1898-1941

OBJECTIVES:

• To discuss the organic law applied

by the American Law in the

Philippines.

• To give recognize for those Filipino

who sought and fight for the

freedom of the Philippines.

ORGANIC LAWThe fundamental law or constitution of a

particular state or nation, either written or

unwritten, that defines and establishes the

manner in which its government will be

organized.

A basic law for the Insular Government that

was enacted by the United States Congress

on July 1, 1902. It is also known as

the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Cooper

Act, after its author Henry A. Cooper. The

approval of the act coincided with the official

end of the Philippine–American War. The

bill proposed the creation and

administration of a civil government in the

Philippines. President Theodore Roosevelt

signed it into law in July 2, 1902.

Philippine Bill of 1902

Henry A.

Cooper

Here are some of the more important provisions of the Cooper Act:

• Ratification of all changes introduced in the Philippine government by the president

of the U.S., such as the establishment of the Philippine Commission, the office of

the civil governor and the Supreme court

• Extension of the American Bill of Rights to the Filipinos except the right of trial by

jury

• Creation of bicameral legislative body, with the Philippine Commission as the

upper house and a still-to-be-elected Philippine Assembly as the Lower House

• Retention of the executive powers of the civil governor, who was also president of

the Philippine Commission

• Designation of the Philippine Commission as the legislating authority for non-

Christian tribes

• Retention of the Judicial powers of the Supreme court and other lower courts

• Appointment of two Filipino resident commissioners who would represent the

Philippines in the US Congress but would not enjoy voting rights

• Conservation of Philippine natural resources

This act was superseded by the Philippine Autonomy Act, or the Jones Law, enacted on August 29, 1916.

The Jones Law (39 Stat. 545, c. 416), also knownas the Jones Act, the Philippine Autonomy Act,and the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916, wasan Organic Act accepted by the United StatesCongress. The law replaced the Philippine OrganicAct of 1902 and acted like a constitution of thePhilippines from its enactment until 1934 whenthe Tydings–McDuffie Act was passed (which inturn led eventually to the Commonwealth of thePhilippines and to independence from the UnitedStates). The Jones Law created the first fullyelected Philippine legislature.

The Philippine Legislature was the legislative body ofthe Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American Colonial Period.It was a bicameral legislature of the Insular Government and wasestablished by the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. Thelegislature's upper house was the appointed Philippine Commission,headed by the American Governor General (who also served asthe executive), and its lower house was the elected Philippine Assembly.The Jones Law of 1916 abolished the Philippine Commission andreorganized the Philippine Legislature as a fully elected bicamerallegislature composed of a Senate and House of Representatives,precursors to today's Senate of the Philippines and House ofRepresentatives of the Philippines.

The law also changed the Philippine Legislature into the

Philippines' first fully elected body and therefore made it

more autonomous of the U.S. Government. While the

1902 Philippine Organic Act provided for an elected lower

house (the Philippine Assembly), the upper

house (the Philippine Commission) was appointed. The

Jones Law provided for both houses to be elected and

changed the name of the Assembly to the House of

Representatives. The executive branch continued to be

headed by an appointed Governor General of the

Philippines, always an American.

JONES LAW

The law, enacted by the 64th United States Congress on

August 29, 1916, contained the first formal and official

declaration of the United States Federal Government's

commitment to grant independence to the Philippines and

was a framework for a "more autonomous government",

with certain privileges reserved to the United States to

protect its sovereign rights and interests, in preparation for

the grant of independence by the United States. The law

provides that the grant of independence would come only

"as soon as a stable government can be established", which

was to be determined by the United States Government

itself.

The Tydings–McDuffie Act (officially

the Philippine Independence Act; Public Law

73-127) approved on March 24, 1934 was

a United States federal law which provided for

self-government of the Philippines and for

Filipino independence (from the United States)

after a period of twelve years. It was authored

by Maryland Senator Millard E. Tydings and

Alabama Representative John McDuffie.

In 1934, Philippine politician Manuel L.

Quezon headed a "Philippine Independence

mission" to Washington, DC that successfully

secured the act's passage in Congress.

(Tydings-McDuffie Law)The Philippine Independence Act

Sen. Millard

E. Tydings

Sen. John

McDuffie

The Tydings–McDuffie Act provided for the drafting and guidelines of

a Constitution for a 10-year "transitional period" which became the

government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines before the granting

of Philippine independence, during which the US would

maintain military forces in the Philippines. The transition government,

called the Philippine Commonwealth, was democratically-elected and run

by President Manuel Quezon and Vice President Sergio Osmena,

Furthermore, during this period the American President was granted the

power to call into military service all military forces of the Philippine

government. The act permitted the maintenance of US naval bases, within

this region, for two years after independence.

The act reclassified all Filipinos that were living in the United States

as aliens for the purposes of immigration to America. Filipinos were no

longer allowed to work legally in the US, and a quota of 50 immigrants per

year was established.

Furthermore, the Act paved the way for the Filipino Repatriation Act of

1935.

Salient provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Law:

1. The organization of constitutional Convention that draw up the

fundamental law of the land.

2. The election of the leaders of Philippine Commonwealth

3. The recognition of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.

4. The right of United States to establish military bases in the country

5. Granting the United States president the power to call on all military

forces of the Philippines into service.

6. Reclassifying all Filipinos as aliens and limiting immigration to the

United Sates to 50 persons per year.

The Tydings-McDuffie law also specified that the Philippines would

practice neutrality. Meaning, it could not go to war without permission of

the United States except when it had to protect itself.

Filipino who sought

freedom for the Philippines

He is remembered as the "Hero of Tirad

Pass" and to the Americans as an "Officer

and a Gentleman." Pilar, at 24, was the

youngest general in the Revolutionary Army,

who fought bravely against the Americans,

with only 60 men. On December 2, 1899, he

was killed in the Tirad Pass while

commanding Aguinaldo's rearguard. Before

his death, he wrote, "I am surrounded by

fearful odds that will overcome me and my

gallant men, but I am pleased to die fighting

for my beloved country." The Tirad Pass has

been declared a national shrine.

Gregorio Del

Pilar

He is the founder the Katipunan, a secret

organization aimed to overthrow Spanish

sovereignty in the Philippines. Its full name

was Kataas-taasan Kagalang-galangang

Katipunan ng Mga Anak ng Bayan (Highest and

Most Respected Association of the Sons of the

Country), and was known by its

intitials K.K.K. Bonifacio is also known as the

"Great Plebian." He and Emilio Jacinto issued

stirring literature to arouse people to revolt against

the Spaniards. On August 23, 1896, Bonifacio

assembled his men at Balintawak, tore their

cedulas (poll tax), and declared the start of

rebellion. However, a conflict of leadership

developed between he and Emilio Aguinaldo, who

was leading the struggle in his home province of

Cavite. After this power struggle, on May 10, 1897,

Bonifacio was shot and killed in Cavite.

Emilio

Aguinaldo

She is a famous heroine in Philippine

history. She was married to Fulgencio

Ramos with whom she had six children. In

1896, the Katipuneros of Andres

Bonifacio declared war on her land against

the Spaniards. Secret meeting of the

Katipuneros were held at her house, and

she tended Filipinos who managed to

escape by dressing their wounds, feeding

them, and hiding them from the

Spaniards. Soon, the Spaniards learned

about her cause and the underground

meetings, and she was exiled

to Marianas along with 171 Filipinos charged

with rebellion. In 1903, she came back

under the American regime. On March 2,

1919, she died, at the age of 107. She was

called the "Mother of the Philippine

Melchora

Aquino

Mabini served as General Emilio

Aguinaldo's adviser. He advised

Aguinaldo to change the dictatorial form

of government to revolutionary. He

organized the municipalities, and

provinces, and the judiciary and the

police forces, and formulated army

regulations. When the revolutionary

congress convened at Barasoain,

Malolos, Bulacan, he was Aguinaldo's

Prime Minister.

He helped outline the Malolos

constitution. Hence, he was aptly called

the "Brains of the Revolution” and

“Sublime Paralytic”. He continued writing

articles advocating for reforms while in

hiding, but was captured by the

Americans on September 10, 1899.

Apolinario

Mabini

The three priests, all graduates of the

University of Sto. Tomas, were brilliant men

who used their education to fight for

reforms to break the 300 year old

dominance of the Spanish government.

They headed the secularization movement

which alleviated the plight of Filipino priests

by insisting on the prior right of the native

secular clergy to assignment in parishes

over that of the friars newly arrived from

Spain. Burgos, the youngest and most

brilliant of the three, was especially

vulnerable in this regard since he was the

synodal examiner of parish priests. He got

into a tiff more than once with then

Archbishop of Manila Gregorio Martinez in

this regard.

It was after the execution of

Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose

Apolonio Burgos and Jacinto

Zamora on February 17, 1873

that this needed impetus to

fight for freedom came.

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (November

30, 1863 – May 10, 1897) was a Filipino

revolutionary leader and one of the main

leaders of the

Philippine Revolution against Spanish

colonial rule in the late 19th century. He

is regarded as the "Father of the

Philippine Revolution" and one of the

most influential national heroes of

his country. A Freemason, Bonifacio was

the leading founder of the Katipunan

organization which aimed to start an

independence movement against Spain.

Andres Bonifacio

Jose Rizal, our national hero, was born in Calamba,

Laguna. His parents were Francisco Mercado

Rizal and Teodora Alonso. He was educated in

Europe and obtained his license in ophthalmology

and philosophy in France. He wrote Noli Me Tangere

(Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Rebel) in

Europe, which told about the oppression of Spanish

colonial rule. In 1892, when Rizal returned to the

Philippines, he formed La Liga Filipina, a forum for

Filipinos to express their hopes for reform and

freedom from the oppressive Spanish colonial

administration. He was arrested as a revolutionary

and was exiled in Dapitan, Mindanao. His writings

and La Liga Filipina were banned. Later, he was

imprisoned in Fort Santiago, Manila after a trial.

On December 30, 1896, he was executed by a firing

squad at Bagumbayan, now known as Luneta, in

Manila for spreading ideals of revolution.

Jose Rizal