Budget estimates for the Insular government, 1918–1923

[Source: Budget presented by the Executive Department to the Philippine Legislature]

Items of revenue and expenditures 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923
Pesos Pesos Pesos Pesos Pesos Pesos
Income 45,511,037 70,957,757 73,977,000 84,289,932 63,051,435 65,952,560
Revenue from taxation 30,220,916 48,463,600 47,012,230 56,036,000 42,867,320 42,925,310
Incidental revenue 1,730,000 2,950,000 3,495,000 4,681,600 2,120,000 5,233,500
Earnings and other credits 13,560,120 19,544,157 23,469,770 23,572,332 18,064,115 13,143,750
Income from proposed legislation [b]4,650,000
Current surplus at the beginning of the year 18,996,477 33,470,664 10,560,300 11,964,152
Total available for expenditures 64,477,514 104,428,421 84,537,300 84,289,932 75,015,587 65,952,560
Expenditures 51,051,725 92,003,494 84,453,806 83,549,778 72,538,593 65,677,327
Expense of revenue collection 1,138,904 1,835,078 1,741,202 1,688,370 1,564,726 1,611,533
Operating expense of commercial and industrial units 8,002,820 12,699,877 14,089,177 14,502,504 8,981,853 7,661,867
Public debt 2,087,500 2,310,276 2,308,326 3,459,281 5,189,878 9,698,667
General administration 3,911,100 8,083,832 5,114,677 5,202,098 4,995,090 5,170,217
Protective service 8,261,259 9,696,100 11,185,108 10,373,411 9,284,643 9,393,072
Social improvement 5,680,914 7,987,190 8,498,527 9,093,423 8,818,029 8,317,816
Economic development 3,950,459 6,883,934 9,397,034 10,437,851 8,740,857 7,326,511
Aid to local governments 9,618,425 11,992,281 13,163,155 15,347,095 17,883,667 13,287,409
Retirement gratuities, Act 2589 700,000 800,000 750,000 600,000 500,000 300,000
Emergency service 1,000,000 1,000,000 3,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000
Outlays and investments 6,700,344 14,102,181 15,206,600 9,845,745 4,579,850 2,910,235
Appropriation balances for public works [a]4,296,754
Appropriation balances for miscellaneous accounts [a]10,315,991
Current surplus at the end of the year 13,425,789 12,424,927 83,494 740,154 2,476,994 275,233

[a] Unexpended balances from appropriations for public works and for cadastral survey, construction of irrigation systems, etc. [↑]

[b] Proceeds of proposed luxury tax to cover probable deficit. [↑]

CURRENCY.—At the time of the American occupation, the Mexican dollar and the Spanish peso were in circulation in the Islands as a part of the currency. The Mexican dollar had been introduced because of the trade between the Philippines and Mexico, which was fostered by the Spanish galleons. Besides the Mexican dollar and the Spanish peso, there also circulated the silver peso or dollar of the various South American countries. For fractional currency, however, the Spanish coins predominated. The denominations were half peso, peseta, and media peseta. Gold pieces were of ₱1, ₱2, and ₱4 denominations.

The first mint in the Islands was installed during the reign of Isabela II. It was then that the Philippine peso, both in gold and silver, was first coined.

Currency Legislation America early decided to make the currency system more stable and scientific. On March 2, 1903, Congress passed the Philippine Coinage Act which established the conant or Philippine peso as the official coin of the Islands. The effect of this Act was to drive away all the previous coins in circulation, and it is the basis of the present currency system in the Philippine Islands. The coins provided for were of the denomination of the peso, half-peso, peseta, media peseta, 5 centavos, 1 centavo, and one-half centavo, while the silver certificates were in the denominations of ₱2, ₱5, ₱10, ₱20, ₱50, ₱100, ₱500. The peso was issued on the basis of two Philippine pesos (₱2) to one dollar ($1) gold, United States currency. To maintain the parity the Gold Standard Act was passed by the Philippine Commission in October, 1903. There are gold deposits in the banks of the United States to guarantee every Philippine Government certificate in circulation. This places the Philippines practically on an actual gold basis.