Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 / Published under the direction of Dean maximo M. Kalaw, executive secretary, University of the Philippines.

POLITICAL SECTION

121

tization of the form of municipal government should not be
pushed to the extreme by the adoption of the initiative,
referendum, and recall, unless we are reasonably certain that
the people as a whole are sufficiently prepared to use these
means of direct control wisely, and that they are deeply interested in the current affairs of the government. Therefore,
before we adopt these weapons for democracy, we should first
study their adaptability to local conditions in the light of the
experiences of the American cities in regard to them.
Another thing that will claim our attention is the government of the special provinces. In this we can have only one
policy, and that is, to convert said provinces into regular ones
and thereby place them under our regular provincial and municipal laws as fast as the people in those provinces become prepared
for the change. In the same way, the municipal districts
should be organized as regular municipalities whenever their
conditions would warrant such a step. Whenever a special
province can be brought under the government of the regular
provinces, it will be an unprogressive policy to allow them
to retain their present status.
The maintenance of an independent government will entail
heavier outlays and higher taxes. Most probably we shall
have to revise the existing system of public finance. As I have
indicated, Act No. 3422, already referred to, enables the municipality to increase its income. Still there are many municipalities at present which depend partly on Insular aids. As soon
as we become independent, the Insular Government will not
only be unable to extend financial help to the provinces and
municipalities but its present rate of income probably will prove
inadequate to defray its own expenses. Necessarily, the provinces and municipalities will be left to their own resources.
Even under ordinary circumstances, dependence of local governments on the central government for funds should be discouraged, because it hinders constructive local revenue legislation
and encourages an attitude of passiveness and indifference on
the part of local governments in matters of taxation. The
local units should be taught to stand on their own feet,
financially speaking. Of course, in imposing greater burden
on the people by way of taxation, we should not go so far