Course Code and Title: GE102 – Readings in Philippine History

Lesson Number: 5

Topic: CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED

PRIMARY SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era

and
Corazon C. Aquino’s Speech Before the United States Congress

Introduction

The historian’s primary tool of understanding and interpreting the past is

the historical sources. Historical sources ascertain historical facts. Such facts are then
analyzed and interpreted by the historian to weave a historical narrative. Historians who
study certain historical subjects and events need to use various primary sources to
weave the narrative. As discussed in the preceding chapter, primary sources consist of
documents, memoir, accounts, and other materials produced at the event or subject
being studied.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 Interpret primary sources by examining the content and context of the document.
 Identify the significance of political cartoons during the American period.
 Understand the context and content of political cartoons during the American
period and the speech of Corazon Aquino before the U.S. Congress.
 Use political cartoons as a form of political expression.
 Realize the importance of political cartoons and the speech to the grand narrative
of Philippine history.
 Evaluate the relevance of Philippine cartoons to the present time.
 Display a full understanding of the course objectives.

Pre-Assessment:

Instructions: The Philippines remained a colony even after the Spaniards left because
the Americans replaced them. During the American colonial rule, many artists made use
of cartoons as political commentaries. Identify at least five (5) conditions or events that
influenced Filipinos in making political cartoons. Explain your answer in not more than
two sentences each.

1. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

LESSON PRESENTATION:

The primary sources that we will examine are Philippine Cartoons:

Political Caricatures of the American Era and Corazon C. Aquino’s Speech Before the
United States Congress. Though the Philippines was in a better condition under the
Americans than the Spaniards, freedom was not immediately accorded to the Filipinos.
Some Americans and Filipinos used political cartoons to illustrate the changing mores
and times under American rule. The use of these cartoons was a subtle way of
expressing discontent with the American rule. President Corazon C. Aquino was invited
to deliver a speech before the United States Congress on September 18, 1986, in
recognition of the peaceful EDSA revolution, which ousted Marcos and paved the way
for Aquino to become the President.

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era

(1900-1941)
The Spanish colonial period in the Philippines was characterized by
strict censorship resulting in a lack of political liberty and minimal avenues for
expressing political views. Political cartoons and caricature are a relatively recent art
form that veered away from classical art by exaggerating human features and poking
fun at its subjects. Such art genre and technique became a part of the print media as a
form of social and political commentary, which usually targets power and authority.
Cartoons became a useful tool for publicizing opinions through heavy use of symbolism,
which is different from a verbose written editorial and opinion pieces. The unique way
that a caricature represents the opinion and captures the audience's imagination is
reason enough for historians to examine these political cartoons. Commentaries in
mass media inevitably shape public opinion, and such kind of opinion is worthy of
historical examination.

In the book Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the

American Era (1900), Alfred McCoy, together with Alfredo Roces, compiled political
cartoons published in newspaper dailies and periodicals above time.

Alfred McCoy Alfredo Roces

Depicts the first of Manila's periodic police scandals

during the American era

The cartoonist illustrates his

usual racist edge, e.g., Chinese men are usually
caricatured, for they are described as corruptors or
opium smugglers.

The cartoon shows a politician

from Tondo, named Dr. Santos, passing his crown
to his brother-in-law, Dr. Barcelona. A Filipino guy
(as depicted wearing salakot and barong Tagalog)
was trying to stop Santos, telling the latter to stop
giving Barcelona the crown because it is not his, to
begin with.

A commentary on the
exceptional cases of colored automobiles in the
city streets. The Philippine Free Press published
this commentary when fatal accidents involving
colorum vehicles and taxis occurred too often
already.
 Here, we see the caricature of
Uncle Sam riding a chariot pulled by Filipinos
wearing school uniforms. The Filipino boys were
carrying American objects like baseball bats and
boxing gloves. In his caption to the said cartoon,
McCoy was based on an event in 1907 when
William Howard Taft was brought to the Manila pier
riding a chariot pulled by Liceo de Manila students.
The nationalists condemned such at that time.

Other examples of Caricatures

Analysis of Political Caricatures during the American Period

The Spanish Colonial period's transition to the American Occupation

period demonstrated different strands of changes and shifts in culture, society, and
politics. The Americans drastically introduced democracy to the nascent nation, and
the consequences were far from ideal. During the American period, Filipinos were
introduced to modernity manifestations like healthcare, modern transportation, and
media. This ushered in a more open and freer press. The post-independence and the
post-Filipino-American period in the Philippines were experienced differently by
Filipinos coming from different classes. The Upper principalia class experienced
economic prosperity with the opening up of the Philippine economy to the U.S., but
the majority of the poor Filipino remained needy, desperate, and victims of state
repression.
The cartoons illustrate the opinion of certain media outfits about Philippine
society and politics under the United States. The cartoons also illustrated the
conditions of poor Filipinos in the Philippines now governed by the United States.
From this on looks of it, nothing much has changed. The other cartoon depicts how
Americans controlled Filipinos through seemingly harmless American objects. By
controlling their consciousness and mentality, Americans got to control and subjugate
 Filipinos.

SELF-REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What is the contribution of the political caricature during the American
era?
2. What are some advantages of conveying ideas by a political cartoon
rather than text?
3. Was the document accepted and was used to build our history and was it
ever used to clarify what had happened in the past?

Revisiting Corazon Aquino's Speech Before the U.S. Congress

Maria Corazon “Cory” Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino

(January 25, 1933-August 1, 2009) became President of the
Philippines because of the 1986 EDSA Revolution-the
nonviolent revolution that ousted President Ferdinand Marcos.
She was the Assassinated opposition figurehead's wife during
the martial law era, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.

She served and is considered the 11th President of the

Philippines and proclaimed "Woman of the Year" in 1986 by
Time magazine. In 1999, she was chosen by Time magazine
as one of the 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th century.
Before becoming the President, she had not held any elective
office. She died on August 1, 2009, due to colorectal cancer.

Historical Background of the Document

Corazon C. Aquino delivered her historic speech before the

U.S. Congress on September 18, 1986-barely seven months after being sworn into
office under a revolutionary government brought about by the EDSA Revolution. During
that time, Cory's presidency was unstable, for
she inherited an economy in shambles. There
was massive poverty and unemployment in the
country. The loyalty of the military to her
administration was still in question. Her
administration was already besieged by a coup
attempt backed by a multitude of offices. Despite releasing political detainees, the
communist insurgency was still gripping the countryside. She needed foreign allies to
recognize her newly established administration. The aforementioned historic speech
targeted two goals at the same time. It aimed to express gratitude towards the United
States for helping the Filipinos regain their freedom and seek more help from them in
restoring the government, considering Aquino's decision to honor the Philippines'
foreign debts during the Marcos administration.

She began her speech with the story of her leaving the United States
three years prior as a newly widowed wife of Ninoy Aquino. She then told of Ninoy's
character, convection, and resolve in opposing the authoritarianism of Marcos. She
talked of the three times that they lost Ninoy, including his demise on 23 August 1983.
The first time was when the dictatorship detained Ninoy with other dissenters. Cory
related:

The government sought to break Ninoy by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny,
nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held the threat of
sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up manfully–all of it. I barely did as well. For
43 days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was the first time my
children and I felt we had lost him.”

Cory continued that when Ninoy survived that first detention, he was charged with
subversion, murder, and other crimes. Aquino was tried by a military court, whose
legitimacy Ninoy adamantly questioned. To solidify his protest, Ninoy decided to do a
hunger strike and fasted for 40 days. Cory treated this event as the second time that
their family lost Ninoy. She said:

“When that did not work, they put him on trial for subversion, murder, and a host of other crimes
before a military commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and went on a fast. If he survived it,
then, he felt, God intended him for another fate. We had lost him again. For nothing would hold him
back from his determination to see his fast through to the end. He stopped only when it dawned on
him that the government would keep his body alive after the fast had destroyed his brain. Thus,
with barely any life in his body, he called off the fast on the fortieth day. “

Cory turned to the controversial topic of the

Philippine foreign debt amounting to $26 billion at
the time of her speech. This debt had ballooned
during the Marcos regime. Cory expressed her
intention to honor those debts despite mentioning
that the people did not benefit from such debts.
Thus, she mentioned her protestations about how
the Philippines was deprived of paying those debts within the Filipino people's capacity.
She lamented:

“Finally, may I turn to that other slavery: our $26 billion foreign debt. I have said that we shall honor
it. However, how shall we be able to do so be kept from us? Many conditions imposed on the
previous government that stole this debt continue to be imposed on us who never benefited from
it.”

Cory proceeded to enumerate the challenges of the Filipino people as they tried building
the new democracy. These were the persisting communist insurgency and economic
deterioration. Cory further lamented that these problems worsened by the crippling debt
because half of the country’s export earnings amounting to $2 billion would “go to pay
just the interest on a debt whose benefit the Filipino people never received.” Cory then
asked a rather compelling question to the U.S. Congress:

“Has there been a greater test of national commitment to the ideals you hold dear than that my
people have gone through? You have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to
many lands that were reluctant to receive it. Moreover, here you have a people who won it by
themselves and need only the help to preserve it.”

Cory ended her speech by thanking America for serving as home to her family for what
she referred to as the "three happiest years of our lives together." She enjoined America
in building the Philippines as a new home for democracy and in turning the country into
a "shining testament of our two nations' commitment.”

Analysis of Cory Aquino’s Speech

Cory Aquino's speech was an actual event in its political and diplomatic
history because it has arguably cemented the EDSA government's legitimacy in the
international arena. The speech talks of her family background, especially her
relationship with her late husband, Ninoy Aquino. In her speech, Cory talked at length
about Ninoy's toil and suffering at the dictatorship's hands that he resisted. She still
went back to Nonoy's legacies and lessons. Her attribution of the revolution to Ninoy's
death demonstrates not only Cory’s perception of the revolution, but since she was
the President, it also represents what the dominant discourse was at that point in our
history.
The ideology or the principles of the new democratic government can also
be seen in the same speech. Aquino drew the sharp contrast between her
government and her predecessor by expressing her commitment to a democratic
 constitution drafted by an independent commission. She claimed that such a
constitution upholds and adheres to the rights and liberty of the Filipino people. Cory
also hoisted herself as the reconciliatory agent after more than two decades of a
polarizing authoritarian politics. Cory claimed that her primary approach to this
problem was through peace and not through the sword of war.
Despite Cory’s effort to hoist herself as the exact opposite of Marcos,
her speech still revealed certain parallelisms between her and Marcos's government.
This is seen in continuing the alliance between the Philippines and the United States,
despite the known affinity between the said world superpower and Marcos. As seen in
Cory's acceptance of the invitation to address the U.S. Congress and to the content of
the speech, the Aquino regime decided to build and continue with the alliance
between our country, the Philippines, and the United States and effectively
implemented an essentially similar foreign policy to that of the dictatorship. Cory
recognized that the Marcos regime's large sum of foreign debts never benefitted the
Filipino people. Cory expressed her intention to pay off those debts. Cory’s decision is
an indicator of her government’s intention to carry on a debt-driven economy.

SUMMARY:

The Spanish Colonial period's transition to the American Occupation period

demonstrated different strands of changes and shifts in culture, society, and politics.
The Americans drastically introduced democracy to the nascent nation, and the
consequences were far from ideal. Political cartoons and caricature are an art form that
veered away from classical art by exaggerating human features and poking fun at its
subjects. Such art genre and technique became a part of the print media as a form of
social and political commentary, which usually targets power and authority. The
cartoons illustrate the opinion of certain media outfits about Philippine society and
politics under the United States. The cartoons also illustrated the conditions of poor
Filipinos in the Philippines governed by the United States.

Cory Aquino's speech was an actual event in the country's political and
diplomatic history because it has arguably cemented the EDSA government's legitimacy
in the international arena. The speech talks of her family background, especially her
relationship with her late husband, Ninoy Aquino. In her speech, Cory talked at length
about Ninoy's toil and suffering at the dictatorship's hands that he resisted. The ideology
or the principles of the new democratic government can also be seen in the same
speech. Reading through Aquino's speech, we can already take cues, not just on Cory’s
ideas and aspirations, but also guiding principles and framework of the government that
she represented.

Online Supplementary Materials (Video Clips)

Political Caricatures of the American Era

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzIGWxlvWcQ

President Corazon Aquino before the US Congress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bavnuT4RlU

ASSIGNMENT: 5

Instructions: A. Interview at least two (2) individuals who can be considered as

primary sources on the positive contributions of President Cory Aquino to the
Philippines of the positive things that happened during her presidency. Provide the
given testimonials and the names of the account witness.

a. ________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________

B. Interview at least two (2) individuals who can be considered

primary sources on the negative actions that President Cory Aquino took or the negative
things that took place during her presidency. Provide the given testimonials and the
names of the account witnesses.

a. ________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________

C. Between the two sides interviewed, which do you think is more

reliable? Why?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

GRADING RUBRIC:
For a five-point essay:

5 – Used many details thoroughly and expertly; applied integrated concepts;

made connections between facts and ideas.

4 – Used many details to illustrate the topic; clearly understood the topic well.

3 – Used some details to illustrate the topic; understood topic

2 – Used one or two details, alluded to details vaguely; followed directions, had a basic

knowledge of the topic.

1 – Used no historical details, made factual errors, thinking not justified, no evidence
that

knowledge was acquired.

0 – There was no attempt to answer the question made.

REFERENCES:

Candelaria, J., & Alporha V. (2018). Readings in Philippine History. Manila: Rex Book
Store, Inc.

Asuncion, N. et al. ((2019). Readings in Philippine History. Quezon City: C & E

Publishing, Inc.