ACUÑA, KARYLLE L.

Readings in Philippine History

BSA12KA3

Critical Essay: A Glance of Selected Philippine Political Caricature in Alfred McCoy’s

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era

Cartoons became an effective tool of publicizing opinions through heavy use of

symbolism, which is different from a verbose written editorial and opinion pieces. The unique
way that a caricature represents opinion and captures the audience’s imagination is a reason
enough for historians to examine these political cartoons. Philippine political cartoons gained full
expression during the American era. Filipino artists recorded national attitudes toward the
coming of the Americans as well as the changing mores and times. While the 377 cartoons
compiled in this book speak for themselves, historian Alfred McCoy’s extensive research in
Philippine and American archives provides a comprehensive background not only to the cartoons
but to the turbulent period as well. Artist-writer Alfredo Roces, who designed the book,
contributes an essay on Philippine graphic satire of the period. With having this, future
generations will be able to have a glimpse of the past Philippine society through these cartoons.
Also, it also serves as a study and reference tool for further generations. Using political cartoons,
people get to visualize politics and appreciate the representations which are within their
worldview. Since people’s sensitivities are captured immediately through images, the popularity
of cartoons has risen throughout the years. Political cartoons serve as primers for engaging in the
prevailing opinions of that time. One positive effect of political cartoon is that it becomes the
representation of the current conditions of our country—it lets us see the problem.

Alfred McCoy, the author of the Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the
American Era (1900-1941), is a professor of the Southeast Asian History at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison where he also serves as director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
He also spent the past thirty years writing about Southeast Asian history and politics. His
publications include Philippine Cartoons (1985), Anarchy of Families (1994), Closer Than
Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy (2000) and Lives at the Margin (2001).
In addition, Alfredo Roces, the co-author of the said book, known as Ding, he was born on April
29, 1932 at Sta. Cruz, Manila. His early years in the journalism profession were for him "a crash
learning process". He started off as a ghostwriter and later acquired a column in 1958 with the
Daily Mirror.

Despite the fact that political cartoons are perceived as opinions, these were perceived as
potent markers in explaining and interpreting the news, information, and the truth. Through the
political cartoonists, they were able to create an understandable analysis of the complicated
problems of the nation. It seems as if the conscious move to simplify their drawings is aimed
towards the audience rather that the artist pleasing themselves.

Accounts pointed that the Philippine press has had a love-hate relationship with political
cartoons as only in 1985 has there been a published book on Philippine cartoons. The book of
McCoy and Roces (1986) was the first one to legitimize cartoons as sources of Filipino thoughts
and views. Although the book only covered the period of early American through the
commonwealth, it reflected on two cartoon themes: anti-American sentiments and the
condemnation of the ruling class. There were various caricatures in the book that showed the
unfair treatment of the Americans towards the Filipinos, one of which is the caricature drawn by
Fernando Amorsolo in which it shows how police authorities oppress petty Filipino criminals
while turning a blind eye on hoarders who monopolize goods in their huge warehouses.

In the Philippines, the presence of political cartoons has been early as the publication of
Kalayaan and La Solidaridad. Nepomuceno (2012) claimed that commentaries in newspapers are
valid historical instruments, given that these works are corroborated by official documents.
Furthermore, commentaries, through the sections of the editorial pages, are useful in seeking to
see the opinions and views of people on policies which are also rooted on the opinions and views
of officials in government. During the American period, Filipinos were introduced different
manifestations of modernity like healthcare, modern transportation, and media. The post-
independence and the post-Filipino-American period in the Philippines were experienced
differently by the Filipinos coming from different classes. The upper class was able to
experience economic prosperity with the opening up of the Philippine economy to US, but
majority of the poor Filipinos remained as poor and victims of oppression.
ACUÑA, KARYLLE L. Readings in Philippine History
BSA12KA3
Critical Essay: Cory Aquino’s Speech before the United States Congress

When Former President of the Philippines Corazon C. Aquino gave a speech to the
United States Congress on September 1986, it was her first visit to America since the dictator
Ferdinand Marcos had been deposed in February of the same year, and the Philippines was
reckoning with everything his administration had inflicted. Aquino’s speech was an important
event in the political history of the country, since it has arguably cemented the legitimacy of the
EDSA government in the international arena. Also, through her speech, she has showed herself
as the newly appointed President of the Philippines, she represented the country in the
international scene.

Corazon Aquino was a Philippine political leader who served as president (1986–1992)
of the Philippines, restoring democratic rule in that country after the long dictatorship of
Ferdinand Marcos. was born into a wealthy, politically prominent family based in Tarlac
province, north of Manila. She graduated from Mount St. Vincent College in New York City in
1954 but abandoned further studies in 1955 to marry Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr., who was then
a promising young politician. Corazon remained in the background during her husband’s
subsequent career, rearing their five children at home. Her husband, who had become a
prominent opposition politician, was jailed by Marcos for eight years (1972–80), and Corazon
accompanied him into exile in the United States in 1980. Benigno was assassinated upon his
return to the Philippines in August 1983. This event galvanized opposition to the Marcos
government.

Cory Aquino’s speech was started and decorated by uncountable references to her
husband, Former Senator Ninoy Aquino whom the Filipino nation had assigned as the poster boy
for anti-Marcos movements. Her speech was to connect Ninoy’s struggle with that of the whole
nation, all the while interlinking their family’s history with the fate of the entire country. She
justified her presence in front of the U.S. Congress using symbolic words, alluding to her
connection with the late Ninoy on one hand and satisfying her command to the Filipino people
on the other. She succeeded in her analysis of the Martial Law era regarding its origin and
outcome. It has been known by everyone that the Marcos-Aquino families greatly hates each
other. Ninoy Aquino, the husband of Cory and the number one oppositionist of Ferdinand
Marcos was detained in the North. Ninoy’s captivation and assassination on the latter part much
fueled Cory’s determination to fight against the government and seek refuge from the
Americans.