TRANSITION TO INDEPENDENCE: THE COMMONWEALTH

May 1, 1932 - The Philippine legislature unanimously accepted the Tydings-McDuffie Act.

THE FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION

July 10, 1934 - In accordance with the provisions of the independence act, the Filipinos elected 202 delegations to a constitutional convention tasked with the drafting of a Philippine constitution. July 30 - The following were elected as officials of the constitutional convention: President: Claro M. Recto First Vice- President: Ruperto Montinola Second Vice-President: Teodoro Sandiko Secretary: Narciso Pimentel - Seven wise men (a committee of seven who prepared a draft of the constitution.) Chairman: Filemon Sotto + Norberto Romualdez + Manuel Roxas + Vicente Singson Encarnacion + Manuel C. Briones + Miguel Cuaderno + Conrado Benitez (replaced Jose P. Laurel) The Philippine Constitution followed the American model in structure and formal appearance, except for a unicameral legislature and a unitary system of government. The framers of the constitution were beneficiaries of the American system of education and were familiar with American political concepts of democracy and government. The Constitution reflected cultural values unique in the Philippine tradition, such as the principle of state supremacy over the individual and the exaltation of authority.

 The Constitution vested extraordinary constitutional powers in the president, including an item veto over appropriation, revenue, and tariff bills and conditional powers over trade and tariff. February 8, 1935 - The constitutional convention approved the constitution. March 23 - President Roosevelt approved the constitution. May 14, 1935 - A pebliscite ratified the constitution ratified the constitution. September 1935 - Nacionalista Party won overwhelmingly over its rivals. November 15, 1935 - The commonwealth of the Philippines was inaugurated with Manuel L. Quezon as President and Sergio Osmea as Vice-President, at a time when the Italians were bombing Ethiopia, the Japanese were invading China, and Hitler had risen to power with the Third Reich. - Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmea, along with 98 members of the unicameral National Assembly, was sworn into office amidst a crowd of about half a million people packed at the Sunken Garden. In Quezons iaugural address he predicted that the commonwealths life could be one of hardships and sacrifices, but he hoped this would not be the case.

THE SAKDAL UPRISING

May 2-3, 1935 - 65,000 partially armed peasants shattered the tranquility of the countryside surrounding Manila. Between sunset and sunrise, peasant bands seized 3 communities and threatened ten others in Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite. - Hard-pressed constabulary units from the provinces and Manila fought with Sakdalistas equipped with a motley array of weapons. There were persistent reports of an impending attack on Manila and recurrent and disturbing rumors of Japanese aircraft bringing in arms and ammunition for rebels. - Starting as anti-quezon, anti-nacionalista crusade, the Skdalistas fiery leader, Benigno Ramos, became the persecuted spokesman for the oppressed masses.

 The Sakdalistas accused the Nacionalistas of hypocrisy on the issue of independence and promised that Ramos would acquire complete and absolute independence for the Philippines by December 31, 1935. The Sakdalistas also promised that the Sakdal party would abolish all taxes when it acquired control of the government. The Sakdalistas called for equal or common ownership of land and proclaimed that all large holdings would be divided and distributed to the poor. The Sakdalistas also attacked the religious orders for operating vast estates and amassing wealth through dishonest means. The Sakdal uprising demonstrated the extent of discontent in the provinces and the effectiveness of Sakdal appeal to address grievances which had plagued the common tao for generations. Movements led by self-styled messiahs, secret societies in the revolutionary tradition, and old organizations such as the pulanes and colorums erupted not only in Luzon but also in the Visayas and in Mindanao. 1923 - The colorums of Surigao 1927 - Florencio Intrencherado in the Visayas. 1931 - The colorums in Tayug, Pangasinan. November 7, 1930 - The Communist Party of the Philippines was formally established. 1930 - The Communist Party of the Philippines had been declared an illegal organization, thus ending the legal life of the CPP. Quezons primary concern as the first president of his country experimenting with a transition period of self-rule prior to complete independence in 1946, was to lay a secure foundation for a new Philippines. He sought the formulation of policies to ensure the security and well-being of all Filipinos, as well as the adjustment of the national economy to face the challenge of independence.

NATIONAL SECURITY AND NATIONAL DEFENSE

The National Assembly enacted Commonwealth Act No. 1 The National Defense Act to underscore the urgency of providing an adequate defense system for an independent Philippines. To set up the Philippine defense system President Quezon secured the services of General Douglas McArthur, retired Chief of Staff of the US Army, on whom he conferred the title of Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. The defense plan envisioned organization of a citizen army to consist of @ components: 1. A regular force of about 10,00 men, including the Philippine Constabulary 2. A reserve force to number 400,000 by the end of the 10-year period through a continuous program of training 21-year old able-bodied men for a period of 5 months. The preparatory military training (PMT) would be given in the elementary, high school and college levels to supplement the regular training program. The defense plan also included the establishment of a modest Philippine navy to consist of 50-100 torpedo boats to be used primarily for off-shore patrol. An Army Air Corps would be composed of a fleet of fast bomber planes. Budgetary Constraints and the urgency of other important concerns, such as education, health and public works, necessarily limited the capacity of General Mac Arthur to see his program through.

THE SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM

The constitution of 1935 mandated that the promotion of social justice to insure the well-being and economic security of all the people should be concern of the state. 2 important fronts, reforms were instituted: 1. Labor - Commonwealth Act No. 211 established a minimum wage for laborers employed in public works projects. - The eight-hour labor was passed applicable to persons employed in any public or private industry or occupation.

- Commonwealth act No. 213 sought to recognize, define, and regulate legitimate labor disputes. - A Court of Industrial Relations was established to settle between employers and laborers questions involving hours of labor, minimum wages, working conditions and other matters affecting their relations. 2. Tenancy - Quezon emphasized that social justice required that the government respect the right of owners to their property and that of the landed to their land. December 1935 - The National Rice and Corn Corporation was created to stabilize the price of rice with the aim of protecting producer and consumer and to serve as an agency of the government to meet local or national emergencies in case of rice shortage. A National Sugar Board was likewise created to conduct a survey of the sugar industry and to assist the government in its efforts to solve the social problems confronting the country. To avert the possibility of the monopoly of land by a few, an Agricultural and Industrial Bank and farmer cooperatives were established to afford easier terms in applying for and acquiring homesteads and other farm lands. January 1938 - National Relief Administration was created to coordinate under its sole management the different relief activities of the government with those being undertaken by private relief institutions. Caciques, fearing that their days of power and wealth were numbered, organized landlord associations, private armies and cooperative efforts to restrict the activities of peasant movements. Provincial councils passed laws to restrict peasant political activity and hacenderos did everything in their power to strengthen municipal law enforcement agencies in their favor. March 1939 - The Rural Progress Administration was created to improve the lot of the masses of Filipinos to correct the injustices they have suffered through the years.

 1940 - The whole of Central Luzon was in turmoil there was widespread peasant unrest there and in the Visayas and activist peasant organizations demanded relief from feudal conditions of share tenancy, usury, and deprivation of civil and political rights.

EDUCATION DURING THE COMMONWEALTH

Social justice was also linked to the need to improve the skills, productivity and development of the human resources of the nation. The Commonwealth government placed a high premium on the promotion of democratization of educational opportunities, working on the assumption that education of the citizenry was crucial in the success of democratic selfgovernment in the Philippines. Quezon emphasized that one of his goals would be to eradicate illiteracy by giving every Filipino child at least a modern elementary education so that in time a body of trained and educated citizens might provide the leadership of the future nation. 1936 - To overseen the reform of the educational system to make it better conform to the requirements of their new political status and the future of the country, a National Council of Education was created, chaired by Rafael Palma, and Vice-President Osmea headed the Department of Education, the first time a Filipino assumed that position. The objective of universal primary education was not attained. The rate of population increase just could not keep up with the facilities. - 1935 1,229,242 children were enrolled in public schools. - 1939 1,961,861 ere enrolled. - Only 45 % of children of school age were enrolled in public schools. 1938 - The Bureau of Education started a program of publishing basic texts in language and reading for all elementary grades. The idea was to produce textbooks better adapted to the interests of the Filipino child more interpretative of the national spirit and the desires of the people.

 By 1940 - Quezon realized that the system of elementary instruction in the schools had yet to be adapted to the needs of Filipino Society. - All school children were required to take some vocational courses that required them to work with their hands basket-making, carpentry, blacksmithing, gardening, raising stock, sewing, cooking, housekeeping, and, etc. - In general vocational schools did not become popular as most Filipino families preferred academic schooling for 2 reasons: 1. The difficulty of finding employment in the vocations 2. Manual labor, even of the skilled varieties, was not held in high esteem. The Commonwealth government also provided for adult education. 1939 - Nearly of the population over 10-years of age were reported illiterate The objectives of adult education, supervised by the Office of Adult Education of the Department of Public Instruction, were to eliminate illiteracy and to give vocational and citizenship training. By 1940 - More than 6,000 adult schools had been established, manned by some 50,000 volunteers devoted to the campaign against illiteracy.

THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE

Article 2 of the Constitution directed the National Assembly to take steps toward the development and adoption of a common language based on one of the existing native languages. November 13, 1936 - The National Assembly enacted Commonwealth Act No. 184 establishing the Institute of National Language tasked to study the different Philippine languages for the purpose of evolving and adopting a national language. November 9, 1937 The Institute of National Language recommended the adoption of Tagalog as the basis of national language.

 December 30 - Quezon proclaimed the language based on Tagalog as the countrys national language. April 1940 - Quezon authorized the printing of a dictionary and grammar prepared by the Institute. June 19, 1940 - The national language was ordered taught in all schools in the Philippines. Through Commonwealth Act No. 570, the National Assembly declared that the Tagalog based national language would become one of the official languages of the country effective upon independence on July 4, 1946.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The other major concern of the Commonwealth Government was economic development. The economic trend during the Commonwealth period was slow and uneven development. There were sectors that were strong and well-developed. Agriculture was the most important sector of the Philippine economy, providing employment for 65% of the labor force and contributing about 40% of the national income and 75% of the value of exports. The emphasis on production for the export market was so great that the Philippines, potentially one of the great food-surplus-producing areas in Asia, became one of the major food deficit areas.

TRADE RELATIONS WITH THE U.S

The most pressing economic problem involved trade relations with the U.S. In the years before the establishment of the Commonwealth, Philippine economy had become tied to the American market. 1930s - Sales of Philippine products to the U.S increased enormously because of free trade while sales to foreign countries had become less than what they were at the beginning of the decade. 1909

- The principal exports of the Philippines entered the American market practically free and were limited only by congressionally set quotas and a fairly small processing tax which was returned to the Philippine government. Under the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, this arrangement was to continue for 5 years, then for 5 years 5% of the appropriate tariffs would be levied each year against Philippine products so that in the last year of the Commonwealth, in 1945-1946, 25% of the American tariff would be in force on each item entering the U.S. With complete independence in 1946, a brutal leap to full ariff would be applied to Philippine exports to the U.S. During the 10-year transition period there would be no reciprocal limits or duties on American products entering the Philippines a shocking inequality, as some would say. An appalling indifference to Philippine welfare, overshadowed the nobility of the political provisions of the Tydings-Mcduffie Act. The strong trend toward the growth of the export economy during the American occupation had some serious effects on the socio-economic situation of the country. - The granting of free trade preferences to Philippine exports after 1909 stimulated the production of cash crops for export to the U.S. At the same time, it gave to American manufactured imports a competitive advantage which led to the decline of Philippine handicrafts, an important element in the agricultural economy. This led to the emergence of a colonial type national economy, heavily dependent on agricultural raw material exports and on manufactured and processed goods as well as food imports. Once the Tydings-McDuffie Act became law, American and Filipino businessmen continuously pointed out that the 10-year transition period was too short to permit the necessary basic restructuring of the Philippine economy develop alternative sources of revenue, diversity agricultural production and seek a new market outlets for Philippine products. April 1937 - A Joint Preparatory Committee for Philippine Affairs proceeded to study the economic question, with aim of softening and stretching the period of economic adjustment. - The committee recommended that upon independence, instead of the brutal leap to complete separation, there would begin a 15-year period

in which decreasing duty-free quotas would be substituted for increasing export taxes on most products. - American products entering the Philippines were to be subject to reciprocal tariff, likewise graduating toward 100%. August 1940 - The Philippine Economic Adjustment Act was passed, which remove the increase in export tax which would have been applied from 1949 on Philippine coconut oil, cigars, embroideries and pearly buttons exported to the U.S, substituting instead a declining duty-free quota for each products.

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE RE-EXAMINED

1937 - Quezon stated that he wanted the date of Philippine independence advanced to late 1928 or 1939. - Quezon worried about congressional tinkering with the Tydings-Mcduffie Act and felt that Philippine-American relations would be best stabilized by a treaty between two sovereign powers. - Quezons attempts to secure beneficial modifications of the TydingsMcDuffie Act gave widespread publicity to the economic realities facing the Philippines that it would be better for the U.S to retain the Philippines indefinitely If the U.S would have them. The re-examination of Philippine independence was not received well by the Filipinos, so Quezon backed off from suggestions for postponement or abandonment of independence in 1946. The commonwealth period enjoyed one of the earliest, genuine possibilities for economic decolonization, but in those years, from 1935 to the outbreak of the war in 1941, there was little economic development externally stimulated or domestically sought. 1940 - The colonial type export-import economy had developed to such a degree that the proceeds from the agricultural export crops amounted to approximately 1/3 of the national income.

ALIEN CONTROL OF THE ECONOMY

Aside of Americans, the Chinese and Japanese also exercised tremendous control over certain sectors of the economy. The facilities directed and financed the production of rice and other staples, as well as tobacco, hemp and copra. They also invested in the logging and timber industry, manufacturing, banking and real state. Japanese activity in the Philippines increased with the inauguration of the Commonwealth and the waning of Depression. 1934 - The Japanese displaced the U.S as the chief seller of cotton piece goods in the Philippines. - Japanese immigrants exceeded the Chinese. They were very evident in Manila, and Davao was practically a Japanese colony. May 1939 - Anti-Dummy Law was passes which punished Filipinos who allowed themselves to be used a dummies or fronts by alien businessmen and investors. May 1940 - Immigration Law limited to 500 the number of quota immigrants permitted annually to enter the Philippines. The National Economic Protectionism Association (NEPA) developed Filipino preference for products grown or produced in the Philippines, thus making them less dependent on American goods. 1936 - The Manila Trading Center distributed products to more than 400 small manufacturers and merchants through the Manila Carnival, provincial and municipal fairs and expositions, and provincial trading centers. 1938 - The Key to Economic Nationalism or KENA concept was launched aimed at promoting Filipino participation in domestic trade and commerce and Filipino were urged to patronize home-made products and protect Filipino distributors and retailers. Large tracts of land were opened as colonization sites for settlement projects, in Cotobato, Agusan and Davao.

 Quezon stressed that one of the aims of his administration was to grant Filipinos every facility that they needed to acquire an increasing share in business and economic activities. Aside from the problem areas, the Commonwealth government also turned its attention to the development of the total economy. Quezon promised to promote economic development, in particular, the establishment of basic industries and other industries, not only to provide employment but also to bring the country closer to economic sufficiency. Quezon He also pledge to aid agriculture, promote cooperatives, effect a coordination of transportation, suppress cut-throat competition, ensure that the rates charged by public utilities were reasonable, to reduce the interest rate and provide tariff protection for local industries. Small industries to supply the domestic market were also encouraged, such as cotton spinning, soap-making and production of foodstuffs. Industrialization, which was at an extremely low level, was attempted, for it was thought that it would raise the standard of living of the people if prices of several necessities were reduced and it would help secure for Filipinos the wages and profits which were going to American factory-owners and workers. To overcome the problems which hindered extensive industrialization, the government, through the National Power Corporation, exploited the hydroelectric resources of the country (such as the Caliraya River Project), undertook research and development of some industries to determine what would be profitable, and extended transportation and communication facilities. March 1936 - National Economic Council was created to direct the economic activities of the commonwealth.

PARTYLESS DEMOCRACY
The Philippine Commonwealth was Quezon government, with Quezon clearly dominating political life (sometimes even shrewdly administering by radiophone from halfway around the world!) and the National Assembly almost dynamic personality of the pre era and exemplified the modern lawyer-politician so characteristic of the political leadership of contemporary Philippines. During the Commonwealth, a system of clientelist politics that had been evolving for almost half a century was institutionalized and perfected. As Commonwealth President, Quezon perfected a patronage system he had used as Senate President (from 1916-1935) to established his dominance over Philippine politics. Quezon devoted considerable energies to the mastery of provincial rivalries through intervention and manipulation of the disposition of patronage. 1941 - On the eve of the war, Quezon had eliminated all elite opposition within and without the Nacionalista Party and could announce a theory of partyless democracy. Opposition parties and individual liberties were to democratic fetishes that must be discarded, he intoned. The American High Commissioner worried that the constitutional amendment permitting the president two four-year terms, instead of one six-year term, was an exceeding danger to democracy, opening the way to indefinite incumbency and dictatorship. The Commonwealth era had been stagnant; the post-war years of Republic were the true years of transition to independence. On the eve of the war, there were serious concerns that the transition period would not be long enough to prepare the country for independence. The crushing inequality of wealth and power, which antedated the American period, was neither removed nor reduced. While the American colonial regime might be blamed for its failure to address some of these problems, it is equally significant to point out that legislative power was in Filipino hands as early as 1916 and executive power as early as 1935.

 The outbreak of the war in 1941 derailed Filipino preparations for independence.