in good working order. Added to these are a number 426
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS of junior clubs, which have for members girls ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. From 18 up the women are admitted as regular members of women's clubs. There are approximately 12,000 women enrolled as members in the various women's clubs. A good majority of them (about two-thirds) understand and speak English, and they conduct their meetings and write their communications in English. The rest use Spanish or the native dialect at their meetings and write their communications in Spanish. Club work in the Philippines is still in its early stage, but it is growing fast. With the impetus given the club women they have succeeded in accomplishing the little that they could do for the betterment of their country. Outside help is, in a general way, not lacking. The women's clubs expect to achieve their present plan of activities and, incidentally, strive to work alon.g some other line of activities that may demand their attention from time to time. The federation will continue to organize more clubs and extend it work all over the islands. It will also continue to work for better laws for women and children, and especially for working women. (B)
PUBLIC WELFARE WORK
The present state of charity work in the Philippines had its historical beginning during the early part of Spanish occupation, when the Catholic Church first distributed alms to the poor. The large endowments of this church, together with the revenue from its vast estates and the contributions of individuals, enabled it to carryon all the charitable work it undertook. The funds thus collected were used for various purposes-support of church activities and religious orders; alms for the poor; doweries for poor Spanish girls, Filipino and Mestizo women; contributions to hospital and prison funds. 427
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE 路PHILIPPINES The church is still promoting and supporting the good enterprises it started and is inspiring the establishment of similar work all over the islands. With the advent of the American regime, and the consequent separation of the church from the state, many new welfare organizations were established. In various parts of the islands the Protestant missions founded hospitals, schools, and asylums, which have become great factors in promoting modern welfare work. Other private organizations, such as the Anti-Tuberculosis Society, "La Liga Nacional Filipina para la Protecci6n de la Primera Infancia," the "Gota de Leche," and the Woman's Club of Manila were created to work side by side with the religious organizations in solving the many pressing social problems that have developed with progress and civilization. In the early days of the American occupation the government had so much reconstruction work to do that it had no time to devote to the promotion and support of charitable work. Welfare organizations were established, only to fail because of lack of funds. The government gave a few deserving institutions financial assistance, but fixed no rules and regulations regarding the expenditures of money thus allotted. Once a stable government was established the legislature turned its attention to the improvement of social conditions. The development of modern social work in the Philippines has been slow but nevertheless progressive. The Jones law, which created the new organic act of the Philippine Islands, curtailed many of the activities of the sectarian welfare institutions which received financial support from the government by providing in part as follows: "No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or I used, directly or indirectly, for 428
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such." The immediate effect was the creation of many nonreligious welfare organizations, several of which are now functioning in Manila and in various parts of the islands. Recognizing the need of coordinated work among the private and public welfare agencies, the legislature on February 5, 1915, created the public welfare board. This board acted as the government agency for controlling the disbursement of public charity funds to semiprivate intitutions like the Anti-Tuberculosis Society, "Gota de Leche," and the Woman's club. On February 23, 1916, an act was passed by the legislature appropriating P1,OOO,000 ~or the protection of early infancy and the estaplishment of branches of the "Gota de Leche." Local organizations were granted aid from this fund as much as what they raised. It may be stated that at this period the government had definitely decided to undertake the campaign against infant mortality. In 1917 the government established an orphanage for destitute and dependent children from all over the islands. The activity of the institution was further regulated by the enactment of Act 2815. The orphanage since its foundation has been managed according to the most modern methods and principles. On February 18, 1918, the public welfare board membership was reduced to five and its administrative control was placed under the department of the interior. The administration of the million-peso funds for the protection of early infancy and the establishment of maternity and child-welfare centers were also placed under the control of the Secretary of the Interior on March 22, 1920. Later 429
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES these activities were all grouped together by Act 2988, enacted February 24, 1921, into one office-the office of the public welfare commissioner-which started operation on May 1, 1921. The aims of the office can be summarized as follows: To promote all work directed toward the early reduction of infant mortality in the Philippines by employing adequate means for this purpose and for carrying out other activities intended to bring about the general welfare of the community, especially that which concerns children. The office of the public welfare commissioner has laid out definite plans for the reduction of infant mortality in the islands. 1. It plans to train an efficient corps of maternity and child-welfare workers, who will be ready to respond to calls from all p~rts of the islands: (a) By giving instructions in case work to its medical and social service members of its staff in community organization, coordination of social forces, organizations, and management of medical and child-welfare centers. (b) By imparting the same knowledge to cooperating physicians, nurses, midwives, and other child-welfare workers outside of the office. (c) By supervising and advising existing maternity and child-welfare agencies or institutions, in order to make their work come up to a certain standard. 2. It plans to coordinate all child-welfare activities, like those of the Philippine health service, of the Philippines chapter, American Red Cross, of the Federation of Woman's Clubs, of the Anti-Tuberculosis Society, of hospitals and dispensaries, of the Liga Nacional Filipina para la Protecci6n de la Primera Infancia, and of the Gota de Leche. 430
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 3. It plans to call the attention of the public to the need of child-welfare work in the islands and educate them in the method of combating infant mortality: (a) By distributing literature and by holding public conferences. (b) By encouraging the establishment of maternity and child-welfare centers by offering financial and technical assistance to deserving institutions or agencies. 4. It plans to make surveys and do research work in the field of child welfare in order to bring to light new problems and 路to formulate effective methods of solving them. Following this program during scarcely three months (July 25, 1921) of its existence the office of the commissioner of public welfare has undertaken the work of training physicians and nurses who are to carry out the work planned, and who will act as advisers and demonstrators of child-welfare activities. This office renders financial and technical assistance to private organizations. Financial aid is given upon condition that the institution renders a satisfactory evidence that the administration is efficiently run and that certain amount" of their funds are derived from private sources. They are also required to submit regularly statement of account of their income and expenditures, and their institutions are subject to inspection by representatives of the office of the Commissioner of Public Welfare to observe whether their activities are effectively and economically performed. (C) PERIODICALS AND LIBRARIES
In 1918 there were 114 newspapers and reviews, of which 45 were newspapers and 69 reviews, distributed thus: 431
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES In English ............................................... In Spanish ............................................... In native tongues ......................................... In other languages (2 Chinese and 1 Japanese) .............. Bilingual (English-Spanish) ............................... Bilingual (English-Tagalog) ............................... Trilingual (English-Spanish-Chinese) ...................... Bilingual .(Spanish and native tongue): 5 in Spanish and Visayan; 2 Spanish-Ilocano; 3 Spanish-Tagalog; 1 SpanishPangasinan; 1 Spanish-Bicol; 2 Spanish-Cagayan; 1 Spanish-Moro â&#x20AC;˘.............................................
28 27 24 3 14 2 1
Total ............................................
114
15
Twenty-two newspapers and reviews in English and 18 in Spanish were published in Manila; 9 of the former (3 in English and 6 in Spanish) were dailies. The total circulation of publications amounted to 276,560 copies, which represen~s a rate of 1 copy for 34 inhabitants. The following table gives an idea of the results of the census of 1903 compared with that of 1918: I
1903
1918
12 24 4 1
28 27 24 3 14 2 1 15
Total .................................. .
41
114
Number of copies ........................... . Number of inhabitants per copy ............. .
68,236 150
276,560 34
English .................................... . Spanish .................................... . Dialect ..................................... . Other languages ............................ . Bilingual -(English-Spanish) ................. . Bilingual (English-native tongue) ........... . Trilingual (English-Spanish-Chinese) ........ . Bilingual (Spanish-native tongue) ........... .
........ ........ ........ . .......
The c~nsus of 1903 apportioned one copy of some periodical to each 150 inhabitants and the census of 1918 one copy to each 34 inhabitants. This result is based on the supposition that all readers buy the periodicals read by them, which is not true in the Philippines. In a house inhabited by one, two, or more families everyone reads the 432
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS periodical of only one subscriber. Moreover, residents of a street or a small village read, one after the other, the only periodical bought in the locality. There is no barber shop, office, or store where there can not be found at least one or more periodicals at the disposal of the customers. J:!.jach is informed of the daily topics by those who read them, and groups of neighbors comment and debate on these topics. If the newspaper or magazine is written in the vernacular, the free reading circle is still greater. The number of copies issued by a publication does not indicate the number of its readers. Although the rate is 34 inhabitants per copy, there is, as a matter of fact, no Filipino, whether or not able to read, who is . not informed of current events by the press or has, perhaps, had the benefit of a debate on current topics. PUBLIC LIBRARIES
By public libraries are meant those of the insular, provincial, and municipal governments, to which the public has more or less access. The following comparative table shows their existence in the years 1903 and 1918 and a specification of the number of volumes in native tongues, English, Spanish, and other languages: Year.
1903 1918
I I I Number of Number of Number of volumes in Number of Numb~r of, volumes in English SpaDlsh other lannative libraries. volumes. volumes. guages. tongues.
12 360
513 4,330
1,067 472,275
2,421 67,522
18 32,015
Total
4,019 576,142
The difference in the number of libraries shown by the two censuses is striking. In 1903 there were only 12 libraries in the entire archipelago. In Manila there was the American circulating library, founded chiefly for Army people. It has about 10,000 volumes. In 1907 it was 433
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES merged with the old museum library. Act No. 2572, which provided for the reorganization of the libraries in Manila belonging to the Government, and created by other acts, among them Act No. 1935, made it possible for the Philippine Library and Museum to report on December 31, 1918, approximately 354,719 volumes in Manila and 3,586 in Iloilo. This library was so well frequented that notwithstanding the exodus of many readers, on account of the war, its book circulation during 1918, exclusive of that of the legislative reference division, amounted to 114,498 volumes. There is but one public library, strictly speaking, which is the Philippine Library and Museum, but owing to a certain administrative autonomy enjoyed by some branches of the insular government, the libraries of the supreme court, the bureau of justice, the city fiscal's .office, and the bureau of science had to be enumerated separately. The following is a tabulation of the data pertaining to the same: 1
I Total .................
1
Native tongues.
I
I
English.
I
2,793 1378,390
Philippine lib r a r y 1 and museum .... 2,771 293,251 Supremt> court .... . ....... 11,145 Attorney general's 4,726 office .................... . .. ............. Office of the fiscal for the city of Ma2,.074 nila ........................ .. .............. 67,194 22 Bureau of science
I
Other languages.
Spanish.
61,282 54,626 1,895 991 310 3,460
I
I
Total.
30,641
473,106
4,071 108
354,719 13,148
................
5,717
13 26,449
2,397 97,125
_ _ _ _ _ _ _.1 _ _ _ _ 1_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
The number of English volumes surpasses all others: next come Spanish volumes, and then volumes written in other languages. The number of volumes written in the native tongues is not even one-half of the number of those written in other languages. This is not the case, however, 434
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS with the newspapers, of which the greatest number is published in Spanish and in the native tongues. The libraries of the supreme court, the attorney general, and the city fiscal's office do not contain a single volume written in the vernacular, and have very few books in other languages. English books make up the bulk of these libraries, and Spanish books occupy the second place, owing to the fact that some Spanish laws are still in force in the islands. A similar proportion exists in the Philippine Library and Museum, because of the good Spanish historical works. In the library of the bureau of science the volumes written in other languages are nine times the number of those written in Spanish, since legal and historical Spanish books are of little use in that bureau. Ther e the Spanish books in number occupy only the fourth place ; the first, second, and third places are taken by English, German, and French books, respectively. Of the five libraries enumerated in Manila, the Philippine Library and Museum is the most popular. During the year 1918, 93,805 books were read, of which 39,114 were works of fiction and 64,691 miscellaneous books. SENIIPUBLIC LmRARIES
Semipublic libraries are the libraries of the bureau of education scattered throughout the islands, those of other branches of the insular government not enumerated above, and those of religioUB corporations and civic associations. Unlike the public libraries, the semipublic libraries, notwithstanding the fact that the great majority of the books of the bureau of education are books in English, show a greater number of Spanish volumes. This is due to the fact that in Manila alone, out of a total of 325,347 volumes belonging to 65 semipublic libraries, 55,315 volumes belong to religious and similar corporations. Further details about semipublic libraries will be found in the following table: 435
~
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I
I
I
I
-
1
College of Trebles .............. 1
I
I
1
Benedictine Fathers ............ 1
6,500 720
850 12
100 10
1
Paulist Fathers ............... 1
I
2,216
3,000
...
250
oo
8,091
50
....
2
7,227
.
-708
.
21,991
55,315
267
1
I
. ~
2,209
5,331
Spanish.
5,570
Augustinian Fathers ........... 1 r
~
. ...
-
English.
I
1,300
54
8
152
500
-
~.
-'r
--,
.
1,141
Philippine tongues.
1
1
1 I
4
I
11
Number of l!branes.
Jesuit Fathers ................ 1
,
Recollect Fathers .............. 1
I
Dominican Fathers ............. 1 I Franciscan Fathers ............ ',
Total
, ..................... 1 ,
I
Semipublic libraries (religious corporations)
I
I
3,884 584
7,950 967
5.00 225
"
14,726
6,524
4,910
10,281
10,720
I
I
36,342
89,780
Total.
3,350
2,640
2,180
11,990
27,993
,
Other Ianguages.
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The Provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cebu, Ilocos Sur, and Iloilo come after Manila in the number of Spanish books. English prevails, however, in 29 Provinces out of the 38 enumerated. The semipublic libraries, therefore, contain a greater number of books written in Spanish, but there is a wider distribution of English books. XIII.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
The Philippine Islands are essentially an agricultural country. The basic element of our economics is therefore the natural resources of the islands. In this respect it if.. most important to the stability of our economic conditions that our agricultural land should be evenly divided among small landowners. Out of 2,000,000 farms in the Philippines 96 per cent are owned by the Filipinos. Eight million of them live on their farms with houses of their own, independent of any absentee landlord or foreign masters. Of the urban property 91 per cent, consisting of houses and lands, is owned by the Filipinos. Only 9 per cent is in the hands of foreigners. Democracy thrives better where the citizens are owners of the lands and houses wherein they live and out of which they earn their living. . i
,
~. _
AGRICULTURE
The approximate area of the Philippine Islands is 29,629,600 hectares, of which 4,563,723 are private land, 18,706,093 public forest, and 6,356,927 public lands available for homeseekers. The area of private land under cultivation in 1920 was 3,276,942 hectares, as compared with 2,361,483 in 1913, or 38.7 per cent increase. The value of the six leading products-rice, corn, sugar, hemp, coconut, and tobacco-during the last four years has been, in 1917, $122,000,000; 1918, $181,000,000; 1919, $229,300,000; and in 1920, $343,500,000. 437
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES While the Philippines will be for a long time an agricultural country, it is nevertheless true that modern industrialism and commerce are exercising a very strong influence and will eventually make of the Philippines an industrial and commercial as well as an agricultural country. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
The chief exports of the Philippines are manufactured articles constituting 87 per cent, and exports are agricultural products, more or less in raw form, constituting 67.5 per cent. The most important manufactured articles imported during the year 1921 were iron and steel goods, valued at $22,055,000; cotton goods, $18,830,000; foodstuffs, including wheat flour, meat, and dairy products, etc., $21,750,000; automobiles and accessories, $4,830,000; mineral oils, $16,900,000. The irpportation of iron and steel and cotton goods has always been on the ascendant, invariably holding the premier position in the import trade. The two items alone constitute about 36 per cent of the total imports in 1921. With the exception of the year 1921, when the foreign trade of the Philippines was greatly affected by the wave of business depression the world over, the importation of other products has shown the same tendency. The most important exports were agricultural products, some of which were partly manufactured and others in raw form. Among these are sugar, valued at $25,000,000; manila hemp, $17,900,000; copra, $13,100,000; copra meal, $600,000; maguey, $670,000; and tobacco prod~ ucts, $8,230,000. Recently, however, because of the European war, the Philippines began to export manufactured articles, such as coconut oil, which in 1921 was valued at $16,000,000, and embroideries, $5,300,000. The values of imports, exports, and total trade of the Philippine Islands during the years 1917 to 1920, inclusive, were as follows: 438
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 1917
Exports .... Imports ...â&#x20AC;˘
Balance
1918
1919
$95,604,306 $135,194,480 $113,117,800 65,797,000 98,599,200 118,639,000 29,807,306
36,595,280
(5,521,2.00)
1920 $151,123,850 149,438,280 1,685.570
INDUSTRY
The progress attained in the direction of introducing modern equipment and means for the carrying out of all Jines of activities during the past few years, such as mechanical equipment for the newly established industries or factories and for agricultural development and transportation facilities, is unparalleled in the history of the country. The growth of the manufacturing establishments is attested by the increase in their number and the value of their products. As compared with 1903 the number of manufacturing establishments in 1918 increased 156 per cent and the value of products 754 per cent. The industries which received tremendous impulse during the period of our prosperity were coconut-oil factories, sugar, rice, and sawmills. Embroidery establishments, which practically did not exist previous to the European war, had a total output of $1,250,000 in 1918, the annual exports reaching as high as $7,810,000 in 1920. In addition to this there are today various industries which produce only sufficient quantities for local needs. There are also mpdern iron and steel foundry plants and boat-building establishments in existence, among !Which are the Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Co., and the Earnshaws Slipways & Co. FOREIGN SHIPPING
The foreign trade of the Philippines since the beginning of American occupation has always been carried on vessels of foreign registry, British vessels securing ' the 439
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES greatest portion up to 1917, and the United States vessels substituting' British vessels after this year. The total entrances from foreign ports in 1921 numbered 871 with a total tonnage of 2,646,455, as compared with 992 and 2,755,752, respectively, in 1920. The total clearances numbered 887 with a tonnage of 2,725,469, as compared with 995 and 2,771,214, respectively, during the preceding year. There are 20 vessels of Philippine registry, with a tonnage of 18,250, which plied between Phil, ippine and foreign ports. IN1'ERISLAND SHIPPING
There are at present 162 vessels, with a tonnage of 25,652, and 763 sailing vessels, with a tonnage of 26,657, engaged in the coastwise trade of the Philippines. There are, besides, 1,976 harbor crafts, with a tonnage of 40,220, in operation. FOIl runs of average distance the vessels most generally usetl are those ranging from 200 to 500 tons net. ' The larger vessels are used on routes connecting Manila with the other large ports, while smaller vessels are used for shorter routes. There are over 200 interisland ports in the Philippines, the most important of which are Aparri, San Fernando, Iba, Batangas, Calbayog, Catbalogan, Dumaguete, Gubat, Lucena, Sorsogon, Legaspi, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, etc., all of which are conveniently accessible from Manila. The 't otal entrances of the ports open to foreign shipping only numbered 16,734, with a tonnage of 2,541,288, as compared with 17,011 and- 2,326,849, respectively, in 1920. COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES
With the increased agricultural production and the consequent increase in the wealth of the people it stands to reason that the commerce and industry of the country 440
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS will witness :a corresponding growth. The Philippines, because of the strategical location of its principal port in the trade routes of the Far East, can serve as a convenient distributing center of foreign merchandise in this section of the world. In common with the other countries, the Philippines is passing through a financial and business depression which hitherto has been unknown in this country. Both the foreign and domestic trade suffered a tremendous slump, although it has not been as intense as that suffered by other countries. The Philippine foreign commerce decreased only 32 per cent, while that of the United States decreased about 48 per cent in 1921. Apparently, however, the peak of the depression has already been reached and passed and the time is near when normal conditions shall again prevail. N ow is, therefore, the most opportune time to lay plans for the revival and expansion of those activities, commercial and industrial, which have been greatly affected by the crisis, as well as for those undeveloped industries whose products are being extensively consumed in the country, but the raw material of which are produced in these islands and exported and manufactured abroad. The field, for example, in sugar refining is practically untouched. Fish, vegetable, and fruit canning are practically unknown; the production of these, not to speak of the greater production that would doubtless result through the development of the canning industry, would be sufficient to maintain in active operation several large canneries. The fishing industry, both pearl and food fishing, is still practically undeveloped, primitive methods being still generally used. There are several other activities which enterprising capital might profitably develop. All in all, the opportunities, sounder business opportunities, are in prospect, and they are bound to draw enterprising capital to the islands. Large tracts of virgin lands 441
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES are still untouched by the plow, wide stretches of grassy lands and hillsides are awaiting the tread of live stock and other animals, and in our mountains are treasured valuable minerals, such as gold, iron, silver, coal, and various other precious stones, all awaiting the magic touch of enterprise and capital. XIV.
FINANCIAL STATUS OF 'THE GOVERNMENT
Nothing has been so widely misunderstood as the supposed financial collapse of the Philippine government. The Philippine government today as a distinct institution is on as solid a financial basis as any government in the world. It is self-supporting, its taxation is adequate to its needs, the per capita tax of the people is low. In fact, the Wood-Forbes report states that "the Filipinos bear a smaller burden of taxation than the natives of Great Britain, United States, Japan, Argentina, and Brazil." In spite of the economic crisis, in spite of the financial . troubles common the world over, in spite of the reductions in revenues suffered during last year, the present year, 1922, was presented with an aggregate surplus of approximately $7,000,000 in the central and provincial treasuries of the Philippine Islands. Both the central and local governments are on a good, sound financial basis. The following financial statement is self-explanatory:
442
.... ....
~
adju~tments
........................ .
57,496,043.63
35,598,744.53
Expenditure during the year ............... .
Surplus at the end of the year ........ .
The auditor's accounts for 1921 are not yet closed.
93,094,788.16
Total budget credits ................... .
68,690,105.13
-
79,340.20
24,404,683.03
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Surplus at the beginning of the year ........ .
Income ............................... .
Credit
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86,742,589.38
115,285,667.73
35,598,744.53
79,686,923.20
332,944.13
30,417,127.55
II
43,937,712.34
84,010,278.54
127,947,990.88
28,543,078.35
99,404,912.53
459,972.80
40,822,639.41
4,977,793.60
3,7,06,882.42
p 163,181.53
Incidental revenue ......................... .
Earnings and other credits ................. .
P53,144,506.72
P45,229,969.10
P44,559,229.56
Revenue from taxation .................... .
1920
1919
1918
Financial statement of the insular government
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Income ........................... , ........ . P63,051,435.00 P96,683,797.12 P76,723,421.65 Revenue from taxation ................ . 53,144,506.72 42,867,320.00 \ 47,235,557.12 Incidental revenue ..................... . 2,120,000.00 2,316',620.00 4,977,793.60 Earnings and other credits ............• 18,064,lJ5.00 47,131,620.00 18,601,121.33 Current surplus at the beginning of the year .. 24,397,265.14 11,964,+,52.00 1 27,576,552.49 1 75,015,587.00, 124,260~349.61 101,120,686.79 Total available for expenditures ..........•. Expenditures .............................. . 73,544,134.30 72,538,593.00 1 97,557,329.75 1 Expense of revenue collection ........... . 1,564,726.0{) I 1,708,824.18 1,623,709.82 Operating expense of commercial and industrial units .............. .:............ 8,981,853.00 9,56,1I,198.99 9,962,919.02 Public debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,189,878.00 3,713,774.47 2,510,007.47 General administration .................. 4,995,090.00 5,080,962.89 4,952,090.59 Protective service ....................... 9,284,643.00 9,853,790.78 9,663,514.65 8,818,029.00 8,883,188.07 8,927,541.70 Social improvement .•...•............... Economic development .................. 8,740,857.{)0 9,936,029.50 9,483,122.35 Aid to local governments................ 17,883,667.00 13,169,246.00 13,446,137.63 Retirement gratuities, act 2589 .......... 500,000.00 600,{)00.00 682,598.53 Emergency service ........... ,.......... 2,000,00,0.00 446,512.87 443,435.48 Outlays and investments ............... 4,579,850.00 34,603,802.00 11,849,057.06 Current surplus at the end of the year ...... 1 2,47'6,994.00 1 26,703,019.86 1 27,576,552.49 Deduct .............•................... 1 . • . . • . . . . . . . . • . . 1 14,738,867.86 I •. , • . . . . . . • • . · •• Appropriation balances for public works 1................ 1 9,738,867.21 I.· ............. . Cadastral accounts receivable ......... I................ 5,{)00,000.65 I............... . Current unappropriated surplus at the end of I 1 1 the year ................................. 1 • . • . • • • • • . • . • • • . 1 11,964,152.00, I • . . . • . • • . • • . • • . •
RECAPITULATION
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ;1922 (estimated) \1921 (estimated) ,-1-92-0-(-a-ct-ua-I)-,-
Budget of the government of the Philippine Islands for the fiscal year 1922
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS PHILIPPINE DEBT
The public indebtedness of the Philippine Government has been contracted in pursuance of special acts of the Philippine Commission or, since its creation, of the Philippine Legislature. Such legislation has been under the authority of acts of Congress, which from time to time fixed the limit indebtedness of the Philippine Government or have authorized the contracting of indebtedness for specific purpose within amounts fixed. By an act of Congress approved July 1, 1902, and Act 1034 of the Philippine Commission, the Philippine Government issued $7,.000,000 of bonds to purchase the friar lands. By an act of Congress approved February 6, 1905, and Acts 1301, 1444, and 1915 of the Philippine Commission and Legislature, the Philippine Government contracted between 1905 and 1909 an indebtedness of $5,000,000 for public works. The total indebtedness of the Philippine Government, therefore, on the passage of the Organic Act approved August 29, 1916, was $12,000,000 including the $7,000,000 indebtedness for the purehase of the friar lands. By the organic act referred to the limit of the public debt of the Philippine Government, exclusive of the friarland bonds, was fixed at $15,000,000. Thereafter, by Act 2615, the Philippine Government issued $4,000,000 of bonds for the purchase of the Manila Railroad Co., and by Act 2908 issued in 1920 $6,000,000 of bonds for the improvement of the port of Manila. With the issuance of these $6,000,000 of bonds, the limit of the public debt as fixed by the organic act was reached and there was outstanding, including the $7,000,000 of friarland bonds, a total indebtedness of $22,000,000. 445
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Congress, by the Act of July 21, 1921, amended the Organic Act by increasing the limit of indebtedness to $30,000,000, exclusive of the friar-land bonds. Under authority of an Act of the Philippine Legislature there was thereafter issued $10,000,000 of irrigation bonds, and the Philippine Legislature has now authorized, by Act 2999, the issuance of $5,000,000 to protect the financial interests of the Government. So that the limit of indebtedness as fixed by the act of July 21, 1921, has now been reached, and the total bonded indebtedness of the Philippine Government outstanding is $30,000,000, plus the $7,000,000 of friar-land bonds. By an act of Congress approved May 31, 1922, the limit of indebtedness of the Philippine Government has been fixed at 10 per cent of the aggregate tax valuation of its real property. On the basis of the last assessment, this would fix the limit of indebtedness of the central government at about $74,000,000. The urgent necessity of increasing the limit at this time arises from the fact that the Philippine Government is not in a position to maintain the parity of its currency with the gold standard fixed by law. The Philippine Government had, on October 31, 1921, on deposit with the Philippine National Bank $26,251,607.75, which it is unable to withdraw from the bank or apply to the purposes for which that fund was acquired. How much of this will ultimately be recovered or the dates of recovery can not at this time be stated with certainty. The deposits with the bank on October 31, 1920, were $45,220,039.35. Of this amount, $11,457,890 were invested in stock of the bank with a view of strengthening its position. This would mean that in one year the government had withdrawn from the bank $7,510,451.59. The conclusion should not, however, be drawn that a similar amount would be recovered in the 446
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS next year, for the reason that in the past year a considerable amount in private deposits has been withdrawn from the bank, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the bank increased in circulation by $6,700,000. The situation, then, is that the Philippine Government has on deposit with the Philippine National Bank $26,000,000. This includes a large part of the currency reserve fund which is used to maintain the parity of the Philippine currency with the gold standard. It includes a part of the proceeds of bond sales for public works and other funds of the Philippine Government, including the funds for general purposes. If this money were at this time available the immediate necessity of contracting further indebtedness would not appear. This deposit, however, is not in any way available to the government. The amount which the government recovered in the past year it will probably not be able to recover in t he present year. The government, therefore, is confronted with the necessity of immediately reducing its expenses below ih; revenues, which it has attempted to do but which it was unable to do in the radical manner that would be necessary if, in addition to operating the government, the trust funds of the government were to be placed in a legal position from these savings. The government, therefore, finds itself in the necessity, if it is to perform the duty of maintaining the parity of its currency with the standard fixed by law, and if it is carryon the absolutely necessary public works, of increasing its indebtedness. GOVERNMENT IN BUSINESS
Economic progress in the Philippine Islands and the pressure of public opinion compelled the Philippine government to organize and engage in certain lines of business of national importance that private initative and capital had failed to develop. There are now four government447
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES owned enterprises in addition to those which have been always under government direction since the American administration in the Philippine Islands-the Philippine National Bank, the Manila Railroad, the National Coal Co., and the National Development Co. PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK
There were in 1915 five banking institutions handling the Philippine government's deposits at a low rate of interest. These banks made little or no investment in the islands. They dealt 路 almost exclusively with export and import trade. American and Philippine business men in other lines and the farmers practically had no access to them. The PhIlippine National Bank, much to the displeasure of competitive institutions already in the fielrl, was organized. From a modest beginning the bank grew rapidly during prosperous times. But the depression following the war caught the bank unprepared for such emergencies. Naturally the people of the Philippine ' Islands deeply regret that the institution could not escape the effects of world-wide financial disturbance. There stands out in bold relief, however, the constructive service the bank has rendered the community, notably the financing of Liberty loans, the handling of the sale of alien property, the financial assistance extended in time of extreme needs to two banks doing business in the Philippine Islands, the financing of sugar centrals and farmers, and the extension of banking facilities to merchants and manufacturers. The Philippine people have always regarded the bank as a necessary means for the economic development of the islands, and therefore they desire to increase, or at least maintain, the institution to carry out the purposes for which it was originally organized. As to 448
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the present c'Onditi'On 'Of the bank, the W'O'Od-F'Orbes missi'On rep'Ort says H* * * the affairs of the bank are in a fair way t'O be put 'On a s'Ound f'O'Oting." MANILA RAILROAD
G'Overnment 'Ownership 'Of railr'Oads is a rule in all the neighb'Oring c'Ountries 'Of the Philippines with the excepti'On 'Of China, which is n'Ow trying t'O get back the c'On~ cessi'Ons granted t'O f'Oreign capital. H'Owever, the principal m'Otive that impelled the Philippine g'Overnment t'O buy the Manila Railr'Oad fr'Om the English 'Owners was that the company, in spite 'Of the facilities extended by the g'Overnment, c'Ould n'O l'Onger 'Operate the line pr'Ofitably. This failure imp'Osed a heavy burden 'On the taxpayers in the way 'Of payment f'Or interest 'On railr'Oad b'Onds guaranteed by the g'Overnment fr'Om the early days 'Of American administration. Fr'Om 1914 t'O 1916 the aggregate net deficit 'Of the c'Ompany was ab'Out $600,000. Under g'Overnment management the f'Oll'Owing results have been 'Obtained: The gain in 1917 was $400,000; in 1918, $130,000; in 1919, $190,000; in 1920, $12,000; and in 1921, $148,000; and the g'Overnment has n'Ot been called up'On t'O pay the bond interest. ' NATIONAL COAL CO.
During the war the c'Oal sh'Ortage was 'One 'Of the great pr'Oblems the government had t'O s'Olve. The Philippine Islands are rich in c'Oal fields, but n'O private capital was ,invested in their exploitati'On. The ',P hilippine Legislature theref'Ore chartered the Nati'Onal C'Oal C'O. and supplied it with a capital 'Of $1,700,000. The c'Ompany is n'Ow ready t'O furnish at least the c'Oal needed by the g'Overnment, which requires ab'Out 120,000 t'Ons, heret'Of'Ore imP'Orted fr'Om f'Oreign c'Ountries. 449
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
The company was organized for the purpose of financing isolated interprises that the government may desire to establish for the general welfare of the country. XV.
ELECTIONS
The elections in the Philippines have always been an interesting and veritable school of political education. Although, strictly speaking, extensive suffrage was im~ planted in the Philippines only since American occupation, the Filipino people have shown during this short period constant and convincing proof of political capacity. The paramount issue in the election of 1907, which inaugurated the Philippine Assembly, was ' the ultimate status of the Philippines. The question to be decided was whether, upon the surrender of the Filipinos in arms and the establishment of peace under a more liberal and democratic rule, the Filipino people should still aspire and work for their independence. There were two schools of thought at that time; one favored annexation to the United States, or at the most a remote independence, and the other was the immediate independence of the islands. The result of the elections proved that those who advocated immediate independence formed an immense majority of the people, although not yet the entire people. The same issue was presented to the people at all subsequent elections, and every time the advocates of immediate independence gained ground, until, finding that public opinion was against them, the members of the party which advocated annexation or remote independence had to dissolve their party and aligned themselves with those who advocated im~ mediate independence. The old annexationists, or federal~ ists, were highly educated men of the greatest prestige, but 450
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the people disregarded their personal qualities, for they knew that the elections were being held to decide issues and principles, not personalities. Once the question of principles was settled, the people have always shown practical sense in electing experienced or highly educated men to posts in the national legislature. When the first Philippine Assembly was convened in 1907, it was noticeable that the choice of the people fell upon those who had previously distinguished themselves as provincial governors and those who because of their academic training could best undertake the legislative work. This is the reason why among members of the lower house there has always been a large proportion of people with academic training or pursuing semipublic activities, such as practicing lawyers and newspaper men. When the elective senate was established six years ago, the people again manifested that sound practical sense by sending to the higher house in preference to others those who had acquired previous legislative experience in the Philippine Assembly. In this way the task of legislation has been given to men of ability and le xperience. Both in political campaigns and in the deliberation of the legislature popular public opinion always distinguished demagogic from statesmanly conduct. The people have always repudiated the destructive factors, with the result noted by friends and foes alike that our legislature has at all times exemplified a sound and judicious sense. As a former Governor General has said, in the Philippine Legislature "graft, jobbery, logrolling, cheap politics, selfish localism, cynical opportunism, and hyprocrisy have been practically unknown." A spirit of tolerance has characterized election campaigns. Order has been kept in the heat of political struggles. While in other countries the army has often been resorted to for the maintenance of peace, in the Philippines the mere presence of local and insular police has always been 451
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES sufficient to insure public tranquillity. After the elections in 1919 Acting Governor Gen~ral Yeater, who had personally followed the various movements of the campaign, gave out the following statement: By taking the election as a whole, I consider it entirely creditable to the Philippine people, and I believe that no shortcomings or improper conduct in receiving and delivering the votes will exceed those ordinarily committed in othel" free countries.
We do not, however, mean to insinuate that elections in the Philippines have been conducted as angels would conduct such elections. As in other parts, frauds and other electoral abuses have been committed, but the opposition party and the press got busy denouncing them and the government at once undertook an energetic campaign for clean elections, prosecuted the culprits, and later on revised the present electoral law. Our electoral law was approved in 1907 by the former Philippine Commission composed mostly of Americans. It was later thought that election frauds were committed partly because of the defects of the law, such as the relatively light penalty given to violators, and also because election officers could easily be converted into political instruments of the party in power. The revision of the electoral law has been made with the aid of the opposition, and is intended to remedy in so far as possible the deficiencies found in the law and in actual practice. The government is at present using all means necessary to secure clean elections and to enforce the provisions of the electoral law in a way agreeable to all political parties. The total number of electors registered in the election of June 3, 1919, was 717,295 and the votes cast was 672,125, which is a very fine percentage even when compared to the interest in elections shown in other countries. In the elections of 1912, 248,154 voters registered, of which 235,789 voted. Of the number of voters registered in 1919 452
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 407,346 possessed educational qualifications, while only 81,916 were educationally qualified in 1912. It should be noted that the Philippine voters must have either property or educational qualifications, so that these figures show the progress of the people in political matters and in education in general during the last few years. For the elections of June of this year (1922) there were 824,058 voters registered. The minority party has always accepted the decision of the majority, unless it thinks that the election has been vitiated by some illegal act, in which case it takes the matter up . with the courts for decision. We have never followed the practice of revolution~ry countries where defeated minorities take the law in their own hands or use violence against the triumphant party, or utilize every other means to hinder the working of the government. The following figures speak for themselves:
------------ --- --- --- --- --1907
1909
1912
1916
178 89 26
142 51 17
451 210 25
520 341 30
1919
------------ ------ --- --- --Protests registered Protests dismissed Elections annulled
- -______ 1_-1____1_ _
467 195 24 1_ _ ,
In interpreting the foregoing ,)figures it should be noted that there are nearly 900 municipalities in the Philippines, and that every municipality at every general election votes on a senator, a representative, a governor, two members of the provincial board, a municipal president, a municipal vice president, and from 7 to 18 councilors, depending upon the class of the municipality. Anyone of these officials can be made the subject of an electoral protest. The number of protests registered, the number of protests dismissed, and, above all, the number of elections annulled will sJ.:low beyond the peradventure of a doubt 453
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES that the elections in the Philippines have been up to the present a regular and sane agency of representative democr acy. XVI. THE NON-CHRISTIAN PEOPLE
The non-Christian inhabitants (Mohammedans and Pagans) of the Philippine Islands are distributed in the nine special organized Provinces under the jurisdiction of the so-called bureau of non-Christian tribes, namely, Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Dav:ao, Lanao, Sulu, and Zamboanga, of the former department of Mindanao and Sulu, and the Mountain Province and Nueva Vizcaya of northern Luzon. The following table shows the area in square kilometers of each qf the nine Provinces: Square kilometers Agusan ...... . .. . .... . ..... . .... .. .......... . ......... . 11,121 Bukidnon . .............. . ..... . . . ..................... . 10,026 Cotabato .... . ... . ..................................... . 24,916 Davao ... . ............... . ...... . ..................... . 19,389 Lanao ... . ........ . ... . ....... .. ...................... . 6,317 Mountain Province ... . ...... . ............... . ......... . 13,971 Nueva Vizcaya ....................................... . . 9,143 Sulu ... . ~ ................... . ..... . ................... . 2,802 Zamboanga ............................................ . 16,532
The following table shows the present approximate population of Christian and non-Christian peoples as estimated by the governors of the four Provinces: Christian.
Province.
Agusan Bukidnon ... . ...... Cotabato Davao ............ •
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41,592 1,20,0 21,391 68,979
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•
....
.o
••••
4,807 136,414 5,000
454
Pagan.
Total.
7,446 35,700 11,386 45,325
49,038 41,707 169,191 119,304
Percentage of nonChristian. 15.19 97.12 87.36 42.18
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Although the non-Christian inhabitants of the Philippines are to be found not only in Mindanao and Sulu but also in northern Luzon, the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu form the great majority of them and present the greatest problem for the government. We shall therefore deal mostly with the non-Christian peoples of Mindanao and Sulu. The government of Mindanao and Sulu from 1903 to 1913 was under the control of the military authorities. In 1914 it was turned over to the civil authorities. During the military period the so-called Moro Province was organized, which comprised practically what is today known as Mindanao and Sulu. The most important work of the military period was the pacification of the Provinces and the recognition of American sovereignty. This was the first step before the development of agriculture, industry, commerce, education, and shipping could be begun. In 1911 a general disar: ament was ordered among the Moros, and this order met some resistance in Sulu and Lanao. Hence punitive expeditions by military and constabulary authorities had to be undertaken, and skirmishes and battles like those at Mount Dajo and Mount Bagsak were fought. The work of the military authorities to bring about peace can not be underestimated. They prepared the way for the work of reconstruction, which fell upon the civil authorities in 1914 up to the present time. It would be, however, misleading to say that the military authorities limited their work to the establishment of peace alone. In reality they initiated some of the great activities of government, which were later on continued in gigantic proportion, especially public works and public education. They established public dispensaries even in the most remote parts of the Province. They built roads to connect distant places. The first task of the civil authorities in 1914 was to establish a departmental government, with almost a free 455
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES hand in dealing with local affairs. It was subdivided into subprovinces for the purpose of local administration. Later on the department was abolished and the subprovinces were declared Provinces. They were placed, like the regular Provinces, under the direct supervision of the department of the interior through the bureau of non-Christian tribes. Up to very recently all the provincial governors were appointed by the Governor General, and, together with the secretary-treasurer and a third member elected by the councilors of the municipalities, they form the, provincial council of each Province. All the appointed provincial governors except one are Filipinos. In the election held June 6, 1922, four of the seven Provinces of Mindanao and Sulu elected their provincial governors. The representatives and SenatQrs representing the non-Christian parts of the Philippines are also Filipinos. Of these one senator and three representatives profess the Mohammedan religion. The civil government thus established completed the work of bringing about peace which was initiated by the military authorities. In 1913 the Sultan of Sulu, who had theretofore enjoyed religious and civil prerogatives, renounced his prerogatives in favor of the government of the Philippine Islands. Peace and order was firmly established. The campaign of education and assimilation had begun. Wherever the good offices of the civil government did not have the desired effect the firm hand of the law reached -out to enforce order and capture recalcitrants. From January 1, 1914, to December 31, 1916, the civil government captured 1,024 firearms. The year 1916 may be considered as a historic one in the annals of Mindanao and Sulu, for it marks the complete elimination of all outlaws and the extension of government control to all Mohammedan territory. In 1917 practically every soldier of the Federal Army, except a small detachment in Zamboan456
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS ga, was taken away, and yet the local police was able to maintain order and peace. The progress brought about since the civil administration is indeed great. It would take a big volume to enumerate in detail. For this work the Christian Filipinos have given money and men, so as to civilize their non-Christian brothers and bring them up to their own level. Hundreds of thousands of pesos taken from the Christian pockets have been yearly sent to Mindanao and Sulu. On the other hand, the non-Christian people have shown their appreciation of the benefits that are being extended to them by their Christian brothers. At the present time the relations between Christian and non-Christian are most cordial. National sentiment in that part of the Philippines is almost as strong as in the Christian Provinces. We shall cite .a few figures howing the progress realized in the non-Christian part of Mindanao and Sulu since control was given to the Christian Filipinos. Under the designation of "puba~c ~nstruction" the following table shows the number of schools in operation by year, the number of teachers, and the enrollment from 1914 to 1921.
Year.
Number of teachers.
157 180
311 373
1914 •......................... 1915 ......................... . 1916 .... : .................... . .1917 ......................... . 1918 .•...........•............ 1919" ......................... . 1920 ......................... . 1921 ......................... . 1
I
Number of schools in operation.
No data available. 457
(1)
292 372 468 606 690
(1)
613 772 1,049 1,261 1,452
Enrolment.
14,800 16,019
(1)
25,167 32,438 41,179 53,096 61,187
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES The following comparative table shows the progress of the schools in Mindanao-Sulu covering the period from the year -1913 to 1921. Attention is invited to the fact that enrollment in 1913 al~ost entirely represented Christians, while the great increas'e noted in 1921 represents Mohammedan and pagan children: Annual enrollment.
Number of schools.
Province. Mar., 1913
I Dec.,
Mar., 1913
1921
Dec., 1921
I
Agusan Bukidnon .. Cotabato .. Davao ..... Lanao .... Sulu ...... Zamboanga
3,461 1,488 '1 25 2,079 1,10'4,1,044 2,916
8,462 7,162 9,667 7,820 7,004 9,342 11,730
34 23 5 20 9 10 28
Number of teachers.
I
89 82 1 5 130 70 69 116
Mar., Dec., 1913 f 1921 52 31 11 31 14 14 46
I Total
------
12,617
129
61,187\
690
i
199
I
188 151 250 194 174 198 297
1,452
II
An important phase of the work of public instruction in Mindanao-Sulu is the compulsory school attendance for boys and girls which was initiated some time ago. At first the old Mohammedan headmen and panditas openly pronounced themselves in opposition to the attendance of their children in government schools, considering this measure as a violation of the agreement into which the government had entered with them with respect to their religion, habits, and customs. Through the tact of schools authorities and cooperation of provincial and municipal and other interested authorities, those difficulties have been solved to the extent of bringing about entirely satisfactory results. The table given above speaks more eloquently than words can in this respect. 458
,;.
CD
01
11.3 42.16
6,924 15 22
8,417 30 57 5,044
Number of colonists including men, wom- ( en, and children ..................... I
I
6,449.36
11,439
5,402
5,632
2,626.28
4,231
1,173.1
509
20,715
1,037
1,616
7,003
2,563
2,616
13,232
Total area under cultivation (Ha)......... 898
2,262.2
1919
1,134
I
1917
I I Palay planted (Ha) ..................... I I Corn planted (Ha) .... . .... . ...... . .... I I Coconuts planted ........................ I I Palay harvested (Cavan) ....... . . . ... . .. I I Corn harvested (Cavan) ................. I I Peanuts planted (Ha) .................. I I Camotes planted (Ha) ............... . .. I
19~
5,632
48.33
31.35
14,298.22
1,035.5
6,441
1,312.96
533.83
2,269.12
1920
\-
....,
I I
I
6,012
17.22
14.9,0
10,856.36
3,787.20
21,190
1,181.84
531.35
2,073.05
1921
In agriculture special attention has been paid to the cultivation of food products. Agricultural colonies have been established in Cotabato so as to unite Christian and Mohammedan Filipinos and to increase the production of rice and other food products. The following comparative table shows in a comprehensive form the typical activities of the colonies as to the production of food supply:
UJ
(')
t"I ~ t-3 ~
~
o
t:1
> Z
t-3
l7j
ts: Z
z
~
< l7j
~
o
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES It will be noted from the above that the number of hectares cultivated for the crops has decreased. This difference is due to the disappointment brought about by the failure to realize bigger harvests caused by floods and locusts. On the other hand, there is a notable increase in the output for rice and corn. Another important result worthy of being stated is the success attained in the partial relief of densely populated and potentially wealthy Province of Cotabato, where the colonists are located, the surplus population of those Provinces have found Cotabato to be an excellent place" where they may realize their ambitions for ownership of land and more ample rewards for their labor. In the branc1f of permanent improvements and public works we can say that good roads and trails, potable water supplies, port improvements and landing facilities, construction of telephones, and construction of public buildings have received special attention. The following table shows the strides made in this regard, notwithstanding the inadequacy of local revenues and insufficient insular aid: Year.
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1
First class.
Second class.
Km. None
Km.
65.9 94.9 (1)
118.8 143.5 143.5 154
II
Third class. Km.
90 114.9 87.2
(1)
184.5 234.7 190 141.2
No data available. 460
199' 285.2 340.3
(1)
2,327.7 209.5 22'() 257.2
I
Trails.
Telephones.
Km.
Km.
2,400 2,437 2,515
(1)
1,898.3 2,075.7 2,000 1,442.7
(1) (1)
567
(1) (1)
1,381.6 1,381.6 1,381.6
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS In the health service there has been made the most gratifying advance by the establishment of new hospitals and field dispensary stations, the former under the immediate charge of qualified physicians and surgeons and the latter in charge of graduate nurses or practicantes. Government hospitals are now in operation at the provincial capitals of Agusan, Cotabato, Davao, Mountain Province, Lanao, Sulu, and Zamboanga. At dispensaries in public schools at points where no field dispensaries are located the teachers are instructed in the use of and supplied with medicines, supplies, etc., which may safely be intrusted to them for use in relieving ailments, physical ills, and injuries, which, in the absence of skilled medical and surgical assistance, they should undertake to relieve. While Mohammedans and pagans were at first suspicious and unwilling to enter hospitals for medical or surgical treatment, this attitude has rapidly changed to one of popular acceptance and appreciation of hospiltal facilities, even to the surprising degree that women of good families now seek admission. In this connection it may be stated that medical officers, trained nurses, and practicantes have gone to the most remote places and localities in the performance of their duties, and ordinarily without guards or companions. Dispensaries have been and are being established, conducted successfully by graduate nurses and practicantes at many points away from Army garrisons or constabulary stations. In no instance has the public-health personnel been subjected to violence, or even threats, from the people among whom they work. Mohammedan and pagan communities have voluntarily contributed labor and materials of local production for the establishment of dispensary stations. The importance and value of the work of the publichealth personnel during the past few years can not be exaggerated when viewed not onJy from the standpoint of rned461
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES ical and surgical relief but from all other significant points, and especially that of the establishment of amicable contract and control by the government over the Mohammedan and pagan communities. To combat and so far as possible eradicate the prevalence of water-borne diseases, such as dysentery, typhoid, malaria, etc., special attention has been directed to the im~ provement of water supplies. There were in 1914, 47 dispensaries in operation, 55 in 1915, 86 in 1916, 108 in 1917, 88 in 1918, and 103 in 1919, 1920, and 1921. XVII. THE FILIPINOS AS LEGISLATORS BRIEF CRITICAL STUDY OF THE LAWS PASSED BY THE PHILIPPINE LEGI SLATURE SI NCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT IN 1907
The Philippine Legislature began its life with the inauguration of the Philippine Assembly on October 16, 1907. Hitherto all legislative powers in the Philippines were in the hands of the Philippine Commission, the members of which were appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the American Senate. With the inauguration of the Philippine Assembly the Philippine Commission became the upper house and the Philippine Assembly the lower house of the Philippine Legislature. The legislature was given complete legislative powers over the parts of the Philippines inhabited by the Christian peoples. The other parts of the Philippines, or those inhabited by the Moros and other non-Christian peoples, remained under the exclusive legislative control of the Philippine Commission until 1916, when, with the passage of the Jones law, the Philippine Legislature secured control over all Philippine territories. In the study of the laws passed by the Philippine Legislature we have for convenience divided the 14 years of 462
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS legislative life into three periods. The first period extends from October 16, 1907, to October 16, 1913. During this time there were still a majority of Americans in the upper house, while the Philippine Assembly was entirely in the hands of the Filipinos. The second period extends from October 16, 1913, to October 16, 1916. During this time the Filipinos had already a majority in the upper house, or Philippine Commission; hence they had a decisive voice in legislation. The Members of the Philippine Commission, however, continued to be appointed by the President of the United States and were not elected by the people. The third period comprises all the time since the enactment of the Jones law, from October 16, 1916, to October, 1921. Legislation at this period has been in the hands of an elected Philippine Legislature, composed of the senate and house of representatives. For the purposes of classifying the laws the following topics have been used: (1) Public instruction, (2) development of agriculture and natural resources; (3 ) promotion of commerce and industry; (4) public health; (5) charity and public welfare; (6) finance (dealing with appropriations for the support of the government or matters connected with bonds); (7) administration (dealing with reforms and changes in the administration of the government); (8) private law (dealing generally with amendments to the civil code, penal code, etc.) ; (9) judicial reforms (including reforms of judicial proceedings); (10) labor; (11) franchises (charters given to private persons and corporations); (12) mercantile regulations (dealing with regulations of corporations, firms, etc.); (13) public works and improvements; (14) miscellaneous laws. The following table shows the laws passed during the three periods of legislation classified under the foregoing topics: I
463
oj:>.
oj:>.
m
1
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::s ...... ...;
.:::
p..
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/)l)
0
:a•~ .8~ 1';:: ~~ rn
.Srn
~CII ~ I-<
"'0.
Q
p..
::s
:a
.s::
S "O.~
S ~ 0·...
"'Ocu
•
:a
~
(.)
<tl
0
I
~
c<$::s ~ .s:: P,- .S
1-<....
»CII ..., ~
.... (.)
I
<
"0
".S. .
~
.~
I
~
~
§1-<
(.)
~.s::
.... ~ "0 0 ::s 'H
p......
.E:I-<
..., c<$
CII'~ ui.~
~.........; ~ CII
t::~
,
H
~
......., '"' ~ ~ .8~ 1::CII '3
~ .8
Cllui ...... ~
I-<
~ ...... Ql
~
g
11l
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0
p.. . ~
\
E-1
:a.~::I....~ I -=.5
~
0
I-<
~
11l
~.,
- - --1-- - - - - - - --I ---
...,......
e
~I-< § .s:: ~$ ..... ...,.........,
•
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~
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~
~ ~
""CS
---1--1--1-- - - -
t?;j
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o
t'"4
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~
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tJ:j
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Total ..........
271 12! 171
6\ 46 \ 78
6
13) 41 .... 1
9
8
271
304
L~I~\~I~~J~1149 \371 l~!~I~I~!~(~1100 I 1,191
I-I--\~I-\--\-II--'-I-\-I--\--
Third period ....... ,I 14 ,I
i
UJ
tJ:j
Z
.....
"d "d
t'"4 .....
::r: .....
"d
::r: tJ:j
1-3
~
!-I-I-\-I-II - I:j..... ! I I r I -I---\---I49 First period ....... I 61 I 38 \ 13 I 20! 13 58 \ 175 1 13 26 1 18 1 5 14 21 1 524 > 36! 16 I 181 4\ 451116 6 181 21 5 8 22 241 363 o Second period ...... I 22 I
Period.
...,
g~
•
-~------I--
Table of la.ws passed by the Philippine Legislature since October 16, 1907, to March, 1921
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS FIRST PERIOD
[October 16, 1907 to October 16, 1913]
Public instruction: The first period is notable for the support that the legislature gave to education. The first act passed by the Philippine Legislature was an educational measure of the highest import. It provided for an appropriation of P1,000,000 for the construction of schools in the barrios. It was during this period also that the University of the Philippines was founded (act 1870).1 1 Other educational measures were: Act No. 1813, authorizing the Governor Gener al to convey, under certain conditions and restrictions, insular property to Provinces and municipalities of the Philippines to be used for public-school purposes; act No. 1829, providing for popular civico-educational lectures in the municipalities, and principally in the barrios of the Philippines; act No. 1849, providing for the establishment of a public library to be known as "The Philippine Public Library," making suitable appropriations therefor; act No. 1857, authorizing t he creation of special classes of superior instruction fo municipal teachers and appropriating th~ sum ' of P50,000 for the purpose; act No. 1858, amending section 40 of act No. 82 and providing for special training for teaching; act No. 1866, appropriating the sum of P75,000 for salaries of teachers in barrio schools when established under certain conditions; act No. 1871, making available for expenditure during the fiscal year 1909 and thereafter the balance remaining from funds appropriated by act No. 1632 for examinations for scholarships in the Philippine Medical School; act No. 19.07, providing for the appropriation of the sum of P2.... 000 out of the insular funds to assist the municipality of Imus, Province of Cavite, in the construction of a building for an intermediate school: act No. 1914, amending act No. 1801, entitled "An act providing for an appropriation of Pl,OOO,OOO for the construction of barrio schools," by reducing the required school attendance and providing that buildings shall be erected under rules and regulations prescribed by the secretary of public instruction; act No. 1918, amending act No. 74, by making women eligible as members of the local school board and providing that two positions at least shall be held by women; act No. 1924, extending the benefits of act No. 1857 to male and female teachers of municipalities and townships inhabited by Christian tribes in Mindoro and Palawan and in the subclasses for training in nursing in the Philippine Normal School, and appropriating the sum of P20,OOO for such purpose; act No. 1935, providing for the consolidation of all libraries belonging to any branch of the Philippine insular government for the creation of the Philippine Library, and for the maintenance and regulation of the same; act No. 1938, authorizing the appointment of certain
465
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Development of agriculture and natural resources: Notable among the acts passed during this period for the development of agriculture and natural resources are: Act 1865, establishing an agricultural bank and appropriating the sum of P1,000,000 for its capital; act 1827, appropriating the sum of P100,000 to be expended in the discretion of the bureau of agriculture, under the supervision of the secretary of the interior, for the purpose of combating and exterminating cattle diseases in the islands; act 2226, establishing agricultural stations; and act 2229 for the improvement of the cultivation of tobacco. Promotion of commerce and industries: No great legislation has been enacted for commerce and industry. The last two periods paid greater attention to this subject. One interesting law that was passed Was act 1838, granting a prize of P15,000 to the inventor of an incombustible roof to substitute nipa and creating a technical board to pass upon the conditions of the invention. Act 2216 created a commission to secure, organize, and make an exhibit of Philippine products, manufactures, arts, ethnology, and education at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Public health: The problem of infant mortality has always puzzled the mind of our legislators, and so an act (2116) was passed creating a committee to investigate the causes of excessive infant mortality in the Philippine Islands and the measures to be adopted to decrease it. Charity and public welfare: From the beginning the government has always been obliged to set aside yearly funds to succor sufferers from calamities like typhoon. Act 2199 was among the first of such laws passed by the Philippine Legislature. high-school students as government pupils while pursuing a course .of training for teaching, and authorizing expenditures for such pupIls from funds designated by section 26 of act No. 1761, as amended. 466
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Miscellaneous acts: Among the miscellaneous acts are those which tend to honor the memory of Filipino heroes and patriots. This tendency has become noticeable ever since the participation of the Filipinos in the legislature. Thus, during this first period act 2262 was passed appropriating P50,000 for the Jose Rizal School Building in Calamba. SEOOND PERIOD
[Oct. 16, 1913, to Oct 16, 1916]
Help to non-Christian peoples: The second period comprises the time when the Filipinos controlled a majority of the Philippine Commission. Philippine autonomy properly began at this time. This period is noted for the tremendous help that the legislature gave to the non-Christian tribes. Act 2531 passed by the Philippine Legislature under date 0 October 26, 1915, gave great impetus to educational worK in the non-Christian Provinces. This act appropriated the sum of P1,000,000 for expenses of the bureau of education necessary for the construction, establishment, orglanization, and operation of additional free insular primary schools in the territory inhabited by Mohammedans or other non-Christian Filipinos, and to make the necessary provisions for normal training of teachers for said primary schools. This funds was allotted in proportion to the school population and was used for the purchase of sites, construction of buildings, purchase of equipment, and for current expenses, such as salaries and supplies. Other laws passed for the promotion of the non-Christian peoples and the establishment of friendly relations between Christians and Mohammedans are acts 2396, 2406, 2413, 241~ 2522, 2539, 2545, 265~ 2662, and 2664. Agriculture: This period has produced several notable laws designed to solve our perplexing agricultural problems. 467
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Foremost among these measures is act 2508, which created the rural credit associations in the municipalities for the purpose of financing individual agriculturists, especially the small farmers. Heretofore the farmers had all been at the mercy of the local usurers, as the city banks loaned money only to the big farmers. The administration of rural credit association, however, has not been an easy matter. So far many of the local associations have not been able to collect sufficient capital to start the work. They have to secure the assistance of the Philippine National Bank. In spite of this difficulty, the growth of rural credit associations in the Philippines has been tremendous. The first rural credit association waS' created on October 19, 1916. There were, in 1920, over 500 associations distributed throughout the islands. Other acts of interest to agriculture are acts 2573, providing for the mutual insurance of work animals; act 2583, diflecting the provincial governments to establish and maintain agricultural nurseries, and act 2497, setting aside a fund to be devoted to the improvement of breeds of work animals. Commerce and industry: This period has produced some important laws dealing with commerce and industry. One of them was the infant industry act (No. 2596) designed to promote and encourage the agricultural, commercial, and industrial interests in the Philippines. The government would guarantee a certain amount of interest for a period of years to all infant industries satisfying the conditions of the act: act 2598 established a coconut product board to encourage improvement of coconut products. During the period also was passed the law which provides for government grading of fiber (act 2426), which has been the subject of so much comment recently. An468
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS other law of constructive tendencies is act 2429, which revised the insurance laws and local insurance business in the Philippines. Heretofore the insurance companies, mostly foreign owned, engaged in business under the laws of their mother country, to the detriment of the Filipino people. Finance and taxation: The greatest achievement of this period in finance was the establishment of the Philippine National Bank (act 2612). Before its establishment Filipino business men and manufacturers could not compete with their rivals for lack of credit. The big farmers of the Philippines were also in need of a bank where they could get money for the development of their big farms. The growth of the capital and resources of the National Bank from 1916 to the present shows the tremendous all!-0unt of business that the bank is doing. In the field of progressive taxation the Philippines made an advance with the enaetment of act 2601 to tax inheritances and legacies. Public instruction: This period has not been as rich in legislation for public instruction as the first one. An act worthy of note, however, on this subject is act 2482 authorizing the provincial and municipal governments to set aside funds for pensionados to study in the Unive.rsity qf the Philippines. Labor: The Philippines had not very many labor problems at this time. The only big labor question that we had was the exodus of laborers to Hawaii which often results in great hardships for laborers. Upon finding Hawaii unsatisfactory they would want to come back, but could not for lack of means. They also complained of bad treatment by recruiting agencies. To remedy this evil, act 2486 was passed requiring labor recruiting officers to deposit a certain sum of money before they can begin 469
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES business and to provide adequately for the safe return of laborers to the Philippines at the expiration of their contract. THIRD PERIOD
[October 16, 1916, to March, 1921]
This period presents very many important laws worthy of thorough study. Unusual times called for unusual measures. America's entry in Europe, the economic consequences of the war, the unprecedented prosperity in 1917, 1918, and 1919, all contributed to the enactment of bold measures, social, economic, and political. Public instruction: It had long been found by experts on education that our school facilities could not adequately meet the demand of all the children for education. It is true that the Philippine Legislature had been liberal in the appropriation acts and other special laws. We have noticed that the first law passed by the Philippine Legislature was an act appropriating P1,000,000 for the establishment of schools in the barrios. To further the cause of education the Philippine Legislature, by Act 2782, appropriated P30,000,000 to defray the expenses of a five-year school program calculated to accommodate in the schools all Filipino children who may desire to attend them. This is a monumental act which elicited the praise of friends and foes alike of Philippine autonomy. The charter of the University of the Philippines was amended, giving the alumni and faculty members representation in the board of regents (Act 2759). Agriculture and natural resources-The government development companies: The movement, begun during the second period of our legislation, of allowing the government to venture in economic activities which for lack of private capital had hitherto remained dormant, was con470
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS tinued. The government was committed in favor of the policy of nationalizing and controlling industries when public welfare demanded such a step. This is the main purpose in establishing the five development companies. The greatest development company established by the go,:ernment is that created by Act 2849, called the National Development Co., with an authorized capital of P50,000,000. It is empowered to engage in any commercial, industrial, or agricultural enterprise necessary to the economic development of the country and its public welfare. The stock of the company is controlled, as in other government companies, by a committee of three, composed of the Governor General, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives. Other development companies which have been established by law, some of w~ich have not yet begun to function, are the National Cement Co. (2855), the National Coal Co. (2705), the National Iron Co. (2862), and the National Petroleum Co. (2814). At the time when increased food production was necessary Act 2723 was passed. Under this act the secretary of agriculture and natural resources was to determine, after consulting the opinion of the municipal council concerned, what agricultural food products was most adaptable to each community; then all efforts to stimulate the production of that food product would be exerted. An appropriation of P500,000 was made for this purpose. The following year further appropriation for this purpose was made. Another act that is worthy of mentioning, indicative of the trend of the government to help agriculture, is Act 2696, which appropriated P35,000 for the purchase and installation of two machines which would develop the maguey industry. 471
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Commerce and industry: This period saw the creation of a separate bureau for the development of commerce and industry by Act 2728. This is the bureau of commerce and industry. This period also marked an attempt, though not a fruitful one, to establish a merchant marine. Act 2754 authorized the secretary of commerce and communica~ tions, with the concurrence of the Governor General, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives, to organize a merchant marine which will engage in the transportation of products from and into the Philippines. The government is actually engaged in trade in those portions of the country inhabited by non-Christian peoples. Act 2660 deals with the development of trading stations in the Department of Mindanao and Sulu to facilitate the intercourse and exchange of merchandise between the Moros and Ch'ristians. Public health: Aside from the annual appropriation for public health, other measures have been passed for the improvement of sanitary conditions. Act 2695 provides for the isolation of prisoners infected with tuberculosis; act 2653 appropriated P39,000 for hospitals in the Department of Mindanao and Sulu to combat diseases; acts 2740 and 2744 appropriated money for the manufacture of "tikitiki" and for its gratuitous distribution among the indigent classes as a means of combating infantile beriberi. Charity and public welfare: It has been found convenient for the government to supervise the work of charity and public welfare. The public welfare board was first created by act 2510 as amended by act 2745. Act 2988, however, abolished it, and established in its stead a commissioner of public welfare with much enlarged powers. An office is maintained in Manila for the conduct of business for the investigation of social conditions and for the dissemination of valuable sociological information. Social centers and other agencies are to be estab472
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS lished and maintained throughout the islands. The money appropriated by the legislature for the protection of infants is distributed by this office. Act 2761 appropriated P50,000 for medicine to be distributed free of charge at public dispensaries. Following the former practice, the legislature appropriated by act 2854, P300,000 for the relief of the poor sufferers from fires, typhoons, earthquakes, and other public calamities. Finance: Act 2894 grants authority to Provinces, municipalities, and chartered cities to incur indebtedness and issue bonds for public improvements under certain conditions. The recent measures petitioning the increase of the bonded indebtedness of the Philippine government have a~ready been answered by Congress by allowing such an increase. Act 2931 provides for the issuance of bonds by the government of the Philippines in such sum as Congress may authorize for the establishment of irrigation systems in the Phili'!lpine Islands. Administration-the reorganization act: The most "important administrative measure passed since 1907 was act 2666, which reorganized our executive departments. This is taken up fully in Chapt-er III. Another administrative change worthy of mention was mad~ by act 2878, which abolished the government of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu as a special political division. At present there are only two kinds of Provinces-regular Provinces and special Provinces. All the non-Christian Provinces are under the same category. This works for unification of administration. Formerly the Department of Mindanao and Sulu formed one separate, self-governing entity and the special Provinces of Luzon formed another type of administrative unit. Private law: The first attempt at establishing divorce in the Philippines was made by act 2716. It provides, 473
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES however, that before a divorce can be obtained one of the parties must have been found guilty of adultery by a competent tribunal. Judicial reforms: The most noteworthy act under this heading is that which reorganized the courts of first instance and provides for an automatic exchange of places by lot between the judges of the courts of first instance belonging to the same rank. Every five years the judges are to be convened and those of the same class are to exchange places. (Act 2941). Another act postponed the exclusive use of English as the sole official language of the courts until 1930. (Act 2830). Labor: At this period the Philippines were beginning to have their lafor troubles, and act 2865 authorized the Governor General to appoint a committee to investigate controversies between the owners and tenants of large estates. Mercantile regulations: One law passed during this period which has been objected to by foreign communities like the Chinese is act 2972, which would prohibit the writing of account booksl in Chinese and which imposes penalty for its violation. Public Works: Public works are taken up in the annual appropriations for public works, but a law worthy of note is act 2940, providing for the issuing of bQnds by the government of the Philippines in the amount of $10,000,000 for the purpose of providing funds for public works. The militia: Act 2715, providing for the establishment of the Philippine militia, was passed in 1917. Its initial purpose was to help the United States during the Great War. The militia is divided into two classes: First, the regularly enlisted militia, known as the national guard; and, second, the reserve militia, composed of those who were 474
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS not in active service. The Governor General is the commander in chief of all the militia. There is a militia commission established to advise him as to the permanent organization, equipment and government of the national guard and the reserve militia. The militia commission is composed of the secretary of the interior, the president of both houses of the Philippine Legislature or their representatives, the secretary of finance, the secretary of justice, and two other members appointed by the Governor General. Franchises: It will be worthy of note that franchises have multiplied during this period, a fact which shows great economic activity. During this time 41 franchises have been granted by the legislature. There were only 18 in the first peri .d and 21 in the second period. Memorials an~ recognitions of merit: It is proper to create a separate subheading fOli' those acts of the, Philippine Legislature wh路 ch honored the memory of people who have rendered service to the Filipino people or gave recognition to those who are still living but who are illustrious by the magnitude of the work that they have done. Act No. 2795 appropriated P60,000 for the erection of a mausoleum to perpetuate the memory of the late Hon. William Atkinson Jones, the author of the Jones law. Act 2810 authorized the creation of a commission to take charge of the preliminary work for the celebration of the fourth centennial of the discovery of the Philippines by Magellan. Act 2918 authorized the payment of special remuneration to Frank W. Carpenter for his work in Mindanao and Sulu. Similarly life pensions were given to Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, former President of the Philippine Republic, and the late Cayetano Arellano, chief justice of the supreme court. (Acts 2922 and 2909, respectively.) National ideals: Act 2928 is replete with memories of the past, for it revived the old flag of the Republic and 475
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES made it an official flag of the government of the Philippines. Act 2933 provides for a standing appropriation of P1,000,000 every year for the commission of independence. OUR LEGISLATIVE RECORD
We do not contend for a moment that the legislature has made no mistakes. It has made mistakes, undoubtedly. But so has every law-making body in the world. And when it comes down to the real issue as to whether it has served the country with the highest of service and public welfare, our legislature can well bear the scrutiny of the most hostile critics. It has produced a record of which any legislative body of the world might well be proud. XVIII. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
An impartial reading of the mission's memorial to the President as well as of the statement of conditions, will, we believe, inevitably lead to the following conclusions: 1. A stable government has already been established in the Philippines. Therefore, the only prerequisite established by the Congress of the United States as a condition precedent to the granting of independence is fulfilled by the people of the Philippine Islands. The granting of the indepen~ence is the next logical immediate step. 2. From 1914 to 1921, with the Filipino people in greater control of their government, more rapid progress has been made and greater improvements effected in all Philippine activities-social, economic, and governmentalthan in any other similar period in Philippine history. Therefore, the mere mention of backward steps and of taking away powers and prerogatives already enjoyed by the Filipino people is politically unwarranted and indefensively absurd. 476
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 3. During this period (1914 to 1921) the political capacity of the people has been tried and has met every acid test. In 1921 the Philippine government was more scientifically and efficiently organized than in any other period in Philippine history. A successful reorganization of the executive departments had been effected. A budget system had been established. Increased activities and greater results were obtained from all the bureaus of the government, including the bureaus of education, justice, and lands and the Philippine Health Service. 4. The Filipino desire for independence is not born of ingratitude toward the United States, but is the natural sequence of nearly a quarter of a century of joint American and Filipino efforts in the most successful experiment in democracy ever attempted in the Tropics. 5. A further delay in the recognition of Philippine independence after sp many years of patient labor and constant struggle will be prejudicial to the best interests of both the American and Filipino peoples. 6. The granting of independence at this time will be a strong factor for international peace. If the independence of the Philippines could now be secured as an amicable agreement between the two peoples, nay, even as an act of magnanimity on the part of a sovereign power, how much would that mean for the peace of the world! How much more would that add to the prestige of the United States when she again appears before the world as a champion of democracy and human liberty!
477
VII MEMORIAL TO THE AMERICAN CONGRESS AND 'l'O PRESIDENT COOLIDGE, PRESENTED BY HON. MANUEL ROXAS, SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE, AND BY HONS. ISAURO GABALDON AND PEDRO GUEVARA, RESIDENT COMMISSIONERS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS THE PETITION
Washington, D. C., January 8, 1924. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, Washington, D. C. On behalf of the Philippine Legislature and of the people of the Philippine Islands, the undersigned, members of the Special Philippine Mission, once more respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to consider the question of Philippine independence. We submit that the solution of this question has already been too long delayed despite the reiterated petitions of the Filipinos. The people of the United States, with the enactment of the Jones Law in 1916, formally and officially promised to recognize the independence of the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government could be established therein. This r~quirement having been fully met, the Filipino people through their Legislature in 1919 sent the first Philippine Mission here with instructions to request the fulfillment of this promise. In 1922 a second Mission was sent for the same purpose. Both Missions laid before the constitutional representatives of the people of this country the facts that established the existence in the Philippines of 478
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS a stable government capable of insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of all, nationals and foreigners alike. Weare not unmindful of the fact that the American people and government have been in the last few years confronted with serious problems that absorbed their attention and precluded the performance of the covenant that touches the life, liberty and happiness of the Filipinos. But we are constrained to give voice to our people's deep regret and keen disappointment when the two independence Missions returned to the Philippines without having secured their principal object. Although the future status of our country as an independent nation has been determined, still the delay in the granting of the promised independence is a matter of grave concern to the Filipino people. If we may speak with the candor of assured friendship, may we not say that the lack of a definite and satisfactory statement as to why the pledge has not been redeemed is paralyzing the progress and development of our country and is filling the hearts of our people with those doubts and misgivings which existed upon the implantation of American sovereignty and which required so many arduous efforts to dispel. Twenty-five years have elapsed since our country came under the benevolent protection of your flag~an emblem of liberty and not of slavery, a symbol of humanity and civilization and not of selfishness and exploitation. A quarter of a century has passed, teeming with harmonious labors jointly undertaken by Americans and Filipinos for the welfare an-a freedom of our people. Permit us to bring to your notice that period of seven years of this relationship, in which the Filipino people enjoyed a large measure of autonomy. Outside of our country it was a period of upheaval and disorder; within, under a Filipinocontrolled government, it was a time of peace, of public 479
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES tranquillity, of security for all citizens. America was obliged to bend all her energies toward the prosecution of the war and had to withdraw her troops from the Philippines. Without force and solely in virtue of the mutual faith between your people and our people, American sovereignty and international responsibilities in the Philippines were made secure through the agency of a Filipinocontrolled government, deriving its powers from the peaceful suffrages of the people. Under such government, our progress in all directions was so evident that President Harding himself declared it unequalled by any other people under similar conditions and within the same period of time. No reason exists, if we read well into the history of our relationship, why there should be further delay in the granting of that which the Fil,pinos rightfully seek, that which in honor America has promised. Every passing day adds to our impatience, which only our absolute faith in your plighted word can allay. Strong is our confidence in you, but our country is so far away from yours, Filipino problems are so remote from your immediate interests, that our people are ever and naturally apprehensive lest in the course of our relationship some grave error might be' committed not through the fault of your people or of our people, but of persons called upon to carry out your liberal policies in the Islands, who mistakenly adopt an attitude at variance therewith. Such unfortunate incidents hamper t.he constructive work of our government, retard our progress and destroy the harmonious relations so painstakingly built up between Americans and Filipinos. The present conflict with Governor General Wood is one of such incidents. It constitutes a bitter object lesson for us and ~hould ever be a warning to all. In keeping with the broad and 'liberal program mapped out by the Jones Law, an autonomous regime was estab480
INAUGURAL CEREMONIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
Among the Congressional Vi sitors and High Government Officials of the Philippines in the Picture Can Be Seen Vice-President John N. Garner of U. S., Speaker Joseph W. Byrns of U. S., President Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippines, Vice-President Sergio Osmena of the Philippines, Chief Justice Ramon Avan路 ceria of the Philippine Supreme Court. Manila, November 15, 1935.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS lished in the Philippines. It was built up through the Anglo-Saxon process of development, not only by the passage of laws but as well through the establishment of constitutional practices and the adoption of democratic principles, all of which gave our people an ample autonomy compatible with the exercise of America's international responsibilities. It w~s a government established with the cooperation and approval of the American representative, faithfully interpreting the liberal spirit ;and provisions of the Organic Law and the policies that brought about its enactment. It was not based on American theories alone, but adapted to our needs, our environment and our ideals, and intended to transmute into actuality the avowed aim of the United States to give' the Filipinos opportunity to prepare themselves for complete and absolute independence. The developme{lt of the government thus founded has received the approval and encouragement of the American Republic. In 1919, when the first Philippine Mission appeared before the government of the United States, this was said: Gradually and without violence the functions of the government have been taken over by the people of the Islands themselves, leaving only the tenuous connection of the Governor General.
The government so organized has successfully functioned. On December 7, 1920, the President of the United States in his message to Congress urged the granting of independence without further delay on the ground that the Filipinos had set up ~nd satisfactorily maintained a stable government, and thus had fulfilled the one condition required in the Jones Law. Whqe awaiting the promised freedom, it has ever been unthinkable to our people that some of the political powers already guaranteed to them could be withdrawn, and withdrawn without giving any just and legitimate reason. On 481
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES the contrary, we have always believed that our government, established and developed with the consent of the United States, would be changed only by the installation of an independent Philippine Republic. We have been most loa1h to think that such a structure could fall to pieces at the beck and command of one man. The American government has assured us time and again that such a reversion could never happen. The late and well-beloved President Harding on June 20, 1922, said to the second Philippine Mission: No backward step is contemplated, no diminution of your domestic control is to be sought.
Yet, what we feared might occur due to the distance of our country from yours and the difference of American from Filipino interests and problems, has come to pass. Governor General Wood has set at naught all understandings the Filipino people have had with the American government, and has ignored the assurance given them by the late President. He has most decidedly taken a backward step by depriving our g(!)vernment of the key and the nervecenter of the former autonomous administration-the counsel of the Filipinos. He has surrounded himself with a secret cabinet composed of military and other extra-legal advisers, which has encroached upon the legitimate functions of the Filipino officials in the government. He has broken asunder the bonds of concord that united Americans and Filipinos after the bloody struggle of 1899, a concord that reached its highest expression in the first years of autonomous government. He has placed himself over and above the laws passed by the Philippine Legislature, laws that have never been declared null and void by the courts or by the Congress of the United States. He has claimed for himself an unlimited executive responsibility that neither the existing laws nor the practices already estab482
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS lished have recognized. He has deviated from the policy of the American government to give the Filipino people an ever-increasing self-government, a policy announced by every President beginning with President McKinley and ratified by the Congress of the United States in the Jones Law. He has abused the veto power, exercising it on the slightest pretext on matters of purely local concern that did not affect the sovereignty of the United States or its international obligations. Thus he has attempted to control our Legislature, a prerogative that has never been claimed by the elected executives of America, by the President of the United States or the Governors of the several States. He has disregarded the rights of the Senate in his exercise of the appointing power. He has destroyed our budget system, the greatest achievement in the financial administration of our government. He has endeavored to defeat the econotpic policies duly laid down by the Philippine Legislature for the prrotection of the rights and interests of the Filipino people in the development of the resources of the Islands. The theories and principles underlying Governor Wood's actions are utterly repugnant to the policies that go to make up the cornerstone of Philippine autonomous government. To inject the autocracy of an irresponsible appointed executive into a representative democracy such as the Congress of the United States implanted in the Philippines sets at defiance every American tradition, violates that good faith that has been the precious and untarnished heritage of the American people, and is incompatible with any workable theory of free government. The freedom and the happiness of the Filipino people to which the honor of America and the patriotism of the Filipinos are equally committed are too sacred to be the plaything of one-man power. A reactionary and militaristic rule is a flagrant violation of the time-honored 483
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES policy of the American government toward the Philippines. It calls back to life old misunderstandings that are now fortunately buried, and subverts the moral foundations of the humanitarian work so nobly accomplished by America in the Philippines. The recent incidents simply serve to bring home the compelling need that the Philippine question be now settled once and for all. The liberal policies adopted and observed for more than two decades, the program of independence outlined after years of constant labor for the realization of which men of your country have given their best years, must not stop. It must be carried on to its logical conclusion. The time for Philippine independence has come. It can be postponed no longer. Filipino welfare calls for it; Filipino ideals long for it; and the good name and pledged faith of America require it. In deep gratitude for all that Americl\ has done for the Filipinos, in appreciation of her gracious treatment, in expectation of an even more_ friendly association in the future, we respectfully and earnestly submit that the next step in the development of our relationsliip is the fulfillment of the promise of the United States to our people, the immediate establishment of a Philippine free republic, consecrated to the ideals of liberty and justice which America has upheld throughout her history. Respectfully submitted, MANUEL ROXAS
SpeGtker, House of RepresentGttives of the PhUippine Islands, Special Commissioner ISAURO GABALDON
PEDRO GUEVARA
Resident Commissioner
Resident Commissioner
484
VIII MEMORIAL TO THE U. S. CONGRESS, SUBMITTED BY SENATOR SERGIO OSMENA, SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE TO THE UNITED STATES, AND RESIDENT COMMISSIONER PEDRO GUEVARA
Washington, D. C. December 7, 1925. To the Congress of the United States-: In compliance with instructions from the Philippine Legislature, we have the honor to address ourselves to the Congress of the United States and to convey the most sincere expressions of good-will and friendship of the Filipino people. For more than a quarter of a century Americans and F~lipinos have united in a common labor for progress, demqcracy and liberty. In the course of the development of this high emprise, in which the United States demonstrated not selfishness but altruism, not power but generosity, there has been formed between the two peoples those ties of moral affection which only mutual confidence can engender and which are more binding and more lasting than ties merely political. The Filipinos are highly appreciative of the assistance they have received from the United States and we consider it a distinct privilege to be the bearers of this message of gratitude. This generous assistance made itself immediately felt from the very moment the fortunes of war planted the American flag upon our soil. The Filipino people had just then closed the most glorious chapter of their history. Concentrating the sad experience of centuries in the last years of trial and hardship, they dreamed of liberty, fought for it, and possessed it. The revolution 485
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES that achieved this victory was indeed exemplary; the days of disorder were but few. The immediate establishment of civil institutions everywhere, the adoption of a democratic constitution, and the proclamation of a free republic are now facts of history and clearly demonstrate the -'legitimate aspirations of the Filipino people, their law-abiding spirit, their self-restraint, and their sense of responsibility. When the Philippine Republic fell before the sweeping advance of American arms the people became discouraged; but little by little their hopes returned as they saw symbolized in the American flag the very ideal of liberty for which they had struggled. The United States could have done with the Philippines whatever would have pleased her. She had the force so to do. 'J::he Tre3lty of Peace with Spain g:;tve her complete liberty to dispose of them at her will. Three courses were open to her for consideration. One was permanent retention, for purposes of exploitation and aggrandizement. This, she rejected as incompatible with the aims of a war undertaken for the triumph of ,high ideals. She had just set the Cuban example and proclaimed that forcible annexation was criminal aggression. Another course was the conversion of our country into a territory for eventual admission as a state of the Union, but this was impracticable due to insurmountable difficulties, both ethnic and geographic. There was a third course-to regard the Philippines as a sacred trust, administering their affairs for the benefit of their people and, by a process of an ever-increasing self-government, to grant them their independence. This was the' policy chosen by the American government. When America's liberating mission was inaugurated it had for its guide the utterances of the authorized representatives of her government. American officials insisted upon the cooperation of the Filipinos, without which, no 486
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS doubt, the enterprise would have been a failure, and when this cooperation was given, it was given freely and in full measure. The program repeatedly announced was to give the Filipinos growing participation in the administration and to confer upon them ever-widening latitude of political power. So that what in the beginning was a government by Americans aided by Filipinos would eventually become a government by Filipinos aided by Americans. Thus, gradually, consistently, and without violence, the government of the United States has been turning over to the Filipino people partial or complete control of their municipalities, of their provinces, of their courts of justice, their national legislature, of their schools and public health, of their finance, of their means of communication, of their commerce and industry, of their natural resources, of the agencies for the maintenance of public order and for the promotion of public welfare-all the instrumentalities, in fact, of national life. The latest political concession granted in 1916 provided for a practically autonomous government as a final step to independence. Similarly with the Teller Resolution, which insured the independence of Cuba, the United States pledged herself through the Jones Act to renounce sovereignty over the Philippines and grant their independence as soon as a stable government under Filipino direction could be established therein. All the previous administrations under American control having been stable, it was natural that the same condition should be required now that political control was to pass into Filipino hands. If we may be permitted, we wish to invite attention to the fact that during the entire period of Filipino control the government not only measured up to the standard set by American administrations, but improved in many aspects. The records of our governmental activities are in themselves so eloquent that no impartial mind can fail to give 487
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES them due acknowledgment. Public order was maintained; the exercise of the franchise for the various offices, local as well as national, free and orderly; the judiciary, upright and impartial; the administration of our finances, honest and efficient; public service, faithful and effective; and tolerance among political groups and religious denominations decorously observed. Under such favorable circumstances, agriculture, industry, commerce, both domestic and foreign, advanced as never before; capital received the same, if not better guarantees of security; and all citizens, without distinction as to nationality, were recipients of the blessings of a firm and stable government. The defects, real or imaginary, attributed to our government are common in other governments of the world. Today the Filipinos await in confidence and with eagerness the consummation of this prolonged process of collaboration. Ina much as America never attempted to discourage them in their legitimate aspirations for liberty -in fact, in the course of our constitutional prOl;ress, she has repeatedly given us the assurance that independence is also her goal-the Filipinos accepted the pledge of independence in good faith and readily submitted themselves to the tests which the government of the United States prescribed. They welcomed every new concession with rejoicing for to them every such concession meant both success of the previous test and a nearer approach to the final goal. Twenty-seven years have elapsed since American occupation, eighteen since the organization of our popular assembly; nine since the inauguration of our national congress and the establishment of autonomous government. During this whole period Filipinization of the public service ran hand in hand with the increase of political power granted to the people and the stability of the government 488
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS was fully maintained. Would it not be only just to ' all elements collaborating in good faith in this enterprise that the American government now lend its attention to the Philippine problem and feel that the time has corne to take the final step, redeeming thus a pledge so solemnly made? Only in this way may the interest of the two peoples who have undertaken a joint venture unequaled in our history be permanently secured. Respectfully submitted, SERGIO OSMENA
President Pro-Tempore, Philippine Senate; Special Representative, Philippine Legislature PEDRO GUEVARA
Resident Commissioner
489
IX RESOLUTION OF BOTH HOUSES OF THE LEGISLATURE PRESENTING A MEMORIAL TO THE HONORABLE CARMI A. THOMPSON, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, UPON THE DESIRE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE FOR IMMEDIATE, ABSOLUTE AND COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE
Resolved by the senate and the house of representatives of the Philippines in joint session assembled That the following memorial be presented to the Honorable Carmi A. Thompson, personal representative of the President of the United States: The history of the independence movement is wellknown and can be found in memorials and writings on the Philippines. The armed opposition of the Filipino people to the extension of American sovereignty to the islands lasted for three years. It cost the Filipinos, directly and indirectly, hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of pesos worth of property. Every historian now realizes that war is the greatest proof of the love of the Filipinos for liberty and independence. Since the termination of the American-Philippine war the struggles of the Filipinos for their emancipation have been struggles of peace, within the pale of law and through constitutional methods. The chief function of political parties in a democracy is to organize public opinion with a view to determining the will of the people. No better device has yet been worked out than political parties to accomplish this end. The present political parties, the Nacionalista Consoli dado 490
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS and the Democrata, are for immediate, absolute and complete independence. At present nobody can be elected to any position who is not in favor of immediate independence. The statute-books of the Philippines contain many resolutions expressing the position taken by the representatives of the people on the independence question. Since your arrival in the Philippines, two resolutions on the subject have been approved by this same body. You will recall that shortly upon your arrival on July 16, 1926, the Philippine Legislature approved a concurrent resolution respectfully requesting you "to advise the President of the United States that the constant and intense desire of the Filipino people is for immediate, complete and absolute independence." A few days ago, on September 29, 1926, the Philippine Legislature, upon the recommendation of the supreme national council and the commission of independence, approved the following resolutions: Be it known, that the Filipino people unswervingly maintain their aspiration for immediate, complete and absolute independence, convinced that only under their own government would their permanent interests be secured and safeguarded. That having duly fulfilled the condition imposed in the Jones Law as a prerequisite to independence, they believe that they have the right to enjoy without any further delay the blessings of independence, and hence any solution of the Philippine problem other than the granting of that independence will not satisfy them. Be it known, further, that the Filipino people are opposed to any legislative or administrative measure or any economic plan which may prevent, or in any way retard, the granting of immediate, absolute and complete independence.
The desire of the Filipinos for independence is not prompted by any spirit of hostility to the United States. It is based on the natural urge in the heart of every people to be the masters of their own destinies, on the belief that the people themselves can best take care of their interests 491
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES according to their own genius, and on the understanding reached betw:een the United States and the Philippines by virtue of the Jones Law. The Filipino people are animated by that principle enunciated by the philosopher of their revolution, Apolinario Mabini: "Strive for the independence of thy country; for only thou canst have any real interest in her advancement and exaltation, because her independence constitutes thine own liberty; her advancement, thy perfection; and her exaltation, thine own glory and immortality." We believe that we have a destiny to fulfill, for our country has twelve million inhabitants, with a land of tremendous possibilities, with a common history, and belonging to the same race. This longing for independence likewise rests upon the conviction that the Jones Law approved by the Congress of the United States became virtually a covenant between the two peoples whereby the United States promise to give independence to the Philippines upon the establishment of a stable government. We interpret "stable government" to mean a government supported by the people, capable of keeping order and fulfilling its obligations, and such is ' the interpretation given in America's diplomatic history, in international law and by the League of Nations. The Governor-General under whose administration the government provided by the Jones Law was established, certified to the existence of a stable government, and the President who had signed the law, reported to Congress and to the American people in December, 1920, the fulfillment of that condition and strongly recommended the immediate granting of independence. We believe that the chief reason why the full material development of the country has not been accomplished is that we have been denied the powers necessary to shape 492
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS our economic policies. We are firmly convinced that independence alone will give us those powers. The delay in the granting of independence prevents us from abroad, and constrains us to oppose the amendment of our land laws which would permit vast organizations of capital to secure unlimited areas of our public domain. Weare likewise opposed to any economic policy which would allow the selfish exploitation of our natural resources. We are fully aware of the perils and responsibilities attendant upon an independent existence, but we have long decided, after mature deliberation, that we should face those perils. If in the past, with the rights of smaller nations more brazenly disregarded than now, other peoples have succeeded ~n maintaining an independent existence, there is no reason why the Filipino people, with the awakened conscience of the world and with the tenacity they have shoW,n in defending their independence, should not be able to maintain a humble, but permanent place in the concert of nations. With respect to the relations between the executive and the legislature, the present situation is unsatisfactory. The facts which have given rise to this state of affairs are of common knowledge and have been submitted to the President of the United States. Hence, it is unnecessary to relate them again. So long as the causes which have created these difficulties remain, it is not to be expected that the situation will improve. The plan to enlarge the powers of the governor general, far from relieving conditions, would only aggravate them. Adopted, October 4, 1926.
493
x THE COMMUNICATION FROM THE LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION FROM THE PHILIPPINES TO SENATOR BINGHAM*
Legislative Commission from the Philippines, Washington, D. C., May 23, 1932. Hon. Hiram Bingham, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. Dear Senator: As the session of the Congress draws to a close, we take the liberty, on behalf of the people of the Philippine Islands, to appeal once more to the United States Senate, through you, for early and favorable action with respect to the Philippine bills now pending in the Senate, before adjournment. The Philippine problem has been discussed, examined, and investigated by the United States Congress almost continuously during the last 15 years, and extensive hearings on the pending bills have been conducted this year by t he House and Senate committees. It would seem, therefore, that no great length of time will be needed for its disposal. The Hare bill passed the House by a practically unanimous vote, and the Hawes-Cutting bill, favorably reported last March by your committee, has, in its underlying features, so far as we can judge, the support of a large majority of the Senate. The differences between the Hare bill and the Hawes-Cutting bill concern matters of detail which can be readily adjusted. We are not unaware that tne Senate is confronted with economic and social problems of transcendental im-
* Congressional Record, Vol. 75, Part 10, 72d Congress, 1st Session, May 18, 1932, to May 31, 1932. 494
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS portance to the United States, urgently requiring action. However, the people of the Philippine Islands trust that when these problems shall have been acted upon the Senate will consider and pass the pending Philippine legislation. We are urging action at this time, confident that the Senate realizes the importance of this legislation for the Philippine Islands, not only because it will definitely determine its future political status but also because it will settle other vexatious questions concerning immigration and the tariff which have arisen in the course of AmericanPhilippine relations. It is apparent that to permit the Philippine measures now before the Senate to go without action will increase the uncertainty which already characterizes the Philippine situation. This indecisiveness is very harmful, not only to the political development of the islands but also to business interests there. Until the question of independence and trade relations with the United States is defined and adjusted stable economic conditions can not exist in the Philippines, no new capital will risk investment there, and real economic progress is hardly possible. Believing that the Members of the Senate will appreciate the reasons which constrain us to request the consideration and passage of the Philippine legislation at this session, we beg to remain, Yours respectfully, For the Philippine Commission: SERGIO OSMENA
Acting President of the Philippine Senate MANUEL ROXAS
Speaker of the Philippine Representatives 495
HO~tse
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XI STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE ON TERRITORIES AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, UNITED STATES SENATE, ON THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE SECRETARY OF WAR HURLEY IN HIS TESTIMONY ON PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE*
(1932)
The War Department being the administrative branch of the United States Government directly charged with the supervision of Philippine affairs, the statement made by the Secretary of War bâ&#x201A;Źfore this committee can not but command careful attention. Hence the Philippine Commission, after analyzing it conscientiously, considers it its duty to express its views on the important points brought out in his testimony. This the commission will do with frankness and without equivocation, sincere in its purpose to aid this committee in arriving at definite and just conclusions. The Philippine Commission is in substantial accord with Secretary Hurley upon the following fundamental facts: 1. The validity of the title of the United States to the Philippine Islands precisely as granted by the treaty of Paris and a later supplementary treaty. It should be added, however, that the treaty of Paris left to the Congress of the United States the determination of the future status of the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. 2. The American policy in the Philippines represents a new conception in dealing with subject peoples, its purpose being not exploitation but "to introduce and develop
* Congressional Record, Vol. 75, part 4, 72d Congress, 1st Session, February 8, 1932, to February 24, 1932, pp. 4206-4208. 496
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS the basic conceptions of free government." The aim has always been, as President Roosevelt stated, "to make them fit for self-government after the fashion of really free nations." 3. Independence has always been the objective of American policy in the Philippines. The true and clear purport of this policy appears in the repeated declarations of authorized officials, especially Presidents of the United States, and in the congressional commitment contained in the Jones Act. Philippine independence is more than a mere policy; it is a solemn promise made by the United States to the people of the Philippine Islands, which must be fulfilled. 4. From t~e inception of American sovereignty in the Philippines the powers of government have been gradually transferred to Filipino officials, until at the present time the government is in a very large degree in their hands. 5. The people of the Philippine Islands, after more than 30 years of association with the United States, have demonstrated their capacity to govern themselves. In this connection it is only fair to note that Secretary Hurley qualifies this assertion with the remark that 40 per cent of the territory of the islands is inhabited by people who in their majority are non-Christians, and who have not attained the degree of political education which the Christian Filipinos have achieved. While this reference of Secretary Hurley is in a sense correct, it should be recalled that only a very small portion of the area mentioned by him is actually occupied by non-Christian Filipinos, and that more than 80 per cent of such area is unoccupied Government land. It should also be noted that the non-Christian population of the Philippines is less than 9 per cent of the total 497
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES population of the islands, and that the Christian population of the nine special provinces referred to by Secretary Hurley exceeds either the Mohammedans or Pagans in those pr ovinces. Secretary Hurley places emphasis on the fact that the non-Christians are still represented by appointive representatives in the legislature. This is true. They are represented in the Philippine Legislature by 2 out of 24 members of the senate and by 9 appointive delegates out of a total membership of 97 in the lower house. But this fact should not be taken as the measure of the political capacity of these people. That their representatives are still appointive is neither their choice nor their desire. It is an arrangement established by the Congress of the United States which the Legislature of the Philippine Islands is without power to change. Secretary Hurley stated the truth When he affirmed in the course of his testimony that there are today among these people many well-educated men and women who could with credit represent them in the legislature. On the basis of these undisputed facts, the political capacity of the whole Filipino people should not be questioned. Political capacity should be determined not by the level of enlightenment, experience, and capacity of a small minority of the population but rather by the average level reached by the majority of the people or the people as a whole. 6. The Filipino people are practically united in their desire for independence. Secretary Hurley, however, intimates that there are many among the non-Christian people who are opposed to it. He admits that the Christian Filipinos are more ready for self-government than the nonChristians. It is difficult to understand how Secretary Hurley can attribute strength and weight to expressions against independence among those who are less capable 498
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS of understanding the consequences of independence, and at the same time deny the effectiveness of the desires of the bulk of the population who are better informed and more intelligent. 7. Great progress has been made in the Philippines not only in political preparation but in the advancement of education, sanitation, public improvements, and other lines of activity. It is also agreed that the Philippine government is sound financially and has a balanced budget. Philippine currency is on a stable basis. These achievements are the result of the j oint efforts of Americans and Filipinos. Having stated briefly the points upon which there is no controversy, we shall now proceed to examine the facts bearing upon the conclusions of Secretary Hurley with which we beg to di agree: 1. Secretary Hurley asserts that the promise of independence was conditioned by what he calls a composite objectives, which includes capacity for self-government, economic independence, and high social standards. Secretary Hurley argues that all of these accomplishments not having been reached, the Filipino people should not be granted their independence now or in the near future. He adds that it is impossible to forecast when these conditions will be attained, and urged the view that the time when independence is to be granted must be determined by certain definite achievements which can not be established in advance. An examination of American policy toward the Philippines will show that the capacity of the people to set up a stable government is the only condition imposed by the United States for their independence. Stable government has a well-defined and accepted meaning and does not include the special conditions which Secretary Hurley desires 499
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES to impose on the Philippines. Stability of government does not require economic independence. It certainly does not include the maintenance of prosperous trade relationships with other countries of the world. It does not necessitate the absolute assurance of economic prosperity for the Whole people, let alone freedom from economic difficulties incident upon political changes or from the all-too-common possible adverse effects resulting from the free play of economic laws. Economic independence or self-sufficiency has been reached by hardly any country in the world. Whether the Philippines, being largely an agricultural country, will soon reach self-sufficiency is a debatable question. But one thing is certain: The Philippines will not reach that stage while they remain under the American flag, living an artifieial life, under artificial trade and other unstable economic arrangements, which are beyond the power or right o'f their people to influence or command. To attain economic stability the Philippine nation, as soon as possible, must be placed on its own resources, with its people free to work out their own economic salvation in the competitive markets of the world. A postponement of their independence until balanced trade has been attained will surely add to their difficulties and problems when they are finally cut off from the American market. . Moreover, it would also increase the difficulties which the change will be bring about upon American trade with the Philippine Islands. 2. Secretary Hurley alleges with insistence that the Filipino leaders have not formulated an economic program for independence. This statement is incorrect. All the pleas for independence presented by Filipino representatives have always called the attention of Congress to the fact that to bring about a liquidation of American-Philippine trade relations without injury to the interest concerned or harm to the Philippine economic structure, once 500
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS a definite time for independence is fixed, reasonable arrangements should be effected for the adjustment of economic relationships. Such a program is contained in the Hawes-Cutting bill and in the Hare bill, and its purpose is to maintain substantially the status quo as to the volume of reciprocal free trade with the United States for a period of five years, during which time it is believed economic conditions would be adjusted to meet the new situation which will prevail upon complete severance of political ties; more specially, to allow Philippine industries now dependent upon the free American market a time for adjustment when they may be placed on a competitive basis. While this readjustment is taking place, production of articles not dependent on t he American free market will necessarily receive an impetus. At the same time the Filipinos will have an opportunity to develop new markets for their export products. The result will be to stabilize economic conditions and permit of economic development on solid and lasting foundations. What the effect of these temporary trade arrangements will be on the finances of the Philippine government will not be difficult to surmise. Should economic conditions in the islands be maintained until they can reasonably adjust themselves after independence, when the Philippines will find 路itself outside of the tariff walls of the United States, the Filipinos believe that they would then be at least as financially able to support their independent government as they now are. Moreover, should the new burdens and responsibilities, which independence will entail, require the expenditure of funds which are not now provided for, the Filipino people will undoubtedly be ready to increase the tax burdens they are at present carrying. Beyond the scheme proposed in the Hawes-Cutting bill and in the Hare bill covering the economic relations during the intervening period prior to independence, it is not in501
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES telligently possible to formulate another program. Nor should it be required as a condition precedent to congressional action on these bills. No country in the past aspiring to its independence was required to have an economic program. The United States, upon the declaration of its independence, did not even consider such a problem. Cuba did not offer one before the withdrawal of American sovereignty. Uninformed as the Filipinos are today of the terms and conditions upon which their independence may be granted, and of the time when the withdrawal of American sovereignty will actually take place, they are not now able to anticipate a hypothetical situation and take it as a basis upon which to formulate an economic program covering their industries, their tralile, and the finances of their government. With reference to the Philippine National Bank, Secretary Hurley asse:rted that independence in five years would produce its collapse, alleging that the bank now has frozen assets closely tied up with the sugar industry. The Hawes-Cutting bill or the Hare bill does not propose to kill the sugar industry in the Philippines. It specifically provides for continued favorable conditions affecting the industry during the 5-year period. The sugar mills of the Philippines owe the national bank about 25,000,000 pesos. During the last five years these mills had paid to the bank 21,000,000 pesos on the capital and 15,000,000 pesos interest on the original indebtedness of 46,000,000 pesos. These figures will show that were present trade relations with the United States to continue for some time, the mills may be expected to pay ort the capital indebtedness the same amount which they paid during the last five years, so that at the end of the 5-year period the mills would only be indebted to the bank in the amount of about 5,000,000 pesos. 502
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Secretary Hurley also mentions the fact that the withdrawal of the American Army from the Philippines would reduce the circulation in the islands by $12,000,000 a year. By what course of reasoning Secretary Hurley arrives at this conclusion is difficult to understand. In the first place, the United States Army does not spend $12,000,000 a year in the islands. An examination of the official records will show that the amount actually spent in the Philippines for salaries and supplies purchased in the Philippines is much less. The suspension of such expenditures would not necessarily affect the circulation of the Philippines any more than a reduction in an equal amount of the value of Philippine exports to the United States. What will result will be a proportional reduction in the value of the imports frofu the United States to the Philippines. The Filipino leaders are not unaware of all the elements which enter into the Philippine question. They have taken pains to view them in their true aspects and to inform their people of their significance. The Filipino people understand that independence will bring about a termination of reciprocal free-trade relations with the United States. They know it may produce economic hardships and increase tax burdens, but they are prepared to meet the responsibilities which will devolve upon them. 3. Secretary Hurley, as far as can be deduced from his testimony, considers the economic unpreparedness of the islands as the one great obstacle to independence. He is positive in his belief that economic readiness can only be brought about through the achievement of a balanced trade with the United States. It is difficult to understand how the balancing of commercial exchange between the United States and the Philippines would make the islands any more prepared for their independence than they are today. The result that would follow political separation, namely, the disruption of free-trade reciprocity, would injure Philip503
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES pine and American trade as much if a balanced trade existed, as it would at present. If at all, the difference would be that at the end of a long period of years necessary to bring about a balanced trade the Philippines might be involved in greater difficulties because of increased production of commodities now enjoying protection in the American market, or the stimulation of other products equally protected and which are not now being produced. 4. Secretary Hurley maintains with great insistence the impossibility of fixing a definite time for independence, because he claims that it is beyond the vision of practical men to map out a satisfactory economic program which coufd be successfully terminated in a stated period. With this view we can not agree. If the objective is clear and well defined, certainly it is not impossible to formulate a program and a stated time for its achievement. Accepting the opinion of Secretary Hurley that the sudden termination of the privileges which Philippine products now enjoy would bring about the collapse of some of the most important industries in the Philippines and result in economic depression in the islands, it would seem plain that what the Philippines really need is the fixing of a definite time for independence so that a proper adjustment to the new conditions which will obtain after independence may be made. The normal operation of economic laws would require a definite period. Besides, without such a period it would be difficult to expect this readjustment to take place, for it would only be natural for the Filipinos not to exert themselves for its attainment until a definite date is fixed for the change that is to eventuate. Leaving the future political status undecided will merely prolong the existing uncertainty, which is not conducive either to economic stability or to the solution of the economic intricacies of the present situation. 504
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The theory of definite accomplishments is so vague and so uncertain as to give no hope of successful results. It will satisfy no one who desires a definite settlement of the Philippine problem and will not pave the way for the solution of the economic difficulties which confront the Filipino people. Instead of disentangling the Philippines from the economic system of the United States it will merely involve the islands in a closer artificial relationship with the United States which can not be terminated at any future time without serious injury to both countries. On the other hand, with the determination of a fixed time when the Philippines shall be placed outside of the tariff walls of the United States, merchants and producers of both countries are informed of the change that will occur. In this case we would only need a reasonable time to prepare ourselves for the change in order to escape avoidable consequences. 5. Secretary Hurley makes repeated protestations of a sincere desire to bring about the independence of the Phfiippines. However, this deep concern for the future welfare and security of the Filipinos is such that were his expectations and fears to be accepted it would be fair to state that the Philippine Islands would never attain their independence. He desires, for example, to elevate the social standards and the political and economic, capacity of the non-Christian Filipinos at least to the same levels attained by the Christian Filipinos. Under American sovereigntysuch a task would require many generations. And even then it would be doubtful if the Mohammedan FilipJnos would ever attain social standards which Secretary Hurley might consider satisfactory, for their religious and moral conceptions are different from Christian civilization. Secretary Hurley also would require the Philippine Islands to build up a system of military and naval defense 505
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES which would make them impregnable against foreign aggression. There are very few countries in the world today which are in such a strong position. Frankly, if this condition were imposed upon the Filipino people, it would be tantamount to a denial of our independence. Ability to maintain a naval and military establishment adequate to withstand aggression from without is not now possessed by the Filipino people, and they will not be able to develop sucE a system of defense for many years to come. But there are today in the world influences and instrumentalities, other than military force, which are deemed sufficient for the preservation of national integrity, and the Filipino people have the right to rely on them. Recent happenings in China should not be cited to justify assumptions as to what will happen in an independent Philippines five years from now. The two countries are differently situated and the cross interest and conflicting purposes of other nations bearing on China happily do not obtain as regards the Philippines. 6. Great emphasis is laid by Secretary Hurley on whRt he terms the special responsibility which the United States Government assumed with respect to the Mohammedan Filipinos. He c.laims that when the United States forces disarmed the Moros they were given assurances that the United States would exercise tutelage over them until they were able to defend their rights and, besides, to protect them against what he calls their "hereditary enemies," the Christian Filipinos. Secretary Hurley could hardly have_cited a fact more lacking in historical foundation or more widely divergent from the views of those who have been most intimately associated with both Mohammedan and Christian Filipinos and the events referred to. The Mohammedan Filipinos were disarmed, about 5,000 rifles having been gathered from them, as the Christian Filipinos had previously been disarmed. No apologies were made 506
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS for this action of the Government, and certainly no promises were proffered. General Pershing, Governor General Forbes, and former Gov. Frank W. Carpenter, of the department of Mindanao and Sulu, are witnesses to this fact, and the denials of such promises appear in the official records of the Government. The United States did not assume any obligation toward the Mohammedan Filipinos differing from that which it assumed as regards the Christian Filipinos. As to the alleged traditional animosity between the Mohammedan and the Christian Filipinos, it is very unfortunate that Secretary Hurley should share in the belief of its existence. The truth is different. If religion is the barrier to complete understanding between the two elements, it is easy to see that the Mohammedan Filipinos would be as distrustful of American Christians as they are of Filipino Christians. The real fact is that no such animosity exists, and that Mohammedan and Christian Filipinos, belonging as they. do to the same race and conscious as they are of a common destiny, today feel that they are part of the same nation, which it is their privilege and duty both to support and to govern. 7. Secretary Hurley, who persistently refused to fix a date for independence on the ground that he is not a prophet is not, however, disinclined. to prophesy disaster, chaos, anarchy, and even revolution in the Philippines if independence were granted. He cites no facts and gives no reasons in the course of his testimony which would jus,t ify such gloomy forebodings. We claim to know our people better and to be, at least, as familiar as Secretary Hurley with the economic and social conditions obtaining in our country. We are not burdened with such pessimism. We fear no revolution. The history of our people is sufficient to allay such fear. The Filipinos are law-abiding and have learned to accept the decision of the majority. No spirit of sectionalism or class divides them. Through 507
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES democratic practices for almost a generation now they have learned to settle their national problems at the polls. Anarchy and revolution are most improbable. And why should there be such upheavals? Let us accept the worst that may happen, because of sudden economic changes. Let us admit, for the sake of argument, that the foreign trade of the islands would be wiped out and that the exportable products can not find a profitable market either in the United States or elsewhere. Undoubtedly such a condition would result in serious difficulties and great hardships for the Filipino people. But unemployment, huns-er, and starvation will not follow in their wake. The Philippines is an agricultural country. Its people possess the natural resiliency of a tropical people to changing economic conditions. A very large percentage of the Filipino people are land owners and own their homes. They also have opportunities 'of acquiring lands which they may cultivate and develop to satisfy their wants. But if depressed conditions must come and the Filipinos must pay the price which other nations have paid before they were permitted to enjoy fully the blessings of national independence, the Filipino people should not be denied the opportunity to pay that price. SUGGESTIONS OF SECRETARY HURLEY
Secretary Hurley proposed that the Filipino people be not now informed as to their political future, and, thus, would continue the present uncertainty which not only hampers their progress but shakes their spirit and makes the,m despair of their liberty. He does not propose to settle the question of independence. He merely hints that sometime, ultimately, it may be granted. Immediately, however, he proposes that congressional action be taken limiting the free entry of Philippine products into the United States, and also Philippine immigration into con568
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS tinental United States. This is the first time since the American occupation of the islands that such a proposal has come from an authoritative official branch of the American Government. It is not only contrary to the avowed American policy of altruism in the Philippines but is diametrically opposed to the position heretofore taken on this question by the War Department, by the Governors General of the Philippines, and by every American administration. It will deprive the Filipinos of priceless privileges and rights which they now enjoy under the American flag, the withdrawal of which could not but be interpreted by them as both unjust and discriminatory. But Secretary Hurley is not satisfied with these limitations on Philippine freedom and the curtailment of their rights and trade. He proposes to maintain in the Philippines an unrestricted market for American products and manufactures. He goes further. He would compel the Philippines to revise their tariff laws so as to impose higher duties on articles coming from foreign countries and thus force increased consumption of American products by the Filipino people. Such a scheme, if carried out, would embark the United States on a policy of exploitation of the Philippines. The adoption of these steps without at the same time fixing a definite date for the independence of the Philippines is a reversal of America's traditional policy and the inauguration of a new policy, that of permanent retention and subjugation of the Filipino people. It is true that Secretary Hurley, in answer to certain criticisms of his proposed policy, recognized that such steps as he proposed could justly be considered politically unmoral if they were not adopted as steps preparatory to independence. On the other hand, unless a definite date were fixed the approval of the program outlined by Secretary Hurley would lead the Philippines away from, not nearer to, their coveted 509
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES liberty, while at the same time strait-jacketing their economic development and trade for an indefinite period. Certainly the mere expectation of ultimate independence as described by Secretary Hurley is too vague and indefinite to oHer a justification for such drastic impositions upon the Filipino people. Secretary Hurley couples his trade proposals with the hint of an enlargement of Filipino participation in their governmental affairs. This can not satisfy the Filipinos. It will not justify the injurious restrictions which it is sought to impose on their trade and the right of Filipino citizens freely to enter the United States. But even this offer of increased participation in government administration is difficult to understand and will be misconstrued. For the offer is limited by Secretary Hurley as follows: "Provided it involves no surrender of any authority now possessed by the ,American Government." Government autnority is a definable and fixed measure of political power. It is impossible to increase the participation of one element without reducing the authority of the other. It is difficult to discern how Philippine participation can be increased without reducing that which the American Government now exercises. Reference to this proposal is made here not that it is of any importance in the discussion of this question of independence but merely because it offers one additional reason to support the view that the proposal of Secretary Hurley is impracticable and unjust, is meaningless in its political phase, and highly inj urious to Philippine interests in its economic aspects. It can not be acceptable to the people of the Philippine Islands. CONCLUSION
The analysis of the testimony of Secretary Hurley shows that both the plan and the provisions of the HawesCutting bill in the Senate and the Hare bill in the House 510
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
of Representatives provide a sound and statesmanlike solution of the question of Philippine independence. These bills courageously and without any attempt at evasion or postponement of fundamental issues solve the Philippine problem in conformity with American policy, in accord with Filipino aspirations, and with proper safeguards for their political, social, and economic interests. A fair and impartial consideration of the facts bea:ring on the Philippine question, even only of those which are not disputed by Secretary Hurley, will justify the enactment of a measure granting the Philippines its independence, as was promised in the Jones Act. The Filipino people are confident that such action will be taken. Respectfully submitted, SERGIO OSMENA
Acting President, Philippine Senate RUPERTO MONTINOLA
SeMte Minority Leader PEDRO GUEVARA
Resident Commissioner from the Philippines CAMILO OSIAS
Resident Commissioner from the Philippines MANUEL ROXAS
Speaker, Philippine House of Representatives PEDRO SABIDO
House Majority Leader EMILIANO T. TIRONA
H ou-se Minority Leader
511
XII MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS BY SENATOR BENIGNO AQUINO, SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE*
Willard Hotel, Washington, D. C. December 21, 1932.
To the Members of the Congress of the United States Gentlemen: On November 9, 1931, the Philippine Legislature adopted a resolution creating the present Philippine Independence Commission to the United States with the Honorable Manuel L. Qu,ezon, P r esident of the Philippine Senate, as chairman on the part of that body. Owing to ill health he has been unable to assume his duties with said commission and the Philippine Legislature, on November 9, 1932, adopted Concurrent Resolution No. 20 authorizing him to designate another member of the senate to act in his place. I have come to the United States in that capacity. In consonance with this representation, I beg to present herewith our views on the independence legislation pending consideration by the Congress. In view of the fact that the House of Representatives has already pa,ssed H. R. 7233, known as the Hare bill, and the senate the Hawes-Cutting bill in substitution for the former, with amendments, I shall address myself only to those provisions which, in my judgment, are objectionable to and would be difficult of ap, proval by the Filipino people~ At the outset, I wish to reiterate the real and sincere desire of the Filipino people for immediate, complete ftnd ... Manila Daily Bulletin, Jan. 31, 1933, p. 6.
512
(Scrapbook, 12).
Manila, November 15, 1935
PART OF THE CROWD THAT WITNESSED THE INAUGURAL CEREMONIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS absolute independence. I realize, however, that this is not the proper time to pursue this subject in view of the adoption by both houses of their respective bills and of the fact that the conference committee can consider only the provisions upon which the two bills differ. First Obiection.-Section 2 of both the Hare bill and the Hawes-Cutting bill, paragraph (0) in the first bill and paragraph (n) in the second. The text of both paragraphs is as follows: The United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of the government of the Commonwealth of thE' Philippine IsI~nds and for the maintenance of the government as provided in their constitution, and for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty and for the discharge of government obligations under and in accordance with the provisions of their constitution.
This provision not only confers upon the government of the United States the right to intervene for the preservation of the government of the commonwealth and for the maintenance of that government as provided in its constitution, which we take to mean that the United States may intervene to protect the commonwealth from external aggression and internal revolution, a right which is inherent upon the United States as long as the American flag flies in the Philippines, but also confers directly upon the president of the United States the right to intervene in any matter affecting legislation, executive functions or judicial proceedings which threaten or jeopardize life, property and individual liberty. In other words, by virtue of this provision, the entire government established under the commonwealth, each and everyone of the departments--executive, legislative, and judicial-will be under the absolute control of the president of the United States who may at any time annul its action. 513
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES This interpretation is strengthened by the amendment to Section 7 of the Hawes-Cutting bill at the end of the second paragraph of which the following provision appears: The president shall also have authority to take such action as in his judgment may be necessary in pursuance of the right of intervention reserved under paragraph (n) of section 2 of this act.
Second Objection.-The elimination of the word "lawfully" from the original text of the Hawes-Cutting bill, Section 7, paragraph 4. The original wording of this paragraph is the same as that of the Hare bill. In this connection, we are perfectly aware that the president of the United States can delegate only those powers which he possesses; no one can give that which he does not have. But it seems to us that the intention in striking out the word "lawfully" was to remove any doubt or to prevent any discussion as to what powers mayor may not be delegated by the presirlent of the United States to the high commissioner. In other words, this section as amended with the elimination of the word "lawfully," coupled with the provision in Section 2 of both bills to which I have already -registered our objection, would not only give complete discretion to the president of the United States to exercise the right of intervention at any moment as provided for in Section 6 of both bills, but also ample discretion to delegate his powers to the high commissioner. Third Objection.-The appointment of a comptroller to which all decisions of the insular auditor may be appealed. The existence of this position, far from being beneficial, may become a source of friction and controversy and disrupt the harmonious relations which should exist in the management of the affairs of the government of the commonwealth. I may also add that this provision implies lack of confidence in the ability and honesty of the officials of the 514
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS commonwealth and at the same time strengthens the belief that the president may, at any moment, make use of the right to intervene through the high commissioner even in those matters which affect the domestic financial problems of the Philippine government. Fourth Object~on.-The limitation of the amount of sugar that we may export to the United States to 615,000 long tons and oil to 150,000 long tons free of duty. We wish to lay emphasis upon the fact that neither bill grants any power to the government of the commonwealth to limit the entry of American products to the Philippine Islands during the period of transition. This lack of reciprocity becomes the more unjust when it is considered that these limitations, especially that on our sugar, would kill the sugar industry of the Philippines at the outset. In . accordance wit~ paragraph (j) of Section 2 Of the Hawes-Cutting bill, "Foreign affairs shall be under the direct supervision and control of the United States." If on one hand, Philippine exports are to be limited to amounts extremely prejudicial to Philippine interests,and on the other hand, the government of the commonwealth is not granted the necessary freedom to secure proper treaty arrangements, consequently lacking freedom of action to find new markets in which to sell its excess production, the injustice of these limitations becomes the more patent. We are firmly and sincerely convinced that the purpose of the Congress in approving these measures is to prepare the Filipino people, during the period of transition, to assume the responsibilities of an independent nation. The provision to which we have objected, however, would prevent them from developing themselves adequately, and we repeat once more that it would be a thousand times more adv~ntageous for the Filipino people to obtain immediately their freedom and complete independence from the United 515
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES States, than throttle their economic life by submitting themselves to the rigid and unjust provisions of the bill approved by the senate. In view of the above considerations, we beg to submit tEe following suggestions: First.-Change the phraseology of paragraphs (0) and (n) of Section 2 of both the Hare and the Hawes-Cutting bills in order to remove what we believe to be the existence of two authorities with respect to the carrying out of the provisions giving protection to life, property and individual liberty-the governor general of the Philippines and the high commissioner-both invested with identical jurisdiction and powers. Second.-Elimination of the following words from paragraph 2 of Section 7 of the Hawes-Cutting bill: The president shall also have authority to take such action as in his judgment may be necessary in pursuance of the right of intervention reserved under paragraph (n) of Section 2 of this act.
Third.-Elimination of the following words from paragraph 4 of Section 7 of the Hawes-Cutting bill: He shall perform such additional duties and functions as may be delegated to him from time to time by the President.
Fourth.-Elimination of the following words also from 4 of Section 7 of the same bill :
paragrap~
'" II< II< including a financial expert or comptroller, who shall receive for submission to the High Commissioner a duplicate copy of the reports of the insular auditor, and to whom appeals from decisions of the insular auditor may be taken.
After these words have been stricken out, the bill should be reshaped so as to include all its purposes except those herein objected to. 516
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Fifth.-Reconsideration of the limitations contained in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 6 of the Hawes-Cutting bill, reinstating the limitations as originally provided in the bill. Sixth.-Elimination of the following words from paragraph 1 of Section 8 of the Hawes-Cutting bill:
* * * but no person ineligible to become a citizen of the United States shall be admitted under such quota of one hundred. Regarding this particular provision, we desire to state, in clear and unequivocal terms, that over and above our desire to find prosperity in this country, is our dignity as a race which impels us to protest energetically against this provision and to urge earnestly its elimination. In conclusion I desire to take advantage of this opportunity to state publicly once more, in behalf of my people and of myself, the sincere gratitude of the Filipino people to the United States and to its magnanimous people. This act of Congress in considering this legislation shows that the freedom of a people may be obtained not alone through bloodshed-that altruism and good-will may achieve the same goal. Very respectfully, S. AQUINO Special Envoy of the Philippine Legisl(Lture BENIGNO
517
XIII MEMORIAL SUBMITTED BY THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE COMMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS OJ' THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION*
(1932) On behalf of the people of the Philippine Islands, the Philippine Independence Commission created by authority of the legislature of the Philippines, hereby respectfully petition that in the Republican platform there be included a declaration favoring the granting of independence to the Philippine Islands at an early date. The Philippine Islands and their people came under the tutelage of the United States as a result of the war which America waged for the liberation of Cuba. The ideals and aims of that war were proclaimed by President McKinley. Every American will remember with pride-as we remember with gratefulness-the martyred President's words: Forcible annexation can not be thought of; that, according to the American code of morals, is criminal aggression.
Nineteen months after the United States had taken control of the Philippines, Mr. McKinley reaffirmed, in a message to Congress, the principle which he believed should govern America's conduct in the Islands: We shall continue as we have begun ... to make these people ... feel that it is their liberty and not our power. .. we are seeking to enhance.
Throughout the generation that has passed since Mr. McKinley's first utterances on the subject, independence has always been held up to the Filipino people as the goal of American policy. American Presidents have given the
* The Philippines
Herald, July 29, 1932, pp. 2, 4.
518
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Filipino people repeated assurances of this aim and purpose. In 1916 the Congress itself, in a formal declaration, gave legal sanction to that policy. Only recently President Hoover declared: Independf'uce of the Philippines at some time has been directly or indirectly promised by every President and by the Congress. The question is only one of time.
President Hoover's statement is based on positive pronouncements made by McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding and Coolidge. William Howard Taft, in 1905, when Secretary of War, said: Should the Philippine people when fit for self-government. demand independence, I should be strongly in favor of giving it to them; and I have no doubt that the American people of the next generation would be of the same opinion.
In 1901 Roosevelt said: We hope to do for them (the Philippines) what has never been done for any people of the tropics-to make them fit for self-government after the fashion of really free nations. . . There need not be the slightest fear of our not continuing to give them all the liberty for which they are fit. They-(referring to the Filipinos)-have yet a long way to travel before they will be fit for complete self-government, and for deciding, as it will be their duty to do, whether this self-government shall be accompanied by complete independence. It will be a generation, it may be longer, before this point is reached but it is most gratifying that such substantial progres~ towards this as a goal has been accomplished. We desire that it be reached at as early a date as possible for the sake of the Filipinos and for our own good ...
It is more than twenty-four years since Roosevelt wrote his estimate of the time we should need to prepare ourselves for independence. Our progress toward the goal has been many times greater in the years that have followed than it was in the years that preceded Mr. Roosevelt's testimony regarding our advance up to that time. In the last twenty519
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES four years we have had the benefit of an extensive and efficient system of public education; we have had a large part in the management of our public affairs since 1907, and practically plenary control of the insular government since 1916. With some exceptions, all governmental functions and activities have been in our hands-legislation, courts, finances, schools, police, sanitation, utilities and the rest. Few of the peoples whose independence the United States has recognized in the last century had as much preparation for nationhood as we have had. The Congress of the United States, that branch of the American Government empowered by the Constitution to formulate and define national policies on behalf of the American people, declared in the preamble of the Jones Law of 1916 the polIcy of America with respect to the Philippines, as路 follows: It is, as it always has been, the purpose of the people of the United States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein.
The existence and the validity of the promise of independence which we have received from the United States are not disputed. Indeed the Filipino people have accepted the declaration not only as a promise but as a solemn covenant between the American and Filipino nations that independence will be granted us upon the fulfillment of the only condition precedent mentioned in the act. Mr. Roosevelt on this subj ect said: Personally I think it is a fine and high thing for a nation to have done such a deed (America's work in the Philippines) with such a purpose. But we can not taint it with bad faith. If we act so 'that the natives understand us to have a definite promise, then we should live up to that promise. The Philippines, from a military ::!tandpoint, are a source of weakness to us. The present administration has promised explicitly to let them go, and by its action has rendered it difficult to hold them against any serious foreign foe. These
620
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS being the circumstances, the islands should at an early moment be given their independence without any guaranty whatever by Us and without our retaining any foothold in them.
The Philippine people are united in their demand for independence. Both political parties are one in advocating it. They express the aspirations of every class and creed and condition in our Islands. No people in history have sought their independence more unitedly. This desire of the Filipino people to become independent has been repeatedly voiced by the Philippine Legislature, which as recently as September 24, 1921, unanimously adopted the following resolution: We, the members of tne Philippine Legislature, in joint session assembled, for ourselves and in behalf of the Filipino people, do hereby reiterate our petition for the immediate and complete political separation of the Philippine Islands from the United States. Our desire for liberty was repeatedly manifested in the course of our history throughout our many struggles for political emancipation culminating in the establishment of the Philippine Republic. We lost our independence because of the superior force of America. We expect to regain it because of her plighted word. We acquiesced in American rule when we were assured that she came not as a conqueror but as a liberator. In all good faith we relied on her promise made through her highest executive officials and confirmed by the Congress of the United States when it declared that the independence of the Philippine Islands shall be granted upon the establishment of a stable government. This condition having been fulfilled, the Filipino people rightfully expect that their independence will be recognized without any further delay. Practical considerations also justify this urgent desire for immediate separation. The present movement to exclude Filipinos from the United States is giving rise to fri~tion and misunderstanding. The manner in which the campaign is being conducted cannot but arouse among the Filipino people a feeling that it is impelled by other than purely economic motives. Even at the present time it is not safe for Filipinos in some parts of the United States to engage in lawful occupation. So long as we remain under the American flag justice demands that we shall be allowed freely to live, work, and travel in any American territory.
521
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES The dual responsibility in our Government, the one assumed by the Governor General and the other by Filipino officials, has been the source of serious conflicts in the past and is ever fraught with difficulties. Such an unsatisfactory situation must end. A backward step is unthinkable. The only solution is independence. Our present trade relations with the United States are uncertain and unstable. Regulated exclusively by the American Congress, America's interests rather than our own al'e the dominant consideration. There is an increasing demand by American producers to maintain the American market solely for their benefit. Powerful American interests are now conducting a persistent campaign against the free entry of Philippine products. No one knows how long the American market will remain open to us. Doubts and misgivings have seized upon the minds of Philippine producers and investors, thus checking our development. We believe that enduring economic progress can only be achieved under an independent Philippines, free to dictate its own policies. These facts prove the wisdom of the declared purpose of the United States to grant us independence. They also serve to strengthen our belief that political separation is the only solution to our problem. We see no other alternative. The happiness and prosperity of the Philippines and the economic interests of America are not to be found in the present artificial union which hampers our national development and injures economic progress, but in political separation, wherein each may live the life suited to its distinct individuality and its national interests. The independence of America from the Philippines would seem to be , as imperative as the independence of the Philippines from America. Therefore, with all due respect, with a deep feeling of gratitude to America and with full consciousness of the burdens and responsibilities of an independent life, we hereby submit that the time has come for the redemption of America's solemn promise to declare and recognize the independence of the Philippine Islands.
Are the Filipinos fitted for the duties and responsibilities of self-government? Two committees of the present Congress-one of the House and the other of the Senaterecently completed exhaustive inquiries into Philippine conditions and our preparedness for independence, and each recommended an independence bill. The principal difference between these bills is that of the date set for the final 522
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS relinquishment of American sovereignty over the Philippines-the Hare bill provides for independence after eight years and the Senate bill for independence after fifteen years. Pending independence these bills provide that the Philippines will have practically complete autonomy as to internal affairs, unde~ a constitution approved by them, subject only to such restriction and limitations as are necessary to safeguard the sovereignty of the United States. They also provide for what is deemed adequate protection to both American and Philippine economic interests and for restriction of Philippine labor immigration. The Senate bill, in general outline, follows the Fairfield bill, which Mr. John M. Weeks, Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Coolidge, recommended for enactment in 1924. . For the last thirty-odd years we Filipinos have been learning and applying the principles of self-government under the guidance of the greates~ of all democracies. No further time is needed to complete our preparation for selfgovernment. The transitional period provided for in the bills is intended to allow an interval for a gradual and orderly adjustment of present economic and trade relations. Philippine independence 路has been considered by Congress in a non-partisan spirit. On April 4, this year, the bill passed the House of Representatives by the overwhelming majority of 306 to 47. A canvass of opinion in the United States Senate indicates that the bill will receive similar support when it comes to a vote in that body. Until a few years ago the advocacy of Philippine independence in the United States was based largely on moral grounds. For the last three years, however, the Filipino people's efforts to induce Congress to confer independence on them have been seconded also by various groups representing路 millions of Americans--farmers, dairymen and wage-workers. These groups believe that the present policy of the United States as regards the Philippines af523
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES fects adversely their economic interests. Accordingly they have cooperated in our endeavor to obtain definite action from Congress. But their support has not been prompted solely by material considerations. They urge our independence because it was promised us, because we are ready for it, and becal.!se the United States has successfully completed its task in the Islands. . The National Grange, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers' Union, with a membership of more than six million, and the dairy organizations and the producers of vegetable oils, contend that Philippine sugar and coconut oil, produced at lower costs, and entering th,e United States free of duty, compete ruinously with American beet and cane sugar, dairy products, cotton seed and other vegetable oils, and animal fats. These agricultural elemen\ts, however, realize that free trade between the United States and the Philippines is a basic fact in present American-Philippine relations, and that, therefore, while the Islands c@ntinue under American sovereignty, ethical and economic considerations forbid that import duties should be collected on Philippine products coming to this country. Congress itself has repeatedly taken the same position on the ground that it would be unfair to tax Philippine articles imported to the United States while at the same time the American government compels the Philippine people to remain under the American flag, against their wishes, and in the face of the promise of independence, and while, moreover, they are obliged to admit duty free to the Islands every kind of American products and manufactures. More than five million of workers in the American Federation of Labor and in the various railroad brother524
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS hoods have long favored Philippine independence and are am(;mg its most earnest and active advocates. From the outset the American Federation of Labor has urged independence on purely moral grounds. Of late, however, labor leaders in the Pacific Coast have complained of the unrestricted immigration of Philippine laborers into the United States. It is their contention that in the time of widespread unemployment, the influx of Philippine laborers seriousl~ aggravates the condition of American workers. Obviously these various problems presented by American agriculture and labor cannot be solved piecemeal, they have to be settled as an integral of the whole problem of Philippine independence. While Americans are calling for immediate settlement of the Philippine problem for practical, economic, and political reasons, the Filipino people are also urging independence not only in order to satisfy their yearning for complete self-government, but for practical, economic reasons as well. While uncertainty prevails as to their future status, the economic development of their country is impossible. Their progress has been checked since the agitation against the free entry of Philippine articles into the United States started here three years ago. They are not reproachful of America, but are disheartened by present conditions, which keep them in ignorance of their future and hamper their development. The grant of Philippine independence, then, will redeem the pledge which the United States gave to our people. It will immeasurably enliance the moral influence of America throughout the world and especially in the Far East. It will save many difficult political and economic problems incident to American-Philippine relations for the benefit of bofu peoples. When that is accomplished, America shall 525
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES
have brought about the establishment of a free and selfgoverning democratic commonwealth in the Orient and endeared herself forever to thirteen million Filipinos. Respectfully submitted, SERGIO OSMENA
Acting President, PhUippine Senate RUPERTO MONTINOLA
Minority Floor Leader of the Senate EMILIANO T. TIRONA
Minority Floor Leader of the House MANUEL ROXAS
Speaker, Philippine House of Representatives PEDRO SABIDO
Majority Floor Leader of the House PEDRO GUEVARA '
Philippine Resident Commissioner CAMIW OSIAS
PhiliJppine Resident Commissioner June 11, 1932. Washington, D.C.
526
XIV RESOLUTIQN OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ASSEMBLED AS THE COMMISSION OF INDEPENDENCE*
(1932) The members of the Senate and House of Represent. atives, assembled as the Commission of Independence, aware of the great responsibility they have toward the people of the Philippines and unable to remain indifferent to the trend of events in the United States in relation to the political future of the Islands, and having in view, besides, to make a reiteration of political faith which would serve as an encouragement to those who in the metropolis as well as in the Philippines are working disinterestedly for the triumph of 1;.he cause of freedom of our people, deem it proper to make the following DECLARATION
In the face of the prospect of a probable action by the houses of the Congress of the United States on the Philippine problem, the Ninth Philippine Legislature, by means of a concurrent resolution, appointed a committee composed of the presidents of both chambers and the leaders of the majority and minority in the same, to make opportune representations before the President and Congress of the United States for the most satisfactory solution of the Philippine problem, with the joint resolution which on the occasion of the sending of that committee was approved by the chambers of the Legislature, serving as a guide. It is but just to make, as we hereby make, public testimony of the great ability and notable tact with which the
* Manila
Daily Bulletin, August 30, 1932, pp. 1, 8.
527
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES members of that Legislative Committee have performed their task. Although they had to combat the indifference of some people and the open opposition of certain traditionally pledged to a policy of indefinite retention of the Philippines under the sovereignty of the United States, and although they had to map out a program of action which would be feasible and satisfactory to the Filipino people in the midst of conflicting tendencies and economic aims of certain interests and elements which only in one sense, that of purely political, agree with the ideal of our people, the Filipino delegates have effectively contributed to the presentation of the Philippine problem in such terms that for the first time in sixteen years Congress will have, of its own accord, to act in the near future, on that problem, without resorting again to evasions made in so long a time. This places upon all the Filipinos and more particularly upon the Commission of Independence which is composed of the constitutional representatives of our people, in a new grave responsibility; that of striving for a measure which when finally approved by Congress will best respond to the permanent political, moral and economic interest of the Filipino people, bearing in mind that if, as a theoretical question, we do not admit nor could we admit any other right superior to our right to enjoy now and ever our freedom and independence, the force of reality and of consummated events may force us to accept practical solutions which modify that right. Therefore, the Commission of Independence assumes now the responsibility of making manifest the viewpoints of the Filipino people in relation to the bills pending in both houses of the American Congress in regard to the Philippine problem. The summit of our aspirations is political independence of the Philippines. Having this in mind, we consider of the greatest importance that we should insist that the situation to be created during the period of transition, 528
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS under the conditions established, be such that it will not impede or make difficult the realization of our coveted freedom, but on the contrary facilitate and hasten its coming. Indeed, in the past the most sagacious advocates of the policy of indefinite retention of the Philippines under American sovereignty pinned their fondest hopes on the fact that as natural fruits were produced by the association with America under laws imposed by the Congress of the United States, the love of freedom would gradually ebb until it totally dies out in all Filipino hearts. Luckily for us, such hopes did not come into reality. But our responsibility would be doubly greater before the history, if, not heeding the lesson furnished by experience, we would now gi~e approval to any new legislation which in the course of years would make our countrymen regard with fear and suspicion the sacred ideal of freedom which our ancestors have bequeathed to us. We declare it is our right and duty to demand that, as long as we live under the aegis of the United States, the economic relations between the two peoples should be inspired, if not in the vouchsafed purpose of the American Congress and people to help us, at least in principles of justice based upon a perfect mutuality of interests and benefits. To every advantage which America appropriates to herself at the expense of such relationship should correspond for us a similar one of the same class and in the same measure and quantity; like any restriction she imposes upon the natural benefits which such relationships are bound to bring us, the right should be given us to levy a similar restriction upon what America derives from the same. The violation of this principle of reciprocity for the benefit of the interests of the sovereign country and to the prejudice of our own interests would constitute in incongruity to the humanitarian aims so often reiterated by American administrators and statesmen as a justifica529
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES tion for the occupation of the islands, and an unjust exploitation, besides the fact that we are a weak and defenseless people, placed against our will under the tutelage of the United States. Moreover, our people do not forget that all inequalities in the economic relationship between both peoples in the sense just indicated would lead to the gradual absorption of the economic interests of the Islands by the most powerful of the sovereign country, with the probable result that never would we be in a more disadvantageous position than when such thing happens, to duly prepare ourselves for the assumption of the grave responsibilities of a free and independent existence, while on the other hand, the improvement of the country will induce our countrymen to pre:(er the deceitful prosperity of other times to an approaching freedom preceded by privations and sufferings, without letting us taste any of the satisfactions which it would produce once it is realized. Also, under the same principle . f reciprocity, we refuse to accept any imposition that would prevent the free movement of Filipinos within the territory over which flies the flag of the United States as long as the government of the Philippine Islands does not have the power to impose similar restriction to the entry of American citizens into her territory. We recognize as our most sacred duty to deliver to the future Filipino generations, with the blessings of freedom for which our ancestors shed their blood unstintedly, the heritage of material properties which history and international treaties have recognized as our own. We aspire for independence because with it we propose to promote the happiness of our people, and not to renounce in their name the necessary means with which to achieve such happiness. Thus, never will we be exceeded in our zeal to defend the integrity of our national territory. In any contract that may be made regarding its future disposition, there should be written down the necessary guarantees 530
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS that the national territory shall be handed down to our children without diminution of any part which, because of the importance of its commerce, industry and agriculture, or the potential wealth of the natural resources it contains, is or may be an indispensable means or a valuable contribution to our present and future development and aggrandizement. With greater reason we will refuse alienation of any portion of the Philippine territory which, because of strategic position, in our hands is destined to be the key to our future security and defense, and in other people's hands a partial or complete negation of the sovereignty of our people, once freedom is granted us in name and at the same time it is a constant source of risks to the neutrality of the future Filipino State in an international conflict which may be involved our neighbor and concessionaire. We are opposed to any plan to compel the Filipino people to newly express their will in regard to the form in which the political relations between the United States and the Philippines should be definitely established, to the expiration of the term prior to the final recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the new Filipino stat~. The question of our independence, in so far as it concerns the Filipinos, has passed to the category of a res adjudicata. The Filipino people in the course of their history have shown numerous times their love of freedom with weapon in hand, and when after an unequal fight they accepted the sovereignty of the United States, it was under the promise that America would assist us ' in preparing ourselves for self-government. The Philippine Assembly first and then the Philippine Legislature, both made up of representatives elected through direct suffrage of the people, have reiterated one after the other, in resolutions passed for the purpose, our constant aspiration for independence. Therefore, the holding of a plebiscite with the 531
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES purpose and at the time specified will not add weight to the expression of the will already known of our people, while on the other hand it would give opportunity to the enemies of Filipino freedom to start an agitation right in our own land in a period in which the attention of all Filipinos should be united and concentrated on the transcendental and difficult task of establishing the enduring foundations of our freedom and independence. Th-e period of time preceding the recognition of Philippine independence we regard as a transition period from our present state of subjection to a free existence. Therefore, it should neither be more than 10 years, which is more than sufficient to effect the transfer of sovereignty in an orderly manner and without injury to American and Filipino interests created during the present association, nor be subject to limitations and checks which would render difficult and impossible the task of preparing ourselves for the great responsibilities which go with freedom. Consequently, we ask for ourselves during the period referred to, all the autonomous powers which are indispensable to lay the foundations of the future Filipino nationhood. As we have to live a life of our own, we need freedom with the feast possible amount of foreign interferences, so we could mould our basic legislation according to our social, political, moral and economic exigencies of the Filipino nation. Public instruction, a powerful instrument for the formation of the character of a people,should be placed wholly in our hands for direction. We sho'uld have complete control over legislation to foster our moral and material development and our domestic economic improvement as well as to regulate our commerce with foreign countries, and a power as regards America, which is co-equal to what she may reserve for the readjustment of our economic relation532
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS ship. There should not be any intervention in our public finance by any extraneous power or its representative, except only where it is necessary to insure payment of our foreign obligations. Maintenance of law and public order fall within the police power of the state, and we maintain that the Philippine government is and will be fully able to exercise by itself such power to provide due protection to life, liberty and property of all the inhabitants of the Islands. In other words, we aspire to a more favorable situation than the present to prepare ourselves for an independent existence in the event that we could not attain it except through a period of transition and readjustment. As the constitutional representatives of the Philippine people, we shall only consider ourselves fully justified to accept new legislation on the Phi ippines if such legislation will place in our hands the much coveted instrumentali ties of freedom without strings that would neutralize or make ineffective its exercise. Prudence and foresight will be our constant advisers now more than ever. Since we have won to our cause by reason of their own interest, a considerable portion of the agricultural elements of the sovereign country and all its labor element, it is to be presumed that they will become indifferent and we will lose their support, which has been so decisive in our struggles in the last few months, once their particular desires have been fulfilled by the approval of a law limiting the free importation of certain Filipino products and restricting the immigration of our laborers in the United States. Our great desire for freedom should spur us on to work always for it, but it should never be taken advantage of to impose upon us as burdensome and improper stipUlations as a condition precedent to the final attainment of an end in 533
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES which is already and will be in each day more patent to the interest of a growing and dynamic portion of the metropolitan opinion, just as our own and unanimous interest has been and will always be. With faith in Providence who gives unexpected twists to human events and with the help of men of good-will, which we have never lacked, and ratifying our confidence in the ability and patriotism of the members of the Filipino Legislative Committee and Resident Commissioners who represent our people in the United States, we wish to state once more that we want the freedom of the Philippines, not as a theoretical or an unapproachable ideal, but as a practical and immediate objective which we will reach through our deliberate efforts; and we ask not only the form but the substance of liberty to promote under its beneficent influence the progress and happiness of our people.
534
xv INDEPENDENCE COMMISSION PASSES RESOLUTION ApPROVING TRIP OF PRESIDENT QUEZON TO THE UNITED STATES TO EXPRESS HIS VIEWS ON THE HARE-HA WES-CUTTING ACT*
(1932)
Whereas, the members of the Philippine Mission now in the United States, upon learning of the opposition to the Act of the Honorable Manuel Quezon, President of the Senate and leader of the majority party, invited him to go to the United States in order that he may inform himself from the Mission and other sources of the situation obtaining in the United States and 路thus the Filipino people and their representatives may be better acquainted with all the facts and circumstances before this Act is submitted for acceptance either to the Legislature or to the convention called for the purpose; Whereas, the Philippine Legislature has already expressed its views on the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill before it was enacted by the Congress along the same lines of the opposition of the President of the Senate, and the Commission of Independence is also desirous that Senate President Quezon go to the United States for the purpose mentioned in the third paragraph hereof; Whereas, the President of the Senate has suggested that it might be in the interest of the national cause if General Emilio Aguinaldo, the former President of the Philippine Republic, were to go to the United States to express his views before the American nation on the HareHawes-Cutting Act as he has expressed them heretofore;
* Manila
Daily Bulletin, Feb. 20, 1933, pp. 1, 8. 535
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES Whereas, the President of the Senate has also stated that it might be convenient for the Secretary of Finance to join him in the United States in case information may be required of the government of the Philippine Islands and its probable condition if and when independence shall be grant~d; Whereas, the President of the Senate has also suggested that a representative of the provincial governors and one each to represent the farmers, businessmen, sugar centrals, and the press, or as many as may care to go, and at least two from among the laboring class, go to the United States, so as to present also their views to the American nation on the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, especially as it respectively affects the different interests they represent. Now, therefore, be it Resolved, that it is the sense of the Commission of Independence: 1st, That the Honorable Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippine Senate, should go to the United States in accordance with the concurrent resolution on the subject approved at the last regular session of the Legislature; 2nd, That the Chairman of the Commission of Independence be, as he is hereby, authorized to confer with General Aguinaldo and to inform him to go to the United States and express his views before the American nation' on the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act and that should he leave for the United States before the convening of the next regular session of the Legislature the Commission of Independence will see to it that his expenses and those of his secretary while in the United States in connection with the Philippine national cause, are paid either from insular funds in the same manner as the expenses of the Chairman of the Philippine Mission, and their secretaries are paid under the present law, or from such other sources as the Commission may be able to find; 3rd, That the Commis536
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS sion of Independence would be pleased to see the Secretary of Finance, a provincial governor elected by the Governor's League, such representatives of agriculture, industry and commerce of the Philippine Islands and of industrial and farm labor and of the press should they care to go, accompany or join the President of the Senate in the United States; 4th, That the President of the Senate be, as he is hereby, requested to submit a report of his trip, his findings in the United States and his recommendations either to the Commission of Independence if submitted prior to the convening of the Legislature at its regular session, or to the . Philippine Legislature not later than the 16th of July, 1933. 5th, That if two representatives of the labor class are to go to the United States and no funds could be raised to pay the necessary expenses of their trip, that such balance as there may be available of the independence fund collected by the last Independence Fund Committee be applied for this purpose.
537
ApPENDIX A
LETTER OF PRESIDENT WILSON AND REPLY OF SECRETARY BAKER (April 4, 1919) SENATORS, MR. GOVERNOR-GENERAL, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE PHILIPPINE DELEGATION:
My first duty is to convey to you an expression of the President's regret at his absence from Washington at the time of your visit. When it was first suggested that the mission should come to the United States, the President foresaw his absence and caused me to suggest that the visit be deferred in the hope that he might be personally here when the mission comes and have an opportunity to meet you and hear your views and express his own. It has turned out, however, that his engagements in Europe required his return there and so he is u~able to be in Washington now to receive you. He left before he went a letter addressed to me which he asked me to read to you. DEAR MR. SECRETARY:
Will you please express to the Gentlemen of the Commission representing the Philippine Legislature my regret that I shall be unable to see them personally on their arrival in Washington, as well as my hope that their mission will be a source of satisfaction to them, and that it will result in bringing about the desirable ends set forth in the Joint Resolution of the Legislature approving the sending of the Commission to the United States. I have been deeply gratified with the constant support and encouragement received from the Filipino people and from thePhilippine Legislature in the trying period through which we are passing. The people of the United States have with reason taken the deepest pride in the loyalty and support of the Filipino people. Though unable to meet the Commission, the Filipino people shall not be absent from my thoughts. Not tbe least important labor of the conference which now requires my attention is that of making the pathway of the weaker people of the world less perilous, a labor which should be and doubtless is of deep and abiding intel'est to the Filipino people. 538
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS I am sorry that I can not look into the faces of the gentlemen of this mission from the Philippine Islands and tell them all that I have in mind and heart as I think of the patient labor, with the end almost in sight, undertaken by the American and Filipino people for their permanent benefit. I know however that your sentiments are mine in this regard and that you will translate truly to them my own feelings. I am, Mr. Secretary, Very sincerely, WOODROW WILSON
It is a distinguished occasion which brings to the United States this company of the foremost men of the Philippine Islands. We have long been fortunate in the United States in the representatives whom you have chosen to send to us. Those who are here now, as well as the distinguished Senator Quezon, who has been here for a long time, are all men of temperate judgment, fine aspirations and have worthily represented the Philippine people in this country, and I have no doubt have conveyed to the people in their home country a just estimate of the United States and its purposes. But now this larger group of men has come charged by the legislature of the insular government with the mission of visiting the United States and making known to the people of the United States the fact of Philippine progress, the growth and development of political capacity in the islands, the spread of education, the natural growth of aspirations for political independence. You are to make all this known to the people of the United States and to us who are for the moment officially charged with responsibility so far as the United States still has responsibility toward the Philippine Islands, and this seems to me to be a most fortunate occurrence. This is a great experiment which the United States and the Filipino people have tried together and its relations are striking and encouraging. When the United States went into this war, there was never a suggestion on the part of anybody in the United States that we have to give a moment's anxious thought to our relations-to our colonial possessions so called. The people of the United States know that the people of the Philippine Islands were loyal and true and that we could look to them for support, for encouragement, for loyalty, for fidelity, for aid; and if the oceanic distance had not been so great, for military cooperation in the enterprise which involved our government. 539
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES And the result was exactly what we foresaw. For a long time thE' Philippine people had been discussing among themselves their aspirations for independence. As soon as the United States became involved in the great enterprise of the World War the Philippine people with fine sE'lf-restraint abandoned the discussion of that question as inopportune at the time and threw all of their energies and all of their resources into the common scale with the people of the United States so that throughout the entire period of the war the relations between the people of the United States and your people have been those of cordial co-operation and confidence and of growing appreciation and esteem. But now this great thing that we have been engaged in is even greater than fine conduct on the part of the Philippine people would suggest. When the United States went into the Philippine Islands it set up a military government. It has not been many years as the lives of nations ga.-it even has not been many years in the lives of individuals ~ince the United States was the armed government of the Philippine Islands, and yet in an incredibly short space of time-a space of time wholly unprecedented so far as I know in the relations of any other two peoples in the history of the world, this original military government established by the United States has been replaced by a civil government and the civil government has step by step been transferred from the shoulders of Americans to the shoulders of Filipinos. Now the spectacle before us is that in the Philippine Islands the government is substantially conducted by the people of the islands themselves not as the result of any revolution, or protest but brought about in pursuance of a policy on the part of the United States warmly understood by the Philippine people by which gradually and without violence the functions of government have been taken over by the people of the islands themselves leaving only the tenuous connection of the governor general who is the connecting link between the American people and the Filipino people, and in that short space of time in addition to these political and institutional changes and this political and institutional progress in the development of the islands themselves, the development of their industrial resources, the development of education among the people of the Philippine Islands-I speak not of what might be ' called the educated class because of course the Philippine Islands have always had a highly developed educated class, great universities and men of intellectual eminence and distinction, but I speak of the widespread education among the people of the Philippine Islands. In 540
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS effect what has been going on is the rapid progress and development of a new civilization in the Philippine Islands not as Americanization or the growth of an American civilization there but the growth of a Philippine civilization, one in harmony with the nature and desires of the people of the islands themselves; and the fortunate thing about it all is that as this civilization has grown it has absorbed out of American institutions not the distinctly American ideas but those great fundamental principles of liberty and self-government upon which America rests but which are not American in any exclusive sense but which it is our choice and cherished belief are the common property of all mankind and the safest foundation upon which liberty can everywhere rest. So that we have this spectacle that beginning with a military occupation we now have a native government, we have feeling of cordiality, affection, sympathy and loyalty between two great peoples who were brought together originally in a military relation, and we have the growth and development of an indigenous civilization which by contrast has absorbed great fundamental principles which will always rest at the bottom of their liberties as they rest at the bottom of our own. Now America has not been exactly a schoolmaster in the Philippine Islands. I do not know that I can find off hand an analogy to describe our relations. We think the Filipino people have learned a great deal from the people of the United States. We think the people of the United States have learned a great deal from the people of the Philippine Islands and our mission whatever it is would have been very ill-performed if you had not learned from us, if you did not already have it, a love of independence. It is natural, it is normal that people should desire to be free and independent in order that by the application of their own genius they can develop their national life and produce the highest fruits of which they by their efforts are capable. So that the people of the United States, I think, look forward just as you do to the time when the Philippine Islands can be independent and when that happy day comes we shall think of you on the other side of the globe as perhaps one of the very few if not the only independent nation which having originally occupied a politically dependent attitude towards another nation has been erected into national greatness and freedom by the affection of the relationship rather than by a resort to force or by any disagreement.
541
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES We are looking forward to the time in the world when the relations between nations will be founded on justice, and peace will be the prevailing relation. Surely whatever may be the ground of our hope with regard to international relations generally there can never come a time when there will not be peace between the Philippine Islands and the United States. The things we have lived through together, the demonstration we have made in the face of the world of what true colonial relations ought to be are memories and traditions which will hold in check any hasty impulse and any misunderstanding that ever might arise between your nation free and independent and ours. The Philippine Islands are almost independent now. Your legislature governs the islands. The strongest tie between the Philippine Islands and the United States at the present time is this tie of affection of which I speak rather than the political. I know that I express the feeling of the President, I certainly express my own feeling-I think I express t he prevailing feeling in the United States-when I say that we believe the time has substantially come if not quite come when the Philippine Islands can be allowed to sever the mere formal political tie replaining and become an independent people and I t:J:ust that as you go about the United States and address audiences you will not hesitate to paint the picture of the past relations between the people of the United States and the Filipinos, of the progress which you have made, the extent to which your islands are already self-governed, the almost exclusive extent to which the offices of executive administration are filled by the native sons of your own islands. Paint to the people of the United States the natural consequence of that--that you have the normal desire of peoples to be free, a desire which you share with Americans, and I have no doubt that you will find a warm response from our people wherever you may paint that picture. I am myself in favor of the Philippine independence. I trust the day is very close at hand when it can be formally accomplished and when it will no longer be necessary for your children in your public schools to write essays and make orations on the aspirations of your people, but when the theme of those essays and the theme of those orations can be one of appreciation of a fact accomplished, and all the energy of your people can be devoted to the further development of the fine civilization which is already inaugurated there. I do not know that I can add anything to what I have said of a formal character. You are going to be in this country some
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS time I trust. Unhappily, I myself am leaving for France on Monday. It will therefore not be possible even for me to see a great deal of the members of the mission. Your friend and my friend General McIntyre is here. I have never been to the Philippine Islands, but I should imagine he was about the most popular American anybody could name out there. He might have to run a close race with the governor general, but it would be very friendly rivalry and I am sure there is no occasion for putting it to a test. General McIntyre is here and General Walcutt is here. They will both be happy to do anything that can be done to make your stay in Washington and in this country profitable and pleasant, and I trust that after you have left Washington you will take occasion to visit as many cities as you can in order that the people of the United States may see just what sort of a mission the Philippine Islands 'send when they dQ send a mission of dignity upon a great occasion. And when you get back to the Philippine Islands and sum up the impressions you have gotten in this country I think you will be able to say that you discovered that Americans love liberty too dearly to deny it to anybody; that America is proud of the Philippine Islands; and that her pride will increase rather than decrease when they cease to be her political possession and become her political sister in the sister-hood of nations.
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REPLY OF PRESIDENT HARDING TO THE PHILIPPINE PARLIAMENTARY MISSION (June 22, 1922) Gentlemen of the mission, I heard with deep interest and have read with full deliberation the petition which you delivered to me through Mr. Quezon a few days ago. I must express my full and grateful appreciation of your utterances of loyalty, and your confidence in the American people. I hope the travels of your mission and your contacts with both official and private life have persuaded you that the people of the United States believe in that loyalty no less than you avow it. And I trust this mutuality of confidence and esteem will abide for all time, no matter what limitations of governments are attached to our relationship. The Philippine people and those of the United States ventured together upon a greater experiment in human progress. Since you yourselves, in your petition, have so heartily and officially testified to its success, quite as we have been glad to believe, I am well persuaded that our intimate experience has established our cordial relations and our ties of friendship for all time to come. No fixed intent, no thought of conquest, no individual or governmental design to exploit, no desire to colonize, brought us together. It was the revolution of the fates, wherein our assault against oppression at our very doors carried our warfare to yours, far away, and your liberation attended. No American statesman had preconceived expansion to the Orient, no American industrial or commercial interests were urging the planting of the flag and our responsibility in distant lands. The fortunes of war revealed us to one another and held us as your sponsors before the world. From the day that tranquillity and stability were established in the islands the question of the future of the Philippines has been a matter of political discussion in the United States as well as in the islands, though from a different viewpoint. Here in the States the early opposition was against so-called "militarism and imperialism." When the issue was made paramount, the American people gave sanction to the Government policy inaugurated by President McKinley, continued by President Roosevelt, and supported by President Taft. 544
HON. FRANK MURPHY
First United States High Commissioner and Last American Governor-General
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The question was not brought to the front in the general elections of 19i2, but the party called to power under President Wilson had adhered to its opposition to the then existing Philippine ,policy. In its platform it condemned our friendly experiment as "an inexcusable blunder which has involved us in enormous expense and brought us weakness instead of strength." I refer to the declaration in order to have you better understand the later congressional action, which resulted in the organic act of 1916, known as the Jones law. It was my fortune to serve as a member of the Senate when this act was under consideration, and I recall distinctly the varying constructions of the preamble. The progress made toward selfI government in that act is not to be challenged, and I think there is no American authority, in Congress or out, suggesting any backward course. The act is not under consideration. But, since you refer freely to the express or implied pledge in that preamble, and路 call tq my attention the passing of a year and a quarter of this administra., tion without a step toward the full bestowal of independence, I remind you that at the time of passage of the act the then senior Senato~ from Arkansas proposed an amendment which provided for imme~ diate independence. He had been a witness to party declarations and had encountered the conflicting opinion. With fine frankness his. amendment provided that: The President is hereby authorized and directed to withdraw and surrender all right of possession, supervision, jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty now existing and exercised by the United States in and over the Territory and people of the Philippines, and he shall on behalf of the United States fully recognize the independence of the said Philippines as a separat~ and self-governing nation and acknowledge the authority and: control over the same of the government instituted by the. people thereof. The moment was at hand for definite, decisive action, and the resulting grant of complete and unconditional independence. Manifestly the majority in Congress did not believe in Philippine readiness, because the amendment was rejected by the responsible majority, and no steps later were taken to hasten the grant of independence until the closing days of the same administration, when it was about to. lay aside its responsibility. Without desire to invite contention I recall these things to your mind because independence has played a large part in the politics of
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES your country and ours, and in the appraisal of our relationship it is well for your people to know something of our politics, even as we ought fully to know yours. I can only commend the Philippine aspirations to independence and complete self-sovereignty. None in America would wish you to be without national aspirations. You would be unfitted for the solemn duties of self-government without them. It is fair to assume that our only difference of opinion relates to the time for independence. You crave it now, and I do not believe the time has arrived for the final decision. Manifestly, so far as expression has been made, the majority of Philippine citizenship prefers severance and self-sovereignty. There are, however, many among you of differing opinion. There are petitions against independence. Our missions of investigation pay unstinted tribute to your progrElss and commend your institutions. Nothing apart from our achievement at home is more pleasing to the United States than the splendid advancement of the Philippine people. Your progress is without parallel anywhere in the world. From a people who began with little freedom and none of responsibility, in a little more than half of one generation you have progressed notably toward self-reliance and self-government. And you have done it in spite of that lack of independence concerning which you petition. To the United States comes both gratification for your accomplishment and justification for this Government's attitude, because you have made this record under our sponsorship and in the very atmosphere of the highest freedom in the world. I know of no parallel relationship. We have given substantially everything we had to bestow, and have asked only mutuality and trust in return. We have extended your control in government until little remains but the executive authority, without which we could not assume our responsibility. It is not possible for me as Executive definitely to proclaim an American policy, for the decision must ever be that of Congress, but I would be less than candid and fair if I did not tell you we can assume no responsibility without that authority. No other instance of bestowing or recognizing independent government offers comparison. There is no other instance comparable to our relationship. Our interests are mutual under existing conditions. There is no complaint of abridged freedom, no suggestion of oppression, no outcry against "government by force. We do not tax for our benefit. On the contrary, we aid your treasury out of which
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS you expend at your own free will. In 1920 we collected in internal revenues in the United States the sum of more than 3,000,000 pesos on Philippine products and turned the money into your treasury. We exempt your bonds from taxation in the United States, and afford you a favoring market, and ask nothing in exchange. We open our markets to your products, as you open yours to us, in the mutuality of trade under one flag. We have spared you every burden of national defense and the cost of diplomatic representation throughout the world, yet you have been secure in your peace and your representations have been befittingly expressed. If we have been remiss, we do not know it. If mutuality has not been perfect, we choose to make it so. I note your appeal founded on changed conditions in the world. The world situation has indeed changed, with a higher augury of peace than we have ever known before. But we are only entering the new order. It is not yet fixed. Your international security is fixed under our present relationship, but you would be without guaranty if complete independ.ence were proclaimed. It will little avail to recite what ~eems to us to be the obvious advantages of association with the American community. These things do not appeal to those who are bent on the independent establishment. Moreover, accord and concord are essential to the fur-. therance of community relationship. Frankly I had hoped, probably I express the hope of many of our people and likely some of yours, that somehow we might develop a relationship which assured to you complete self-control in your domestic affairs, and would enable you to rejoice with us in the economic and political advantages which are the rightful possessions of a great and righteous nation. It would be ill become of me to question your belief in readiness for the full obligations you seek to assume. There is no such thought in my miIid. But I am thinking of our larger responsibility. Fate cast our relationship, and we assumed a responsibility not only to all the Philippine people, but to all the world as well. We have a high respect for your majority, but no less obligation to your minority, and we can not be unmindful of that world responsibility wherein your fortunes are involved in ours. No government is or can be perfect, from the viewpoint of everyone. We know ours is not, after nearly a century and a half of experience, but it is not unseemly to assume that our experience is of great value. Long training and universal education are essential to the approach to perfection. We not only provide education,
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES but we compel it. You have made most commendable progress in education. Perhaps the judgment of your people today will be confirmed by your better-educated people on the morrow, but we ought to be very sure of a highly preponderant and very intelligent public sentiment before taking the step which can not be retraced. Your allusion to a reversal of policy on the part of the "first of colonial I>0wcrs" rather argues for delay than commends immediate action. More than a century of colonial relationship between Great Britain and her more notable colonies has been marked by training for government and the approach to the measure of autonomy which prevails today. In the main the longer training has strengthened the cherishment of freedom under the longer relationship, and the great, free dominions seem more rejoiced in the membership of British peoples than would have been believable 50 or even 25 years ago. They reflect the colonial benefits of larger association under one flag. I do not invite the inference that we are working to that relationship. We should not wish to unless it were equally your desire. Whether wisely or not our disavowal of permanent retention was made in the very beginning, and a reversal of that attitude will come, if ever, only at your request. The indefinite expression has ever been as to time for launching you into your own orbit in the world of nations. You have declared your own readiness. No American authority, except as responsibility was passing, ever has been sufficiently assured to give its stamp of approval.
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C
REPLY OF PRESIDENT COOLIDGE TO SPEAKER MANUEL ROXAS The White House, Washington. February 21, 1924. My dear Mr. Roxas: The resolutions adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives of . the Philippines touching upon the relations between the Filipino people and the government of the United States have been received. I have noted carefully all that you have said regarding the history of these relations. I have sought to inform myself so thoroughly as mig'ht be as to the occasions of current irritation between the Legislature of the Philippines and the Executive Authority of the Islands. In your presen ment you have set forth more or less definitely a series of grievances the gravamen of which is that the present Executive Authority of the Islands designated by the United States Government is, in your opinion, out of sympathy with the reasonable national aspirations of the Filipino people. If I do not misinterpret your protest you are disposed to doubt whether your people may reasonably expect, if the present executive policy shall continue, that the Government of the United States will in reasonable time justify the hopes which your people entertain of ultimate independence. The declaration of the Commission of Independence charges the Governor General with illegal, arbitrary, and undemocratic policies in consequence of which the leaders of Filipino participation in the government have resigned and their resignations have been accepted by the Governor General. The Commission of Independence declares that it is necessary "to take all needful steps and to make use of all lawful means within our power to obtain the complete vindications of the liberties of the country now violated and invaded." It proceeds "and we declare, finally, that this event, grave and serious as it is, once more demonstrates that the immediate and absolute independence of the Philippines, which the whole country demands, is the only complete and satisfactory settlement of the Philippine problem." It is occasion for satisfaction to all concerned that this declaration is couched in terms of moderation and that it goes no farther 549
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES than to invoke "all lawful means within our power." So long as such discussions as this shall be confined to the consideration of lawful means, there will be reason to anticipate mutually beneficent conclusions. It is, therefore, a matter of congratulation which I herewith extend that you have chosen to carryon this discussion within the bounds of lawful claims and means. That you have thus declared the purpose to restrict your modes of appeal and methods of enforcing it is gratifying evidence of the progress which the Filipino people under American auspices have made toward a demonstrated capacity for self-government. The extent to which the grievances which you suggest are shared by the Filipino people has been a subject of some disagreement. The American Government has information which justifies it in the confidence that a very large proportion, at any rate, and possibly a majority of the substantial citizenry of the Islands does not support the claim that there are grounds for serious grievances. A considerable section of the Filipino people is further of the opinion that at this time any change which would weaken the tie between the Filipinos and the American nation would be a misfortune to the Islands. The woF,ld is in a state of high tension and unsettlement. The possibility of either economic or political disorders calculated to bring misfol路tune if not disaster to the Filipino people unless they are strongly supported is not to be ignored. It should not be overlooked that within the past two years, as a result of international arrangements negotiated by the Washington conference on limitation of armament and problems of the Far East, the position of the Filipino people has been greatly improved and assured. For the stabilizing advantages which accrue to them in virtue of the assurance of peace in the Pacific they are directly indebted to the initiative and efforts of the American Government. They can ill afford, in a time of so much uncertainty in the world, to underrate the value of these contributions to their security. By reason of their assurance against attack by any power, by reason also of that financial and economic strength which inevitably accrues to them by reason of the expanded and still expanding opportunities for industrial and economic development, because of all these considerations the Filipino people would do well to consider most carefully the value of their intimate association with the American nation. Although they have made wonderful advances in the last quarter century the Filipino people are by no means equipped either in wealth or experience to undertake the heavy burden which would be imposed 550
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS upon them with political independence. Their position in the world is such that, without American protection, there would be the unrestricted temptation to maintain an extensive and costly diplomatic service and an ineffective but costly military and naval service. It is to be doubted whether with the utmost exertion, the most complete solidarity among themselves, the most unqualified and devoted patriotism, it would be possible for the people of the Islands to maintain an independent place in the world for an indefinite future. In presenting these considerations it is perhaps worth while to draw your attention to the conditions in which some other peoples find themselves by reason of lacking such guaranties and assurances as the Filipino people enjoy. The burdens of armament and of governmental expenses which many small nations are compelled to bear in these times are so great that we see everywhere the evidence of national prosperity and community progress hindered if not destroyed because of them. During the World War the Filipino people were comparatively undisturbed in their ordinary pursuits, left free to continue their fin~ progress. But it may well be doubted whether if they had been shorn of the protection afforded by the United States they could have enjoyed so fortunate an experience. Much more probably they would have become involved in the great conflict and their independence and nationality would have become, as did those of many other peoples, pawns in the great world reorganization. There could be no more unfortunate posture in which to place a people such as your own. You have set your feet firmly in the path of advancement and improvement. But you need above all else assured opportunity of continuing in that course without interference from the outside or turmoil within. Working out the highest destiny of even the most talented and advanced of people is a matter of many generations. A fair appraisal of all these considerations and of others which suggest tllemselves without requiring enumeration will, I am sure, justify the frank statement that the Government of the United States would not feel that it had performed its full duty by the Filipino people nor discharged all of its obligation to civilization if it should yield at this time to your aspiration for national independence. The present relationship between the American nation and the Filipino people arose out of a strange, an almost unparallelled, turn of international affairs. A great responsibility came unsought to the American people. It was not imposed upon them because they had yielded to any designs of imperialism or of colonial ex-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES pansion. The fortunes of war brought American power to your Islands, playing the part of an expected and a welcome deliverer. You may be very sure that the American people have never entertained purpose of exploiting the Filipino people- or their country. There have indeed been different opinions among our own people as to the precisely proper relationship with the Filipinos. There are some among us, as there are some among your people, who believe that immediate independence of the Philippines would be best for both. I should be less than candid with you, however, if I did' not say that in my judgment the strongest argument that has been used in the United States in support of immediate Independence for the Philippines is not the argument that it would benefit the Filipinos but that it would advantage the United States. Feeling as I do and, as I am convinced, the great majority of Americans do regarding our obligations to the Filipino people, I have to say that I regard such arguments as unworthy. The American people will not evade or repudiate the responsibility they have assumed in this matter. The American Government is convinced that it has the ovel'whelming support of the American nation in its conviction that present independence would be a misfortune and might easily become a disaster to the Filipino people. Upon that conviction the policy of this Government is based. Thus far I have suggested only some of the reasons related to international concerns, which seem to me to urge strongly against independence at this time. I wish now to review for a moment some domestic concerns of the Philippine Islands which seem also to argue against present independence. The American Government has been most liberal in opening to the Filipino people the opportunities of the largest practicable participation in, and control of, their own administration. It has been a matter of pride and satisfaction to us as I am sure it must also have been to your people that this attitude has met with so fine a response. In education, in cultural advancement, in political conceptions, and institutional development the Filipino people have demonstrated a capacity which cannot but justify high hopes for their future. But it would be idle and insincere to suggest that they have yet proved their possession of the completely developed political capacity which is necessary to a minor nation assuming the full responsibility of maintaining itself in the family of nations. I am frankly convinced that the very
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS mission upon which you have addressed me is itself an evidence that something is yet lacking in development of political consciousness and capability. One who examines the grounds on which are based the protests against the present situation is forced to conclude that there has not been thus far a full realization of the fundamental ideals of democratic Republican Government. There have been evidences of a certain inability or unwillingness to recognize that this type of governmental organization rests upon the theory of complete sepal'ation of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial functions. There have been many evidences of disposition to extend the functions of the Legislature and thereby to curtail the proper authority of the Executive. It has been charged that the present Governor General has, in, some matters, exceeded his proper authority but an examination of the facts seems rather to support the charge that the Legislative branch of the Insular Government has been the real offender through seeking to extend its own authority into some areas of what should properly- be the executive realm. The Government of the United States has full confidence in the ability, good inten ions, fairness and sincerity of the present Governor General. It is convinced that he has intended to act and has acted within the scope of his proper and constitutional authority. Thus convinced it is determined to sustain him and its purpose will be to encourage the broadest and most intelligent cooperation of the Filipino people in this policy. Looking at the whole situation fairly and impartially one cannot but feel that if the Filipino people cannot cooperate in the support and encouragement of as good an administration as has been afforded under Governor General Wood their failure will be rather a testimony of unpreparedness for the full obligations of citizenship than an evidence of patriotic eagerness to advance their countl'Y. I am convinced that Governor General Wood has at no time been other than a hard working, painstaking and conscientious administrator. I have found no evidence that he had exceeded his proper authctrity or that he has acted with any other than the purpose of best serving the real interests of the Filipino people. Thus believing I feel that I am serving those same interests by saying frankly that it is not possible to consider the extension of a larger measure of autonomy to the Filipino people until they shall have demonstrated a readiness and capacity to cooperate fully and effectively with the American Government and its authorities. For such cooperation
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES I earnestly appeal to every friend of the Islands and their people. I feel all confidence that in the measure in which it shall be extended the AmeI'ican Government will be disposed to grant in increasing degree the aspirations of your people. Nothing could more regrettably affect the relations of the two peoples than that the Filipinos should commit themselves to a program calculated to inspire the fear that possibly the governmental concessions already made have been in any measure premature. In conclusion let me say that I have given careful and somewhat extended consideration to the representations you have laid before me. I have sought counsel of a larger number of men whom I believed able to give the best advice. Particularly I have had in mind always that the American nation could not entertain the purpose of holding any other people in a position of vassalage. In accepting the obligations which came to them with the sovereignty of the Philippine Islands the American people had only the wish to serve, advance, and improve the condition of the Filipino people. That thought has heen uppermost in every American determination concerning the Islands. You may be sure that it will continue to be the dominating factor in the Ame1;ican consideration of the many problems which must inevitably grow out of such relationship as exists. In any survey of the history of the Islands in the last quarter century I think the conclusion is inescapable that the Filipino people, not the people of the United States, have been the gainers. It is not possible to believe that the American people would wish otherwise than to continue their responsibility in regard to the sovereignty and administration of the Islands. It is not conceivable that they would desire merely because they possessed the power to continue exercising any measure of authority over a people who could better govern themselves on a basis of complete independence. If the time comes when it is apparent that independence would be better for the people of the Philippines from the point of view of both their domestic concerns and their status in the world, and if, when that time comes the Filipino people desire complete independence it is not possible to doubt that the American Government and people will gladly accord it. Frankly it is not felt that that time has come. It is felt that in the present state of world relationship the American Government 554
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS owes an obligation to continue extending a protecting arm to the people of these Islands. It is felt also that quite aside from this consideration there remains to be achieved by the Filipino people many greater advances on the road of education, culture, economic and political capacity before they should undertake the full responsibility for their administration. The American Government will assuredly cooperate in every way to encourage and inspire the full measure of progress which still seems a necessary preliminary to independence. Very truly yours, CALVIN COOLIDGE
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Political Parties in the Philippines By
DR. EUSTAQUIO
G.
AQUINO
National Library of the Philippines FORMATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES DURING THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC, 1898-1899
Political parties emerge when the people have anything to do with the form of their government, its policies and functioning, and in the selection or election of its officials. The alignment of the political leaders of the country has started during the Philippine Republic and the revolution against the United States. During this period of our. history there were the so-called radicals or irreconcilables, and the conserV1atives ()r the pacifists. There were also those who believe in a strong centralized power in the Executive branch of the government and there were those who were against a strong executive. The radicals were those who were in favor of continuing the war at whatever cost and for an absolute independence of the Philippines, while the conservatives were those who were ready to accept peace but to work for better concessions that could have been obtained from the Spanish or American government. THE FEDERAL PARTY ORGANIZED IN 1900
The Federal Party was organized on December 23, 1900. The organizers were composed mostly of the conservatives in the government of the Philippine Republic who were anxious to establish peace as soon as it was possible. There were 124 who attended the first meeting for the organization of the Federal Party, which was presided by the late Justice, Florentino Torres. A directorate of 7 556
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS members was elected, composing of Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Cayetano S. Arellano, Frank S. Bourns, Florentino Torres, Ambrosio Flores, Jose Ner, and Tomas G. del Rosario. Among those who were elected members of the council of government consisting of 25 members were Arsenio Cruz Herrera, Felipe Buencamino, Ignacio Villamor, Teodoro Yangco, and Baldomero Roxas. The program of the party consisted of two parts. The first part to cover a preliminary period and the second part, a constitutional period. The preliminary period was for "the recognition of the American sovereignty and the establishment of a liberal democratic and representative government." It also provided for the institution of "individual rights, liberties and guarantees of person, property and domicile~ with freedom of worship and complete separation of church and state." It also advocated for "municipal government or self-government substantially like that of the United States, and provincial or departmental government subject only to the high inspection of central government," for armed militia, for free elementary education and the enforcement of the civil service laws.! The so-called constitutional period provided for the sending of five representatives to the United States Congress, for the establishment of an elective legislative body consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate, and for the appointment of a Governor-General by the President of the United States with ample executive powers. With respect to the future political status of the Philippines the platform provided for a possibl,e admission of the Philippines as one of the states of the Union. But in no way the United States could cede in whole or in part the territory of the Philippines to any foreign power. ! Kalaw, M. M., The De'velopment of Philippine Politics, Political Science Series, Vol. I, p. 270.
557
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES PARTIDO CONSERV ADOR ORGANIZED IN 190]
The main objection of the people to the Federal Party was its plank of annexation of the Philippines by the United States. This aim of the party has caused its early demise. During this time, in February, 1901, there was established a party by the name of "Partido Conservador." Among the organizers were Enrique Barrera, Francisco Ortigas, Macario Adriatico, Gregorio Singian, Eusebio Orense and others. The government did not have any opposition to the organization of this party inasmuch as one among its objectives was to cooperate with the Federal Party in the bringing about of peace and order in the Philippines. Its avowed purpose was only for the establishment of a liberal government and not necessarily an indep-endent one from foreign tutelage. The party w~s for the conservation of the Spanish customs and civilization in the country. It wa~ against, however, the Americanization of the Philippines. There was no doubt that it was for an eventual independence of the Philippines and that it was against annexation. EARLY ATTEMPTS TO ORGANIZE POLITICAL PARTIES FOR PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE IN 1901-1902
The organization of political parties with independence platform was not permitted by Governor Taft in the early part of the American administration. There was a law enacted during this time, known as the sedition law, Act No. 292, enacted November 4, 1901, which provided in Section 10 that: "Until it has been officially proclaimed that all war or insurrection against the authority of the sovereignty of the United States no longer exists in the Philippine Islands, it shall be unlawful for any person to advocate independence of the Philippine Islands, or separation from the United States whether by peaceful or 558
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS other means, or to officially publish pamphlets advocating such independence or separation." There was the Nacionalista Party organized in 1901, the Partido Independista organized in December, 1902, known as Liberal Party, and the Partido Democrata organized on September 19, 1902. All these political parties were not permitted to spread the principles of independence. The Partido Independista was founded by Paterno, the Nacionalista Party, by Poblete, and the Partido Democrata, by Jose Maria de la Vifia, Justo Lukban, Leon M. Guerrero and Alberto Barreto. The Partido Democrata has had as its aims the following: the securing of Philippine independence by peaceful means; a greater participation of Filipinos in the Philippine Government through the establishment of two legislative chambers at the completion of the Philippine Census of 1903; the admission df Philippine products into the United States free of customs duties; and the protection of Philippine industries. These political parties were the forerunners of those that were established later as soon as peace and order was officially declared to have existed in the Philippines whose principal ideal is independence. THE "CO MITE DE INTERESES FILIPINOS" OF 1904
For the time being that political parties with independence plank were not allowed to organize the Filipino leaders have formed the so-called the "Comite de Intereses Filipinos" on October 26, 1904. The main object of this organization was to work for the interests of the Philippines in the United States by means by propaganda and lectures. The organization advocated adult education to teach the people their civil rights as well as civic obligations and to inculcate in them morality, industry, and economy. 559
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES THE NACIONALISTA PARTY ORGANIZED IN 1907
Peace and order was declared to have been established in 1905. Consequently several political parties sprang up with Philippine independence as their main objective. There was the Partido Independista Inmediatista founded in 1906 by Alberto Barreto, Sergio Osmefia, Manuel Quezon, Justo Lukban, Fernando M. Guerrero and others. There was the Partido Urgentista founded by Dr. Gomez. And there was the Comite de la Union Nacional, the founders of which were more conservative nationalists. The Partido Urgentista and the Comite de la Union Nacional were united under the name of Union Nacionalista whose founders were Rafael del Pan, Rafael Palma, Galicano Apacible, Felipe AgonciHo, Pablo Ocampo, Leon M. Guerrero, and others. These two parties, Union N acionalista and the Partido Independista Inmediatista, in turn were united and formed the well-known Nacionalista Party on March 12, 1907. The only disagreement in the platform of these two parties was that the former was in favor of an early independence while the later was for an immediate independence. The program of the N acionalista Party was as follows: 1 We, the undersigned citizens of the Philippine Islands, for ourselves and for those countrymen who shall ratify this document, proclaim that we do hereby constitute into a political party called the Partido Nacionalista, whose ideals and purposes are contained in the following principles and declarations: The party, believing that it interprets the true and just aspiration of the Filipino people, proposes: The attainment of the immediate independence of the Philippine Islands to constitute it into a free and sovereign nation' under a democratic government, without prejudice to the adoption in due 1 Kalaw, M. M., The Development of Philippine Politics, Political Science Series, Vol. I, pp. 304-306.
560
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS time of any form of guarantee which would be convenient to the interests of the Filipino people and suitable to the circumstances. This purpose is founded upon the natural and evident right that peoples have to their independence, and on the fact that our people, as was shown in the struggles and revolutions which they have maintained, desire and are ready to receive at any moment their independence. The Filipino people from time immemorial have possessed a civilization which has been improved through living and contact with the Spanish people during more than three centuries of sovereignty and also through the present contact with, and practices of, the systems and institutions of the American people. Like other cultured peoples of the world, they have assimilated many elements of culture without losing thereby their typical characteristics and it is for this reason that they believe themselves capable of maintaining a decent and orderly government such as is required by their collective interests and their relationship with other nations. It is a proven fact that they managed their affairs wisely and peacefully during the brief period of their inde1?endence. We do not consider t he variety of ethnic families or the diversity of dialects an obstacle to the maintenance and enjoyment of selfgovernment or independence, since at the present time all the Filipinos consider themselves members of a common country united by their common origin and birth inasmuch as the diversity of tongues has not embarrassed their relations as it has not embarrassed other nations which also include districts speaking different dialects. Our people are thoroughly adaptable to democratic institutions and have men with sufficient wisdom and intelligence to organize a stable self-government, and wealth and natural r~sources sufficient to maintain an economical public service, the more so when it is hoped that under their own laws the material conditions of the islands will develop and increase satisfactorily for the benefit of the Filipinos. Filipino individuals and societies have at all times shown a decided love for order and unbroken respect for law; therefore it cannot be presumed that the establishment of self-government in the country would lead to disorders and internecine strifes, much less when what is proposed to be established is a regime desired by all in all parts of the Philippines. The dismemberment of any portion of our territory, as it was described in the Treaty of Paris, is a challenge to our national integ-
561
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES rity and the Partido Nacionalista will consider it its duty to oppose any such intent or purpose and to work for the conservation of the entire territory for ourselves and our descendants. It is our firm conviction that the peace, order, progress and happiness of a people can be happily realized only through self-government, for nobody knows the needs of a country better than its own people, or can better apply to them the most adequate remedy. Our aspiration is just, noble and incontrovertible, because it is born of the natural desire for emancipation and it is based on eternal principles of justice which animate all people who feel able to govern themselves, and we have not the least doubt that this is the solution which would most assuredly and lastingly consolidate the moral and material peace of our country. With such purposes the party will work constantly for the attainment of the aspirations of the country by peaceful means within the pale of the law, struggle for everything that would redound to the benefit of Filipino interests and which the party will continue to follow even after the country is free and independent.
PROGRESISTA PARTY ORGANIZED IN 1907
The Federal Party had discarded its plank for annexation and accepted an eventual and progressive acquisition of the independence of the Philippines. This change of policy was attributed to the fact that the American pe~le were not in favor of granting the status of statehood to the Philippines based on the distance between the two countries and upon the differences of the race of the two people. So in 1907 the Partido Progresista was organized to take the place of the Federal Party and to oppose the N acionalista Party. In the election of 1907 there were therefore then two political parties in the Philippines, vieing with each in securing the support of the electorate. The Nacionalista Paz.:ty advocated for an immediate and absolute independence while the Progresista Party for a progressive attainment of independence. Out of the 80 members of the As562
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS sembly, there were 59 Nacionalistas elected, 16 Progresistas, and 5 Independents. Among the governors there were 16 N acionalistas and 15 Progresistas. THE PARTIDO DEMOCRATA NACIONAL ORGANIZED IN 1914
On April 2, 1914, the recalcitrant members of the Nacionalista Party have organized themselves into Democrata, otherwise known at the time as the Third Party. Some of the founders of this party were Teodoro Sandiko, Antonio Montenegro and Gregorio Perfecto. The cause of the separation of this group from the Nacionalista Party may be shown in the following statements ag~inst the leaders of the party: They have simply taken up with a few groups of friends those subjects in which the party as a whole is interested, submitted them all to a few persons and confabs of relatives, thus converting into well-organized comedies what should have been public discussions in the entire country, having gone to the extent of solving grave matters of social interest around the table of certain clubs which had been established for other ends. This conduct is probably what induced the American imperialists to maintain that the independence of our country would mean the government of a few and the total sacrifice of the people to their whims-a statement which we must rectify at once, not with vain protests but with decisive acts. Since these alleged leaders of nationalism refuse to hear our fraternal advice that they desist from their roles as tzars in politics, it is necessary that we separate from them, leaving them to their impenitent oligarchy.!
Among the measures that were advocated by the new parb.r were initiative, referendum, and recall; preferential ballot system in the election of representatives; the extension of suffrage to those who could read only the native dialect, pensions for the invalids and the old, and greater autonomy for provincial governors. 1 Kalaw, M. M., The Development of Philippine Politics, Political Science Series, Vol. I, pp. 355-356.
563
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES THE UNION OF THE PROGRESISTA PARTY AND THE PARTIDO NACIONAL
The idea of having two strong parties in the Philippines was already entertained by our political leaders. Inasmuch as the Progresista Party has discarded its annexation plank and accepted an early independence, it was a question of time that the two opposition parties were to effect a union. As a matter of fact when the leaders of these parties saw that the Nacionalista Party was growing in power and most especially during the Harrison administration, and because their candidates were badly defeated in the election of 1916, on April 22, 1917, a fusion of the two parties was effected. The Progresistas gave up the name of their party and willingly accepted Partido Democrata as the name of the new party. The officers of the party were: President, General Teodoro Sandiko; First Vice-President, Joaquin Quintos; Secretary, Gregorio Perfecto; Treasurer, G&i1lermo F. Ruiz. The members of the Board of Directors were Dr. Pedro Gil, Alfonso E. Mendoza, Antonio Montenegro, Geronimo Santiago, Eulogio Rodriguez, and Domingo Antonio. THE COLECTIVISTA PARTY ORGANIZED IN 1922
There was a split in t~e N acionalista Party in 1921. This may be considered as the second split in the party. The first split resulted in the organization of the Partido Democrata Nacional in 1914 as stated above, and this second one resulted in the organization of the Colectivista Party. This second split was due to "the tremendous powers wielded by Speaker Osmefia." It was charged that even in cases of appointments, the confirmation of which was by the Jones Law exclusively confided to the Senate, the president of the party, (Speaker Osmefia), who was not a member of the Senate, had a decisive say, and that sometimes names were submitted for appointment without the 564
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS previous advice of the Senate. 1 President Quezon vigorously denied that thiSi one-man rule, as he termed Osmefia's leadership, was necessary. He added that the people should not look for any power which is not found in the organic law. In regard to party organization, he contended that the opinion of many should rule. 2 Senate President Quezon founded the Partido N acionalista-Colectivista on February 17, 1922. The principal plank of the party was to achieve immediate, complete and absolute independence and to establish a democracy in the Philippines. Osmefia and his followers have remained in the Nacionalista Party and called themselves Unipersonalistas as they believed in a unified leadership in the fight for independenGe. The results 'Of the election of 1922 were as follows: 3 By certificate of candidacy, there were 23 representatives elected as collectivists, 24 as nationalists, 26 as democrats, and 10 as independents. After the election, these figures were altered. There were 33 representatives elected as collectivists, 22 as nationalists, and 25 as dem-ocrats. PARTIDO NACIONALISTA CONSOLIDADO ORGANIZED IN 1922
The immediate cause of the fusion of the two wings of the N acionalista Party was the reactionary policies of Governor General Wood. The fusion took place on October 26, 1922, and formally ratified at the joint convention of the two groups on April 5, 1924. The Partido Nacionalista Consolidado was then organized. The main aim of the party, as that of its predecessors, was for an immediate, absolute and complete independence of the Philippines. It favored the continuance of the Council of State and adThe Philippines Herald, Aug. 7, 1930. Malcolm and Kalaw, Philippine Government, rev. ed. p. 267. Kalaw, M. M., The Development of Philippine Politics, Political Science Series, Vol. I. 1 2 3
565
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES vocated for the establishment of a budgetary system. Government control of public utilities and the suspension of the practice of employing military officers as advisers to the Governor General were also advocated. The newly reorganized party was the same old Gran Partido Nacionalista. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SUPREME NATIONAL COUNCIL IN 1926
There was a real fear that some backward steps might be taken with respect to the autonomy granted already to the Filipino people. So on January 6, 1926, a joint committee was created composIng of the representatives of the two opposing parties, the Partido N acionalista ConsoIidado and the Democrata Party. The Partido N acionalista Consoli dado was represented by Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, Speaker Manuel Roxas, Representative Benigno S. Aquino, Senator Hermenegildo Villanueva and ex-Mayor Justo Lukban, and the Democrata Party was represented by ex-governor Ruperto Montinola, Senator Juan Sumulong, Representative Claro M. Recto, ex-Representative Sotto, and Senator Emiliano Tria Tirona. The directorates of the two parties agreed upon the following: 1 1. To create a National Supreme Council which shall be composed of ten member!';, five N acionalistas and five Democratas, eight of whom, at least, shall be members of the Legislature. This council shall have the high command of Filipino policy in everything concerning the independence campaign, in all matters that may affect the relations between the United States and the Philippines, and in the administration of the interests of the country at large. Its powers shall be not merely deliberative or advisory, but also executive in its fullest sense. It shall prepare a program of its work and activities in connection with the independence campaign; organize and direct an intensive national campaign for the purpose of fomenting protec1
MalColm and Kalaw, PhilirJpine Government, rev. ed. pp. 278-279. 566
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS tive habits and stimulating native industries, and shall make recommendations to the Legislature on matters of internal government. The supreme council may create an advisory body composed of technical men and other representative elements of the country, and also org~nize committees that shall carry out such work as in its judgment will tend to make the independence campaign more effective. The directories of the N acionalista and Democrata parties shall secure ratification of the powers herein conferred upon the supreme council through their respective representatives in the Legislature, and the presidents of both chambers of the Legislature shall call a meeting of the Commission of Independence for the same purpose in so far as it may affect the campaign for independence. 2. The supreme council shan organize a commission which shall reside permanently in the United States and which shall not be dissolved until independence of the Philippines is obtained. One-half of the members of this commission shall be appointed by the supreme council on recommendation of the Nacionalista Party, and the other half on recommendation of the Democ1'ata Party, persons not affiliated with either party being eligible to membership on this commission. 3. There shall be elected by the Legislature a Democrata resident commissioner as S0011 as a vacancy occurs, in order that in the future the Filipino people may be represented in the Congress of the United States by commissioners elected and recommended by the Nacionalista and Democrata parties of the Philippines. 4. Any appeals to the Filipino people for contributions for the independence campaign shall be made by and in behalf of the supreme council, which shall exercise control and supervision of the collection, custody, and disbursements of such funds. 5. The present covenant shall apply to all the purposes sought in it after its approval by the directorates of the Nacionalista and Democrata parties. SAKDALISM AS A POLITICAL MOVEMENT STARTED IN 1930
Sakdalism is a term given to a movement started by Benigno Ramos in 1930 or thereabout. It originated from the name of its organ, the "Sakdal," a weekly paper, which was published and edited by Mr. Ramos himself. In this 567
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES paper were published the supposed abuses of the party in power and the oppressions of the common people by the government. The apparent aim of Sakdalism as was conceived by Mr. Ramos was to overthrow the party in power which has been entrenched in the government. Incidentally the overthrow of the government may be necessary to realize this aim, though the leaders of the Sakdalista Party have made avowals that they are not against the government. As a civic organization sakdalism has a promising future for the realization of its ideals. The party in power is ROW realizing the deep-rooted causes of the movement among the proletariat. The adult education, the popular lectures, and proposed office.. of propaganda under the Commonwealth are some of the wholesome effects of sakdalism. In the 1933 election, the Sakdals went to politics and they succeeded in Having their eandidates for the two representative districts of Laguna elected to the Legislature. Among the measures advocated by their representatives in 1934, were the following: "abolition. of the cedula personal tax, and reduction of the land tax with exemption of small lots valued at less than one thousand pesos; investigation of all foreign franchises concerning mines, street-cars, telephone and gas services, taxi service, and others; investigation of all friar lands to ascertain why in spite of their purchase by the Government religious lands are increasing; judicial action against previous independence missions; establishments of munitions and arms factory, including plants for the manufacture of airplanes and submarines; creation of a national army composed of half a million men; teaching of the native language in the school and requiring its use in the courts; creation of public defenders to defend the poor; utilization of our medicinal plants; creation of a merchant marine; payment of only 'P10 for each session attended by a representative, and P15 for each 568
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS senator; appointments of fiscals and judges, not by politicians, but by a committee composed of a justice of the Supreme Court, a representative of the Governor-General, a delegate of the Civil Serice, a legislator, and a delegate of the opposition party; introduction of the parliamentary system; abolition of the title 'Honorable' as applied to any public officer." 1 In 1935, the attention of the whole nation was arrested by the sakdalist movement on account of the manner in which its followers have assaulted and captured the municipalities of Sta. Rosa and Cabuyao, Laguna, and San Ildefonso, Bulacan, on May 2 and 3 of that year. The departure of its supreme head, Mr. Ramos, for foreign lands with a design to get outside help and to bring the cause of the movement to the attention of the Government of the United States, has likewise attr~cted public attention. THE PARTIDO RADICAL ORGANIZED IN 1930
The Partido Radical was organized in 1930 by Alfonso E. Mendoza, a prominent leftist in the Partido Democrata Nacional. His main objective in organizing this party was to offer a much stronger opposition to the party in power, the Nacionalista Consolidado Party, than what has been shown by the Democrata Party. In a manifesto drafted on N ovem'ber 15, 1930, some of the policies advocated by this party, besides the ideal of independence were the simplification of government machinery, the suppression of the deficiency appropriation bill, economy in the government, standardization of salaries and in the promotion of salaries, civil service pensions, vocational education, the conversion of the National Bank into an Agricultural Bank and the prohibition of the immigration of Filipino laborers into Hawaii and the United States. The 1 "Sakdal" by Conrado Benitez (In Philippine Magazine, May, 1935, pp. 240 and 252).
569
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES signers of said manifesto were Alfonso E. Mendoza, General Pio del Pilar, General Salvador Estrella, General Fernando Canon, General Troadio Galicano, Mr. Engracio F. Clem'eiia, and Mr. Jose Topacio Nueno. This party succeeded in having Alfonso E. Mendoza elected for the House of Representatives for the first district of Manila in the election of 1933. In the last election for the elective officials of the Commonwealth Mr. Mendoza ran for the National Assembly as standard bearer of the party but was defeated by one of the two candidates of the Coalition party, Dr. Pedro Gil. THE BAGONG KATIPUNAN AND A PROPOSED DISSOLUTION OF THE PARTY
In 1931, Ex~Speaker Manuel Roxas has launched the well-known "Ang Bagong Katipunan." The main objective of this new movement was the solidification of the various elements of the nation in its fight for independence and the crystallization of the spirit of nationalism by means of recasting the modes of living of the people upon the mold of the best traditions and customs of the Filipino race. There were some leaders who believed that the "Ang Bagong Katipunan" can take the place of both the Nacionalista Consoli dado Party and the Democrata Party in the matter of realizing the independence of the Philippines. As a matter of fact the two parties have neutralized and fought each other even over the very question of independence which both believed to be the ideal of the people. As a preliminary to the proposed dissolution of parties, the Democratas, on January 31, 1932, have formally dissolved' their party by means of a resolution that was approved in a convention held in Manila for that purpose. Among the expressed causes of the dissolution of the Democrata Party were its acknowledged weakness as an opposition party, counting among the Representatives and Senators of the 570
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Legislature but few leaders; the apparent impossibility of improving the condition of the party; and the belief that with the dissolution of the party a stronger opposition party was forthcoming. There was a group among the Democratas, however, who were not in favor of the dissolution, and as a consequence did not recognize it. To this effect they have selected a new set of officers for the party. For President, Mr. Gregorio Perfecto; Vice-President, Dr. Pedro Gil; Second Vice-President, Mr. Manuel de la Fuente; Secretary, Segundo Agustin. THE DIVISION OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES OVER THE HARE-HA WES-CUTTING INDEPENDENCE LAW
The division of the Partido Nacionalista Consolidado and the Democrata Party took place with the approval of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Independence Law in 1933. These two major parties were divided into two well-known groups, the Antis and the Pros. The Antis were those who were not in favor of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Independence Law headed by Hon. Manuel L. Quezon and Speaker Quintin Paredes, and the Pros were those who were in favor of the acceptance of the law headed by Hon. Sergio Osmefia and Ex-Speaker Manuel Roxas. This law was rejected by the Philippine Legislature in 1933. During the election of 1933, the candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives presented themselves to the electorate as either pros or antis. The result of the election was an overwhelming victory for the antis. THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT, VICEPRESIDENT AND THE MEMBERS OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH
The Tydings-McDuffie Law was approved by the United States Congress on March 24, 1934, and accepted by the Philippine Legislature on the next May first. The Con571
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES stitutional Convention met on July 30th and approved the Constitution of the Commonwealth on February 8, 1935. During the deliberations in the Constitutional Convention party lines were already disregarded. There were no pros nor antis. The task before the delegates was too big for any party to tackle. This harmony between the two factions has ushered the formation of a coalition for the coming election and establishment of the Commonwealth. The coalition of political parties was formally launched in a manifesto issued by a group of prominent citizens who presented the idea to the consideration of the leaders of the nation. The Coalition was in effect approved by the N acionalista-Democrata Party, known as Anti and the Nacionalista Pro-Independencia Party, known as Pro. A joint committee on plat,form was subsequently appointed. Among the pros there were: Hon. Jose O. Vera, Hon. Manuel C. Briones, Hon. Alejo Mabanag, Hon. Leoncio Imperial, Hon. Benito Soliven, Hon. Tiburcio Francisco, Hon. Ildefonzo Coscoluela, Hon. Pedro Gil, -a nd Hon. Gregorio Perfecto. Among the antis there were Hon. Quintin Paredes, Hon. Jose A velino, Hon. Leonardo Festin, Hon. ServilIano de la Cruz, Hon. Vicente Alindada, Hon. Juan Sumulong, Hon. Mariano Jesus Cuenco, Hon. Teodosio R. Dino, and Hon. Ramon Diokno. Indeed there was a need for "national unity and concerted action, free from partisan bias, suspicion and intolerance." The result of the election was an overwhelming victory for the candidates of the Coalition. Quezon was elected President and Osmena, Vice-President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. There were two other candidates for President of the Philippine Commonwealth. They were Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and Mons. Gregorio Aglipay. These two candidates have organized themselves as the standard bearers of two parties. Gen. Aguinaldo was the candidate of the Partido Socialista and Bishop Aglipay, of the Republican Party. 572
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The candidacy of Gen. Aguinaldo was officially launched on June 2, 1935, with a 44-point platform with the following principles and ideals: a shorter transition period before a complete independence of the Philippines will be granted, the creation of Unemployment Bureau to solve the present unemployment among laboring classes, the subdivision of large estates to solve the problems of small tenants, the revision of taxes, and the creation of National Board on sugar, copra, abaca, rice and tobacco, the major crops of the Philippines. 1 Mons. Aglipay on his part had 7 points for which he sought 路the Presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth which he officially delivered at the Manila Opera House on the occasion of the proclamation of his candidacy. They were as follows: (1) independence that will give happiness; (2) enhancement of the working class and the agriculturists; (3) distribution of lands and other necessities that will promote the public welfare; (4) promotion of new industries; (5) strict economy in the government; (6) strict vigilance over government revenues and reduction of the land tax; and (7) Tagalog to be made one of the official languages. 2 You might have noticed from the above short accounts of the organization of political parties in the Philippines that with the exception of the N acionalista Party all the rest have had a very short story to tell. This may be due to the absence of a cleavage that could have divided the people into more or less permanent political parties. There have been no definite issues based on fundamental principles or policies of government. With the exception of independence, there were no real issues that confronted the people. Had the Progresista Party persisted in its ideal of a gradual acquisition of independence and the impor1
2
Philippines Herald, June 8, 1935. Manila Daily Bulletin, July 1, 1935. 573
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES tance of economic development of the country first to be attended to, the party could have been vindicated of late years. The adoption of a transitional period prior the grant of an absolute independence was the ideal of the Progresista Party. The question of Philippine independence having been definitely settled and the Coalition Party given the task to establish and run the Philippine Commonwealth, the major political parties in the Philippines will be at standstill for the next ten years. When the Philippine Republic will be established we shall see militant political parties organized based more or less upon definite principles and policies for the maintenance of the territorial integrity and security of the State, of more or less closer relations with other powers, of a more or less intervention of the government in industries and commerce, or upon a system of government in which the power of the Chief Executive or of the central government will be the center of controversy.
574
President Quezon路s Inaugural Address FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN:
In the exercise of your constitutional prerogative you have elected me to the presidency of the Commonwealth. I am profoundly grateful for this new expression of your confidence, and God helping me I shall not fail you. The event which is now taking place in our midst transcends in importance the mere induction into office of your Chief Executive. We are bringing into being a new nation. We are inaugurating its government. We are seeing the fruition of our age-old striving for liberty. We are witnessing the final stage in the fulfillment of the noblest undertaking ever attempted by any nation in its dealing with a subject people. And how well this task has been performed is attested ~o by the blessings which from fourteen million people go to America in this solemn hour. President McKinley's cherished hope has been fulfilled-the Filipinos look back with gratitude to the day when Destiny placed their land under the beneficent guidance of the people of the United States. It is fitting that high dignitaries of the American Government should attend these ceremonies. We are thankful to them for their presence here. The President of the United States, His Excellency, Franklin D. Roosevelt, ever solicitous of our freedom and welfare, has sent to us, as his personal representative, the Secretary of War, Honorable George H. Dern, whose friendship for our people has proven most valuable in the past. Vice-President Garner, Speaker Byrns, distinguished members of the Senate with their floor leader, Senator Robinson, and no less distinguished members of the House of Representatives have traveled ten thousand miles to witness this historic event. I feel that by their presence the whole American Nation is here today 575
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES to rejoice with us in the fulfillment of America's pledge generous,ly given that the Filipino people is to become free and independent. It is my hope that the ties of friendship and affection which bind the Philippines to America will remain unbroken and grow stronger after the severance of our political relations with her. In behalf of the Filipino people, I express deep appreciation to Honorable Frank Murphy, our last GovernorGeneral, for his just and efficient administration and for the valuable assistance he has rendered us in the difficult task of laying the constitutional founda.tions of our new Government. As we enter upon the threshold of independent nationhood, let us pause for a moment to pay tribute to the memory of Rizal and Bonifacio and all the heroes of our sacred cause in deep acknowledgment of their patriotic devotion and supreme sacrifice. Fellow countrymen: The government which we are inaugurating today is only a means to an end. It is an instrumentality placed in our hands to prepare ourselves fully for the responsibilities of complete independence. It is essential that this, last step be taken with full consciousness of its significance and the great opportunities that it affords to us. Under the Commonwealth, our life may not be one of ease and comfort, but rather of hardship and sacrifice. We shall face the problems which lie in our path, sparing neither time nor effort in solving them. We shall build a government that will be just, honest, efficient and strong so that the foundations of the coming Republic may be firm and enduring-a government, indeed, that must satisfy not only the passing needs of the hour but also the exacting demands of the future. We do not have to tear down the existing institutions in order to give way to a statelier structure. There will be no violent changes from the es576
HON. MANUEL
L.
QUEZON
First President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
GOVERNME1';T AND
POLIT~CS
tablished order of things, except such as may be absolutely necessary to carry into effect the innovations contemplated by the Constitution. A new edifice shall arise, not out of the ashes of the past, but out of the standing materials of the living present. Reverence for law as the expression of the popular will is the starting point in a democracy. The maintenance of peace and public order is the joint obligation of the government and the citizen. I have an abiding faith in the good sense of the people and in their respect for law and the constituted authority. Widespread public disorder and lawlessness may cause the downfall of constitutional government and lead to American intervention. Even after independence, if we should prove ourselves incapable of protecting life, liberty -a nd property of nationals and foreigners, we shall be exposed to the danger of intervention by foreign powers. No one need have any mis.givings as to the attitude of the Government toward lawless individuals or subversive movements. They shall be dealt with firmly. Sufficient armed forces will be maintained at all times to quell and suppress any rebellion against the authority of this Government or the sovereignty of the United States. There can be no progress except under the auspices of peace. Without peace and public order it will be impos.sible to promote education, improve the condition of the masses, protect the poor and ignorant against exploitation, and otherwise insure the enjoyment of life, liberty and property. I appeal, therefore, to every Filipino to give the Government his loyal support so that tranquillity may reign supreme in our beloved land. Our Constitution establishes an independent judiciary by providing for security of tenure and compensation of our judges. But independence is not the only objective of a good judiciary. Equally, if not more important, is its 577
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES integrity which will depend upon the judicious selection of its members. The administration of justice can not be expected to rise higher than the moral and intellectual standards of the men who dispense it. To bulwark the fortification of an orderly and just government, it shall be my task to appoint to the bench only . men of proven honesty, character, learning and ability, so that everyone may feel when he appears before the courts of justice that he will be protected in his rights, and that no man in this country from the Chief Executive to the last citizen is above the law. We 路a re Iiving today amidst the storm and stress of one of the most tragic epochs of history. Acute unemployment and economic distress threaten the stability of governments the world over. The v:ery foundations of civilized society are shaken. The common man alone can save humanity from disaster. It is our duty to prove to him that under a republican system of government he can have every opportunity to attain his happiness and that of his family. Protection to labor, especially to working women and minors, just regulation of the relations between labor and capital in industry and agriculture, solicitous regard on the part of the government for the well-being of the masses, are the means to bring about the needed economic and social equilibrium between the component elements of society. A government draws the breath of life from its finances, and it must balance its income and expenditures as any other going busines1s concern if it expects to survive. It is my duty, then, to see that the Government of the Commonwealth live within its means and that it stand foursquare on a well balanced budget. The larger ' expenditures which the grave responsibilities ahead of us will entail, including national defense, must be borne by taxation. So long as we are able to meet those responsibilities from our present income we will not 578
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS impose new taxes. But we are among the least taxed people in the world and, therefore, when necessity arises, we should be willing to accept the burden of increased taxation. Liberty and independence can be possessed only by those who are ready to pay the price in life or fortune. To enable us more adequately to meet the new responsibilities of the Commonwealth and to raise the living conditions of our people, we must increase the wealth of the Nation by giving greater impetus to economic development, improving our methods of agriculture, diversifying our crops, creating new industries, and fostering our domestic and foreign commerce. I trust that the forthcoming trade conference between representatives of the United States and the Philippines will result in a more just and beneficial commercial relation between the two countries. The establishment of an economical, simple and efficient government; the maintenance of an independent civil service; the implantation of an adequate system of public instruction to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience, and vocational efficiency; the safeguarding of the health and vigor of the race; the conservation and development of our natural resources-these and other matters of equal import are touched upon at length in the platform of the Coalition and in my speech of acceptance of my nomination, and it is unnecessary "for me to reiterate my views regarding them. Having been elected on the virtuality of that platform and the policies enunciated by me in the course of the presidential campaign, I renew my pledge faithfully to carry them into execution. Good-will towards all nations shall be the golden rule of my administration. The peoples of the earth are interdependent and their prosperity and happiness are inseparably linked with each other. International brotherhood and cooperation are therefore necessary. Amity and friendship, fairness and square deal in our relations with 579
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PHILIPPINES other nations and their citizens or subjects, protection in their legitimate investments and pursuits, in return for their temporary allegiance to our institutions and laws, are the 路a ssurances I make on behalf of the new Government to Americans and foreigners who may desire to live, trade and otherwise associate with us in the Philippines. In the enormous task of fully preparing ourselves for independence we shall be beset with serious difficulties, but we will resolutely march forward. I appeal to your patriotism and summon your nobility of heart so that we may, united in the common endeavor, once more dedicate ourselves to the realization of our national destiny. I face the future with hope and fortitude, certain that God never abandons a people who ever follow His unerring and guiding Hand. May He give me light, strength, and courage evermore that I may not falter in the hour of service to my people. Manila, Novem er 15, 1935:
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