What is Commonwealth• Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political

community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republicanism".

• The Commonwealth of the Philippines (Tagalog: Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative

body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 to 1945 when Japan occupied the country. It replaced the Insular Government, a United States territorial government, and was established by the Tydings –McDuffie Act. The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence.

Manuel Luis Molina Quezon2,000,000 likes

•Born on August 19, 1878 in Baler, Aurora, Philippines •known as the "Father of the Philippine Republic" and the "Father of the Philippine National Language• also called the “Father of Philippine Independence”

In 1899, Quezón cut short his law studies at the University of Santo Tomás in Manila to participate in the struggle for independence against the United States, led by Emilio Aguinaldo. During the Philippine-American War he was an ayuda-de-campo to Emilio Aguinaldo. He rose to the rank of Major and fought in the Bataan sector. However, after surrendering in 1900 wherein he made his first break in the American press, Quezón returned to the university and passed the bar examinations in 1903, achieving fourth place.

Quezón was married to his first cousin, Aurora Aragón Quezón, on December 17, 1918. The couple had four children: María Aurora "Baby" Quezón (1919–1949), María Zeneida "Nini" Quezón-Avancena (born 1921), Luisa Corazón Paz "Nenita" Quezón (1923–1923) and Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezón, Jr. (1926–1998). His grandson, Manuel L. "Manolo" Quezón III (born 1970), a prominent writer and current undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, was named after him.

", he was the first Filipino president of the Commonwealth of the

Philippines under U.S. rule in the early 20th century. However, he is considered by most Filipinos as the

second President after Emilio Aguinaldo, whose República

Filipina did not receive international recognition at the time and who

therefore was not considered the first Philippine president by the

United States.

Malacanan Palace, Philippines

• During his presidency, Quezón tackled the problem of landless peasants in the countryside. Other major decisions include reorganization of the islands' military defense, approval of recommendation for government reorganization, promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, dealing with the foreign stranglehold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform, and opposing graft and corruption within the government. He established an exiled government in the U.S. with the outbreak of the war and the threat of Japanese invasion.

LAWRENCE B. DUQUE

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 Malacañan Palace.

LAWRENCE B. DUQUE

Manuel L. Quezon

Pres. Manuel L. Quezon

• Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and his running mate Senate President pro tempore Sergio Osmeña 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.

• 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.

Vice-Pres. Sergio Osmeña

Priorities• 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.

Many of today’s institutions in our government trace their origins to the Commonwealth.

• These includes; Executive Office (1935)Court of Appeals (1935)Philippine Charity Sweepstakes OfficeKomisyon 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

Other Implimentations

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)

1935 Constitutions

• 1935 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Preamble

The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a government that shall

embody their ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to

themselves and their posterity the blessings of independence under a regime of justice, liberty, and

democracy, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.

Articles under 1935 Constitution• ARTICLE I: The National Territory• ARTICLE II: Declaration of Principles• ARTICLE III: Bill of Rights• ARTICLE IV: Citizenship• ARTICLE V: Suffrage• ARTICLE VI: Legislative Department• ARTICLE VII: Executive Department• ARTICLE VIII: Judicial Department• ARTICLE IX: Impeachment• ARTICLE X: Commission on Elections

Other articles in 1935 Constitution• ARTICLE X: Commission on Elections• ARTICLE XI: General Auditing Office• ARTICLE XII: Civil Service• ARTICLE XIII: Conservation and Utilization of Natural Resources• ARTICLE XIV: General Provisions• ARTICLE XV: Amendments• ARTICLE XVI: Transitory Provisions• ARTICLE XVII: Special Provisions Effective upon the

Proclamation of the Independence of the Philippines

ARTICLE XVIII: The Commonwealth and the Republic

• ORDINANCE APPENDED TO THE 1935 CONSTITUTION

Not with standing the provisions of section one, Article Thirteen, and section eight, Article Fourteen, of the foregoing Constitution, during the effectivity of the Executive Agreement entered into by the President of the Philippines with the President of the United States on the fourth of July, nineteen hundred and forty-six, pursuant to the provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered Seven hundred and thirty-three, but in no case to extend beyond the third of July, nineteen hundred and seventy-four, the disposition, exploitation, development, and utilization of all agricultural, timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, and other natural resources of the Philippines, and the operation of public utilities, if open to any person, be open to citizens of the United States and to all forms of business enterprises owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by citizens of the United States in the same manner as to, and under the same conditions imposed upon, citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations owned or controlled by citizens of the Philippines.

[The 1935 Constitution was ratified on May 14, 1935].

A Message of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon

Guide Questions

o1. Explain the legacy given by Quezon during his term of Presidency?

o2. What are the important details/message of Manuel L. Quezon stated in the clips?

o3. Describe the privileges and life of Filipinos during the Commonwealth Period in the Philippines.

PREPARED BY: MR. LAWRENCE B. DUQUE