Post-War

(Osmeña – Roxas)

By:
Iris C. Quiñones
Nico Junio
Jermaine Kirt Martin
Jill Medina
Joey Vergeldedios
HF14
 The damage done by the war to the
Philippines and the Filipinos was incalculable.

The United States gave the material and

financial aid to the Philippines on condition
that the Philippine Constitution should be
amended in order to give the Americans
parity rights in the exploitation of the
country’s natural resources.
 Post-War Economic Conditions
Poverty – resulting from widespread destruction of property,
including work animals was rampant throughout the country.
Production – was almost at a standstill in the early months
following the liberation owing to lack of capital to finance the
rehabilitation of destroyed or partially destroyed machinery and
other equipments.
Shipping and railways – out of operation resulting in very
limited production and marketing of consumer goods.
Livestock – was reduced by about 65% resulting in the scarcity
of food.
There was limited production.
 The Philippine Civil Affairs Unit
(PCAU)
This was created by the American army.
This agency provided speedy relief for all the people of
Manila and the provinces which had been recently
liberated from Japanese rule.
It was first organized in New Guinea on
September 29, 1944 and took part in the Leyte
campaigns.
Purpose – to assist the various military commanders in
the civil administration and relief of the areas liberated.
It paid the salaries of the municipal officials and the
teachers in areas already in the hands of the Americans.
 The Philippine Civil Affairs Unit
(PCAU)
It organized the food distributing centers in Manila
and the provinces like rice, cracked corn, sardines and
other American canned goods. These foods were
distributed to people for free.
It also provided employment to laborers who were
each paid P1.00 daily with food and P1.20 without
food.
Provided consumer goods to wholesalers at fixed
prices.
 The Congress Convened
• Manuel A. Roxas immediately spoke for the so-called
collaborationists by declaring that all men who were employed
during the Japanese occupation were actually loyal to the
Commonwealth Government.

• May 26, Roxas instructed his men to launch his candidacy.

• One of the first things the Congress did was to reward its
members with three years’ back pay corresponding to the
three years of enemy occupation.

•The Back Pay Law, approved in 1948, promised to give three

years back pay to all pre-war government employees after the
end of a ten-year period that is on 1958.
 The Collaboration Issue
 On June 29, 1944, President Roosevelt stated to President Osmeña that
those who collaborated with the enemy should be removed “from
authority and influence over the political and economic life of the
country.”
 On September 11, American Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes
reminded Pres. Osmeña of the statement of Pres. Roosevelt ‘s policy
regarding the collaboration on June 29, 1944.
 There was a hint of withdrawal of American aid when Harold Ickes said
that “I would call attention of your Government to the probable
reluctance with which funds may be appropriated for relief,
rehabilitation and support of the Commonwealth Government if it
becomes generally believed that the Government had failed diligently
and firmly to convict and punish those guilty of collaboration.”
 The American Government wanted Osmeña to deal with the
collaborationists firmly.
 Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC)
 In September 1945, this handed over to the
Commonwealth Government all the detained political
prisoners.
 Meanwhile, the People’s Court, which handed all cases
of collaboration, tried the various cases brought before it.
Some were found guilty and imprisoned, but others were
not.
 The people slowly realized that the “collaboration” of
the many of the officials in the Laurel Government was
intended to soften the impact of the Japanese military
administration.
 American Financial Aid
o Senator Millard Tydings - co-author of the Tydings-McDuffie
Independence Act, was sent to the Philippines to make a survey
about the actual damage inflicted by the enemy on the
Philippines.

o Sen. Tydings recommended that the Philippines be given $

100 000 000 for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

oHe also recommended that the pre-war trade relations

between the Philippines and the United States be continued for
a period of from 3 to 5 years.

o American Army surplus worth one billion dollars but with a

sale value of P100 000 000 was turned over to the Philippine
Government.
 Bell Trade and Rehabilitation Acts
• This was introduced by Congressman C. Jasper Bell of Missouri on
September 26, 1945 but opposed by Senator Tydings because it opposes the
preparation of the Philippines for independence which is on July 4, 1946.
• In October, Jasper Bell introduced another bill providing for an eight-year free
trade relations with the United States.
• This is provided for free-trade relations between United States and the
Philippines until 1954.
• Goods coming from the United States and from the Philippines would be taxed
five % tariff increase every year until the full 100% was reached in 1974.
•Bad feature – the provision giving the “parity” rights to the Americans which
means that Americans would have the right to dispose, exploit, develop, and
utilize “all agricultural, timber, and mineral lands” of the Philippines, together
with the operation of public utilities and the exploitation of the “waters, minerals,
coal, petroleum, and the mineral resources of the Philippines.”
• The provision meant that Filipinos would have to amend the Constitution which
provides that only corporation of which the Filipinos owned at least 60% could
dispose, exploit, develop & utilize the public lands and their mineral resources.
 Bell Trade and Rehabilitation Acts
• Tydings Rehabilitation Act – a complement to the Bell Trade
Relations Act.
• It was signed by Pres. Truman signed the bill into a law on
April 30, 1946.
• Provided for an outlay of $620 000 000 to be given to those
who suffered damage during the war.
• The effectivity of this was conditioned by the amendment of
the Philippine Constitution in such a way as to give “parity”
rights to the Americans.
• It is obvious that the US would help its most loyal ally only if
the Americans would be granted the same rights as the
Filipinos enjoy in the exploitation of the natural resources of
the country.
 Election of 1946
 MacArthur applied pressure on Osmeña to call Congress to a regular session.
Osmeña did not believe in the wisdom of calling Congress to session for he feared
that the legislative body might fall into the hands of persons tainted with
collaboration.
 MacArthur issued a statement clearing Roxas of any taint of collaboration with the
enemy to put Roxas before the attention of the public and at the same time to give
him sufficient power to counteract Osmeña.
Roxas was promptly elected President of the Senate.
The Nacionalista Party was split in two factions : “the Osmeña faction and the
Roxas faction.”
On January 4, 1946, the Congress set the election on April 23.
Roxas began strengthening the machinery of his faction which was named the
Liberal Wing of the Nacionalista Party.
With Roxas’ victory, the Liberal Wing of the Nacionalista Party assumed a new color
and became the Liberal Party.

On July 4, 1946, the Philippine Independence was procalaimed and Roxas became
the first President of the Republic.
 Policies of the Roxas Administration
 Roxas laid down bases of his policy in his inaugural address. He says,
“economy that was broken and destroyed by war” the industrialization of the
country, the encouragement of the Filipinos “to participate in all the
operations of our new economy at all its levels”. devotion “to the ideas of an
indivisible peace and an indivisible world.” close cooperation with the United
States, and the restoration of the “role of law and government as the arbiter
of right among the people.”

Roxas enthusiastically recalling with pride and with thanks the coming of the
Americans in 1898 and urging the people to have absolute faith in the
goodness of America.

 Roxas did not know that it is not always safe to follow the course of the
“glistening wake of America” or of any other nation where the wake leads to
national economic perdition.
 Guerrilla Amnesty
 The guerrilla problem consisted in the abuses allegedly committed by
many guerrillas during the enemy occupation.

The files against the guerrillas were murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery
during the three years of Japanese occupation.

 On Septembet 7, 1946, Roxas proclaimed a general amnesty of those

guerrillas who killed and murdered in pursuance of the resistance
movement.

 Those who kidnapped, murdered and otherwise confiscated property not

in pursuance of the objectives of the guerrilla movement were not included
in the amnesty.
 Treaty of General Realtions
o The United States withdrew and surrendered “all rights of
possession, supervision, jurisdiction, control or sovereignty”
over the Philippines, except such bases as the United States
would need for the mutual protection of the US and the
Philippines.

oThe Philippines agreed to assume all obligations the United

States had assumed after the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris
between the US and Spain, December 10, 1898.

o First to be concluded by the Republic of the Philippines was

entered by the US in order to recognize Philippines
independence officially.
 Plebiscite of 1947
 The election of 6 Democratic Alliance men, headed by Luis Taruc of Pamapanga.
 These Congressmen-elect that were against collaborationists in the government
and against giving the Americans parity rights in the exploitaion of the
Philippine natural resources.’
 Roxas and his men went to the people to explain the “blessings” of American
exploitation of the natural resources of the country and painted a dream
picture of wealth, contentment, peace and prosperity in the wake of such
exploitation.
 Opponents of the parity amendment, that is led by Claro M. Recto & Jose P.
Laurel fought for the approval by the people that is assailing the wisdom of
amending the Constitution the sacred document of the land in order to give the
Americans equal rights with the Filipinos in the exploitation of the natural
resources of the country.
 The years that followed showed up Roxas’ demagoguery and lack of vision: the
country remained as poor as ever and the promised prosperity “in the
glistening wake of America” has to this day remained a will-o’-the-wisp.
 Death Came for Roxas
 On March 1948, the military authorities of Clark Air Base
invited Roxas to make a public statement on the loyalty of the
Philippines to the United States.

Roxas delivered a major speech at the Kelly Theater on April

15, 1948.

At 9:30 pm, while an American army officer was passing by the
foot of the President’s bed, he noticed that Roxas made a
sudden gasp and in a few minutes he died.

Two days later, Vice-President Elpidio Quirino took his oath of

office as the President of the Philippines.
 Quirino’s Administration
 Quirino announced that his program of government would consist in
restoring the faith and confidence of the people in the government and in the
restoration of peace and order.

 The first part of the program was based on the realization that the people
had lost their confidence in the government owing to the rampant graft and
corruption of the Liberal Party’s hench men and favorites.

 The second part was based on the pathetic lack of peace and order not only
in the cities but also in the countryside.

He surveyed the field with a critical eye and summed up his program of
government as follows:
 Government reorganization increased efficiency at all levels of the
bureaucracy immediate increased production to give employment to
thousands of idle laborers, vigourous and honest enforcement of tax laws,
the preservation of the national integrity and continued friendly relations
with the countries of the world.
President Sergio Osmeña

 He issued an Executive Order setting maximum

prices for goods sold in liberated areas. But it was
good only on paper, for the prices of commodities
in the markets were very much higher than those
provided for in the law.

 He reorganized the government to make it

responsive to the imperative needs of the nation.
 On March 7, 1945, he signed an Executive Order
providing the restoration of the executive
departments of the government as the existed
before the war.
 President Sergio Osmeña
 On March 8, he swore in the new members of
the Cabinet. Saying that,
“We stand for a new world free from want
and fear, provided with greater safeguards for
lasting peace. We are ready to take part, in close
association with the United States, in the
organization and preservation of the peace of the
world.”

 He declared that he would step aside to give way

to Roxas if Roxas wanted to run for the presidency.

 He also faced the problem of collaboration .

People knew his 40 years of hones and faithful

service to the country.
General Douglas Mac Arthur
o Man of action and of a military temper,
made the important decisions for
President Osmeña.
o He believed that Pres. Osmeña was too
slow.
o He considered Roxas the “man of the
hour” the “strong man” who could save
the Philippines in critical period.
o He issued a statement clearing Roxas of
any taint of collaboration with the enemy
to put Roxas before the attention of the
public and at the same time to give him
sufficient power to counteract Osmeña.
President Manuel Roxas
 He was younger, a go-getter,
brilliant, an effective orator and
backed up by MacArthur, Paul V.
McNutt and Mrs. Aurora Aragon
Quezon.
He was sincere when he outlined
his program of the rehabilitation and
reconstruction.
He was proclaimed ad became the
first President of the Republic.
He would go to any length to be the
architect of the Philippines’ rise to a
prosperous status.
 THANK YOU
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