SS 22: Readings in

Philippine History
Tecah C. Sagandoy

2022
2nd
edit
Module 5. THE FILIPINO NATION UNDER THE AMERICAN COLONIALSYSTEM AND WORLD
WAR II IN THE PHILIPPINES

Unit 8. LIFE UNDER THE AMERICAN COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION

Lesson 5.1. THE BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN COLONIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Lesson outcomes:
1. Identify the primary aims of the Americans in colonizing the Philippines
2. Analyze selected literary works that describe the Americans‟ “burden” in
colonizing the Philippines.

Lesson overview: In this lesson, you will learn about the United States of America‟s
intentions of keeping the Philippine Islands for themselves.

READ TO LEARN

In the text below, U.S. President William McKinley makes the first official proclamation
regarding the Philippines Islands in December 1898, more than ten days after the

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signing of the Treaty of Paris (between U.S.A. and Spain). J.H. Blount (1913) comments,
“The ever-memorable Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation, the Pandora box of Philippine
woes, was signed December 21, 1898, and its contents were let loose in the Philippines on
January 1, 1899.” (p. 140)

“THE BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION PROCLAMATION

“EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, December 21, 1898.

“The destruction of the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Manila by the United States naval
squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Dewey, followed by the reduction of the city and
the surrender of the Spanish forces, practically effected the conquest of the Philippine
Islands and the suspension of Spanish sovereignty therein. With the signature of the treaty
of peace between the United States and Spain by their respective plenipotentiaries at Paris
on the 10th instant, and as a result of the victories of American arms, the future control,
disposition, and government of the Philippine Islands are ceded to the United States. In the
fulfilment of the rights of sovereignty thus acquired and the responsible obligations of
government thus assumed, the actual occupation and administration of the entire group of
the Philippine Islands becomes immediately necessary, and the military
government heretofore maintained by the United States in the city, harbor, and bay of
Manila is to be extended with all possible dispatch to the whole of the ceded territory. In
performing this duty the military commander of the United States is enjoined to make
known to the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands that in succeeding to the sovereignty of
Spain, in severing the former political relations, and in establishing a new political power,
the authority of the United States is to be exerted for the securing of the persons and
property of the people of the islands and for the confirmation of all their private rights and
relations. It will be the duty of the commander of the forces of occupation to announce and
proclaim in the most public manner that we come not as invaders or conquerors, but as
friends, to protect the natives in their homes, in their employments, and in their personal
 and religious rights. All persons who, either by active aid or by honest submission, co-
operate with the Government of the United States to give effect to these beneficent
purposes will receive the reward of its support and protection. All others will be brought
within the lawful rule we have assumed, with firmness if need be, but without severity, so
far as possible. Within the absolute domain of military authority, which necessarily is
and must remain supreme in the ceded territory until the legislation of the United States
shall otherwise provide, the municipal laws of the territory in respect to private rights and
property and the repression of crime are to be considered as continuing in force, and to be
administered by the ordinary tribunals, so far as practicable. The operations of civil and
municipal government are to be performed by such officers as may accept the supremacy of
the United States by taking the oath of allegiance, or by officers chosen, as far as practicable,
from the inhabitants of the islands. While the control of all the public property and the
revenues of the state passes with the cession, and while the use and management of all
public means of transportation are necessarily reserved to the authority of the United
States, private property, whether belonging to individuals or corporations, is to be
respected except for cause duly established. The taxes and duties heretofore payable by
the inhabitants to the late government become payable to the authorities of the United
States unless it be seen fit to substitute for them other reasonable rates or modes of
contribution to the expenses of government, whether general or local. If private property
be taken for military use, it shall be paid for when possible in cash, at a fair valuation, and
when payment in cash is not practicable, receipts are to be given. All ports and places in
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the Philippine Islands in the actual possession of the land and naval forces of the United
States will be opened to the commerce of all friendly nations. All goods and wares not
prohibited for military reasons by due announcement of the military authority will be
admitted upon payment of such duties and other charges as shall be in force at the time
of their importation. Finally, it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the
military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of
the Philippines by assuring them in every possible
way that full measure of individual rights and
liberties which is the heritage of free peoples,
and by proving to them that the mission of the
United States is one of

BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION

substituting the mild sway of justice and right

for arbitrary rule. In the fulfilment of this high
mission, supporting the temperate
administration of affairs for the greatest good
of the governed, there must be sedulously
maintained the strong arm of authority, to
repress disturbance and to overcome all
obstacles to the bestowal of the blessings of
good and stable government upon the people
of the Philippine Islands under the free flag of
the United States.” (McKinley as quoted by
Blount, 1913, pp. 148-150)
“The Filipino First Bath”
Mr. McKinley-“Oh, you dirty boy”
1. What was U.S.A‟s main justification in claiming for the Philippines‟ “control,
disposition and government”?
2. What was Pres. McKinley‟s primary objective in installing a military government in
the Philippines?
3. What image of the Americans did Pres. McKinley want the Filipinos to believe? How
was this to be achieved?
4. What might be the meaning of U.S.A.‟s mission of “Benevolent Assimilation” in the
Philippines?
5. In the editorial cartoon (Judge), what was meant by giving the Filipino a bath?

READ TO LEARN

Rudyard Kipling, a British novelist and poet wrote a poem in February 1899 that
advised U.S.A “to take up the „burden‟ of empire, as had Britain and other European
nations. This poem titled „The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The
Philippine Islands‟ was published in the Mclure’s Magazine and its publication
“coincided with the beginning of the Philippine-American War and U.S. Senate
ratification of the treaty (of Paris) that placed Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the
Philippines under American control.” (historymatters.gmu.edu, n.d.)

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“The White Man‟s Burden (Apologies to Rudyard Kipling).” Victor Gillam, Judge, April 1, 1899.
Source: The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (https://apjjf.org/)

“Take up the White Man's burden -

Send forth the best ye breed -
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
 To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild -
Your new-caught sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

“Take up the White Man's burden -

In patience to abide
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times made plain,
To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.

“Take up the White Man's burden -

The savage wars of peace -
Fill full the mouth of famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
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Watch Sloth and heathen Folly

Bring all your hopes to nought.

“Take up the White Man's burden -

No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper -
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead !

“Take up the White Man's burden -

And reap his old reward,
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard -
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah slowly !) towards the light:-
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
"Our loved Egyptian night ?

“Take up the White Man's burden -

Ye dare not stoop to less -
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.
“Take up the White Man's burden -
Have done with childish days -
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgement of your peers.”

READ TO LEARN

Henry Labouchère's „The Brown Man's Burden‟ is a parody of “Kipling's notorious poem,
[which is] offering a view of imperialism.” The poem “offers an indictment of imperial
hypocrisy, with particular emphasis on the violence employed in subjugating countries
like the Philippines in the name of freedom.” (herb.ashp.cuny.edu, 2020)
“Pile on the brown man's burden
To gratify your greed;
Go, clear away the "niggers"

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Who progress would impede;
Be very stern, for truly
'Tis useless to be mild
With new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

“Pile on the brown man's burden;

And, if ye rouse his hate,
Meet his old-fashioned reasons
With Maxims up to date.
With shells and dumdum bullets
A hundred times made plain
The brown man's loss must ever
Imply the white man's gain.

“Pile on the brown man's burden,

compel him to be free;
Let all your manifestoes
Reek with philanthropy.
And if with heathen folly
He dares your will dispute,
Then, in the name of freedom,
Don't hesitate to shoot.

“Pile on the brown man's burden,

And if his cry be sore,
That surely need not irk you--
Ye've driven slaves before.
Seize on his ports and pastures,
The fields his people tread;
Go make from them your living,
 And mark them with his dead.

“Pile on the brown man's burden,

And through the world proclaim
That ye are Freedom's agent--
There's no more paying game!
And, should your own past history
Straight in your teeth be thrown,
Retort that independence
Is good for whites alone.”

1. What is Kipling‟s „White man‟s burden‟ referring to?

2. What reaction or response should the Americans (white men) expect from the
Filipinos? (See stanza 1 and 2 of the White man‟s burden)
3. And how should the Americans deal with such reactions from the Filipinos? (See
stanza 2 the White man‟s burden)
4. What are the particular things that the Americans should do in their colonies as
suggested by Kipling? (See stanza 3 and 4 of the White man‟s burden)
5. Why would those that the Americans would have served would blame and hate
them for what they have done for the latter? (See stanza 5 of the White man‟s
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burden)
SS 22: Readings in
Philippine History
Tecah C. Sagandoy

2022
2nd
edit
 Lesson 5. 2. CIVILIZING THE FILIPINOS

Lesson outcomes:
1. Identify the primary aims of American education in the Philippines
2. Analyze the aims and results of American education in the Philippines

Lesson overview: In this lesson, you will learn about United States of America‟s
intentions of educating and civilizing people of the Philippines. If Spain “used” religion
to tame the natives, U.S.A. used education to civilize the Filipinos.

READ TO LEARN

Below are images that depict U.S.A.‟s way of civilizing the “untamed” and “wild”
Filipinos.
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“School Begins.” Uncle Sam (to his new class in Civilization): Now, children, you've got
to learn these lessons whether you want to or not! But just take a look at the class ahead
of you, and remember that, in a little while, you will feel as glad to be here as they are!”
Louis Dalrymple, Puck, January 25, 1899. Source: Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscripts,
Yale University (https://apjjf.org/)

Uncle Sam as a teacher, standing behind a desk in front of his new students who
are labeled “Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii, [and] Philippines”; they do not look
happy to be there. At the rear of the classroom are students holding books
labeled “California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, [and] Alaska”. At the far left,
an African-American boy cleans the windows, and in the background, a Native
boy sits by himself, reading an upside-down book labeled “ABC”, and a Chinese
boy stands just outside the door. A book on Uncle Sam's desk is titled “U.S. First
Lessons in Self-Government”. 1899. Dalrymple, Louis. Image and caption from
the United States Library of Congress (https://globalvoices.org)
“It’s up to them.” Uncle Sam offering on one hand a soldier and on the other a “school
teacher” to a group of reluctant Filipinos, telling them that the choice is theirs. 1901.
Keppler, Udo J. Image and caption from the United States Library of Congress

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(https://globalvoices.org/)

“If they’ll be good”--Uncle Sam: You have seen what my sons can do in war — now
see what my daughters can do in peace. Uncle Sam standing at center, gesturing to the
left toward American soldiers boarding ships to return to America after defeating the
Spanish in the Philippines, and gesturing to the right toward a group of matronly
women, one labeled “Daughters of the Revolution”, who have just arrived to educate
the peoples of the Philippines. 1900. Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.). Image and caption
from the United States Library of Congress (https://globalvoices.org)
 https://sectiona6.wordpress.com
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He could exchange the war club for the baseball bat readily

His water buffalos ought to go well in tandem

His old habit of running amuck will old greatly on the football field

From the war dance to the cake walk is but a step

In the excerpt below, Anongos and Sagandoy (2019) narrate about the aims of American
education in the Philippines:

“In President McKinley’s instruction to the Taft Commission, he exhorted them to extend
and improve the kind of education started by the US military in the Philippines. The
improvement being considered is a kind of education ‘which shall fit the people for the duties
of citizenship and for the ordinary avocations of civilized community.’
“The ‘duties of citizenship’ has been interpreted by the Taft Commission to be related to a
future period of Filipino self-government. In one of the occasions when Governor General
William Taft justified American takeover of the Philippines, he reasons that US objective is ‘to
develop the people into a self-governing people, and, in doing that, popular education is, in
our judgment, the first and most important means’. US policy makers ‘assumed as a matter of
course’ that self-government, especially democratic self-government, can only be realized
through an educated population, thus making education a necessary requirement for the
future Philippine independence.
“Lewis E. Gleeck, Jr. is more illustrative of how education could support self-government.
He bares that the basic doctrine of American education revolves around ‘character building’,
without which any self-government is impossible. This entails the imposition of American
values such as democracy, honesty, industry, thrift, sportsmanship and patriotism. Of the
enumerations, democracy is the most vital of the American values and Americans emphasized
participation, equality, respect, and fair taxation to put meaning to this value. It is only when
Filipinos become absorbed into these values and transforms their character along these lines
that they could be deemed ready for self-government. It is also only when the Filipinos go
through American education that the transformation would become possible.
“The courses of instruction established along the supposed aims are a 3-year primary
grade and increased to 4 some years later, a 3-year intermediate grade, and a 4-year secondary.
The key features based on the Education of Act of 1901 are the use of English as a means of
instruction, prohibition of religious instruction, insertion of physical education, and inclusion
of industrial education. English was used on practical reasons since the official language of
the government was English, the teachers were English speaking, books were written in
English, and there was a desire to impose the colonizer’s language plus the acquiescence of the
Filipinos for a new and common language.
“From the very beginning, Education policy makers perceived that because the country is
agricultural ‘the masses must always remain dependent upon the soil for their maintenance’,
and thus agricultural education became a significant character of Philippine education during
the American rule and beyond.
“The Bureau of Education pursued industrial education for three reasons. One is the
backward state of development that the Americans reckoned there was a great need to
improve the homes in terms of cooking, sanitation, care of infants, and to provide the
necessary convenience in the home. Another is the presence of natural resources in land,
timber and minerals that remained untapped, and colonial education wanted to involve the

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young Filipinos in the extraction of these resources. The third is what the Americans saw as a
given Filipino capacity for manual dexterity and patience that suit the nature of industrial
work. The Americans also considered the economic benefits of industrial education in the form
of uplifting the standard of living of the Filipinos. This is achieved through farming,
housekeeping, and fabrication of articles for home use, production of articles which are
normally imported from abroad, and production of export products in commercial quantities
for income purposes.
“Agriculture is one of the four principal areas of industrial education. The others are
Household industries, Trade Instruction, and Housekeeping. These four areas are offered in
the intermediate grades even if there are created specialized schools for each. Of the four fields
in industrial education, agriculture is recognized by the Bureau of Education as the most
significant. This recognition is based on a perceived agricultural potential of the country and
the evaluation that nothing noteworthy was done to exploit it. Agriculture, says the American
Chamber of Commerce, is the ‘paramount industry’ in the country and ‘upon its volume
production rests all other activity…’ The importance attached to the agricultural education
can be shown in the primary and intermediate programs. Since the beginning gardening has
been offered as an industrial activity in the two levels. Nurseries were required in all public
schools and school ground improvements were in accordance to agricultural aims.
Occasionally, garden days, agricultural fairs and food campaigns, as well as agricultural
extension works are sponsored by public schools.
“Educating the non-Christians. “In the Philippines, the Americans recognized different
ethnic groups but simplified these into the Christians and non-Christians. During the 1903
Census of the Philippines, categorization of the inhabitants of the Philippines posed a puzzling
question. The anthropologist and head of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, David Barrows,
was given that task and conveniently divided the Filipinos as ‘Christian or civilized tribes’ and
‘Non-Christians or wild tribes’.
“Being a party in the classification, Dean Worcester, explains that there was difficulty for
an appropriate term for these people. ‘The only characteristic which they have in common is
their refusal to accept the Christian faith, and their adherence to their ancient religious
beliefs… I am therefore forced to employ the term “non-Christian” in designating them
although I fully recognize its awkwardness.’ Although the classification was too simple,
 temporary, and perhaps convenient, it became the bases of further categorization and identity
formation as well as colonial policy formation. A bureau called the Bureau of Non-Christian
Tribes was created in 1901 to aid the Philippine Commission on the matters pertaining to these
people. Through the bureau, and with the keen interest of Commissioner Dean Worcester, the
Americans interpreted McKinley’s instruction in very paternalistic way. In 1903, the Moro
province was created for the non-Christians in Mindanao and in 1908, a Mountain Province
was created for those in Northern Luzon…
“The creation of special provinces, like Mountain Province for Igorots, had some economic
reasons favoring the colonizers, but it was the political agenda that appeared to have been
more important at that time. Because the Americans, in their ‘imperial indigenism’, have
determined that the Igorots were ‘weak, passive, and easily preyed upon by… Christian
neighbors’, such creation has tucked the Igorots in the safe and protective hands of
Americans…
“The primary purpose for the education of non-Christians was ‘to bring them up to the
same cultural plane of, and into closer union with, the Christian Filipinos…’ This is especially
significant given the new approach adopted by the Harrison administration in 1914 that non-
Christians should be integrated to the larger Filipino population instead of being isolated. The
Jones Law of 1916 revived the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes as an administrative body, and
it was guided by the principle the ‘mutual intelligence between and complete fusion of all the
Christians and non-Christian elements…’ Integration was understood to be easier when the
non-Christians had adjusted themselves to the culture of the general population. Education
was decided to be a universalizing tool.” (NOTE: in-text citations were omitted for readability
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purposes)

The Metamorphosis of a Bontoc Igorot. Two photographs of a Pítapit, a Bontoc Igorot boy. The
second was taken nine years after the first. (Source: Dean Worcester‟s (1914) „The Philippines
Past and Present,’ vol. 2, downloaded from https://www.gutenberg.org)
1. In the cartoon captioned “School Begins” why are the new students (Cuba, Puerto
Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines) seemed to be unhappy?
2. In the cartoon captioned “It‟s up to them”, what is the implication of Uncle Sam‟s
offer (soldier or a teacher) to the reluctant Filipinos?
3. In the cartoon captioned “If they‟ll be good” what seems to be the reaction of the
Filipinos to Uncle Sam‟s “Daughters of the Revolution”? Why?
4. In the cartoon captioned “The Filipino after expansion”, what particular changes
were highlighted in the Filipino‟s life as a result of American expansion?

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 EXTENDED READING

Igorot from the eyes of an American. Below is a lengthy excerpt of the ethnological
survey on the Bontoc Igorot reported by Albert Ernst Jenks (1905).
“Igorot Peoples. In several languages of northern Luzon, the word ‘Ĭg-o-rot’ means
‘mountain people.’ Dr. Pardo de Tavera says the word ‘Igorrote’ is composed of the root
word ‘golot,’ meaning, in Tagalog, ‘mountain chain,’ and the prefix ‘i,’ meaning ‘dweller
in’ or ‘people of.’ Morga in 1609 used the word as ‘Igolot;’ early Spaniards also used the
word frequently as ‘Ygolotes’—and to-day some groups of the Igorot, as the Bontoc group,
do not pronounce the ‘r’ sound, which common usage now puts in the word. The
Spaniards applied the term to the wild peoples of present Benguet and Lepanto Provinces,
now a short-haired, peaceful people. In after years its common application spread
eastward to the natives of the comandancia of Quiangan, in the present Province of Nueva
Vizcaya, and northward to those of Bontoc.

“The word ‘Ĭg-o-rot’ is now adopted tentatively as the name of the extensive primitive
Malayan people of northern Luzon, because it is applied to a very large number of the
mountain people by themselves and also has a recognized usage in ethnologic and other
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writings. Its form as ‘Ĭg-o-rot’ is adopted for both singular and plural, because it is both
natural and phonetic, and, because, so far as it is possible to do so, it is thought wise to

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retain the simple native forms of such words as it seems necessary or best to incorporate in
our language, especially in scientific language.

“Marks of Bontoc culture. It is difficult and often impossible to state the essential
difference in culture which distinguishes one group of people from another. It is more
difficult to draw lines of distinction, for the culture of one group almost imperceptibly
flows into that of another adjoining it.

“However, two fundamental institutions of the people of Bontoc seem to differ from
those of most adjoining people. One of these institutions has to do with the control of the
pueblo. Bontoc has not developed the headman—the ‘principal’ of the Spaniard, the ‘Bak-
nan[g]’ of the Benguet Igorot—the one rich man who becomes the pueblo, leader. In
Benguet Province the headman is found in every pueblo, and he is so powerful that he
often dominates half a dozen outlying barrios to the extent that he receives a large share,
often one-half, of the output of all the productive labors of the barrio. Immediately north
of the Bontoc area, in Tinglayan, the headman is again found. He has no place whatever in
Bontoc. The control of the pueblos of the Bontoc area is in the hands of groups of old men;
however, each group, called ‘intugtukan,’ operates only within a single political and
geographic portion of the pueblo, so that no one group has in charge the control of the
pueblo. The pueblo is a loose federation of smaller political groups.

“The other institution is a social development. It is the olag [or olog], an institution of
trial marriage. It is not known to exist among adjoining people, but is found throughout
the area in which the intugtukan exists; they are apparently coextensive. I was repeatedly
informed that the olag is not found in the Banawi area south of Bontoc, or in the Tinglayan
area east, or among the Tinguian to the north, or in Benguet far southwest, or in Lepanto
immediately southwest—though I have some reason to believe that both the intugtukan
and olag exist in a crumbling way among certain Lepanto Igorot.
 “Besides these two institutions there are other differing marks of culture between the
Bontoc area and adjoining people… Without doubt the limits of the spread of the common
culture have been determined mainly by the physiography of the country. One of the two
pueblos in the area not on the common drainage system is Lias, but Lias was largely built
by a migration from Bontoc pueblo—the hotbed of Bontoc culture. Barlig, the other pueblo
not on the common drainage system (both Barlig and Lias are on the Sibbu River), lies
between Lias and the other pueblos of the Bontoc culture area, and so naturally has been
drawn in line and held in line with the culture of the geographic area in which it is
located—its institutions are those of its environment.

“The Bontoc Man. The Bontoc Igorot has been in Bontoc longer than the endurance of
tradition, for he says he never lived elsewhere, that he never drove any people out before
him, and that he was never driven; and has always called himself the ‘Ĭ-pu-kao’—the
‘people.’ The Bontoc Igorot have their center in the pueblo of Bontoc, a Spanish corruption
of the Igorot name ‘Fun-tok′, a common native word for mountain, the original name of
the pueblo.

“The men of the Bontoc area know none of the peoples by whom they are surrounded
by the names history gives or the peoples designate themselves, with the exception of the
Lepanto Igorot, the Ĭt-nĕg′, and the Ilokano of the west coast. They do not know the
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‘Tinguian’ of Abra on their north and northwest by that name; they call them ‘Ĭt-nĕg′.
Farther north are the people called by the Spaniards ‘Nabayuganes,’ ‘Aripas,’ and
‘Ipugaos;’ to the northeast and east are the ‘Caylingas,’ ‘Comunanges,’ ‘Bayabonanes,’
‘Dayags,’ and ‘Gaddannes’—but Bontoc knows none of these names. Bontoc culture and
Kalinga culture lie close together on the east, and the people of Bontoc pueblo name all
their eastern neighbors Ĭt-nĕg′—the same term they apply to the Tinguian to the west and
northwest, because, they say, they all wear great quantities of brass on the arms and legs.
To the south of Bontoc are the Quiangan Igorot, the Banawi division of which, at least,
names itself May′-yo-yĕt, but whom Bontoc calls ‘Ĭ-fu-gao′. They designate the people of
Benguet the ‘Igorot of Benguet,’ but these peoples designate themselves ‘Ĭb-a-loi’ in the
northern part, and ‘Kan-ka-nay’ in the southern part, neither of which names Bontoc
knows.

“She has still another set of names for the people surrounding her—people whom she
vaguely knows are there but of whom or of whose lands she has no first-hand knowledge.
The people to the north are ‘Am-yan′-an,’ and the northern country is ‘La′-god.’ The ‘Day′-
ya’ are the eastern people, while ‘Bar′-lĭg’ is the name of the eastern and southeastern land.
‘Ab-a-ga′-tan’ are the people of the south, and ‘Fi′-lĭg ab-a-ga′-tan,’ is the south land. The
people of the west are ‘Loa′-od,’ and ‘Fi′-lĭg lao′-od,’ or ‘Lo′-ko’ (the Provinces of Ilokos
Norte and Ilokos Sur) is the country lying to the west and southwest.

“Some of the old men of Bontoc say that in the past the Igorot people once extended to
the seacoast in the Provinces of Ilokos Norte and Ilokos Sur. This, of course, is a tradition
of the prehistoric time before the Ilokano invaded northern Luzon; but, as has been stated,
the Bontoc people claim never to have been driven by that invasion, neither have they any
knowledge of such a movement. It is not improbable, however, that traditions of the
invasion may linger with the people nearer the coast and farther north.

“The Bontoc men average about 5 feet 4⅛ inches in height, and have the appearance of
being taller than they are. Again and again one is deceived by their height, and he
repeatedly backs a 5-foot-7-inch Igorot up against a 6-foot American, vainly expecting the
stature of the brown man to equal that of the white. Almost never does the Bontoc man
appear heavy or thickset, as does his brother, the Benguet Igorot—the human pack horse
seen so constantly on the San Fernando-Baguio trail—muscularly one of the most highly
developed primitive people in the world to-day. Of thirty-two men measured from Bontoc
and vicinity the shortest was 4 feet 9⅛ inches and the tallest was slightly more than 5 feet
9 inches.

“Man. The Bontoc men are never corpulent, and, with the exception of the very old,
they are seldom poor. During the period of a man’s prime he is usually muscled to an
excellent symmetry. His neck, never long, is well formed and strong and supports the
head in erect position. His shoulders are broad, even, and full muscled, and with seeming
ease carry transportation baskets laden with 75 to 100 pounds. His arms are smoothly
developed and are about the same relative length as the American’s. The hands are strong
and short. The waist line is firm and smaller than the shoulders or hips. The buttocks
usually appear heavy. His legs are generally straight; the thighs and calves are those of a
prime pedestrian accustomed to long and frequent walks. The ankles are seldom thick;
and the feet are broad and relatively short, and, almost without exception, are placed on
the ground straight ahead.

“In color the men are brown, though there is a wide range of tone from a light brown

Readings in Philippine History

with a strong saffron undertone to a very dark brown—as near a bronze as can well be
imagined. The sun has more to do with the different color tones than has anything else,
after which habits of personal cleanliness play a very large role… The natural Igorot never
washes himself clean. He washes frequently, but lacks the means of cleansing the skin,
and the dirtier he is the more bronze-like he appears. At all times his face looks lighter and
more saffron-tinted than the remainder of his body. There are two reasons for this—
because the face is more often washed and because of its contrast with the black hair of the
head.

“The hair of the head is black, straight, coarse, and relatively abundant. It is worn long,
frequently more than half way to the hips from the shoulders. The front is “banged” low
and square across the forehead, cut with the battle-ax; this line of cut runs to above and
somewhat back of the ear, the hair of the scalp below it being cut close to the head. When
the men age, a few gray hairs appear, and some old men have heads of uniform iron-gray
color. I have never seen a white-haired Igorot. A few of the old men have their hair
thinning on the crown, but a tendency to baldness is by no means the rule.

“At the age of 20 a man seems hardly to have reached his physical best; this he attains,
however, before he is 25. By 35 he begins to show the marks of age. By 45 most of the men
are fast getting “old”; their faces are seamed, their muscles losing form, their carriage less
erect, and the step slower. By 55 all are old—most are bent and thin. Probably not over one
or two in a hundred mature men live to be 70 years old.

“Woman. The women average 4 feet 9⅜ inches in height. In appearance they are short
and stocky. Twenty-nine women from Bontoc and vicinity were measured; the tallest
was 5 feet 4¾ inches, and the shortest 4 feet 4¾ inches.

“The women reach the age of maturity well prepared for its responsibilities. They have
more adipose tissue than the men, yet are never fat. The head is carried erect, but with a
certain stiffness—often due, in part, no doubt, to shyness, and in part to the fact that they
 carry all their burdens on their heads. I believe the neck more often appears short than
does the neck of the man. The shoulders are broad, and flat across the back. The breasts
are large, full, and well supported. The hips are broad and well set, and the waist (there is
no natural waist line) is frequently no smaller than the hips, though smaller than the
shoulders. Their arms are smooth and strong, and they throw stones as men do, with the
full-arm throw from the shoulder. Their hands are short and strong. Their legs are almost
invariably straight, but are probably more frequently bowed at the knees than are the
men’s. The thighs are sturdy and strong, and the calves not infrequently over-large. This
enlargement runs low down, so the ankles, never slender, very often appear coarse and
large. In consequence of this heavy lower leg, the feet, short at best, usually look much too
short. They are placed on the ground straight ahead, though the tendency to inturned feet
is slightly more noticeable than it is among the men.

“The hair of the head is like that of the man’s; it is worn long, and is twisted and
wound about the head. It has a tendency to fall out as age comes on, but does not seem
thin on the head. The tendency to gray hairs is apparently somewhat less than it is with
the men. The remainder of the body is exceptionally free from hair. The growth in the
armpits and the pelvic hair are always pulled out by the unmarried, and a large per cent
of the women do not allow it to grow even in old age.

“They seem to reach maturity at about 17 or 18 years of age. The first child is
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commonly born between the ages of 16 and 22. At 23 the woman has certainly reached her
prime. By 30 she is getting “old”; before 45 the women are old, with flat, pendent folds of
skin where the breasts were. The entire front of the body—in prime full, rounded, and
smooth—has become flabby, wrinkled, and folded. It is only a short time before collapse
of the tissue takes place in all parts of the body. An old woman, say, at 50, is a mass of
wrinkles from foot to forehead; the arms and legs lose their plumpness, the skin is
“bagged” at the knees into half a dozen large folds; and the disappearance of adipose
tissue from the trunk-front, sides, and back—has left the skin not only wrinkled but loose
and flabby, folding over the girdle at the waist.

“Pathology. The most serious permanent physical affliction the Bontoc Igorot suffers
is blindness. Fully 2 per cent of the people both of Bontoc and her sister pueblo, Samoki,
are blind; probably 2 per cent more are partially so. Bontoc has one blind boy only 3 years
old, but I know of no other blind children; and it is claimed that no babes are born blind.
There is one woman in Bontoc approaching 20 years of age who is nearly blind, and
whose mother and older sister are blind. Blindness is very common among the old people,
and seems to come on with the general breaking down of the body.

“A few of the people say their blindness is due to the smoke in their dwellings. This
doubtless has much to do with the infirmity, as their private and public buildings are very
smoky much of the time, and when the nights are at all chilly a fire is built in their closed,
low, and chimneyless sleeping rooms. There are many persons with inflamed and
granulated eyelids whose vision are little or not at all impaired—a forerunner of
blindness probably often caused by smoke.

“Twenty per cent of the adults have abnormal feet. The most common and most
striking abnormality is that known as ‘fa′-wĭng’; it is an inturning of the great toe. Fa′-
wĭng occurs in all stages from the slightest spreading to that approximating forty-five
degrees. It is found widely scattered among the barefoot mountain tribes of northern
Luzon. The people say it is due to mountain climbing, and their explanation is probably
correct, as the great toe is used much as is a claw in securing a footing on the slippery,
steep trails during the rainy reason. Fa′-wĭng occurs quite as commonly with women as
with men, and in Ambuklao, Benguet Province, I saw a boy of 8 or 9 years whose great
toes were spread. This deformity occurs on one or both feet, but generally on both if at all.

“An enlargement of the basal joint of the great toe, probably a bunion, is also
comparatively common. It is not improbable that it is often caused by stone bruises, as
such are of frequent occurrence; they are sometimes very serious, laying a person up ten
days at a time. The feet of adults who work in the water-filled rice paddies are dry,
seamed, and cracked on the bottoms. These ‘rice-paddy feet,’ called ‘fung-as′, are often so
sore that the person cannot go on the trails for any considerable distance.

“Ato. The Igorot is given to naming even small areas of the earth within his well-
known habitat, and there are four areas in Bontoc pueblo having distinct names. These
names in no way refer to political or social divisions—they are not the ‘barrio’ of the coast
pueblos of the Islands, neither are they in any way like a ‘ward’ in an American city, nor
are they ‘additions’ to an original part of the pueblo—they are names of geographic areas
over which the pueblo was built or has spread. From south to north these areas are A-fu′,
Mag-e′-o, Dao′-wi, and Um-fĕg′.
“Bontoc is composed of seventeen political divisions, called ‘ato.’ The geographic area
of A-fu′ contains four ato; Mag-e′-o contains three; Dao′-wi has six; and, Um-fĕg′ has four.

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Each a′-to is a separate political division. It has its public buildings; has a separate
governing council which makes peace, challenges to war, and accepts or rejects war
challenges, and it formally releases and adopts men who change residence from one a′-to
to another… In Sagada, Agawa, Takong, and near-by pueblos the a′-to is said to be known
as dap′-ay; and in Balili and Alap both names are known.

“Pabafunan and fawi. The pa-ba-fu′-nan is the home of the various a′-to ceremonials.
It is sacred to the men of the a′-to, and on no occasion do the women or girls enter it. All
boys from 3 or 4 years of age and all men who have no wives sleep nightly in the pa-ba-
fu′-nan or in the fa′-wi.

“The pa-ba-fu′-nan building consists of a low, squat, stone-sided structure partly

covered with a grass roof laid on a crude frame of poles; the stone walls extend beyond
the roof at one end and form an open court. The roofed part is about 8 by 10 feet, and
usually is not over 5 feet high in any part, inside measure; the size of the court is
approximately the same as that of the roofed section. In some pa-ba-fu′-nan a part of the
court is roofed over for shelter in case of rain, but is not walled in. Under this roof skulls of
dogs and hogs are generally found tucked away. Carabao horns and chicken feathers are
also commonly seen in such places.

“In the court of the building the men lounge when not at work in the fields; they sleep,
or smoke and chat, tend babies, or make utensils and weapons. The pa-ba-fu′-nan is the
man’s club by day, and the unmarried man’s dormitory by night, and, as such, it is the
social center for all men of the a′-to, and it harbors at night all men visiting from other
pueblos.

“Each a′-to has a fa′-wi building—a structure greatly resembling to the pa-ba-fu′-nan,
and impossible to be distinguished from it by one looking at the structure from the
outside… The fa′-wi is the a′-to council house; as such it is more frequented by the old
men than by the younger. The fa′-wi also shelters the skulls of human heads taken by the
 a′-to. Outside the pueblo, along certain trails, there are simple structures also called “fa′-
wi,” shelters where parties halt for feasts, etc., while on various ceremonial journeys.

“Olag [Olog]. The o′-lâg is the dormitory of the girls in an a′-to from the age of about 2
years until they marry. It is a small stone and mud-walled structure, roofed with grass, in
which a grown person can seldom stand erect. It has but a single opening—a door some 30
inches high and 10 inches wide. Occupying nearly all the floor space are boards about 4
feet long and from 8 to 14 inches wide; each board is a girl’s bed. They are placed close
together, side by side, laid on a frame about a foot above the earth. One end, where the
head rests, is slightly higher that the other, while in most o′-lâg a pole for a foot rest runs
along the foot of the beds a few inches from them.

“Though the o′-lâg is primarily the sleeping place of all unmarried girls, in the mind of
the people it is, with startling consistency, the mating place of the young people of
marriageable age.

“A common sight on a rest day in the pueblo is that of a young man and woman, each
with an arm around the other, loitering about under the same blanket, talking and
laughing, one often almost supports the other. There seems at all times to be the greatest
freedom and friendliness among the young people. I have seen both a young man
Readings in Philippine History

carrying a young woman lying horizontally along his shoulders, and a young woman
carrying a young man astride her back. However, practically all courtship is carried on in
the o′-lâg.

“The courtship of the Igorot is closely defined when it is said that marriage never takes
place prior to sexual intimacy, and rarely prior to pregnancy.

“Young men are boldly and pointedly invited to the o′-lâg. A common form of
invitation is for the girl to steal a man’s pipe, his pocket hat, or even the breechcloth he is
wearing. They say one seldom recovers his property without going to the, o′-lâg for it.

“When a girl recognizes her pregnancy, she at once joyfully tells her condition to the
father of the child, as all women desire children and there are few permanent marriages
unblessed by them. The young man, if he does not wish to marry the girl, may keep her in
ignorance of his intentions for two or three months. If at last he tells her he will not marry
her she receives the news with many tears, it is said, but is spared the gossip and reproach
of others, and she will later become the wife of some other man, since her first child has
proved her power to bear children.

[Complete details about the Bontoc Igorot could be accessed through this link:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3308/3308-h/3308-h.htm]
SS 22: Readings in
Philippine History
Tecah C. Sagandoy

2022
2nd
edit
Unit 10. LIFE UNDER THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL REGIME

Lesson 5. 5. PHILIPPINES FALL TO THE INVADING JAPANESE IN WORLD WAR II

Lesson outcomes:
1. Describe the experiences of the defeated soldiers in the Death March
2. Describe the experiences of the soldiers in military camps as POWs

Lesson overview: In this lesson, you will learn about the circumstances and conditions
of the Filipinos during World War II and under the Japanese regime. On December 8,
1941, few hours after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the
Japanese bombers attacked Philippines. Defense of the archipelago persisted until the
combined U.S. and Filipino forces surrendered to the Japanese invaders in April (in
Bataan) and in May (in Corregidor), 1942. The fall of Bataan resulted to the Death
March.
READ TO LEARN

In the excerpt below, Lt. Col. William E. Dyess, a survivor of the Bataan Death March
narrates his experience as a prisoner of war (POW). His account was published in

Readings in Philippine History

February 5, 1944 in The Atlanta Constitution.

“SUN TORTURE. Eventually the road became so crowded we were marched into a
clearing. Here, for two hours, we had our first taste of the oriental sun treatment, which
drains the stamina and weakens the spirit.
“The Japs seated us on the scorching ground, exposed to the full glare of the sun.
Many of the Americans and Filipinos had no covering to protect their heads. I was beside
a small bush, but it cast no shade because the sun was almost directly above us. Many of
the men around me were ill.
“When I thought I could stand the penetrating heat no longer, I was determined to
have a sip of the tepid water in my canteen. I had no more than unscrewed the top when
the aluminum flask was snatched from my hands. The Jap who had crept up behind me
poured the water in a horse’s nose-bag, then he threw away the canteen. He walked on
among the prisoners taking away their water and pouring it into the bag. When he had
enough he gave it to his horse.
“SQUAD JAP GRINS. Whether by accident or design we had been put just across the
road from a pile of canned and boxed food. We were famished, but it seemed worse than
useless to ask the Japs for anything. An elderly American colonel did, however. He
crossed the road and after pointing to the food and to the drooping prisoners, he went
through the motions of eating.
“A squad Jap officer grinned at him and picked up a can of salmon. Then he smashed
it against the colonel’s head, opening the American’s cheek from eye to jawbone. The
officer staggered and turned back toward us, wiping the blood off.
“It seemed as though Japs had been waiting for just such a brutal display to end the
scene. They ordered us to our feet and herded us back into the road.
“FEROCITY GROWS. We knew now the Japs would respect neither age nor rank.
Their ferocity grew as we marched on into the afternoon. They no longer were content
with mauling stragglers or picking them with bayonet points. The thrusts were intended
to kill.
 “We had marched about a mile after the sun treatment when I stumbled over a man
writhing in the hot dust of the road. He was a Filipino soldier who had been bayoneted
through the stomach. Within a quarter of a mile I walked past another. This solider
prisoner had been rolled into the path of trucks and crushed beneath the heavy wheels…
“THIRST UNBEARABLE. The thirst of all had become almost unbearable…A Jap
officer walked along just after the thirsty soldier had been beaten. He appeared surprised
that we wanted water. However, he permitted several Americans to collect canteens for
their comrades and fill them at a stagnant caribou wallow which had been additionally
befouled by seeping sea water. We held our noses to shut out the nauseating reek, but we
drank all the water we could get.
“At dawn of the second day the impatient Japs stepped among and upon us, kicking
us into wakefulness. We were hollow eyed and as exhausted as we had been when we
went to sleep. As we stumbled into the road we passed a Jap officer who as eating meat
and rice…
“The rising sun cast its blinding light into our eyes as we marched. The temperature
rose by the minute. Noon came and went. The midday heat was searing. At 1 p.m.the
column was halted and Japs told American and Filipino soldiers they might fill their
canteens from a dirty puddle beside the road. There was no food.
“KNOCKED SENSELESS. During the afternoon traffic picked up again. Troop laden
trucks sped past us. A grimacing Jap leaned far out, holding his rifle by the barrel. As the
truck roared by he knocked an America soldier senseless with the gun’s stock. Other Japs
Readings in Philippine History

saw this and yelled. From now on we kept out of reach if we could. Several more
American and Filipino prisoners were struck down.
“At 2 p.m. we were told it would be necessary to segregate the prisoners as to
rank…This separated all units from their officers and afforded opportunity for another
hour of sun treatment. There was no mention of food.
“WALKING IS AGONY. Our guards had been increased for the night march and rigid
discipline was imposed. We were formed into columns of four… [We] were forced to walk
practically at double quick to keep up… The change of gait so cramped our leg muscles
that walking was agony.
“Many prisoners began falling out now. They went down by twos and threes, some of
them trying to rise. They were moaning. Others lay lifelessly in the road. I observed that
the guards paid no attention to the fallen ones, and wondered why. I soon had an
explanation. There came the sharp crackle of rifle fire behind us.
“Bringing up the rear of our contingent skulked a cleanup squad of murdering Jap
buzzards. The American and Filipino soldiers who had fallen were sprawled darkly
against the white of the road.
“Members of the murder squad stooped over each huddled form…The bodies were
left where they lay, that other prisoners who are marching behind us may see them.
Orange flashes and thudding shots followed us through the night, always just a few paces
behind.” (p. 3)

In the excerpt that follows, Ricardo G. Hechanova (2003), another survivor of the
Bataan Death March recounts his experience in the prison camp in Camp O‟Donell,
Capas Tarlac. Hechanova was a technical sergeant of the 2 nd Infantry Regiment, 1st
Regular Division, of the Philippine army.
“Burial Grounds. I was prisoner of war, in the Camp O’Donell Japanese
concentration camp in Capas, Tarlac. I was assigned to the GR & BS—Grave Registration
and Burial Service—a gruesome assignment of which I was the officer in charge. I had to
lay out plots to be dug and to give the picks and shovels to a company of POWs, and to
keep a registry of the burials. Because of illness, malnutrition and extreme stress,
hundreds of POW’s had to be buried daily at a pace faster than the diggers could dig.
Some of them, perhaps, were willing to die if only to free theirselves from the agony of
hunger, disease, despair and the cruelties of the Japanese Imperial Army.
“The year was 1942. The helplessness of the men was the most dreadful part, the
feeling of absolute impotence in the face of evil, making the emotional texture of warfare
vastly different from that of prisoner-hood. Not being able to strike back or take action to
save oneself or one’s comrades, not being able to pick up a weapon, was a terrible feeling.
I could only watch when, for instance, a Japanese soldier pressed the muzzle of his rifle to
the forehead of a prisoner who was pleading for mercy and was shouting at the top of his
voice; one shot was all that was needed to keep the POW quiet.
“Camp O’Donell had been a training ground for the Philippine Army. It was designed
to accommodate no more than 9, 000 people. By the time the prisoners who survived the
infamous death march entered its gates, O’Donell’s population swelled to 50, 000 Filipino
and American POWs. Each barrack designed for 50 men was crammed with more than a
hundred. It was a place for men to go to die.
“My job and those of five others was to lay out the plots for the digging detail to
excavate, then for us in the team to bury the dead into the many 6 by 12 foot holes. My
count of the dead we buried in the biggest of the three burial grounds was 25, 384; there
were about 6, 000 Filipinos and 4, 000 Americans in the other two cemeteries. Burial was

Readings in Philippine History

the camp’s main activity. Disease was the real enemy, killing the POWs and sapping our
morale. The daily toll was indeed tragic but for most of the prisoners, the desire to live
was very strong.
“Body Count. The burial crew had to be careful when handling the dead, particularly
the bodies of those who died from wet beriberi. The feet, legs, hands and testicles would
hideously swell, and the patient would drown in his own pus. If we were not careful, the
body would burst on us.
“Once I lifted a body by grasping the hands; the body slid into the grave but left part
of the skin in my grasp. We buried the dead sardines-style, and covered the pile with a
thin cover of earth, thus leaving room for the next day’s batch of dead. In some of the
holes, a hand or leg would protrude out of the covered pile, only to disappear the
following day after the dogs had eaten the carcass.
“When the monsoon rains came, the holes would fill up with water and the bloated
dead would arise to the surface. Once, a POW whom we buried “woke” up after a light
rainfall. He came to me in my shack, crying. The cold shower had awakened him. The
following day we buried him again. Of course, the second time around, we had to be sure
that he was really dead.
“Camp O’Donell was more of an incubatorium for disease rather than a prison.
Pathogens spread from men to insect to beast to feces and to men again. Disease was the
real enemy: diseases that modern medicine had long since learned to cure were killing
the POWs by hundreds or even more.Diseases due to lack of vitamins, bad hygiene,
malaria, typhoid and dysentery.
“The worst of malarial cases was the cerebral malaria. A victim would froth at the
mouth and shout at the top of his voice. I had my malarial attacks, which occurred daily. I
would be feverish and the chill would last about 10 minutes. My joints and elbows would
sort of rattle. My friends would wrap me in layers of blankets. I would smile a little after
the attack. O’Donell was a bedlam of delirious people clinging to dear life, praying,
cursing, and wondering how long the scourge would last. (pp. A1, A17)
Readings in Philippine History

Captured Filipino and U.S. soldiers at the outset of the Bataan Death March.
(Photo from National Guard) [http://origins.osu.edu/]

1. What was the general condition of the soldiers who were made to walk the Death
March?
2. What acts of torture did the Japanese employ to weaken the resolve of the
prisoners who were walking.
3. How did the marching prisoners manage to survive the long walk from
Bataan to Pampanga?
4. Why was the long walk dubbed as “Death March”?
5. What might explain the torturous treatment of the Japanese soldiers against the
Filipino and American prisoners in the Death March?
6. Why did Hechanova describe his work in the prison camp as a “gruesome
assignment”?
7. What was the common condition of the prisoners of war (POWs) at Camp O‟Donell?
8. To Hechanova, what was worse than the physical conditions that they were going
through as POWs?
9. What was the real enemy in the prison camp? Why was this so?
 Module 6. Post-World War II Philippines
Unit 11: The Third Philippine Republic (1946-1973)

Lesson 6.1. The Third Philippine Republic

Lesson outcome:
1. Describe the socio-economic and political conditions of Post-WW II
Philippines
2. Analyze the problems, programs, and achievements of the Third Philippine
Republic
Lesson overview: In this lesson, you will learn about the conditions of the Philippines
since the country’s independence in 1946 up to the end of the first term of Pres.
Ferdinand Marcos in 1969.
READ TO LEARN
________________________________________________________________________________
From the Official Gazette, the official journal of the Republic of the Philippines, we can
read this introduction about the Third Philippine Republic:
Readings in Philippine History

“The Third Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated on July 4, 1946. It marked the
culmination of the peaceful campaign for Philippine Independence—the two landmarks of
which were the enactment of the Jones Law in 1916 (in which the U.S. Congress pledged
independence for the Philippines once Filipinos have proven their capability for self-
government) and the Philippine Independence Act of 1934 (popularly known as Tydings-
McDuffie) which put in place a ten-year transition period during which the Philippines
had Commonwealth status. The Third Republic also marked the recognition by the global
community of nations, of the nationhood of the Philippines—a process that began when
the Commonwealth of the Philippines joined the Anti-Axis Alliance known as the United
Nations on June 14, 1942, receiving recognition as an Allied nation even before
independence.
“Thus, the inauguration of the Third Republic marked the fulfillment of the long
struggle for independence that began with the Philippine Revolution on August 23, 1896
(recent scholarship suggests, on August 24) and which was formalized on June 12, 1898
with the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite.
“From 1946 to 1961, Independence Day was celebrated on July 4. On May 12, 1962,
President Diosdado Macapagal issued Proclamation No. 28, s. 1962, which declared June
12 as Independence Day. In 1964, Congress passed Republic Act No. 4166, which formally
designated June 12 of every year as the date on which we celebrate Philippine
independence.” (“Third Republic,” n.d., par. 1-3)

The Official Gazette further narrates a brief history of the 1935 Constitution, which
served as the legal basis of the Third Philippine Republic from 1946 to 1973:

“In 1934, the United States Congress passed the Philippine Independence Act, which
set the parameters for the creation of a constitution for the Philippines. The Act mandated
the Philippine Legislature to call for an election of delegates to a Constitutional
Convention to draft a Constitution for the Philippines. The 1934 Constitutional
Convention finished its work on February 8, 1935. The Constitution was submitted to the
President of the United States for certification on March 25, 1935. It was in accordance
with the Philippine Independence Act of 1934. The 1935 Constitution was ratified by the
Filipino people through a national plebiscite, on May 14, 1935 and came into full force and
effect on November 15, 1935 with the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines. Among its provisions was that it would remain the constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines once independence was granted on July 4, 1946.
“In 1940, the 1935 Constitution was amended by the National Assembly of the
Philippines. The legislature was changed from a unicameral assembly to a bicameral
congress. The amendment also changed the term limit of the President of the Philippines
from six years with no reelection to four years with a possibility of being reelected for a
second term.
“During World War II the Japanese-sponsored government nullified the 1935
Constitution and appointed Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence to
replace it. The 1943 Constitution was used by the Second Republic with Jose P. Laurel as
President.
“Upon the liberation of the Philippines in 1945, the 1935 Constitution came back into
effect. The Constitution remained unaltered until 1947 when the Philippine Congress
called for its amendment through Commonwealth Act No. 733. On March 11, 1947 the
Parity amendment gave United States citizens equal rights with Filipino citizens to
develop natural resources in the country and operate public utilities. The Constitution,
thereafter, remained the same until the declaration of martial law on September 23, 1972.”
(“Constitution Day,” n.d., par. 3-6)

Readings in Philippine History

“The Roxas Administration (May 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948). President Manuel Roxas, in
his first State of the Nation Address, detailed the challenges the country was facing in the
aftermath of war and what he intended to do to address such challenges:

“Roxas’ 1st State of the Nation Address. ‘All of you can see with your own eyes the
destruction which surrounds us and the grave perils which threaten our survival as a
nation… Our people are to inherit a prostrate and war-devastated land. The extent of that
devastation was total. Despite the hum and bustle of activity in our cities, we have not yet
started on the major premises of reconstruction.
‘We are faced first of all by the fact that our Government is without financial means to
support even its basic functions, not to speak of the great projects in rehabilitation and
economic development, which we contemplate and which are, indeed, vital to our
continued existence…
‘Our national production itself is a pittance… The savings of our people and the
windfall of money brought us by the liberation forces are rapidly disappearing. They will
disappear at an even faster rate unless we arrest the unfavorable balance of trade with
drastic measures. The most obvious remedy is to increase our production and exports. This
we must do without delay.
‘Our transportation facilities…have been completely disrupted.
Only in recent weeks has the United States Government been
disposing of trucks and motor vehicles at a sufficient rate to enable
us to look forward to some measure of transportation recovery. But
our roads are a shambles, with a vicious tendency to deplete our
usable motor vehicles and at the same time impede the rate of the
flow of goods to market. Waterborne transport, especially in
coastwise trade, is still only a fraction of what it should be… Most of
our railroads are depleted of rolling stock and the lines themselves
are in a sad state of disrepair. Bridges and roads are in crying need
of reconstruction.
 ‘Public health and sanitation have retreated far from the level, which existed before the
war. Epidemic is a constant threat. The three great pests of our land–the rat, the mosquito,
and the locust–have thrived on our misfortunes and threaten us with both disease and
hunger. Famine is a strong possibility; shortages of food are even now critical. We are
immediately faced by a shortage, which will grow more critical within the next few
months… In some sections of the country rice is not being planted because of the lack of
carabaos and the threat of rats and locusts. In others, planting is diminished because of the
absence of law and order and the fear that the harvest may be stolen.
‘These are not yet all of our ills…In the Central Luzon provinces, and in one of the
provinces of Mindanao, force prevails rather than law. Bands of men possessing illegal
arms defy the forces of peace and order and have instituted their own misguided rule. It is
estimated that over 300,000 arms are illegally held in the Philippines today. Social and
economic injustices especially acute in those areas have been proper soil for the harvest of
violence. We shall do our best to remedy the economic ailments, the best that is within our
means and our understanding. We will not permit for one unnecessary moment the
defiance of law or the imposition of tyrannical terror. Peace and order will be restored with
understanding, with tolerance and with proper regard for the causes which gave rise to
this development. But there will be no compromise with lawlessness, no trafficking with
terror. Laws will be obeyed and arms will be surrendered. The welfare of the people of
those areas will be safeguarded.
‘In regard to labor, we are faced by the growing specter of unemployment. Hundreds
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have been discharged from jobs on Army and Navy installations…There are no productive
enterprises available to absorb their energies… There is no easy formula to solve this
problem. It will require the aid not only of the United States, which we anticipate, but also
a recognition by all our people of their duty to invest their savings in productive
enterprises.
‘The United States Congress recently enacted two major pieces of legislation for our
relief-one of them is the Trade Rehabilitation Act, and the other the War Damage Act.
These Acts are major factors in our economic recovery… One of them–the Trade
Rehabilitation Act–requires implementation by the Philippine Congress… Without this
legislation we cannot immediately start our rehabilitation program; without this aid, I
seriously doubt whether we would be able even to feed and clothe our people during the
critical days ahead. Certainly, we would be unable to establish the economic foundations
required for the support of our independence.
‘I have lately returned from the United States… I asked for a government loan of
approximately 800 million pesos to be lent to us in five yearly installments, the first
installment to be 200 million pesos and the second 12 per cent less, the third 12 per cent
less than that, and so forth… I have also asked the Export-Import Bank of the United States,
a government-owned bank, for a rehabilitation loan. We discussed projects, which will
require 500 million pesos. This loan may take some time to negotiate. I intend to see that
every peso of this loan, when made is wisely and economically expended for self-
liquidating projects.
‘We took up the matter of military bases which are to be established by the United
States in the Philippines…The specific determination of those bases is now under
negotiation. I have not yet been formally advised of all the specific sites considered by the
United States as necessary for the protection of both countries; I expect that final
agreement will be reached very soon.
‘As we start out on the road to rehabilitation, as we make our plans for the
reconstruction of our country, we must work along two lines. The first is the simplest–to
rebuild those industries and those enterprises, which were destroyed by the war. But that
is only half our goal. We must also plan and work in terms of broadening our economy, of
securing wider and wider participation in business and industry of greater and greater
numbers of individuals… One answer to this, of course, is small business. Small business
 is one of the bulwarks of democracy. Small factories, small shops, small processing plants
attracting the ingenuity of individuals and the enterprise of small groups, are economically
essential and socially desirable.’ (“President Roxas on First State..” [an excerpt],1946)

“In leading a ‘cash-starved government’ that needed to attend a battered nation,

President Roxas campaigned for the parity amendment to the 1935 Constitution. This
amendment, demanded by the Philippine Trade Relations Act or the Bell Trade
Act, would give American citizens and industries the right to utilize the country’s natural
resources in return for rehabilitation support from the United States…
“The amendment was necessary to attract rehabilitation funds and investments.. On
March 11, 1947, a total of 432,933 (78.89% of the electorate) voted in favor of the parity
amendment. The approval of the amendment had provided the nation with $620
million in war damage compensation, through the Philippine War Damage Commission.
“A major initiative arising from preliminary wartime discussions about the future
security of the Philippines, was the US–Philippine Military Bases Agreement of 1947,
which gave the United States the right to retain the use of sixteen bases, free of rent, with
the option to use seven more for a term of 99 years.
“The Roxas administration also pioneered the foreign policy of the Republic. Vice
President Elpidio Quirino was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. General Carlos P.
Romulo, as permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, helped
shape the country’s international identity in the newly established stage for international
diplomacy and relations. During the Roxas administration, the Philippines established

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diplomatic ties with foreign countries and gained membership to international entities,
such as the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the
International Labor Organization (ILO), etc.

1. What were the major socio-economic problems the Philippines immediately after
World War II?
2. How did the Roxas administration respond to these problems?
3. What Constitutional amendment was made in exchange for U.S. aids and grants for
the Philippines’ war rehabilitation program?

“The Quirino Administration (April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953). President Elpidio
Quirino’s goal as chief executive, as stated in his first State of the Nation Address,
revolved around strengthening the people’s confidence in the government and the
restoration of peace.

Quirino’s 1st State of the Nation Speech. ‘My first concern was to complete the
restoration of peace and order and to strengthen our people’s morale and confidence in the
government. My first act in this direction was to order the reduction in the price of Class E
rice…This order reduced the cost not only of other grades of rice but also of other essential
commodities whose price structure is dependent on the cost of rice.
‘Then I made the first of my visits to the troubled areas in Central
Luzon. Here the dissident elements [Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa
Hapon (HUKBALAHAP) led by Luis Taruc] were terrorizing the
population with kidnappings and depredations. They were preying
for food and other necessities upon the poor people of Pampanga,
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, the very people whose interests they
were pretending to protect, whose welfare they were professing to
promote. That tour elicited the offer of cooperation from the leader of
 is one of the bulwarks of democracy. Small factories, small shops, small processing plants
attracting the ingenuity of individuals and the enterprise of small groups, are economically
essential and socially desirable.’ (“President Roxas on First State..” [an excerpt],1946)

“In leading a ‘cash-starved government’ that needed to attend a battered nation,

President Roxas campaigned for the parity amendment to the 1935 Constitution. This
amendment, demanded by the Philippine Trade Relations Act or the Bell Trade
Act, would give American citizens and industries the right to utilize the country’s natural
resources in return for rehabilitation support from the United States…
“The amendment was necessary to attract rehabilitation funds and investments.. On
March 11, 1947, a total of 432,933 (78.89% of the electorate) voted in favor of the parity
amendment. The approval of the amendment had provided the nation with $620
million in war damage compensation, through the Philippine War Damage Commission.
“A major initiative arising from preliminary wartime discussions about the future
security of the Philippines, was the US–Philippine Military Bases Agreement of 1947,
which gave the United States the right to retain the use of sixteen bases, free of rent, with
the option to use seven more for a term of 99 years.
“The Roxas administration also pioneered the foreign policy of the Republic. Vice
President Elpidio Quirino was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. General Carlos P.
Romulo, as permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, helped
shape the country’s international identity in the newly established stage for international
diplomacy and relations. During the Roxas administration, the Philippines established

Readings in Philippine History

diplomatic ties with foreign countries and gained membership to international entities,
such as the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the
International Labor Organization (ILO), etc.

1. What were the major socio-economic problems the Philippines immediately after
World War II?
2. How did the Roxas administration respond to these problems?
3. What Constitutional amendment was made in exchange for U.S. aids and grants for
the Philippines’ war rehabilitation program?

“The Quirino Administration (April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953). President Elpidio
Quirino’s goal as chief executive, as stated in his first State of the Nation Address,
revolved around strengthening the people’s confidence in the government and the
restoration of peace.

Quirino’s 1st State of the Nation Speech. ‘My first concern was to complete the
restoration of peace and order and to strengthen our people’s morale and confidence in the
government. My first act in this direction was to order the reduction in the price of Class E
rice…This order reduced the cost not only of other grades of rice but also of other essential
commodities whose price structure is dependent on the cost of rice.
‘Then I made the first of my visits to the troubled areas in Central
Luzon. Here the dissident elements [Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa
Hapon (HUKBALAHAP) led by Luis Taruc] were terrorizing the
population with kidnappings and depredations. They were preying
for food and other necessities upon the poor people of Pampanga,
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, the very people whose interests they
were pretending to protect, whose welfare they were professing to
promote. That tour elicited the offer of cooperation from the leader of
 the dissident elements. It resulted eventually…in the issuance of an Amnesty Proclamation.
‘During the period of the Amnesty, the people of Central Luzon, especially those
seeking shelter in the poblaciones and those hiding in the hills, found it safe once more to
return to their homes and resume the cultivation of their farms. No less than six thousand
one hundred hectares in the troubled areas that had lain idle for four or five years were
planted to rice. Upon the expiration of the proclamation period, the misguided elements
resumed their defiance of the government. They began again to harass the people during
harvest time. But the government, through an effective Constabulary campaign, has been
able not only to break their organization, driving the remnants to the deep recesses of the
Sierra Madre, but to secure the biggest rice harvest since the outbreak of the war despite a
drought and other natural calamities.
‘The Amnesty also served to unmask the dissidents. It exposed their communistic
inspiration and direction. It uncovered their real purpose to overthrow the government,
which they had cloaked by agitation for so-called social and agrarian reforms. Realizing
this as they never had before, our law-abiding citizens gave the government all their
loyalty and support in the subsequent policy it followed of going after the dissidents with
all its strength and power to uphold the law.
‘The government shall continue its vigilance against potential disruptive elements
which impair the efficiency of our productive efforts. We will not tolerate further
interference with the steady prosecution of our social and economic program.
‘My second immediate objective was to provide for relief to the people in the troubled
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areas. By executive order I created the Action Committee on Social Amelioration. I charged
it with the duty to go to the field and minister to the needy, the hungry, the homeless and
the sick, to victims of dissident, depredations and violence. I placed the four million pesos
appropriated by Congress for peace and order and relief at the disposal of the Committee.
‘The Action Committee has carried out a program of social amelioration on a
systematic and comprehensive scale. Some 700,000 needy people in thirteen provinces and
chartered cities secured direct assistance food, clothing, medicine and, in some cases, direct
cash loans. These loans amounted to P205,000 and were given to tenant-farmers… In
addition, the Committee distributed P330,000 worth of seeds, mainly palay, for
distribution to farmers to augment the production of rice. Other food crops have likewise
been planted. To provide employment to long unemployed people, the construction of
public works projects in the troubled area was speeded up. In order to encourage the
establishment of homes for the landless, the acquisition of big landed estates to be parceled
for resale to bonafide tenants at cost was also accelerated.
‘By the approval of Republic Act No. 304, we have solved the long standing demand
among our thousands of government employees for backpay... By Acts Nos. 312 and 315,
we have increased the minimum salaries of teachers, enlisted men and other small
government employees...
‘We have obtained from the United States Government provision for the
hospitalization of our veterans. Our government has extended to our heroes of the war
and the resistance such benefits as we have been able initially to afford. We have warded
off epidemics. Large-scaIe immunization work has been accomplished. Medical care and
facilities have been extended. Traveling clinics have been established. Hospitals…have
been rehabilitated. We are taking steps to introduce on a big scale in our country the latest
advances in medical science including new drugs and vaccines for the treatment or
prevention of leprosy and tuberculosis.
‘We have solved the heretofore recurrent school crisis. Nine thousand additional
classes were opened throughout the country. We have made possible the admission of
every child of school age seeking entrance to our public schools. For the first time in the
history of civil administration in this country there was no such thing as a school crisis this
school year.
 ‘We have set up the Central Bank to expand our credit, stabilize our currency and
provide a new source of financing for the agricultural and industrial development of the
nation. With the operation of the Central Bank, we expect to maintain our domestic
monetary stability, the international value of the peso, the free convertibility of the peso
into United States dollars and other freely convertible currencies, and the promotion of a
rising level of production, employment and real income.
‘The most important and urgent aim of this administration at this stage is increased
production and social amelioration. We cannot indefinitely ride on the foam of foreign
charity and friendship… The pensions to war widows, orphans and disabled veterans
must continue with adequate funds therefore. The nation owes an eternal debt of gratitude
to them. Their sacrifices shall not be in vain. I beseech the Congress to give the matter
immediate consideration… I urge total economic mobilization. Our economic structure
should be built from below, making the foundation firm and accessible to the general
population so that everyone can contribute to and share in the benefits of our material
progress…In our economic mobilization, we should give priority to our already
established major industries. The abaca industry needs replanting and expansion. The
tobacco industry must be revived and its foreign markets reopened. The industrial
processes developed for the coconut industry must be fully exploited. The prewar sugar
industry must be restored and markets for excess production over domestic demand and
the United States import quota limitations must be found.” (“State-of-the-Nation
message..”[an excerpt], 1949)

1. What were the primary goals of the Quirino administration for the Filipino people?

Readings in Philippine History

2. What was Quirino’s explanation why his amnesty program for the ‘dissident
elements’ in Central Luzon failed?
3. What was Quirino’s Social Amelioration Program all about?
4. What were the roles of the Central Bank in our economy?
5. What does Pres. Quirino’s statement, “Our economic structure should be built from
below” mean?

“The Magsaysay Administration (December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957). To help the rural
masses was the focal point of the populist administration of President Ramon Magsaysay.
President Magsaysay insisted in meeting and communicating with his people. In his
first Executive Order, he established the Presidential Complaint and Action Commission,
which investigated various citizen complaints and recommended remedial actions
through different government agencies. The Commission served to boost the nation’s
confidence with its government; it was seen as a fulfillment of President Magsaysay’s
promise, stated in his inaugural address, to become a President for the people. The
principles of the Magsaysay administration were codified in the Magsaysay Credo, and
became the theme of leadership and public service.

“The Magsaysay Credo [1956]:

‘I believe that government starts at the bottom and moves upward, for government exists
for the welfare of the masses of the nation.
I believe that he who has less in life should have more in law.
I believe that the little man is fundamentally entitled to a little bit more food in his stomach,
a little more cloth in his back and a little more roof over his head.
I believe that this nation is endowed with a vibrant and stout heart, and possesses
untapped capabilities and incredible resiliency.
I believe that a high and unwavering sense of morality should pervade all spheres of
governmental activity.
 I believe that the pulse of government should be strong and steady, and the men at the
helm imbued with missionary zeal.
I believe in the majesty of constitutional and legal processes, in the inviolability of human
rights.
I believe that the free world is collectively strong, and that there is neither need or reason
to compromise the dignity of man.
I believe that communism is iniquity, as is the violence it does to the principles of
Christianity.
I believe that the President should set the example of a big heart, an honest mind, sound
instincts, the virtue of healthy impatience and an abiding love for the common man.’

“Magsaysay’s Inaugural Speech. ‘You have called upon me to assume the highest office
within our gift. I accept the trust humbly and gratefully. My sole determination is to be
President for the people.
‘The office of President is the highest in the land. It can be the humblest also, if we
regard it – as we must – in the light of basic democratic principles. The first of these
principles is the declaration of the Constitution that “sovereignty resides in the people and
all government authority emanates from them.” This simply means that all of us in public
office are but servants of the people.
‘As I see it, your mandate in the past election was not a license for the selfish
enjoyment of power by any man or group of men. On the contrary, it was an endorsement
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of the principle – at times forgotten – that the general welfare is the only justification for
the exercise of governmental power and authority.
‘Your mandate was a clear and urgent command to establish for
our people a government based upon honesty and morality; a
government sensitive to your needs, dedicated to your best interests,
and inspired by our highest ideals of man’s liberty…
‘From this day, the members of my administration, beginning
with myself, shall cease to belong to our parties, to our families, even
to ourselves. We shall belong only to the people. In the
administration of public affairs, all men entrusted with authority
must adhere firmly to the ideals and principles of the Constitution.
‘I will render – and demand – uncompromising loyalty to the
basic tenet of our Constitution; that you, the people, are sovereign. The rule of government
must be service to you. Accordingly, I pledge my administration to your service. I pledge
that we shall extend the protection of the law to everyone, fairly and impartially – to the
rich and the poor, the learned and the unlettered – recognizing no party but the nation, no
family but the great family of our race, no interest save the common welfare.
‘The Bill of Rights shall be for me and the members of my administration, a bill of
duties. We shall be guardians of the freedom and dignity of the individual. More than this,
we shall strive to give meaning and substance to the liberties guaranteed by our
Constitution – by helping our citizens to attain the economic well-being so essential to the
enjoyment of civil and political rights.
‘The separation of powers ordained by our Constitution – as an effective safeguard
against tyranny – shall be preserved zealously. Mutual respect for the rights and
prerogative of each of the three great departments of government must be observed. The
legislative power vested by the Constitution, in the elected representatives of the people
will, I trust, operate vigorously to prosecute our common program of honest, efficient and
constructive government. As Executive, I look forward to intimate cooperation with the
members of Congress, particularly with those statesmen who have stood guard over the
rights and liberties of our people. The independence of the judiciary shall be strengthened.
Our courts must be freed from political and other baneful influences, so that they may
 function with the same integrity and impartially which have made our Supreme Court the
fortress of law and justice.
‘Heretofore, social justice has raised fervent but frustrated hopes in the hearts of our
less fortunate citizens. We must not permit social justice to be an empty phrase in our
Constitution. We must bring it to life – for all. In consonance with this purpose, my
administration shall take positive, energetic measures to improve the living conditions of
our fellow citizens in the barrios and neglected rural areas and of laborers in our urban
and industrial centers.
‘The land tenure system of our country shall be reexamined, to purge it of injustice and
oppression. ‘Land for the landless’ shall be more than just a catch-phrase. We will translate it
into actuality. We will clear and open for settlement our vast and fertile public lands which,
under the coaxing of willing hearts and industrious hands, are waiting to yield substance to
millions of our countrymen.
‘Democracy becomes meaningless if it fails to satisfy the primary needs of the common
man, if it cannot give him freedom from fear and on which a strong republic can be built.
His happiness and security are the only foundations on which a strong republic can be
built. His happiness and security shall be foremost among the goals of my administration.
‘We must develop the national economy so that it may better satisfy the material needs
of our people. The benefits of any economic or industrial development program shall be
channeled first to our common people, so that their living standards shall be raised.
‘While I shall give priority to our domestic problems, my administration will not
neglect our international responsibilities. We cannot escape the fact that, today, the

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destinies of nations are closely linked. It is in this spirit that we regard the goodwill and
assistance extended to us through the various programs of international economic
cooperation with the more developed nations, chiefly the United States. Considering this
aid to be primarily a means of speeding up our progress toward self-reliance, I pledge that
every peso worth of assistance will be spent honestly and to the best advantage.
‘It is to our common interest that this Republic, a monument to mutual goodwill and
common labor, should prove to the world the vitality of the democracy by which we live.
We shall continue to cooperate with the United Nations in seeking collective security and a
just world peace. ‘No effect will be spared, no element of cooperation will be withheld in
strengthening and safeguarding our physical security. We are prepared to live up to all
our obligations under our Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.
‘Certainly we cannot temporize with armed dissidence. I therefore call upon the
remnants of the Huk uprising still hiding in the hills to lay down their arms – and rejoin
the rest of the nation in the ways of peace. I say to the rank and file of the Huks – who have
been misled by the lies of the Kremlin – that they can win the economic security and social
justice they desire only within the framework of our democracy. We shall welcome back
the truly repentant with understanding and with sympathy. But, to the leaders of the
Communist conspiracy who would deliver this country and its people to a foreign power,
this I say: I shall use all the forces at my command to the end that the sovereign authority
of this government shall be respected and maintained. There can be no compromise with
disloyalty.’(Inaugural address, [an excerpt], 1953)

“Among the accomplishments of the Magsaysay administration were: the Social Security
Law of 1954 or Republic Act No. 1161. In an effort to solve the problems of communism
and insurgency, President Magsaysay sought to protect the farmers, through the creation
of laws such as: the Agricultural Tenancy Act of the Philippines or Republic Act No. 1199;
the Land Reform Act of 1955 through Republic Act No. 1400; the formation of the Court of
Agrarian Relations through Republic Act No. 1267; and the National Resettlement and
Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) through Republic Act No. 1160. The
administration achieved victory over insurgents with the surrender of Huk leader Luis
Taruc in 1954. In the field of international diplomacy and defense, President Magsaysay,
 through the Manila Pact of 1954 or the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, led the
establishment of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO).

1. What did Pres. Magsaysay mean with his statement, “…he who has less in life
should have more in law”?
2. What does the statement, “Sovereignty resides in the people and all government
authority emanates from them” mean?
3. What were the major social problems identified by Pres. Magsaysay in his speech?
4. How did he plan to solve (or have solved) such problems?

“The Garcia Administration (March 18, 1957 – December 30, 1961). President Garcia
used the momentum of the previous administration’s campaign on social welfare and
signed the amendment of the Social Security Law through Republic Act 1792, establishing
the Social Security System on September 1, 1957. President Garcia ran for the presidential
elections of 1957. It was the first time in electoral history where there were four serious
contenders to the presidency, namely: Jose Yulo, Claro M. Recto, Manuel Manahan, and
President Garcia. The incumbent president won the elections with 41.3% of the electorate.
It was the first time that a president was elected by plurality of candidates instead of a
majority vote. It was also the first time where the elected president and vice president did
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not come from the same political party—President Garcia was a Nacionalista and Vice
President Diosdado Macapagal a Liberal.
“The Garcia administration promoted the “Filipino First” policy, whose focal point
was to regain economic independence; a national effort by Filipinos to “obtain major and
dominant participation in their economy.” The administration campaigned for the citizens’
support in patronizing Filipino products and services, and implemented import and
currency controls favorable for Filipino industries. In connection with the government’s
goal of self-sufficiency was the “Austerity Program,” which President Garcia described in
his first State of the Nation Address as “more work, more thrift, more productive
investment, and more efficiency” that aimed to mobilize national savings. The Anti Graft
and Corrupt Practices Act, through Republic Act No. 301, aimed to prevent corruption,
and promote honesty and public trust. Another achievement of the Garcia administration
was the Bohlen–Serrano Agreement of 1959, which shortened the term of lease of the US
military bases in the country from the previous 99 to 25 years.

“Garcia’s 1st State of the Nation Address. ‘Fortunately, we have succeeded to an

administration that was also our own because most of us were part of it and because,
under the concept of party responsibility, its policies were formulated and implemented
by us. Consequently, we have to continue these policies; with some addition, we must
continue building up the nation, spurred by the dynamics of progressive national growth.
‘Without resorting to substantial foreign assistance, we achieved
our economic progress at some sacrifice of our international reserve.
The question of why the country’s international reserve has con-
tinued to decline in spite of controls finds an answer in our
committed policy of development within a framework of monetary
stability. The reserve has not been dissipated as the pattern of
importation clearly demonstrates. It has been increasingly put to use
to purchase the machinery and the tools of our industrialization
without which no satisfactory solution to the problems of poverty
and unemployment would ever be possible. In addition to the
increased requirements of our growing industries, we dipped into
our reserve for the expanding needs of our growing population for imported essential
consumer goods. However, we cannot continue to draw on our dwindling reserve
indefinitely at the present pace without undermining the international value of the peso
and completely setting back our development program completely set at its crucial stages.
‘As we reached this limit, in drawing on our international reserve as the inflationary
effects of the heavy spending for development became correspondingly greater on the
domestic economy as indicated by recent spiraling of prices. No one in this country
considers inflation compatible in our democratic system. Aside from its manifest social in-
justices, it creates social unrest. The Government and our citizenry are determined to
insure economic and monetary stability even if this means a temporary retrenchment in
our program.
‘We do have problems and serious ones that challenge the best in us to solve them.
Self-denial and even some sacrifices may be needed. We have the problems of food in-
sufficiency, unemployment, rising prices, dwindling international reserve, decreasing
revenue collections, increasing budgetary requirements, and other problems of equal
importance and urgency. But with faith and courage we will meet these problems and
solve them to the satisfaction of our people.
‘Economic problems are not solved in a day, and foreign assistance does not
immediately jump at the beck of opportunity. We must, therefore, face the fact
that we shall have to rely mainly on our own resources if we are to proceed with our
development. It is clear that we cannot continue to draw on our international reserve at the
present rate. But a slackening for a time of our consumption of dollars would mean either

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cutting down our imports of machinery and raw materials—or sacrificing more of our
consumer imports in favor of the industrial. The cause of economic progress constrains us
to take the latter course, while efforts are being exerted to explore sources of new capital
from abroad.
‘We cannot expect to bring about the degree of economic improvement which we have
set for our country without diverting a higher proportion of the national income to capital
investment. Such a course inescapably entails our foregoing of less essential consumption
and wasteful investment. This implies a policy of voluntary austerity on the part of our
people since we are a democratic nation. Sacrifice and a policy of austerity will have to be
adopted temporarily on many fronts.
‘Austerity as a policy means temperate spending. It signifies more work, more thrift,
more productive investment, and more efficiency. It means less imports and less
extravagant consumption. It is a challenge to our resiliency as a people to change our past
habits and make thrift and economy our everyday way of living. Imposed on us by harsh
realities; the exercise of austerity in our everyday life is a desirable end in itself. The
Government will do all in its power to direct the main impact of this policy against,
extravagant consumption and ostentatious living in a way that: will not affect
the basic living standard of the ordinary individual. Curbing such consumption and
eliminating wasteful and unproductive activities the only safe and sound way by which
we can move ahead in our development program without running the risk of national
retrogression. The situation calls for continuing energetic and courageous action on our
part.
‘Our first and immediate goal…is self-sufficiency in food, specifically in rice, corn, and
fish. It is a challenge to our industry and sense of proportion as a people that, blessed with
vast and virgin lands and a favourable climate, we have so far failed to produce enough
rice and corn to feed ourselves. Likewise, endowed with great bodies of water from which
fish of all varieties can be had for the taking, we cannot supply even the minimum needs
of our people. Yet, these commodities are the real index to our national well-being. They
also exert a profound influence on the general level of prices. Abundant cheap rice may be
our most effective weapon against inflation. I therefore propose an intensified rice
production… Under this program, we envisaged: (a) the distribution of fertilizers, selected
 seeds and insecticides to small farmers of food crops; (b) the speeding up of the completion
of irrigation projects now underway; and (c) the building of impounding reservoirs to
guarantee adequate water supply even during drought. We must provide other aids and
devise incentives, preferably in kind, and emphasize intensive and scientific cultivation.
Similar measures must be taken with respect to fish and fowls and livestock.
‘We must not take for granted that our natural resources cannot be exhausted… The
cutting of timber must be followed by reforestation; fishing must be followed by
replenishment of our river and lakes with fry; mining must be done with high recovery
method; and farming must be done with re-fertilization…
‘Intensive and extensive scientific research is a necessary hand-maiden of both the
utilization and conservation of natural resources. I, therefore, request more appropriations
for scientific research. Positive encouragement must be extended to private industry and
the universities to enable them to cooperate to their fullest capacity with the Government
to the end that they may ultimately take over the burden of such research work… Research
may enable us to raise all the cotton and ramie we need for our textile industry, kenaf for
our bags, and the rubber for our tire and rubber industry. It may lead to the discovery of
new uses, as raw materials or food or medicine or chemicals, of our crops, plants, and
other products, and to the invention of machines and equipment suited to our farms,
forests, and other needs…
‘We are stepping up the campaign against smuggling at our ports, sea frontiers, and
other areas in order to prevent the leakage of dollars and the evasion of taxes…
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‘Our domestic transportation system must be extensively revamped so as to do away

with wasteful practices and conserve fuel and spare parts.
‘We must try to extend greater incentives and encouragement to our small producers
on the cottage industry level… These cottage industries, integrated and strengthened
through the establishment of a common clearing house for the regulation of standards as
well as for marketing and financing facilities, can become a solid base for further industrial
growth.
‘We must define in clear terms our foreign investment policy. It is my considered
opinion that foreign investments, through welcome, should be admitted on
a selective basis in order that legitimate Filipino business may be protected, particularly in
fields already being fully exploited by our own nationals… While efforts to obtain foreign
loans for our development is believed necessary, domestic capital must be encouraged to
participate fully in Philippine business.
‘It is time to gear our educational system to our economic development program. Since
up-to-date textbooks and modern equipment essential to efficient instruction are not being
supplied adequately to our schools, their acquisition through sufficient appropriation
should be given serious consideration.
‘As a means of augmenting our foreign earnings, we must promote tourism and
improve local facilities to take care of the increased passenger and cargo
traffic that passes through our country. Our cultural landmarks and public places must be
kept in good condition, and new facilities for cultural expression and preservation must be
provided. Art is dear to the Filipino soul.
‘I shall continue to insist on honesty and integrity in the public service. I must serve
stern warning that erring public servants will be dealt with severely but justly. Deserving
employees, however, will be rewarded. This Administration will exert its utmost in
combating all forms of graft and corruption in the government.’ (Message of President, [an
excerpt], 1958)

1. What was the goal of Pres. Garcia’s “Filipino First” policy?

2. What is the role of Pres. Garcia’s “Austerity Program” in the achievement of his goal
for self-sufficiency?
3. What problems emerged as a result of the use of our country’s international
reserve (as pointed by Pres. Garcia)?
4. What was Pres. Garcia’s policy on foreign investments in Philippines?
5. What was the importance of “scientific research” in Pres. Garcia’s self-sufficiency
program?

“The Macapagal Administration (December 30, 1961- December 30, 1965). President
Diosdado Macapagal, during his inaugural address on December 30, 1961, emphasized the
responsibilities and goals to be attained in the “new era” that was the Macapagal
administration. He reiterated his resolve to eradicate corruption, and assured the public
that honesty would prevail in his presidency. President Macapagal, too, aimed at self-
sufficiency and the promotion of every citizen’s welfare, through the partnership of the
government and private sector, and to alleviate poverty by providing solutions for
unemployment.
Among the laws passed during the Macapagal administration were: Republic Act No.
3844 or the Agricultural Land Reform Code (an act that established the Land Bank of the
Philippines); Republic Act No. 3466, which established the Emergency Employment
Administration; Republic Act No. 3518, which established the Philippine Veterans
Bank; Republic Act No. 3470, which established the National Cottage Industries
Development Authority (NACIDA) to organize, revive, and promote the establishment of

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local cottage industries; and Republic Act No. 4156, which established the Philippine
National Railways (PNR) to operate the national railroad and tramways. The
administration lifted foreign exchange controls as part of the decontrol program in an
attempt to promote national economic stability and growth. In the field of foreign
relations, the Philippines became a founding member of Maphilindo [Malaysia-
Philippines-Indonesia], through the Manila Accord of 1963. The regional organization of
Malay states strove for ‘Asian solutions by Asian nations for Asian problems,’ and aimed
to solve national and regional problems through regional diplomacy.

“Macapagal’s inaugural address. ‘Bound by the oath I have just taken, I am resolved that I
shall be the President not only of the members of my party but of all political groups; I
shall be President not only of the rich but more so of the poor; and I shall be President not
only of one sector but of all the people. The primary function of the President is not to
dispense favors but to dispense justice.
‘Our aims are two-fold: first, to solve the immediate problems
of the present and, second, to build materially and spiritually for
the future…Our first mission is the solution of the problem of
corruption… I shall consider it, therefore, my duty to set a personal
example in honesty and uprightness. We must prove that ours is
not a Nation of hopeless grafters but a race of good and decent men
and women.
‘Our second mission is to attain self-sufficiency food of our
people, namely, rice and corn. The elemental needs of every people
are food, clothing and shelter. We shall give impetus to industries
that will provide clothing for our population at reasonable prices. In
collaboration with private enterprise, we shall invigorate the
national housing program and devote particular attention to proper housing for
countrymen who earn the lowest income and the indigents who live under subhuman
conditions.
‘The basic national problem is the poverty of the masses. Our third mission, therefore,
is the creation of conditions that will provide more income for our people – income for
 those who have none and more income for those whose earnings are inadequate for their
elemental needs. Millions of our people are unemployed and millions more are
unemployed and millions more are under-employed. We must rectify this situation to help
our people attain a higher level of living and create the domestic buying power that can
help generate prosperity. Unless solved in time, this problem will worsen to the point of
disaster in view of our population explosion.
‘The permanent solution to this problem is the rapid and sound utilization of our vast
and rich natural resources in order to create opportunities for employment. We believe
that the effective accomplishment of this task should be left to the citizens themselves, that
is, to private enterprise.
Our fourth mission is to launch a bold but well-formulated socio-economic program
that shall place the country on the road to prosperity for all our people. In essence, the
program will call for a return to free and private enterprise… I strongly believe in placing
the burden of economic development in the hands of private entrepreneurs with the least
government interference while making the Government assume the full responsibility for
implementing the social and public welfare program.
‘I believe in private enterprise because I have faith in the Filipino. I am convinced that
if his future is placed in his own hands and conditions are created in which he may seek
his prosperity and carve his own destiny – with his integrity, talent, industry and sense of
sacrifice – he shall surmount attendant difficulties, husband the natural bounty that God
has bestowed for his well-being, effectively provide for his needs and transform our
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country at an early time into a land of abundance not only for a favored few but for each
and every Filipino.
‘Our fifth mission, therefore, is to establish the practices and the example that will
strengthen the moral fiber of our Nation and reintroduce those values that would
invigorate our democracy. This we shall seek through formal modes of reform, through
enforcement of statutes and, whenever feasible, through the power of example. I shall
accordingly endeavor to set the tone not only for integrity but also for simple living, hard
work, and dedication to the national well-being.
‘Nation-building is an exacting and endless endeavor. No President can build the
whole edifice of a nation. All that he is called upon to do is to add a fine stone to that
edifice, so that those who shall come after him may add other fine stones that will go for a
strong and enduring structure. I stress anew that stone that we are assigned to contribute
to the edifice of a greater Philippines is, first, to attend to such short-range problems as
sufficiency in the staple food of the people, and more employment, and second, to
undertake a long-range task of moral renaissance and the implementation of a socio-
economic blueprint which, although not immediately achieving prosperity, will lead to
that prosperity for all our people.
‘In the past electoral combat, our people showed the strength of our democracy in this
part of the world by bringing about a peaceful change of Administration through the ballot
and not through the bullet. Simultaneously, democracy displayed its splendor by showing
that under its aegis a poor man who sprang from the humblest origin and who has not
attained a state of riches can rise to the Presidency of the Republic. I, whom the sovereign
will in a democracy has chosen as the means for the exhibition of the reality of its virtue of
offering equal opportunity to the rich and the poor alike, am now called upon to prove
that such a gift of opportunity to our humble citizenry shall not be in vain.’ (Inaugural
address, [an excerpt], 1961)

1. What did Pres. Macapagal mean by his statement, “the primary function of the
President is not to dispense favors but to dispense justice”?
2. What were the primary objectives of the Macapagal administration?
3. Why did Pres. Macapagal state that “nation-building is an exacting and endless
endeavor”?
4. In terms of national economy, how is Pres. Macapagal’s socio-economic program
different from that of Pres. Garcia’s?

“The Marcos Administration (December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986). The last president
of the Third Republic of the Philippines was President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Prior to the
events of Martial Law, the first term of the Marcos administration, as emphasized in
his inaugural address on December 30, 1965, focused on ‘the revival of the greatness of the
nation.’
‘President Marcos, faced with the challenge of corruption in the government,
reorganized the Armed Forces, the Philippine Constabulary, and the Bureau of Internal
Revenue. In an attempt to solve the problem of technical smuggling, the Bureau of
Customs was also reorganized. The administration, with a goal to strengthen the local
economy, devised construction programs and irrigation projects. The promotion of
Philippine heritage, culture, and arts was achieved through the establishment of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in 1969.
‘Under the Marcos administration, the country hosted the Manila Summit in 1966. The
conference aimed to resolve the Vietnam War, and sought the restoration of peace and the
promotion of economic stability and development throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
President Marcos won his re-election bid in the 1969 presidential elections against Liberal
Party’s Sergio Osmeña Jr., the first to do so in the Third Republic.

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“Marcos’s Inaugural Address. ‘For indeed we must rise from the depths of ignominy and
failure. Our government is gripped in the iron hand of venality, its treasury is barren, its
resources are wasted, its civil service is slothful and indifferent, its armed forces
demoralized and its councils sterile. But we shall draw from our rich resources of spiritual
strength that flow from this place of martyrdom.
‘We are in crisis. You know that the government treasury is empty. Only by severed
self-denial will there be hope for recovery within the next year. Our government in the
past few months has exhausted all available domestic and foreign sources of borrowing.
Our public financial institutions have been burdened to the last loanable peso. The lending
capacity of the Central Bank has been utilized to the full. Our national government is
indebted to our local governments. There are no funds available for public works and little
of the appropriations for our national government for the present fiscal year. Industry is at
a standstill. Many corporations have declared bankruptcy. Local manufacturing firms have
been compelled to close or reduce their capacity.
‘Unemployment has increased. Prices of essential commodities
and services remain unstable. The availability of rice remains
uncertain. Very recently the transportation companies with the
sanction of the Public Service Commission hiked their fares on the
plea of survival.
‘I, therefore, first call upon the public servants for self-sacrifice.
Long have we depended upon the people. In every crisis, we call
upon our citizens to bear the burden of sacrifice. Now, let the
people depend upon us. The economic viability of the government
and of the nation requires immediate retrenchment. Accordingly,
we must install without any delay a policy of rigorous fiscal
restraint. Every form of waste – or of conspicuous consumption
and extravagance, shall be condemned as inimical to public welfare.
Frugality with government funds and resources must be developed into a habit at every
level of the government. High public officials must themselves set the example.
 ‘One of the most galling of our inherited problems is that of lawlessness. Syndicated
crime has been spawned by smuggling. The democratic rule of law has lost all meaning
and majesty, since all men know that public officials combine with unscrupulous
businessmen to defraud government and the public – with absolute impunity. The
sovereignty of the republic has never before been derided and mocked as when the lawless
elements, smuggling syndicates and their protectors, disavow the power of laws and of
our government over them. This is the climate for criminality. Popular faith in the
government deteriorates. We must, therefore, aim quickly at the establishment of a
genuine rule of law. We shall use the fullest powers of the Presidency to stop smuggling
and lawlessness.
‘Our social policy will seek to broaden the base of our democracy. Our forefathers built
a democratic republic on an extremely narrow social and economic base. The task of our
generation is to broaden this base continuously. We must spread opportunities for higher
incomes for all. But we shall encourage investment to insure progressive production – the
true answer to our economic ills.
‘In international affairs, we shall be guided by the national interests and by the
conscience of our society in response to the dilemma of man in the 20th century.
‘The Filipino today lives is a world that is increasingly Asian as well as African. Asia
claims one-half of all humanity, and this half lives on a little over one-sixth of the earth’s
habitable surface. Africa’s millions are also now coming to their own. Recent events have
shown the willingness of our Asian friends to build a bridge to us. We can do less than to
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build strong foundations at our end.

‘Today, as never before, we need a new orientation toward Asian; we must intensify
the cultural identity with ancient kin, and make common cause with them in our drive
toward prosperity and peace. For this we shall require the understanding of ourselves and
of Asia that exceeds acquaintance; we require the kind of knowledge that can only be
gained through unabating scholarship on our histories, cultures, social forces and
aspirations, and through more active interaction with our friends and neighbors.
‘This nation can be great again. This I have said over and over. It is my article of faith,
and Divine Providence has willed that you and I can now translate this faith into deeds. I
have repeatedly told you: each generation writes its own history. Our forbears have
written theirs. With fortitude and excellence we must write ours. We must renew the
vision of greatness for our country… It means the rigorous pursuit of excellence.
‘It is the transformation of the Philippines into a hub of progress – of trade and
commerce in Southeast Asia.
‘It is our people bravely determining our own future. For to make the future is the
supreme act of freedom.
‘We must awake the hero inherent in every man. We must harness the wills and the
hearts of all our people. We must find the secret chords which turn ordinary men into
heroes, mediocre fighters into champions. Not one hero alone do I ask from you – but
many; nay all, I ask all of you to be the heroes of our nation.
‘Offering all our efforts to our Creator, we must drive ourselves to be great again. This
is your dream and mine. By your choice you have committed yourselves to it. Come then,
let us march together towards the dream of greatness.’ (“Inaugural address,” [an excerpt],
1965)

“Marcos’s 5th State of the Nation Address. ‘The situation in the world, as well as that in
the Philippines, is marked by sweeping change. We cannot move forward within the
grooves of old habits and outmoded institutions. Progress demands that the barriers of
centuries be broken.
‘But the pursuit of development and the breaking of barriers to progress require such
energy and endurance as may strain our resources, both of the public and the private
sectors. Thus, the balance of payments problem is now the most immediate and urgent
challenge facing our country.
‘But from an intimate knowledge of our problems, I know and I say that there is no
reason to be afraid of the dollar gap. It can and will be bridged in a short time. We should
be more concerned about the moral gap—a gap in our self-confidence and our strength of
purpose as a nation, a gap that threatens all classes of people in all stations of life . We
must turn these difficulties and problems into opportunities to strengthen our moral
fiber as a people, to temper our will and character, to imbue the nation with a
permanent sense of discipline so necessary to the achievement of progress.
‘We must offer reforms in the electoral system, abolish social iniquity, work out a
government machinery reorganization, provide a modernized penal system, discard
feudalism and at the same time oppose fascism.
‘Our confidence in the future rests on a solid base, namely, our present achievements.
The past four years have shown that the spirit of the Filipino people, properly challenged,
will more than match the dimensions of the challenges they have to confront.
‘The only condition is that the nation discipline itself towards its goals. I am not
speaking of discipline imposed by a tyrannical government, but of self-discipline in the
active exercise of freedom. Discipline is our salvation as a nation and the key to our future
greatness.
‘At this point, it is important to note three salient points relevant to economic activity:
1. First, our investment incentives policy has stimulated industrial production to a
considerable degree very much more than in the past several years.

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2. Second, our total exports continued to grow in 1969 by 6.4%, despite last year’s
drought and storms and an almost 25% reduction of exports of copra and other
coconut products; and
3. Third, the Filipino capitalist has increasingly assumed the bulk of investments in
our economy, so that today, he assumed 94.0% of the total estimated investments.
‘Job opportunities in 1969 maintained the annual average increase of 647,000 new jobs,
which represents 220% increase over the 1965 figures. This massive increase is of particular
significance because its main beneficiary was the rural areas, where employment
opportunities soared to a record annual average of 453,000.
‘In the past four years, our principal programs were the infrastructure, the educational
system, agricultural development, land reform, manpower training, and the
encouragement of exports. We will continue with these programs and add to them the new
program of tourism, rural electrification, and emphasis on export-oriented industries, as
well as the establishment of trade schools all over the country.
‘I reiterate my congratulations to the Sixth Congress for the speedy enactment of the
bill establishing a Free Trade Zone in Mariveles, Bataan. We have laid the groundwork for
the establishment of the Free Trade Zone. This is an experiment. It is my hope that once
this succeeds you will be able to establish other free trade zones in other ports of the
country. The economic benefits that this will generate are tremendous and far-reaching.
The free trade zone has aroused enthusiastic interest not only here but abroad.
‘During the past three calendar years, mineral production reached the billion-peso
mark, registering an increase of 73% in 1968 over that in 1965. Production increased further
the following year with a total output valued at P1,048.1 million. Production of precious
metals, including platinum and palladium, for 1969, reached a total of P124.6 million; base
metals, P607.3 million; nonmetals, including cement, P316.2 million…
‘For the long run, in order to revise the production patterns of the economy, measures
have been devised to promote a more outward-looking, export-oriented type of
development. In cooperation with other government agencies, the Central Bank stands
ready to adopt additional facilities for export industries. With the support given to these
industries, the heavy dependence of the economy on imports should be reduced.
 ‘We have intensified revenue collections. In the past four years, the total BIR and
Customs collections rose to P10,128.13 million, an increase of P8,558.81 million over that of
the previous administration. We undertook major reforms in our operations. In the Bureau
of Internal Revenue, these included the strict implementation of the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Act, the use of electronic and data machines and various drives to
increase voluntary tax compliance…Erring personnel were dealt with accordingly. One
hundred ninety-six criminal cases were filed against officials and employees in the Bureau
of Internal Revenue, and 215 cases were filed against undesirable employees and officials
in the Bureau of Customs.
‘One of the most gratifying results of our efforts in agriculture in the last four years is
our successful rice and corn production campaign. Our national average yield of 30-40
cavans per hectare jumped to 60-80 cavans per hectare as a result of the introduction of
high-yielding rice varieties and the installation of the proper infrastructure and credit
facilities. Our national yield for corn also hit an average of 20 cavans per hectare.
‘The Greater Manila Terminal Food Market Inc. was established to facilitate the flow of
goods from the production centers to the consumer areas, thus providing as well an
accessible and convenient outlet for the produce of about 500,000 farmers in 27 provinces
in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This is a virtual revolution in marketing, benefitting
farmers and wholesalers, retailers, and other intermediaries. This marketing scheme is
intended to stabilize, and perhaps even to decrease, the prices of prime commodities.
‘Our basic goal is prosperity and economic security for the bulk of our people. To bring
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this about, we must industrialize…A principal objective of our economic program is the
development of a sizable domestic market. Employment can be increased substantially
only if our industries can find markets of sufficient size as to warrant a high rate of
absorption of labor into industrial employment…
‘Success at exporting manufactured goods is the authentic sign of self-sustaining
economy. This is the success that we seek. We are growing at a rate which ordinary laissez
faire techniques cannot sustain. In moving into the export markets, we enter into
competition with developed economies sustained by highly efficient firms. To compete
with them, we must not only husband our resources but we must also program them with
equal efficiency. This requires true nationalism, discipline, and sacrifice on our part.’
(Ferdinand E. Marcos, [an excerpt], 1970)

1. What “dream of greatness” was Pres. Marcos referring to (in his inaugural speech)?
2. What were the main problems of the country during Pres. Marcos’s administration
(as identified in his two speeches)?
3. What were the programs that Marcos mentioned he implemented to solve the
country’s problems?
4. Do you agree with Pres. Marcos’s statement that “discipline is our salvation as a
nation and the key to our future greatness”? Why?
NAME: ______________________________________ DATE: _____________
COURSE-YEAR-SECTION: ______________

Exercise 6.1.1. The Third Philippine Republic

Matching Type Test: Match the items in Column A with the items in Column B. Write the
CAPITAL LETTER [from Column B] that corresponds to your answer on the space
provided [in Column A].

A B
1. Legal basis of the 3rd Philippine Republic A. 1943 Constitution
2. Relief for the poor in troubled places B. Parity
3. Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty C. War Damage Act
4. Current Philippine Independence Day D. Hukbalahap
5. “Sovereignty resides in the people” E. Ramon Magsaysay
6. First Philippine president to win by plurality votes F. “Filipino First” Policy
7. Imports outweigh exports causing a “dollar gap” G. Agricultural Land Reform Code
8. President who initiated Philippine foreign policy H. Amnesty Proclamation
9.”Equal rights for American and Filipino citizens” I. Ferdinand Marcos
10. President who signed the Central Bank Law J. July 4
11. “Malaysia-Philippines-Indonesia Alliance” K. Manuel Roxas

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12. Program of being thrifty and less extravagant L. “Officials are public servants”
13. Philippine Trade Relations Act M. Carlos Garcia
14. Anti-Quirino administration rebels of Luzon N. Manila Pact of 1954
15. President who initiated the decontrol program O. Balance of payment problem
16. Act founding the Land Bank of the Philippines P. 1935 Constitution
17. First reelected president of the 3rd Phil. Republic Q. Austerity Policy
18. Program for economic independence R. Manila Accord of 1963
19. President for the common people S. New People’s Army
20. Pardon for armed dissident elements T. Diosdado Macapagal
U. Bell Trade Act
V. Elpido Quirino
W. June 12
X. Social Amelioration