Local government in the Philippine islands,

4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES

Instructions to the Taft Commission, enjoined upon this
body the observance of certain inviolable rules: (1) that,
in the distribution of powers among the governments organized by the Commission, the presumption shall always
be in favor of smaller political divisions so that all the
powers which can properly be exercised by such divisions
shall be vested in them; (2) that municipal governments
shall be afforded the opportunity to manage their own
affairs to the fullest extent of which they are capable; and,
(3) that, in the selection of local officials, the natives of
the Islands shall be preferred, if competent and willing.1
Whether or not this benign and beneficent policy of President McKinley has been observed or carried out is a topic
certainly not lacking interest for discussion.
The stability of our Government, deemed a prerequisite to the concession of our independence, may well be
founded upon the stability of our local governments. And,
to willing and unbiased observers, the success attained by
Filipinos in the administration of their local affairs should
be a means of forecasting the sturdiness and permanence
of an institution which is the foundation-stone of popular
government.
Primarily and originally designed to develop the capabilities of a people for self-government, the present policy
of Filipino control of local affairs must be continued and
the consequent responsibility must be thrown upon those
officials who are directly called upon to shoulder it.
Upon the continuance of this policy will depend in no
small measure the cultivation and practice of civic patriotism, which is one of the chief duties pertaining to
7 Instructions of President McKinley to the Taft Commission,
April 7, 1900, I, Public Laws, Philippine Islands, p. lxiii; U. S. v.
Salaverfa (1918), 39 Phil. 102; Laurel, JOBs P.: Cases on Municipal
Corporations (Manila, 1924), p. 358.