P R E P A R E D B Y : P A U L P O N T E M A Y O R

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Politics

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by : Pa u l Po n t e m a y o r
 1899–1902
After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898,
Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines
to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.

The decision by U.S. policymakers to annex the Philippines was

not without domestic controversy. With the signing of the Treaty
on Paris on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to
the United States, thereby beginning the era of American
colonization.
The period of American colonization of the Philippines lasted 48 years

I N T R O D U C T I O N I N T R O D U C T I O N I N T R O D U C T I O N I N T R O D U C T I O N
 t h e

Philippine

I N T H E 2 0 T H
Politics
C E N T U R Y
 1 8 9 1 - 1 9 4 6

I n t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y ye a r,
America colonized the Philippines
because of its colonialism, America
brought dramatic changes to Philippine
p o l i t i c s .

The political leaders of the United

States colonized the Philippines as
a regional military and economic
base due to its strategic role in the
P a c i f i c O c e a n .
P H I L I P P I N E P O L I T I C S I N T H E 2 0 T H C E N T U R Y
t h e

Philippine

Independence Acts
 remained in force as a de facto constitution for the
P h i l i p p i n e s u n t i l i t wa s s u p e r s e d e d by
t h e   Ty d i n g s – M c D u f f i e A c t   o f 1 9 3 4 .

Its promise of eventual absolute independence set the

course for future American policy in the islands

It replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 that served

as the initial constitution of the Philippine Islands.
T H E P H I L I P P I N E I N D E P E N D E N C E A C T S
 proposed by William Atkinson James , a Democrat.

T H E P H I L I P P I N E I N D E P E N D E N C E A C T S
 Commonwealth
THE
P

1935
h i l

COMMONWEALTH
i

1935-1945
p p i n e

CONSTITUTION
Commonwealth
P h i l i p p i n e

1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5

The Commonwealth era is the 10 year transitional period in Philippine history

from 1935 to 1945 in preparation for independence from the United States as provided for
u n d e r t h e P h i l i p p i n e I n d e p e n d e n c e A c t o r m o r e p o p u l a r l y k n ow n a s t h e
T y d i n g s - M c D u f f i e L a w .
Commonwealth
P h i l i p p i n e

1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5

The Commonwealth was meant to lay down the foundations for an

i n d e p e n d e n t , f u l l y - f u n c t i o n a l s t a t e .
Its priorities could be seen in the first laws enacted by the new National Assembly: 

Commonwealth Act No. 1 Commonwealth Act No. 2 Commonwealth Act No. 3

 established the Philippine Army and a established the National Economic Council; created the Court of Ap p e al s .
national defense policy
Commonwealth
P h i l i p p i n e

1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5

The Philippine Army was placed

Ty d i n g s - M c D u f f i e A c t , a l s o
under the command of the United
called  Philippine Commonwealth
Sta tes Ar med Forces Far
and Independence Act , ( 1934 ), the
East (USAFFE ), headed by Field
U.S. statute that provided for Philippine
Marshal Douglas MacArthur, who
was recalled to active ser vice after
independence, to take effect on July 4,
having served as military adviser to the 1946, after a 10-year transitional period
Commonwealth since 1935 . of Commonwealth government.
Commonwealth
P h i l i p p i n e

1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5

BRONSON CUTTING
The bill was signed by U.S. Pres. Franklin
D. Roosevelt on March 24, 1934, and was
sent to the Philippine Senate for approval.
Although that body had previously rejected the BUTLER HARE
similar Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, it approved the
Tydings-McDuffie Act on May 1.
HARRY HAWES

The Commonwealth government, under the presidency of Manuel Quezon, was inaugurated in
N o v e m b e r o f t h a t y e a r .
Commonwealth
P h i l i p p i n e

1 9 3 5 - 1 9 4 5

For the next 10 years the Philippines remained U.S. territory.

Foreign affairs, defense, and monetary matters remained under
U.S. jurisdiction, but all other internal matters were in the
h a n d s o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e p e o p l e .

During the Commonwealth period, duties were to be imposed on a graduated scale, but the trade provisions were
subsequently amended in 1939 in favour of the Philippines.
M A N U
ili
ph

Constitution
in
pp
e

E L
the

W I T H

L . Q U E Z O N
The 1935 Constitution
provided the legal basis of the
Commonwealth
G o ve r n m e n t w h i c h w a s
considered a transition
government before the granting
of the Philippine independence
with American-inspired constitution.

the Philippine government would eventually pattern its government system after
A m e r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t .
 1935
In , the Commonwealth of the Philippines was
e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h U . S . a p p r o v a l .

Manuel Quezon was elected the country’s first president.

On July 4, 1946, full independence was granted to the Republic of the Philippines by the
U n i t e d S t a t e s .
 The 1935 constitution,
whic h ser ved as the basic law during the
period of self-government while the Philippines
was still under American rule and after it
became INDEPENDENT in 1946 .

Constitution include the following: a bicameral legislature composed of a senate and

H o u s e o f R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s .
The draft of the constitution was
approved by the convention on
February 8, 1935 and ratified by
P r e s. Ro o s eve l t in
Washington D.C on
M a r c h 2 5 , 1 9 3 5 .

Elections were held in September 1935, Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the president of
t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h .
Following the passage of the Philippine Independence Act in 1934, a Philippine
p r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n   w a s h e l d i n 1 9 3 5 .

The Insular Government was dissolved and

Manuel L. Quezon was elected and
inaugurated second President of the
Philippines on November 15, 1935.
the Commonwealth of the Philippines,
intended to be a transitional government in
preparat ion for t h e c o u n t r y ' s f u l l
achievement of independence in 1946, was
brought into existence.

P H I L I P P I N E P O L I T I C S I N T H E 2 0 T H C E N T U R Y
On November 15, 1935
the Filipino people took the penultimate step to
independence with the inauguration of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines .

Only two months prior, on September 16, a million Filipinos had trooped to the polls to
elect their two highest officials— the President and Vice President. 
This was the first time in the history of the nation that a
Filipino would finally sit as Chief Executive and hold office in
Malacañang Palace .

he 1935 Constitution was amended in 1940 to

permit the reelection of the president and the vice
president, to restore the Senate and thus shift the
legislature back to the bicameral system, and to
establish a national electoral authority, the
Commission on Elections. The proposed
amendments were ratified in a plebiscite held on
J u n e 1 8 , 1 9 4 0 .
HARRISON ADMINISTRATION
The administration wherein the Filipino
members become the majority in the
Philippine Commission.

U.S PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D.

R O O S E V E L T
signed the bill on March 24, 1934
Thank you,
P R E P A R E D B Y : P A U L P O N T E M A Y O R

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