ROSALINAS, MARICAR ARAS

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BA HISTORY3B

PHILIPPINE SOCIAL HISTORY

1. Why do the Americans Approved the establishment of the Philippine Assembly?

It was the inauguration of the First Philippine Assembly in 1907 that paved the way for
the country’s independence from American rule as it provided the Filipino legislators to have
hands-on in the local political affairs. This event was very significant in the history of Philippine
politics while this event also witnessed the first national election in our country through popular
votes. The Filipinos’ aspirations for greater political participation and their thirst for self-rule
were realized in the establishment of the Philippine legislature. This glorious victory of the
Filipinos was accompanied with enormous responsibilities because they have to prove to the U.S
Congress, the international community, and to the Filipino nation that the Filipinos could govern
themselves properly and dutifully.
In consonance to the benevolent assimilation policy by President McKinley were the
American provisional government in the Philippines which were manifested by the establishment
of both military government and civil government whose objective was to prepare the Filipino
for self-government in the ways of democracy once they proved their worthiness for
independence. Thus President McKinley stated: “The Philippines is ours, not to exploit but
develop, to civilize, to educate, to train in the science of self-government.”

2. What are the accomplishments of the Philippine Assembly and how it helped to
build the Filipino nation?
Answer:

The major contribution of the Philippine Assembly was its effort to revive the issue of
independence with the cooperation of the Philippine Commission. The Philippine Commission
and the Philippine Assembly approved its first joint resolution of on October 19, 1907 expressing
its gratitude to President of the United States, the Congress and the people of the United States in
behalf of the Philippine Assembly and Filipino citizens for having bestowed upon them the
privilege to participate in the political affairs and make laws that directly govern them.

Many laws have been enacted by the Filipina Assembly for education, farming,
transportation and communication but there are also opposition the Philippine Commission as the
Upper House against in the efforts of the Filipinos to achieve independence.

Resident Commissioners
As provided by the Philippine Bill of 1902, the Filipinos were represented in the US
Congress by two resident commissioners. On this basis, the Philippine Assembly elected Pablo
Ocampo and Benito Legarda as first resident commissioners to the US Congress.These
commissioners could relayed to the US Congress the concerns of the Filipino people. They could
even speak for or against any bill being debated which affected the Filipino but had no voting
rights.

Filipinization of Government
As part of the thrust of the US government to train the Filipinos in self-government, it
pursued a policy of appointing qualified Filipinos to government positions. As earlier pointed
out, pro-American Filipinos were designated to high positions during the early years of
American occupation. It can be recalled Cayetano Arellano was appointed then as Chief Justice
of the Philippines Supreme Court. By 1908, four Filipinos were able to have seats at the
Philippine Commision.Gregorio Araneta became the Secretary of Finance and Justice in the
same year, making him the first Filipino to head an executive department under the American
colonial government.

Filipinization was evident at the local government levels key government positions were
occupied by Filipinos. Town residents elected directly the town president, vice president, and
councillor. By 1907, even the provincial governor and the three-man provincial board were
elected directly by the people.

The Filipinization of the government gained much headway when the Democrats emergd
victorious in the 1912 elections in the United States . A direct effect on the Philippines was
President Woodrow Wilson appointment of Francis Burtin Harrison as governor general of the
Philippines.

The Jones Law of 1916

A very significant step towards self-government and ultimately independence of the

The Jones Act of 1916 gave hope to Filipinos who gained independence once they proved
that they were skilled and capable of governance and independence. The leadership contest
between the Filipinos has intensified due to the presence of various parties and leaders led by
Sergio Osmeña and Manuel Quezon. In the end, the Filipino leaders also agreed to promote
Philippine independence.

On other hand, The Jones Act 1916 gave hope to Filipinos that achieve freedom once
they prove that they are skilled and ability to manage and independence. The leadership contest
among the Filipinos intensified having various parties and leaders led by Sergio Osmeña and
Manuel Quezon. In the end the Filipino leaders also agreed to promote the independence of the
Philippines. So the (Brigandage Act) in 1902 which punished imprisonment or formed an armed
group to prevent resistance to the power of the United States and there was also the Flag Act of
1907 prohibiting the use of any emblem or flag especially the insignia of the Revolution but it
was repealed in 1919. Even the use of the local language or dialect in instruction was banned by
the Philippine Commission. But these conflicts also ended in 1916, enacting the Jones Act which
provided for the existence of the Senate as the Senate to replace the Philippine Commission.

This piece of American legislation was significant to the Filipinos at the time . It
documented the American promise to grant the county its independence as soon as a stable
government could be established. Moreover, Filipinos were given greater participation in
government, something they never enjoyed during Spanish Era. Basically, this law can even be
considered a fundamental charter for the Filipino people as it defined the structure of the
government, the powers and duties of government officials, and provided for a bill of rights for
the people.

Leadership Contest

In the midst of the Filipinos' efforts, the political battle between the Filipinos also
intensified. In 1916, Sergio Osmeña was recognized as the leader of the Partido Nacionalista but
Quezon could not accept him because he was the President of the Senate or the Upper House.
Teodoro Sandico, on the other hand, founded a separate Partido Democrata Nacional, which the
Progressists favored, so the two Parties merged under the Partido Democrata led by Claro M.
Recto, Pio Valenzuela and Jose Alejandro. They became the opposition of the Partido
Nacionalista. But the Filipinos, especially Quezon and Osmeña, still tried to resolve their
conflict. Throughout their conflicts the Consejo Supremo Nacional was still formed to promote
Philippine independence. The Philippine Assembly has enacted many laws for education,
agriculture, transportation and communication but the Philippine Commission as the High House
achieves freedom.

All in all, The Batas Pilipinas 1902 or Batas Cooper set out a provision regarding the
establishment of the Asembleya Filipina so on July 30, 1907 an election of the members of the
Asembleya Filipina took place. It was inaugurated on October 16, 1907 at the Manila Grand
Opera House. Sergio Osmeña Sr. was elected as the speaker and Manuel L. Quezon as the
Leader of the Majority. Apart from the existence of the Filipina Assembly, many other Filipinos
have proven their governance skills. Some of these are the appointment of Gregorio Araneta as
Secretary of Finance and Justice and Cayetano Arellano as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Filipino participation in Local Government and Civil Service also expanded. In 1918, only about
4% or four percent of government positions were held by Americans. Many laws were passed by
the Assembly. The Gabaldon Act 1907 deals with the construction of schools throughout the
Philippines it is the first legislation enacted by the body was the Gabaldon Act which is allocated
one million pesos for the establishments of barrio schools throughout the Philippines. Laws on
the development of the transportation and communication system were also enacted. Laws on
farms such as irrigation and agricultural banks were also enacted. American who is on the
Philippine Commission as the Upper House. Some of these were the repeal of the Sedition Act of
1901 which punished anyone who said or wrote anything against the United States government.