Philippine

Cartoons:Political

Caricatures of the

American Era

BARAWED * BELEGAÑO * BERSALONA * BONOS * BUENCONSEJO

A picture, description, or
imitation of a person in which
certain striking characteristic
are exaggerated in order to
create a comic or grotesque
effect
What is a caricature?
 Alfred McCoy
A professor of the South East Asian History
at the University of Wisconsin at Madison
where he also serves as director of the
Center for South East Asian studies

After earning Ph.D. in Southeast Asian

History at Yale, the writing of McCoy
focused on two topics:
i. Philippine Political History
ii. Global Opium Trafficking
 Background of the Author

McCoy has spent the past thirty years writing

about SouthEast Asian history and politics

Philippines became his major focus of his

researches

His publications include Philippine Cartoons

(1900-1941), Anarchy of Families (1994), Lives at
the Margin (2001)
 About Political Cartoons

During 1900-1941, Philippine political cartoons

gained full expression during the American Era

377 cartoons are compiled in this book that speak for

themselves, and includes McCoy's extensive research
in Philippines that provides a comprehensive
background not only to the cartoons but to the
turbulent period as well.

Major themes:
Anti American Sentiments
Condemnation of the ruling class
 Analysis of the
Historical Context of
Political Caricatures
during the American
Era
I s the Police Force Bribed?

THIS CARTOON DEPICTS

THE FIRST of Manila's
periodic police scandals

The Independent, June 09, 1917

 Story Behind

Senior police were accepting Vicento Sotto's Independent

Mysterious bribes from Chinese

informant name gambling houses in Binondo "Chua Charges were

Pedro Chua and Quiapo districts Accurate"

Philippine Free Press, Withdrew

its illegal allegation
 ANALYSIS

The cartoonist,
Fernando Amorsolo,
gives the illustration
his usual racist edge.

"Emaciated, leering
creatures more
rodent than human"

Normal Feature
New Bird of Prey

An Allusion to the most

libel case in the history of
Philippine Journalism

The Independent, 17 january 1920

Story Behind

In 1908 the nationalist weekly El

Renacimiento published an
editorial titled Aves de Rapina or
Birds of Prey which attacked the
Philippines commission's
secretary of the interior, Dean C.
Worcester, for abusing his office
to exploit the country.
 ANALYSIS

Governor-General
Francis B. Harrison
Hero

Landlord-Overprice
Rent

(Dean C. Worcester)

Repacious Eagle
While the Priest Lives Alone in a Big Building (The
Independence 1 May 1920)
Drawn by Fernando Amorsolo
s

Published by Vicente Sotto (The

Independent)
Published to attack the Catholic Church

The editorial cartoon urged the

government to confiscate the large
priests' residence attached to Santa Cruz
Paris Church.
 While the Priest Lives Alone in a Big Building (The
Independence 1 May 1920)
People are not allowed to share the painful
congestion of Plaza Goiti and Plaza Santa Cruz while
a single priest sit in a sprawling residence.

In 1906, the Philippine Supreme Court

ruled that all of the disputed properties
were legally owned by the Roman
Catholic Church.
 While the Priest
Lives Alone in a Big .Aglipayan Church Issue:
Building (The - went into decline
Independence 1 May - nationalists remained embittered over
1920) the issue

.It depicts the land originally acquired by

the church during the mid-19th century
from Alejandro Roces (whom descendants
became publishers of the "Manila Times").
 While the Priest
Lives Alone in a Big
Building (The .Sta. Cruz Chruch Parish remains
Independence 1 May
1920)
The controversial parish house
became the branch of Phil Trust, a
church owned bank
 Built on a swamp and ringed
with streams and ponds, Manila
is a natural breeding ground for
malarial mosquitoes
In 1898, Americans found the city as
cesspool of ill health.

The Board of Health brought tropical

diseases: malaria, smallpox, cholera,
Where the Mosquito Is King,
and plague— under control. Donde El Mosquito Es Rey
(Free Press, 16 April 1921)
 They distributed millions of
doses of quinine and eliminated
mosquito breeding grounds by filling
up the standing water holes or by
spraying them with petroleum

Where the Mosquito Is King,

Donde El Mosquito Es Rey
(Free Press, 16 April 1921)
 By 1920, BOH was resting on its
laurels and the quality of mosquito
control was slipping dangerously.
Filipinization Program under Governor-General
Francis B. Harrison:
- BOH had been turned over to Filipino civil
servant
- Only to those who did not administer the public
Where the Mosquito Is King,
Donde El Mosquito Es Rey
health programs with the same efficiency,
(Free Press, 16 April 1921) arbitrary authority, and bitter irony.
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
(Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad)
 LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
(Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad)

It is a mocking editorial about the Philippine Assembly who

passed a law authorizing all legislators, active or retired, to
bear firearms.

Sarcastically, the Manila press went outraged, but the

legislators ignored the opposition and promulgated the law
over the screams of protest.

The Manila Press stated that the people, particularly the

rich, those with power and authority, must then be
respected.
 LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
(Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad)

In the US, a person has the right to own and

carry a firearm with him/her, and it signifies
power and authority. But here in the
Philippines, not everyone has the right to
own a firearm and carry it everywhere you
go. (Only high-ranking officials in authority
and those who has license can).
 LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
(Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad)

One problem was that, the Manila Press sided with

the retired legislators and keeps defending them
for bearing firearms. Because those legislators
carrying firearms, some of them are a bit trigger-
happy.

They feel that they have the power and authority

when they carry their firearms which causes
security for them because it can kill people.
 LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
(Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad)

Now there will be no question as to who is running

this show, no affront to their personal dignity, no
danger of being threated just like ordinary people –
McCoy and Roces

In short, all that matters is that, the high-

ranking officials have a chance to show-off that
they are someone who has a great power and
must be respected.
The Returning
Student

(El Estudiante Vuelve)

 The Returning Student (El Estudiante Vuelve)

· When Manila emerged as the national center for university

education during the 1920s, the annual March ritual of the
city-wise student returning home to his village was played out
in barrios across the archipelago.

·Although graduation and tertiary degree often

allowed a villager to leave the barrio for a city
civil service post, while still a student he had to
return to the village for summer holidays.
The student studying in the city
could now return home,
THE RETURNING
sophisticated, and well dressed, STUDENT
to reap the benefits of
administration and envy, having (El Estudiante Vuelve)
to survive the transition from
living in the barrio and moving to
the city.

This caricature has been a ritual

since 1929. This ritual speaks of
the students returning from the
city to their small town or barrio,
which they attract attention as
they walk on the streets, and the
subject of all observers.
 The Returning Student (El Estudiante Vuelve)

·The reason that the returning student was the center of attention upon
returning home, was because of the norm that city people own all the
latest clothes, fashion, and trends.

·Everything about the student inspires admiration and

jealousy from the people in their barrio. And even the way he
walks and carries himself is observed, noticed, and imitated.

·As a result, he, the returning student, under the

incense of such admiration, he considers himself to
be a greater entity.
 Brothers
Under The
Skin –
Hermanos
En El Fondo
 Brothers Under The Skin –
Hermanos En El Fondo

Urges Filipinos, in the name of Rizal whose

birthday was the following day, to end
social conflict and deal with each other
fairly
 The Loyalty of the Filipinos
(The Independent, 14 April 1917)

It was published on 14 April 1917,

only ten days after the U.S
Congress declared war on
Germany and America entered
the conflict. The artist Fernando
Amorsolo draws a wise,
handsome Uncle Sam leading
little Juan, loyal and smiling, on
the road to war.

 Comparison World War I sparked an outburst of

Reference for: pro-American loyalty among

Filipinos and transformed Uncle
Sam’s media image
- The prewar cartoons of 1907-08
showed him as a satanic monster,
drawn in Caucasian caricature with
great nose, fanged teeth and crooked
smile

These cartoons from war and post-war

issues of the nationalist newspaper The
Independent, by contrast, show him as
a figure worthy of Filipino love and
respect.
The Latest- Lo Ultimo

This caricature depicted

the battle over
acceptance or rejection
of the Hare-Hawes
Cutting Act that
continued to divide
Philippine politics
 Quezon Vs. OsRox
OsRox Mission was a campaign for self government and US
recognition of independence of the Philippines led by Former
Senate President Sergio Osmena and House Speaker Manuel
Roxas.

OsRox Mission secured the Hare Hawes Cutting Act but was
opposed by Manuel Quezon who was the President of the Senate
that time citing that there were unfavorable trade arrangements.

Quezon actually feared the loss of leadership if his two rivals returned
home heroes so he led the battle for the rejection of HHC Act.
 Quezon Vs. OsRox
When Osmena and Roxas refused, Quezon launched a campaign
condemning the HHC Act creating a social division called the Pros and
Antis
As a Senate President, Quezon had the HHC Act rejected and then
immediately went to US to secure a new independence law which is the
same bill as HHC act but with different name called Tydings McDuffie
Act that was signed by President Roosevelt
Upon his return, Quezon presented himself as a conquering hero. As
a result, his leadership for the rest of the decade was assured

Whether if it was Hare Hawes Cutting Act or Tydings Mc Duffie Act, it

did not really matter for the Filipinos.
 Overall Relevance and
Contribution

Nationalism Patriotism

Eye Opener Discover our

roots
Thank You!