THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

On June 12, 1898, Philippine independence was declared in

Kawit, Cavite.

It was the first time, the Philippine flag made in Hongkong

by Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo was unfurled, while the Marcha
Nacional Filipina, a composition of Juan Felipe, was
playing.

The Declaration of Independence was written and read by

Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista.

Aguinaldo established a republic that was not sovereign,

but a mere protectorate, under the protection of United
States.
Revolutionary Government
 On June 23, 1898, Aguinaldo issued a decree establishing the
Revolutionary Government.

The decree created four agencies of the government:

- Department of Foreign Relations, Navy and Commerce
- Department of War and Public Works
- Department of Police, Internal Order, Justice,
Education and Cleanliness
- Department of Finance, Agriculture and
Industry and Manufacturing

It also created the Congress which was tasked to look after the
peoples interests, implement the revolutionary laws, uphold
agreements and debts, study and affirm the reports of the Secretary
of Finance and new taxes.
McKinleys Benevolent Assimilation
 On December 21, 1898,
President McKinley made
his benevolent assimilation
proclamation.

He announced that the US

would enforce its
sovereignty over the
Filipinos.

He also ordered his military

chief in the Philippines to
extend US rule in the country
through the use of force.
 On January 4, 1899, General Elwell Otis attempted
to hide the real contents of the Benevolent
Assimilation by publishing a watered down
version of the proclamation.

But General Miller, another American Official,

published the proclamations original version.

When the revolutionary government had taken hold

of the proclamation, they immediately condemned
it.
 Antonio Luna, editor of La Independencia, led in
assailing the proclamation.

He called it a plot to temporarily silence the people

before launching and unleashing all the hateful
characteristics of governance as employed by the
Spaniards in the Philippines.

On January 5, 1899, Aguinaldo replied to the

proclamation.
 Aguinaldo protested against the harsh US invasion over a
part of the territory of the Philippines.

In a revised proclamation on the same day, Aguinaldo

opposed the US intervention on the sovereignty of the
islands.

He warned that the Filipino Government was prepared to

fight should the US troops attempt to colonize the islands in
the Visayas.

General Otis considered Aguinaldos proclamations as

challenges to war. The Americans silently prepared for a
war aggression.
THE MALOLOS CONSTITUTION
 On January 21, 1899,
Aguinaldo proclaimed the
Malolos Constitution. It was
drafted by the Constitutional
committee created by the
Congress.

It created a state with the

government divided into three
branches: executive,
legislative and judicial. The
legislative, which was
composed of the Assembly of
Representatives, was the most
powerful.
The Constitution was also firm on the following
important provisions:
- Separation of the church and state
- Recognition of each others situation
-Free public education at the primary level
- Protection of lives, homes and properties
- Collection of taxes as mandated by law

On January 23, 1899, Aguinaldo founded the

Republic of the Philippines. He was also the first
President of the Republic of the Philippines.
 The Outbreak of the
Filipino-American War
 The flames of war were ignited
on the eve of February 4, 1899.
Private William Graysons
group patrolled at San Juan.
Grayson fired at a Filipino
soldier, prompting an exchange
of fires between two groups.
Gen. MacArthur ordered to or
assault the Filipino troops.
Aguinaldo to Otis: I had not
ordered the Filipino soldiers to
fire and Armed fighting must
be stopped.
Otis: Fighting had begun, so
we shall see it to the end.
The Hunt for and the Capture of
Aguinaldo
 When the anticipated reinforcement of the US
troops arrived, the aggressors intensified the
hunt for Aguinaldo.

When General Luna died, a good part of

Filipino troops lost heart.

When Aguinaldo found this out, he escaped,

hid and chose difficult area to assault.
 In order to capture not just Aguinaldo, but the whole land, the
Americans made an extra effort to use wealthy Filipino traitors.

Finally, Aguinaldo fell into the hands of Americans, but the other
generals continued the struggles.

US imperialism only managed to colonize the Philippines after

thorough and merciless wars.

130,000 US troops ( seven thousand were killed and wounded) vs

7 M Filipinos (more than 50,000 were killed).

They used several methods of cruelty: massacre, rape, zoning,

torture and concentration camps.
UNITED STATES OBJECTIVE IN
COLONIZING THE PHILIPPINES
 The Americans needed new market for their products.

They were also on the lookout for new sources of cheap

raw materials.

The US hoped to use the Philippines as its base in its

drive to control the entire Pacific Ocean and other
countries.

However, President McKinley and President Wilson made

the Filipino believe that the Americans intention was to
teach the latter about democracy and governance.
ECONOMIC POLICIES
 The American colonial government expanded and speeded
up the production of raw materials like sugar, coconut, wood
products etc.

Philippine exports to the U.S. increased in 1913, after free

trade was implemented.

It was a set-up that made the entry of goods into Philippines

duty-free and tax-free.

Although it boosted production, free trade made our

economy focused on exporting raw materials while importing
expensive manufactured goods.
 With the Americans direct control of the country, they
invested directly in:
1) Increasing raw materials production
2) Trading in light manufactures
3) Infrastructure development

To facilitate transportation and communication, which were

necessary in trading, the colonial government and the
American firms built and profited from infrastructure projects.

They utilized loans from foreign banks which resulted to

Philippines incurring huge deficits since the cost of import
products was more than that of the countrys earnings from
exports.
 American government pushed
landless peasants for the cultivation
of more farmlands to further boost
productions.

To quell the peasants uprising

in 1903, they brought lands from
friars and implemented the
Homestead Act so the people could
avail of titles for the lands they
started to farm.

Landlords continued to exact rents

or levy duties from their tenant
farmers. In other farmers, capitalist
farming arose in which farmers
became farm workers.
POLITICAL
POLICIES
The Military Government
The American troops went to a war towards establishing the
military government in August 1898 in the Philippines.

The power of every Governor-General who served under

this government came directly from the President of the
United States, as the militarys Commander-in-Chief.

They organized the civilian courts, including the Supreme

Court Justice. They also appointed the first Filipino Supreme
Court Justice.

The American military government established a local

government in every town and province that their troops
had invaded. They called an election, but those who were
educated and well-off could vote and get elected.
The Civil Government
Even as the American troops were still fighting the Filipino
revolutionaries, Pres. McKinley had sent two Philippine Commissions
tasked to establish a civil government. The first failed to achieve
anything significant, but the second was more successful.

The Philippine Commission composed mostly of American civilians

and military personnel, performed the executive and legislative
functions.

Dr. T.H. Pardo Tavera, Felipe Buencamino and Dr. Pedro Paterno among
others founded the first political party in the country, the Partido Liberal,
which called for collaboration with the U.S. In 1901, the Americans
installed some of the partys members in the Philippine Commission.

The Philippine Commission passed the Sedition Act, which imposed

imprisonment and the death penalty to anyone advocating freedom or
separation from the U.S. even through peaceful means.
 The Philippine Assembly was
established in 1902 and served as
the Lower Chamber. It took on the
roles of facilitating tax collection
and allocating government revenues.

In 1916, the U. S. Congress passed

the Jones Law, also known as the
Law on Philippine Autonomy. It was
the first formal and official American
commitment to grant independence
to the Philippines, as soon as a
stable government can be
established herein.

In 1901, the U.S. colonialists formed

the Philippine Constabulary which
was headed by American officials
until 1917. It was used by U.S.
colonialists to violently crush the
peoples resistance.
Cultural Policies
 In the process of molding the
Filipino market came
American movies, radio,
automobiles, literature,
dances and games.

The Americans established the

public educational system that
used English as the medium
of instruction.

As schools were established,

the Americans gave away
free books, supplies, candies
and chocolates to encourage
the children to attend.
 The first teachers were the
American soldiers followed by
trained teachers who arrived in
the country aboard the SS
Thomas.

U.S. trade policies encouraged the

export of cash crops and the
importation of manufactured
goods; little industrial
development occurred.

Meanwhile, landlessness became

a serious problem in rural areas;
peasants were often reduced to
the status of serfs.
INDEPENDENCE MISSIONS
 The first official and clear response to the call for independence was the
Jones Law of 1916 which replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. It
established for the first time an elected upper house, which would
eventually become the Philippine Senate.

The Philippine Legislature constituted the Independence commission

which recommended sending Independence Missions to the United
States.

In 1919, Senate President Quezon led the first Independence Mission.

Unfortunately, it was not entertained by US President Woodrow Wilson.

In all, eleven Independence Missions was sent annually. The

government shouldered the huge costs of the missions until Insular
Auditor Ben Wright disallowed the spending of public funds for such.
 HARE-HAWES-CUTTING ACT AND TYDINGS-
MCDUFFIE ACT on PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE
The ninth Mission known as
OSROX (Osmea and Roxas)
brought home the Hare-Hawes-
Cutting Act.

After that, Quezon, in his solo

Independence Mission, asked for
another law that will grant freedom
to the Filipinos. He successfully
brought home the Tydings-McDuffie
Act in 1934.

The Tydings- McDuffie Act allowed

for a ten-year transition under a
Philippine Commonwealth in
preparing for the granting of
freedom on July 4, 1946.
 Pursuant to the new Act, and after American Governor
General Frank Murphy set the elections for the delegates to
the convention in 1934, the Philippine Legislature called for
a convention to draft a Constitution.
After six months, the Convention finished and agreed on the
Philippine Constitution in February 1935.
Commonwealth of the Philippines
 MANUEL L. QUEZON

- A speech delivered at the Collectivista party

Convention, Manila Grand Opera house, February 17,
1922

20 Speeches that Moved a Nation, 2002

 First election - September 1935
Quezon and Osmea joined forces against the
Nationalist Socialist Party and Republican Party =
victory
Commonwealth Government was inaugurated in
Manila
Sec. George Dern (Secretary of War) read the
proclamation under the Jones Law:
Ending the US government in the Phil.
Start of Phil. Commonwealth
Changes During the Commonwealth Period
Filipinos oversaw the affairs
of the govt but still, all major
decisions had to be approved
first by the U.S.
Economic set-up was retained.
Free trade was extended until
Dec. 31, 1960
Intensification of production
and Phil. consumption from
the U.S.
Philippine trade increased.
Development of mining
industry
Revision of taxation system
 Establishment of Phil. Congress
Senate
House of Representatives
Quezon reorganized govt bureaucracy new
departments formed:
Finance, Interior, Justice, Defense, Commerce,
etc.
Court of Appeals & Court of Industrial Relations
were added.
Increase in judges salaries
National Defense Act first law passed by
Commonwealth