The Commonwealth of The Philippines

The Commonwealth of the Philippines
Basahin sa Filipino
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 Malacaan Palace.{{1}}
Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and his running mate Senate President pro
tempore Sergio Osmea were elected as President and Vice President, while voters
elected representatives for the new unicameral National Assembly and for local
positions.
The Commonwealth was the culmination of efforts to secure a definitive timetable

for the withdrawal of American sovereignty over the Philippines.
Early on , at the start of the American occupation, the United States had established
local governments with local elected town and provincial officials. Afterward came a
gradual expansion of national legislative representation, beginning with the
Philippine Assembly (or Lower House) in 1907.{{2}}
Inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

It was not until the Jones Law of 1916 that the pledge of eventual independence
once Filipinos were ready for self-governancewas made. The Jones Law led to the
creation of an all-Filipino legislature composed of the Philippine Senate and House of
Representatives. However, the position of Chief Executivethe Governor-General
and what was considered the most important cabinet portfolioPublic Instruction
(precursor to the Department of Education)were reserved for American officials
appointed by the President of the United States. Half of the Philippine Supreme
Court was reserved for Americans as well.
Independence Missions from 1919 onwards were periodically sent to the U.S.
Congress and the White House to lobby for and negotiate independence. In 1931,
the OsRox Mission (which stands for Osmea and Roxas) successfully lobbied for
the enactment of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, which was passed over President
Herbert Hoovers veto in 1932. This was, however, rejected by the Philippine
Legislature. In 1934, a new mission (the QuAquAl Mission, made up of Quezon,
Benigno Aquino Sr., and Rafael Alunan) negotiated the Tydings-McDuffie or the
Philippine Independence Act, which set a ten-year transition period to be known as
the Commonwealth of the Philippines, followed by the recognition of the
independence of the Philippines by the United States.
The Tydings-McDuffie Act established the parameters for the preparatory period.
Some powers of supervision were reserved to the United States, as well as foreign
diplomacy and currency. In all other respects, the Philippines became self-governing.
Among the provisions was the election in 1934 of a Constitutional Convention to

draft the constitution of the incoming commonwealth government. Its was presided
over by Claro M. Recto with 202 elected Filipino delegates who decided that the
constitution to be written would cover not only the transitional Commonwealth, but
would apply to the Republic as well. The convention finished its work on February 8,
1935 and submitted it to the President of the United States for certification that its
provisions complied with the Philippine Independence Act. It was certified on March
25, 1935 and it was subsequently ratified by the Filipino people in a plebiscite on
May 14, 1935.
Aside from the certification by the President of the United States of the draft
constitution for the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the United States government
also reserved certain powers: currency, coinage, imports, exports, and immigration
laws would require the approval of the President of the United States. The United
States could also intervene in the processes of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
via Proclamation by President of the United States. All decisions of the courts of the
Philippines were also subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States.
However, these powers were exercised rarely.
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines provided for a presidential

system of government with a unicameral legislature. It had the power to enact laws
for the Philippines, known as Commonwealth Acts, through the National Assembly.
The Commonwealth was meant to lay down the foundations for an independent,
fully-functional state. Its priorities could be seen in the first laws enacted by the new
National Assembly: Commonwealth Act No. 1 established the Philippine Army and a
national defense policy; Commonwealth Act No. 2 established the National
Economic Council; Commonwealth Act No. 3 created the Court of Appeals.The 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 June
18, 1940.{{3}}
Quezon and the WWII Pacific War Council

With war looming over the world following German aggression in Europe and the
Japanese annexation of Manchuria, the National Assembly conferred emergency
powers on the government. The Philippine Army was placed under the command of
the United States Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE), headed by Field Marshal Douglas
MacArthur, who was recalled to active service after having served as military
adviser to the Commonwealth since 1935.
Filipinos reelected Quezon, Osmea, and legislators to fill seats in the newly created
bicameral congress on November 11, 1941. War in Asia broke out on December 8,
1941 following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the American naval fortress in
Hawaii, and Axis military advances throughout Southeast Asia.
USAFFE, composed of Filipino and American personnel, held off the Japanese war
machine that had routed the French, British, and Dutch colonial governments in the
region. But lack of reinforcements, disease, and obsolete armaments due to the
Europe First policy adopted by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, hampered any
real progress.
On December 24, 1941, President Quezon and his war cabinet evacuated to the
island stronghold of Corregidor in Manila Bay and two months later left for Australia,
en route to the safety of the United States. There the Commonwealth Government
continued to function in exile, gaining recognition from the world community as a
member of the United Nations. President Quezon continued to represent the
Commonwealth of the Philippines in Washington, D.C. He would serve in the same
capacity, with an extended term in 1943 by virtue of Joint Resolution No. 25 of the
United States Congress, until his death on August 1, 1944, resulting in Osmeas
ascension to the Presidency. Osmea gave his inaugural address in Washington,
D.C., making him the only Philippine President thus far to deliver an inaugural
address outside the Philippines.
On October 20, 1944, Allied forces under the command of Field Marshal Douglas
MacArthur landed on the shores of Leyte and began the campaign to liberate the
Philippines. He was accompanied by President Osmea, whose return formally
reestablished the Commonwealth Government on Philippine soil. With the
nullification of all acts of the Second Republic, President Osmea convened the
Congress, elected in November 11, 1941, on June 9, 1945.
On April 23, 1946, the first postwar election was held, in which Manuel Roxas and
Elpidio Quirino were elected President and Vice President over re-electionist Osmea
and his running mate, Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr.
Roxas took his oath of office on May 28, 1946 as the third and last President of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines in front of the ruins of the Legislative Building in
Manila. In the succeeding weeks, pursuant to the provisions of the Philippine
Independence Act, the Commonwealth of the Philippines became the Republic of
the Philippinesthe Third Republic.
President Osmea and President-elect Roxas descend the steps of Malacaan

Palace. They are followed by Vice President-elect Elpidio Quirino, who will become a
president of the Third Republic.
Thus, on July 4, 1946, Roxas would again take his oath as President, this time as
President of the newly-inaugurated and independent Republic of the Philippines. The
Congress of the Commonwealth then became the First Congress of the Republic,
and international recognition was finally achieved as governments entered into

treaties with the new republic.
Many of todays institutions in our government trace their origins to the

Commonwealth. These include:
Executive Office (1935)

Court of Appeals (1935)
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (1936)
National Bureau of Investigation (1936)
Department of Budget and Management (1936)
Government Service Insurance System (1936)
Department of National Defense (1939)
Department of Health (1940)
New Bilibid Prisons (1940)
Presidential Communications Operations Office (from the Department of Information
and Public Relations, 1943)
Boy Scouts of the Philippines
Girl Scouts of the Philippines
National Food Authority
National Economic Development Authority (originally National Economic Council,
1936)
Bureau of Immigration and Deportation
ROTC system
Bureau of Aeronautics (1936 ;now the CAAP)
Philippine Military Academy
Philippine Air Force
Articles of War (AFP)

Comelec
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces
Chartered Cities:
Cebu City (1937)
Bacolod (1938)
Quezon City (1939)
Davao City (1936)
Cavite City (1940)
Iloilo City (1937)
San Pablo City, Laguna (1940)
Zamboanga City (1936)
Policies:
All Filipino Supreme Court (1935)
State of the Nation Address (1935)
Minimum Daily Wage (1936)
National Language (1939)

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The Commonwealth of the Philippines

The Commonwealth was the culmination of efforts to secure a definitive timetable

Inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

Among the provisions was the election in 1934 of a Constitutional Convention to

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines provided for a presidential

Quezon and the WWII Pacific War Council

President Osmea and President-elect Roxas descend the steps of Malacaan

and international recognition was finally achieved as governments entered into

Many of todays institutions in our government trace their origins to the

Executive Office (1935)

Articles of War (AFP)

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