AS ARM ez 1FX Rea eer ees 170 Examine the Contribution of the Commonwealth Government Discuss the programs of the government Evaluate the solutions of the Commonwealth to social problems Preparing for Independence The ardent desire to be free from the American colonizers pushed the Filipino lawmakers to seek for laws that would guarantee and secure Philippine independence. This lesson will discuss the steps taken by Filipino leaders to give the Filipinos a good chance in preparing themselves toward the achievement of the long desired freedom. Essential Question for the Lesson b> How did the response of the Filipinos to the challenges of preparing for independence affect the lives of the Filipinos then and now? aFind Out Trace the path of your learning about the topic, “Preparing for Independence” by filing in the diagram below. To start, fll in the first column. Complete the second column while the discussion about the topic is ongoing. Answer the third column after the discussion of the lesson. How did the response cof the Filipinos to the challenges of preparing for independence affect the lives of the Filipinos then and now? PReekuer esc Lesson Flow Use the lesson flow as a guide for studying the lesson. Philippine Bill of 1902 + Jones Law ‘Commonwealth Government + Commission of Inde- pendence + Os-Rox Mission * Here-Hawes-Cutting Act * Tydings-McDutfie Law 172 Pr Rud eel After the Lesson Philippine Independe"?Read and Understand Cooper Act See : the Philippines headed by Manuel Quezon and ees fe x. showed the deep participation of Filipinos in eerie) Paved the way for the execution of steps to achieve desired independence of the country and it started by establishing the Philippine Commonwealth. : Laws and Missions Towards Independence The American colonization of the Philippines did not diminish their desire to achieve independence. The laws that were passed by the colonizers pave the way for the gradual attainment of the desired independence, ‘The Philippine Bill of 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt ofthe United States signed an important law on July 1, 1902, the Cooper Act that is also called Philippine Bill of 1902. American Senator Henry Allen Cooper was the author of the said law. ‘Appointed a ciuil governor to administer the Philippines and created the Supreme Court. > Established an Assembly composed of Filip fos to prepare them in self-governance. The Resembly served as the Legislative Branch of the Philippines in the Lower House This law would be enacted once there is peace sng order in the whole country and the nation cneus was undertaken and the results were “a alc published. a 173Anational election was held on July 30, 1907 wherein people woul choose Filipino representatives for the Philippine Assembly. They were two prominent political parties at that time: The Progress mn A the PI tee ne sembly Party and the Nacionalista Party Paes ee ‘The inauguration of the Philippine Assembly was held on Octobe officials in the Assembly Manuel Quezon (above) 16, 1907 at the Manila Grand Opera House. Sergio Osmefia, St. was ees Osmer® tected as Speaker and the Majority Floor Leader was Manuel Quezn Filipinization Policy ‘There were far greater changes in the administration of the Americas in the Philippines in their second decade of colonization in the county This was described as the Filipinization policy that occured during the administration of Francis Burton Harrison as governor-genett of the Philippines. He was appointed by US President Woodn | Wilson from 1913 to 1921 | The refers to Filipinos having greater a¥ | important roles in the Philippine administration under the colon! government of the Americans. The primary objective of Harrison was to have a good at! ‘s Burton Harrison healthy relationship between the United States and the Philippi He also wanted the Filipinos to trust the initiatives of the Amer 174government. During ; 1916 was During the administration of Harrison, Jones Law of a Passed. Filipinos also had the chance to create a commission ‘on independ Per ence to seek the transfer of independence to our country. Jones Law of 1916 oe aes the United States Congress approved, and : i row Wilson signed the new law that was called Philippine Autonomy Act” or better known as the Jones Law. This bill was authored by American Senator William Atkinson Jones. This law is the first formal and official declaration of the granting of independence for Filipinos by the United States once they have proven to have a stable government. This law also provided a wider Participation for Filipinos in governing the Philippines, The Philippine Commission and Assembly were abel: ished. The Legislature of the Philippines took its place which was composed of two houses: The Senate and the House of Representatives, who were al Filipinos. The law declared the promise of the American government for the Filipinos that they would take away the sovereignty of US on the Philippines once 2 stable government in the country is established, The law provided a Bill of Rights forthe Filipinos, ‘Some of these are the right t0 live, acquire properly, freedom of expression, and to choose and practice ‘one's religion. 175Enacted into law Rights that were provided Other Name forthe Law: Jones Law ‘Condition forthe withdrawal of US sovereignty Commission of Independence The Legislature of the Philippines established the Commission of Independence on November 7, 1918. The objective of this commission was to study and undertake necessary steps to secure granting of independence to the Philippines by the United States. One of the important steps undertaken was sending independence missions to US to seek or appeal for the granting of independence. Quezon and Osmefia St. were famous during this time because they were the ones who led the efforts on seeking for independence. Aside from them, there were also other personalities who took an active part for securing Philippine independence. These include Jose Abad Santos, Camilo Osias, Elpidio Quirino, Benigno Aquino Sr., Claro Recto, Pedro Gil, and Juan Sumulong, The Independence Missions Quezon and Rafael Palma led the delegation of the first independence mission to the United States on February 23, 1919. One of the primary goals of this mission was to discuss the granting of independence to the Philippines that was promised by the American government. This mission failed because there were other things the US officials were busy with at that time because the world war had just ended. In addition to this, the US Congress were not yet convinced to what the Filipinos are seeking for and they are demanding for convincing evidences that the Filipinos can already govern themselves with stability 177 SE Re RT AARet ~ AM nARnwt (exe Leonard Wood (above and Cameron Forbes (below) led the Wood- Forbes Mission. Sergio Osmefa, Sr. (seated, second from the left) and Manuel Roxas (seated, third from the left) of the Os-Rox Mission, 178 The active efforts of the Filipinos for Philippine independen, suffered a setback when a report from the Leonard Wood and Cameron Forbe. came out, This missiont was sent by the then US president Warre, Harding, According to the report, the Philippines was not ready ., be independent because it appeared that there were mismanage funds in the country, slow handling of justice, lack of teachers, ang a group of Americans led by other reasons. Because of this, the mission submitted a report stating that iti, not time to grant the Philippines her independence yet and that the United States should still rule over the country. ‘There were other independence missions sent during the 1920, to push for the granting of independence to the Philippines by he ‘Americans, but these were all unsuccessful missions. Os-Rox Mission and Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act The Filipino leaders did not lose hope in seeking for law's for granting independence to the Philippines. On December 6, 1931, the Os-Rox Mission was sent to ask the United States to grant independence to the Philippines. The mission was led by Sergio Osmefia Sr. and Manuel Roxas. This gave the Filipinos a new hope of being granted independence.ree eee was able to acquire laws from the American Cutting, Then tte Hatey Hawes, Butler Hare, and Bronson '8: The fist law regarding Philippine independence was called Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act. the anes this was objected by the then US president Herbert Hoover, ‘gress accepted this because American farmers were worried of having competition with the Filipino products. The ardent desire of the Filipinos for independence was also a factor on the passage of this law. This was enacted into law on January 17, 1933. Form a convention to make a draft of the constitution of the Philippines that will be submitted to the US president for approval The President of the United States has the power to accept or not accept any constitutional amendments transitional government will be estab- lished that would prepare the Filipinos for self-governance. This transitional government will last for 10 years. The Philippines would be granted its independ ence after the last year of the Commonwealth government It would grant the president of the United States the control over fiscal mat- ters and foreign affairs ofthe Philippines. Continuation of free trade between the Philippines and the United States during the transition period and permission to retain military and naval bases ‘The said law still tobe accepted by the Legislature ofthe Philippines before it can finally be implemented. During this time, Manuel Quezon was not in favor of this law because according to him, there were provisions within that were not acceptable for Filipinos. Some of these issues were about immigration, trade relations between the United States and the Philippines, and issues regarding the powers of the High Commissioner. 179s Learning » ar The Tydings- McDuffie Law provided for negotiation or talks between US and the Philippines regarding military bases after the granting of Philippine independence The signing of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the Tydings-McDuffie Act or Philippine Independence Act of 1934, together with Manuel Quezon and Elpidio Quirino. 180 Xx On October 17, 1933, Filipino lawmakers did not accept the Ha, Hawes-Cutting Act. Quezon believed that they could get abetier|., for the Filipino’s independence aside from what Hare-Hawes-Cytin, ‘Actas to offer. Because of this, Manuel Quezon and his colleagy., launched another mission to seek for a new law regarding Philipping independence. Tydings-McDuffie Law Manuel Quezon’s group went to the United States and tried y negotiate with the American lawmakers. Quezon was success to put into law the Tydings-McDuffie Law which was authored by {ings and Representative John McDutfie ang was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt. The law was passed ‘on March 24, 1934. ‘Quezon was successful in bringing home to the Philippines a ney law regarding Philippine independence. Even though it was almos, the same as the first independence law aside from the provision of retaining the stations and reservations of the US in the Philippines, the Legislature of the Philippines accepted the Tydings-McDutfe Law on May 1, 1934.On November 15, 1935, Quezon was sworn in as President of, Commonwealth government and Osmena Sr.as Vice President, Thi, day marked the inauguration of the Commonwealth government o¢ the Phili s Learning » pee Aldi > Aside from Quezon, Emilio Aguinal: ew = pee roel do and Gregorio Aglipay also ran for presidency during the 1935 election ‘Answer again the Essential Question for the Lesson. Compare your answer ‘on “Before the Lesson” with your answer on “During the Lesson. * Which cone changed, and which one remained the same? You will answer this question again at the last part of the lesson, The Commonwealth Government ‘The Commonwealth Government will last for ten years. Under the Philippine Commonwealth, Filipinos will have some sort of autonomy but not independence since this is a transitional government. The government positions will be held by Filipinos but still under the power of the United States. Looking at the provisions of the 1935 Constitution, there are some important functions of the Philippine commonwealth that still nee! the approval of the president of the United States, See Figure 85: 184‘The 1935) jonstitution: All Filpino citizens shall owe allegiance to the United hy I owe allegiance to Ee Ses cot eee The United States controls the foreign affairs of the Hee controls the foreign affairs of t ES ee ete eet a Pea Sener ea ae eae The Americans shall enjoy ll civil rights of the citizens Under the Philippine Commonwealth, The United States shall exercise power or authority on the Philippines regarding trade, contracting of loans in foreign countries, finances, and immigration. The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States Would rule over the decisions of the courts of the Philip- pines ‘Any amendment to the Constitution shall be submit- ted to the President of the United States for approval The Achievements of the Commonwealth Government ‘Quezon and Osmefia began to lead the country in 1936, Alongside with them were the National Assembly which was composed of the group of lawmakers. Shown in Table 8.1 on the next page were the important programs and achievements of the Philippine Commonwealth under their leadership. Despite the efforts of Quezon’s Government to fully develop the economy of the Philippines, its progress was still slow. A big, percentage of the trade and livelihood of the Philippines was reliant on the economy of the United States. cand trade laws that were implemented in the country Economi were undeniably waited expectantly for the the country would be self-sufficie achieve the much-awaited independence. more beneficial for the Americans. The Filipinos Philippine Commonwealth to end so that int and would finally be able to 185Achievement erty —- ec portance of security in : Qo ay ight ‘against enemies of the Benen Con ¢ No. 1 or The National Defense Act was Passe ea carr 20,1938, “which stated that all citizens pa parcof che rniltary s21¥ io Ths tablished the Philippine Milt2”/ ‘academy. ; A ee National Economic This was formes Council the council is to finance. This woul ‘establishing the Court of Appeals _ alth Act No. 3 paved the way for * a Appeals. This ‘court hears appeals from the lower court, : olve conflicts between forming a cou workers and management. ‘Commonwealth Act No. 211 was passed on No- voter 21, 1936 that sets the right amount ‘of wages or the minimum deily wage to workers. The same with Commonwealth Act No. 213 that define gad regulate workers’ unions to take care lof the welfare of the workers ina business, office, or a factory. Act No. 2. The objective of terms of economy and ye of Commonweal 10 the govern ith econor rent in 3d by virt mic programs. give advice t id also come up WI! rt that would s Social Justice Emphasis was given to Ye Suffrage President Quezon signed 3 law on September 15, 1935 allowing me yore in local and national elections. “The Filipino women won the right i, wore through a national plebiscite held on April 30, 1937. Registered fii . women got to enjoy this right for the first time in 1937. First women wi ke Voted were registered Filipino women in 1937. x New Chartered [twas duying the Philippine Commonwealth that new chartered cities were Cities established. These were Cebu City (1937), Bacolod (1938), Quezon city (1939), Davao City (1936), Cavite City (1940), lloilo City (1940), San Pablo City in Laguna (1940), and Zamboanga City (1936). For the first time, the Philippines had set its o was based on Tagalog. This was implemented ‘Act No. 184 that established the Institute of Na spearhead in establishing a national language. President Quezon signed Executive Order No. 13 the adoption of the Tagelog as the basis oft Philippines. Lope K. Santos led the creation of th language, Homestead P olicy eneteed policy refers to the government offering | d for mM te ni a Hensitens efor activo ues ofthe land, Eforts retrial orl " implementation in the Commonwealth period, 186| y Let Us Look Back 9, A, Identify the needed infor the blank provided, ‘mation in each number. Write your answer in The 1935 Constitution Plebiscite aon Sergio Osmena Commonwealth National Assembly Manuel L. Quezon Franklin Roosevelt Claro M. Recto US President Constitutional Convention —————— 1. The US President who approved the creation of a Convention that would create the Constitution of the Philippines ——————.2. The transitional government that would prepare the Filipinos for independence in a ten year period 3. The first President of the Philippine Commonwealth 4, The approved Constitution of the Philippines in the ‘Commonwealth period 5. ‘A branch of the Commonwealth government that, was composed of Filipino lawmakers 6. The elected president of the convention for the Constitution of Philippine Commonwealth 7. The leader who would head the Philippine Commonwealth. 8. He was elected as the vice president of the Philip- pine Commonwealth 9. This was established to formulate the Constitution of the Philippines. 10. Refers to the type of voting of the citizens to find ‘out the answer to a certain issue 187OPvT [EXAMI C B. Put a check (¥) on each statement that was indicated in the 1935 Constitution. 1. The approval of the US president is not needed to make amendments ‘to the 1935 Constitution. 3, The United States was not involved in the handling of trade, loans from other countries, france, and immigration in the Philippines C. Match the name of the law during the Commonwealth period and its corresponding description inside the box. Write the letter of the | 5. All Filipino citizens should swear allegiance to the correct answer. | Sets the minimum daily age for workers a h 1 Established the Court of Appeals ! Established the Philippine Military Academy and the National | ! 1 ! 1 ' ' Hl ! 1 t 1 it | Defense 1d. Defines and regulates workers’ unions \ Created a council that would give advice to the government in the fils of economies and finance. ‘Commonwealth Act No. 1 Commonwealth Act No. 2 Commonwealth Act No. 3 Commonwealth Act No. 211 Commonwealth Act No. 213Encircle the letter of the Correct answer. The basis of the national language of the Philippines Tagalo igalog Cebuano llokano The city that is not included in the newly chartered cities during the Com- monwealth period Cebu Manila Quezon City ‘The sector in society that was given the chance to vote in 1937 Men Children Women Policy where the government allot lands for the citizens to live on and utilize Homestead Homeowner Homeland The court that would hear appeals from the lower court of the Philippines. Trial Court Court of Appeals Supreme Court Understand the question and write your answer in the blank provided. ‘The Commonwealth government had a lot of contributions to the Philip- pines during President Quezon’s term. Which of the contributions do you think should rightfully be continued today? Explain your answer. ari” Ae ena eT eT ee The Philippine Commonwealth implemented measures to solve social and economic problems. Which of these do you agree? Explain your answer. 189 eeuy Answer These, A. Identify the law that is being described in the sentence. Write the correct letter, the blank. 1. The law that dissolved the Philippine Assembly and Philippine Commis- sion ———2. The law that established the Supreme Court of the Philippines 3. The law that provided for the establishment of the Philippine Com- monwealth 4. The Constitution that was ratified by Filipinos through a plebiscite The law that was secured by the Os-Rox mission from the US Con- gress 6. The law that created the Philippine Military Academy Commonwealth Act No. 1 Commonwealth Act No. 2 Commonwealth Act No. 3 Commonwealth Act No. 134 Commonwealth Act No. 211 Cooper Act Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law Tydings-McDuffie Law 1935 Constitution Jones Law Fame ange EXAM Copvt 7. The law that set the national language of the Philippines 8. The law that established the Court of Appeals The law that set the minimum daily wage for workers during the Commen- wealth era 10. Established the National Economic Council Arrange the events from 1 to 5 according te their proper order. 1 (Os-Rox mission was sent Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law was formulated Philippine Bill of 1902 was signed Tydings-McDuffie Law was approved The Philippine Assembly was established [LI]