Module 2A: The Road To Freedom and The Commonwealth Government in The Philippines

Module 2A
The Road to Freedom and the

Commonwealth Government
in the Philippines
My learning targets
• Identify the important events related to the

gradual transfer of power to the Filipinos to-
wards independence(AP6KDP-IId-3)
• Identify the highlights of each even that led to

the gradual transfer of governance to the Fili-
pinos.
• Evaluate the contributions of the Common-

wealth government (AP6KDP-IId-4)
• Discuss the programs and policies of the Com- Name: _____________________________________

monwealth government during the period Grade and Section: ___________________________
1
Figure This Out!
Upon the Americans’ establishment of the civil government, the Filipino citizens were granted rights.
Among these were the Filipinos rights to participate more immensely in the government of the Philippines. By
appointing Filipinos to different government positions, they were given a chance to train for leadership.
During this time, the Americans implemented policies that granted the following rights to the Filipinos:
• granting the Filipinos the rights similar to the Americans
• use of the English language as the medium of communication; and
• Implementation of policies for the benefit of the Filipinos.
Philippine Bill of 1902

The first law passed by the US Congress that served as the basis for the administration of the Philip-
pines was the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 or the Philippine Bill of 1902. This was the first formal docu-
ment stating that the US policy in the Philippines as its territory.
The author of the bill was American lawmaker Henry Allen Cooper; hence it was also called as the
Cooper Act. This law was ratified on July 1, 1902.
The American Bill of 1902 is considered as the first step toward the Americans’ granting the opportuni-
ty of self-governance to the Filipinos. Among the provisions of the law are the following:
• induction of the civil government in the Philippines;

• retention of the executive power of the Philippine Commission, which serves as the upper house
of the legislative branch
• establishment of the National Assembly, which is comprised of elected Filipino officials and will
serve as the upper house of the legislative branch;
• sending of two Filipino representatives to the US Congress who, despite having the right to par-
ticipate in the sessions, will have no right to vote for the passage of any law; and
• drafting of a collection of rights for the Filipinos. Among the rights provided for by the Philippine
Bill of 1902 are the right to life, right to own property and the right to expression.
2
Jones Law of 1916
American lawmaker William Atkinson Jones authored the provision of the Philippine Autonomy Act
or the Jones Law that stated that the PHILIPPINES WILL BE GRANTED INDEPENDENCE WHEN IT HAS A
STABLE GOVERNMENT.
According to the preamble of the Jones Law, the US will relinquish it sovereignty over the Philippines
and recognize the independence of the Filipinos once the Philippines has a stable government.
Another important provision of the Jones Law is the establishment of the legislative branch of two
chambers— the Senate and the House of Representatives. The senate will be compose of 24 elected
members, and 80 members will be from the House of representatives. Two sena-
tors will be appointed by the governor general to represent the non-Christian Fili-
pinos.
Despite the first law to provide the promise of independence, the Jones Law
did not indicate when the independence would be granted.
William Atkinson Jones
Independence Missions
Among the steps implemented toward independence was the creation of a Commission of Independ-
ence on November 7, 1918. It was the missions duty to investigate the recommendations regarding the next
step the Philippines must take toward independence from the United States.
Starting from 1919, the Philippines sent missions to the US to campaign for Philippine independence,
first of which was the Independence mission of 1919 led by Manuel Quezon. Despite expressing the Philip-
pines’ readiness for independence, Quezon’s mission was not successful.
In 1921, US sent a fact-finding commission to investigate the readiness of the Philippines for independ-
ence. It was called the Wood-Forbes Mission, led by William Cameron Forbes and Leonard Wood. Based on
their investigation, the Philippines was apparently not prepared for independence.
In 1931, the Os-Rox Mission was sent to the US under the leadership of Sergio Osmena and Manuel
Roxas. The Os-Rox Mission was fruitful and it remained in the US until 1933.
At that time, the US was faced wit the Great Depression, an economic crisis that affected not only the
US, but also other countries with economic connections to the US. As a result, some American businessmen
viewed the Philippines as competition for American products and manpower.
The Os-Rox Mission ended in 1933. Although failing to achieve Philippine independence from the US,
the mission paved the way for ratification of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act Law.
3
Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act
In recognition of the Filipinos’ effort towards gaining independence, the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act was
ratified into a law on January 17, 1933. This law provides for the granting of Philippine Independence after a
ten-year transition period or training of governance. It was also the first law that set the date of the Philip-
pine Independence of the Philippines from American rule on July 4, 1946.
The Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act was drafted by Butler Hare, representative of South Carolina; Harry
Bartow, a senator from Missouri; and Bronson Cutting, a senator from New Mexico. Among the provisions of
the law are the following:
• establishment of a Constitutional Convention

• granting the US president with the power to approve of the changes in the Constitution (despite
granting the Filipinos with autonomy);
• election of Filipino officials who will lead the transitional government which will be called as the
PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH;
• granting of Philippine Independence after a ten-year transition period;

• granting the US the power to maintain military bases in the Philippines; and
• freedom of American products to enter the Philippine market, while setting quota for Filipino
products.
Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934
From 1933 to 1934, Quezon carried out an independence mission which aimed to oppose the Hare-
Hawes-Cutting Act. Quezon considered the law unacceptable because, according to him, the law was ambig-
uous and the provisions of the law favored the US more than the Philippines.
Among the provisions that Quezon’s Independent mission opposed were the maintenance of the US
military bases in the Philippines; the uncertain powers possessed by the High Commissioner to be appointed
to the Philippines; and the limitations regarding the entry of the Filipinos to the US.
Osmena went to the US and got in touch with Senator Millard Tydings and Representative John
McDuffie, leading the creation of the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934—also known as the Philippine Independ-
ence Law. US President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Tydings-McDuffie Act into a law on March 24, 1934. It
was ratified in the Philippine Senate on May 1, 1934.
This law shared similarities with the first version f the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, save for a provision of
the maintenance of the US military bases in the Philippines. In the new law, the agreement regarding the
military bases was limited to include only the maintenance of ports for naval forces and stations for fueling.
Despite the Tydings-McDuffie Act apparent similarities with the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, Quezon gaind
prominence in bringing the law home to the Philippines.
4
Name:_______________________________________ Date: __________________________
What I Have Learned
Encircle the letter that corresponds to the correct answer.
1. The first organic act of the Philippines was the _____________________________.

a. Jones Law b. Philippine Bill of 1902 c. Tydings-McDuffie Act d. Hare-Hawes Cutting Act
2. The first official promise of the Philippines in independence was provided in the __________________.
3. The provision for giving the Philippines a ten-year transitional period towards independence was stat-
ed in the ____________________.
4. The provision that states the establishment of the Philippine Commission can be found in the _______
5. The Tydings-McDuffie Act was signed in _________________.
a. 1934 b. 1936 c. 1944 d. 1946
6. One of the provisions of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act which Quezon opposed as the _______________
a. suffrage among the youth c. establishment of the Supreme Court
b. maintenance of military bases d. appointment of two Filipinos in the US Congress
7. The following were the Filipinos who took part of the independence missions, except for ___________
a. Manuel Roxas b. Sergio Osmena c. Manuel Quezon d. Claro M. Recto.
8. The independence law that Quezon opposed was the ______________________.
9. The transitional government of the US in the Philippines was called the ______________________
a. Philippine Assembly b. Philippine Commission c. Philippine Commonwealth d. None of these
10. The transitional government in the Philippines as inaugurated on ______________________.
a. March 24, 1924 b. July 4, 1934 c. November 15, 1935 d. July 4, 1946
5
B. True or False. Write T on the blank if the statement is true, and F if it states otherwise.
_________ 1. Emilio Aguinaldo was sent for the Philippines’ first independence mission.
_________ 2. The law that set the official date of the Philippine independence was signed by William
Howard Taft in 1934.
_________ 3. Manuel Quezon became the first president of the Philippine Republic.
_________ 4. The Filipinos paid a large amount of money to achieve independence.
_________ 5. It was said that the Great Depression in the US played an important role in the decision
to implement the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act.
What I Think
1. Do you agree with the Americans’ imposition of a ten –year transition period to prepare the Philip
pines for Philippine independence? Explain your answer. (10 Points)
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Was the sending of the independence missions enough to show the Americans that Filipinos’ desire
independence? What else could have been done to hasten the achievement of independence? (10
points)
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

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Module 2A

The Road to Freedom and the

• Identify the important events related to the

• Identify the highlights of each even that led to

• Evaluate the contributions of the Common-

• Discuss the programs and policies of the Com- Name: _____________________________________

Philippine Bill of 1902

• induction of the civil government in the Philippines;

• establishment of a Constitutional Convention

• granting of Philippine Independence after a ten-year transition period;

Encircle the letter that corresponds to the correct answer.

1. The first organic act of the Philippines was the _____________________________.

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