Revolutionary

Period
The Propaganda Movement

– Led by key figures such as Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez-
Jaena
– Advocated reforms such that the same rights and freedoms being enjoyed in
Spain would also be granted to the Filipinos
– The failure of the Propaganda to initiate changes in the society gave birth to a
secret association, Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga
Anak ng Bayan.
Fig 5.5
The Pacifist and Europe-based
members of the Propaganda
Movement were from the elite and
wealthy
Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng
mga Anak ng Bayan

– Founded in July 7, 1892 in a house on Azcarraga Street (now Claro M. Recto) by

Andres Bonifacio and a group of patriots, the Katipunan sought independence
from Spain and set the 1896 Revolution in motion.
– Andres Bonifacio was also a member of La Liga Filipina, although he soon lost
hope in gaining reforms through peaceful means. This feeling was especially
heightened when Jose Rizal was exiled to Dapitan. Bonifacio became convinced
that the only way the Philippines could gain independence was through a
revolution.
– As a symbol of the member’s loyalty, they performed the solemn rite of
sanduguan (blood compact), wherein each one signed his name with his own
blood.
Fig. 5.6
A Carlos V. Francisco painting that
depicts the Philippine Revolution of
1896
– As an organization, the Katipunan adopted in its own form of government,
which had national and local levels.
– The Katipunan was governed by the Kataastaasang Sanggunian (Supreme
Council), which was composed of the president, secretary/secretaries,
treasurer, and fiscal.
– The Sangguniang Barangay (Provincial Council) and the Sangguniang Bayan
(Popular Council) was also organized in each province and town, respectively.
– Events, however, led to the division of the Katipunan into two factions: the
Magdalo and Magdiwang.
 Magdalo
• The Magdalo faction of
the Katipunan was a
chapter in Cavite, mostly
led by Ilustrados of that
province during the
Philippine Revolution.
• It was named after Mary
Magdalene, patroness of
Kawit, Cavite. It was
officially led by Baldomero
Aguinaldo, but his cousin
Emilio Aguinaldo (whose
own Katipunan codename
was "Magdalo") was its
most famous leader.
Magdiwang
Tejeros Convention

– Held on March 22, 1897 between the Magdalo and Magdiwang factions of the
Katipunan at San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, but the site is now
at Rosario) Cavite
– The first presidential and vice presidential elections in Philippine history,
although only the Katipuneros were able to take part, and not the general
populace
– The convention was called to discuss the defense of Cavite against the
Spaniards during the Philippine Revolution. Nonetheless, the convention
became an election to decide the leaders of the revolutionary movement,
bypassing the Supreme Council.
The results of the election:

POSITION NAME FACTION

President Emilio Aguinaldo Magdalo

Vice President Mariano Trias Magdiwang

Captain-General Artemio Ricarte Magdiwang

Director of War Emiliano Riego de Dios Magdiwang

Director of the Interior Andres Bonifacio Magdiwang

Biak-na-Bato Republic

– Established by Emilio Aguinaldo on November 1, 1897

– The first republic ever declared in the Philippines by revolutionary leader Emilio
Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries. Despite its successes, including the
establishment of the Philippines' first ever constitution, the republic lasted just
over a month. It was disestablished by a peace treaty signed by Aguinaldo and the
Spanish Governor-General, Fernando Primo de Rivera which included provision for
exile of Aguinaldo and key associates to Hong Kong.
– By April 1898, the Spanish-American war broke out. Aguinaldo sailed for Cavite
from Hong Kong and by 24 May, he established a dictatorial government. It was
under this dictatorial government that the Philippine independence from Spain
was declared on June 12 in Kawit, Cavite.
Spanish-American War

–  The Philippines was a colony of the United States for about 50 years and was
the only sizable colony the United States every had. The United States took
possession of the Philippines—and Guam and Puerto Rico—after it won the
Spanish-American War, which overnight made the United States into a world
power. The Americans gave the Philippines public education, the English
language, and agricultural and industrial development.
– When the United States declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898, acting
Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt ordered Commodore George Dewey,
commander of the Asiatic Squadron, to sail to the Philippines and destroy the
Spanish fleet anchored in Manila Bay. The Spanish navy, which had seen its
apogee in the support of a global empire in the sixteenth century, suffered an
inglorious defeat on May 1, 1898, as Spain's antiquated fleet, including ships
with wooden hulls, was sunk by the guns of Dewey's flagship, the Olympia, and
other United States warships. More than 380 Spanish sailors died, but there
was only one American fatality.
–  As Spain and the United States had moved toward war over Cuba in the last
months of 1897, negotiations of a highly tentative nature began between
United States officials and Aguinaldo in both Hong Kong and Singapore. When
war was declared, Aguinaldo, a partner, if not an ally, of the United States, was
urged by Dewey to return to the islands as quickly as possible. Arriving in
Manila on May 19, Aguinaldo reassumed command of rebel forces.
Insurrectionists overwhelmed demoralized Spanish garrisons around the
capital, and links were established with other movements throughout the
islands.
–  In the eyes of the Filipinos, their relationship with the United States was that
of two nations joined in a common struggle against Spain. As allies, the
Filipinos provided American forces with valuable intelligence (e.g., that the
Spanish had no mines or torpedoes with which to sink warships entering
Manila Bay), and Aguinaldo's 12,000 troops kept a slightly larger Spanish force
bottled up inside Manila until American troop reinforcements could arrive from
San Francisco in late June. Aguinaldo was unhappy, however, that the United
States would not commit to paper a statement of support for Philippine
independence.
– Soon after, the dictatorial government was replaced by a revolutionary
government. On 15 September 1898, months after the declaration of
independence, the Malolos Congress convened, which produced the Malolos
Constitution.
– On 23 January 1899, the Fist Philippine Republic was established with Emilio
Aguinaldo as its president. A Supreme Court of Justice was likewise created,
which addressed cases. However, the outbreak of the Filipino-American War
suspended the activities of these institutions.
– In 1901, Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by American Forces, leading to the
dissolution of the First Philippine Republic.
American Period
The Treaty of Paris

– Under the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, which formally ended the
Spanish-American War the Philippines—in addition to Cuba, Puerto Rico and
Guam—were ceded to the United States, which "bought" the title for the
Philippines from Spain for $20 million.
– After the Spanish surrendered there was debate in America about what to do
with the Philippines: give them back to Spain, grant the islands independence,
or claim them as a colony. Dewey had reported that the Filipino were ready for
independence but later retracted the statement.
– Pushed by Roosevelt, and business interests, McKinley decided to keep the
Philippines and announced it had been "benevolently assimilated." The Filipino
upper class was happy with the peace treaty but the rebels who fought against
Spain and declared Filipino independence were not.
– The Treaty of Paris aroused anger among Filipinos. Reacting to the US$20
million sum paid to Spain, La Independencia, a newspaper published in Manila
by a revolutionary, General Antonio Luna, stated that "people are not to be
bought and sold like horses and houses. If the aim has been to abolish the
traffic in Negroes because it meant the sale of persons, why is there still
maintained the sale of countries with inhabitants?" Tension and ill feelings were
growing between the American troops in Manila and the insurgents
surrounding the capital.
– (1898) The United States forces established a military government in
the Philippines. It was led by a military governor, who exercised all
powers of the government. The military governor administered the
Philippines through the authority of the US President, who was also
the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces. The military
governors were:
• Gen. Wesley Merritt (1898)
• Gen. Elwell Otis (1898-1900)
• Maj. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, Jr. (1900-1901)
– The Spooner Amendment eventually ended the military regime. A
civilian governor replaced the military governor.
– The civil governor acted as the head of the executive branch and also
exercised legislative powers as the head of the Philippine
Commission, a lawmaking body, whose members were all appointed.
William H. Taft

• In office 1901-1904
• Became the first civil governor of
the Philippines
– (1902) The Philippine Organic Act (Cooper Act) was enacted, which
provided for the creation of a Philippine legislature. The legislature
would be a bicameral, with the all-appointed Philippine Commission
as the upper house; and the Philippine Assembly, whose members
were to be elected, as the lower house.
– (1907) The first nationwide election was held and the Philippine
legislature held its first session.
Philippine Autonomy Act (Jones Act),
1916
– Provided for the reorganization of the Philippine legislature into a fully elected
and Filipino-controlled bicameral body. The Philippine Commission became the
Senate, while the Philippine Assembly became the House of Representatives.
Tydings-McDuffie Act (Philippine
Independence Act), 1934
– It established the Philippine Commonwealth, which provided for a 10-year
transition period that would prepare the Filipinos for self-governance.
– President Manuel L. Quezon and Vice President Sergio Osmeña headed the first
Commonwealth Government. The Commonwealth government went in exile
when the Japanese occupied the Philippines from 1942-1945.
Philippine-American War

– After the Spanish-American War, Filipinos rebels rose up in revolt against the
Americans. Some American historians called the ensuing war the Philippine
Insurrection. Many Filipinos saw it as a legitimate struggle for independence.
Sometimes referred to as America's "First Vietnam," the Philippine-American
War (1899-1902) occurred when Filipino rebels that had fought side by side
with the Americans during the Spanish-American War took up arms against the
American military government set up after the Spanish-American War. A total of
4,234 American and some 16,000 Filipino soldiers, part of a nationwide guerrilla
movement of indeterminate numbers, died. By some estimates 250,000
Filipinos, the majority of them Filipinos, were killed in the conflict.
– After the Spanish American War, the U.S. reneged on a promise of
independence for the Filipinos and refused to let Filipino rebels enter
Intramuros (Manila’s Walled City). The Filipino rebels had supported the United
States during the Spanish-American War because they thought the Americans
had come to the Philippines to liberate it from Spain as they had done in Cuba.
They felt betrayed when the United States decided to make the Philippines into
a U.S. colony.
– In account the conflict began on February 4, 1899, 36 hours before the Spanish-
American War treaty was ratified by the U.S. Congress, when an American
sentry shot some drunk Filipino soldiers that had mistakenly walked across
American lines and fired back at back at the sentry. According to another
account two American privates on patrol in a suburb of Manila killed Three
Filipino soldiers. "The first blow was struck by the inhabitants," U.S. President
William McKinley said, "There will be no useless parley, no pause, until...the
insurrection is suppressed and American authority acknowledged and
established." [Source: David Haward Bain, Smithsonian, May 1989]
– The Filipino troops, armed with old rifles and bolos and carrying
anting-anting (magical charms), were no match for American troops
and their superior firepower in open combat, but they were
formidable opponents in guerrilla warfare. The Filipino forces were
quickly driven from Manila into the jungles of Luzon. There they
took off their uniforms and blended into the population and used
guerilla tactic against the Americans. Aguinaldo and a small band of
loyalist ran their campaign from a remote rain forest camp in Sierra
Madre mountains in northeast Luzon.
Ambush and Retaliation in Balangiga

– The Filipino rebels were defeated in several major battles and many Filipinos
were placed in "relocation" camps (concentration camps). There were also
some nasty ambushes and retaliations. In the town of Balangiga on the island of
Samar, 380 miles southeast of Manila, U.S. troops were called into weed out
rebels making trouble there. The soldiers angered the local people when they
turned the town hall and a convent into barracks for the soldiers.
– At the signal of bells ringing in a local church, rebels dressed as women
in mourning grabbed bolos (large-machete-like knives) from coffins, said
to contain the bodies of children killed by cholera, and attacked the
American troops. Only 22 of 74 Americans survived. Many of the dead
were hacked to pieces. It was the worst American defeat during the
Philippines rebellion.
– In retaliation,, Gen. Jacob “Hell-Roaring Jake” Smith sent in more troops
and gave them orders to kill anyone over the age of 10 years old,
deemed “capable of bearing arms...against the U.S.” He said, “I want no
prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn: the more you kill and burn, the
better it will please me.” [After an investigation Smith was later court
martialed and cashiered]
– As many as 5,000 Filipino may have been killed. Balangiga was pacified.
The Americans burned the village church and seized the bell and took
them to them to Cheyenne Wyoming, where they still sit today at F.E.
Warren Air Force Base. Filipinos want the bells back. Wyoming veterans
have refused and only an act of Congress can force them to turn them
over.
Japanese
Occupation
– The Japanese occupation of Manila
signaled the establishment of the
Japanese Military Administration on 3
January 1942. It consequently led to the
interruption of American rule in the
Philippines.
– As an initial move, the Japanese military
forces established the Philippine Executive
Commission (PEC), a civil government that
would temporary rule the country. It was
composed of Filipinos, with Jorge B.
Vargas as its chairman. While this
commission exercised executive and
legislative powers, everything was subject
to approval by the commander in chief of
the Japanese forces.
The Second Republic

– In 1913, the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic was established. Jose P.

Laurel served as its president. Its executive, legislative, and judiciary structures
were similar to those of the PEC.
– While Filipinos assumed government positions, the Japanese apparently
influenced how the country would be administered. Thus, the Second Republic
is commonly referred to as a “puppet” government.
– Soon After the return of Gen. Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines
in 1944 and the eventual defeat of the Japanese forces, the
Commonwealth government was reestablished.
– The 1935 Constitution again became the highest law of the land.
Meanwhile, Manila suffered as the second most devastated city
after the WWII, next to the city of Warsaw in Poland.
– By July 5, 1935, MacArthur announced the liberation of the
Philippines. The reestablishment of the government under Osmeña
saw enormous problems:
• Devastation by war,
• Destruction of economy,
• Political warfare, and
• Guerilla violence
• Thus, the primary problem during this period was the
reconstruction of the country and the government.