Spanish Colonial Government
Spanish Colonial Government
Spanish Colonial Government
Amidst this sad state of affairs, the third commonwealth elections were held on
April 23, 1946. Sergio Osmeña and Manuel Roxas vied for the Presidency.
Roxas won thus becoming the last president of the Philippine Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth era formally ended when the United States granted
independence to the Philippines, as scheduled on July 4, 1946.
Important legislations and events during the American period that made the
Philippines a commonwealth of the United States:
United States Congressman Henry Allen Cooper sponsored the Philippine Bill
of 1902, also known as the Cooper Act. The bill proposed the creation and
administration of a civilgovernment in the Philippines. President Theodore
Roosevelt signed it into law in July 2, 1902.
Here are some of the more important provisions of the Cooper Act:
The bill contained 3 provisions that had to be fulfilled first before the Philippine
Assembly could be establishing these were the:
Resident Commissioners
Benito Legarda and Pablo Ocampo were the first commissioners. Other
Filipinos who occupied this position included Manuel Quezon, Jaime de Veyra,
Teodoro Yangco, Isaro Gabaldon, and Camilo Osias.
The Council held meetings once a week and whenever the governor general
called for one. It was composed of the governor general, the department secretaries,
the speaker of the Lower House, and the Senate president. During Harrison’s term,
the executive and legislative branches of government worked harmoniously with each
other.
One delegation, however, that met with partial success was the Os-Rox
Mission, so called because it was headed by Sergio Osmeña and Manuel Roxas. The
Os-Rox group went to the United States in 1931 and was able to influence the U.S.
Congress to pass a pro-independence bill by Representative Butter Hare, Senator
Henry Hawes, and Senator Bronso Cutting. The Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law provided
for a 10-year transition period before the United States would recognize Philippine
independence. U.S. President Herbert Hooverdid not sign the bill; but both Houses of
Congress ratified it. When the Os-Rox Mission presented the Hare-Hawes-Cutting
Law to the Philippine Legislature, it was rejected by a the American High
Commissioner representing the US president in the country and the Philippine Senate,
specifically the provision that gave the U.S. president the right to maintain land and
other properties reserved for military use. Manuel Quezon was tasked to head another
independence mission to the united States.
In December 1933, Manuel L. Quezon returned to the Philippines from the United
States with a slightly amended version of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting bill authored by
Senator Milliard Tydings and representative McDuffie. President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, the new U.S. president, signed it into law on March 24, 1934. The Tydings-
McDuffie Act (officially the Philippine Independence Act of the United States Congress;
Public Law 73-127) or more popularly known as the The Tydings-McDuffie Law
provided for the establishment of the Commonwealth government for a period of ten
years preparatory to the granting of Independence. See the full text of the Tydings-
McDuffie Law or Continue to Japanese Occupation, Allied Liberation.
Republic of the Philippines
Central Mindanao University
University Town, Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon
COLLEGE OF NURSING
HISTORY 11
NURSING
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