XIII. The Filipinos in Control
Original Policy The Second Philippine Commission sent out to the Philippines by President McKinley on March 16, 1900 were given the following instruction, among others:
“That in all cases, the municipal officers who administer the local affairs of the people are to be selected by the people and that wherever officers of more extended jurisdiction are to be selected in any way, natives of the Islands are to be preferred, and if they can be found competent and willing to perform their duties they are to receive the offices in preference to any others.”
These instructions were confirmed by President Roosevelt when he said that the Government of the Philippine Islands would cease to be a government of Americans aided by Filipinos and instead would be a government of Filipinos aided by Americans. And in 1908 after the opening of the Philippine Assembly, President Roosevelt in his message to Congress added:
“I trust that within a generation the time will arrive when the Filipinos can decide for themselves whether it is well for them to become independent or continue under the protection of a strong and disinterested power, able to guarantee to the islands order at home and protection from foreign invasion.”
Filipinization In pursuance of all this policy the placing of Filipinos in government offices was hastened from 1913 to 1921, the turning over of power into Filipino hands having been virtually made complete by the passage of the Jones Law in 1916. This law provided for the creation of an elective Senate and House of Representatives and for the appointment of heads of departments and other government officials. Appointments made by the Governor-General were made to be with the advice and consent of the Philippine Senate.
The proportion of Filipinos to Americans in the Philippine Government during the period 1914–1921 is shown in the following table:
| Number | Percentage | ||||
| Year | Americans | Filipinos | Total | Americans | Filipinos |
| Per cent | Per cent | ||||
| 1914 | 2,148 | 7,283 | 9,451 | 23 | 77 |
| 1915 | 1,935 | 7,881 | 9,816 | 20 | 80 |
| 1916 | 1,730 | 8,725 | 10,455 | 17 | 83 |
| 1917 | 1,310 | 9,859 | 11,169 | 12 | 88 |
| 1918 | 948 | 10,866 | 11,814 | 8 | 92 |
| 1919 | 760 | 12,047 | 12,807 | 6 | 94 |
| 1920 | 582 | 12,651 | 13,143 | 4 | 96 |
| 1921 | 614 | 13,240 | 13,854 | 4 | 96 |
| 1922 | 604 | 13,726 | 14,330 | 4 | 96 |
Instruments of Autonomy The principal agencies that gave the Filipinos effective control over domestic affairs in conformity with the spirit of the Jones Law, were the following:
1. The creation of a Council of State on October 16, 1918, to help and advise the Governor-General on matters of public importance. In this council many prominent leaders of the Filipino people have figured prominently.
2. The creation of the Philippine Cabinet by which the Government Departments were organized and the work of the Executive Department divided among them. The aim was to have them undertake the work expressly entrusted to them, and to have in each branch of the administration a head responsible for its policy and direction. Each Secretary of Department assumes responsibility for all the activities of the government under his control and supervision. To this end he has the power to initiate, the power to regulate, the power to direct and inspect, and the power to appoint and remove.
3. The several laws that had given to the Council of State and to the Chairmen of the two houses of the Legislature the power to supervise and control the execution of the laws.
4. The liberal policy followed by Governor-General Harrison in accordance with the liberal tenor of the Jones Law, a policy really preparatory for the independence of the Philippines.
Speaking of this policy, Governor-General Harrison on September 1, 1916, said:
“I firmly believe that the Chief Executive should consult the people through their representatives who are called upon to serve them. This is the very life-blood of self-government. It should never be possible for a Chief Executive—and it will now never be possible here—to ride ruthlessly over the people he has been sent here to govern, without taking into account their feelings, and without due consideration to their desires.”
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FILIPINO GOVERNMENT.—The outstanding achievements of the Filipinized government are summarized below.
I. REORGANIZATION OF DEPARTMENTS.—The Reorganization Act, as finally passed by the Philippine Legislature (Act No. 2666 as amended by Act No. 2803), has provided the Philippine government with a more logical and scientific grouping of bureaus and offices. It has given the new department heads more authority and power over the offices and bureaus under them. They are now empowered to promulgate rules, regulations, orders, circulars, memorandums, and other instructions for the harmonious and efficient administration of each and all of the offices and dependencies of each department. Secretaries of departments may be called by either of the two Houses of the Legislature for the purpose of reporting on matters pertaining to their departments. In this case they are also responsible to the two Houses. The six departments created by the Reorganization Act correspond to the six principal purposes of a fairly well organized government, to wit:
Functions of the Departments (1) The maintenance of order and political direction of local administrative units, such as departments, provincial and municipal governments, and special governments—the Department of Interior;
(2) The guardianship of the State over the mental development and physical welfare of the citizens—the Department of Public Instruction;
(3) The collection of the public revenues and administration of the finances and business of the government—the Department of Finance;
(4) The enforcement of the law and safeguarding of the citizens and their rights—the Department of Justice;
(5) The guardianship in connection with the preservation of the natural resources and the development of the country’s sources of wealth—the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and
(6) The carrying out of such work and services as cannot be performed by private citizens, conducive to the common welfare and public prosperity—the Department of Commerce and Communications.
II. ADOPTION OF A BUDGETARY SYSTEM.—A scientific budgetary system has been adopted. Under the system the estimates are made under the supervision and control of the department heads who have the power to add or cut down items. These different estimates are then submitted to the Secretary of Finance, who coördinates them. Any conflict between a departmental head and the Secretary of Finance is submitted to the Council of State for decision. Once the budget is definitely approved by the Council of State the Governor-General submits it with a message to the Legislature.
The Gilbert Steel bridge, Laoag, Ilocos Norte
The lower house is the first one to take up the budget. The corresponding Department Secretary appears before it to explain the details of the budget for his Department and to answer all questions by the members. Once the budget is approved in principle it is sent to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions to draft the appropriation bill in accordance therewith. When the appropriation bill is approved by the house, it is sent to the Senate and practically the same procedure is followed.
The Emergency Board To make the budgetary system sufficiently elastic to meet changing conditions, there has been created the so-called Emergency Board composed of the Secretary of Finance as Chairman, two members of the Legislature, the Insular Auditor and the Attorney-General as members. In the general Appropriation Act, this board is given a substantial amount with which to supply the additional funds that the various units of the government may need for the purpose authorized by the appropriation law. As an additional safe-guard, the actions of the Emergency Board do not become operative until after approval by the Governor-General and the presidents of both houses.
III. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.—In public improvements, the following was the record of the Filipinos within the last nine years. The mileage of first-class roads was more than doubled increasing from 2,172 kilometers in 1913 to 4,782 in 1922, not to speak of the second and third class; 7,562 permanent bridges and culverts are now in existence; 725 permanent government buildings were built, including schools, public markets, hospitals, provincial capitols, and large and beautiful edifices for the university and the Insular government; a network of wireless stations was erected throughout the provinces; a vast program of improvements in port works was launched, and a bond issue of ten million pesos was sold in the United States for harbor improvements in Manila alone; irrigation works estimated to cost about ten million pesos, and designed to benefit 150,000 acres of land in sixteen different localities, were initiated; 949 artesian wells in the different provinces, an average of one to each municipality, were drilled at a total cost of nearly two and one-half million pesos, and 55 new water-works systems were installed with 36 more under active construction, to cost more than three million pesos.
IV. AGRICULTURE AND TAXATION.—The progress in agriculture was remarkable. The chief point of interest here is that the placing of Filipinos in control of the agricultural departments greatly enlarged the power of the Government to influence the people to increased production. Of rice alone, 1,285,385 acres more were planted during the last nine years (1913–1922); 544 rural-credit societies were established with a membership of 75,114 and coöperation in agriculture, a new spirit among the farmers, encouraged and explained.
Taxation was revised and increased, and the government revenue from this source which in 1913 had been only ₱39,236,007, rose to ₱62,900,403 in 1919 and ₱64,259,776 in 1922; there are twelve banking institutions in the Islands, now, instead of only six, and the money in circulation has risen from ₱50,000,000 in 1914 to three times that figure.
V. PUBLIC ORDER.—Public order, the first requisite of a stable government, has been splendidly maintained through the agency of the Philippine Constabulary and the municipal police. The Constabulary has always been dependable and thoroughly efficient. There is hardly any country in the world more peaceful than the Philippines.
VI. EDUCATION.—The present school system in the Philippines has been one of the principal uplifting agencies in the colonial enterprise undertaken by the United States as a result of the Spanish-American war. Immediately after the capitulation of Manila, an army officer acting as superintendent of schools opened schools. Everywhere the army went afterwards a public school was established and put into operation.
The school system is supported entirely from Philippine revenue. The advance has been rapid, there now being about a million pupils in the schools being taken care of by the Philippine government. The attendance of almost a million is entirely voluntary, there being no compulsory education law.
The public school system has received the unstinted support of the Filipino people. The first bill passed by the Philippine Assembly in 1907 was the appropriation of one million pesos for the building of rural schools. In 1918 the thirty million-peso act was passed, which provided that thirty million pesos be set aside, over and above the regular annual appropriation, for school-housing and equipment. The law is expected to provide school facilities for every boy and girl of school age in the Islands by 1924.
The head of the public-school system is the Vice-Governor-General who is at the same time Secretary of Public Instruction. The executive control is centered in the Bureau of Education headed by a director, who is responsible for the conduct of public schools and has the authority necessary to make his control effective.
School divisions.—The Islands are divided into forty-nine school divisions, each division generally coinciding with the boundaries of a province, except the City of Manila, and four Insular schools—the Philippine Normal School, the Philippine School of Arts and Trades, the Philippine Nautical School, and the Central Luzon Agricultural School—each of which is considered as a distinct division. A division is under the immediate charge of a superintendent who is the representative of the Director of Education. The Division Superintendent in the province is generally assisted by a provincial industrial supervisor and an academic supervisor. Each provincial division is divided into different districts consisting of one or more municipalities and several barrios or villages, each under the charge of a supervising teacher.
There are 50 provincial high schools. There are 20 provincial trade schools and 14 provincial shops, the principals of which are responsible directly either to the principal of the provincial school or to the Division Superintendent of Schools.
The original feature of all school work was the academic. Soon the Bureau of Education labored to make industrial work a part and parcel of the curriculum. This was followed by making physical education a vital part of the courses. And now the aim is to maintain a proper balance in the academic, industrial, physical, and social work.
The English language is the only medium of instruction.
There are seven elementary grades—four primary and three intermediate. The secondary courses take four years. There has been built up an English-speaking Filipino teaching staff—a distinctive achievement reflecting credit on Filipinos and Americans alike.
Vocational instruction.—Graded vocational instruction occupies an important place in the school curricula. Approximately 14 per cent of the total time in the primary grades and about 17 per cent of the total time in the general intermediate course is devoted to this form of instruction. The special intermediate vocational courses include farming and trades for boys and housekeeping and household arts for girls. The chief aims of industrial instruction are: first, industrial intelligence; second, industrial skill; and, third, industrial sympathy. The educational and economic values of industrial education are kept in view. It may be of interest to mention that the Bureau of Education annually receives orders amounting to $150,000 a year from various firms abroad, especially from America, for handicraft articles; that trade school production yearly is over $100,000 and that the yearly agricultural production of the schools is over $281,000.
Agricultural education.—The Philippines being essentially an agricultural country, agricultural education is given considerable attention. The Bureau of Education at present maintains 13 large agricultural schools, 15 farm schools, and 162 settlement farm schools. The agricultural school range in area from about 125 to about 3,000 acres; the farm schools, from about 40 to 125 acres; the settlement farm schools, from about 30 to about 100 acres. In addition to these, the Bureau of Education has an extensive program of school and home gardening and maintains numerous agricultural clubs for boys and girls. Under the stress of the world-wide economic crisis brought about by the World War, the general office appealed to the country for increased productions, and in response to this appeal, the schools now have over 4,000 school gardens and over 100,000 home gardens. Annually there are held over 20,000 Garden Days where there are over 143,000 pupils’ exhibits and about 40,000 farmers’ exhibits.
Athletics.—The system of physical education here compares favorably with the best in the world. The temptation of developing only a few “stars” has been valiantly resisted and the athletic slogan of “Athletics for Everybody” has been stressed instead. As a result of this policy over 96 per cent of the pupils enrolled in the elementary and secondary schools take active participation in the program of athletics and games during the year.
Primary and Secondary Curriculum.—In the seven years’ course the studies are principally language, reading, good manners and right conduct, arithmetic, civics, hygiene and sanitation, writing, drawing, music, and Philippine history and government, in addition to a definite vocational training and organized play and athletics. Besides the regular secondary course, specialized secondary courses such as the normal, commercial, trade, agricultural, and domestic science are offered.
Number of pupils.—The enrollment of pupils in the public schools below the University of the Philippines from the school year 1913–1914 to 1920–1921 is as follows:
| Year | Enrollment | Increase over previous year | |
| Number | Per cent | ||
| 1913–1914 | 621,114 | 180,980 | 41.0 |
| 1914–1915 | 621,114 | —— | —— |
| 1915–1916 | 638,548 | 17,434 | 2.8 |
| 1916–1917 | 675,997 | 37,449 | 5.8 |
| 1917–1918 | 671,398 | 4,699 | .7 |
| 1918–1919 | 681,588 | 10,290 | 1.5 |
| 1919–1920 | 791,626 | 110,040 | 16.0 |
| 1920–1921. | 943,364 | 151,736 | 19.0 |
| 1921–1922. | 1,077,342 | 133,978 | 13.0 |
Number of schools and teachers.—The number of schools rose from 2,934 in 1913 to 7,670 in March, 1922, representing an increase of 128 per cent. The average annual decrease in the number of schools from 1909 to 1913 (5 years preceding Filipino autonomy) was 181, or 4.8 per cent, while the average yearly increase from 1914 to 1920 was 416.
The number of Filipino teachers increased from 7,671 in 1913 to 24,017 in 1922, which means an increase of 16,346, or 213 per cent. The number of American teachers dropped from 658 in March, 1913, to 347 in March, 1922.
Number of school buildings.—The number of permanent school buildings constructed up to 1913 was 624, which number rose to 1,301. In other words, during nine years (1913–1922), 108 per cent more permanent buildings were erected.
Universities.—Foremost among the universities in the Islands is the University of the Philippines, which corresponds to a state university. It gives courses in liberal arts, the sciences, education, medicine and surgery, dentistry, pharmacy, agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering, law, forestry, music, and the fine arts. Collegiate degrees are conferred upon graduates in all the courses mentioned with the exception of the last two, for which diplomas of proficiency are issued to the graduates.
The enrollment in the University for the school year 1922–1923 is 4,839, so that in 10 years the attendance rose from 1,400 in 1911–1912 to 4,839 in 1922–1923, representing an increase of 237 per cent. The University has now 45 buildings of permanent materials.
The Santo Tomas University was the first to be established. It has the distinction of being the oldest university under the American flag, having been founded a quarter of a century before Harvard. It gives courses in law, medicine, pharmacy, civil engineering, philosophy and letters, and theology, and has about 700 students. The medium of instruction is the Spanish language.
Besides these two universities there is the National University with upwards of 4,500 students and the Manila University with almost 3,000. The presidents of the last two universities are Filipinos.
The overwhelming majority of the faculty in all the institutions of high learning in the Islands are Filipinos.
VII. SANITATION.—In sanitation the progress attained by the Philippines during the Filipinized government has also been rapid. The sanitary work is now controlled by a central bureau called the Philippine Health Service. With this centralization of activities health measures can be enforced more economically and more effectively than in previous years.
The municipalities are grouped into sanitary divisions, each of which is in charge of a competent official. With few exceptions the men in charge are qualified physicians. At the end of the year 1921, there were 307 sanitary divisions comprising 792 out of the 846 municipalities. In other words, nearly 94 per cent of the total number of municipalities in the Philippines form a part of these sanitary divisions.
Some of the important functions of the Philippine Health Service are as follows:
1. Control and supervision of all hospitals for dangerous communicable diseases, and the isolation of persons suffering from such diseases.
2. Control of sanitation of schoolhouses and premises, prisons and all other places for the detention of prisoners.
3. Establishment and maintenance of internal quarantine in times of epidemic and the systematic inoculation of the inhabitants with virus, sera, and prophylactics.
Comparative death rate scale for 1917
| Countries | Death rate per 1,000 inhabitants |
| Oriental: | |
| Egypt. | 40.50 |
| China. | 40.00 |
| India. | 35.00 |
| Straits Settlement. | 31.64 |
| Ceylon. | 27.00 |
| Burma. | 24.93 |
| Philippines. | 22.29 |
| Anglo-Saxon: | |
| United States. | 14.70 |
| England. | 13.70 |
| Canada. | 12.70 |
| South Australia. | 11.73 |
| Queensland. | 11.00 |
| New Zealand. | 10.35 |
| Latin: | |
| Porto Rico. | 28.50 |
| Mexico. | 23.39 |
| Cuba. | 19.70 |
| Italy. | 18.20 |
| France. | 17.70 |
VIII. LOCAL AUTONOMY.—Greater autonomy has been extended to the provinces and municipalities especially as regards local taxes, education, sanitation, and permanent public improvements.
One of the significant and substantial results of the new policy is the remarkable improvement in the finances of the provinces and municipalities. During the period 1914 to 1920 a general revision of assessment of real properties was conducted in all the provinces. From this assessment we find an increase of 1,703,449 in the number of lots of taxable real property on December 31, 1920, as compared with the corresponding figure on September 30, 1913, representing an increase of about 100 per cent. The increase, of course, means increased revenue from the real property taxes for the local government.
A study of the revenues of the provinces and municipalities during 1914 to 1920, as compared with the period 1909 to 1913, shows an increase of 1,090 per cent, the average percentage of yearly increase being 155.5 per cent. In 1922 the revenues of the provinces were ₱19,264,264; those of the municipalities were ₱32,486,068.
IX. PUBLIC WELFARE.—One of the first acts of the Philippine government since control was turned over into the hands of Filipinos was the creation of the so-called Public Welfare Board entrusted with the task of coördinating the work of private and public welfare agencies. The board acts as the agency for controlling the disbursement of public charity funds to semi-public institutions like the Anti-tuberculosis Society, the Gota de Leche, and the Women’s Clubs.
On February 23, 1916, an act was passed by the Legislature appropriating ₱1,000,000 for the protection of early infancy and the establishment of branches of the “Gota de Leche.” Local organizations were granted aid from this funds as much as what they raised.
In 1917 the government established an orphanage for destitute and dependent children from all over the islands, managed according to the most modern methods.
Public Welfare Commissioner On February 18, 1918, the public welfare board membership was reduced to five and its administrative control placed under the Department of the Interior. The administration of the million-peso funds for the protection of early infancy and the establishment of maternity and child-welfare centers were also placed under the control of the Secretary of the Interior on March 22, 1920. Later these activities were all grouped together by Act 2988, enacted February 24, 1921, into one office—the office of the public welfare commissioner—which started operation on May 1, 1921.
The aim of the office is summarized thus: To promote all work directed towards the early reduction of infant mortality in the Philippines by employing adequate means for this purpose and for carrying out other activities intended to bring about the general welfare of the community, especially that which concerns children.
A central executive office is maintained in Manila. It investigates social conditions and compiles sociological information for distribution. Social centers are being established throughout the Islands. On December, 1922, 183 puericulture centers were in existence as against 80 on December, 1921.
X. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.—The Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands presided over by a Filipino has always enjoyed the respect and confidence of every citizen. It is above all influence, being composed of men of integrity and of exceptional talent.
The Courts of First Instance have also a comparatively good record as is evident from the number of decisions affirmed, reversed, and modified by the Supreme Court. The figures are as follows:
| Period | Total number | Affirmed | Reversed | Modified | |||
| Number | Per cent | Number | Per cent | Number | Per cent | ||
| August 31, 1911 to September, 1, 1913. | 1,454 | 910 | 62.5 | 365 | 25.1 | 179 | 12.2 |
| March 3, 1919 to March 4, 1921. | 1,782 | 1,194 | 67.0 | 372 | 20.8 | 216 | 12.1 |
The foregoing figures indicate that there was a larger percentage of decisions affirmed and smaller percentage of decisions reversed by the Supreme Court during the time when the Filipino people were given substantial autonomy proving that the administration of justice has been considerably improved with the Filipinos in control.
In 1913 there were 12,000 pending cases disposed of; in 1921 the number rose to 16,874; in 1922, 20,632.
From 1907 to 1913, for a period of seven years before Filipino autonomy, the average yearly number of decrees of titles to land issued by the Philippine courts was only 1,935; while from 1914 to 1920, during seven years of Filipino self-government, the average yearly number of land titles settled was 12,396, six times more than the preceding period.
XI. GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES.—In order to hasten the economic progress of the Islands, the Philippine government has been compelled to organize and engage in certain business enterprises of national importance that private initiative and capital have so far failed to develop. There are now four of these government owned enterprises—the Philippine National Bank, the Manila Railroad, the National Coal Company, and the National Development Company. The underlying motives behind these ventures are:
(1) To conserve the resources of the Islands for Filipinos; (2) to protect the people against exploitation; (3) to safeguard against profiteering; (4) to facilitate the extension of credit to private concerns.
The Philippine National Bank.—The need for a national bank in the Islands has long been felt. Previous to its establishment, Filipino farmers and merchants had to go to foreign banks in order to secure the necessary capital. The Philippine government had also to deposit its money with foreign banking institutions which gave a very low rate of interest. All the foreign banks made very little investments in the Islands, preferring to deal almost exclusively with export and import trade.
To remedy these conditions the Philippine National Bank was organized. From a modest beginning the bank grew by leaps and bounds, especially during the war.
Constructive Service In spite of the many criticisms hurled against it, the constructive service that the bank has rendered to the community stands out in bold relief—the financing of the liberty loans, the handling of the sale of alien property, the financial assistance extended in time of dire need to two banks doing business in the islands, the financing of sugar centrals, the giving of loans to agriculturists, and the extension of banking facilities to merchants and manufacturers.
The post-war depression caught the bank unprepared to meet the emergencies and it suffered heavy losses. The bank, however, is now in a fair way to sound footing. But as an institution, despite its reverses, it has come to be part and parcel of Philippine financial life. The Filipino people regard the bank as indispensable in the economic development of the islands.
The Manila Railroad.—The Philippine railroads were taken over by the government in 1916. They were bought from an old English company. The principal motive that impelled the purchase of the lines from the English owners was the failure of the owners to operate the lines with profit. This failure resulted in the imposition of greater burden on the taxpayers in the way of payment for interest on railroad bonds guaranteed by the government from the early days of American administration. The secondary motive was of course to nationalize this most important medium of communication and to put it at government disposal in case of emergency.
From 1914 to 1916 the aggregate net deficit of the company was about $600,000. Under government management the railroad has been gaining steadily. In 1917 the gain was $400,000; in 1918, $130,000; in 1920, $120,000; and in 1921 $148,000, with the added advantage that the government has not been called upon to pay any interest on the bonds.
The National Coal Company.—During the war the coal shortage was one of the great problems that the government had to solve. The Philippine Islands are rich in coal deposits, but very little private capital has been invested in its exploitation. The Philippine Legislature, therefore, chartered the National Coal Company and supplied it with a capital of $1,700,000. The company is now ready to furnish at least the coal needed by the government, which is about 120,000 tons a year, heretofore imported from foreign countries.
The National Development Company.—The company was organized for the purpose of financing isolated commercial, industrial or agricultural enterprises that the government may desire to establish for the general welfare of the country, the motive being that whenever or wherever there was profiteering the government should enter into competition with the profiteer and compel him to reduce the cost of his goods.
The stock of the company is controlled, as in other government companies, by a committee of three, composed of the Governor-General, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Other development companies which have been established by law, some of which have not yet begun to function, are the National Cement Company (2855), the National Coal Company (2705), the National Iron Company (2862), and the National Petroleum Company (2814).