Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood I.

Background of the Author Gregorio Zaide  “Dean of Filipino

Historiographers”  He was born on May 25, 1907 Pagsanjan, Laguna, Philippines and died October 31, 1988,
Manila, Philippines  He is a Filipino historian, author and politician who has made note-worthy contributions to the
study of Philippine History  He wrote more than 500 articles in history printed in local and foreign journals & authored
67 books, some were use as textbooks in history for secondary and colleges in the country  Filipino Grievances
Against Governor Wood had been taken from his book, Documentary Sources of Philippine History which he
compiled, edited and annotated with the additional notes of his daughter, Sonia Zaide. Dr. Maximo Kalaw  “The
Foremost Student of Government”  He was born in the then-town of Lipa on May 20, 1891 then passed away on
March of 1954  He worked as Associate Editor of The Manila Times, served as Secretary of the Philippine Mission to
the United States and became the first Filipino head of University of the Philippines’ Political Science Department and
also be appointed Dean of the university’s College of Liberal Arts  He was a brilliant and prolific political writer who
published several books and wrote many papers published in scholarly journals, not to mention the articles that he
had published in newspapers to educate the Filipino about the political dynamics of his era.

Before Zaide, Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood had been originally published under the Appendix of his
work, the Philippine Government under the Jones Law.

The Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood is not written by a single author. It is the collective effort group of
Filipino politicians pressured by the circumstances to protest against a common political enemy. Jose Abad Santos is
believed to be one of the leading attributors of the draft. Jose Abad Santos  “Martyr of the Resistance Against the
Japanese” 

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He was born on February 19, 1886, and was raised in Pampanga at the height of the Philippine Revolution against
Spain. When he declined to take an oath of allegiance to Japan, or to cooperate with the Japanese government, he
was ordered executed on May 2, 1942 Fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Briefly served as
the Acting President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines during World War II Served as Secretary of Justice under various American Governors-General, first
under Governor-General Leonard Wood from 1922 to 1923. During the “cabinet crisis” of 1923, the Filipino members
of the cabinet, Abad Santos among them, relinquished their posts to protest GovernorGeneral Wood’s handling of the
Conley Case.

II. Historical Background of the Document III. Content Analysis Leonard Wood  Governor Heneral in the Philippines
of the 1920s       

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He was born October 9, 1860 and died August 7, 1927 due to surgery failure Served as Chief of Staff of the United
States Army and Military Governor of Cuba Arrived in the Philippine Islands on 1903 after his services in Cuba
Appointed Governor of the Moro Province Also responsible for the districts and commanding general of the troops in
the department of Mindanao at Sulu A prominent Republican party leader and candidate for 1920 presidential
nomination Served as Governor General in the Philippines where he quarreled with Filipinos who wanted home rule
The document was written by Filipino politicians of the time as a form of protest against arbitrary and oppressive acts
by Governor Wood, specifically against Executive Order No. 37. The document served as an impeachment request
for Governor Wood. It was approved by the Commission on Independence on November 17, 1926 (Appointed:
October 14, 1921 until August 7, 1927). A year after it was approved, Governor Leonard Wood died due to surgery
failure. The text was taken from Gregorio and Sonia Zaide's Documentary Sources of Philippine History, first
published from Dr. Maximo Kalaw’s the Philippine Government under the Jones Law.

American Flag - emblem of freedom, not of subjugation; symbol of altruism, not of selfishness or greed. American
sovereignty was implanted in our country with the avowed purpose of training us in;  The Art of self-government and
granting us independence.  Our good [Filipinos], not her gain was America's aim. Our country was committed to her
[America] in trust to be conserved and developed for the benefit of the people. FIRST 20 YEARS OF CIVIL
GOVERNMENT • They were marked by mutual understanding and loyal cooperation between American and
Filipinos. AT THE END OF THAT PERIOD  It seemed that the goal had finally been reached.  The President of the
United States had advised the Congress that the time had come for America to fulfill her sacred pledge.  Major-
General Leonard Wood was sent to the Philippines as Major-General The Filipinos being aware of the part taken by
General Wood in the liberation of Cuba, expected that the administration under the latter would maintain the spirit of
cooperation and the work of political emancipation would be complete. However, contrary of the expectations
happened. WOOD'S CONDUCT OF GOVERNMENT  Characterized by a train of usurpations and arbitrary acts that
resulted to the curtailment of our autonomy, destruction of our constitutional system, and the reversal of Americas
Philippine policy.

Executive Order No. 37  Declares that the laws creating and defining the powers of the Board of Control which is
authorized to vote the sticks owned by the government in certain private corporations, are absolute nullities.  In this
order, the Governor-General also announced his purpose to exercise solely and by himself the powers and duties
developing upon the said board.  This order is purported to be based on an opinion rendered by the Judge Advocate
General of the United States Army and conformatory opinion of the acting Advocate General on November 7.  Wood
withheld the publication of his order until November 10, a few hours after the legislature had adjourned, thus
depriving the Legislature of the opportunity to consider the matter.  The laws creating and defining the powers of the
board of control have been in force and acted upon the present GovernorGeneral and other officers of the
government for a number of years, and they have neither been repealed by the Legislatures, annulled by the
Congress, nor declared constitutionalized by the courts. THE PROTEST  



The protest was carried out through a Petition letter "Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood." By producing this
document, Filipino officials were able to appeal to the judgement and conscience of the American people in order to
safeguard the rights and liberties of the Filipino people. The document served as an impeachment request for
Governor Wood. Approved by the Commission on Independence on November 17, 1926

IV. Relevance of the Document  Details some of what happened during the occupancy of Gov. Gen. Wood 
Details various atrocities done to the Philippine government under Gov. General Wood  Uncovered the grievance of
the Filipinos with regards to how the grant of self governance and independence was delayed  It propagates Filipino
values, mainly loyalty to one's country and knowing their worth through gained intellect and exercise the right to fight
for it.

V. Learning Experience During the time of Gov. Gen. Leonard Wood, he was oppressive and wasn't able to keep up
the "Sacred Pledge" of America during his time. He took outrageous actions that made Filipinos suffer such as:
Choosing his own appointed officers whose appointments had been rejected by the senate, insistently sought
amendments of such would open up the sources of our country to exploitation by predatory interests. On the other
hand, Filipinos were resilient and wasted no time investing their time and effort to protest against the arbitrary and
oppressive acts of Governor Wood. They used to be people repressed from liberty for more than 300 years but under
the education of the Americans, they have learned their constitutional rights and expect justice against the difficulties
existing in the government of the Philippine Islands.