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.

B 849,836 S 5 5;1 I9 T30 pb 2 -

FROM THE LIBRARY OF JOSEPH RALSTON HAYDEN 1887-1945 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN A.M., 1911 PH.D., 1915 Member of the Department of Political Science 1912-45 Professor, 1924-45; Chairman, 1937-45 Vice-Governor and Secretary of Public Instruction, Philippine Islands, 1933-35 Professor at the University of the Philippines, 1922-23, 1930-31

-1- 1 I3 n. 2

/ 01 Jr '/ A kaf-* 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 College of Liberal Arts University of the Philippines Manila, P. 1.

Proceedings of the First Independence Congress Held in the City of M4anila Philippine Islands February 2 2-2 6 1930 Published under the Direction of Dean Maximo M. Kalaw, Executive Secretary College of Liberal Arts University of the Philippines Manila, P. L.

Printed by SUGAR NEWS PRESS MANILA, P. I.

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE The Independence Congress Manifesto............ ix Signers of the M anifesto...................... xii The Independence Creed....................... xv Officers of the Congress........................ xix FIRST PLENARY SESSION (February 22, 1930) Address of Dean Maximo M. Kalaw........... 1 Address of Hon. Felipe Agoncillo.............. 5 Address of Acting Speaker Antonio de las Alas..... 7 Address of Mrs. Rosa Sevilla de Alvero......... 14 Address of Hon. Juan Sumulong................ 21 Address of Acting Senate President Sergio Osmefia... 25 Greetings to the President and Congress of the United States................................... 30 ECONOMIC SECTION (February 23-24, 1930) First Session "Why Filipinos have Neglected Business Pursuits," Address of Prof. Conrado Benitez............. 33 "The Possible Budget of the Future Philippine Republic," Address of Hon. Miguel Unson........ 39 "Our Economic Problems in Case of Independence," Address by Hon. Rafael Alunan.............. 54 Open Discussion............................ 61 Second Session "Foreign and Domestic Commerce Under Independence," Address by Don Leopoldo Aguinaldo...... 65 "Some General Remarks on Independence and the Tariff," Address of Hon. Guillermo Gomez...... 74 iii

iv INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS PAGE "Independence and the Tariff," Address by Mr. Cornelio Balm aceda......................... 82 Open Discussion........................... 92 POLITICAL SECTION (February 23, 25 and 26, 1930) First Session "Historical Development of Iocal Government in the Philippines and the Organization of our Provinces and Municipalities under an Independent Govern- ment," Address by Hon. Jos6 P. Laurel......... 95 Gist of the Address of Secretary Jose Abad Santos.... 122 "The Keeping of Law and Order in our Municipalities," Address by Hon. Honorio Ventura............ 123 Open Discussion.......................... 132 Second Session "The Spirit of the Phlipipine Revolution as an Inspiration to the Present Campaign for Independence," Address by Director Teodoro M. Kalaw........ 135 "Our Campaign for Independence in the United States," Address by the Hon. Teodoro Sandiko........ 144 Open Discussion.......................... 146 Third Session Resolutions and Discussions................... 148 "The Political Development of the Philippines Under Independence," paper prepared by Dean Maximo M. Kalaw............ 150 EDUCATIONAL SECTION (February 24 and 25, 1930) First Session "The Vernacular as a Factor in National Solidarity and Independence," Address by Hon. Lope K. Santos.. 159 "The Role of the University of the Philippines in an Independent Philippines," Address by Hon. Rafael Palma............................ 181

CONTENTS V PAGE "Our Educational Policy in Relation to Independence," Address by Prof. Francisco Benitez............ 189 Open Discussion..................... 196 Second Session "The Role of Science in an Independent Philippines," Address by Director Angel Arguelles........ 197 "Philippine Independence as an Incentive to Philippine Art," Address by Director Fabian de la Rosa.. 203 Open Discussion........................... 207 INTERNATIONAL. RELATIONS SECTION (February 23, 1930) "The Recognition of New States and the Possible Guarantees to Philippine Independence," Address by Hon. M ariano H. de Joya........................ 209 "Diplomatic Correspondence (1898-1899) of the Hon. Felipe Agoncillo".......................... 220 "Our Neighbors in the Far East," Address by Mr. Pedro A u n ario................................. 2 3 6 Open Discussion............................. 240 NATIONAL DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS SECTION (February 24, 1930) "The Stambouliski System and our National Defense," Address by Gen. Jose Alejandrino............. 243 "The Nationalization of our Highways," Address by Hon. Filemon Perez...................... 252 Open Discussion and Resolutions............. 262 MINDANAO AND THE MOUNTAIN PROVINCE SECTION (February 26, 1930) "Mindanao and Independence," Address by Hon. Jose P. Melencio....................... 264

vi INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS PAGE "What is being done for the Non-Christian Population of the Philippines," Address by Director Ludovico Hidrosollo................................ 273 Addresses of Datu Mandi, Sultan Sa Ramain, and others 279 Resolutions................................. 281 WOMEN'S SECTION (February 26, 1930) Address by Mrs. Sofia R. de Veyra............. 285 Address by Mrs. Paz Gloria-Canave............ 287 "The Role of the Filipino Women in the Cultivation and Diffusion of Right Attitudes Toward Independence," Address by Prof. Ramona Tirona........ 290 Open Discussion........................... 292 R esolutions................................. 29 3 LABOR SECTION (February 25, 1930) "Immigration and Population Problems of the Philippine Islands," Address by Dr. Serafin Macaraig... 294 "The Dignification of Labor as a Factor for National Strength," Address by Don Joaquin Balmori..... 303 "The Laborers in all Movements," Address by Mr. Felipe E. Jose............................. 307 Open Discussion.................... 310 LAST PLENARY SESSION (February 26, 1930) Address by Hon. Emiliano Tria Tirona........... 313 "Abolish the Political Parties," Address by Dean Jorge Bocobo................................ 319 Letter of Hon. Manuel L. Quezon............... 321 Approval of the Independence Resolution......... 323 Address by President Rafael Palma............... 326 Philippine National Hymn.................... 332

CONTENTS vii APPENDICES PAGE APPENDIX A-Complete list of members......... 333 APPENDIX B-Supports from various sources.... 348 APPENDIX C-Resolutions of adherence to the Independence Congress............. 350 APPENDIX D-Complete program of the Congress. 355 APPENDIX E —Independence Congress' hymn..... 360 (Specially composed by Dr. F. Santiago.) APPENDIX F-Declaration of purposes and resolution of the First Independence World Congress.................... 361 APPENDIX G-Declaration of Freemasons of the Philippine Islands................. 364

F g w w 8 v 4.> p i ';: t 4 r~~~~~ A: it_\ g ~ ~ 4,'5> >f T FT E D CG NU SS ""f - _ti,, ~..... * - * —, THE,I S I,,C THE FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS INAUGURAL SESSION

THE INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS MANIFESTO Manila, January 22, 1930 To the Filipino People: We have come upon a crucial period in our history. A final decision as to our relationship with America seems to be forthcoming. The American Congress is seriously discussing and considering the Philippine question. Reports are daily received from Washington advising us of the various measures proposed and of the steps contemplated. In the face of these new developments, we in the Philippines cannot, must not, remain passive. It is not enough for us merely to continue assuming the fact that the Filipino people, regardless of creed, class or party, from Batanes to Mindanao, have long aspired for immediate independence. Our history is replete with undisputable proofs of this firm and vehement aspiration. We have eloquently manifested it in our wars with Spain and America and have been writing it on every ballot for the last twenty-five years. But all these are not sufficient. While the prospects for our freedom are brighter now than ever before, there can be no absolute assurance that the outcome of the present agitation will be in our favor. The opponents of the cause are still strong and influential. On the other hand, our leaders who are directing the struggle for our freedom must ever drink from the fountain of popular inspiration. It thus becomes imperative that the attitude and desires of the Filipino people should at this time be again made articulate and their counsel sought ix

x INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS through representative elements. The day demands fresh demonstrations of national consciousness and solidarity. What we plan, think or do here cannot fail to have an effect on America. We must convince her that we are deeply conscious of the responsibilities of nationhood and are prepared to assume them. The hearings that are being held in Washington on the independence question necessitate the early convening of this congress. Hence we have set February 22 to 26, inclusive, as the time for the meeting. We are inviting the following: Filipino members of the Council of State and high Executive Officials of the Former Philippine Republic; Members of the Senate and House of Representatives; Former and present Resident Comnmssioners; Former Members of the Philippine Independence Missions; Former Filipino Members of the Cabinet, under America or under the Philippine Republic; Ex-Senators; Ex-Representatives and Members of the Philippine Assembly and the Malolos Congress; Filipino publishers, editors and associate editors of dailies and other periodicals; Co-workers of Rizal and Del Pilar in Spain and others unjustly persecuted during the period; Former Members of Rizal's Liga Filipina; Members of the Revolutionary Diplomatic Corps and officers of the Revolutionary Armies with the rank of Captains, Majors, Colonels and Generals; Members of the Red Cross of the Philippine Revolution and editors and associate editors of the press of the Revolution; Members of the High Supreme Council of the Katipunan Society founded by Bonifacio; Filipino Presidents, Deans and Faculty Members with the rank of Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, of universities and colleges giving collegiate instruction; Presidents of alumni associations, Principals of Private high schools;

INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS MANIFESTO xi Members of Student Councils, or if no student council exists, the Presidents of the classes of collegiate rank; Filipino bishops and vicars of the catholic church and heads of other militant churches; Present and former Mayors and Presidents and Members of the Municipal Board of Manila; Former Judges of Courts of First Instance; Former Under-secretaries of departments and former heads and assistant heads of bureaus; Members of the boards of directors of the Independence League, Philippine Chamber of Commerce, the Philippine Agricultural Congress and other national organizations; Presidents, or in their stead, duly accredited representatives of other civic, labor, professional and scientific organizations recognized by the Executive Secretary of the Independence Congress, such as the Philippine Bar Association, Federaci6n del Trabajo, Congreso Obrero, etc., etc.; Filipino Provincial Governors and Members of Provincial Boards and ex-provincial governors; Present Municipal Presidents; Members of the organization committees of the Independence Congress. The Independence Congress will thus bring together representatives of the Philippines of yesterday and representatives of the Philippines of today; businessmen and agriculturists, capitalists and laborers; professors and student leaders; the executive heads of our provinces and municipalities; the soldiers of peace and the soldiers of war; the men who labored with Rizal and Del Pilar during our early bitter struggles for freedom and the contemporary leaders of our nationalist movement; what remains of the mighty pens of yore and the young publicists of today; the surviving lights of our august Malolos Congress and the senators and representatives of our legislature; the diplomats of the Revolution and the members of Independence Missions; the chieftains of the lost

xii INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS republic and the people's recognized spokesmen of the present. We call them as Filipinos, not as members of parties, groups or associations. We ask them to lay aside, for the time being at least, their local differences and factional struggles, so that they may embody the one spirit and the one longing shared in common by them all. Their united counsel at this turning point of our national history will be of the utmost value. Their voice will go beyond the Pacific. Their thoughts adequately expressed will be written across the consciousness of America. Relying on their patriotism, we know they will not fail us. Gregorio Aglipay, Bishop, Philippine Independent Church; Leopoldo R. Aguinaldo, President, Philippine Chamber of Commerce; Jose Albert, Physician, and Professor, College of Medicine, U. P.; Jose Alejandrino, Agriculturist and Ex-senator; Galicano Apacible, ExSecretary of Agriculture 8 Natural Resources, formerly President of the Hongkong Junta; Ramon Arevalo, Architect and Businessman; Pedro Aunario, Journalist; Librada Avelino. Directress, Centro Escolar de Seforitas; Joaquin Balmori, President, Federation of Labor; Isaac Barza, Businessman, Vice-President, Philippine Chamber of Commerce; Alberto Barretto, Ex-Secretary of Finance; Conrado Benitez, Director, School of Business Administration, U. P.; Francisco Benitez, Dean, College of Education, U. P.; Francisca T. de Benitez, Directress, Philippine Women's College; Jorge Bocobo, Dean, College of Law, U. P.; Manuel X. Burgos, Jr., Journalist; Jose Bustamante, Vicar General, Catholic Church; Jose Carinio, Physician, Mountain Province; Magdaleno Castillo, Catholic Priest; Francisco Delgado, Lawyer; Mariano de Joya, Formerly Judge of the Court of First Instance; Vicente del Rosario, Formerly Chief, Executive Bureau; Jaime C. de Veyra, Formerly Resident Commissioner; Sofia R. de Veyra, President, Federation of Women's Clubs; Jose Fernandez, Ship owner; Ramon Fernandez, Ship owner and Ex-Senator; Leandro Fernandez, Registrar, U. P.; Vicente T. Fernandez, Ex-President, Philippine Chamber of Commerce; Pantaleon Garcia, General,

INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS MANIFESTO xiii Philippine Revolution; Teopisto Guingona, Lawyer and ex-Senator: Jose Hilario, Physician; Dionisio Jakosalem, Formerly Secretary of Commerce and Communications; Salvador Laguda, Formerly Secretary of Commerce and Communications; Gabriel La 0, Lawyer; Arsenio N. Luz, Journalist and Director, Philippine Carnival; Julio Llorente, Ex-Judge of the Court of First Instance; Tomas Mascardo, General, Philippine Revolution; Paz Mendoza Guazon, Physician and Professor, College of Medicine, U. P.; Jose Mercado, Priest, Director, The Filipino Academy; Luis Morales, Ex-Senator; Vicente Nepomuceno, Formerly Judge of the Court of First Instance; Eusebio Orense, Formerly Member of the Philippine Assembly; Jose Paez, General Manager, Manila Railroad Company; Rafael Palma, President, University of the Philippines; Jose S. Reyes, Dean, Junior College, U. P., Cebu; Marcos Roces, Businessman; Carlos P. Romulo, Editor, The Tribune; Baldomero Roxas, Physician; Felix M. Roxas, Ex-Mayor of Manila; Mariano V. de los Santos, President, University of Manila; Rosa Sevilla, Directress, Instituto de Mujeres; Vicente Singson Encarnacion, Businessman and Ex-Senator; Antonio G. Sison, Ex-President, Philippine Medical Association; Enrique Sobrepefia, Pastor, United Church, Manila; Max B. Solis, Journalist: Gavino Tabufiar, President, National University; Vidal Tan, Formerly Acting Dean, College of Liberal Arts., U. P.; Isabelo Tejada, President, Congreso Obrero; Ramon Torres, Journalist and ex-representative; Wenceslao Trinidad, formerly manager, Philippine National Bank; Francisco Varona, Labor leader and representative for Manila; Manuel Villa-Real, Journalist; Manuel Urquico, Businessman; Jose Yulo, Lawyer; Jose Zamora, Member, Board of Regents, U. P.; Maximo M. Kalaw, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, U. P., Executive Secretary of the Independence Congress.

... HON. FELIPE AGONCILLO President, First Plenary Session

THE INDEPENDENCE CREED Text of the only Resolution approved unanimously at the last plenary session: INDEPENDENCE CREED We, members of the First Independence Congress, convened at the City of Manila, Philippine Islands, from February 22nd to 26th, 1930, on the initiative of private citizens, and composed of representatives of business and agriculture, directors of civic organizations, leaders in the various professions, publicists, educators, labor, religious and student leaders, municipal presidents, Moro chiefs, co-workers of Rizal and Del Pilar in Spain, veterans of the revolution, elective officials of the provincial governments, high officials of the former Philippine Republic, past and present members of the Philippine Legislature and Filipino members of the Council of State, after deliberating upon the problems of independence including national defense, finance and economics, as well as political, social and educational questions which would be faced by an independent Philippines, hereby make the following declaration: While fully conscious of the debt of gratitude we owe to America for her benevolent policy in the Philippines, we are convinced that immediate independence is the only solution in consonance with the unalterable desires of the Filipino people. No matter how lightly an alien control may rest on a people, it cannot, it will not, make that people happy. The genius and potentialities of the Filipino people can only be developed in an atmosphere of freedom unrestrained by foreign rule. xv

xvi INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Differences in race, history and civilization render difficult, if not impossible, a common life under one flag between the American and Filipino peoples. The uncertainty of our future political status hampers the economic development of the country. Our present trade relations with the United States are not conducive to the economic independence of the Philippines, and whatever may be the temporary advantages of such relations, we are willing to forego them for the sake of freedom. The longer we remain under America, the harder will it be for us to be freed from our political and economic dependence on her. We are now better prepared for nationhood than many independent states of today and we are ready to assume the risks and responsibilities of independence. We are not unmindful of the fact that in the final solution and settlement of the Philippine problem, American and foreign interest must be adequately safeguarded. The establishment of a Philippine Republic today will but be the logical and just outcome of our long struggles for freedom and will be in keeping with America's history and traditions. Independence will make for closer friendship and better understanding between America and the Philippines, while retention fosters distrust and ill-feeling. In our solemn constitutional covenant with America she has promised to grant us independence as soon as a stable government can be established. This condition has long been fulfilled. Therefore, in the name and in behalf of the Filipino people, we solemnly affirm, with full realization of the consequences and responsibilities of political independence, that our people should be allowed to live an independent life and to establish a government of their

THE INDEPENDENCE CREED xvii own without any further delay and without any condition which makes its advent uncertain; hence we respectfully reiterate our petition to the people and government of the United States to grant the Philippines immediate, complete and absolute independence. Approved unanimously. February 26, 1930. FELIPE AGONCILLO, President, Inaugural Session. RAFAEL PALMA, President, Last Plenary Session. MAXIMO M. KALAW, Executive Secretary.

DEAN MAXIMO M. KALAW Executive Secretary PRES. RAFAEL PALMA President, Last Plenary Session

OFFICERS OF THE CONGRESS HON. FELIPE AGONCILLO President of the Congress, Inaugural Session PRESIDENT RAFAEL PALMA President of the Congress, Last Session DEAN MAXIMO M. KALAW Executive Secretary HON. JUAN SUMULONG Chairman of the Political Section, First Session HON. ALBERTO BARRETTO Chairman of the Political Section, Second Session HON. RAMON FERNANDEZ Chairman of the Economic Section, First Session HON. FRANCISCO ORTIGAS Chairman of the Economic Section, Second Session DEAN FRANCISCO BENITEZ Chairman of the Educational Section, First Session PRESIDENT GAVINO TABURAR Chairman of the Educational Section, Second Session JUDGE MARIANO H. DE JOYA Chairman of the International Relations Section DEAN JORGE BOCOBO Chairman of the Labor Section GENERAL TOMAS MASCARDO Chairman of the National Defense and Communications Section HON. TEOPISTO GUINGONA Chairman of the Mindanao and Mountain Province Section MRS. SOFIA R. DE VEYRA Chairman of the Women's Section Secretaries of Sections-Dr. Bernabe B. Africa; Prof. Quirino E. Austria; Prof. Isidoro Panlasigui; Prdf. Mariano D. Gana; Mr. Martin P. de Veyra; Dr. Maria Lanzar-Carpio, Mr. Pio G. de Castro, and Mr. Abdullah Jimenez. Assistants to the Executive Secretary-Dr. Cornelio C. Cruz, Mr. Julio Villareal, Dr. Paternor Santos, Mr. Bernardo P. Garcia, Prof. Jose Teotico, Dr. Vedasto Samonte, Prof. Cristino Jamias, Mr. Artemio Tulio, and Mr. Bartolome A. Umayam. xix

I I.1 4I''.. 'W I,. -* 1 ".11M I -*VW.A HON. MANUEL L. QUEZON President, Philippine Senate, Who, from his sick-bed, gave all the support possible to the Independence Congress.

First Independence Congress FIRST PLENARY SESSION February 22, 1930 The first plenary session of the First Independence Congress was called to order by the Executive Secretary on Saturday, February 22, 1930' at 9:00 A. M. at the Manila Grand Opera House. One thousand five hundred sixty-one delegates were enrolled, All the seats in the auditorium were occupied and many members had to stand. The public invaded the upper gallery. On the platform were seated the members of the Organization Committee, composed of private citizens who had issued the manifesto convening the Congress. After the invocation by the Reverend Osmundo Lim, President of Uni6n de Clerigos Filipinos, Dean Maximo M. Kalaw, Executive Secretary, arose and addressed the members as follows: ADDRESS OF DEAN MAXIMO M. KALAW ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATION GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS: In the name of the group of citizens which has taken the initiative of calling you all here, I extend to you our heartiest welcome. Our plan has been to bring together in one vast assembly the most representative elements of the Philippine population to discuss the questions that affect our country's freedom. The idea was started by private citizens; but when 1

2 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS we urged our legislative leaders to carry it out because they are the legal representatives of the people, we were told that, in order.to give freshness to the movement and to attract other men and parties, citizens outside of active politics had better take the initiative. In that way, they further argued, the people of the United States would know that the independence agitation here is not limited to the political leaders. This is the explanation for the calling of this congress merely by a group of citizens. \V-hile at first glance the task seemed stupendous due to the suspicion and jealousies that must necessarily exist in a government run by political parties, the one thought that drove us on was the fact that there is a complete accord as regards the Philippine question among all Philippine entities. We reasoned out that if all the party leaders were one in their protestations for the independence of the country, there cannot be any objection to their gathering together in one vast assembly for a brief period of five days, for the purpose of reaffirming their political faith and of discussing the various problems connected with independence. We tried to make it perfectly plain that the committee did not propose, in so far as we could control it, to make this congress the organ of any party or any group of leaders. That was not our idea. Frankly speaking, it took us some time to convince many people of the sincerity of our purpose. There were times when we felt like giving up the idea altogether. We were convinced that if we had not been able to call together all these elements which, though opposed to each other, are still one in the fundamental problem of independence, it would not have been our fault. It would have been rather the failure, to our minds, of the system that prevailed in the country, which allowed or encouraged such jealousies and suspicions which make a uniform and united action impossible. The fact that we were able to bring together here the representatives of the two political parties of the country, sitting side by side, their rivalries apparently laid aside, is an undisputable proof that there still exists among our political leaders the supreme gift of tolerance and the fervor of undiluted Filipinism.

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 3 The strength of a democracy depends, to a large extent, upon the tolerance and unity that leaders will show in emergencies like the present. The unity of our nation requires a complete agreement as to certain fundamentals for which men should forget that they belong to parties and factions and should remember only that they are Filipinos. That there is such a unity is testified by your presence today. People who have hitherto been reluctant to take part in politics, associations which have never adhered to movements of this nature, entities which have never been represented in political gatherings, educational institutions which constitute a tremendous factor in the moulding of sound public opinion, high government officials of the past and present, capitalists and labor leaders, students and church officials are present here in most eloquent numbers. We are especially grateful for the trouble and sacrifice that our provincial and municipal executives have gone through to attend this gathering. Being in direct contact with our masses, their views and suggestions are of the utmost value. We greet our Mohammedan brothers who have travelled far to join us in this gathering. Their presence in large numbers is a symbol of our indestructible unity. The one very noticeable element in this gathering is the non-political element represented by members of commercial organizations, professional associations, civic and labor organizations, professors and student leaders. The letters and telegrams of adhesion that we have been receiving have taxed the capacity of our small clerical force. Some provinces like Leyte had their own independence congresses, while in some provinces like Batangas all the towns simultaneously conducted mass meetings to express their adherence to the Independence Congress. We want especially to make public our appreciation of the wisdom and statesmanship manifested by the leader of the minority, the distinguished senator from the fourth district, Don Juan Sumulong. Without his cooperation we would not probably be having Democratas and Consolidados together at this gathering today. In a country run by parties, the line of

4 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS least resistance is to stick to one's party and forever damn the other party. It takes a man of extraordinary caliber to forget his party for a while. There must be a future for a party to which men like Don Juan Sumulong belong. Finally, we want to say a word of appreciation for the cooperation of the majority party whose leaders have been lending us unconditional support and cooperation in every possible way. The support of President Quezon, Senator Osmefia, Speaker Alas and a host of other legislative leaders has been of the utmost value. Because they constitute the majority party, they can afford to be magnanimous and they have been most magnanimous. We thank them for their uninstinted help. The result of the committee's work is the program copies of which have been distributed to you for your information and approval. We have asked specialists in the various fields to speak before the sectional meetings on the problems that may be affected by independence. We invite the members fully to participate in the discussions of the sectional meetings. They are the soul of the Congress. Interest in them will indicate our desire to prepare for independence. We have taken the liberty, in order to facilitate the gathering together of the different elements, to designate the chairmen who will preside over the congress and its different sections. This step has been necessary in order to insure the sincerity of our purpose in favoring no single party. If we had not done it, probably we would not have been able to gather the elements that we wanted to assemble. Again we have the practical fact that this congress is called for the discussion of problems relating to the independence question, with only two days of plenary sessions. In institutes and gatherings similar to this which we have attended, to facilitate the work, the Committee on Arrangement prepares all the machinery for the conduct of business. We present to you, therefore, our preliminary work as embodied in the program. We have simply established the machinery for your deliberation and the only thing that the organization committee has asked me to deliver to you is the fundamental motive that impelled us to call this congress.

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 5 All we want is a national expression of our indestructible solidarity, an assembly not for the glorification of any set of leaders, but for the common understanding of all leaders; not for partisanship but for comradeship; not for distrust, but for tolerance. In conclusion, may I express the fervent hope of the committee that in the halls where our two thousand minds and spirits mingle in perfect cordiality, we may develope a deeper sense of national solidarity which will make us look beyond our immediate necessities and present-day rivalries, into the future-perhaps the immediate future-where the broader interests, where the greater life, where the permanent happiness of the country, lie. With the apparent approval of the program by the members of the Congress, the Chairman of the first plenary session, the Honorable Felipe Agoncillo, took the chair and spoke as follows: ADDRESS OF THE HONORABLE FELIPE AGONCILLO, PRESIDENT OF THE CONGRESS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I repeat to you the warm greeting which the Executive Committee through its distinguished Secretary, Dean Maximo M. Kalaw, has just told you. I congratulate you for the spirit of union and solidarity which animate you, and in coming to this Congress in the critical moments of our national life, you made evident, in an unequivocal way, your immaculate patriotism. It is undeniable that this Congress, composed of representative elements of the country, is the concretion of our most fervent national eagerness. This Congress has come to life in order to have its voice heard and to entreat the people and the public powers of the United States to grant the immediate and absolute independence of the Philippines. It is necessary for the world to know that within the law, means of peace and order, we are struggling boldly to obtain the self-government for which in 1776, under the leadership of the immortal Washington, those thirteen colonies of North America made war against the metropolis, England.

6 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Confiding in the altruism and the justice of the United States, we demand our independence not through the impulses of mere sentimentalism and idealism, but because we are firmly convinced that the Filipino people are sufficiently prepared to assume the responsibilities of a free and independent life. We fight for our sacred national cause, inspired by the high principles of the Declaration of Independence, one of the principal doctrines of which is that the just and legitimate rights of all good government are derived from the consent of the governed, and that no country is justified in subjugating another. These sublime principles which gave glory to the United States in the History of Humanity became the soul of true Democracy, and, crossing the national frontiers, were accepted in their entirety by some governments, while by others, they were perverted into the forms of monarchy, autocracy, a government by one, aristocracy or oligarchy, government by a few. In a few cases these ideas were adopted by representative governments in which the people were slowly given more participation in the management of the public affairs. And these inviolable principles were the ones that impelled the rapid and amazing social, political and economic progress of the United States which may be said to be the arbitrator now of international affairs. We are sure that North America will never turn its back against its Declaration of Independence and its Constitution. It should not, therefore, turn a deaf ear to the voice of the Philippines which asks to be declared an independent state in order to occupy a place among the concert of free nations and to be an important factor in the progress of the Oriental countries. We avail ourselves of the birthday of the immortal Washington, the founder of the Great North American Republic, and on this day request the government of the United States to give us the immediate fulfillment of the solemn promise made in the preamble of the Jones Law. It is a word of honor which America has given before the world, and because it is jealous of its national honor, should in no way elude its fulfillment.

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 7 In our struggle for liberty, we invoke the principles proclaimed by the unfortunate President Wilson, eminent statesman, for the proper determination of the countries or rather the rights which they have to self-government in accordance with their habits and customs. Thus, countries like Poland, CzochoSlovakia, Jugo-Slavia, Albania, Finland, Esthonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraina, formerly under the control of powerful nations of Europe, succeeded in enjoying the blessings of liberty after the World War. Convened, therefore, as we are, in the name of our country, we solemnly declare that the only and invariable wish of the Filipino people is for immediate and absolute independence. After the Chairman had spoken, the Honorable Antonio de las Alas, Speaker Pro-Tempore of the House of Representatives, addressed the members as follows: ADDRESS OF THE HONORABLE ANTONIO DE LAS ALAS, SPEAKER PRO-TEMPORE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FELLOW COUNTRYMEN: Over a score and a half years ago, our country, through one of those unforeseen and unexpected incidents of war, came under the sovereignty and protection of the people of the United States. Since the very beginning of the American regime, authorized representatives of the American nation have repeatedly declared the purpose of the United States, not to remain permanently in the Philippine Islands but to prepare us for an independent existence and, once that mission is accomplished, to give us our independence. The military government was promptly supplanted by a civil government. The new administration was instructed to bear in mind that the government was not designed for the experiment or expression of American theoretical views, but for the happiness, peace and prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands, and that the measures adopted should be made to conform to their customs, their habits and even their prejudices to the fullest extent con

8 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS sistent with the accomplishment of the indispensable requisites of a just and effective government. Accordingly, the civil government followed a policy of benign and just treatment of the people of these Islands. This policy immediately bore its fruits and the whole Philippines was soon brought under the effective control of the government. Seeing the response that the Filipino people had given to this wise and benevolent policy-for not only did they abandon all efforts to make violent resistance, but even cooperated heartily with the American government-various Americans, including the then Governor-General Taft, saw the possibility of convincing the Filipino people sometime in the future to consent to the admission of the Philippines as a state of the North American Union, thus giving these Islands and the people thereof the status, rights and privileges enjoyed by the United States and its citizens. Those well-meaning Americans found support from a group of influential Filipinos who, under the banner of the Federal Party, tried to convince the people that it would be to our benefit and advantage to be incorporated in the great American nation. However, these American and Filipino visionaries were sorely disappointed. The old Federal Party was defeated at the polls and soon disappeared. Now we will have to hear of a Filipino who does not believe in the ultimate freedom of his country. The Americans left no stone unturned to attract the Filipino people and to convince them of the desirability and of the advantages of being considered full-fledged American citizens. To this end. they established here a school system which carried on a propaganda for the perpetuation of the American regime. Students were sent to the United States, in the belief and hope that when they returned to the Islands they would favor and work for the permanent annexation of the Philippines to the United States. Nevertheless, all these efforts have been in vain for all those who came from the public schools and also the returned students have become the most vehement supporters of the movement for the immediate and complete severance of the ties that bind the United States and the Philippines. It will thus be seen that, notwithstanding the most benevolent and

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 9 progressive government that has ever been given to a subject people, and notwithstanding the intensive propaganda carried out through the American and Philippine schools for the enhancement of American sovereignty in our country, we, as a people, have insisted upon our right to lead the life of a free and separate nation. The history of the Philippines is only a repetition of what has happened everywhere else. It is a reassertion of the ideal of nationalism, of the right of every group of people to govern itself, uncontrolled and unhampered by foreign influences. It confirms beyond any doubt the truth that nationalism is irresistible and unquenchable. The opposite of nationalism is imperialism. The history of the world is replete with conflicts between these two forces. Before the seventeenth century the tendency was towards the building up of big empires. There was even an effort to effect a world unity through the principles of Christianity. However, the Reformation came which caused a fresh fragmentation into national states. The 17th and 18th centuries saw a steady development of nationalism and a continuous intensification of the division of Europe into nations. With the first French revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte came a transitory return to the empire of Charlemagne. Following Napoleon's overthrow, the development of nationalism was resumed. The 19th century may properly be considered as the century of nationalism. And, as if to complete the work, the world war came which, despite its horrors and devastating effects, made nationalism more potent than ever. The war spread rapidly and became a world conflagration because the independence of small states, such as Servia and Belgium, was threatened. Wilson, who may justly be called the Champion of Nationalism, in his messages and speeches on the war, emphasized the right of every nation to decide its own destiny and flung in the face of imperialists his policy of freeing sub, ject nationalities from the yoke of the foreigner. So it was through him that territories which had previously lost their independence and became integral parts of some of the belligerent countries were given back their lost freedom and rec

10 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS ognized as free nations. This accounts for the establishment by the Versailles Peace Conference, of small independent nations from the once powerful German, Austrian, Russian and Turkish empires. This spirit of rebellious self-determination has set aflame hitherto inert subject races. Nationalist Turkey has turned against European exploitation; nationalist Egypt has won independence; nationalist Persia and Afghanistan have cast off British shackles; and Central and South American republics are building up strong barriers to check the invasion of American politico-economic imperialism. Abyssinia manifested such a vigorous spirit of independence that she was able to eliminate any contingency of intervention on the part of the British, French and Italian nations. But the work of the forces of nationalism is not yet complete. India is still under the yoke of Great Britain, although Indian nationalism has assumed gigantic proportion. Java's patriots are beginning to realize the necessity of freeing their country from the control of a nation whose population is much smaller than that of their own. China is resorting to such effective weapons as boycott and her young patriots are stirring the people to solidarity and action in order to suppress extraterritorial rights enjoyed by foreign nations. Even the backward Arabs have been stirred by this new trend of nationalism. A number of them, especially those who have been educated abroad and the officers who served in the great war, have shown a fiery spirit of nationalism. And coming to our own Philippines, we have become more insistent than ever in our pleas for independence. All are responding to the nationalistic and democratic sentiments which have given Europe and America their seemingly impregnable world-mastery. Nationalism is not entirely without its foes. Material forces, inventions, devices, appliances and methods, all seem to demand political and economic rearrangement far beyond the scale of national boundaries and nationalist limitations. The new inventions have abolished distance and are likely to abolish frontiers. This stupendous progress has set dreamers to idealize on world peace, world organization, world civiliza

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 11 tion, consolidation of mankind. We believe, however, that those are extremely artificial things, against nature, and, therefore, are Utopic. We have already seen that the world-wide enthusiasm for the League of Nations' idea at the end of the war has evaporated in the face of the disillusioning reality. At any rate we are convinced that nationalism will be strong enough to reject any invitation to universal union. We are constrained to assume that the present system of sovereign states, each violently competitive against the other, must continue in the future, however wasteful and socially destructive, and however monstrous the war possibilities that it must entail. Whatever our dreams and desires and fears may be, we are forced back to the conclusion that the present system of sovereign states will continue indefinitely. The Communist idea is also antagonistic to nationalism, since it directs men's imagination towards a world-wide community of workers. It conceives of the solidarity of the wageearner as antagonistic to the private ownership of the ruling classes. Communism is also bound to fail. As a matter of fact even in Russia where the government is in the hands of the Communists, it has been found necessary to modify somewhat their principles and program. Imperialistic nations have attemped to stifle nationalism through various means. One of the means adopted is causing an unprecedented prosperity and enhancing the welfare of the people. Such was the policy that the British followed in Egypt. The work of development was so effective that immediately agricultural production increased, followed, of course, by a stimulation of imports and exports. For instance, the value of the cotton crop rose from nine million pounds in 1881 to 52 million in 1924. Imports increased from seven million pounds sterling in 1881 to 43 million in 1922. Nevertheless, the Egyptians did not become happy. Even exposing themselves to the displeasure of being charged with ingratitude, they continued feeling a crude sort of national consciousness and longed like every other nation, for self-government, whether it were good government or not.

12 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS A similar policy was followed in the Philippine Islands. On account of the economic development of the Philippines, our production has increased considerably and our exports and imports have multiplied almost beyond imagination. Nevertheless, our spirit of nationalism has intensified and we are demanding our liberty more strenuously than ever. Another means employed to hinder the growth of nationalism is by making liberal political concessions. In Egypt we saw that the British granted her more concessions by creating a legislative assembly with greater powers. The Egyptians, far from being satisfied with it, in the very first meeting of the assembly, showed a strong nationalist hostility to British domination. So in the Philippines, legislation like the Jones law which no doubt gave us a more autonomous government, did not in the least dampen the fervor for nationalistic ideals. At times the imperialistic nations endeavored to smother nationalism through sheer brutality and by causing war among the inhabitants. In India, for instance, at Amritsar, several hundred unarmed civilians who were in a lawful pursuit of their rights, were massacred, mowed down with machine guns by an English general with the avowed purpose of cowing the Indians to submission. In Egypt, England once ruled with a strong hand to suppress the nationalist agitation. The famous General Allenby was sent as High Commissioner to prevent the ominous unrest of Egypt from developing into a seething, sweeping rebellion. In Java those who showed enough courage to speak in favor of the liberation of their country were promptly arrested and imprisoned. In the Philippines, the greatest man that our race has ever produced, Dr. Rizal, was shot in order to stop further revolutionary movements. Nevertheless, Egypt continued fighting for her liberty with undaunted energy and succeeded in getting it. India, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, is now conducting a most amazing campaign for independence, never before equalled in history. Java is still in lethargy, but like a volcano, may burst any time. In the Philippines, all national elements are now welding themselves into a strong organization to make our campaign more effective. Nationalism, like liberty, is not

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 13 the right of one, but of all, and is worth the best efforts of civilization. As said by Montesquieu, "Countries are well cultivated, not as they are fertile, but as they are free." From all that I have said, it is clear that nationalism is irresistible. You cannot smother it by force or fear, nor hinder its natural growth by concessions and palliatives or by promoting the general prosperity and welfare of the people. Its course is mapped out, and no force can make it deviate therefrom. In the Philippines, we are fortunate that we can always invoke the history and traditions of America to keep alive our sentiments of nationalism and accelerate its onward march. The facts still linger in our minds that the Pilgrims emigrated to America to enjoy freedom; that the Boston Tea Party was a protest against acts done by the British government without the consent of the American colonists; that though few, ill-fed, barely clothed, poorly armed and untrained for military duties, the Revolutionary army, under Washington, continued fighting with might and main to attain the independence of Anherica: that the Declaration of Independence lays down the ideal of government with the consent of the governed; that the Monroe doctrine was promulgated to close the American continent from colonization by European nations; that the Civil war was fought to give life and blood to the tenet that all are born free and equal; that the Spanish-American war was fought to save Cuba from further atrocities; and that America participated in the last great war to make the world safe for democracy and to compel each nation, including the small ones, to respect the rights of others. I have not the least doubt that nationalism is treading its regular path in our country, and that it will lead us to the attainment of our coveted goal. Sooner or later independence will come, but more sooner than later, if, instead of allowing the regulartmovement of nationalism to continue, we do something to accelerate its onward march. If all of us are united and act as one man, continue to wage the fight with the same energy, enthusiasm and spirit of sacrifice that have characterized the actions of our heroes of yesterday; if we can convince the American people that we are determined in our decision to break

14 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS the ties that bind us with America, we can be sure that in the immediate future America will grant us that which we all demand-the liberty of our country. After the address of the Honorable Antonio de las Alas, "Independence Hymn" which was especially composed by Dr. Francisco Santiago, was sung by students of the Philippine Women's College. On behalf of the Filipino women, Mrs. Rosa Sevilla de Alvero, Directress of the Instituto de Mujeres, spoke as follows: ADDRESS OF MRS. ROSA L. SEVILLA DE ALVERO ON BEHALF OF THE FILIPINO WOMEN M/R. PRESIDENT, GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS, AND COUNTRYMEN: I salute you in the name of the Filipino woman whom I have the honor to represent in this congress. I send you in her name a message of love and sympathy, and in her name I thank you for the justice you have done to our sex by setting aside one of the sessions of this Congress exclusively for her, so that she, as an integral part of our country, could express her views on a question so important to her as well as to her country, the question of the independence of our dear Philippines. Designated by the organization committee to represent the Filipino woman among the speakers of the first Independence Congress, I appear before you with the soul full of enthusiasm to tell you that the Filipino woman is ready to do her share of the work of bringing about our much coveted freedom; that the Filipino woman of yesterday, as well as the Filipino woman of today and of tomorrow, has not deserted, nor will she ever desert, the place allotted to her in the great work of emancipation of our country, as beloved as she is unfortunate. Proofs of her patriotism are furnished us by the indefatigable Tandang Sora, the great mother of the "Katipunan"; by General Agueda Kahabagan Ruisefior and other innumerable women

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 15 whose names now lie in oblivion because of the negligence of the men who wrote the history of our revolution. I say this because personally I saw with my own eyes courageous women working side by side with their husbands on battlefields where about the middle of February of 1899 we served as member of the first Filipino Red Cross, organized by the wife of General Aguinaldo, to bring aid to and encourage the soldiers of the Lolomboy Division, which was quartered a few kilometers from Polo, where the Americans had advanced, driving our troops back to take possession of the towns then held by the Revolutionary Government. The Filipino woman has been always conscious of her duties toward her country. Those who because of the weakness of their sex were unable to fight on the field, sent donation or rendered personal services as nurses attending the sick and wounded or enlisting as army cooks, preparing the meals of the soldiers and furnishing foodstuffs to our valiant combatants, just as we personally did with other companions in Bulacan during the twenty-eight days of the siege of that capital by the troops of General Gregorio del Pilar, from May 30 to June 27, 1898. General del Pilar's troops were in trenches they dug a few kilometers from the enemy's place. Many other women did the same thing with other troops in the war zone for, as is well known, the Revolutionary Government had no time to organize supply stations nor hospitals behind the front so that these needs had to be filled often by private initiative aided on many occasions by Filipino women who spontaneously offered their services to the mother country. The Filipino woman since the beginning of our struggles for freedom, in her role as mother, as well as daughter or wife or sister, has learned to assume the responsibilities of the family and instill courage in the man to sally forth in the field of action to defend the rights of the people. Such instances were furnished by the generous and self-sacrificing mother of Dr. Jose Rizal, by the heroic wife of Marcelo H. del Pilar, by the courageous mother of General Natividad and the no less valiant mother of General Luna, the patient wife of Andres Bonifacio, the daring wife of General Malvar and others who might be

16 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS enumerated endlessly. Such was their enthusiasm that we can fearlessly say that where a patriot or a hero sprung up there always appeared the beneficent and inspiring figure of a mother, a wife, a daughter or a sister, ready to encourage and sustain him. They were indeed nameless martyrs of a deep and genuine patriotism who sacrificed themselves without hope of receiving any reward, not even the recognition and gratitude of their people. Thus it is that patriotism is also inherent in the Filipino woman. But patriotism, like any other emotions, needs to be cultivated and encouraged and fortified so that it may reach its acme of perfection. And the only priestess who keeps the key to the sanctuary of the heart is the woman, and she is therefore the only one called upon to mould the character and the heart of men and the peoples to make of them patriots and heroes. But unfortunately for our country woman has been and still is considered by many as a mere decoration, a rare jewel to be shown only on days of extraordinary feast and only for purely ornamental purposes. And what is worse still is that her education has been considered and still is considered by many as merely secondary and without any importance. It is thus that many persons are indifferent to the kind of education that should be given her, whether it be of the altruistic or utilitarian character. And what is more surprising is that the more she is inclined to foreign things the better she appears to them. Many fathers do not discriminate well in regard to her education. The nearest college, the most popular, the one that makes more noise because of its more or less doubtful reputation, matters very little to them nor does it matter to them whether the education of their daughters include the inculcation of patriotic feelings in their character or whether in the life during the period from eight to ten years which their daughters spend in such colleges they are taught love of the home, interest in the welfare of the country and their countrymen, the sacred desire to suffer in their sorrows and defeats and to glory in their triumphs and rejoicings; nor does it matter to them that in such institutions the love of the country that saw their birth is encouraged or stultified.

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 17 This is the reason why many of our women appear indifferent, if not averse, to the interest of their own country; why there strut so many Dofia Victorinas; and why there exists the inconsistency, the instability of the patriotic sentiment in the bosom of the children of such matrons. All of which explains why there are so many patrioteers who pose as patriots only when there are high positions or remunerative jobs to be filled, and who cease to be patriots when a privilege is denied to them or the benefits of a position are refused to them. What a miserable patriotism it is that is thus quoted at a premium, that imposes conditions and fails when the need is greatest for the cooperation and union of the whole country for the realization of its most sacred aspirations-our national independence. Thanks to the absence of the teaching of patriotism in the education of our people we have a special brand of patriotism which becomes manifest only in the face of great humiliations and abuses such as those committed against the Filipinos in California. And even in this case it was only a fleeting patriotism, and outburst of the moment, with but little consistency. Well, do the enemies of our cause know this! And this is the reason why they are trying to distract us with a Bingham Plan or a Vanderberg Resolution. And do you know why we are this way? Because patriotism is lacking in the education furnished us in the home as well as in the school; because we believe that patriotism is something like mana from heaven which needs no care or cultivation. And this is our big mistake, gentlemen of the Congress. If Japan enjoys a great influence and privilege it is because her people know how to preserve her own personality, because the Japanese since childhood are taught to love their own and to practice that love, foster it and defend it; because patriotism is a religion to all of the subjects of the land of the Rising Sun; because protection to them is an inviolate law and their children from the moment they are born are taught to show their love, which borders on fanatism, to the country that gave them birth; thus patriotic heroism is a daily bread in Japan. This explains why when men were needed to scale a fort in the

18 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS attack on Port Arthur, not only the necessary number offered their lives but hundreds and thousands willingly went to the sacrifice to uphold their country. It is not strange, therefore, that men like the Japanese should attain victory, even against the most formidable enemies of their freedom. Even China, so berated by many, furnishes us with lessons of unity and solidarity which we should not ignore. If a nation attempts to subject her and trample upon her she retaliates with a boycott against its products. No Chinaman who loves his country buys any products of the enemy nation. And there is no power that can resist such passive but effective resistance as that shown by the children of the Flower Republic. Not that we should resort to boycott because it is prohibited by law, but at least we should learn how to defend and how to protect and patronize our own. In the face of the present situation what are we doing to instill in the minds of our children —the spirit of protectionism, of union and solidarity? How many obstacles and how many difficulties this very Congress of Independence had to surmount? How many cabals and intrigues had been organized by some of our unfortunate countrymen to make it a failure, without bearing in mind that in its failure would be involved the future of the country? Without going too far, what do we do in the face of the avalanche of imported products which threaten to overwhelm local and native goods? What have we done to protect the most important products of our country, such as tobacco, copra, sugar, rice and hemp? Is it not a fact that we are great consumers of foreign cigarettes which kill our own cigarette manufacturing industry? Is it not a fact that we have gone to the extreme in our dress so that our beautiful pifia and jusi textiles are threatened with paralyzation and annulment? What have we done to promote our own industry, our shoes, our hats, our textiles and foodstuffs? Even in our diet we consume more imported foodstuffs than those raised in our country. Why don't we try to eat more rice, instead of bread, and consume more fruits and products raised at home than those brought from abroad, and thus enrich our own coffers instead of enriching the pockets of foreigners who are the

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 19 worst enemies of the independence of our country? If the Americans and foreign merchants who enrich themselves with our commerce know that we would be capable of withdrawing our patronage if they opposed the legitimate aspirations of our country, the Mayos and Worcesters would take great care not to insult us by trying to show our incapacity, but unfortunately they do not know us and are well familiar with our lack of cohesion, our lack of cooperation, with our division, distrust of each other, suspicion, hatred and rivalries, and so they insult us and they trample upon us without mercy. Ah! if there had not been too much servility on our part, if there had not been so much egotism and so many divisions to serve selfish personal interests, if there had not been so much pig-headedness and lack of dignity on the part of the so-called leaders of our people, there would be no Miss Mayo who would have dared insult us with brazenness, nor would a Miss Brummit humiliate our children with insolent arrogance and disdain. We must act, gentlemen. There should be a reaction, if we wish to be respected; if we really feel that the blood of Soliman and other heroes of our past, who died defending the rights of our people, runs through our veins; if we still believe that we are a people worthy of enjoying the freedom we covet, we should react. Let us put an end to divisions and quarrels, and whoever attempts to divide the people, let him be despised and abandoned by us all. Let us be a free people instead of vile instruments of the selfish and ambitious. Let our indifference be visited upon them and let us ignore them. We, the women, are the first to condemn all violent measures, because no longer are we in the age of the cave man, when right by might was necessary to enforce the law of righteousness, and because we have more powerful and persuasive weapons. And all those who prove themselves hostile to our legitimate aspirations, let them be ostracized to indifference and isolation. We are happily in a period in which reason predominates, in which in the struggle for principles and ideals he who has faith in himself and in his own convictions triumphs; wherein the man who knows how best to present the facts succeeds, the man who knows how to find the most opportune means, who knows

20 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS how to employ the weapon of persuasion attracts toward him the favorable opinion of other altruistic peoples; in short, the man who knows how to enhance virtue and paint even the defects of his people is the man who will finally attain victory. I believe this is the most opportune moment, gentlemen of the Congress, to appeal to the conscience of all the civilized world, that this is the most propitious moment to present to the North American Nation the right of our country to be free and independent. I repeat that because of the racial prejudices on one side, and the economic interests of American workmen and farmers on the other, serious offenses have been inflicted on Filipino workers in California to the point that the unfortunate Tobera was killed. This is the moment to remind them and other altruistic Americans, Americans of good-will, of the need of granting us our independence in order to prevent a repetition of serious excesses which more often than not may culminate in murder, not of a man but of a whole people entrusted to the generosity and magnanimity of the great North American Nation, thereby besmirching with an ignominious and eternal stigma its history as a big-hearted nation whose motto is to champion the cause of freedom, of democracy and justice. It is high time, I repeat, that we should rise as a single man, politicians as well as civilians, military men of the revolution, men and women, educated and illiterate, the old and the young, from the valleys to the mountains, from Batanes to Tawitawi; all solidly united, let us present a joint resolution asking America to fulfill her sacred pledge, to grant us the independence of our people. As a means to obtain it at the earliest possible moment, I suggest that this Congress: 1st-Approve a resolution for the Congress of the United States asking for the approval of the King Bill which would grant Philippine independence in eighteen months and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Congress of the United States and all newspapers in Manila and the provinces and to the newspapers not only in America but also in the capitals of the most important nations of Europe;

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 21 2nd-That assurances should be given to all foreign capitalists and merchants that all Filipinos, as soon as we get our independence, will do their utmost to maintain our friendship and best relations possible with them so long as they show themselves worthy of our confidence; 3rd-That an intensive campaign for independence for our country be initiated and launched simultaneously in Manila and all provinces in the Archipelago, especially in the schools, the work to be carried on in the plazas and extended to the remotest barrios where there may exist some persons who are ignorant of the-blessings which the emancipation of our people will bring; and if possible, to carry on an independence campaign in the United States by the most prominent men and women of the country, such campaign to be extended to the Latin American republics and to the principal capitals of Europe, as well as of China and Japan, to create an opinion favorable to the legitimate aspirations-of our people. Gentlemen of the Congress, few are the occasions offered in the life of a people such as those we have before us now when Americans affiliated with different organizations, idealists as well as materialists, are unanimously working in favor of the independence of our country. Gentlemen of the Congress, listen well to what I will say and mark my words well-if we wish to obtain the liberty of our people, unite and then proceed with determination. It is now or never. I thank you. The next speaker was the Honorable Juan Sumulong, minority floor leader in the Philippine Senate, who spoke as follows: ADDRESS OF THE HON. JUAN SUMULONG, MINORITY FLOOR LEADER IN THE SENATE MR. PRESIDENT, GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS: Our request for independence would be better heard in America if it comes directly from the Filipino people themselves. One of the most important services which this Congress would lend the. country would be that of having supplied

1. 1 -.. SENATOR OSMERA ADDRESSING THE CONGRESS. SENATOR SUMULONG ADDRESSING THE CONGRESS. 22

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 23 with expression the desires of the people for the people themselves, showing in a way that the independence movement is not the work of a few ambitious agitators, as some people maliciously affirm, but it has its root and origin in the very soul of the whole country. We do not aspire to be free on mere sentimentalism. We are convinced that in the degree of development reached by our country, the uncertainty of its definite political status is a positive obstacle to all real and durable progress. While the indefiniteness subsists, while it is made and planned our country will suffer from the evils of provisionality; timidity and vacillation will be the characteristic decisions of the national and foreign enterprises; our commerce with the exterior will be restrained and limited; and the whole country, oppressed by the darkness of the future, will continue to be like a man waiting for an unknown sentence which may give him back his liberty or deprive him of it forever.. "But don't you see, don't you understand", they tell us, "that political emancipation for you includes very probable dangers that are difficult to face? Isn't this a worse uncertainty?" Well, then, gentlemen, our reply to these warnings, given with good intentions, of course, is that in the life of a country comes a stage when the risks and errors of freedom are, in the long run, more advantageous than all the certainties and all the accomplishments under foreign guardianship however benevolent it might be. That moment has come to us. We are also warned that the secular struggles for the commercial superiority among the great industrial countries has been transferred to the Pacific, and it would be suicidal stupidity on our part to try to govern ourselves on our own accord when the hazards and dangers which surround us have become more threatening. Without pretending to scrutinize the labyrinthic secrets-of politics and international finance, I imagine, however, that it would be much better for us to obtain the recognition of our rights as a free country before the inevitable clash happens between the irreconcilable ambitions and the antagonistic interests of these great countries, a clash which may bring ill results, not only to the disputants themselves

24 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS but also to the small countries which do not still have a welldefined international personality. For more than thirty years we have submitted ourselves to an intense apprenticeship in the art of governing in the American way. This prolonged proof has served us neither to entertain nor to glimpse the desired goal of this journey which has traces of being endless. Where are we now? We are still debating with heat and passion between Americans and Filipinos without coming to an understanding as to the degree of political capacity which a country should display in order to have a right to govern itself. Does there exist a known measurement sanctioned by universal consent by which is established what conditions are required for the admission of a new member into the family of free nations? If it exists, I do not know it. What exists is the incontrovertible fact that eminent Americans have recognized other countries, less prepared than we are, which are now independent and have succeeded in conserving with merit for years the acquired position. We can, therefore, appeal to the American conscience, to the conscience of civilized humanity being sure that our cause is good and that our triumph, being the triumph of justice, will not make us wait long. We have not lost confidence in the American people. Neither do we close our eyes before the great benefits that the living together with the United States has imparted us. If the Filipino people insist, in spite of these benefits, in obtaining their separation, we hope that this persistence will not be taken as a proof of disaffection or ingratitude much less of hostility towards America, but as a confirmation that our devotion to the cause of our liberty is supreme, overpressing, inextinguishable. We owe the organizers of this Congress, especially Professor Kalaw, the fine idea of making the inauguration of its deliberations on Washington's birthday anniversary. This proper decision expresses and symbolizes faithfully the sentiments which the Filipino people feel toward the Americans. It shows our desire to join the national happiness of America. It shows that America's national life so intimately bound up with the history of human liberty is not indifferent to us; on

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 25 the contrary from it we have derived, to a great extent, our vehement passion for our own liberty. May we be allowed to confide that in the final solution of the Filipino problem the American people has inspired us not in the egoistic norms of modern commercialism, but in the liberal spirit, pure and disinterested, of Washington's time. The last speaker at the first plenary session was the Honorable Sergio Osmenia President Pro-Tempore of the Philippine Senate. He spoke as follows: ADDRESS OF SENATOR SERGIO OSMERA MR. PRESIDENT, PEOPLE OF THE CONGRESS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: The spectacle presented by this Congress is both beautiful and instructive. Having come from almost all provinces and from all walks of life with titles which bespeak individual merits, you are convened in this grand assembly in order to deliberate on the greatest of problems which we Filipinos face, the problem of our freedom. Here are, among others, the elements of yesterday and of today, of war and of peace, of agriculture and of commerce, of industry and of labor, the representatives of the land, the leaders of thought and the professionals. You have not come for the sake of other men, or of a party, or of a group. You have come as Filipinos inspired by a high sense of responsibility, resolved to forget resentments, feuds, distrusts, and suspicions to show that, above all of this, above your troubles as men, are the interests of the nation. If you decide to adopt resolutions about important cases without any discords, as it should be, such an act will constitute another proof of the advancement we have reached along national solidarity in the thirty years of political and social education after the Revolution. The timeliness of this Congress is made evident by. some recent deeds which you still remember. As soon as the preamble of the Jones Law was approved and the world war was finished, we organized the Independence Commission in order to negotiate with the American authorities, but with the

26 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS negotiation still pending, there happened a change of administration in the United States and an investigating mission was sent here. We had a new governor-general. There was created a tremendous reactionary campaign in Washington for the purpose of withdrawing the little concessions of autonomy which the previous administration had given us. The threat went still further. At the botton, the blow was not only aimed against autonomy, but also against the promise of independence. Our work was necessarily weakened, because we had to fight first against the reactionary movement, which threatened the freedom already obtained. I do not need to go into details that are still fresh in your memory. We have stopped the blow and regained what we had lost. We come back to reorganize our forces, to renew the campaign. But another battle issued forth, this time against the economic elements which demanded the abolishment of free trade and asked for the imposition of the tariff on our products or the limitation of the importation in America. Again, with the help of the American spirit of justice, we successfully repelled the aggression. And these economic elements, defeated on their own ground by our men, have caused the increase of friends of our independence. As they represent vast economic interests, and have for this reason ample means to be heard, they agitated American opinion and for some time it looked as if our great obstacle for independence, the indifference of American public opinion which is constantly absorbed by problems much more urgent and vital, has been conquered. All our friends took the opportunity to urge Congress for a final solution. Various independence bills were presented in the House of Congress. In the Senate the King Bill has attracted the attention of the Committee on Territories and Insular Possessions, about which bill, are being made prolonged hearings. Valuable opinions in favor of the Philippines have been expressed inside and outside of Congress. Such events gave rise to great optimism. Many believed that independence was well nigh approaching. The more cautious men have warned us, however, at one time or other, that we should not be too optimistic; that the discussion of

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 27 such a serious case, as the Philippine independence would necessarily occupy some time; that Congress is a body which proceeds very slowly; that if it were true that the American public opinion has reached to a certain point, it would be hard to foretell the immediate influence on the natural inertia of Congress; that the international relations of the United States are not probably in a position to make it convenient for the country to abandon her control over the Philippines; that the administration has not yet expressed any opinion in favor of King Bill; that there were many urgent questions of national interest for America which were pending action in Congress as the tariff, appropriations, prohibition, railroad matters, the consolidation of public utility and others; that the activity itself of economic interests from the standpoint of egotists might provoke an unfavorable reaction in public opinion taking into consideration that the deciding factor in the solution of the great questions in America radiates not in egoistic interests but in altruism in good faith, in the spirit of liberality and justice of the American citizens. I keep believing, however, that the actual moment is one of the most propitious which we have ever had in order to work for independence. The same reactionary agitation, which surged as a contradictory policy almost immediately after we had been assured by the late President Harding that there would be no back steps in Philippine politics has prepared the path to the independence which we are looking for. One of the most current fears expressed after Wilson's fall was that there might come a perfidy of political reaction and that probably the promise of independence would be inclusively withdrawn. I believe that the country can congratulate itself for the happy results of its campaigns against such sinister tendencies. Our campaigns have put into proofs, on one side, our country's decision to always march forward and never backward, looking for its complete freedom without renouncing a bit of its conquered privileges, and on the other side, the American spirit of justice in refusing to withdraw the concessions and plighted words. The Philippine Autonomy cannot be a toy of whimsical interpretations. It is a real deed. It is a part of our life

28 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS itself, and it is sanctioned by the practices and the laws. Those who are fond of legal inquiries can go on arguing as to whether the promised independence consecrated in the Jones Law has legal value or not. We say that the promise has been given, and it cannot be withdrawn. Armed with this word of honor, we will go on fighting. The greater the obstacles, the firmer shall be our determination. Nothing shall hinder our steps till we reach our goal. The question of our independence is again before the Congress. The fight has scarcely begun. As our mission says, quoting our friends in Congress, this fight might be long and painful. It looks as if the wave of public opinion again begins to move against us. It is possible that while this wave goes high, we cannot get anything at once in spite of all that our men and our friends are doing for us. But reaction will come, and the tidal wave will subside, and we should be prepared to cross the way which separates us from the ideal and grasp that ideal with our own hands. The campaign should be organized to include all Americans. Up to the present it is limited to Congress and we have enough elements for it. But a campaign in Congress only is not sufficient. We should attract on our side the popular feeling awakened and well organized. Such a plan requires great work, intelligent and constructive, a continuous force, and naturally, much expense. To undertake a campaign of publicity in a country as big as America, to reach and maintain contacts with various parts of the land cannot be carried out with no pecuniary expenditures. A vigorous and intelligently directed offensive is being imposed upon, and it is necessary that our country should stand united behind our representatives in America and should be determined to make all kinds of sacrifices. Thus, as in war a battle cannot be won without ammunition, so an extensive campaign in America cannot be undertaken without organization and appropriate means. It is evident that in this Congress there are two important purposes to fulfill; one is the declaration, that is, the reiteration of the national will in favor of independence; and the other, is the facilitation of the organization of our power, of

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 29 our elements, not only to work for that independence but also to organize and maintain it. The first is a solemn duty to be performed on this momentous occasion. The second, however, is of more lasting effect. The organization of our forces for the different kinds of work to prepare for independence, the division of our men in accordance with their preparation and abilities, in order that each one may act for the benefit of the ideal within his reach and merits, and may help find solutions to the complicated problems inherent with the change of sovereignty, of the fundamental ideal which preceded the creation of the Independence Commission. That idea exists now. We could not realize it completely on account of the opposing difficulties which I have mentioned before. But that it is an absolute and powerful necessity, is beyond the shadow of a doubt. I believe that the thought of this Congress points to that effect. The ball is on the roof; it may fall today, or it may fall tomorrow. There is a tremendous expectation in the United States as well as in the Philippines. But I say the following: if the ball falls today, this Congress would have served as a glorious culmination in the process of expressing collective feelings. If the ball does not fall today, then it may be said that this Congress shall serve to announce to all the Filipinos that great things are obtained only with great sacrifices and welldeliberated preparations; and that for us, who come from all walks of life and who are engaged in accordance with our qualifications and professions, has come the hour of commencing to organize ourselves seriously for a more effective work contributing to it our own force, our money, our sacrifice with all that it involves for ourselves and for our children. If after all that we have-been doing, our independence does not come yet; if after what we are willing to sacrifice for it. independence still remains a mere ideal and not a reality, it would be because God believes that we have not done enough sacrifice so we should impose on ourselves greater and still more sacrifices. If this be the case, it would give us force to organize ourselves more seriously; let each Filipino look for the job which fits his aptitudes and let him do what he can for the benefit of the ideal. Our exact comprehension of the respon

30 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS sibilities, problems, and sacrifices which will bring independence will educate our intelligence and our character and will prepare us to be worthy of receiving it, and above all, it will teach us to uphold and support it for us and for our children; for the natives and the strangers; for all men of good will who want to live with us and who consider it an honor and a security to be under our flag. Determination, desinterestedness, the spirit of discipline, are qualities which, when united together in our case, will firmly conquer all obstacles. GREETINGS TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES Mr. Francisco Delgado, in behalf of the Committee on Organization which was also the Committee on Resolutions, presented the following greetings to the President and People of the United States, which was approved unanimously: FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS GREETINGS TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: An Independence Congress composed of two thousand delegates representing all the vital forces of the country, political, commercial, labor, educational and civic, convened for the purpose of deliberating on the independence question, hereby sends its greetings to the American people and government. Full of hope and friendship, it begins its labors on this auspicious occasion which marks the birthday of the father of America whose parting advice to his people was to keep faith with all nations. Approved unanimously, February 22, 1930. RAFAEL PALMA, President, Last Plenary Session. FELIPE AGONCILLO, President, Inaugural Session. MAXIMO M. KALAW, Executive Secretary.

FIRST PLENARY SESSION 31 Mr. Gregorio Perfecto suggested the proposition contained in the speech of Mrs. Rosa Sevilla de Alvero supporting the King resolution be approved. This was referred to the Committee on Resolutions. The first plenary session was closed with the singing of the "Philippine National Hymn" by students from the Instituto de Mujeres.

HON. ANTONIO DE LAS ALAS HON. SERGIO OSMENA Speaker Pro-Tempore, House of Representatives Acting President, Philippine Senate Political leaders who actively participated in the deliberations of the Congress. A J

ECONOMIC SECTION First Session The first session of the Economic Section of the First Independence Congress was held at 9:30 A. M. on February 23, 1930. Honorable Ramon Fernandez was the Chairman. The first speaker was Prof. Conrado Benitez, Director of the School of Business Administration, University of the Philippines. He read the following paper: WHY FILIPINOS HAVE NEGLECTED BUSINESS PURSUITS BY PROF. CONRADO BENITEZ, Director, School of Business Administration, University of the Philippines. There is a reason for everything under the sun, according to a common saying. We live in a world of cause and effect, both in the physical and social realms. When, therefore, we are confronted with the admitted fact that Filipinos have neglected business pursuits in the past, we are not mentally satisfied until we have found a reasonable explanation of that phenomenon. The reasons for Filipino neglect of business are necessarily linked with the whole history of the Filipinos as a people. First, we have to consider the influence of Oriental attitude towards wealth and material goods. This we must do because it is well-known that Hindu pre-Spanish influence on the Filipinos has been deep-rooted and quite extensive. That influence has been in the field of religion, ethics, language, government, literature,-the very factors which mold and shape a people's ideals and social values. 33

34 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS What then has been the typical Hindu attitude towards wealth and wealth-making? According to the Vedas, seeking after wealth leads to sin; large-scale commerce was frowned upon, and sometimes agriculture itself. Compared with the Occident, wealth and non-agricultural industry were regarded with relative disfavor or indifference. (HANEY, History of Economic Thought, pp. 47-48.) With the coming of the Spaniards, Filipinos came at once to be under the influence of Christian ethical valuation. It is well to recall in this connection that Christianity itself is the result of Oriental thinking in relation with Hebrew life. And what has been said about Hindu attitude may be applied to the Hebrews. The rules of their codes which bore upon economic matters had a religious significance: "By following them one gained primarily, not economic well-being, but a right life, a clear conscience or spiritual perfection." (HANEY, Ibid., p. 46.) Concrete examples of that attitude may be found in the Bible: "It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." "It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (MATTHEW, 19:23-24.) "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where thy treasure is, there will be thy heart also." "Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore, I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubic unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious con

ECONOMIC SECTION 35 cerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious saying, What shall we be clothed? * * * But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (MATTHEW, 6:19-33.) It is important to remember that the Christian missionaries who came in contact with the Filipinos were of the type that took the Christian teaching regarding wealth literally. In his "Indolence of the Filipinos," Rizal traced the causes of our industrial decadence, and emphasized the religious teaching as one of them. He said: "Moreover, why work, asked many natives. The curate says the rich man will not go to Heaven." For centuries the danger of not going to heaven because of wealth confronted our people. Being deeply religious, they preferred heaven to earthly accumulations. Thus the Filipinos developed in a Christian ethical environment that placed less importance upon thrift and industry, but more upon charity and alms giving. It is interesting to note that recent studies made reveal the development of other types of Christianity that favored business pursuits by the doctrine of the sanctity of all work, and the respectability of profitseeking. (REINHOLD NIEBUHR, in the Atlantic Monthly, 1926; and the Christian Century, 1926, July; R. H. TAWNEY, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism). Not only a more literal interpretation of the Christian teachings, but the abuses on the part of officials forced the people to find comfort and solace in a religion of wordly abnegation. After describing these abuses, Rizal wrote: "We are not saying this: it was said by Gaspar de San Agustin, the preeminently anti-Filipino Augustinian, and he confirms it throughout the rest of his work by speaking every moment of the state of neglect in which lay the farms and fields once so flourishing and so well cultivated, the towns thinned that had formerly been inhabited by many leading families."

36 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS "How is it strange then," continued Rizal, "that discouragement may have been infused into the spirit of the inhabitants of the Philippines, when in the midst of so many calamities they did not know whether they would see sprout the seed they were planting, whether their field was going to be their grave. or their crop would go to feed their executioner? What is there strange in it, when we see the pious but impotent friars of that time trying to free their poor parishioners from the tyranny of the encomenderos by advising them to stop work in the mines, to abandon their commerce, to break up their looms, pointing out to them heaven for their whole hope, preparing them for death as their only consolation?" "Man works for an object. Remove the object and you reduce him to inaction. The most active man in the world will fold his arms from the instant he understands that it is madness to bestir himself, that his work will be the cause of his trouble, that for him it will be the cause of vexations at home and of the pirate's greed abroad. It seems that these thoughts have never entered the minds of those who cry out against the indolence of the Filipinos." "Even down to later years, wealth brought troubles to individuals accumulating it. Unintentionally, a wealthy man became classed among the 'filibusteros.' Wealth brought leisure and education; wealth was power. And a man possessing both was more likely to protest against the abuses to which he may be subjected." "The rich man on earth," wrote Rizal, "is liable to all kinds of trouble, to be appointed a cabeza de barangay, to be deported if an uprising occurs, to be forced banker of the military chief of the town, who to reward him with favors received, seizes his laborer and his stock, in order to force him to beg for mercy, and thus easily pays up. Why be rich? So that all the officers of justice may have a lynx eye on your actions, so that at the least slip enemies may be raised up against you, yourself indicted, and a whole complicated and labyrinthine story concocted against you? The native, whom they pretend to regard as an imbecile, is not so much so that he does not understand that it is ridiculous to work himself to death to become worse

ECONOMIC SECTION 37 off. A proverb of his says that 'the pig is cooked in its own lard,' and as among his bad qualities he has the good one of applying to himself all criticisms and censures, he prefers to live miserable and indolent rather than play the part of the wretched beast of burden." An important reason for Filipino neglect of business was the competition of officials engaged in profit-making commercial enterprises. An early report to the king says: "As they came poor, and as the salaries are small, they have taken the Indians,-as all affirm, and it is common talk-at the time for harvesting rice; and they buy up all other provisions, and many profit by selling them again. In this way everything had become dear, because, as they have forbidden the Indians to trade and traffic, they sell at whatever price they wish." That report referred to the encomenderos. But in later years, trafficking by the alcaldes mayores was also the source of many abuses, and resulted in driving away Filipinos from business. Still another reason for neglect of business was the general attitude of the Spanish toward industrial activity. Manuel Azcarraga, in his "La Libertad de Comercio en Filipinas," explains that attitude by saying that eight centuries of continuous struggle to drive out the Moros from Spain created a chivalrous spirit and a love of risky undertakings; the discovery of the New World furnished a wide sphere of action to that adventurous spirit, and the consequent emigration to the newly discovered lands depopulated the Peninsula to such an extent that labor could be had neither for the factories nor for agriculture. "The current of precious metals flowing into Spain from the mines of Mexico and Peru fascinated the Spaniards; created easy going and indolent habits; held them away from the mechanical arts, formerly called servile, and all desired to gird the sword and enjoy the spoils of conquest." On this same point, Wilhelm Roscher in his, "The Spanish Colonial System," wrote: "All thrifty activity was regarded as despicable. No trader had a seat in the Cortes of Aragon. As late as 1781 the Academy of Madrid was obliged to offer as the subject for a prize essay the proposition that there was nothing derogatory in the useful arts. 'Every tradesman and

38 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS manufacturer sought only to make enough money to enable him to live on the interest of it or to establish a trust fund for his family. If he was successful he either entered a cloister or went to another province in order to pass for a noble. In Cervantes we find the maxim: "Whoever wishes to make his fortune seeks the church, the sea, or the king's house." The highest ambition of the nation in its golden age was to be to Europe just what the nobility, the clergy, and the army were to single nations. Consequently there was an enormous preponderance of personal service in the industrial organism, and much of this was purely for ostentation. Nowhere in the world were there so many nobles, so many officers, civil and military, so many lawyers and clerks, priests and monks, so many students and school-boys, with their servants. But as truly, nowhere in the world were there so many beggars and vagabonds." Thus, from the beginning of our contact with Spain, our leading classes were attracted to the careers highly esteemed by the Spaniards-the church, the army, the learned professions, the government. These were the honorific activities, and to them flocked our ambitious and naturally able men. Trade, especially of the retail kind, was looked down upon, as good only for the women and the Chinese. The very prejudice of the Christian Spanish against the so-called heathen Chinese infected the attitude of the Christianized Filipinos, and all shunned the alleged lowly occupations of the Chinese. When we survey, therefore, the achievement of Filipinos we find that it lies chiefly in the fields to which they have been for centuries attracted. That they were successful in those activities which they entered is unquestioned. That they did not attain success in business is also to be admitted. But that they can not succeed in business, or that they do not have the natural ability for business is not necessarily a logical conclusion. All that should be said is that they had not made up their mind to follow business pursuits. Filipinos on the other hand, control the field of agriculture. To that form of industry they have been attracted and in it they attained success. This was naturally to be expected in

ECONOMIC SECTION 39 a country with such an unlimited supply of fertile lands. Then, it becomes the duty of the inhabitants to take hold of a piece of that land and cultivate it. Land is the source of economic power, and the people controlling it occupy a strategic position in any economic struggle. The Filipinos, therefore, made no mistake in concentrating their early efforts on the acquisition and the control of their own lands. With changed economic conditions calling for more Filipinos in business, there is a reassessment of our social values. Our contact with America has had two effects on our social valuation. First, in the early days of that contact, the appeal to able and ambitious Filipinos was to prepare themselves for participation in the government. That appeal met with a ready response, and soon there were not enough offices in the government for all those prepared for the public service. In recent years, the appeal has been for the able Filipinos to enter the field of business. In the light of their ability to adapt themselves to a changing social environment, Filipinos can be expected to succeed in this new activity. Already there are evidences to prove that as in all the other activities which they entered in the past, Filipinos are on the way to the mastery of their own business life. The next paper read was that of the Honorable Miguel Unson, Secretary of Finance. His paper follows: THE POSSIBLE BUDGET OF THE FUTURE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC By THE HON. MIGUEL UNSON, Secretary, Department of Finance WThen the Executive Secretary of the Independence Congress invited me to speak on the "Possible Budget of the Future Philippine Republic," my first impulse was to decline the honor, as I feared that my official duties would not leave me sufficient time to study and consider this complex subject with the care and attention that its great importance exacts. I realized, how

40 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS ever, that when this Congress convenes for the purpose of setting forth the definite stand of the Filipino people regarding the political future of their country, it would be absolutely necessary for us to become acquainted with the conditions of our public finances and of the- resources which would be available for the maintenance of a government fully able to take care of its private and international obligations. Having been reared during the last years of the Spanish regime; a participant in revolutionary events and in the affairs of the ephemeral Philippine Republic; a close observer first and then a co-worker during the last thirty years of the American administration in its different stages; placed by the whims of fortune at the head of the Department of Finance where I have scrutinized the resources and the needs of the Government and handled its Budget during the last fourteen years, I find myself under circumstances which make it my unavoidable duty to respond to the call made upon me and contribute my mite to the work of this Congress, by informing its members of the prospects of our public finances and of what should be our attitude upon assuming our obligations as an independent nation. Leaving aside my ordinary duties, I have, therefore, gathered all the data which I have been able to collect during the short space of time at my disposal, and I now stand before you to submit to your wise consideration the result of my humble efforts. The discussion of "The Possible Budget of the Future Phil. ippine Republic" immediately present for our analysis the two principal aspects of the question, the political and the financial; that is, the Budget as an administrative procedure or system of the public finances, and the Budget as an estimate of the probable income and expenditures of the Government under the circumstances that will probably prevail in'the Philippines after independence has been secured. Both aspects of the question are important, but I shall speak only briefly of the first and more at length of the second, which is of greater importance on this occasion.

ECONOMIC.SECTION 41 The development of budgetary systems has kept pace with the advances of democracy. After frequent and intense struggles through the ages, the control by the people of the disposal of the public funds has at last been established. "No taxation without representation" is a principle now accepted as incontrovertible, and it is indicative of the effective intervention of the representatives of the people in the administration of the public finances. In the Philippines, no representative elected by the people had any intervention in the disposal of the funds of the Insular Government until the Philippine Assembly was inaugurated in October, 1907, to share the legislative power with the Philippine Commission. Lack of agreement between the Assembly and the Commission then resulted in the approval of the appropriations by the Governor-General alone who, by means of an "advice" addressed to the Insular Treasurer, disposed of the public funds at his pleasure. It was not until the enactment of the Jones Law in 1916 that the chosen representatives of the people controlled the Legislature and consequently the passage of the appropriations. The former budgetary practice of the United States was not the best model to engender a coordinated method for the preparation and approval of the appropriations in the Philippines. Consequently, there existed no unified financial program nor any means by which the Legislature and the public could inform themselves of the condition of the public coffers, the expenses incurred, -and those which were proposed. On the other hand, the so-called reimbursable account system under which each bureau chief was authorized to disburse certain kinds of income, and the transfers of funds from one bureau to another by the Governor-General on his own authority, made the expenses appear much smaller than what they really were. In 1913, out of a total of disbursements of P50,000,000, only P29,000,000 were submitted to legislative action, and P21,000,000 were disbursed by the bureaus out of their receipts without any intervention by the Legislature which,

42 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS in this manner, had 42 per cent of the total cost of government removed from its control. Since the establishment of the Philippine Assembly and whenever greater authority was granted to the Filipinos to participate in the Government, they have striven to improve the methods of financial administration, both from the points of view of democratic principles and from that of the careful consideration and coordination of a financial program. Upon the organization of the Philippine Assembly, only one appropriation committee was created instead of the fourteen or fifteen which the House of Representatives of the United States then had for the consideration of the several positions of the financial legislation of the country. This was an important step toward the coordination of the work. The Assembly later brought about the creation of a special committee composed of some of its members and those of the Commission (Act No. 1873, section 10), entrusted with the preparation of the appropriations, although the conditions then existing were unfortunately unfavorable to the success of the work of the committee. Finally, when the Jones Law became effective and the Filipinos had an opportunity for displaying their initiative, a democratic budgetary system was established, under which the budget as submitted by the Governor-General, is prepared by the Council of State of which the leaders of the people are members. The system has met setbacks in its development, but it resumed its progressive development under the Stimson plan, which reflects in practice the spirit of its author when he said: "In all my acts, I have always borne in mind that I was not elected by the Filipino people. Under this plan, the Secretary of Finance prepares the Budget for the Governor-General, giving an opportunity to the members of the Legislature, but especially to the chairmen of the Committees on Appropriations and Public Works, to express their views on the various phases and items of the Budget while it is in the course of preparation. Likewise, the Council of State of which the leaders of the party in power are members, has ample opportunity to discuss the Budget as a whole and in detail, and make its recommendations before the final adoption of the Budget by the Governor-Gen

ECONOMIC SECTION 43 eral. This is the procedure now followed under the auspices of the present Governor-General." Notwithstanding all the efforts exerted by Governors-General and by the Filipino leaders in attempting to establish a democratic system of financial administration, it is evident that the present organization and procedure still have substantial shortcomings. The responsibility and authority in the preparation, approval, execution, and control of the appropriations are not allocated sufficiently to enable the plan to work with the proper degree of efficacy. While the Governor-General is responsible to the President and the Government of the United States, the Filipino leaders and the Legislature, in turn, feel that they are responsible to the people but have not all the necessary authority to face that responsibility. The arrangements made under these circumstances for the intervention of the Filipino leaders in the preparation and approval of the budget by the Executive are not complete, so as to establish an absolute control of the purse by the people and are too fragile a mechanism to be stable and withstand any serious conflict. These and other considerations, which I do not mention for the sake of brevity, show that the existing system of government in the Philippines is no longer adapted to the conditions of the country. It may occasion the failure of the efforts of a chief executive, however hard he may strive to succeed, not because he lacks capacity or other qualifications, but because of the presence of elements which can not be always harmonized; that is, he is working under an organic law which is not in consonance with American democratic ideas or in agreement with the aspirations for freedom of the Filipino people. Public opinion, regardless of class and political or religious creed, has unanimously pronounced itself as favoring a change in the existing state of affairs which will'put an end to the present uncertainty and anomalies, and I sincerely believe that no reform will be satisfactory to the Filipino people or apt to provide a permanent remedy for the present situation other than the independence of our country. Any other measure will merely be a more or less transitory palliative, and the people

44 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS will always stand for the fulfillment of the promise given by the Congress of the United States in the Jones Law. II Wre shall now speak of the Budget of the Philippines in its financial aspect; that is, as an estimate of the probable receipts and disbursements of the Government under the circumstances which may be expected to prevail in the Philippine Islands when they are granted independence. The income of the Government is intimately interwoven with the economic situation of the country; that is, with the national income. To estimate this income, it is indispensable to analyze the influence which the change in the political status of the Philippines will exert on her economic conditions. The economic life of a country is based on the biological necessity of its population to exist and work for 'its welfare and it is subject only to the fundamental economic laws. However, very important political phenomena, such as independence, may exercise a great influence upon the economic life of a country, particularly when they entail changes in its commercial relations. The economic factor of prime importance now existing in our relations with the United States, the discontinuance of which will cause serious troubles when Philippine independence shall become a fact, is the free exchange of products between the United States and the Philippines. As a natural precautionary measure, there will be a temporary restriction in financial and commercial transactions, until business will have adjusted itself to the new state of affairs. The added expenses of the Army and Navy, now borne by the United States, will also cause some disturbance. How these changes will come, is something that no one can predict with certainty. Will independence come all at once or gradually? The United States granted independence to Cuba three years and a half after it had been formally and specifically stipulated in the Treaty of Paris. It is also a well-known fact that the United States granted Spain ten years to continue her trade relations with the Philippines. As a matter of fact, the Philippine Tariff Law was not amended, neither was free

ECONOMIC SECTION 45 trade between the United States and the Philippines established until 1909, after the ten-year period stipulated with Spain. It would be a matter of strict fairness and justice to grant time enough to the Americans and foreigners doing business in the Philippines, or with the Philippines, and to the Filipinos themselves to arrange their interests and adjust their business to the new conditions without great hardship. However, if we desire to arrive at a safe conclusion, our analysis must be based on the hypothesis, considered as the least favorable by the opponents of independence, because it will be the test for our attitude as regards our political future. In our deliberations, we shall, therefore, start from the assumption that Philippine independence will come immediately and that it will bring with it the sudden cessation of free trade with the United States. The most important economic problem that independence will bring with it is the cessation of this free trade, which will affect the Philippine products now being exported to the United States duty-free under the Payne-Aldrich Act. The value of the Philippine exports during the year 1928 was P310,109,000, of which 75 per cent, or P231,172,000 went to the United States. The exports were as follows: to the United States Sugar...... Oil........................ C o p ra...................... Hem p............ Tobacco.............. Em broidery................. Dessicated coconut............. H ats........................ L um ber................... Cordage Manufactured shell............ Copra meal.............. Gums and resins........... M aguey................... Kapok.................... Miscellaneous................. P91,398,000 46,479,000 35,207,000 19,060,000 9,229,000 8,713,000 7,445,000 4,560,000 3,285,000 1,564,000 863,000 735,000 567,000 409,000 122,000 1,536,000 P231,172,000

46 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Of these products, only sugar, tobacco, embroidery, oil, cordage, dessicated coconut, manufactured shell, and hats will have to pay customs duty in the United States. The export value of these products subject to duty in America amounts to P170,251,000. Of the 570,000 tons of sugar exported in 1928 from the Philippine Islands, 534,000 tons were sent to the United States, their value being P91,000,000. The cost of production of Philippine sugar is about P8 per picul and it will be impossible to sell in New York without losing if 4-1/2 centavos duty per pound, or P6.25 per picul, has to be paid on the sugar. Col. Hodsoll, of Warner, Barnes and Company, has estimated that if the 1928 crop had been sold in competition with the Javanese sugar, the producers would have lost not less than P30,000,000. If free trade is discontinued abruptly, we shall have to sell the sugar then on hand at a loss of probably 40 per cent and subsequently we shall be compelled to produce at a reduced cost or engage in other production. In either case, it is believed that the sugar districts will produce not less than P55,000,000 to replace the P95,000,000 at present earned by them through the exportation of sugar. What has been said of sugar may also be said of tobacco. The value of the Philippine tobacco exported in 1928 was P17,142,000, of which 54 per cent, or P9,228,000 was sold in the United States. The customs duty on cigars in the United States is $100, or P200, per thousand, which will positively eliminate the Philippine cigar from the American market. On the other hand, the importation of tobacco, which in 1928 was valued at P6,202,000, will in all probability also cease, and the consumption of local tobacco will increase, so that the falling off in the tobacco business will probably be reduced to some P5,000,000. The Government will also have its revenue reduced by approximately P800,000, this being the United States internal revenue taxes on manufactured tobacco imported into that country, which taxes the sovereign country has until now graciously ceded to the Government of the Philippine Islands.

ECONOMIC SECTION 47 It is interesting to note that the exportation of Philippine tobacco to the United States has decreased from P10,900,000 in 1925 to P7,200,000 in 1929, while the exportation to other countries has increased, as shown by the following figures: TOBACCO EXPORTED To United To Other Year States Countries Total 1925....... P10,900,000 P 8,000,000 P18,900,000 1926....... 9,900,000 7,300,000 17,200,000 1927....... 8,400,000 8,700,000 17,100,000 1928....... 9,200,000 8,600,000 17,800,000 1929....... 7,200,000 10,800,000 18,000,000 These data seem to encourage the hope that other markets may absorb the tobacco that we shall cease to export to the United States, even though the total of exports remain the same. However, the inhabitants of the Cagayan Valley, with wise foresight, have begun to change crops on an extensive scale and are now planting rice, corn, coconuts, etc., instead of tobacco. As regards the embroidery business, we can predict its ruin. As it depends upon imported material, it will find it impossible to compete with foreign embroideries if free trade with the United States ceases. The oil industry may be likewise affected. Practically all the oil exported from the Philippine Islands goes to the United States; the amount exported was 142,000 tons in 1928 and was valued at P47,000,000. Although the hope can be entertained that the oil industry may not disappear from the Philippines, yet for the purpose of estimating our national revenues we can presume that our oil mills will disappear, and in this case, we shall export only the copra used to produce that oil, the value of which is 1928 was P40,000,000, as we are assured. Our exports of dessicated coconut and cordage to the United States amounted to P7,445,000 and P1,564,000, respectively. We can consider these industries as industries proper of our country, the same as the oil industry; but for our present pur

48 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS poses, we shall suppose that they cannot continue and that instead of the dessicated coconut and the cordage, we shall export only the copra and hemp used in these manufactures. The total value of the hats exported from the Philippines in 1928 was P6,717,000; of these, P4,560,000 worth was sent to the United States and the rest to different countries, especially to Europe. Free trade being discontinued, the hats will have to pay a duty of from 25 per cent to 35 per cent ad valorem and it is to be feared that when they are placed on the same footing as the hats from Panama and Asiatic countries, the hat industry, will suffer much. On the other hand, fashion is a very important factor in the hat business, and the increased or decreased demand for Philippine hats is even now greatly dependent upon fashion. Some of the dealers in hats believe that the industry may be able to survive the cessation of free trade, if it is organized on a stable basis. Our estimates assume a 40 per cent decrease in the exportation of hats. The manufactured shells exported were worth P863,000. This business will probably suffer a substantial reduction during the first years, but it is of relatively small importance. After free trade, we have the economic factor of the expenses of the Army and Navy. At the moment that the Army and Navy of the United States leave the Philippines, our merchants will lose very important customers. The annual expenses of the Army and Navy in the Philippines are estimated at P30,000,000. But not all this money is spent in the Philippines, because a goodly portion of it is spent in the United States and in China. Neither does it represent the revenue to our public treasury which the importance of the sum may lead one to believe, because at present the post exchanges do not pay any internal revenue taxes, and in accordance with an opinion of the Judge Advocate General, the contractors supplying the Army do not pay any taxes either, even upon articles for the personal use of the officers and enlisted men. It cannot be denied, however, that the discontinuation of the disbursements by the Army will bring about an embarrassing situation in places where the members of the Army and Navy are wont to spend money. But this situation does

ECONOMIC SECTION 49 not differ from that experienced in certain localities in the United States when bodies of troops are transferred from one place to another. Aside from the economic factors, the physiological factor must also be taken into consideration. The merchant is always apprehensive of the least danger which may threaten him with pecuniary loss. It is, therefore, quite natural that during the first moments of the change in the political status of the Philippines, the banks and merchants will be extremely cautious and will limit their operations until they are better acquainted with the new state of affairs and are surer of the ground on which they are treading. We had that experience in connection with the events of the Revolution against Spain and the beginning of the American occupation of the Philippines. But experience also shows us that business is the first to adapt itself to any new condition, and that after a brief period of expectancy, the merchants did business with the Revolutionists, the same as they did business later on with the Americans in Manila and its environs, and with the Filipinos in the provinces. It is, therefore, to be expected that any commercial stringency that will be experienced in the Philippine Islands will soon be followed by a reaction, and that business will continue to the greatest possible extent under the new order of things. On the other hand, the state of mind of the Filipino under the inspiration of liberty and the consciousness of his responsibilities must also be taken into consideration. Those who saw how the Filipinos conducted themselves during the ephemeral life of the late Philippine Republic can testify to the immense value of this psychological factor. After reviewing the several elements which will likely influence our economic life, we shall make a resume of their effects on our national income. From what we have said, it is to be inferred that at the outset, our exports to the United States will be reduced from P231,000,000 to probably P104,000,000, a decrease of 46 per cent. This does not mean, however, that our exports as a whole will go down in the same proportion, because the natural thing for us to do will

50 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS be to look for other markets for our products and sell what we have on hand at the time, if not at a profit, with as little loss as possible. Subsequently, even supposing that some sources of wealth are lost to us in their entirety, others will necessarily spring up and help us to provide for our most urgent needs. Emulating the good example of the people of the Cagayan Valley, we shall plant our fields to crops offering better prospects of gain such as rice, corn, cassava, pineapple, rubber, coffee, camphor, etc., and this enforced diversification of our agriculture will be another blessing that independence will bring with it. Thus I estimate that while our exports to the United States will go down 46 per cent our total exports will decrease from P300,000,000 to P236,000,000, a decrease of only 24 per cent. The national income has been the object of study by two different parties, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Mr. Lyman P. Hammond. Using different methods of approach, the result of both investigations is practically the same: that the national income in 1926 amounted to approximately P800,000,000, or, to be more exact, P813,000,000. A cursory examination of our statistics authorizes us to place this figure very conservatively at P825,000,000 for 1928. According to the data analyzed by us, the decrease in the national income that would be caused by the cessation of free trade would amount to P70,000,000; but allowing a margin for other factors, we will assume that decrease to be P100,000,000. Deducting this sum from the estimated national income of P825,000,000 in 1928, and disregarding the increase in production since then, we obtain P725,000,000 as the income of the nation upon becoming independent. We arrive at this result under the supposition that free trade will cease immediately, without leaving our producers and merchants time to prepare to face the new state of affairs. If things happen otherwise, circumstances will be different and the decrease in cur national income will naturally be smaller. Hence, the great importance of the proposed campaign to urge the people to prepare for independence by changing crops or reducing the cost of production thereof.

ECONOMIC SECTION 51 Mr. Hammond estimated that taxation in 1926 averaged 10.75 per cent of the national income. Of this average 7.28 per cent accrued to the Central Government. In 1928, these percentages were 11.6 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively. We shall take Mr. Hammond's smaller average, as we assume conditions adverse to the ordinary march of business. Applying that average of 7.28 per cent to the estimated national income, we find that under the circumstances assumed by us, the revenue of the Insular Government will be as follows: Revenue from taxation......... P52,000,000 Incidental revenues and other income 16,000,000 Total................... P68,000,000 This income shown by a conservative estimate, compared with the average income of the last six years, which is P80,000,000, shows a reduction of P12,000,000. Practically the same result will be obtained by making a more detailed analysis of the several sources of income in the same conservative spirit. Considering the business depression, supposed to prevail at the time, it would not be advisable to create new taxes until the economic condition of the country should become more stable and we should have entered fully upon a period of progressive development. The disbursements would have to be adjusted to the available revenues, and in order to counteract the decrease of the latter and to provide for some of the more indispensable obligations of the new Republic, such as the nucleus of an army and the diplomatic and consular service, the construction of new public works projects would have to be suspended for some.ime and, perhaps, salaries would have to be reduced in a reasonable proportion (which would be in consonance with the assumed general state of economic depression and probable decreased cost of living), not very necessary services would have to be eliminated, and other economies would have to be introduced. The circumstances surrounding our Government and the experience we have had in other crises which our fiscal system had to undergo in the past are an assurance that our

52 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Government would solve its financial problems in a satisfactory manner without neglecting its bonded indebtedness. Before concluding, permit me to submit to your distinguished consideration a few very significant facts. Studying the effects in the past of economic changes as far-reaching and important as may be those produced by the granting of independence to the Philippines, we have to do instances that may guide us in estimating and calculating the possible effects of the expected crisis. The most recent instance was the enormous and almost unforeseen fall in the prices of all our exports in 1921. The value of the hemp exported fell from P71,000,000 to P25,000,000; that of coconut oil exports, from P46,000,000 to P32,000,000; that of sugar, from P99,000,000 toP51,000,000; that of tobacco, from P40,000,000 to P16,000,000. Notwithstanding these radical reductions in the value of our most important products, which is greater than 50 per cent as regards some of them, the decrease in our revenues amounted to only 1512 per cent as compared with the revenues of the year 1920, they being even slightly higher than the revenues of 1918 and 1919. In 1922, the revenues were 1012 per cent less than in 1921, because in that year, the effects of the crisis of 1921 were felt with greater intensity, but in 1923, the revenues increased again, and since then they have continued increasing. The second instance that we can cite is that of the economic depression of 1898 caused by the uprising of 1896 and 1897 against the Spanish Government. We have no exact data of the total collections corresponding to that period, but we have figures reflecting imports and exports, which enable us to form an idea of the extent to which that political movement, perhaps the most far-reaching in its effects on our history, affected our national economy. In 1895, our imports amounted to P13,000,000 and our exports to P18,000,000. In 1898, each went down to P5,000,000, but the next year, in 1899, the imports went up to P19,000,000 and the exports to very nearly P15,00,000; trebling thereby, in one year's time, the index to our production and consumption of wealth, though there were

ECONOMIC SECTION 53 no protected markets and the country was in a state of rebellion against the recently implanted American sovereignty. It must be observed that both instances cited exercised an influence on our economic life greater than that which any other event of a political or economic character may exercise on the present state of affairs in the country. In the first case, it was a very large and abrupt reduction in the values of all our products, perhaps unprecedented in our history, and it, having been a crisis of universal character, affected not only the Philippines but also all of the countries consuming her products. The second historical case mentioned by us, though but a local upheaval, affected our economic life down to its very foundation. That effort to overthrow a secular sovereignty rendered necessary, not only a complete abandonment of some of our sources of production and a general neglect of others, but it also implied the useless consumption and even the destruction of wealth which are unavoidable consequences of war. If it is logical and rational to base our vision of the future on the events of the past, we are justified in cherishing the hope that the economic upheaval originating from the political separation of America and the Philippines will be successfully overcome by the Filipino people, in the same way as the former commotions, and perhaps with more effectiveness, considering our greater resources and the increased vitality of our agricultural industries. In June, 1909, when the United States Congress was considering the Payne-Aldrich Bill, several agents of the Government were traveling through the provinces securing signatures to a petition which was to be solemnly adopted on the Luneta on July 4th of that year. The petition was for free trade between the United States and the Philippine Islands and the purpose of the petition was to offset the attitude of the Philippine Assembly which was opposed to the bill. I know of many persons who refused to sign the petition, because they considered that free trade would in time become a powerful tie binding the Philippines to the United States. They feared that economically, the Philippines would become very dependent upon the American market, and that this dependence might in

54 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS time grow to such an extent that the Filipino people might forget their duties towards their country in order to continue enjoying the material comforts and prosperity offered to their efforts by a market of almost unlimited possibilities. I am mentioning this fact without commenting whether or not the fears of the past were well founded. It is a matter of debate and speculation what the economic development of the Philippines should have been without the advantages of free trade, but there is no doubt that if free trade did not exist between the United States and the Philippines, we should not now have cause for worry about the possible economic and financial effects of our national independence. Compatriots, the time has come when we must all unite and without fear or vacillation face the responsibilities that it is our imperative duty to assume before the present and future generations. Let.us always bear in mind this incontrovertible truth: whatever may be the fate that Providence has in store for us the thirteen million Filipinos with their present culture cannot perish or be enslaved. The last speaker in the first session was the Honorable Rafael Alunan, Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He read the following paper: OUR ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN CASE OF INDEPENDENCE By the HON. RAFAEL ALUNAN, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The sensible people of the Philippine Islands can congratulate themselves that the leaders of public thought have realized the necessity of giving due attention to the economic aspect of the independence problem. One must admit that a free and independent existence necessarily brings with it many and serious economic problems. These are practical facts that have to be faced resolutely, because like individuals, nations cannot live on illusions. A person who, like the ostrich, hides his head when any difficulty or danger is encountered, does not exhibit constructive statesmanship.

ECONOMIC SECTION 55 There are two dangers involved in the solution of the Philippine problem: the first consists in our closing our eyes to the economic difficulties which are a necessary consequence of independence, attempting to ignore their existence. The second is to insist upon seeing things as we would like them to be or think they ought to be, but are not in reality, because they have bad sides as well as good. The danger last mentioned is to be feared on account of the insistence of the general run of our people. to consider independence as an exclusive Philippine problem. Independence is a Philippine-American problem, whether it suits us or not, and only that solution of the problem has a chance to prosper which is satisfactory to both Filipinos and Americans. I say this because there is a tendency on the part of our compatriots to completely disregard the American viewpoint on the Philippine question. We are so convinced of the legitimacy of our desire to rule our own destinies that we absolutely refuse to consider any interest involved other than ours. And yet it is thirty years that we have been living under the Stars and Stripes, thirty years that the American occupation of the Philippines is a consummated fact, with all its pleasant and unpleasant consequences, and consummated facts have a weight that cannot be ignored. The other danger consists in our ignoring or attempting to ignore the existence or importance of the economic problems incidental to independence. We are bound to the United States by two ties: the political and the economic. The political tie is defined in the Jones Law and the economic tie is established by the Customs Tariff Act through which we have free trade with the United States. If the American Government should declare the Philippine Islands independent to-morrow but maintain the present economic relations between the Islands and the United States, the consequences of the change would, I believe, not be very noticeable. We should then have a constitution of our own and a new government somewhat different from the present one. A Filipino chief executive would sit at Malacafian who would, perhaps, be more exacting than the American Governor-General. The expenses of the Philippine nation

56 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS would increase, but we should have time to adjust these expenses to our necessities and resources. If, however, the free trade with the United States that we now have were to be suddenly abolished one of these days, the economic life of our country would suffer a disturbance and impairment that would make itself felt in all phases of our collective and individual life and in all sections of the Archipelago. If we desire to study the economic problems incidental to independence, we must, therefore, begin by examining the effects of the abolition of free trade, because according to all appearances, although political separation does not necessarily involve the discontinuation of the present economic relations between the two peoples, we must presume that simultaneously with independence there will come, sooner or later, the abolition of free trade, because the elements interested in it are precisely a new powerful factor working for the emancipation of the Islands. However, the economic situation of a people depends upon so many factors, internal as well as external, ordinary as well as extraordinary, that we can only conjecture what that situation will be at any future time. But considering only the usual factors each of us can make his own estimate as to what will be the economic situation of the Islands upon the disappearance of the advantages of free trade for the Philippine products. The following is an estimate of the decrease in value of the exports of the Philippine Islands upon the cessation of free trade: United Probable Total States Decrease Hemp................... P 53,187,212 P19,054,090 0 Coconuts: Coconut oil............ 46,858,344 46,479,040 P46,479,040 Copra meal............ 5,772,274 717,706 5,772,274 Dessicated coconut...... 7,447,170 7,436,536 7,000,000 Copra................. 45,084,882 35,207,664 (48,000,000) P105,282,470 P89,840,946 P10,251,314 Sugar................... 95,085,878 91,382,464 80,000,000

ECONOMIC SECTION 57 Tobacco: Leaf................... 6,059,264 31,792 0 Cigars................. 9,531,264 7,711,344 7,000,000 Cigarettes............. 446:824 15,302 0 P16,037,366 P 7,758,438 P 7,000,000 Cordage............... 3,550,870 1,442,240 400,000 Embroideries........... 8,792,472 8,713,198 8,500,000 Hats................... 6,717,924 4,554,250 4,000,000 Lumber................ 6,253,000 3,275,382 3,000,000 Pearl buttons.......... 771,704 770,648 771,704 Estimated total decrease.................... P113,923,018 Total exports............................... 310,109,092 Percentage of decrease...................... 36.7% The foregoing estimate is based on the following considerations: As regards hemp, there will be no decrease in its exportation because this product has always entered the United States duty free, independently from free trade with that country, and it must be supposed that it will continue doing so because it does not compete with any American product. As regards the coconut products, there are four of these: coconut oil, copra meal, dessicated coconut, copra. The ex — portation of these products from the Philippine Islands in 1928 totalled P105,282,470, of which P89,840,946 went to the United States. The probable decrease in the value of these products is estimated at P10,251,314. If customs duties are collected on Philippine coconut oil in the United States, this industry will disappear in the Philippines, because our coconut oil would then be unable to compete with the coconut oil produced in the United States, even though Philippine copra were used there. On the other hand, our oil would find practically no market elsewhere. This would bring about the disappearance of copra meal which is a by-product of the oil industry. On the other hand, the copra now used for the manufacture of oil could be exported to the United States and other countries, though its value might decrease somewhat in the case of

58 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS customs duties being imposed upon it in the United States. In that case, the net decrease would be the difference in the value of the copra exported, now used for the manufacture of coconut oil in the Philippine Islands, and the value of the coconut oil and copra meal exported. If customs duties are collected on dessicated coconut in the United States, the industry will disappear; but in that case, the coconuts used to make dessicated coconut can be converted into copra. Taking this into account, it is estimated that the exportation of copra will increase to P49,000,00C and that the net decrease in the value of coconut exports will amount to P10,251,314. Sugar exports in 1928 totalled P95,085,878. A large portion of this sugar, worth P91,382,464, went to the United States. If customs duties are collected on Philippine sugar in the United States, the sugar industry will be almost completely ruined. It is true that there is a market for muscovado sugar in the Orient; but the quantity of sugar that can be so sold is small and can probably not be increased unless we are ready to sell our muscovado sugar below cost. Japan, formerly a buyer of Philippine muscovado sugar, is now almost exclusively supplied from Formosa where it has developed the sugar industry in a splendid manner. Java, with her low cost of production, would keep us out of the market in this part of the globe. It will be sufficient to state that the price paid for Javanese sugar is P5.62 per picul, which would be ruinous for the Philippine Islands. Conceding that some of the producers of sugar might survive, the result would be a decrease in the value of sugar exports of P80,000,000, the present exports amounting to P95,085,878. As to tobacco, the Philippines export very little leaf tobacco and cigarettes to the United States. The decrease worthy of mention would be in the exportation of cigar which would fall off P7,000,000. Among the minor industries which would suffer the most are the embroidery and hat industries, the decrease in which could be estimated at P12,500,000.

ECONOMIC SECTION 59 Briefly, taking as a basis the exports in 1928, which aggregated P310,109,092, the decrease would amount to P113,923,018, that is, 36.7 per cent. It is not easy to imagine what the sudden elimination of over one-third of the total amount of money at present entering our country as price of our exports would mean to the Philippine people. There are economists who maintain that the per capita importation can with a sufficient degree of accuracy be taken as indicative of the degree of progress and standard of living in the Philippines. In maintaining this, they argue that practically everything required for a certain elevation of the standard of living, such as industrial fuel, paper, metal, and manufactures of metal, and practically all material for dress are imported in the Philippine Islands. Making the necessary adjustment, the per capita importation in the Islands was P8.62 in 1901 and P6.24 in the year next preceding the establishment of free trade, 1908. Subsequently, it gradually went up as high as P13.42 in the year of plenty, 1921. It went down again the year after that and then it went up steadily until it reached P12.82 in 1927 and P14.18 in 1928. Now, it is an axiomatic truth that a country cannot import more than it exports. Consequently, if the exports of the Philippine Islands decreased 36.7 per cent upon the elimination of free trade, the imports will decrease at least in the same proportion. This means that the per capita importation will decrease over one-third; that is, that upon the abolition of free trade, the standard of living in the Philippine Islands will go back to what it was in the first years of the American occupation. As regards taxes, I only wish to mention the following: At present, the proportion between the per capita taxation and the per capita income in the Philippine Islands is almost equal to the proportion between the two in the United States. In the case of independence with the abolition of free trade, our per capita income would decrease considerably, as we have explained, while the per capita taxation would be increased by the new requirements and needs of an independent govern

60 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS ment, such as the maintenance of a small army and a small navy. Speaking of the needs of an independent government, a comparison between the expenses of the present government of the Philippines and those of the governments of independent nations of the same size as, or smaller than, ours will give some idea of those needs: The area of the Philippines is 114,000 square miles, their population 12,500,000, and their revenues P80,000,000. Switzerland has 15,945 square miles, 4,000,000 inhabitants, P148,000,000, revenues. Denmark, 17,149 square miles, 3,500,000 inhabitants, P220,000,000 revenues. Jugo-Slavia, 96,134 square miles, 12,000,000 inhabitants, P428,000,000 revenues. Belgium, 11,753 square miles, 8,000,000 inhabitants, P638,000,000 revenues. As may be seen by what I have said, the problems of independence are numerous and of great importance. Permit me to appeal again to all those who take an active part in the economic life of the country, the agriculturists, merchants, and industrials, Filipinos as well as Americans, to cooperate resolutely with those who are working for a satisfactory solution of the Philippine problem. They are entitled as much as any person to protect their interests and the interests of our country in general against the deplorable consequences of improvidence and precipitate action. More than upon others, it is incumbent upon them to participate actively in the endeavors to find the most practical and adequate formula for the definition of our political status, because owing to the nature of their daily occupation, they are best qualified to foresee the probable effects of the several solutions proposed from the economic point of view. If our country meets with disaster because of the indolence of the men called upon to guide us on the way to the final goal of our aspirations, they will be held chiefly responsible and they will also be the first to suffer the consequences. The Independence Congress did an excellent piece of work when it initiated these studies of the problems of independence. It is necessary to continue them until the most adequate solutions for those problems can be found. If the Philippines are to be independent because weighty political, racial, and geogra

ECONOMIC SECTION 61 phical reasons demand it, we must strive to have them independent with honor, glory and benefit for all. An open discussion followed and Prof. Macaraig, of the University of the Philippines, called attention to the fact that while Europeans went into politics, Americans engaged in business. Mr. Celeste reminded the members that what count in the long run are technique and organization, the two things responsible for German success in industry. Representative Confesor emphasized the much needed protection of our business men and called attention to the poor banking facilities enjoyed by Filipino business men as compared with those enjoyed by foreigners. On the whole the members evinced in their discussion, a sentiment in favor of having a real Filipino banking institution that would extend adequate protection to Filipino business men and industrialists. This undoubtedly supplies a much needed food for thought for our government officials and financiers interested in having Filipinos increase their participation in business and industry. A discussion of possible taxation under a republic followed. This was led by Senator Quirino and Representative Festin. Senator Quirino emphasized the need for a general revision of our taxation system and the inevitable consequence that, with independence the people must be ready to shoulder a heavier burden of taxation. Representative Festin called attention to the fact that there is now a Committee on Taxation in the Legislature. The cedula tax, he said, is the best proof of the willingness of the people to bear the

62 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS burden of taxation. He expressed his willingness to an increased burden of taxation but warned that such increase must not be confiscatory and should be within the reach of all. He made strong appeal to prepare the people for independence so that it would not be a mere illusion, and reminded the members that our sacrifices cannot be greater than those of our ancestors, however great they may be. To the query of Dr. Silvino G. Villanueva, a delegate from Sorsogon province, the Secretary of Finance explained how the Philippines came to have her own monetary system on a gold standard but without gold circulation, known also as "gold exchange standard." He also explained the mechanism of the system and concluded as follows: In our monetary system the government guarantees the parity of the currency with the Filipino gold peso, equivalent to one-half gold dollar of the United States, or in other words, two Filipino pesos for each gold dollar of the United States. To guarantee the monetary system of the Philippines the government has two funds, kept as trust funds which cannot be used for purposes other than those specifically provided for by the currency law. These funds are the "Treasury Certificates Reserved Fund" and the "Gold Standard Fund." The first consists of a sum equal to 100 per cent of the value of the treasury certificates or notes issued. These notes amount now to P106,000,000 and the reserve is also exactly P106,000,000. The reserve is made up of P18,000,000 in silver held in Manila and P88,000,000 in gold, of which P4,000,000 are kept in Manila and P84,000,000 are deposited in various banks of the U. S. federal reserve. The gold standard fund amounts to P31,000,000 and represents almost 25 per cent of the total sum of the coins and government notes in circulation. It is for the purpose of securing the parity of silver coins and notes backed up by silver

ECONOMIC SECTION 63 coins. This fund consists practically in gold in its entirety, P5,000,000 in Manila and P26,000,000 in several federal reserve member banks. Summing up, the government has issued P106,000,000 in notes and P40,000,000 in silver, nickel and copper coins, or a total of P146,000,000. Of this sum only P125,000,000 is in actual circulation. However, the government's reserve to secure the parity of its notes and coins amounts to P1 19,000,000 in gold and P18,000.000 in silver, or a total of P137,000,000, an amount greater than the actual circulation. The Philippine monetary system is so devised that it may stand independently. Its condition is unquestionably solid; it has even been considered as ultra-conservative. The best and most stable that the Philippines has prepared and ready for its independence is her monetary system." The session was adjourned at 12:30 noon.

HON. RAMON FERNANDEZ Filipino Businessman and Former Senator, Fourth District DON LEOPOLDO R. AGUINALDO President, Philippine Chamber of Commerce Business men who actively participated in the Congress.

ECONOMIC SECTION Second Session The second session of the Economic Section opened with an able short address by the Chairman, the Honorable Francisco Ortigas, which impressed upon the delegates the seriousness of the economic problems of any independent country and the difficulties which must perforce be met in their solution. He admonished the delegates of the danger of following hard and fast rules in the solution of problems which are highly complex and caused by many. different factors. There were three papers read. The first one was that of Don Leopoldo R. Aguinaldo, President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce: FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE UNDER INDEPENDENCE By DON LEOPOLDO R. AGUINALDO, President, Philippine Chamber of Commerce. I understand that this Independence Congress, the first of its kind in the country, has convened not only as an unbreakable act of faith to the sacred cause of our liberty, but also to find means, define orientation, discuss plans and ways, which would serve as cements for the stability of an independent government and would assure the continuous material progress of the Philippines as a sovereign nation with a right to participate for its own benefit in the concert of free nations. With this double objective the celebration of this Congress is very opportune, because we show before the world that we are one in demanding our final emancipation and we are con65

66 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS scious of the responsibilities of a free existence. Although the Filipino merchants have already had a chance to express themselves in an unmistakable way their stand for Philippine Independence in the First National Convention of the Filipino Merchants which, at these same dates last year, met under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines when I presided, it is a fine idea to renew and ratify before this Independence Congress our desire to demand immediate, complete and absolute independence as well as our act of unconditional adherence to our pro-independence fight in the actual fashion. It is evident that what the country needs in facing the responsibilities of its own government are orientation and organization. They are two forces needed in the order of things and are urgent in the economical order. If we have not paid as much attention in the past, as we should have done, to tracing systematically a definite orientation for our economic development; if our economic conscience could not express itself in the decided and constructive form that it manifests now, it was due not only to the marked emphasis which we gave to politics that claimed the greater efforts, but also primarily to our actual half-way state, which prevents us from promoting the material development of the Philippines as an independent nation. Fortunately, since some years ago, without changing in the least our desire to enjoy soon the fruits of our own sovereignty, we have observed an enormous transformation in the matter of national obligations, and it is now evident that we have a desire to acclimate ourselves to the atmosphere which prevails in intensifying our economic advancement. It is not unknown to you the fact that the Chamber of Commerce in the Philippine Islands, as the authorized mouthpiece of the Filipino mer- chants, has at one time assumed in this respect a very aggressive leadership, without forgetting to be moderate and prudent, in order to free the economic conscience of the Filipinos from the state of drowsiness, to which it is subjected for years, and to awaken it to the necessity of putting its best efforts to the job of increasing the productive wealth of the Nation.

ECONOMIC SECTION 67 To increase the productive wealth is the keyword, the basis, the vertebral column of the stability of a sovereign and free Philippines. The other aspects of the economic problem of the future Philippine Republic are nothing but gestures, necessary incidents of this foundation, of the structure of our stability. The first thing is production; it comes before manufacturing and trading. We should produce to such an extent as to face the growing necessities of an independent country. Only last month, the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands made an appeal urging all alive elements of the country to unite their forces to trace, coordinate, and execute a national plan comprehensive of economic development as necessary when we reap within a short time the inherent rights of self-government as when the concession of freedom is long delayed. If production has precedence over commerce allow me before discussing fully the subject assigned to me to offer a way of increasing our productive wealth. It is a well-known fact that, although agriculture is the source of our great wealth, only a small portion of our fertile soil is now under exploitation and that immense tracts of land adapted to agricultural production remain unproductive, waiting for diligent hands and for the enterprising capital. Only 12.5 % of our cultivable land is cultivated. The very great extensions of virgin soil are found in the fertile regions of Mindanao. There is the place, therefore, where we should direct ourselves to increase our production. It is our privilege and our duty as Filipinos to participate to a great extent in the exploitation, not only of our agriculture, but also of other natural resources of the country. The most extensive soils of the Mindanao public domain invite investment. It is true that there are isolated cases of wealthy Filipinos who have investments in that exuberant region, but it is necessary that we make collective investment forming corporations. This country is ours, and if we do not decide to invest our capital in the buying and exploitation of these lands in Mindanao and we do not allow outsiders to do it, we shall be obstructing our own economic progress and making it difficult to solve the problem of increasing our productive wealth. There is much disposable capital, but it is afraid of investment.

68 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS This fear should be abandoned, because the patrimony of our soil is ours to unfold and unravel, with our own capital. Besides, it is a patriotic enterprise to do so, because we conserve for posterity the precious.legacy with which God has endowed this fertile and fruitful land. Let us not forget the example of other nations that are politically independent but economically enslaved! In the impulse which we would give to our production, we should not forget that as it is unstable to depend on only one market for consumption so it is to depend largely on one harvest and that the diversification of production is absolutely necessary for a well-balanced development. It is true that we have not yet reached this danger of one-sided production, but the government agencies should undertake a more aggressive policy to orientate in this sense, emphasizing the importance of second harvests which may have demands outside. Independence cannot and should not obstruct the increase of our productive wealth. But as our production depends for its consumption greatly on the outside markets specially that of the United States, the cessation of political relations would provoke a disturbance in the commercial relations bordering on economic chaos which may last five years or more until necessary adjustments are made to supply the absorbing demands of the market in the States and other foreign markets which we may favor with our products. We should not form the illusion that our economic structure will not be affected with the transition of the actual state of dependence to a life without a check. Each object has its price and this retrocession, this hindrance, this economic chaos is the price of our freedom! Our domestic commerce will not substantially change in its structure, because it is hoped that the merchants of other nationalities that actually take part in the distribution of imported products in the sale of local manufactures and in the collection of our products for exportation will remain in this country. There will be, however, a notable increase in the Filipino participation in trade so notable that after a lapse of some years we shall no more be the insignificant minority that

ECONOMIC SECTION 69 we are now. This increase is to be desired, because if now there is noticed a marked taste for commerce among the youth of our land, the confidence in our own government will propel that taste. This increase should be encouraged in all possible ways, giving the Filipino merchants facilities to develop themselves, means of transportation and methods of quick and cheap communication, a net of roads and fluvial communications which makes it easy to enter ports and other principal centers of distribution as well as the remote communities in the interior centers of production, and above all providing credit facilities the most extensive, because the Filipino merchant does not possess big capital such as his foreign competitors do. This is the reason for our insisting on and advocating one time or other the maintenance of the Philippine National Bank as a propulsive institution of commerce, of agriculture and of industries. This is why, recently, only last month, the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands has renewed and reiterated the attitude more insistently in view of our approach to the longed for freedom. It is fundamental to preserve the bank once the Philippines becomes independent because it is necessary for a great well-balanced economic development, which requires not only the productive growth of our natural resources and the encouragement of industries but also the commercial activities of the Filipinos. The National Bank is a manifestation of the paternalistic policies of the Government and has been founded precisely to help the economic development of the country in its agricultural, commercial and industrial branches by and for the Filipinos. It is necessary to mobilize the disposable capital of the country which is actually available for mortgage, endowing the Filipino merchant with all the disposable pecuniary help. The almost absolute preponderance of foreign elements in the domestic commerce, especially in the basic products of the country, such as rice, would be changed under the new order. If the constant eagerness not only of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, but of the country in general has resulted in a gradual increase of Filipino participation in business this eagerness will be the more pronounced when we

70 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS become independent. It is, therefore, of capital importance that there be planned a definite policy of economic nationalism which would embrace all the phases of production and distribution. This tendency has been observed in the past sessions of the Legislature but there has been approved measures without systems due to the lack of relation to an economic nationalism. We should orientate in this respect, in order that nationalistic measures may be generalized and that retrogression which means disnationalization of already nationalized industries and business may be prevented. It is imperative that we do so, because when the Philippines becomes independent, we cannot withdraw from the wave of internationalism in which we find ourselves enveloped as citizens of a sovereign Nation. It is useless for us to fling ourselves out on the immense sea of the concert of free nations if we do not guarantee our nationalism, resolving to compel nationalistic measures which promote the material advancement of the Philippines so that we may be adequately dressed with the necessary clothings for the external economic fight. 'rWe should have a fixed norm with respect to the policies of protectionism. The end is to be sufficient unto ourselves to the greatest possible extent with regard to the fostering of various industries which because of abundance of prime material may be developed here, without neglecting those already existing. The development of our national resources and manufactures should be urged upon with protective measures which assure and foster their development without obstacle, free from all competition which may come from productive and manufacturing centers more advanced than ours. Following the history of economic development of other new countries there should be a frank adhesion to the paternalistic policies of the future Philippine independent government. Sometime ago the Philippines ceased to be a mere geographic expression with regards to economic development. Our commercial relations with other countries has been increasing in volume and although we have to recognize that the progress has been slow, much has been accomplished, thanks to the paternalistic policies which have been initiated by our

ECONOMIC SECTION 71 Government. A great portion of the official funds is destined to be used for the fostering of agriculture, for the construction of water system that would insure the normal and abundant harvest of our agricultural products, for the opening. of new roads in order to improve our interinsular commerce. The departments of Agriculture and that of the Commerce and Industry, two official dependencies which are detailed to the promotion of our agriculture and commerce, take a good portion of the funds which are annually appropriated by the administration. These ordinary means cannot develop our limitless natural resources in the proper way. Knowing this, the Government, through the Legislature, has gone further and has undertaken a paternalistic policy engaging itself in the exploitation of our natural resources where private capital is timid, or is not available. In a country like ours with only a very limited portion of our resources under exploitation, with immense possibilities for production, with abundant prime material for the development of various industries and the manufacture of products which we now import from other proceedings, in a country which we can say is practically in the initial period of its economic development, it seems clear that we adopt a policy of protection to stimulate the few established industries and foster the creation of new others. The most practical and most effective method for gaining worthy protection is to raise the tariff on imported articles which are also produced and manufactured in the country. Whoever is familiar with the economic history of the United States, with the rapid and gigantic economic development of that marvelous country, has to admit that the policy of intense protectionism originated by its statesmen was the factor responsible to the great economic prestige which it now enjoys. The present agitation against our products is inspired by an elevated protectionism. Under the well-understood policy of protectionism we should encourage the establishment of a variety of industries. The Philippines, though fundamentally agricultural, needs to produce articles which because of the abundance of the prime material

72 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS may be produced here, because the less dependent we are on outside markets the more we approach the ideal of our economic independence. The embrionic condition in which we find the exploitation of our material resources makes necessary a policy of protection to neutralize the disadvantages and deficiencies of domestic production. We should follow the plan outlined by the United States and other nations in our own economic policy. Let us adopt, as they do, protective measures for our incipient industries, fostering thus the production and manufacture of industrial products in the same way as was done and is being done by the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, the Scandinavian countries, Russia, Spain, and other nations that have progressed materially by the help of protective legislations more or less intense or more or less moderate. If I have said that Philippine independence will temporarily bring an economic chaos without precedent till we have made the necessary readjustment, it is because of the effects of the immediate cessation of free trade between the United States and the Philippines which the American sovereignty has imposed on us. After more than thirty years of living together with the United States we find ourselves in a desperate situation, as a result of the free trade in view of which we have advanced economically, but an economic advancement which is unstable and artificial. With the free trade we have developed the markets of the United States for our products. We have directed our extension trade towards this only market which thru the advantages of the free trade has, little by little, dominated all other markets to such an extent that now it constitutes a monopoly. We have been so long under the influence of free trade that when it suddenly breaks down the shock will cause us to exert ourselves to the full in finding other markets. Only in that way can we rest assured of a solid, sure, stable and permanent economic basis which should be the structure of our government. The economic development of the Philippines, if it becomes great, presupposes the exterior commerce,

ECONOMIC SECTION 73 the demand of foreign markets of consumption in view of the fact that the Philippines is a country essentially agricultural, and as such is a natural fountain of supply for the countries of the temperate zone. Desirous as is the increment of commercial interchange between the United States and the Philippines it is also advisable that at the same time we encourage new markets for the exportable products of the country to pave the way, in order that when this transitory state passes in conformity with our wishes and we are given the attributes of our own sovereignty we would find ourselves ready to agree to commercial treaties on a plan of mutual advantage. The Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands has been insisting repeatedly on building up a diversity of markets. To look for and find new markets and enlarge those already existing-needed for a well-balanced material progress of our country-a systematic propaganda is needed to disclose possible new markets-their needs, requirements, tariff duties, etc. The United States, England, Japan and other progressive nations which, because of their autonomous estate, maintain an adequate diplomatic consular service, recognize the necessity of maintaining commercial agents in the principal parts of the world. If the Philippine Legislature decides to adopt a program of systematic development of our exterior commerce by means of the organization of commercial agencies, it should do the planning immediately and in such a way that the commercial agencies which would be established would be properly established, equipped, and furnished with all the necessary aids in order to be able to give the efficient services which are expected of them and they should be managed by Commissioners of Commerce and other necessary personnel. Gentlemen, I have tried to make a brief sketch of what for me constitutes the most salient phases of our economic program for the time when we shall enjoy our own sovereignty. I have not gone into details because it would require too much time. I assure you that the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands is ready and glad to help in defining an economic policy which would increase the productive wealth of the nation and

74 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS enable the country to defray the greatly increased expenses for defensive purposes as for the maintenance of our diplomatic relations, and which would insure for the future Independent Philippine Government a basis of security, permanence and stability. Many thanks. A discussion of the tariff problem followed in which two other papers were read. One was the paper of the Hon. Guillermo Gomez, Under-Secretary of Finance. The paper follows: SOME GENERAL REMARKS ON INDEPENDENCE AND THE TARIFF By the HON. GUILLERMO GOMEZ, Under-Secretary, Department of Finance. I have been designated to say something on customs duties in relation to the possible and probable advent of our national independence, an event which will create changes even more profound and radical in our economic than in our political system, because if we carefully examine this aspect of the situation, we shall see that the economic influence of America on the Philippines is stronger than the political, such influence being more deep-rooted and preponderating in the field of the production and distribution of our wealth to a greater extent than in the mechanism of the administration of our public affairs. In support of this statement, there is the fact that there are few persons now who fear a demolition of our governmental institutions of American origin should independence come, whereas there are many who prophesy, with reason, that the separation of the two peoples will produce an upheaval in our economic life. Consequently, in speaking of tariffs, I shall touch also, even in passing, the question of our future economic condition in general, inasmuch as it is impossible to overlook it in speaking of tariffs, taking into account the intimate relationship which exists between the two questions.

ECONOMIC SECTION 75 Judging from the statements made by our Speaker on his return from his former trip to the United States where he went to defend us against the threat of the limitation of our exports to that country, the granting of independence will not be accompanied by an abrupt and immediate closing of the doors of the American market by means of the imposition of the maximum tariff rates on our products, considering us in this respect ipso facto foreigners. Prominent Congressmen who favor the granting of immediate political independence have stated that we shall be given a reasonable period of time within which we may readjust our economic and commercial conditions to the circumstances arising from the new political status, in such a way that the transition will be effected with the least possible upheavals and disturbances. The obvious and logical norm of conduct which should be adopted for such transition will consist of the imposition of customs duties on our exports to the United States with rebates gradually regressive until they reach the maximum tariff rates upon the expiration of the period of time given for readjustment. On the other hand and in justice to the elementary principles of equity, we shall be granted tariff autonomy giving us the opportunity to extend similar treatment to American products imported into our country, or in other words, the imposition on the said merchandise of our own tariff with rebates equally regressive in the same correlation as to amount and time, so that the application of their maximum tariff rates upon our products may coincide with the application of ours to theirs, should we so elect. For instance, supposing that the period of transition were five years: the first year we would apply our tariff to American importations, with a rebate of 80 per cent, the second, with 60 per cent, the third, with 40 per cent, the fourth, with 20 per cent, and the fifth, with the maximum rate. The tariff which governs in our country for imports purely foreign is a tariff established by the Congress of the United States, with slight modifications introduced by our Legislature which were approved by the highest representative of the American nation. It was established having in mind its effects on

76 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS free trade, and we can assure that while it is true that the said tariff was inspired in a spirit of protection for American industries, its authors did not establish such high rates as would give to the American manufacturers a monopoly of our market, placing us, with bound hands and feet, at the mercy of the E manufacturers and importers of the sovereign country. From the moment that the effects of free trade were felt in 1910 to 1928, the percentage of our importations from the United States has been varying between 40 and 64 per centum of our total importations. Up to 1914, the variation was between 40 and 50 per centum, an additional increase of 12 per centum having been originated by the World War and the rapid increase of our exports to that market, rather than by the operation of our local tariff. Bearing in mind our small voice and representation in the American Congress at that time, the nonimposition by that body of a prohibitive tariff barrier which would have obliged us to import everything from America at monopoly prices, as the spokesmen of American industries were asking during the preliminary hearings, shows that the representatives of the American people desired to reserve our market for their manufactures but not in such an exclusive form that would oppress and exploit us. From 1910 to 1928, we had fourteen years of favorable trade balance in our commercial intercourse with America, with only six years of unfavorable trade balance. During these years, the total unfavorable difference was P119,000,000.00, while the total favorable difference corresponding to the good years was P651,000,000.00. If the present tariff then is what they consider just and reasonable to extend wise protection to their commodities in our market, and they have so considered and continue considering it, inasmuch as they do not amend it when they can freely do so, it seems that as long as they continue granting tariff advantages to our export products in their market, we should not substantially amend such tariff (in the sense of reducing it) in so far as it applies to products of European or Asiatic origin, without counting upon the assent of Congress. Such amendment may be prejudicial and inequitable to the American producers in whose market we would be entering under conditions more favorable than other countries. This

ECONOMIC SECTION 77 statement does not mean that the tariff law should not be recast in some respects, in order to place it abreast of the industrial progress achieved during the last twenty years. I am one of those who are of the opinion that when America grants us our absolute and complete political emancipation, she will not sever radically the spiritual and cultural bonds which bind us with her at the present time, notwithstanding the pessimistic prognostication of some persons who presume to be the spokesmen of public opinion in that country, and in whom our impatience perhaps inspires a feeling of resentment. I believe that we can continue counting, as one of our assets as an independent country, the sympathy and goodwill of the great American nation, with her moral support and even with her good offices in aiding us in meeting the problems inherent in our new international position. I am nursing the idea that we should, on our part, attempt to preserve such sympathy, and no means will be better than the maintenance, in so far as possible, of those cultural as well as economic relationships, which the change of political status will permit. It should be borne in mind that America has ceased to be the country of high cost of production, because notwithstanding the high labor cost, the efficiency of her factories and her system of large-scale production allow her to compete with any other country in certain branches of human industry. Nothing will prevent us from continuing to buy from America automobiles, shoes, and agricultural machinery, for instance, in exchange for the hemp which we shall continue selling to her. On the other hand, we should not overlook the fact that an independent government will need a larger amount of money than what exists at present, if we are to continue the quality and scope of the services which our present institutions of education, health, public order, administration of justice, etc., give to the country, adding to them others which will take care of national defense in proportion to our strength and to the unavoidable relations with the other free countries of the world, as well as of the regular amortization of the public debt in order to keep our credit high. These needs will not only compel us to reject the idea of a general reduction in our tariff,

78 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS but, on the other hand, to increase it perhaps in those items where the increase would be permissible and tolerable, both for the purpose of increasing the revenues and of protecting existing local industries and fostering the establishment of new ones. But we should extricate ourselves from the illusion that such a procedure would be sufficient to solve the financial problems that an independent government would meet, because in a greater degree than any other source of revenue, customs duties, upon exceeding certain limits, cease to be productive, and they create an apparent paradox that an increase, for instance, of a hundred per centum in a certain tariff rate would yield the result of a fifty per centum reduction or more in the net revenues from such item, owing to a decrease in consumption, which causes the enhancement of the price of the commodity, and to the greater cost of collection brought about by high tariffs, the instigators of contraband. With reference to imported articles of prime necessity, it would be inhuman, in many cases, to cause increases in their prices by high tariffs. For instance, we have the drugs and medicines which alleviate suffering, or books, paper, and printing material which disseminate culture. In general, high and prohibitive tariff rates engender hostility towards the country that imposes them on the part of other countries that are affected, and give rise to retaliatory measures harmful in many cases. The immediate solution to the financial difficulties of our Government will be found in the increase of those taxes which we may consider inescapable, such as some of the direct taxes, against which we can not defend ourselves by practising thrift or by discontinuing consumption. Customs revenues will have to be considered as supplementary. The kind of tariff that should be adopted for the future, once the period of readjustment has ended, will depend on the condition of our economic development. An agricultural country desires a high tariff for its own products with the object of monopolizing the local market; duties for revenue on manufactured goods in general, and low duties and even free entry for agricultural machinery and implements; and, as its population increases and it becomes industrialized, it begins to ask for high duties on manufactures for the protection of her rising factories, and low duties on raw material that is not produced

ECONOMIC SECTION 79 at reasonable cost in its own territory, and when industries predominate over the other activities and they are in a position -to compete without protection with the products of other countries, the nation inclines itself to free trade. Inasmuch as there are no countries that are exclusively agricultural or exclusively industrial, it is not possible to have a tariff that will be entirely satisfactory to everybody in the community, all tariffs being the result of compromises tending to find the greatest benefit for the greatest number, without unduly oppressing the minority. For many years to come, the Philippines will undoubtedly be a country preeminently agricultural, since the change to the industrial stage cannot be realized until the population has considerably increased to three or four times the present number of its inhabitants. Returning to the theme under discussion, if the trade relations now binding us to the United States were to be cut off abruptly, the immediate effect would be a temporary increase in the revenue from import duties. The law of momentum will make us, at the beginning, continue consuming more or less what we are now consuming, and when many of the products come not from America and free from duties, but from Europe or Asia, subject to duties, they will bring additional revenue. However, at the end of a certain period of time, once the acquisitive power of the people is diminished by credit stringency and by the decrease in the value of our principal exports (decrease which will automatically take place upon the closing to us of the doors of the protected American market), imports will be on a decline until they reach the level of our purchasing ability. Statistics corresponding to the last decade reveal that the value of imports increases or decreases in relation to the value of the exports during the preceding year, except in 1920 when we were swept off our feet by that wave of optimism and we decided to buy to excess, convinced that the value of our exports would remain at the high figures then prevailing. From 1908 to 1918, import duties brought to the public coffers, revenue varying from ten to fifteen million pesos annually; from 1918 to 1928, they yielded to the Government between eleven to nineteen million pesos. Probably, once the economic readjustment consequent upon our political

80 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS separation from the United States is completed, this same tariff would be maintained at the levels of the last decade. The products native to the territory in which we liveraw material of the Tropics-are produced now in abundance and at a lower cost by other countries situated in the same geographic belt as our country; in some parts, as in Java, because the labor cost is much lower; in others, as in Cuba, because the soil is more fertile, and almost everywhere, because, besides those advantages, they employ more scientific and economical methods than ours. If up to the present time, we have been able to subsist without sacrificing our standard of living, higher than that of other Oriental countries, notwithstanding the general decline in world prices for the commodities we produce, it is because we have an immense market where our principal exports enter favored by the armor of very high protective duties. This outlet for our products once closed, we would have to compete with other tropical countries under conditions of tariff equality in markets whither we may send our products. The search for new markets will doubtless be one of our main economic problems, if not the most important. Many countries have among themselves agreements extending to each other, treatment in accordance with the principle of "the most favored nation," and have well-established trade routes and systems of exchange that would be difficult to alter. In the case of our sugar, for instance, but two doors would remain open: England, where we would be competing with the production of her colonies and the beet sugar of Europe, and China, where our struggle would be with Cuban and Javanese sugar, which is produced at a cost lower than ours. But there is no doubt that we can survive and even progress, if we know how to bear sacrifices and find the means of lowering the cost of production; contenting ourselves with smaller salaries and profits; introducing more scientific and economical methods in cultivation and harvesting, and uniting our efforts and cooperating with each other in looking for a more remunerative outlet for our crops: in a word, working harder than ever with our brains and brawn, so that we may successfully

ECONOMIC SECTION 81 pass through the period of test resulting from our emancipation, a test which will aggravate the unfortunate coincidence of the restrictions to be placed on our market in America with the superabundance of tropical products throughout the world. The period of readjustment would exact of the Filipino people not the momentary, sporadic, and supreme heroism that characterizes the sacrifice of life in a battle or of the immediate surrender of an entire fortune, but of another type of heroism, more difficult-the slow, sustained, and constant heroism of every day, of every year, which recognizes no discouragement, vacillation, or retrogression, and that never forgets that in a world like ours where struggle for existence has reached the highly competitive degree now existing, the strong and the active survive at the cost of the weak and the indolent. It has been said that it is easier to know how to be rich than to become rich, and paraphrasing this phrase, we %ould say that the efforts necessary to preserve 'our freedom will be greater than the work devoted to its acquisition. Such has been the history of all subject peoples who have attained their emancipation, and such will also be our own without any doubt. The best patriotic work which the delegates to this Congress can perform is to disseminate among the Filipino people the idea of the unavoidable necessity of a constant effort, of constant individual and collective sacrifice and abnegation, of the idea of overcoming that tendency so natural and so human of "following the line of least resistance" and awaiting the time when negotiations and taxes will provide for all of the national needs. In economics as well as in medicine, there are no panaceas. Tax systems, customs duties. tariffs, may, at the most, accelerate or retard the rhythm of the economic life of a country, but they can not propel it. At the bottom of every type of human production is the intelligence and the work of man, and over and above all the devices, all the taxes, all the systems, a country that merely basks in the sunshine of its dreams, will be unprogressive and poor; in the same way, that in the face of all obstacles and of all difficulties, a people that studies and works is destined unquestionably to become prosperous and great.

82 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Mr. Cornelio Balmaceda, of the Bureau of Commerce and Industry, read the following paper which was the last: INDEPENDENCE AND THE TARIFF By CORNELIO BALMACEDA The tariff problem that arises as a necessary counterpart of the question of Philippine independence hinges mainly on the existing free trade with the United States. This reciprocal arrangement underlies our present tariff system. It has influenced the course of our economic life during the last twenty years to such an extent that its expected abolition in the event of independence is naturally causing much grave concern. That a serious economic shock would inevitably come with the grant of independence, if the complete and immediate abolition of the present free trade would come with it, cannot be doubted. Its immediate effects on most, if not all, phases of our economic life would be far-reaching. Our sugar, coconut oil, embroidery, and other important industries here would suddenly lose the only prop that now supports them. A precipitous slump would therefore take place in our export trade, and, deprived thus of our big source of national income, a severe economic depression would necessarily set in. In the import trade, a great disturbance would likewise be inevitable. Domestic importers of American goods who now predominate in this trade would be suddenly compelled to seek new sources of supply unless the old lines of American goods that they are now handling could be successfully adjusted to the new competition that they would have to meet. That our trade with the United States would still continue, however, after the abolition of free trade, is beyond dispute. What is uncertain is how much of the present trade will remain, and particularly what share we would continue to have of the United States' purchases of such products as we now sell to her. Our exports of hemp and copra would most likely be little disturbed, as these two products now receive no special benefit in the American market from the free trade, and are in great and constant demand by American cordage and coconut oil

ECONOMIC SECTION 83 manufacturers. This would not be so with our sugar, embroidery, and coconut oil exports. It is very probable that these important Philippine industries would be greatly crippled. Our exports of tobacco, particularly cigars, would also suffer a big reduction at least for a number of years. For our other exports, there would undoubtedly be also material reductions in the American field, the extent of the decline to be determined by the amount of the tariff restriction that the United States would impose on them. We can make only a rough indication, of course, of the probable extent of Philippine-American trade that would subsist in the event of independence and the abolition of the free trade. The actual results of such a contingency could be accurately measured only after it has happened and the new movements of the trade subsequent thereto have been observed. There are, however, strong reasons for expecting that a substantial volume of trade between the two countries would continue to exist. The United States is in great need of many of our principal products. American manufacturers have always looked to the Philippines for supplies of the raw materials they must have in their factories. The entire history of Philippine-American trade relations bears witness to this fact. From the first years of Philippine-American commercial intercourse long before the American occupation of the Philippines, these Islands have always been more important to the United States as a source of raw materials and other imports than as a market for American goods. Our exports to America have almost invariably exceeded our imports from her. Even before the establishment of American rule in the Islands, Philippine exports to the United States exceeded the imports from the United States 13. to 1. This permanent condition of our trade indicates clearly the strong need of the United States for our products. To say, therefore, that our exports to America would practically be wiped out with the grant of independence and the abolition of free trade is to close one's eyes to the fact that Philippine products are in such a strong demand in that market that even the imposition of some tariff restrictions would not completely stop their flow.

84 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Not only will a large proportion of our present export trade with the United States continue in the event that the free trade is abolished but we shall also increase our exports to other countries. For be it realized that because of the present tariff privilege they enjoy in the United States, our exports are being artificially induced to follow the American route and are being diverted away from other export fields. There are those who say that there is nothing under the present arrangement which prevents our exports from entering other fields outside of the United States if they can really do it, but -it is precisely the free trade arrangement which does this. The free trade makes the American market such an advantageous place where to sell our products now, that they naturally flow into it in preference to other markets to which they would go otherwise. This tariff inducement, however, is artificial because it is special and extraordinary. It is impermanent. It arose not from the ordinary commercial intercourse of the two countries concerned, or through their mutual consent, but merely from the desire of a sovereign power to secure preferential treatment for her own products within a subject territory. The present share of the United States in our exports amounting to more than 75 per cent of the total is not indicative of what it would be in the ordinary course of events. Without the free-entry privilege enjoyed by our goods in the American market, the direction of their flow would be different. Europe's share would be much bigger, and so with China's, Japan's, and also those of other neighboring countries in Oceania and the Far East. Whether the total volume of our exports without the free trade would be as much as it is at present is doubtful, but it is certain that the share of the United States therein would be considerably less than it is at present. This unnatural diversion caused by the free trade is further shown by the great changes that have taken place in the geographical distribution of our exports. Before the American occupation, and even shortly thereafter, Europe was the biggest market for Philippine exports. More than one-half of our annual overseas shipments were then taken by European buyers. In 1900, 55.59 per cent of our total exports went to various

ECONOMIC SECTION 85 European countries. The share of the United States in that year was only 12.9 per cent, while the share of Asia was 25.98 per cent. During the nine-year period from 1900 to 1908, inclusive, which immediately preceded the establishment of the free trade, the yearly average share of the United States in our exports was 32.6 per cent. In 1909, the year when the free trade was established, this percentage immediately rose to 42.17 per cent, and ten years later we find that already 50 per cent of our exports were being shipped to the United States. In 1929, 75.69 per cent of our total exports went to the United States. * Before the free trade relations with the United States came into effect, the principal markets for Philippine sugar were Hongkong, China, and Japan. The biggest single market for Philippine sugar at that time was Hongkong, which in 1900 absorbed no less than 55 per cent of our sugar shipments, Japan coming second with a share of 20 per cent, and China and the United States coming next with shares of 3 per cent each. In 1908, which preceded the establishment of free trade, Hongkong was still ahead with a share of 35 per cent, the United States coming second with 32 per cent, and China third with 22 per cent. It should be noted in this connection, however, that the volume of our sugar exports then and up to the year 1910 was comparatively small, and that most of it was muscovado, while today the bulk of our exports of sugar is centrifugal. But even in years after the free trade had been established, Hongkong, China, and Japan continued to bulk large as markets for Philippine sugar. In 1916, a banner year in Philippine sugar exportation, less than two-fifths of the 337,490,000 kilos of sugar then exported went to the United States, the bigger portions of it having been taken by Hongkong, China, Japan and the United Kingdom. These facts lend strength to the belief that in the event that Philippine sugar loses the United States market upon the abolition of the free trade, it * See, also, the article entitled "What-If the Trade Were Abolished," by C. Balmaceda, pp. 10-11 of the issue for November, 1928, of The Philippine Finance Review.

86 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS will still be able to find other outlets. It is certain, however, that the volume of our sugar exports would have to be greatly reduced. The probable effects of the loss of free trade upon our other important exports may further be examined. Take tobacco. In so far as leaf tobacco exports are concerned, no great loss need be feared. The United States is not an important market for Philippine leaf tobacco. Our exports of this product go mostly to Spain, France, Holland, China, and Hongkong. In the case of Manila cigars, however, the situation is different. Almost 80 per cent of our yearly exports of this item are now absorbed by the United States. But if we look again into the markets for Manila cigars before the free trade was established, we shall find that the United States did not then figure as an important market, our cigars at that time being exported mostly to Hongkong, British East Indies, China, and the United Kingdom. Of course, it should be noted also that the volume of our cigar exports then was much less than it is at the present time, and it will doubtless prove very difficult to market the big quantity of cigars that would have to be shifted away from the United States in the event of independence and the abolition of the free trade. It is not improbable, however, that our cigars would still continue to be sold at least to some extent in the American market on the momentum of its already wellearned reputation among American smokers and through the extra efforts that our exporters would have to put forth to overcome the tariff barrier that would then be placed against them. Coconut oil and embroideries would be less hopeful of satisfactory adjustment. Almost our entire exports of these articles are being shipped only to the United States where they can be sold now because of their duty-free privilege. Philippine hats now enter other important markets besides the United States, these being France, England, and Italy, and a wider demand for the article in these and in other countries could probably be created in the event that their present market in the United States becomes restricted by the tariff. Maguey, another important Philippine export, is, like hemp and copra,

ECONOMIC SECTION 87 in the free list of the United States tariff and would not therefore suffer from the abolition of the free trade. The principal markets for our maguey are found, not in the United States but in the United Kingdom, Japan, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and France. Such probable course of our export trade in the event that our present tariff relation with the United States is severed would tend to mitigate the local economic disturbance that would inevitably follow the abolition of the free trade. The period of readjustment would doubtless be a painful operation on our economic system. But we can feel certain that we would successfully pass over it. The operation itself would not be lacking in immediate beneficial results. Part of the loss in government revenues occasioned by the immediate decline in our export industries would be offset by an increase in collections from import duties, for we must remember that nearly two-thirds of our imports at present enter our ports free of customs duties. Immediately, also, some new local industries, which cannot now exist or grow because of the overwhelming competition from American products that they have to face here, would begin to develop, thus offsetting to some extent the immediate decline in our export industries. What should concern us most right now is the fact that the longer we continue with the present free trade relations with America, the more difficult and disastrous will be the economic readjustment that we shall have to undergo when we get our independence. We have seen how this special tariff arrangement has served as the main pillar of our recent economic progress. But we should realize that this foundation is uncertain. It will not and it cannot remain permanent. Even now we are battling against strong, powerful, and well-organized American interests within and outside the United States who want to restrict the entry of our products there while we are to continue admitting American merchandise here free from all restrictions. These agricultural interests in America are bound to become still more powerful and there is little doubt that sooner or later they will succeed in curbing the continued free entry of our products into the United States. But more

'88 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS important than this is the fact that this free trade has to stop the moment we secure our promised independence. We know, therefore, that this tariff arrangement is only temporary, and when it is stopped, the main pillar of our eco-. nomic structure will be taken away. The structure must then topple down. We have erected and are still erecting it high upon this uncertain foundation. The free trade has nurtured the growth of industries here which could not have become what they are today 'Without it. Our sugar industry, as we all know, has had its tremendous growth during the last twenty years mainly because of the pampering and coddling it has received in the American market under the free trade. Not compelled to compete on equal footing with similar industries in Cuba and Java, our sugar industry has not reared itself as strongly as it should have, and as a result, it is now dependent almost wholly for its existence in its present state upon the continuance of the free trade. We do not want of course to develop more industries in this way. We should not keep on building the economic life of our country upon such an unsound foundation. We need to develop here industries that will successfully withstand free and open competition in the international markets. The Philippines must sell the bulk of its production abroad, and keen international competition is a factor that must be reckoned with in the development of our industries. No sound and permanent foundation for our economic growth as a nation can be laid unless our export industries can compete successfully in the markets of the world. The present free trade is a serious obstacle to Philippine independence. It has tightened and is tightening the commercial ties that bind us with the United States, and the longer we keep on with it the more economically dependent upon the ruling nation we shall become, and the more difficult will be to sever our political relations with her. We must, therefore, work at once for the abolition of the free trade. But in order to make this necessary change in our tariff system less disturbing to our economic situation and to mitigate to some extent the economic shock that it would cause

ECONOMIC SECTION 89 to our people, we should see to it that its abolition is effected gradually, if such an arrangement can be secured. A period of ten years may be fixed within which the present tariff arrangement may be abolished. After the first two years, we can shift to a preferential tariff arrangement with the United States instead of free trade. We can begin by imposing 20 per cent of the ordinary duties on imports upon American goods coming here, the United States also taxing our imports to her with 20 per cent of her prevailing rates of duty on similar goods coming from other countries. Then after four years, an increase to 40 per cent can be made, after six years to 60 per cent, after eight years to 80 per cent, and after ten years the full rates will be applied by each country upon the products of the other. This would give us time to readjust ourselves to the new situation and the process would be less disturbing to our economic system. Such a plan could be worked out right now, whether we get our independence immediately or later. It would work more ideally and effectively, however, if our status as an independent country be at once fixed and definitely settled, for everybody knows that the present uncertainty in our future political status is a serious deterrent to our economic progress. To adopt such a tariff plan as I have indicated as a proviso in the grant of Philippine independence by the United States would be in line with the policy generally followed by nations in effecting changes in their tariff relations. It has become the usual practice to effect such changes in a gradual manner, in order to prevent undue disturbances in the trade of the countries concerned. It was this same principle and practice which partly explains the insertion of the tariff stipulation in the Treaty of Paris whereby Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States which gave to Spanish goods entering the Philippines during a period of ten years after the signing of the treaty the same privileges that would be given to imports of the Islands from the United States. Pending the grant of independence and while we wait for the establishment of a more permanent tariff system or the gradual abolition of the free trade as just outlined, it is highly

90 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS necessary that the immediate revision of our present tariff be effected with a view primarily to raising additional revenue for the government and fostering our economic advancement. It is well known that the old Philippine Tariff Law of 1909, which still remains almost intact, was drawn up not so much to help the growth of Philippine industries as to give protection to American products that enter the Philippine markets. Thus we find that under the present tariff, a number of imported articles which are not at all produced in this country and which are greatly needed here for domestic use or for economic development are being subjected to high import duties. As an agricultural country, one of our essential necessities for the better cultivation of our farms is agricultural machinery, and there is no reason for imposing the present duty of 15 per cent ad valorem on our imports of this article. Even the tariff of the United States has been fit to include the cheaper kinds of agricultural machinery in the free list, evidently to enable the small farmers in America to secure their agricultural implements at the lowest possible price. But in the Philippines, with all the known poverty of the vast majority of our agricultural classes and the dire need for introducing better methods of working our farms, we are imposing the uniform rate of 15 per cent ad valorem on all types of agricultural machinery that enter here. The same thing would be said regarding the present tariff duties on our imports of mechanical devices needed for the development of our manufacturing industries.* On the other hand, various items in our present tariff could be found which are not high enough to afford real protection to local products. Articles which can be successfully produced here in sufficient quantities to meet local needs, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fish products, peanuts, coffee, canned fruits, and vegetables, may well be carefully considered for possible increases in the present rates. In this connection, however, the tariff protection for our domestic products, especially for do* See, also, the articles on "Necessary Changes in Our Tariff Law" by S. Araneta and C. Balmaceda in Volume II, Nos. 8, 9, 10 of The Philippine Finance Review.

ECONOMIC SECTION 9.1' mestic necessities, should be made sufficiently low to make the resulting burden in the form of enhanced prices more than comn. pensated by the increase in domestic production and domestic wealth that such a protective tariff would bring to the country as a whole. In connection with the proposed revision of our existing tariff rates, the question has been raised as to whether or not the Philippines is bound to give protection to American goods that enter our markets. If such an obligation on our part exists it would arise from the fact that the United States has given and is giving special protection to Philippine products in the fixing of her tariff rates. Such, however, is not the case. At no instance has the United States passed a tariff measure for the purpose of giving protection to a Philippine product. On the contrary, major Philippine exports like copra and hemp appear in the free list of the United States tariff and receive no protection whatsoever in that market; There is, therefore, no obligation on our part to revise our tariff in order to give further protection to American products. However, it would be the better policy in proposing to the American Congress any changes in our present tariff rates pending the granting of Philippine independence to give American products some amount of protection if we are to expect Washington to act favorably on such proposed changes. Such protection given should be limited only to the extent of offsetting any disadvantage that American manufacturers may find here in competing with manufacturers from other countries. It is evident that no protection can be given now to Philippine products against competition from goods coming from the United States. Neither can tariff for revenue be successfully levied on articles which do not compete with our own products when such products can be supplied by the United States, for the increase of the rates of duty on such articles would only decrease rather than increase our revenues. Such decrease would result from the fact that duty-paying imports from foreign countries would then find it more difficult to enter our market and meet the competition of American goods.

92 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS As general policies that may be followed in the revision of our present tariff.rates pending the granting of Philippine independence and our enjoyment of full tariff autonomy, the following are submitted: 1. Imported articles which cannot be successfully produced in the Philippines in the supply of which the United States has little or no participation, should be subjected to the highest possible tariff rates with due regard to the law of diminishing returns, but due regard should be given to necessities the duties on which should be made sufficiently low in order not to increase unreasonably the prices of such necessities to the detriment of the poorer classes. 2. Articles which can be grown, produced, or manufactured in the Philippines to great advantage, and which in our home market are subject to foreign competition but not from the United States should be given a tariff protection equivalent to the difference in the cost of producing such articles in the Philippines and the cost of producing them in the foreign competing countries. 3. Articles whether competing with our products or not, which are supplied both by the United States and foreign countries, should be subjected to sufficiently high duties to give reasonable protection to Philippine and American goods but the duties should not be so high as to give the United States a monopoly and thus raise unduly the prices to local consumers and cause a decrease of importation from foreign countries to the detriment of our customs revenues. All of the speakers who participated in the discussion, including Representative Confesor and Mr. Celeste, were unanimous in their disapproval of the present free trade relationship with the United States. The consensus of opinion is that there should be a gradual, instead of a sudden abolition of the present

ECONOMIC SECTION 93 commercial relationship of the Philippines with the United States; but, given a choice between independ' ence and the continuation of free trade, the delegates prefer the former. A verbal resolution to this effect was presented by Mr. Eusebio Orense and Dean Jorge Bocobo, which was approved unanimously by the Economic Section of the Independence Congress.

I A. I 1i wl X r 1 * Ti~SF j~~ i I PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS WHO ATTENDED THE CONGRESS

POLITICAL SECTION First Session The first meeting of the Political Section of the First Independence Congress was called to order by the Chairman, the Honorable Juan Sumulong, at 9:30 A. M., February 23, 1930. Honorable Jose P. Laurel, ex-Secretary of the Interior and Senator from the fifth district, read the following paper before the section: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL GOVERN-. MENT IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE ORGANIZATION OF OUR PROVINCES AND MUNICIPALITIES UNDER AN INDEPENDENT GOVERNMENT By the HON. Jost P. LAUREL, Member, Philippine Senate. In the history of any country, among the problems that have always engaged the attention of reformers, statesmen, scholars and public-spirited citizens are those relating to the organization and administration of local administrative units. It is these local units which enlist the interest of the ordinary citizen and influence him in his daily life. As a well-known authority on municipal government said, "the average inhabitant sees only the eddies of life which swirl without apparent meaning through the streets he frequents and about his home and workplace." Upon the workings of the government of these local units depend in a great measure the success or failure of the central government. This is especially true in a democracy. Paralization of the parts will result in the paralization of the whole. Sound municipal administration is the main prop of a State. It was M. de Tocquiville who said: 95

96 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS "Local assemblies of citizens constitute the strength of free nations. Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people's reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it. A nation may establish a system of free government, but without the spirit of municipal institutions it cannot have the spirit of liberty." Here in the Philippines, if we mean to preserve for future generations the stable government which we have built up, we must maintain a high standard of local government and administration. In analyzing the present machinery of our local governments with a view to ascertaining the probable course of its development, it is necessary to sketch briefly its origin and history. The system which we have today did not exist before the advent of American occupation of these Islands. The system prevailing at that time, far from enabling the people to participate in the administration of their own local affairs, was designed chiefly to help collect taxes for the support of the central and home governments. The "pueblos" of that time did not enjoy even the semblance of authority ordinarily conferred upon municipal corporations. Towards the close of the Spanish regime, an attempt was made to inaugurate a comparatively autonomous system of local government here by the enforcement of the so-called Maura Law. Unfortunately, this reform came too late, and hardly had the new system been put in actual operation when the Spanish rule came to its end. The next attempt to set up a plan of somewhat autonomous local government in the Philippines was made during the existence of the erstwhile Philippine Republic (1898-1900). General Aguinaldo issued two important decrees prepared by Apolinario Mabini and embodying a quite comprehensive and elaborate plan of local government which was to guide the establishment and government of the "pueblos" during the revolution. Before this scheme could gain a foothold among the people, came the orders of the United States Military authorities providing, for a new system of local government. This marked the beginning of a new era of government in our provinces and municipalities. Changes were introduced. The

POLITICAL SECTION 9.7 organization of local governments was one of the first things which claimed the attention of the military authorities. This was first effected in a temporary manner by the promulgation of General Orders No. 43, series of 1899, by the Commander of the Military Forces in occupation of the Islands. Subsequently, and in pursuance of the report of a military board, of which the late Cayetano S. Arellano was chairman, the then military governor issued General Orders No. 49, series of 1900, more or less formally and permanently establishing municipalities in the Philippines. The law promulated in this order was, to quote from the report of the Board, "inspired by a genuinely liberal spirit and the principle of autonomous government." In 1901 President McKinley transferred the legislative power of government from the Military Governor to the Philippine Commission. This body, immediately after making a close study of local conditions in the different provinces, enacted Acts Nos. 82 and 83 which came to be known as the Municipal Code and Provincial Government Act, respectively. These Acts, with their amendments, continued to be the organic laws of our provinces and municipalities until and for sometime after the assumption by Governor-General Harrison of the office of chief executive. In 1916, the Philippine Legislature adopted an Administrative Code, commonly known as the Administrative Code of 1916, prepared and submitted by the Code Committee, a body created to revise and codify existing laws. Later, this Code was amended and revised, and the Administrative Code of 1917 took its place. Chapters 56 and 57 of this Code now constitute the organic laws of our provinces and municipalities. In the original organization of the provinces and municipalities under the American administration no general redistribution of territory was made. What the Commission did was to take the "pueblos" as it found them, with their names, boundaries and corporate property, and to confer upon them the usual powers of a municipal corporation. Our system' of municipal government took on a new aspect. The form of local government adopted under Acts 82 and 83, was patterned

'98 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS after that commonly found in the United States. Thus, the fundamental doctrines of our public corporations are substantially similar to those applied in the United States. The intervention, however, of some local talents, such as Don Cayetano S. Arellano and Don Florentino Torres, in the formulation of the original plan of local government under the American regime made possible the inclusion of some of the Spanish. features. For the purposes of local administration, five political units are recognized; namely, the provinces, the sub-provinces, the chartered cities of Manila and Baguio, municipalities, and municipal districts. The unit immediately below the Insular Government is the province. The province is divided into two classes: the reg-.ular provinces which are thirty-nine in number and the special provinces of which there are ten. The regular provinces are inhabited by Christian Filipinos, although in some of these provinces is found a non-Christian element forming, however, an insignificant minority. The special provinces are peopled mostly by non-Christians who are less progressive than the rest of the Filipinos from the'intellectual and economic viewpoints. The special provinces do not come under the general provincial law but are governed by different provisions. The form of government of a regular and special province is substantially the same, the only main difference being that in the latter there is more centralization in point of administrative control because some of the officials are appointive and because they are, to some extent, dependent for funds upon the Insular Government. The policy of the government is to convert the special provinces into regular provinces as soon as it is found that they could be more or less self-supporting and that their inhabitants are of sufficient culture to enable them to select wisely their own local officials. Provinces are also classified according to income and the classification in this respect determines the scale of salaries of provincial officials. Each province, whether regular or special, is a public corporation with the usual powers and liabilities of such a body and in this respect it is similar to a county in America. In

POLITICAL SECTION 99 some respects, however, its relation to the central government is analogous to that of a state to the Federal Government. The chief officials of the province are the provincial governor, the provincial treasurer and the members of the provincial board. The governor is the chief executive of the province. He is elected by popular vote for a term of three years except in the special provinces of Cotabato, Lanao, Sulu, Mountain Province and Bukidnon wherein the provincial governor is appointed by the Governor-General with the advice and consent of the Philippine Senate. In the remaining special provinces of Agusan, Davao, Nueva Vizcaya and Zamboanga the provincial governors are elected by popular vote as in the regular provinces. The treasurer is the chief financial officer of the province. The provincial board, which is a legislative and administrative body, consists of three members including the governor who acts as the chairman. In the regular provinces all the members of this body are elected by the direct vote of the people. In the special provinces the provincial treasurer, who holds his office by appointment, still retains his membership in the board. The other member of the board in the special provinces, called the "third member" is elected by popular vote in the case of Agusan, Zamboanga, Davao and Nueva Vizcaya and by the vice-presidents and councilors of municipalities and municipal districts in the case of other special provinces. In the special province of Sulu the treasurer is also the secretary of the provincial board and his official designation is "Secretary-Treasurer." The board exercises administrative supervision over the governments of the municipalities of the province and their officers; and in matters of legislation it acts under express grants of powers. Other provincial officers, most of whom are under Insular control and are appointed in both kinds of provinces, are the provincial fiscal, who is the law officer of the province, the assessor, the division superintendent of schools, the provincial auditor, the provincial commander of Constabulary, the district engineer, the district health officer, the clerk of court, the sheriff, the warden of the provincial jail and the register of deeds. If a province comprises a judicial district, it also has a judge of first instance of its own.

100 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS There are two subprovinces now-Siquijor and Catanduanes. These are political subdivisions of the regular provinces of Oriental Negros and Albay, respectively. Subprovinces exist as such because their funds are not enough with which to maintain an independent provincial government and because they are so situated in relation to their mother provinces that the post of a deputy governor is necessary for the proper administration of the affairs of the subprovinces. In each of these subprovinces there is a lieutenant-governor elected by the direct vote of the people of the subprovince. The lieut- enant-governor of the subprovince of Catanduanes constitutes a fourth member of the provincial board of Albay with power to vote in such matters only as related to the subprovince. In the subprovince of Siquijor, besides the lieutenant-governor, a member to represent the interests of the subprovince in the provincial board of Oriental Negros is elected. This member also takes the place and performs the duties of the lieutenantgovernor in case of the absence, suspension, or other temporary incapacity of the same. In this connection, I may mention the fact that the Legislature in its last session approved a bill organizing the subprovince of Catanduanes into a separate and independent province but it was vetoed by the GovernorGeneral. The standard type of local units for the purposes of local government is the municipality of which there are 908. They are divided into five classes according to the income. Until 1925, the classification was based on population but it was changed because of the belief that classification according to income furnishes an incentive for municipal officials to increase the income of the municipality. Each municipality consists generally of a poblacion, which is the seat of local government, with a number of barrios or outlying wards. The governing body in the municipality is the municipal council, its members varying in number from four to eight according to the class of the municipality. The members, as well as the municipal president, are all elected by popular vote in the regular provinces. The vice-presidents, and, with a few exceptions, the municipal presidents in all the special

POLITICAL SECTION 101 provinces are elected by direct vote of the people. The municipal councilors in these provinces are chosen by the qualified electors of their respective barrios. There is a municipal treasurer in each municipality whose appointment and discipline are governed by the civil service law and regulations. The president is the chief executive of the municipality. He presides at meetings of the council and has the power of veto. The vice-president is ex-officio member of the council and takes the place of the president in the latter's absence or disability. Each councilor, besides performing his regular legislative duties as a member of the council, is given charge of a barrio or ward and he acts as the special representative of the people of his ward in the council, although he is elected at large. He is empowered by law to appoint a lieutenant of barrio who acts under his immediate supervision and assists him in the performance of his duties in the barrio. The other officials in the municipality are the justice of the peace, the local health officer and the municipal secretary, who is the recorder and clerk of the council and of the president and the custodian of municipal records. Municipal councilors receive no salary, but in the regular provinces the municipal council may, with the approval of the Provincial Board and the Secretary of the Interior, grant to the vice-president and each councilor a per diem not to exceed two pesos for each day of regular session of the council actually attended by them. The barrio lieutenants and their substitutes receive no salary but they are exempt from the payment of cedula tax while holding office as such. The rest of municipal officials get regular compensation. A police force is maintained in each municipality upon which devolves the preservation of peace and order. The municipalities have the power to pass ordinances on a great variety of subjects. They have police and tax powers, the power to borrow money, to appropriate and expend funds, to enter into contracts, to conduct public utilities, acquire, manage and dispose of property, and to expropriate private property for municipal public purposes. The municipal districts, whereof there are 291 in number, are local units existing mostly in special provinces. The difference between municipal districts and municipalities is one

102 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS of degree of local autonomy rather than of form of government, and this difference is due to the non-Christian element in their population which has not sufficiently advanced in culture to make it practicable to bring them under the government of regular municipalities. The outlook for them is their eventual organization into regular municipalities, as the revenues and political enlightenment of the mass of the people increase. The cities existing under special charters granted by the Legislature are Manila and Baguio. In Manila the government is vested in the Mayor, who is the chief executive of the City, and the Municipal Board, which is the legislative body of the City, consisting of ten members elected at large. There are six departments: Engineering and Public Works, Police, Law, Fire, Assessment, and Finance. The government of the City of Baguio is vested in a mayor, a vice-mayor (both appointed by the Governor-General), and a city council. The Council, unlike that of the city of Manila, is composed of the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and three other members-two elected by the voters of the City and one appointed by the Governor-General. Aside from the City Council, there is also an advisory council of five members chosen from among the Igorot inhabitants who compose 20 per cent of the entire population of the City. There are five departments; namely, Engineering, Law, Health, Police, and Finance. Since September 1, 1907, when Baguio Was formally organized into a chartered city, it has always been the policy to appoint a technical man to act as mayor and city engineer. The city government of Baguio is the nearest approach that we have to the City Manager Plan. It should be noted that there is only one form of government for all the regular municipalities. The same thing may be said of the municipal districts and of the provinces. The. two cities of Manila and Baguio are governed by separate charters, but their forms of government are not much different 4 from each other. In the Philippines, we do not have the diversity of local governments such as is found in the United States. A knowledge of the government of one municipality is a knowledge of the system for all municipalities. Until

POLITICAL SECTION 103 now, there has not been any movement to follow the exam-, pies of American cities which have abandoned the mayor-: council form of government and adopted either the Commission Plan or the City Manager Plan. The reforms so far introduced have for their main objective the improvement of the existing system. Changes are being introduced slowly but progressively. The present system has proved adequate to take care of the activities of our municipalities at present. The system as it is now is comparatively'simple, and so long as it answers the needs of our local units, it would not be wise to make radical changes. Most of the activities of our provinces and municipalities are undertaken pursuant to the requirements of Insular laws. Thus the educational system, police, elections and assessments of property for taxation purposes are regulated, by general laws and properly so, these being matters in which' the country as a whole is vitally concerned and cannot properly be left to the municipalities to legislate upon at will. Our account of the government and administration of our provinces and municipalities will be incomplete unless we point out how far they are subjected to the supervision and control of the Central Government. Formerly, the government of provinces, chartered cities, municipalities and other political divisions were under the administrative supervision and control of the Executive Bureau which used to be immediately under, the Governor-General. By virtue of the Jones Law and Acts Nos. 2666 and 2674, these powers of supervision and control' became vested in the Secretary of the Interior and are exercised by him through the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes in the case of special provinces and the municipal units under them, and through the Executive Bureau in the case of the regular provinces, chartered cities and all other political divisions not being in the territory under the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. The policy of America since the implantation of her sover-* eignty in these Islands contemplates the establishment of' popular government. This was the plan indicated by President McKinley in his Instructions to the members of the Taft Commission. It was, however, a government to be set up not all at once. The policy pursued was to extend popular controls

104 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS by steps, the test for further concession being the use made of the powers already granted. It is a pleasant task to review the steps that have been taken, for they afford gratifying evidence of the rapid political advancement that has been made. Leaving aside the movements in the Insular branch and con- fining our discussion to provincial and municipal governments, we find that in the early days of American occupation, after the establishment of civil government here, the provincial governors were appointed by the Governor-General. In 1901, the Provincial Law was enacted; and in pursuance thereof, the office of provincial governor was made elective in the majority of provinces, not however, by popular vote as it is today, but by the vote of the councilors and vice-presidents of municipalities within the province. In 1907, the year when the Philippine Assembly was constituted, this method of electing provincial governor was changed, and the choice was left entirely to the people. The provincial board, which (as we have seen) is the legislative body of a province as originally constituted prior to 1907, was formed by the provincial governor, elected in the manner explained above, and two appointive members, one of whom was the supervisor and the other the provincial treasurer. Both of these officials were appointed by the GovernorGeneral. This composition of the board was changed by eliminating the supervisor, substituting a third member elected by the people in his stead, but allowing, however, the provincial governor and the appointive provincial treasurer to retain their membership on the board. This change was effected in order to impose upon the provincial governor and the third member, both Filipinos, the burden of responsibility in the government of the province and thereby to enable them to prove their capacity for local self-government. The rest proved successful; and in 1915 the provincial treasurer, the only remaining appointive member, ceased to be a member of the provincial board and was replaced by a new member appointed 4 by the Governor-General and chosen from among the municipal presidents. Inasmuch as municipal presidents are elected by popular vote, the change effected was undoubtedly to extend popular control in the administration of provincial

POLITICAL SECTION 105 affairs. In 1916, popular control was further extended when a law was passed providing that the two members of the provincial board, in addition to the provincial governor, shall all be elected by the people. No less important to note is the policy which the Government has pursued as regards the subprovinces, the especially organized provinces, the townships and settlements, and the former Department of Mindanao and Sulu. As has been explained elsewhere, the subprovinces are but political subdivisions in the regular provinces, governed by a lieutenant-governor who acts as the provincial governor's deputy. Formerly, this official was appointed by the Governor-General, but this method of selection did not last long as the office was later made elective. Not satisfied with this concession, the inhabitants of the subprovinces clamored for the organization of their territories into regular provinces. The Legislature, however, was slow in granting this request as it is the policy of the Government not to authorize the creation of new or higher political organizations unless the economic and social conditions of the regions concerned warrant such action. Slowly and gradually the change came, and today there are but two such subprovinces out of six that were in 1913. In carrying out the policy of extending popular control, the especially organized provinces were not disregarded. The third members of the provincial boards of Mindoro, Palawan, and the Batanes were made elective in 1915. In 1916, the superintendent of schools was eliminated as a member of the provincial board of Nueva Vizcaya and an elective member took his place. In 1917, the industrial supervisor in the Mountain Province ceased to be a member of the provincial board and an elective member was authorized instead. Later on, the office of provincial governor of Mindoro, Palawan, and the Batanes was made elective; and, finally, the special province of Mindoro was converted into a regular province. The term Moro Province still sounds familiar to us. It was a province which included nearly all of the Island of Mindanao and its adjacent islands where the Moros, a people professing the Mohammedan religion, dwell. Because of the existence of these Moros, whose civilization differs from that

106 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS of their Christian brethren, the province was accorded special government treatment. For more than a decade, it was governed by a quasi-military government, the governorship and the subordinate civil offices being held by American army officers. In 1913, steps were taken to reorganize the government of that province with a view to turning it over to the control of civil authorities. Before that year ended, a law was enacted which converted the Moro province into what was known as the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, and a civil governor was placed at its head. In 1920, this Department was abolished as a special political division, and control was transferred to the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. In the general elections of June, 1928, the governors and third members of the provincial board of special provinces under this former Department —namely, Zamboanga, Davao, and Agusan —were elected by popular vote. Until 1919, there were in existence what were called townships and settlements which were found mostly in the special provinces. These subdivisions used to constitute distinct types of local government organizations and were designed especially for the non-Christian inhabitants who formed the bulk of their population. For the sake of uniformity and in view of the progress attained by their inhabitants, they were abolished and were either organized into municipal districts or municipalities in accordance with the general Municipal Law, or were fused with one another to form a municipality or were annexed to a municipality. The steps proved to be patently progressive and has contributed to the rapid advancement of the regions affected, politically and socially. All these changes briefly described constitute tangible evid- 4 ence of the progress achieved towards the extension of popular control. As the important provincial and municipal offices are now elective, well-nigh the entire work of the provincial and municipal governments is being conducted by Filipino officials elected by popular vote. 4 Our municipalities and provinces, however, are autonomous not only because the choice of their officials is left entirely in the hands of the people, but also because of the powers conferred upon them by law, and of the benign and enlightened

POLITICAL SECTION 107 policy which the Central Government has adopted towards them. The judiciary is not behind the other departments of the government in respecting local autonomy. In our jurisprudence we frequently find judicial pronouncements guarantying the inviolability of municipal powers. For example, in the recent case of Gabriel vs. Provincial Board of Pampanga (50 Phil. 686) the Supreme Court in a very strong language declared that the local autonomy granted municipal corporations in the Philippines must be protected from high-handed usurpation of strictly local powers. Like the American cities, our municipalities have their powers enumerated by law and the canons of construction familiar to American lawyers and judges are applied by our courts. The subjects on which a municipal council under the present laws can legislate cover indeed such a wide range that it will be tedious to enumerate them all in this discussion. Suffice it to say that in matters of purely local concern, our municipal corporations have full power to act. In regard to the expenditure of money, for instance, each municipal council is authorized to make appropriations for all municipal requirements, subject only to the approval of the provincial treasurer. If any appropriation or item therein is disapproved by the provincial treasurer, the municipal council is authorized to appeal to the provincial board, whose decision is final. There is nothing in the law which provides for the intervention of the Central Government in that matter. It is true that the provincial board is authorized by law to examine and annul any ordinances and resolutions of a municipal council; and that if the council is dissatisfied with the action of the board, appeal may be made to the Chief of the Executive Bureau who will either affirm or reverse the action of the board. However, it is to be noted that the law does not authorize the provincial board to disapprove, in its discretion, the ordinances and resolutions of a municipal council,, but to disapprove only such of them as are beyond the powers conferred upon the council. In other words, in the examination of municipal ordinances, the inquiry of the provincial board must only be whether or not there is any law that expressly or impliedly authorizes the municipal council to pass

108 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS such ordinances. If there is, they cannot be disapproved. Therefore, as long as a municipality confines itself within the province of its legal powers, it is absolutely free and independent; and neither the provincial board nor the Executive Bureau is authorized to intervene. The possibility that the. provincial board will abuse its authority in acting upon municipal ordinances and resolutions submitted to it, is further reduced by the intervention of the provincial fiscal who, according to law, is the legal adviser of the provincial and municipal governments and their officers. Ordinarily, the provincial board before passing upon the legality of a municipal ordinance or resolution refers the same to the provincial fiscal for opinion, and almost invariably the provincial board acts in accordance with the views of the fiscal. It should be observed, in this connection, that even without any express provision of law to that effect, a judicial tribunal may and will declare void any ordinance of a municipal council for whose adoption there is no statutory authority, whenever the validity of such an ordinance is involved in a case before such a tribunal. Our present law, therefore, does nothing more than to provide a more expeditious and less expensive way of having the illegal ordinances of a municipal council annulled. The people are assured of the validity of ordinances without resorting to the courts or spending their time and money in litigations unless of course they so desire. While municipalities have great powers with reference to local affairs, the Insular authorities, however, exact from such governmental entities definite responsibility for all administrative acts and judge the efficiency of municipal officials by the results. They hold the local governments to business-like methods and to the standards of promptness and efficiency. It may generally be stated that the surveillance now exercised is advantageous rather than prejudicial and has proved to be a wholesome preventive of lax and irregular methods. When in 1921 the Wood-Forbes Mission came to the Phil- 4 ippines to investigate conditions here, it was the privilege of the Philippine Columbian Association-whose members are mostly young men educated in the United States and abroadto entertain the members thereof. The Philippine Question

POLITICAL SECTION 109 was freely discussed and suggestion incidentally made by one of the club mefnbers that the stability of the Philippine Government might well be founded upon the successful administration of our local governments by Filipino officials. And the question would have been: Have they really succeeded? The same question may now be asked. Our provinces and municipalities asseverate that, tested by their accomplishments during the last three decades, their ability to conduct and maintain a responsible and creditable government can not be challenged. The mere fact that both during the life of the Philippine Commission and later with the cooperation of the direct representatives of the Filipino peoplethe Philippine Assembly and still later under the Jones Law, with the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives constituting the legislative agency of the nation, laws have been enacted extending popular control, is evidence that the Filipinos are not only eager, but ready to assume, and in fact have successfully assumed, the responsibilities so far made to devolve on them. Our local units point with pride to the fact that peace and public order prevail within their confines, and even in the region of the once dreaded Moros, the inhabitants live peacefully and are loyal to the constituted authorities. Despite the sporadic disturbances provoked by the retentionist elements in Mindanao during the Wood administration, to demonstrate the supposed traditional antagonism between the Moros and the Christian Filipinos, it can be affirmed that peace prevailed during the period although perhaps not in the same degree as during the administration of Governor-General Harrison. Governor-General Wood himself, in spite of his uncompromising antiindependence attitude, could not but acknowledge the excellent condition of public order in his official messages. The following excerpt is quoted from his message to the members of the Sixth Philippine Legislature, delivered on October 27, 1922: "I also congratulate you on the excellent condition of public order throughout the Archipelago. Life and property have been safe and the conduct of the people characterized by respect for the law."

110 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS If the ability to maintain a stable government is to be tested by the use made of the ballot, then our provinces and municipalities can with pride aver that such a government now exists. The election of provincial and municipal officials and, in fact, of all officials, though bitterly contested, has always been characterized by orderliness; and the people's will has been given full and untramelled expression. Let America's highest representative speak! Shortly after the election in 1919, Acting Governor-General Charles Emmet Yeater issued the following significant statement to the press: "By taking the election as a whole, I consider it entirely creditable to the Philippine people; and I believe that no shortcomings or improper conduct in receiving the votes will exceed those ordinarily committed in other countries." Referring to the elections of 1919, the Wood-Forbes report said: "Interest in the elections was widespread and election day passed without any serious disturbances. 'There was a general, quiet acceptance by the minority of the results of the popular vote." Immediately after the 1922 elections, I reported to the Governor-General as follows: "Now that the elections are over, permit me to report to you that in the provinces and in the Cities of Manila and Baguio, the general elections were held in an orderly manner with due regard to the law and the officials charged with the duty of its administration and enforcement. While a few isolated cases of personal violence 6 might have occurred in the heat of political excitement, yet taking the elections as a whole, the people exercised the important political right of suffrage in a manner creditable to themselves and their country. The circulars and instructions issued both by this department and the Exec- utive Bureau were generally observed; and while at times we had to deal rather severely with a few provincial and municipal officials, these officials later showed an attitude of respect and regard for the orders which emanated from the Central Government."

POLITICAL SECTION 111 Referring to the elections of 1922, Governor-General Wood, in his message to the members of the Sixth Philippine Legislature said: "I congratulate you, and through you the Filipino people, on the orderly and lawful conduct of the recent elections, which, notwithstanding the keenness of the struggle and the appearance of a strong new party in the field, were conducted with due regard to the rights of the candidates and with an absence of fraud and irregularity which would be a credit to any people. "The will of the people was given full and free expression and the election was honest and fair." In this message to the Philippine Legislature in 1925, Governor-General Wood, commenting upon the conduct of the general election which took place that year, said that that election was carried out peacefully and orderly. In 1928, Governor-General Stimson said in his message to the Philippine Legislature: "The country has passed through a general election with most commendable freedom from disorder. * * *." The number of qualified voters has steadily increased. In the elections for 1912, there were 248,154 registered voters; in 1922 there were 824,058. In 1925, the number reached almost a million, and in 1928 it increased to almost one million three hundred thousand. In the 1928 general elections only 18 per cent of the registered voters failed to vote actually. This shows that the indifference on the part of Philippine voters to the election of public officials is far less than that of many places in the United States and other countries. The problem of non-voting which baffles students of politics in other supposedly more advanced countries, is practically absent in the Philippine elections. National parties have their ramifications in the localities and make their influence felt therein. Local parties, naturally enough, also spring up. But partisan politics in municipal elections is generally absent. The officials that have been elected, whether provincial or municipal, are in the main leading and representative men of the community and are animated by enthusiasm for the public service. Although the municipal councilors receive no compensation, except the per diem of P2.00 which the municipal council may grant with

112 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS the approval of the provincial board and the Department of the Interior, the office of councilor nevertheless is eagerly sought and the men elected are only too willing to make the sacrifice. It is, indeed, gratifying to note that a large number of local officials, elevated to power by popular will, have shown character and civic virtue. But it is not only in the maintenance of public order and in the conduct of honest elections that the provinces and municipalities have succeeded. They have also made and are making rapid material progress. They have achieved no less creditably in the administration of their finances. The average annual increase in revenues during the last ten years (1919-1928), has been 27 per cent as to provincial revenues and 24 per cent as to municipal revenues. This increase in the local revenues collected is due partly to the improvement in the property assessment for taxation purposes and partly to the increase in the value of real property brought about by the existence of a stable and efficient government. The assessed value of real property subject to taxation during the period from 1924 to 1928 shows an increase of 13.3 per cent. It being understood that the real property tax is based on the assessed value of real property subject to taxation, the proportion of increase in the assessed value of real property should represent the increase in collection taxes thereon. Provincial and municipal governments have long adopted the budget system to provide for economy and certainty of expenditure. There is in operation a uniform accounting system by which honesty and efficiency in administration may be established and dishonesty and inefficiency readily detected. Provincial and municipal officials have shown admirable devotion to duty. Every year they hold their conventions wherein they discuss practical problems which they have to face, exchange recitals of experiences, and recommend the passage of laws that will develop and strengthen the local communities. A most exalted enthusiasm has been displayed throughout the provinces and municipalities in the realization of public improvements. Practically all the available resources of the

POLITICAL SECTION 113 provinces and municipalities, after the payment of administrative expenses, have been and are being devoted to this purpose. First-class roads and trails are now winding their way through every region. Over those highways motor transportation is developing to an enormous extent. Concrete and steel bridges have multiplied in number. The sanitary condition of the provinces and municipalities has improved considerably and provincial hospitals and dispensaries are increasing in number. To provide adequate hospital facilities within the reach of the population of each province, the Philippine Legislature several years ago enacted a law appropriating the sum of one million pesos and is disposed to approve more appropriation for this purpose. Throughout the Islands, there are Women's Clubs and other similar organizations campaigning vigorously for more healthful surroundings and for reduction of infant mortality. Trained nurses are now employed by provinces and municipalities to do intensive practical work, as by examining pupils in schools and visiting them in their homes. From the year 1904, when the first artesian well was bored, until the close of the year 1929, a total of 2,117 artesian wells have been drilled; and these have been supplying excellent water tb the inhabitants. Twenty years ago, Manila was the only city in the Islands that could boast of modern waterworks and electric light systems. At the close of 1929, one hundred and ninety-six systems were completed in other municipalities and many more projects have been begun and are now under construction. Up to the end of 1926, electric light plants had been installed in 80 municipalities, and applications to operate more plants are steadily increasing in number. Within the last ten years, 1,608 public buildings of the most enduring type were erected, including schools, municipal markets, hospitals, provincial capitols, and jails. Schoolhouses are found everywhere. They stand as the most enduring monuments of Filipino love for education and of America's altruistic policy in these Islands. As a rule, the financial resources of the provinces and municipalities have permitted them to carry on the construction and repair of schoolbuildings; but when there is a dearth of funds, the people

114 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS have shown commendable spirit by voluntarily contributing money, material, and labor. The schools today are filled to their utmost capacity and there are-according to the last official report —,163,039 children attending. This number does not include the almost one hundred thousand students in private schools. The schools provide not only instruction to the children in academic and industrial subjects, but also give the municipalities adequate playgrounds. There is no municipality of importance today in which there is not a well-cared playground for the children to use. But the schools have given more than these bounties. They are giving the country a common language. It is no exaggeration to say that now wellnigh all provincial boards and municipal councils have adopted and are using the English language with success. Until 1928, the municipalities were in need of authority with which to enable them to obtain more funds to satisfy their needs and help their further development. The remedy in my opinion was not to grant the municipalities a greater participation in the internal revenue taxes as was suggested by some of the local papers and some friends of mine. The internal revenue taxes are collected primarily for the Insular Government. It is true that the local governments help in their collection but this does not mean that this revenue should be converted into local funds for our municipalities, nor does it give the municipalities a right to share in the same. I do not advocate an autonomy for our local governments which will hamper the powers that the Insular Government ought to possess. When I advocate more autonomy for our provinces and municipalities, I advocate an autonomy compatible with the highest interests of the entire nation or of the Insular Government. I must say that personally I prefer an arrangement whereby there is a central government, efficient and capable to take care of the general needs of the country even with local governments impotent and without autonomy or anything to a scheme under which the central government is impotent and anemic, incapable to meet the more important problems of the nation but with local governments enjoying complete autonomy and freedom from higher interference as the cities of the

POLITICAL SECTION 115 ancient and mediaeval times, like Athens, Rome, Venice, Bremen, etc. The approval by the Philippine Legislature in 1927 of Act No. 3422 granting more fiscal power to our municipalities is timely and expedient. There was some opposition to the approval of that measure while it was under consideration. The. different chambers of' commerce in the Philippines saw in the fiscal autonomy of our municipalities the danger of its being misused, not to say, abused. This attitude of business men is explained'if we consider the fact that in the very personnel of the Legislature there were men who, in spite of being animated by a desire to broaden more and more the powers of our municipalities, entertained serious doubts as to whether the time has come to bestow upon the municipalities general authority in matters of taxation. This was the reason why it took two years for the Legislature to enact finally the bill which was to become Act No. 3422. Acting Governor-General Gilmore himself seriously doubted whether that bill should have been approved. Apparently he did not question the liberality of its provisions but he doubted the expediency of changing and undermining completely the fundamental basis on which rests the system of local governments introduced here by the Americans. He said rightly that the system of local government in America and in the Philippines is based on enumeration-of-powers theory, municipal entities being political creatures of the State, existing to help it in the administration of public affairs, especially in communities far from the paternalistic gaze of the central government, and authorized to enjoy only such powers as are expressly or impliedly granted. Act No. 3422 is a departure from this theory, since it grants general authority to the municipalities to levy taxes with certain specified limitations:' so that under it the municipalities can exercise a power which even though not expressly or impliedly conferred, is not prohibited. It is, however, in consonance with the policy adhered to from the time of President McKinley to give the greatest possible authority to our local governments in so far as local affairs are concerned. The original plan was to confer even a greater authority to our municipalities than that contemplated in this new law.

116 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS But, it being necessary to subordinate the local needs or even the municipal autonomy to the supreme interests of the nation, it was decided to conform to the idea of specifying only the restrictions with respect to matters which should be the subject of national taxation. As already said, a national govern- ment, strong and vigorous, without municipal autonomy, is preferable to a national government, anemic and weak, with municipal autonomy. And to make effective the power of supervision which devolves upon and should be exercised by the central government, especially when the local governments invade the sphere of action which belongs to it, the new law requires the approval of the Secretaries of the Interior and Finance whenever the rates of municipal taxes fixed by a municipality exceeds 50 per cent of the rates of fixed internal revenue privilege taxes regularly imposed by the Insular Government upon the same business or occupation, with some exceptions. The municipalities may impose municipal taxes according to this law on certain specified business or persons engaged in them without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Finance if the tax in each case does not exceed the amount of P25.00 and with the approval of said secretaries in case the amount exceeds said limit. It is to be observed that the object of Act No. 3422 is to broaden the authority of municipal councils in matters of local taxation. Thus, the law preserves intact the powers already possessed by the municipalities at the time of the approval of said law as regard other matters, such as the imposition of license taxes without any limitation on cockpits, cockfighting, hotels, restaurants, cafes and refreshment parlors, theaters, cinematographs, etc. One of the advantages derived from this new law is that the municipalities can resort to special assessment, if to do so is necessary in undertaking local permanent improvements. The real property tax is a matter which is at present being studied by the Legislature. It is not to be expected that the Legislature will approve a law which will directly increase the rates of real property taxes. That power should be given to the municipalities, the Insular Legislature confining itself to the fixing of the minimum and maximum rates, within which

POLITICAL SECTION 117 limits the local governments can fix the rate which to them may seem convenient. It is not possible to grant absolute and complete autonomy to our municipalities. It is an illusion to think of this, if we bear in mind the fact that these municipalities are public corporations created by the State, and it is absurd to think that a municipality' can be set up in the position of an imperium in imperio. The municipality, even if it So desires, cannot completely emancipate itself from the control of the central government. An autonomy, partial, sound and constructive, is the most that it can aspire for. It is enough that our municipalities could, without unnecessary restrictions, develop themselves and perform effectively the part assigned to them in the great and common task of promoting the general welfare and prosperity of the entire nation. From what has been said it will be seen that vast conquests have been made in the direction of stabilizing our local institutions and extending popular control over them. And if we examine the laws approved by the Philippine Legislature, we will see reflected in them the policy followed by that body until now. Much remains to be done. But to a person who will take the trouble to make his own observations, ample opportunity is afforded for accurate judgment of what has been accomplished. Indeed, if the stability of the Philippine Government is to be judged by what the local political units have. achieved and by the condition of public order prevailing therein, then it follows that we do have in these Islands today a stable government,-a degree of stability that finds seemingly partial but concrete expression in the progress' made in local self-government, in the maintenance of law and order, and in the abiding faith of the people in their capacity and vast potentialities. No 'that we have surveyed briefly the origin, history and present organization of our provincial and municipal governments, we are ina better position to consider the problems that will present themselves in this 'connection in the event that independence is granted us. I shall begin by' saying- that in

1 18 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS my opinion the present system does not manifest serious fundamental defects, and it is fairly adequate to enable honest men to manage properly the affairs of our provinces and municipalities as they are now. Under present conditions, there is no imperative necessity to advocate and carry out radical changes. Then there is no denying the fact that we have had sufficient training in the art of local self-government, and judged by our experience during the last thirty years of American occupation, it will not be too presumptuous to believe that when it comes to provincial and municipal administration we are already out of danger. Our people at this moment are sufficiently enlightened in respect to the working of local institutions, and there is no fear that we will be thrown back to the point where we started at the beginning of the introduction of the system of autonomous local government in the Islands. In other words, I believe we have already passed the period of apprenticeship and that we are sufficiently prepared to steer our local governments with an expectation of reasonable safety for the people. When our much-coveted political emancipation supervenes, naturally there will be need of readjustment in many ways. and undoubtedly we will have to turn our-attention, among other things, to the field of municipal government. For, independent political status will give rise to problems with which we are not confronted today, problems which will call for satisfactory solution in order to preserve and maintain the equilibrium of the different organs of our governmental scheme. At the outset, the problem will be whether the existing system fits into the general scheme of an independent government, recognizing the fact that each of our local units is a vital part 4 of the entire governmental machinery. Ordinarily, a nation which has just gained its freedom from foreign control emphasizes centralization in government and subjects the local units to a more rigorous control, the idea being to forestall anything which might weaken the national structure. This we will do if necessary. But if our local units would continue to be in the same peaceful condition as they are now, there would be no immediate necessity of changing the present system of their government; it would be sufficient to introduce gradually such

POLITICAL SECTION, 119 reforms as the growth of population and municipal activities may require. In matters of execution of laws and maintenance of peace and public order, and in all matters connected with the maintenance of the sovereign authority of the future Philippine Republic, we should be constantly on the lookout, and should centralization in such matters be demanded by circumstances for the protection of our national safety, we should be ready to sacrifice even local autonomy. Local authorities should have no reason to resent that sort of paternalism, because following the grant of independence our main concern will be to prevent the central government from falling into pieces. We cannot afford to allow the central government to be hampered and crippled at every turn, because that may lead to disintegration and disunion. I am not predicting any serious obstacle to the maintenance of a stable independent government by the Filipino, but I am only emphasizing the fact that in case of need we should be ready to adopt measures that will protect our national safety even at the expense of local autonomy. A state that cannot maintain order within its confines is not worth the name and has no reason to exist further. It is, of course, absurd to think that we have attained perfection in the government and administration of our provinces and municipalities, or that the existing system could forever continue unmodified. The increase of population and municipal activities will necessitate gradual modification of our administrative machinery. Whether we like it or not, we will have to recognize the business aspect of municipal government. The experience of American cities has shown that the government of an urban center has two main aspects-government and business. Many years ago Judge Dillon said, "A city is not so much a miniature state as it is a business corporation." This conclusion might be rather overdrawn, and it is dangerous to press too far the analogy between a business organization and a municipality or city. But the fact remains that business methods cannot be ignored in municipal operations. Our present system hardly recognizes the business aspect of municipal government. In the United States the latest result of municipal experimentation is the City Manager Plan, which allows the employment of an expert as the head of a city's

120 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS administrative organization. It is an admitted fact that the success of any business enterprise is due to the employment of experts. I shall not undertake to describe in detail the City Manager Plan; it will be unprofitable to do so on this occasion. Suffice it to say that under this plan there is an elective council which appoints a manager who holds office at the pleasure of the council, appoints the heads of different departments of the city, supervises the work of said departments, and stands responsible to the council for the successful management of the city's business. Ordinarily, the man appointed as manager is one eminently qualified by training and experience to direct the people's affairs. I believe the City Manager Plan has already passed the experimental stage, and because it has proved successful in the United States, it will be worth our, while to give it a trial in the Philippines. It must be remembered that popular election cannot furnish the guarantee that the person elected to head the administrative machinery of a municipality is an expert administrator. The president-and-council type of municipal government which we now have makes difficult the fixing of responsibility for the misgovernment of a town. The municipal president, who has supervisory control over the administrative affairs of the municipality, being elected by the people, is supposed to be directly responsible to the people, among whom "everybody's business is nobody's business." Under the City Manager Plan, the manager is responsible to the council and the council to the people. The plan draws the distinction between the functions of representation and administration, does away with the friction between the elective municipal chief executive and the council, and enables the people to fix responsibility for many anomalies in the administration. It is not improbable that local autonomy will pave the way for agitation in the future for an arrangement that will allow direct control of municipal government by the people. In many cities of the United States, this control is provided for by means of the INITIATIVE, the REFERENDUM, and the RECALL. Although these instruments of popular control are in accord with the spirit of a democratic government, nevertheless it should be remembered that they do not provide absolute guarantee against official irresponsibility. Democra

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

122 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS as to hamper useful industries and other economic activities. This is no time to discuss exhaustibly the changes that we should adopt in our financial system; the matter should be made the subject of a separate study by competent persons. I do not believe there will be serious opposition to the idea of increasing taxation here, if that is necessary for the main- tenance of an independent government. We should be willing to pay the price of liberty. Of course, in working out our financial program for the provinces and municipalities, we should at the same time study the ways and means by which the expenses of the governments of these political subdivisions could be reduced to the minimum without, however, hampering public business. It is possible that we could bring down administrative expenses of our provincial and municipal governments by the reduction of their personnel. The next speaker was the Honorable Jose Abad Santos, Secretary of Justice. Secretary Santos, in a very notable address, made the acute observation that the impartial and speedy administration of justice is an indispensable requisite to political stability, because of the sense of security and confidence it gives to citizens and resident aliens alike. He gave the political section of the Independence Congress a complete comparative study of the different judiciary systems existing in many parts of the United States and America, warning his audience that his purpose is for them to choose that which best suits the needs of the country. He also stated that it was his idea to prepare the minds of the people on this question so that when the time comes to solve it, they could solve it intelligently. Before going deeply into the differences found in the judiciary system of many countries, Secretary Santos pointed out the importance of the separation of powers of the three branches of the United States gov

POLITICAL SECTION 123 ernment, but at the same time compared it with the English system of parliamentary government. Honorable Honorio Ventura was the last speaker in the first session of the Political Section. He read the following paper: THE KEEPING OF LAW AND ORDER IN OUR MUNICIPALITIES By the HON. HONORIO VENTURA, Secretary, Department of the Interior. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: In studying and considering the elements whose mission it is in all nations in general and in the Philippine Islands in particular to maintain the public order, it is necessary, before and above all, to determine what constitutes the public order. This has not yet been definitively agreed upon by the authors on the subject, because while some say that there is no act in the life of the citizen which has not a bearing upon good order, others, especially the modern writers, confound the public order with the public tranquillity and affirm that the tranquil life of the population, following its habitual occupations without let or hindrance and without any danger threatening its individuals, constitutes the public order. This is to take the effect for the cause, because that tranquillity does not constitute the public order but is its result. We consider as more adequate to the peculiar circumstances of the Philippines the definition of a Spanish author according to which the public order consists in each element of society occupying its proper place, or exercising the functions incumbent upon it by virtue of natural and positive law, and, hence, in the several individuals and social groups each occupying its proper station and performing its duties and exercising its rights in accordance with existing law. From this, one understands that public order is the foundation of all social and political organization and consequently of every nation-or country. Where there is no public order there

124 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS can be no right and no security of life and property, hence there is no tranquillity and social peace and the people are at the mercy of the mightiest. The causes of disturbances of the public order are many and varied in all parts of the world. Such are unjust laws, corrup- tion of the government or its officials, who fail to perform their duty of properly directing the collective or national life and of protecting the rights of the governed, especially those of peacefully assembling and petitioning, and the individual interests. It must not be forgotten that disturbances, insurrections, and revolutions, which are the immediate causes of the disturbance of the public order, are the effects of other original causes, such as despotism, injustice, excessive taxation, the exploitation of the poor rrasses'by the favored classes, corruption in the administration of justice; in short, incompetency on the part of those in authority to promote the public welfare on the basis of justice and right. There was not a little of this in the old times in our country, and if we consider the tenacious resistance offered by various elements of the population distributed throughout the vast extent of the Archipelago, on islands and in sections cut off from each other by the sea or mountain fastnesses, we shall realize that the maintenance of public order in these Islands presented many and great difficulties. That resistance, which was passive in some sections for centuries, was constantly active as regards the acknowledgment of the authority of Spain on the part of the Mohammedan Filipinos inhabiting Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, and islands adjacent to Mindanao and Sulu. The piratical raids of the Moros in the territory inhabited by the Filipinos who recognized the sovereignty of Spain and accepted the new civilization brought by it, were really one of the greatest obstacles to the material and moral progress of the Christian communities of the Philippines for over two centuries, because these Moslems were powerful enemies which the Christians who made up the principal mass of the population and were the nucleus around which the Philippine nation was forming, had to combat in order that the public order might be maintained: The history of those heroic days in which the Filipinos who resolutely opposed foreign dominion'

POLITICAL SECTION 125 and those who accepted the Spanish sovereignty and the new civilization fought with each other, is a record of numerous deeds of daring on both sides. The marina sutil, with its thousands of vintas and other craft, generally commanded and manned by natives, constituted an effective instrument of the public order for the prevention and suppression of these raids. In the territory under the sovereignty of Spain, the elements disturbing the public order were the Christian inhabitants who abandoned the life of civilization and took refuge in the mountains from the burdensome and sometimes insupportable taxes in specie and the bandalas, a procedure by which the government secured the articles and supplies required for its maintenance and operation, by compelling the inhabitants or taxpayers to furnish the government with various products of agriculture and industry at less than the current market price and paying the price after lengthy delays. This system of furnishing supplies to the government, which was justifiable at the outset of the Spanish occupation, had no reason for existing subsequently, and its continuation constituted an economic error which perpetuated itself, notwithstanding the good intentions and just disposition of the representatives of the sovereign nation in this colony. Owing to this burdensome system of taxation, there were always malcontents and rebels who often caused disturbances and restlessness. There were remontados, pagans disinclined to submit to the law and form civil communities, brigands, and cattle thieves. It can, therefore, not be denied, that all these factors of disturbance of the public order were the upshot of the administrative errors and that their action was to a certain extent political and a result of the times and of circumstances foreign to the will of the civil and Christian population which was distributed over the entire area under Spanish control, forming towns and cities which were for the region concerned shining emporiums of civilization, culture, wealth, production, and commerce, and the whole forming the nucleus of the Philippine nationality within which were grouped and united the various entities of population of the Archipelago, without excluding those who for a long time had been elements of disorder, intranquillity, and retrogression.

126 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The provincial government reform of 1844 did away with the institution of the alcalde who was at the same time a merchant, judge and soldier. The bandalas were abolished at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The specie tax survived until the middle of the century; but little by little, the evils arising from the government monopolies were being eliminated and many evils peculiar to that antiquated financial regime passed into history when the tax reform of 1884 brought about the establishment of a more equitable, practical, and progressive system of taxation. In the midst of that life full of tribulations and dangers, the public order was maintained almost exclusively by the people themselves, at the expense of the local or community funds, which does not mean, however, that the service of public security was not directed by the central government and that there was not a military force composed of all arms, made up almost entirely of native troops, for the defence of the territory. One feature peculiar to our country in the time of the Spanish rule was the secular popular institution of the bantayans, something in the nature of a night patrol formed by the taxpayers of each pueblo. These men usually mounted guard in the center of the town, at the entrance of the same, and every fifteen minutes travel on foot along the highways, in order to defend the people against raids by brigands or Moros. In one word, they maintained a service of vigilance during the night. Huts or shelters, provided with light and a bell, were erected at certain distances from each other for these guards, who were constantly on duty and gave the alarm in case of necessity. The bantayans consisted of seven or eight men who would halt all people who were passing. The former alguacil.mayor of the tribunal subsequently became the lieutenant of police, under the orders, the same as the other local officials (juez de sementeras, de ganado, etc.) of the gobernadorcillo. "All", says Buceta y Bravo (1850), "watch over the public security and it is their duty to pursue evildoers and guard the prisons." The gobernadorcillos exercised in those days the functions of alcalde and justice of the peace, having at the same time charge

POLITICAL SECTION 127 of everything concerning municipal administration, boundary disputes, palm trees, and the enforcement of the police regulations. As regards criminal actions, it was the duty of these local officials to institute the first proceedings. They also had charge of the collection of taxes and the custody of the public funds until their delivery to the alcalde mayor of the province, In the provincial capitals there was a native guard of from twenty to thirty men, armed with muskets and commanded by a sergeant whom they called lieutenant. These forces were under the immediate orders of the provincial executive or alcalde mayor. Another typical organization were the cuadrilleros. This was a corps similar to the present municipal police, armed with weapons more liable to harm him who used them than the other man. They carried blunt old sabers or machetes and sometimes a pistol or revolver that hardly had the shape of a firearm. This armament was, however, sufficient to preserve the public order and prevent many raids of brigands or cattle thieves, provided, of course, the strength of the enemy was not out of all proportion to that of the peace officers. The appearance of the Guardia Civil in these Islands was a decisive stride forward in the advancement and modernizing of the armed institutions charged with the maintenance of the public order and the prevention of all disturbances of the peace, because notwithstanding the abuses which the members of it used to commit in the country and the villages, it performed the functions entrusted to it. At the end of the Spanish regime, there existed in our country a complete, modern organization of personnel and services for the maintenance of the public order and the protection of public and private interests, because aside from the organizations engaged exclusively in this work, there was the forestry service the duty of which it was to protect the forest wealth of the Islands and the guards of which performed their duties in an efficient manner. Then there were the carabineros who guarded the ports and prevented smuggling and the defraudation of the revenues. In the capital there also existed, at the time when the Spanish sovereignty ceased, a secret police service which functioned under the civil

128 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS government of Manila, and the municipal guard the duty of which it was to enforce the city ordinances. We believe we have demonstrated that the experience of more than three centuries of Spanish government, often precarious, has accustomed the Filipinos to preserve the public order efficiently. Few peoples have had the experience that the Philippine people have had in this branch of government. Never and nowhere, perhaps, has the public order been more seriously threatened than in the Philippine Islands where, owing to these circumstances, there was a discontented people, or at least a people no longer inclined to suffer the evils incidental to a colonial government. Hence it can be affirmed, without fear of exaggerating, that there are probably few peoples more accustomed and prepared to assume the responsibilities of maintaining the public order than the people of the Philippines who, during the critical period of their national consolidation, were constantly surrounded by disturbing elements which greatly delayed the full and complete realization of national unity. The short-lived Philippine Republic was a difficult test of the exercise of the police power and the maintenance of the public order in the territory under its jurisdiction. In June, 1898, the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary troops relinquished his power to the Revolutionary Government solemnly constituted and proclaimed. Hence, before the city of Manila ever capitulated to the American army of occupation, there existed in the Philippines a public power recognized by almost the entire country, regardless of caste, religion, island, or section. The authority of the Filipino Government was not challenged anywhere but was fully established in the municipalities as the Spaniards evacuated them. Not the slightest discordant note was heard in the entire national territory. The chieftains of the pagan districts, who had for several centuries resolutely refused to recognize the Spanish sovereignty, adhered to the new national government, recognizing its authority and control. The sultans of Mindanao and Sulu presented themselves to the Government to express officially their recognition of the same and the allegiance of their subjects to the constituted authorities. The war of resistance to the new invader did not prevent the Filipino Government from exer

POLITICAL SECTION 129 cising its powers of police and public order. The Government hastened to reorganize the public services under the new constitution and establish those required by the new situation in which the Philippine people enjoyed the indispensable rights incidental to popular representative government. No time was lost in reestablishing the health service and improving it in accordance with the most advanced standards, and in restoring the postal and telegraph service and public instruction in all grades, including universitarian education. Strict orders were issued for the repair and maintenance of the highways. All forms of recreation were regulated and cockfighting was absolutely prohibited —a truly extraordinary measure as it involved a traditional national pastime. To be brief, normal conditions were reestablished in all orders of economic and political life. Of course, the Government gave preferential attention to the most important: the administration of justice. A commission of Congress was constituted into a Supreme Court and the new provincial councils were vested with the administration of justice in the first instance. The municipal administration was reorganized along the lines of the system established some years before by the so-called Maura Law, the presidents being designated justices of the peace and notaries public for the authentication oT extrajudicial documents and acts. The maintenance of the public order was left in the hands of the local organizations, continuing the tradition as to the moral influence exercised by the same upon the people. Notwithstanding the implantation of a very radical reform, namely, freedom of worship, and the differences with regard to ecclesiastic and municipal property to which this innovation gave rise, the order was not disturbed in a manner that could be considered as affecting the integrity of the new institutions. We c.n, therefore, proudly affirm that the practical experience in the exercise of the police power and the maintenance of the public order by the Philippine people, to which we have made reference, was again demonstrated and enabled the country to emerge victorious from that tremendous trial. * * *

130 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Passing on to the present epoch and administration, I believe that few, if any, persons in this audience are uninformed of the organization of the bodies or institutions whose mission it is to watch over the maintenance of the public order and prevent any disturbance of the tranquillity of the people. The official reports and existing legislation are competent sources of information on facts which proclaim to the world the collective capacity of the Philippine people as regards the safety of life and property and the maintenance of the integrity of the governmental institutions, and the competency of the people in the exercise of the powers of self-government, the result of their secular experience in the performance of the duties and responsibilities of citizenship and the procedures of public administration. The definitive establishment of civil government under the American sovereignty in all parts of the country, after an unequal struggle which became guerrilla warfare towards the end, was affected with the cooperation of the overwhelming majority of the Philippine people with the constituted government, that cooperation which has everywhere and at all times been necessary to restore normal conditions, maintain the public peace, and prevent disorders. In the beginning, however, the vestiges of the war and the colonial regime still gave trouble in certain sections, where brigandage, kept up by what we might call the embers of those two conflagrations, made its appearance. In those sections there prevailed for some time a "demoralization of the popular masses" (Report of the Philippine Commission, 1904). Then the Constabulary was organized, the services of which show clearly the cooperation.which the public powers receive from the people when the latter are entrusted with the responsibilities of self-government with the powers, rights, preeminences, and benefits attached to it. In many pueblos it was necessary during the first years of American sovereignty to require the individual and private aid of the citizens for the extirpation of brigandage and the dissolution of irresponsible groups of ignorant and fanatical people who were also vestiges of the colonial times when the responsibilities did not go hand in hand with the powers, authority, rights, privileges, and benefits attached thereto, without

POLITICAL SECTION 131 which the idea of public order according to modern standards is perverted. In certain provinces, the people's aid was unconditional, bodies of volunteers being organized who cooperated with the Constabulary in the suppression of brigandage and of the bands of fanatics and disturbers of the peace, The representative democratic government under which we are now living has made the people of the Philippines exclusively and absolutely responsible for the public order. The administration of justice, from the oral trial of a suit for a few pesos and the preliminary investigation of crimes in the pueblos, to the decision of appeals in important cases in the last instance, except cases in which the amount involved is exceptionally great or which involve the Constitution, is in the hands of the Filipinos. The public administration is vested in the various local authorities and central departments in which the natives of the Islands have almost complete authority, the government of the Philippines being an autonomous one in which the people are responsible and exercise the powers necessary and consecrated by the usage and experience of the independent or practically independent nations as far as the safety of the State is concerned. Our political and administrative code contains all the elements of responsibility and authority relating to the integrity of the public order and the enforcement of the laws by each of the elements concerned, the governing as well as the governed. The provincial governor is responsible for the public order in his province and the municipal president in his municipality, the warden in the jail, the chief of the customs guards in the custom house, each of these officers being vested with the proper authority and the ample powers assigned to him by law as indispensable for the performance of his duties. We shall not proceed to examine and analyze or describe the means and ways which we have in our country for maintaining the public order and protecting the functions of government, because everybody knows them and to pass them in review would be to tire my benevolent audience. It will be sufficient for me to state once more that our country has until now responded to all calls of duty as regards public order, obedience to the law, and respect for the rights of nationals and foreigners,

132 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS and has at all times furnished the cooperation and services necessary for the maintenance of the constituted government and required by the public welfare, not only as an element subordinate to a foreign authority or supreme power, but as a factor indispensable to national existence, with moral and material powers and responsibilities of its own. And in the exercise of these noble and important functions of government, the Philippine people, through its moral and constitutional representatives, has given evidence of a simple austerity that shows continuous and habitual use, just as a noble and distinguished bearing in social life reveals the man who is well born. After the scheduled speakers were through reading their papers, the Chairman requested the Secretary of the Section to read the resolution unanimously approved and submitted by the "Mabini" Dakilang Kalipunang Pangbansa, Manila, to the Independence Congress. The attention of the Political Section was called by the Chairman to the specific recommendations urged in the resolution which relates to the governmental problems discussed by the speakers, Honorables Laurel, Abad Santos and Ventura. Mr. Cirilo Manat, of the University of Manila, moved that the King Resolution and the Dyer Bill be endorsed and that the Vandenberg measure in the United States Senate be opposed. It was agreed to indorse that stand of the section to the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress. Ex-Senator De Vera moved that committees of the Independence Congress be organized in all the provinces and that in such committees all the social elements of the community, be they commercial, civic or otherwise, Catholic or Protestant, Nacionalista or Democrata, etc., be represented.

POLITICAL SECTION 133 Upon the motion of Mr. Eusebio Orense, seconded by Mr. Pedro Viloria Roces, it was agreed that the Political Section, represented by its Chairman, frame a resolution for the purpose of reiterating in vigorous and unequivocal terms the demand for complete, immediate and absolute independence. Before adjournment it was announced by the Chairman that all those resolutions which could not be discussed for lack of time, be submitted to the Secretary of the Section for transmittal to the Committee on Resolution of the Independence Congress. No objection was made. The first session was adjourned at 1:00 P. M., February 23, 1930.

~`\~Y: j' i Z 4:~ 'Q os: a "' A.>; Q N~ So A s -f.,. Filipino members of the Council of State who took active part in the deliberations of the Congress: Hon. Rafael Alunan. Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Hon. Jose Abad Santos, Secretary of Justice, Hon. Honorio Ventura, Secretary of the Interior; Hon. Sergio Osmeia, Acting President of the Senate; Hon. Antonio de las Alas, Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives; Hon. Pedro Sabido, Acting Majority Floor leader in the House; Hon. Filemon Perez, Secretary of Commerce and Communications; Hon. Miguel Unson, Secretary of Finance. Hon. Alejandro Albert is covered by Secretary Perez.

POLITICAL SECTION Second Session The second session of the Political Section was called to order by the Chairman, the Honorable Alberto Barretto, at 9:40 A. M., February 25, 1930. The first speaker of the day was Director Teodoro M. Kalaw, who read the following paper: THE SPIRIT OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION AS AN INSPIRATION TO THE PRESENT CAMPAIGN FOR INDEPENDENCE By DIRECTOR TEODORO M. KALAW, National Library. Rizal left the Philippines secretly as a student of medicine, to finish his career in Spain, to breathe the air of liberty, and to work for the good of his country. He did not reveal his true purposes to anybody except to his brother Paciano. As soon as he reached Spain, the first article he wrote was an ode to his country, so touching, so affecting, so exquisite a revelation of a soul longing for an ideal, that when his fellow-. countrymen in the Philippines read it, they wept with joy and sorrow at the same time. Joy, because it made them aware of the existence of a country of their own, a country they can serve and love; and sorrow, because they saw this same country still submerged and unredeemed, Rizal completed his education in Europe and devoted himself to his favorite studies and campaign-studied the history or past of his country to revive it and called the attention of the world to the injustice and oppression under which his fellow-countrymen were living. He implanted in the hearts of his countrymen a love for liberty and education, in order that through their own efforts they might obtain their political and social redemption. While 135

13 6 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Rizal was reaching a climax in his zealous nationalistic labours, and when his principles and doctrines were finding their way into the hearts of his countrymen, he was deported, and later submitted to a court-martial for treason, and finally was shot to death. Before dying he dedicated a poem to his country lamenting the fact that he could not see the dawn of her liberty, but that he was happy to give his blood to tinge its waking ray. This public life of Rizal symbolizes the hopes and struggles of the Filipinos during the propaganda period. Happy is the nation like ours that could always count, in every period of its history, with providential men who have learned to rise in dignity, in responsibility and in the spirit of sacrifice! There were two leaders in this propaganda: Rizal in its integral nationalism, and Del Pilar in its political labors; and then there were a corps of assistants in the Peninsula and agents and propagandists in the Philippines, all select, intelligent and active. The Filipino colony in Europe, particularly in Spain, had of course certain petty differences, but in general they worked as they should have worked. Their differences were excusable because they were new in the work of organization, they did not have the tradition of public service, neither in spirit nor in practice,-and young as they were, in the fire of their enthusiasm, they desired to be able to do something immediately, explicitly, openly, to help their poor country. They discussed all possible means and ways, and realized many great things. They founded newspapers, published books and pamphlets, organized meetings and banquets, made friends with the leaders of the government, formed liberal and masonic associations, in order to organize the Filipinos in the struggle, and to enlist on their side Spaniards with open minds. It was a colony in which all were represented: thinkers and tribunes, men of letters and artists, aristocrats and bohemians, arid cultivators of science or mere University students. As a matter of fact they were able to count among themselves great characters, great minds. The man worthy of special mention, after Rizal, was the already referred to Marcelo H. del Pilar, the most conscientious of all the political workers at that time. With his preparation in the science of law and

POLITICAL SECTION 137 administration, were happily blended his knowledge of Philippine history and his forceful style which was highly appropriate for the articles and pamphlets he wrote on political controversies and propaganda in those days. Del Pilar had an organizing mind, skilful in handling people and in making them share with him his difficulties. His correspondence with the patriots in Manila was a proof of his ability in these matters. Rizal was, for the Filipino colony in Europe, almost an idol, a model in manners, in dignity, in sensibility, in patriotism, in gentlemanliness,-consecrated to higher learning, to noble ideals, to art, to history and to meditation. Marcelo H. del Pilar, on the other hand, had to face the daily struggle, a struggle full of prejudices and passions, of envies and rancours. He was often hurt, it was true, but he always came out victorious. There was also, in that sturdy colony, Graciano Lopez Jaena, tribune and demagogue, who was even ahead of Rizal and del Pilar in his labors,-a restless soul, turbulent and capricious. Antonio Luna had the same radicalism as that of Jaena, with an even more fighting personality, but his principal activity was manifested in newspaper writing. Worthy of special mention was Mariano Ponce, an intimate friend of the leaders and their most trusted confidant. He was a firm and intelligent worker. Without doubt his greatest personal contribution to the work of propaganda was in its historical part, for Ponce was not only an earnest and faithful witness of the events, but he gathered facts, letters and documents that then existed, with the purpose of presenting them to posterity, as unimpeachable exhibits of the daring and brilliant efforts of those men. Thanks to Mariano Ponce, historians of today could trace almost day by day the labors of those years, and appreciate even in their minutest details the life and action of those leaders. In the Philippines the campaign found ardent followers,active and intelligent, although they did not come into prominence as those in Europe, largely because of the fact that they had to work secretly almost all the time. The patriots in the Philippines were distributed among various secret organizations, all having the same end, although bearing different names.

138 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS We had for example, the Propaganda, the Hermandad de San Patricio, the Cuerpo de Compromisarios, the Masoneria and lastly the Liga Filipina. These associations were intrusted to carry out the ideas preached by the leaders in Europe, raising necessary funds for the campaign, furnishing facts and information about the abuses of the government, and maintaining in the country, at least among a small group of their countrymen, an alert and vigilant spirit, ready to take up individual and united action when necessary. Names like Deodato Arellano, Juan Zulueta, Domingo Franco, Doroteo Cortes, Numeriano Adriano, Apolinario Mabini, Moises Salvador, Ambrosio Flores, Faustino Villarruel, etc., passed into history because of the part they played in that agitation full of constant dangers and threats. It was not strange, therefore, that when the Katipunan was discovered, many of those mentioned above, were arrested and shot as "criminals of opinion." It is already a well known fact that the general object of those agitators was to change the government in the Philippines, following the accepted procedure of all reformers, namely: the frank exposure of the abuses, of the irregularities and injustices that were committed in the country, and pleading for their abolition and reform. What naturally happen in any agitation of this kind also happened with the Filipinos-that once the movement was started, one would never know how it would end. There is no doubt that in the beginning the object was merely to effect the introduction of reforms. This was only loyal and honorable. But a loyal and honorable petition, once rejected, or censured and ridiculed by those designated to look into the matter, naturally invites the adoption of more radical methods. Among those same Filipinos in Europe there were many who, because of the failure to obtain the reforms peacefully requested, reached a point where they preferred stronger terms. Antonio Luna and Graciano Lopez Jaena, for example, started to demonstrate challenging attitudes and spoke of violence. In the Philippines the situation was much more serious. The radicals headed by Andres Bonifacio represented an important group, that resolutely preferred to resort to arms instead of peaceful means in view of the indifferent attitude of the government. Many of those who pledged monthly

POLITICAL SECTION 139 subscriptions cancelled their quotas and would not send any further help. The publication of the newspaper "La Solidaridad" had to be suspended. The hope for the realization of the solicited reforms went into the air completely. Then came the act that caused greater discouragement than any other,-the deportation of Rizal, the greatest of all the leaders of the nationalists. Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the Katipunan, was a humble employee who received only a fair education, but with a keen intelligence and with a strong and fiery character. He studied the doctrines of Del Pilar and Rizal, and with his great prejudice against the Spanish government, he came to believe that those doctrines could not be implanted in the country without the previous destruction of the Spanish regime. He therefore founded his association with this object in view. Men of the same philosophical creed, men who no longer believed in reforms nor in peaceful means, neither in a conciliation with Spain, immediately responded to his preaching and propaganda. From the year 1892, Andres Bonifacio resolutely spoke of the necessity of preparing for the day when all the Filipino patriots should carry bolos and guns that might be obtained from abroad in order to establish in the country a regime of independence, liberty, and equality. Just as the political end of the association was separation from Spain, its social end was an ideal reign of brotherhood, justice, equality, mutual helpfulness, elevation of the humble, protection of women, humiliation of the powerful-a program of human regeneration that was advanced by the great religious reformers. Because of his preachings there rallied to Bonifacio not only politicians who wanted to see the destruction of the regime, but also the desperate characters, victims of the high rents of the friars estates, the humble masses that dreamed of their betterment, those persecuted by the government, and in general, all those who had something for which to avenge themselves. In these groups of radicals there appeared at once the figure of a young student of law who was the thinking mind of Bonifacio,' his inseparable companion and counsellor-Emilio Jacinto.

140 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS After four years of most arduous secret propaganda, the Spanish government discovered the existence of the Katipunan. Arrests, detentions, confiscations, including shootings were resumed. The Katipuneros under the leadership of Bonifacio and Jacinto were thus obliged to launch, sooner than 4 they had planned, the revolution. The revolt at once spread throughout nine provinces. Battles between the Spanish forces and those of the Katipuneros were frequent. The die was cast,-there was no more room for retreat. Andres Bonifacio was called to Cavite by the revolutionists of the province and there, in full assembly, Emilio Aguinaldo was elected to succeed him as leader and commander of the forces. After some important battles in which he demonstrated rare fearlessness, Aguinaldo lodged himself in the mountains of Biak-na-Bato, where he accepted a treaty of peace with Spain in which the revolutionary chiefs promised to leave the country in exchange for pecuniary considerations and the promise of introducing certain reforms in the government. Andres Bonifacio will be remembered in our history as a man, who out of obscurity was able to lead the masses to obtain through force of arms the liberty of his country and the introduction into Philippine society of certain principles and rules of justice and morality. He was the forerunner in the Philippines of economic and social democracy, and likewise. of that ideal brotherhood which now constitutes the disturbing dream of the international proletariat. A man of action more than of reflection, he possessed all the necessary and important qualities that prepared him for the immense task that weighed upon his shoulders. Rizal and Del Pilar were too cautious and considerate to lead the country to an immediate revolution. It needed a firm and resolute character who would not stop at obstacles of any kind,-and such was Bonifacio. It must be said for the sake of the truth, that the money received by the revolutionary chiefs from the Spaniards resulted for the good of the revolution; that the Pact of Biak-na-Bato was a happy truce, because once the revolutionary chiefs were assembled in Hongkong for some time, they conserved and strengthened not only the revolutionary spirit, but also discipline and loyalty to their chief, and because, when hostilities

POLITICAL SECTION 141 and acts of war ceased, due to the belief of the Spanish authorities that the Revolution was entirely put out, an opportunity opened its way for the rebellion to be propagated throughout the rest of the provinces in the archipelago, almost without opposition or obstacle. It was at this stage when Aguinaldo was invited by Dewey to resume the war against Spain. The revolutionary chiefs in Hongkong, meeting in an assembly, were able to deliberate collectively for the interests of the Filipinos. Following their advice, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines to lead the country in a new revolt. All the provinces responded to a man, respecting the personality of the leader and obeying the authority of the established central government, not only without the least opposition but with real enthusiasm and attachment. We now have come to the period of the revolution in its highest intensity. Political ties with Spain were suddenly broken. The Filipinos were to be ruled, not by foreign masters, but by themselves. It was the dream of a country which had hungered for its much awaited liberty for years. One thing had to be noted, however. In other parts of the world similar events had been accompanied by real invasions of cheap, exaggerated patriotism and wild licentiousness. Nothing of the kind happened in the Philippines. The central government had the ability and sufficient intelligence to establish without delay a new government in the provinces and municipalities, perfect in its simplicity but completely adequate under the circumstances. And the people, demonstrating equal prudence and intelligence, submitted to the established regime and carried it through with perfect regularity and harmony. A normal system of administration was established without troubles or misfortunes. There was established a financial regime, one of property, of administration of justice, of police, and others. In order that the President of the government would not be converted into a tyrant or a dictator, a Revolutionary Congress was created to give legal advice and consent to all his measures. What was the first measure taken up by the Congress? To form a constitution, at least even a provisional one, so that the organic institutions could have the necessary stability, so that individual rights which the Filipinos had been fighting for

142 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS could be solemnly proclaimed and recognized, and so that the newly born State from the very beginning, would be known, not as a real dictatorship more or less liberal, but as a democratic republic like many other independent countries. The approval of such a document would have been premature,- and this was a subject of discussion,-but one thing was certain and undeniable: this document penned by Filipino intellectuals, under the circumstances, represented the degree of culture that the Filipinos reached in political education; and it contained, in essence, the code of principles and moral norms by which they wanted their government to be ruled. The Philippine government firmly and ably smoothed the turbulent waves of an epoch of war and international uncertainties. It provided funds for the republic by means of national loans and war contributions, created a scientific budget, organized national militias and the Red Cross, founded a literary university and reorganized public instruction, while a great part of its resources was diverted into the inevitable preocupations of war. In this state of our revolution, there are many Filipinos who are worthy of special mention. In the first place there is the name of the leader, the brave Emilio Aguinaldo, who was recognized in those days both here and abroad. There is Apolinario Mabini, too, who figured as the civil organizer par excellence, and the most able and most obstinate lawyer of the revolutionary cause. A Spanish newspaperman called him the "Sublime Paralytic" and many historians and writers considered him as the brains of the revolution. Felipe G. Calderon, a cultured man who initiated in this country the study of the political sciences, was the author of the Malolos Constitution. Pedro Alejandro Paterno carried with him the old and honored tradition in the Spanish government because of his success in the negotiation of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. He was considered a veteran and experienced politician, and for this reason he was elected president of the Congress. Antonio Luna, the uncompromising, the unconquerable, represented valor and military sternness and uprightness. He was the pride and glory of the Filipino army.

POLITICAL SECTION 143 Something must be said about the activities of our diplomatic representatives in foreign lands. All the Filipinos abroad, as soon as the revolution broke out, offered to serve in any capacity with raving enthusiasm. From among these Filipinos the high personnel of our diplomatic service were principally recruited. Felipe Agoncillo, Galicano Apacible, Jose Alejandrino, Tomas Arejola, Antonio Regidor, Vicente Ilustre, Rafael del Pan, Juan Luna, Isidoro de Santos, Cayetano Lukban, Ramon Abarca, Isabelo de los Reyes, Mariano Ponce, Sixto Lopez and many others served in one way or another in such capacity. Felipe Agoncillo, the ambassador plenipotentiary, wrote a series of important documents in which he ably defended the independence of the Philippines and urged for her international recognition. He worked in Washington and in Paris. Galicano Apacible published from Canada a manifesto to the American people, on the eve of the presidential elections in 1900, that was warmly and cordially received by 'the enemies of imperialism. Those at the head of the central committee in Hongkong, like those of the Filipino republican committee in Paris, Madrid, London and Japan, were unexcelled in their activities on behalf of the recognition of Philippine independence. Soon after the beginning of hostilities between the powerful American army and the unequipped Filipino army, the Filipino government had to be dispersed. In less than two months of fighting, Malolos fell into the hands of the enemies. Soon afterwards, Tarlac, the second capital of the republic also fell. The guerrilla system, approved in the meeting of the Generals in Bayambang, could have stood the fight a few months more, or at most for a few years,-as was really the case,-but the Philippine republic was already a dead thing. Its name only remained for history. However, the physical defeat of the republic, that which occasioned the persecution of Aguinaldo as a wandering leader in the mountains of the North, almost without an army of his own, and only representing a pale shadow of a great ideal, still remains to this day an act of most sublime heroism on the part of the Filipino army. It was the last superhuman effort of the Revolution before entering into its agony. I refer to

144 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS the battle of Tila Pass. Aguinaldo and the few faithful followers that were left, almost overtaken by their persecutors, wanted to penetrate into the great mountains of the North to find a safe refuge. But they had to check in the meanwhile the advance of the enemy. How? Close the way, and check its onward march. The place of Tila, located among high gorges and precipices, was chosen for this last stand. Aguinaldo designated the man of his greatest confidence, the young and valiant General Gregorio H. del Pilar, to defend Tila Pass. Del Pilar realized that his was a dangerous task, but bravely accepted the trust committed to him. Upon him depended the capture or salvation of the President of the Republic. He chose his best men and put them in their respective places, and waited for the advancing enemy horde. After going through a hard-fought battle, a group of the enemy succeeded in climbing to the top of a high mountain from which they were able to dominate Del Pilar. Del Pilar saw that he and his men were already defeated. However, he harrangued his soldiers so that they would sustain the fight to the finish. Del Pilar fell as a hero, and with him all the soldiers around him. When his conquerors carried his body to give it honored interment, they found in his diary a note in pencil, written a few moments before he died, in which he said that his enemies had the advantage over him in number and position, that he lacked the resources to continue the fight, but in spite of all this, he preferred to die at his post, for he thus defended the life and honor of his chief. A glorious death of a Filipino soldier, and a glorious end of a short-lived Republic! The last speaker in the second session was the Honorable Teodoro Sandiko, Member of the Philippine Senate. He spoke on the subject of "Our Campaign for Independence in the United States:" "The chieftains of the first Independence Mission to the United States deceived the people and for this reason the people are now indifferent to any campaign to raise funds to finance the present fight for independence," Senator Teodoro Sandiko, declared.

POLITICAL SECTION 145 According to him, the first mission was a flat failure in spite of the leaders' promises that with the people's support, and their money, independence would be obtained from the United States. The indifference of the public to a campaign to raise funds does not mean that they have ceased to aspire to political freedom, the senator asserted. He added that the people have always done their best but that.the leaders have failed to carry oUt their mission faithfully. He pointed out that there had been four or five opportunities when the leaders could have obtained the independence of this country but that they let the opportunities go by easy. The senator cited Jones Bill No. 1, the Clarke Amendment, the Wilson principle of self-determination, and the King amendment on independence. He explained that the Clarke amendment had been approved in the United States senate by a big majority and there was an interval of about eight months within which to show that the Filipinos were strongly behind the amendment. The leaders, at that time, according to him, did not do their best, with the result that congress did not act favorably on the amendment. The Wilsonian principle of self-determination for small nations could have been applied to the Philippines, but the leaders were not able to show President Wilson and congress how that principle applied to the Filipinos, Senator Sandiko declared. Likewise, the King measure, which was put to a vote in congress last session and was almost passed, showed the leaders in another failure to take advantage of opportunities for the solution of the independence problem. Senator Sandiko stated that possibly the emancipation of the country cannot be secured through peaceful means. The American nation, according to him, wields such a tremendous power and influence that it can dictate what it wants. He recalled how the Washington administration, in the early days of the American occupation, induced the Filipinos to form the so-called Federal party in order that it could advocate permanent retention, instead of freedom. Unless the independence of this country suits the convenience of American power, the Filipinos need not await their freedom, said Senator Sandiko.

146 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The present free-trade relations between the United States and the Philippines have been advocated by the leaders for the purpose of stimulating the industries in this country, he said. The promulgation of free tariff in both countries has increased the potential power, particularly along the line of business, of the United States in the islands. As a result a perpetual bond now binds the two countries, he declared. But with the present conflict regarding free trade, there is now a movement in the United States to solve the Philippine problem. The state of affairs in Washington is Americans against Americans. In view of this fact, it is high time for the Filipino leaders to adopt the most constructive plan to obtain Philippine independence from the United States. Senator Sandiko suggested that the best way to carry out the present campaign for independence is to hold frequent meetings, organize different committees, independence conventions and conferences, and instruct the school children on the independence of their country. The method of giving school pupils prizes for articles and other compositions on independence and that of inducing women leaders to carry on the independence movement anywhere they happen to be in order to disseminate the ideal of political freedom, were urged by the minority leader. The points brought out by the speakers were then discussed. In the course of the discussion on the address of Director Kalaw, Mr. Dalmacio Martinez moved that the two houses of the Legislature, through their respective presiding officers, be requested to approve a law designating a day of Thanksgiving in order to invoke the assistance of the Divine Providence in the attainment of our independence. The motion was duly seconded and approved unanimously.

POLITICAL SECTION 147 For lack of sufficient time to discuss the addresses of the other speakers, it was agreed that another meeting of the Section be held at 9:30 A. M. on the following day in the Little Theater, University of the Philippines.

POLITICAL SECTION Third Session The third session of the Political Section was called to order by the Chairman, the Honorable Alberto Barretto, at 10:20 A. M. on February 26, 1930, in the Little Theater, University of the Philippines, for further discussion of the points brought out by the speakers of the second session. Mr. Jose Banuelos moved that the National Academy which was proposed by Mr. Ramon Torres to be established for the development of a national language be denominated "National Malayan Academy" instead of "National Academy of Tagalog." This motion was duly second and unanimously approved. Mr. Leonardo Lazaro moved that the Resident Commissioners and members of the special mission in the United States be instructed not to enter into any negotiation or make any demand in the United States other than for immediate, complete and absolute independence. The motion was amended to the effect that the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress be requested not to present any resolution in the plenary session of the Congress for transmission to the United States but that asking for immediate, complete and absolute independence. The motion thus amended was unanimously approved. Mr. I. M. Yujuico submitted the following resolutions: 148

POLITICAL SECTION 149 (1) Be it resolved that Miss Violeta Lopez be declared Miss Independence by the First Independence Congress for her way of acting and defending the true idiosincracy of the Filipino woman, for her modesty and exemplary conduct shown during the selection of Miss Philippines in the present Carnival of this city which bespeak the feminine ideals for our new generation. (2) Be it resolved that it is the sense of the First Independence Congress, to work united for the much desired common cause, the immediate, complete and absolute independence, of the country; and that the constituted Political Parties as well as the Filipino Veterans' Legion and the Veterans of the Revolution and other associations which divide and adulterate the sacred ideal of our country be temporarily suppressed, so that we may work Many in One in our common cause till the restoration of our Philippine Republic. (3) Be it resolved that the Political Section of the Independence Congress hereby recommend, to the plenary session of the Independence Congress the creation of an Efficiency Bureau in the Government to better and modernize our public services with the end in view of economizing our National Budget. (4) Be it resolved that the Political Section of the First Independence Congress hereby recommend to the plenary Session of the Congress the adhesion of the Philippine Government through our constituted representatives to the International Court of Justice and to the League of Nations in order to secure our territorial integrity in case of independence. (5) Be it resolved that the Political Section of the First Independence Congress recommend the adoption of all the protectionist measures and laws be it through the recommended legal ways of the Office of Public Welfare Association or through the mediation of entities eminently private. Resolution No. 1 was referred to the Committee on Resolutions of the Congress through the Women's Section. Resolutions No. 2 and No. 3 were rejected. Resolution No. 4 was referred to the International Section, and Resolution No. 5 to the Economic Section. Mr. Martinez moved that the campaign for independence be conducted not only in the United States but also here in the Philippines. After having been duly seconded, this motion was unanimously approved.

150 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Mr. Leonardo Lazaro moved that the Committee on Resolutions of the Congress be instructed to frame and submit to the Congress a resolution of condolence for the respective families of the delegates to the Congress who. died, namely, President Punzalan of Guinobatan, Albay, and Mr. Jose Celis, of Negros Occidental. The meeting was adjourned at 12: 15 P. M. THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES UNDER INDEPENDENCE (Paper prepared by DEAN MAXIMO M. KALAW for the Political Section of the First Independence Congress) The supporters of the independence movement in the Philippines believe that the progressive political development of the country can be better effected under independence than under the government of the United States. They contend that President McKinley's ideal of teaching the people of the Philippines the art of self-government can now be best realized under an independent status. The more radical of them even believe that, from the standpoint of development in self-government, the Philippines would have fared better if in 1899 she had been left alone to work out the institutions that she established when she separated from Spain. They maintain that if America had really only wanted to see that the Filipinos develop a government which was both liberal and orderly, progressive and adapted to their needs, the thing that should have been done was to let the Philippine Republic alone. It may be remembered that when the United States decided to stay in the Philippines there was already established in the Islands a republican form of government that had merited the praise of American observers who had come to the Philippines at that time. Dewey had considered the Filipinos more capable of self-government than the Cubans. Mr. Barrett of the Pan-American Union had high regard for the members of the Malolos Congress, which was partly elective

POLITICAL SECTION 151 and partly appointive. There was a President of the Republic whose election was practically confirmed by the Congress; and there were courts of justice and provincial and local governments. The Constitution of the Republic was the first modern constitution ever adopted in Asia. It was the first document drafted in this part of the globe which recognized the principle of popular sovereignty. At the time America decided to annex the Islands, the president of the Republic, General Aguinaldo, was the undisputed leader of his people, and he was surrounded by the best minds of the country. The Republic had the support of all the Christian inhabitants and part of the Mohammedan population. As we come, however, to the present government established by America, we can see several improvements over the revolutionary institutions. In the first place, the present is a government of greater peace and order. Protection of life and property is now duly safeguarded. The greatest benefit that the Filipinos, from the standpoint of political development, have received from the United States has been the establishment and enforcement of civil rights as embodied in the first instructions of President McKinley to the Commission and in all the organic acts of the Philippines. It is true that a similar provision is found in the Malolos Constitution, but the Philippine Republic would probably have found no little difficulty in enforcing the provisions for the protection of civil rights. It seems to be agreed by political observers that it is in AngloSaxon countries where the protection of civil rights is best safeguarded; and the introduction of the American bill of rights and their interpretation by the courts have been a tremendous blessing to the community. Again a more honest and efficient system of government has been established. A civil service system has been instituted based on merit and examination. The influence of the Filipino army men which would have been considerable for many years had the Republic been continued, was done away. A sound currency system, although too conservative in some respects, has been devised. Certain principles and practices inculcated by American institutions and American administrators have been of incalculable benefit to the political development of the Philippines. Among such

15'2 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS principles and practices may be mentioned the following: the principle of majority rule, equal opportunity for all, the Australian ballot system, the peaceful acceptance of electoral results, public office as a public trust, etc. With or without independence these principles and practices must remain as a solid foundatioin of Philippine political institutions. 'On the other hand we mention some of the things which would have been worked out by the Republic, but which were immediately abolished with the advent of American rule. The experiment of the first republic in the Far East, representative in nature, established on the principle of the sovereignty of the people, would have been worth while witnessing. The central government under the Republic would have continued to be more democratic than during any period under American rule. The President of the Republic would have continued to be elected by Congress and the Congress elected by a limited electorate. Would an independent Philippines on the whole have learned more politically? On this there would be honest difference of opinion. Some will probably answer in the affirmative on the ground that you learn to do things by doing them; while others will contend that the Filipinos would have failed, ignorant as they were of democratic government. s Let us, however, for a moment forget what would have become politically of the Philippines had she been allowed to continue with her independent government. I would be the first one to admit that there have been some outstanding contributions of the United States to the development of the Philippines which are of great advantage to the country, and which probably would not have been made, at least not in so short a.-time, under independence. The thing that we should discuss now is why the advocates of independence now believe that independence would foster a quicker and a more stable political development than the present status: I for one am of the firm opinion that although we have received from America political contributions of a lasting nature, the time has come when for the cause of self-government itself the Philippines should be independent.

POLITICAL SECTION 153 In the first place, a foreign rule cannot infuse proper respect for the government and the state. Loyalty for the government is the first sine quanon of a democracy, The American government cannot infuse that loyalty. Herein lies the fundamental defect of American rule. The stronger a nationalist movement is in a subject community, the greater becomes the dissatisfaction of the people towards the state organization. The independ. ence movement breeds a dangerous discontent with the existing government. One of the greatest problems of India after independence would be to go back from civil disobedience to civil loyalty. The attitude of defiance at the state will have its baneful effect when an independent state of Indian make is established. Something similar may happen to the Philippines unless the independence question is settled soon. In the second place the qualities of self-sacrifice and selfreliance so necessary in the proper political development of any people can be best cultivated under an independent existence. When the people feel that they and they alone are responsible for the success or failure of their government, when they realize that they must provide both for internal security and external safety, they will be forced to build a national morale and a national discipline which will make them put up a decent and orderly national organization, As masters of their national destiny they will work for national cohesion; and their common dangers will make them give up their petty selfishness and internicine wranglings. If independence will not produce these results, they will probably lose it again. In the third place, while the Filipinos are under the United States, they are forced by the very nature of things to follow American ideas and practices of government irrespective of whether those ideas and practices are fitted to them or not. It was the good fortune of the writer to be present in Washington when the Jones Law was being discussed and he recalls perfectly what the late Congressman Jones, author of the Jones Law, had as reasons for favoring a senate directly elected by popular vote. The year was 1916 and the agitation for an elective senate in the United States was at its height. Hence, Mr. Jones, following the agitation in the United States, incorporated in the Jones Law a provision for a popularly elective

154 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS senate in the Philippines, irrespective of whether this type was the one needed by the country or not. The writer is one of those who believe that probably the Philippine Senate should have been constituted in a somewhat different way. Anyway the people should have been allowed to determine what kind of a-senate they wanted. Again in the same Jones law it is not clear to many as to whether the presidential type of government was meant for the Philippines or the parliamentary type, although the writer again recalls that the Jones Law did not prohibit representatives or senators from occupying cabinet positions. The author probably intended to have some modification of the presidential type. What the writer maintains is that under the circumstances, even with the limited autonomy that the people of the Philippines have under America, they should have been allowed to decide on the form of government they want to establish. Finally the independence question itself is the greatest deterrent to the political development of the Philippines. So long as that question remains unsolved, real political progress is practically impossible. Every other political issue is overshadowed by independence and no real party system is developed. Independence has been the one major issue of Philippine politics ever since our first election. It was the issue in 1907 when the Federal Party which had been put into power by Mr. Taft and which favored ultimate instead of immediate independence was opposed by the Nationalist Party which favored immediate independence. The Nationalist Party won that election by an overwhelming majority and this party has been in power up to the present time because of that issue. The Nationalist leaders always point out to the people the fact that they were the first to raise the banner of immediate independence, thus meriting the people's confidence, and therefore they should be supported on that issue all the time, otherwise America will think that the Philippines are no longer for independence. The Democrata Party which succeeded the old Federal and Progresista Parties changed its platform and became just as radical if not more so in its protestations for independence as the Nationalist Party. But Senator Osmefia, one of the Nationalist leaders, believes that one of the reasons why the

POLITICAL SECTION 1.55 Democratas would not gain power is because some of its fathers are the old Federalists who first favored annexation to the United States and 'then ultimate independence. Philippine politics ever centers on the independence question and every other question is relegated to the background. Domestic issues, such as the purification in the government, and corruption in elections, are all subordinated to the national cause. Before the crisis with Governor Wood it was believed that the minority party had a chance to get into power, but whenever an issue is raised against the American representative, the Nationalist Party could easily swing the majority of the people to its side on the old plea that the people must be united in their fight against the sovereign power. Under the circumstances, therefore, no real party system can exist and no other issues can become prominent enough aside from the issue of independence. Some people even believe that at present, a one-party system is better because the government is really run by the American Government as the real party in power and the Filipino party. If it is agreed that a democracy can best be worked out by the existence of two well-balanced parties that condition will remain unfulfilled so long as we are under America. Professor J. Ralston Hayden, of the University of Michigan, once an exchange professor in the University of the Philippines and a close student of political affairs, agreed with the undersigned that such a situation is not conducive to the proper political development of the country. The people's mind must be taken away from the independence issue before it can show real political progress. It is conceded that there are many other Philippine-problems of political nature which must be studied and solved for the proper political development of the country. There is the problem of the system of government to be established. There is the problem of the relation between the central and the local governments. There is the problem of corruption in the government. There is the problem of elections. Again there are also non-governmental factors which are necessary for the proper development of the country, but which cannot be developed properly under the present situation. For instance, the attitude of self-criticism should exist in every

156 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS people so that its political, social and economic evils can be exposed for correction. Under the present situation the Filipinos have been justly charged with being over sensitive as to their defects. There is no campaign of self-criticism, political or social, for the simple reason that one of the arguments used by the imperialists against independence is the alleged incapacity of the people. To support that argument imperialists point out and expose every defect of the people. The people naturally resent such an attitude. A book that became very unpopular in the Philippines is that of Miss Katherine Mayo depicting with vile inuendoes and exaggerations the worst of Philippine life. As a revolt against such attitude the people have whitewashed their defects and have not made any serious attempt at social or political reform. Perhaps that attitude is mistaken in many respects. What the writer wants to say is that it is the result of the present political situation. It prevents us from frankly accepting our defects and making attempts to reform them. In order, therefore, that the people may cultivate proper respect and loyalty for the state, in order that they may develop self-reliance and self-sacrifice, in order that they may follow their own ideas and establish the forms of government adopted to their needs, in order that they may discuss freely their own political problems unmixed with the independence question, and in order that they might develop a proper attitude of vigilance and self-criticism towards their political leaders and social institutions, it becomes necessary that the independence question be solved and be solved immediately. The independence of the Philippines will not necessarily, however, mean a complete divorce from American political institutions. As I pointed out in the first place, there are certain American political practices and ideas which have been gladly adopted by the Filipinos and which under independence will even grow faster. The democratic ideal, for instance, is something that America has planted in the bosom of the Filipinos and it will remain there. The American bill of rights which has safeguarded Filipino life and property for the last thirty years, now interpreted and enforced by Filipino judges

POLITICAL SECTION 157 and executive officials will remain as probably the greatest single political contribution of the United States to the Philippines. A real love for American institutions will blossom in a Republic born out of the generosity of the American people. The Philippine Republic will be the greatest monument to America in this part of the globe. It will be a veritable lamp which will be seen and admired from all corners of Asia.

00 MONS. JOSE BUSTAMANTE BISHOI Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Manila Head of the Religious leaders who were prominent in the Congress. a l. GREGORIO AGLIPAY Philippine Independent Church b

EDUCATIONAL SECTION First Session The first session of the Educational Section of the First Independence Congress was held on February 24, 1930, with Dean Francisco Benitez, of the College of Education, University of the Philippines, as Chairman. The meeting was opened by the Chairman at 9:30 in the morning. There were three scheduled speakers. The first speaker was the Hon. Lope K. Santos. He read the following paper: THE VERNACULAR AS A FACTOR IN NATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND INDEPENDENCE By the HON. LOPE K. SANTOS Two notable sentences, products of the profound knowledge of the history of the countries, inspire me in the present conference. One is that of our great Rizal, expressed in the mouth of the prophetic Simoun in a conversation with the timid Basilio: "* * * Why come now with the teaching of Spanish, a pretension which would be ridiculous if it would not be of deplorable consequences? Would you wish-to add one more language to the forty and more which are spoken in the Islands in.order that you would be able to understand less? ";* * * The Spanish language will rnever be the- com-\ mon language of the country, the people will never speak it, because for the comprehension of their cerebrum and the feelings of their heart this'language has no words: each country has her own, as she.has her own way of feeling. / What shall you profit by the Spanish language, the few words which you would speak? Kill your originality, 159

160 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS subordinate your thoughts to other brains, and instead of making yourselves free, you will make yourselves real slaves! Nine out of ten of those who presume to be learned are renegades of your fatherland. Those of you who speak that language, neglect your own in such a way that they neither write it nor speak it; and how many have I seen who pretend not to know a word of it! Fortunately you have an imbecile government. While Russia to enslave Poland is imposing the Russian language, while Germany prohibits the French language in her conquered provinces, your government solicits your own in order to conserve you; and you, on the other hand, wonderful people, under an unbelievable government you take pains in despoiling yourselves of your own nationality. Somehow or other you forget that, while a country keeps its language, it keeps the token of its liberty as does man his independence, while he keeps his way of thinking. The language is the thought of the countries. Happily your independence is assured: the human passions watch for it. * * *!" / and another which seems to complete the foregoing, said by the great Spanish literator, Don Jose Selgas, in his speech when accepting the membership of the Academy of the Spanish Language: "* * * You can see with perfect clarity pictured in the mirror of the language the true physiognomy of the society in which we live, because in no other place is drawn more faithfully the moral image of a country as in the language it speaks. "A language is spoken as it is felt and thought: a manly ' language cannot belong to an effeminate country; the language cannot be wise in an ignorant country, neither can it be polished in a land of savages. "You wish to know how one thinks? Well, hear him speak." Here in these two sentences which I have just quoted are the most concise and explicit apologies which may be said of the most precious token which the race possesses and which is Wr~ common to all humanity.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 161 There is in the study of the psychology of the countries an incontrovertible principle consisting in that they, like the individuals, are endowed with conscious substantiveness and possess also the faculties of thinking, feeling, and willing. The philosophy of Nature, the history of the races and countries from the very primitive to the most modern, and the individual experience of every one, credit the language with the great merit of being thus, in the individual as well as in the group, the most perfect invention for the expression of thought, of the sentiment, and of the will, being besides the most copious gift which gives soul to human sociability. More than the color of the skin, the encephalic measure, the dress, the folk-lore, or any other basis or means of investigation to classify the diverse species of human beings, the language offers to the sociologist the most finished instrument with which he can discover the real origin and the' most salient characteristics of a race. It is the means which furnishes the most unequivocal data to know the genesis, the course and actual grade of a country's civilization. It is, finally, the most inexhaustible patrimony of ideas and sentiments which give faith to the existence and the future of a nation. Among Filipinos and before an august assembly like this, integrated by all of the most representative elements of the Archipelago, and assembled, in order that, in a solemn and categorical manner, it may again be proclaimed the existence in our land of unanimous thinking and of collective feeling in favor of the complete restoration of its own sovereignty; in a convention, I repeat, very genuinely Philippine, as the present, it seems very logical and adequate that we make use of our own means of expression as advised by the doctrines which we have quoted, in order to follow our traditional nationalism and in order not to act against the counsels of the Great Leader of our emancipation. Unfortunately three centuries and a third of Spanish domination and a third of a century of American sovereignty have fostered in various ways the confusion, giving place to a small Babylon, and the mutual indifference, as if treating of antagonistic and irreconcilable elements among our vernacular

162 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS,languages to such an extent that our rulers have forced us to recognize how indispensable, first for the Castilian and then for the English to be our own common language; when in reality, both the one and the other have seemed more for the comfort of the ruler in his relation to the subject than for the integral preservation and the rapid development of our culture and national solidarity. I said several ways, because each power had its own characteristic method. Under the Spanish, sovereignty here governed in the form of languages-a policy similar to that implanted in Java by the Dutch government and in India by the English; that is, the subject people were allowed in complete liberty to conserve the great possible variety of their dialects and they were even helped to create a sort of literature of their own in every region, reserving the teaching and the use of the language of the ruler to maintain an intellectual aristocracy and a caste of privileged subjects addicted to foreign established power. Under the American sovereignty there was adopted a policy somewhat* like the one imposed by Germany upon the conquered French colonies, and that which Russia implanted in the old Poland, about which Rizal said something. It is, however, to the favor of the American policy which is very capable and benevolent, for what has been accomplished in such a short time-a result without precedent in the colonial history of the Orient. With the spontaneous acquiescence of a country scattered into hundreds of isles, but thirsty of union and instruction, the American government has succeeded in monopolizing for the English language all the educational budget of the Philippines, completely ignoring the fate which might fall on the vernaculars, but not without proscribing them totally from our schools and by degrees from the administrative affairs. The result tends to the same end; or rather, to give the ruler the best commodity and possible attachment in the administration of conquered territories. Between the one and the other proceedings, by what is shown by results, we cannot help but deduce that an exclusiveness more or less watched and intentional has been inspiring the prevailing policy so that during the long period of submission, there prevailed among the Filipinos the lack of intelligence and

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 163 regional rivalries in order. that if we wish to understand one another it is necessary to use a medium to impose an official language as the most powerful instrument of attachment of the foreign domination. Here I am now, a Filipino, born in the center of Luzon, in order to reach with a spiritual message the heart and intelligence of my brothers from the south and north of the same island and of my brothers who live in the Visayas and Mindanao, I still have to go through Cervantes' land which trip back and forth is said to take months of efforts and sacrifices; and others equally Filipino bearing an identical mission have yet to make a trip through Shakespeare's country or Uncle Sam's empire, which is supposed to take forty and more days of trans-oceanic life; when such a long and painful journey may well be simplified if we know how to accommodate ourselves in any of the proper means of mental transportation of our common Mother. In very clear terms: I, who am a Filipino in order to be better understood by you, my countrymen, need to talk to you in Spanish while the others need to talk in English, even if the subjects we wish to speak of are eminently of Philippine character. Is not this one of the paradoxes of the destiny of the conquered countries? But, of what use are these lamentations and inculpations at present! We have to accept the finished deeds as they are presented to us. We should get all the possible good from the bad that we lament of. The Spanish language as well as the English are foreign elements which are found as strongly rooted in our social and political culture that to pretend to exterminate them now to be supplanted with ours, would be equivalent to inflicting an act of violence against the stability of our own institutions. Hundreds of millions of pesos have we spent already for the teaching and propagation of the English language in the whole Archipelago and we should not let them be lost for stupid boxerism. Millions of Filipino children and youths have already nourished their mind in the first letters and in the sciences and arts by means of American books and models

164 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS and such an enormous amount of progress already attained by our young generation is not anything to be despised. It is now the duty of every good Filipino, lover of the progress and freedom of his country, to preach and affirm a prudent nationalism, sensible, practical, integral and more in accord with the present and future circumstances than those which governed in the past. Let us force ourselves, however, to confess that none of the vernacular languages that we have, including the Tagalog, which I acknowledge as the most advanced of all, is found sufficiently developed and cultivated to assume right now the responsibilities and requirements of an official language just as much in the interior as in the exterior, to insure the triumphant march of the Philippine government, though it should continue under the American flag or be under our own. Those of us who cry for the adoption of a national language and for its official recognition do not ignore this. We merely wish that we be given facilities and be offered opportunity to help that same government in its cultural and humanitarian mission with the unfolding of a linguistic plan tending to reestablish the ethnic unity and the national solidarity of all the Filipinos. Unfortunately we have not obtained from our government either facilities or opportunity for such an elevated proposal. More than a dozen and a half law projects, varying in forms but coinciding in background and unanimous in the end of dignifying and utilizing as instruments of culture the native dialects, were registered in one House or the other; however, with the exception of one or two, the majority have been drowned in the sea of momentous enthusiasms, followed by fatal indifference on the part of our legislators. Of the very few projects which have been saved from drowning we remember that of the Senator of the First District in the former period of sessions, the Hon. Isabelo de los Reyes, whose project appropriated P10,000 to print the collection or collections of works of primary instruction written in any dialect through the election of a Committee of experts; said bill was approved by both Houses; but submitted to the approval of the

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 165 then acting Governor-General, the Vice-Governor, and Secretary of Public Instruction, the Hon. Eugene Gilmore, it was vetoed on account of "lack of funds", besides his opinion that a similar law might be prejudicial to the study of English in the public schools, which is probably the real motive of his opposing it and not the lack of funds. The already known prejudice of the Executive Power against all innovations which tend to lessen directly or indirectly the exclusive right of English in the official schools and even in the officially recognized private ones, and the veto power which, like the sword of Damocles, hang constantly over any law project with such a purpose, have been exercising much pressure in the courage of the majority of our legislators, causing them hesitation and dismay every time that legislation in favor of native dialects is considered. The teaching of English began about a month after the military occupation of Manila in 1899. Then the first teachers who were army men taught the language through Tagalog or Spanish which at the same time they learned from their already adult pupils. During those first years, the educational authorities were more inclined to the method of teaching English with the help of the dialects and even of Spanish: a practice which lasted only a couple of years. Men are not wanting who attribute the substitution.of this method by the exclusive teaching of English to the suggestion of the Filipinos themselves who were then thought to be "leaders" of peace to the Filipino people and advocates of annexation to the United States. The new system, even if it was notoriously antipedagogical, prevailed and was instituted as a general policy of education in the whole country up to the present, consequently proscribing from the public schools any Filipino language or dialect, including Spanish. All the attempts on the part of our national "leaders" and of our Legislature, as well, of altering such a policy has always come into conflict with a previous opposition or with the posterior disapproval of the Executive. I still remember a well-known speech of one of the recognized speakers of that regime of peace and americanization, the late Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, who refuting the force

166 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS ful objections of the Philippine nationalistic press against the Saxonization of our institutions and the monopoly which the English language was beginning to enjoy in all the official centers of learning, came even to deny with arguments, some of which were wise and others sophistical, the existence of i what was called "Filipino soul" defended with tenacity by the Filipino nationalism; but such did not triumph over the government with its theories and objections, because inside that new state of things it hardly began to recover and organize itself. The monopoly of the English language in school was due to 4 the proper initiative of the American authorities, or it might be due to the petition of the Filipino "leaders" who then dominated the situation, in both of which cases we find no justification: it is the violation so easily manifested which has been committed with impunity of the spirit and the letter of certain clauses of the famous Instructions of McKinley, constituting, as in fact they did constitute, the first Magna Charta of the civil government of the Philippines under the sovereignty of the United States. Textually those clauses said the following with relation to the fundamental purposes of the government which treated of the founding of anything: "In all forms of government and administrative dispositions which are authorized to decree, the Commission should take into consideration that the government that is being established is not designed for our satisfaction or for the expression of our theoretical ideas but for the happiness, peace, and prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands, and the measures adopted should be made in accord with their customs, habits, and even their prejudices, to the most ample extension compatible with the fulfillment of the indispensable requisites of an upright and effective government." Mark it well: the government that was instituted here was not for the satisfaction of the desires of the Americans themselves, neither with the object to put only into practice the governmental theories of the American statesmen, but princi- V pally for the happiness, peace, and prosperity of our country.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 167 Equally: that they should respect our customs, habits, and even prejudices so long as these are not incompatible with the good government. No one better than we ourselves, the Filipinos, can appreciate which measures of the government would make us more happy and prosperous. Therefore, if from the beginning we have been made to dwell upon the desire that our vernacular languages be incorporated into the curriculum of our schools as a means to promote the instruction, peace, and good intelligence among all the regions of the Archipelago, the American authorities, both in these Islands and in the Metropolis, should be sympathetic. Our languages formed part of what McKinley called "customs and habits," because is there a custom or habit more natural and rooted in a people as the expressing of their ideas, their feelings and their desire in the native tongue? And referring directly to the question of education and diversity of languages in the Philippines, President McKinley enacted also in said Instructions the following: "It should be the duty of the Commission to promote and extend and if it finds occasion, perfect the system of instruction already inaugurated by the military authorities. To do this it should be considered of first importance the extension of a system of primary instruction which should be free for all, which would tend to prepare the people for the duties of citizenship and for the ordinary occupation of a civilized society. This instruction should be given in the first place, in all parts of the Islands in the language of the people. In view of the many languages spoken by the different groups, it is especially important for the prosperity of the Islands, that a means of common communication be established, and it is obvious that it is desired that this means be the English language. Special attention should at once be given in providing the inhabitants of the Islands with the complete opportunity to acquire the practice of the English language." What has been done of this precept so markedly pro-Filipino? Why did not the government of the Philippines respect such wise instructions but instead disobey and.continue

168 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS violating them up to the present? In our Islands reigns a rigorous exclusion of all languages of the people. English has been founded on them as an absolute and only master, when this language has been recommended only as a general means of communication among the diverse regional groups of the country. The Filipino people, it is true, responded immediately and faithfully to the call for the study and the use of the proposed common language; but this does not mean that they have completely renounced the right to cultivate and qualify their own language for the general benefit of all the Filipinos not only by ^ means of popular spirit and private organizations, but also under the protection and help of the government itself which is established here with the duty of respecting and consecrating such right. Neither the Organic Iaw of July 1, 1902, nor that of August 29, 1916, known popularly as "Jones Law," nor any other special law dictated by the Congress of the United States for these Islands, contains any provision which makes English the only and exclusive language to be spoken and perpetuated among the Filipinos. All the laws that have so far imposed the obligatory and exclusive use of said language as a basic element of instruction in all the country are Filipino. In the hands, therefore, of the Philippine Legislature is the power to dictate positive laws which would dignify the vernaculars and which would provide that from among them be gathered the common language of the Filipinos. Having existed together up to the present two official languages both foreign in this land and of different com- plexions, as the English and Spanish languages, it is incomprehensible that a vernacular language, well chosen and adapted, could not share with the English in the cultural and liberalizing mission which the United States has imposed upon itself in assuming the government of these Islands. The day is not far when the elimination of Spanish in the official dependencies would be decreed or it may of its own accord automatically cease its official use. A vernacular lan- guage can replace it with great utility and efficacy in the

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 169 formation of a solid Filipino nationality. If from the beginning and for the protection of such humanitarian instructions of President McKinley, the enterprise has been undertaken, there is nothing impossible in cultivating and strengthening any vernacular which might in time assume the responsibilities which weigh here over the Spanish language. I am sure that in these days we have it ready enough to perform its most important national role. We insist in stating that what we ask is not incompatible with the permanence, the rooting and propagation of English as an official language of the Philippines in the government's internal and external cases: commerce, science, arts, international relations, etc. What we wish to prepare with the permission and protection of the State is the language of our own race, for being the most natural and appropriate means to our way of being and speaking we can understand one another better; as a foreign language by occidental access, let them say what they wish of its goodness, can never interpret faithfully and satisfactorily our thoughts, feelings, and desires neither could it adapt itself to our customs, habits, and beliefs of oriental nature. During these last days on account of the present independence agitation in the United States various preeminent Americans, recognized mouthpieces of retentionism, have returned to oppose our legitimate aspirations, with the traditional weapon of combat-the lack of a common language in the Philippines. Roosevelt, Barrows, and Filmore have emphasized this argument without taking into account that the weapon is doublebladed which may wound both the Philippines and the American government in these Islands. It has been more than thirty years since the government assumed the task of giving us a common language. The country has responded not only with an assignment to thousands and thousands of boys and girls eager for instruction, but also with millions of pesos every year for such an end. The same Filipinos, in order to cooperate faithfully and sincerely with the American teachers have gone on qualifying themselves with marvelous rapidity with the object of assuming the mis

170 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS sion of teaching English; in such a way that actually they already have in their charge all the primary and intermediate schools and the same is true with 95 % of the high schools and even universities. And if with all this the very Secretary of Public Instruction, the Honorable Eugene Gilmore, is now the first to confess the non-existence of a general language among the various regions of the Archipelago-this delay not being attributable to the intellectual deficiency of the Filipinos as the Monroe Commission in 1925, the scientific Hartendorp in 1922, and other wise investigators certify to the mental normality of the Filipino children-the defect must be found in the system, as was noted by Mr. William S. Irey a few years ago, and for such reason, if it is painful to recognize one's own failure, he should proceed, at least, to think of honorable rectification. We venture to say that if-not instead of English but together with English-there was given opportunity and official facility for a vernacular language in order to let it expand and be studied with stimulus and be recognized in its indispensable work of cooperation, as has been done with the Spanish up to the present, the thirty years that have passed would have been more than sufficient for us not to lament now the lack of a common language as for lack of one we shall have three: English, Spanish and the properly Filipino. The investigating Educational Commission which was presided over by Dr. Paul Monroe, being made up of teachers and scientists, mostly Americans, could not help but realize, however, that the language question was one of the most serious problems of instruction in the Philippines. On the suggestion that the dialects be utilized in the elemental teaching with the tendency to prepare the Tagalog for the national language, the Commission did not dare face the problem neither did it venture to propose any solution; however, it has clearly-made us known that sooner or later, and with the natural course of things, the Philippines will have as a common language one of its own. It has recognized also that the dialects were indispensable in the teaching of good forms and of morals. And in order to emphasize its belief that the question of language is really serious and important for the educational system of the country it made a recommendation in order that

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 171 among the plans for the betterment in which the ThirtyMillion Law fund would be invested there be included the study of the linguistic problem in the instruction and in that of the innovations in the school curriculum that would be more adapted to the necessities of the Filipino children. One of the most fundamental errors, in which are shown opposition and indifference to the problem and adoption of a national native language, comes from the belief that the native languages would not serve except at home and in certain localities and it would not promote the growth of knowledge and general culture of our people, neither would it improve our prosperity and national unity. With one or two facts only, we may wipe out such an erroneous belief. In accordance with the 1918 Census, or rather about twelve years ago, the number of qualified electors in the whole Philippines was 1,097,937, of which 3.6 per cent were due to having once been counsellors before 1898; 20.7 per cent were due to economic conditions; and the 75.7 per cent were due to cultural qualification. This last qualification consists in knowing how to read and write intelligently the English language, the Spanish, or any local dialect. Allow me to say that the number deals only with male electors, for as there exists yet no woman suffrage in the country, the directors of the Census did not think it necesssary to include the women who might probably vote in official elections. The Census did not also establish a precise classification of the number of electors in English, electors in Spanish, and electors in native dialects although it may be very well presumed that the last constitutes the greatest part besides the fact that the majority of those who read and write English as well as the majority of those who read and write Spanish do just as well in their native dialects. According to the same Census of the Philippine population from ten or more years of age there were in 1918, 3,171,113 males and 3,210,148 females. Of the number of males, 1,681,566 knew how to read the local dialects; and of the females, 1,457,068. We, therefore, have a total of 3,138,634

172 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Filipinos of both sexes possessors of the rudiments and culture of the vernacular language. Let it be noted that of this total were excluded those less than ten years from which, taking into account the educative system in the schools and our practical ways of teaching at home, there can still be chosen a considerable number of boys and girls of elementary. training. I figure out that the number of Filipinos of both sexes of ten and more years of age who read English only amount to 885,854 ahd those who read Spanish, 879,811; figures 4 which give a total of 1,765,665, or rather a little bit more than one-half of the number of Filipinos who read the dialects. It may also be presumed that those who read English as well as those who read Spanish would equally be proficient in their dialect. As to this particular statement the Census itself brought out this comment: "It may be said that among the Filipinos who speak and read English or Spanish some have learned the theory and practice in schools, and others have learned the language by themselves and the latter were usually those already possessed of some instructions and could read and write a local dialect." These statistics are an eloquent demonstration that the knowledge of citizenship in the Philippines is registered as having a greater number in favor of those whose qualification is the knowledge of reading and writing our dialect; coming, as second place, those qualified for speaking and writing English and third those who speak and write Spanish. And this in spite of the nonexistence of a school purposely established to teach the native dialect, the Government not having contributed to this end an atom of moral or material Y effort, or protection. Another positive fact in favor of the utility of native lan- guages for the spreading of popular and civil culture is the notable preponderance in circulation of the vernacular newspapers over those written in English or Spanish, in spite of the decisive and constant official protection to these two

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 173 mediums and of the manifest indifference of the Government itself to the vernacular press. The average copies and circulation in favor of the newspapers and reviews in Tagalog-the only vernacular we have data about-is seventy per cent above those written in English and eight per cent above those written in Spanish. The vernacular lecture for cultural propaganda in the country has more positive and immediate effects than the schools. While these serve, in general, to prepare theoretically the future citizens, the lecture initiates and enables the actual citizens in the intelligent knowledge of their rights and duties as such, and also it puts them into contact with the current problems and the principal events in their country and in foreign lands. But even if it be argued that there is a scarcity of native literature; that the more advanced vernacular language is still in the cradle compared with the maturity of the English and Spanish languages as regards books and publications of science and art necessary for school use and for the introduction of modern culture, we have no inconvenience in revealing the truth about the insufficiency of our literature. It should be distinguished, however, that it is not the same to have no literature of our own and not to be able to have it. Abundant goods are not produced when there is no sure market. But let the Government be less tyrannical with respect to English, let exclusivism of languages in schools and universities be broken and let the monopoly by the official language of all public budgets of education be lifted; in other words, let the doors of opportunity and stimuli be opened to the vernacular literature and writers; and it will be seen how in a time relatively shorter will be flooded our book stores, libraries, schools, colleges and other centers of culture, with books, publications and all kinds of lecture of the most modern quality and of adaptation more adequate to the peculiar necessities and the legitimate aspirations of the Filipinos. The Philippines would not be the only exception in the history of free countries. * * * We come now to solve the most important question involved in the theme of the present conference. Which would be the

174 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS vernacular language that might be proposed to fill the wellfelt necessity of a national language? Recent scientific classifications, based upon the actual number of ethnical groups more or less complete, and more or less different that are found scattered in the diverse regions of the Archipelago, certify the existence of more than forty linguistic 4 varieties some of which may be called more or less improperly languages, and other dialects. We say this with some exceptions, because we are among those who affirm that all vernaculars spoken in the whole country without distinction as to language or dialect are branches of only two or more tongues. We have demonstrated this fact in a philologic essay which we read before the "Academia de Artes y Letras" of the University of the Philippines in December, 1925, entitled "Analogia Estructural entre las Lenguas Filipinas" or "Structural Analogy among the Filipino Languages." Limiting ourselves now to the speeches which-having a more or less extensive literature or being spoken by a more or less numerous group of Filipinos-have been called languages, we may say without fear of making mistakes that even these same languages, well-analyzed, are no more than mere dialects of a real mother-tongue. Which is this mother tongue? Is it some of the languages which have taken root in this same Philippine soil or others which existed and still exists in the great isles of Malaysia or in the great Indian continent?.These are questions which need specific replies but has never been definitely answered. The languages: Visayan, Tagalog, Iloco, Bicol, Pampango, Pangasinan, Ibanag and Magindanao, leaving out the others of less importance, represent the eight principal ones from which may be based the study of the feasibility of a "lengua franca" for all the Filipinos. A careful computation of words and an analytic comparison of the grammatical forms lead necessarily to the conclusion that i 'these eight languages are only one language. The relations among themselves are almost equidistant. The Visayan is to the Tagalog, as the Tagalog is to the Iloco; the three dialects of the Visayan are in themselves as the Pampango and the

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 175 Bicol to the Tagalog, or as the Pangasinan and the Ibanag to the Iloco, or as the Maguindanao to the Visayan. The difference of words between one and another oscillates between 25 and 40 per cent only, and the diversity of grammatical structure gives an analogous proportion. The phonetic differences oscillate between five and ten per cent. Meanwhile the proportion of the general diversity between any Filipino dialect and the Spanish or the English language is 99 per cent: excepting in phonetics and spelling in which the difference is 10 per cent with Spanish, and 50 per cent with English. Figure out now the balance of time and effort which results in favor of a Filipino if a region studies the dialect of another region in comparison with another Filipino who studies English or Spanish! We talk here only of advantages from the linguistic point of view leaving aside what are derived of the study and authority of one language over another for practical and national purposes. Coming back to the problem of choosing our common language, I am glad to let all of you know that, impelled by the desire to learn the authorized opinion of the majority, in order to deduce a solution which would be as satisfactory as possible, I have distributed copies of a questionnaire among a great number of fellow citizens born in regions that are not Tagalogs and known for their published works and for their serious opinions in linguistic matters. The first and principal question which gives a strong idea of the aims of my questionnaire, consists of the following: Among the various plans pointed out for the formation of a Filipino language which would serve for the common use of the whole country the two following excell principally: (a) creation of an artificial language of the Esperanto type based on the grammatical structures and the phonetic peculiarities of the Filipino dialects; (b) adoption of a vernacular language enriched and strengthened with terms, phrases and idioms taken from sister polished languages. Which of

176 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS these two plans do you think is more feasible and efficient for the object indicated? The other questions are almost all direct or indirect corollaries of this first, which, in order not to be tiresome, I do not mention here. Only one-half of the distinguished persons whom I invited responded to my "enquete" the others having not been able to do so perhaps because of the lack of time allowed. Among those who participated were Justice Ignacio Villamor from Abra, Justice Norberto Romualdez from Leyte, ex-Senator Juan Villamor from Abra, ex-Senator Isabelo de los Reyes from Ilocos, ex-Representative Gregorio Perfecto from Camarines Sur, Representative Isidro Vamenta of Misamis, ex-Commissioner Jaime C. de Veyra from Leyte, Bishop Mon. Gregorio Aglipay from Ilocos, Mr. Emilio Tolentino from Nueva Viscaya, Mr. Pablo Mejia from Pangasinan, Mr. Flavio Zaragoza from Iloilo and others. With the exception of two, Justice Romualdez and the journalist Mr. Mejia not counting Mr. Zaragoza who has limited his opinion about the points of the questionnaire, all were unanimous in favor of the adoption of Tagalog as the basis of the proposed common language. The decision of Justice Romualdez is circumscribed to the form of selection of the basis-language: in the rest of the questionnaire he coincides virtually with the general opinion. For this Visayan authority there should precede to the election of what would in time be the national idiom, a period of preparation for all the Philippine dialects in which period every one should be cultivated in its respective academies and linguistic societies until by a logical and natural process the superiority of one reveals itself so that by general opinion it would be given the honor of being our common language. On the other hand, the erudite linguist of Pangasinan, Mr. Mejia, chooses a semi-esperantist plan, consisting not of the creation of a new artificial language by means of the combination of the grammatical structures of the dialects but of fusion of vernacular dictionaries taking from each regional tongue an equal number of terms and forms and with the gathered amount there be constructed the common language. This dis

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 177 tinguished contender differs fundamentally from the criterion of Mr. Romualdez and from almost all the others who answered the questionnaire. For him "it is useless to establish a national language without procuring the slow death of the diverse dialects' while the distinguished magistrate establishes his hope of finding a common language for all on the vigorous living of each and every one of our dialects. Outside of these two propositions deciding only on the preparatory plan, in all the others they coincide, much more in the appreciation that, besides the English as official language, we should have a common language properly strengthened to safeguard the substantive qualities, the peculiar culture, and other spiritual interests of our race against the rolling avalanche of Occidentalism and the always absorbent power of any conquering country. I hold, therefore, a strong conviction that if the proposition of adopting a national language be submitted to a free and general plebiscite the vote for the affirmative will be unanimous in the whole country as is the unanimous desire for a national, free and independent life. By following the law of the majority we may save academic discussions about the plans adverse to the principal proposition chosen favorably by almost all the contenders. The adoption of a common language for a country linguistically semiheterogenous but ethnologically homogenous, is an eminently practical problem and cannot be solved with more or less artificial means or with theoretical plans which require the longest time for the elaboration and experiment of its practicability. The principal proposition which consists in the adoption of Tagalog as the basis of the national language is undoubtedly a practical proposition of immediate effects, and besides, it is favored by historical precedents of the human race. Outside of the jealousy which regionalistic sentiments insinuate in the susceptible mind of the Filipinos, I do not believe that there might be other serious and reasonable motives to deny the goodness and practicability of the cited proposition.

178 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS But these sentiments have always been fatal for all ideas of national unity. They give the most terrible weapon to the enemies of our free and happy future. Prince Maquiavelo, who had ceased to exist in his own country, must have died equally among us, and if he had not yet died we should kill him with all premeditation and perfidy because while his shadow lives here, we, the Filipinos, will continue being slaves to disunion and eternal dependents of foreigners. The Visayan, or the Ilocano, or the Mohammedan, or any other brother in the Philippines, does not feel humiliated or insulted by the preponderance of a language which is not his. Thus, as we dd not have such feelings with the dominion of foreign languages in these Islands, but rather we open our arms to embrace and accept them as dominant languages, it looks illogical that we should feel fear and repugnance towards the arrival and exaltation of a brother language, without the violence of the imposition, or the difficulties of the forced assimilation. We accept the Spanish as well as the English language not only because they were languages of power; but also because they are of knowledge. And being in our country, by nature hospitable to strangers and lovers of wisdom by tradition, we do not oppose the study and employment of both languages, and with them, our languages and dialects live together in peace for our common benefit. Yes, as assured by serious historians, the Ilocanos as well as the Visayans and others, could employ for their own use the primitive Tagalog writing as the most universally known in the Archipelago and from it dawned their written literature before the Latin characters were adopted; what is there dishonorable and humiliating in the present circumstances of realizing an intense campaign for the reestablishment of our national solidarity, in accepting this time the same Tagalog language as a common means of intelligence and inter-regional relations? It is not correct to think that the exaltation to the national language of any native speech, much less of the Tagalog, will mean the elimination of the rest, or the moral submission to

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 179 the Tagalogs by the other native regions. This suspiciousness is' as ridiculous as it is incongruent with the lessons of our own experience. At no time of our patriotic history have the Filipinos learned more extensively and perfectly the Spanish language, as during the official implantation of the English language. Such may also be said, and, perhaps, to a greater extent, about the Filipino literature in vernacular languages. Affirming, as we do affirm, that English, as an official language, and Tagalog, as the national language, may compatibly coexist and work together for the general culture and the national and international stability of the Filipino State, we cannot understand why they can not coexist nor colaborate reciprocally the Tagalog as a common language, and the Visayan, Iloco, Maguidanao, etc., as languages in their respective provinces. Each region will conserve and can perfect its dialect; and the language, favored by the election and common consent, will only serve as an intermediary in the national religious, literary, and so forth, transactions, between the diverse groups of our race, which is one, and should always be indissoluble. It is still argued, however, that, since the Tagalog is spoken only4by two million Filipinos, why should it be precisely the chosen one and not the Visayan, which is spoken by five millions? Comprising as it does more than three dialects, the Visayan speech, —the Cebuan, the Panay, the Leyte-Samar, the Aklan, etc.-it is not to be wondered that with the coming up of this proposition there remain implicitly the question of lexicographic diversity and the grammatical and phonological differences which exist among said dialects. This will induce besides offensive comparisons about how the Aklan differs from the Cebuan, the Cebuan from the Panay, the Panay from the Leyte, and how each of them differs from the Tagalog in order to deduce more or less facility in the study of one or the other. But as I have already said at the outset, I am limiting to the problem of common language the practical point of view, and for an eminently national end. The reason for the selection or for the preference of a fixed language does not depend so much on the quantity nor on the quality of the municipalities

180 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS which form the ethnographic or linguistic groups as on the greater or less degree of pliability and efficacy of the adoption and use of the language. In this sense count much the considerations of historical character, geographical literary, heroic, educative, social, political, commercial, industrial, etc. Here are the most outstanding qualities which give credit to the Tagalog and make it worthy of being adopted as a national language. We do not say it; it is proclaimed by the old books about the Philippines, it is said by foreign publications, foreign historians, wise and intelligent fellow citizens, who are not Tagalogs, nucleuses of Filipinos from diverse regions who are found in different places inside and outside of the country; in other words: it is the Tagalog that is given weight by almost all the historians of our race; the most linguistic and most representative type of the country and according to all oriental philologists the best cultivated and the one with the oldest and most copious literature; the common and official language among Filipinos abroad, or in the agricultural and penitentiary colonies, or in workman and student congregations, etc.; the language used and consecrated by the Katipunan, the Revolution, and the Constitutional Government of Malolos; the language of the great capital of the Archipelago to which necessarily flows the regional population in search of knowledge, work, fashion, etc., as well as the law, justice, and official help; it is, finally, the most spontaneous and unanimously recommended by the majority of our linguists and intellectual and social leaders for the national language, as shown in the answers to my questionnaire. And if all these merits given in favor of Tagalog are not enough for its adoption as a basis of our national language, let all the reasons and proofs of superiority and higher qualifications in favor of any other sister language be given now-and I believe that in this I express faithfully the feelings of allwe shall willingly and unconditionally receive its adoption. Countrymen: In the first day of the present Independence Congress our national leaders have advised us that in facing the actual state of our cause in the United States, we should not entirely look upon it with either pessimism or optimism.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 181 The middle ground in these cases is synonymous to scepticism. Oh, always the uncertainty, the mortifying doubt which invites desperation! But our leaders have not deceived us; they told us sincerely of the real situation of our national proceedings; in order that the events, whatever they be, would not get us unprepared. Let us, therefore, be prepared for any event. Let each of us be in his proper place. Let all legitimate patrimonies and the peculiar attribute of our national firmness, be carefully conserved and bravely safeguarded against the avalanche of exaggerated and annihilating exoticism. One of these patrimonies and attributes is our language: the mind, the thought of our country, as Rizal said; the mirror of our social physiognomy and of our moral image; as Selga Salvemoslo also said: Let us put it in practicable and stable conditions-in order that on the first opportunity it may firmly occupy its legitimate seat over the life that'is always brief and unstable of our usurping element; so that we may be able to say some day, mimicking the Great Teacher of humanity: "Over you, my Language, I shall build my Nationality; that the door of Imperialism may never prevail over it." The next speaker was President Rafael Palma, of the University of the Philippines. He read the following paper: THE ROLE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES IN AN INDEPENDENT PHILIPPINES By the HON. RAFAEL PALMA, President, University of the Philippines Under the porticoes of the cathedrals and the projected shades of the monasteries of the Middle Age issued forth the first universities not made up by institutions with their boards and trustees, and rectors, their fixed courses of study, their regulations for professors and students, but by learned renowned

182 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS individuals who attracted around them multitudes from distinct places. It was then said with propriety that the universities were founded upon men. These universities owned their existence to the renaissance which originated at the beginning of the twelfth century, introducing new ways of thinking to Western Europe through the interpretation of the medical teachings of Greek physicians and the works of Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolemy, and the law texts of Justinian, Papinius and others. The new knowledge expanded away from cathedral and monasterial school boundaries, developed the professions, and attracted across mountains and seas enthusiastic youths who formed in Paris and Bologne those academic gilds which have given us the first and best definition of a university, a society of teachers and students. (Charles Homer Huskins, "The Rise of Universities.") The very name 'university" suggests its meaning. It is the place of a universe. It has always been understood that a university can teach all kinds of knowledge specially those of higher grade. It is thus that in our time it is often said that the university is the seat of learning, the citadel of all knowledge. It is learning in all its branches and divisions; the knowledge which comes from history, politics and economics, from physics, chemistry and mathematics, from poetry, sculpture and music, all which ennobles the mind, exalts the feeling and enriches the course of progress. It is also the rendezvous of all men who wish to learn and know; the old society of teachers and students. The tradition of every university is to admit all men of any race or origin; its citizenship is not geographical but universal; its empire more spiritual than material; founded on the communion of minds, on that subtle life which flows from the communication and transmission of truth from one man to another. It matters not what its place is-be it found in the narrow center of the city or in the open spaces of country, let it have sumptuous buildings or let it be deprived of beautiful avenues and gardens, the university exists to teach the highest degree of knowledge of each epoch. We cannot take from it the universality of its aim, of its mission. If we wish to teach

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 183 religion only as done in Cairo University, or just commerce as done in the Commercial University of Genoa, we shall have a university in name only but not in substance. It would be the same if we have the university established solely for the nationals and exclude the foreigners, or if we have it open for a privileged group of society and not for all. The modern universities do not limit themselves to the simple teaching of all knowledge to all the people but they teach how to make application of this knowledge to life and contribute to its advancement through investigation and discovery. The universities have developed and multiplied in all parts of the world. The more advanced nations set their power and credit upon the value and strength of their universities. The university functions are being enlarged every day and many universities besides extending the boundaries of knowledge and preparing the students for undergraduate degrees have assumed the additional duties of providing facilities of higher education to matu're people who have not had the opportunity in their early age. The civilization, once placed into movement, will continue accelerating its march with irresistible impetus like a snow ball which bounces from the summit down the slope. The coming years will see more frequent changes, constant rectifications, incessant alterations not only in the order of speculations and doctrinal theories, in spiritual tastes and in the moral norms, but also, and more especially so, on the practical ground, in the scientific and industrial order and in the mechanical inventions. The universities will have to respond to this accelerated move-\ ment not only by equipping men for professional seats but also by making them search disinterestingly for truth, refine their tastes, learn to form judgment, increase their curiosity and substitute their low material perspective in life with an elevated vision of its needs and demands. These are the results which the higher education give and facilitate. In the midst of this machine age of the fast changing condition of our times the universities should make their influence felt towards the betterment of the general tone and temper of the industrial life and the humanizing of the likes and instincts of the masses

184 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS to reduce the conflicts to their minimum expression and to produce a better comprehension of the more extensive human relations. The university tradition in the Philippines antedates the seventeenth century when the College Seminary of San Ignacio, founded in 1585 by the Jesuits, was changed into a university in 1621 and continued to be so until the expulsion of the order in 1678. It was followed, in the order of antiquity by the College Seminary of St. Tomas which was founded in 1617 and was converted into a Pontifical University in 1645, and given a royal sanction later on. In 1707, by royal decree, the first secular University of San Felipe was established exclusively for the law courses and which was closed in 1726 when its classes were transferred to the University of San Ignacio. The above mentioned universities underwent the same process as the majority of universities of Continental Europe after which they were designed. First they began to teach Arts and Theology, then Canons and Civil law and later on Medicine and Pharmacy. It was only in 1875 when the University of Sto. Tomas upon taking charge of the College of San Jose of older foundation conferred degrees in medicine and pharmacy. The work of these universities, specially that of the University of Sto. Tomas, which without interruption enjoyed the privilege of conferring degrees and academic honors, had a very great influence in the formation of a general social culture, literary as well as professional, which will always stand as a glorious monument to the educational work of Spain in these Islands and of the aptitude of the Filipinos for all kinds of intellectual discipline. The. Philippine Revolution gave a patent proof of such culture when it showed itself tolerant and benign with the vanquished and succeeded in repressing the irregularities and abuses wrought by the times of turbulence because of the orderly spirit, the conservatism of action and conduct exemplified by those elements that received the benefits of a higher education.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 185 In the period of reconstruction which followed the pacification of the Islands in 1908 the Philippine Assembly on its preliminary session decided to keep the tradition of government higher education and with this end in view ordered the founding of the University of the Philippines. What the University of the Philippines has done during these last twenty years cannot be measured in terms of pesos and centavos. Its first task was to modernize the system of higher education and the methods of teaching with the purpose of giving the country a mentality adapted to the necessities of our time and to the requirements of democracy. It was necessary to make many innovations, expand the scope of courses, recruit American and foreign professors to be later on replaced by Filipinos. The University during the period of its existence has rendered great and positive benefits to the country. Not by the number but by the quality of its graduates,' can this University look back and feel just gratification for its work. Notwithstanding the difficulties it has encountered in its beginning, it has given to the community distinguished men and citizens who are exemplary in their public and private life, efficient in their profession and worthy of the esteem and regard of the public. WX'ithout the Colleges of Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Engineering and Forestry it 'vould have been hard to find technical people to fill the positions in the Bureau of Agriculture, Public Works, and others, and we would have been forced to recruit them from foreign land as we did at the beginning. Our College of Medicine has contributed a great deal through its graduate doctors, pharmacists and nurses to the establishment of the health service even in the remotest nook of the Archipelago. The Red Cross and the private profession are beneficiaries of the services of many of our graduates of the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy. Our Colleges of Liberal Arts and Education have constantly provided the public school system with teachers of both sexes who are highly specialized, and in this way we were able to reduce the costly practice of importing teachers from the outside.

186 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The law profession has received an excellent reenforcement with our graduates some of whom are occupying positions of trust and responsibility in the Legislature and in other branches of the Government service. Our artists in the School of Fine Arts have produced splendid works in paintings and sculptures similar to those of Europe and America, thus revealing the artistic gift with which is endowed the genius of the race. The same tribute may be paid to the artists who have been educated in our Conservatory of Music. There are actually four universities in the Islands. The University of the Philippines, the University of Sto. Tomas, the National University and the University of Manila, with total enrollment of over 15,000, which shows the progress of our educational system and the eagerness of our people to profit by the facilities offered to them to complete their education. It can not be said that these universities would lose their power or leadership in the education of the youth when the Philippines becomes independent. On the contrary they would play a more decisive role in the fulfillment of their cultural mission, and in promoting the enlightenment and progress of the country. The new conditions which would arise on account of the change of government and its policies should not affect the principles of organization and the basis of administration of the University of the Philippines. The actual system of having its proper charter is entirely satisfactory. There should exist between the State and the University the same relation of relative independence as it exists now. The undue interference of the State in the internal administration of the University would be undesirable. The State should see to it that the funds for the support of the University come from sources independent of yearly legislative action and should be of such amount that would enable it to stand on its own feet in order that it might preserve its dignity and its autonomy. The reason is obvious. The universities are and should exist for the seeking of truth. The professor in charge of the discovery and imparting of truth would not have the neces

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 187 sary freedom to do so if he did fear to incur the ire or displeasure of the men of power who might take revenge or reprisal against him for his ideas. The intervention of politics be it in the field of administration, justice, religion or science is detrimental to the cause of the State itself. For this reason the modern doctrine has recognized the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of religion and science knowing that all of them are aiming to discover the truth. Truth is like innocence; it has to be free from all impure influence which might contaminate it. The subordination of the University to the fickle influence of politics would make of it a mere appendix of the State and of its professors mere public functionaries who would look for all sorts of political influences to keep them in their chairs. Therefore the interest of every one would not be in teaching or seeking the truth but the University would be converted into a political anthill wherein the friendship. with some one in power would be regarded the best patent of merit for incapacity and the best diploma for immobility. The situation of relative independence between the University and the State does not necessarily mean divorce and antagonism between the two. On the contrary there should exist the reciprocal respect and spirit of cooperation between the two for the service of the public. The State should depend upon the University for technical advice and the University in turn should be prepared to offer solutions to the different problems of the State. The University-I refer specially to State University-should not limit itself to the purely speculative and theoretical work but it has the duty of studying the practical problems concerning the progress and well-being of the country so that when its technicians were called in the counsel of the State they would be able to give light and satisfaction on the arduous problems submitted. But the most important role which the University would play in the future would be that which concerns the moulding of the mentality of the people. In the past as well as at present we have adapted our mentality to the influences of the environment not because of our own taste and proper choice

188 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS but because of the weight of circumstances. The patterns of our education from the lowest grade to the most advanced have been cut by foreign preceptors. There would unquestionably be a broad field for betterment and adjustment in this respect which would look forward to the adaptation of instruction to the national ideals and aspirations and to our historical background. We have to prepare our youth not only for professions but also for the civil service, the national defense and the diplomatic relations. Materials which are of little importance now in our course of study because of our dependent status would increase in weight with the change of situation. For instance, all courses pertaining to tariffs, immigration, monetary systems, disposal of public lands and mines which by the nature of our relations with the United States are of secondary interest at present would come to the front of our educational problems. The problem of the development of our natural resources to satisfy the new additional demands of an independent state would require emphasis in those professions directly related in propelling the economic progress. The branches of industrial and mining engineering and the technical courses in agriculture need to be created or reenforced, for everywhere those who have embraced these callings have been in the vanguard of material progress in their countries. But the most salient phase in which there can never be overemphasis enough is to give new direction to our mentality making it more scientific, more sensible to the realities and not to the abstractions of life and less afraid of the new changes. It is not the mentality that never changes which progresses but it is the opposite way. I sincerely believe and I have repeated this many times that our salvation does not consist in keeping our minds shut to the spirit of the age considering it as something exotic or foreign that it would be unworthy for us to take and assimilate but in absorbing and assimilating whatever elements of culture we can draw out, of the experience of other people to enrich and enlarge with it our cultural and spiritual inheritance. There is nothing I believe more suicidal for our country than to pretend to be content with the stock of knowledge of

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 189 the past without adding to it the wisdom and experience of an ever-changing world. The present era is eminently scientific and we cannot reasonably live and survive by isolating ourselves in our own islet formed during the theological era. We need to absorb and assimilate whatever else is of benefit to us. That is the law, the task of all education and progress. From the moment that the individual ceases to absorb new ideas or try new experiences, he stops growing intellectually. For this reason I consider that the universities of our land and specially the University of the Philippines have a special mission toward the people of the islands, and that is, to stimulate a more scientific, reasoning and analytical mind among its students, that the country might be prepared through them for the struggle and contingencies of the future whether of national or international character. In all frankness, I am sorry to say that our mentality, in spite of the political and social revolutions which took place in our soil has been very little affected in its complexion and form as if nothing happened around us and that our adherence to old intellectual habits and ancient precepts and beliefs, which are in complete disaccord with the realities and for which we feel an exalted pride, is the principal factor which retards our national development and our intimate association with the progress and ideals of the present age. The last speaker in the first session was the Chairman, Dean Benitez. He spoke as follows: OUR EDUCATIONAL POLICY IN RELATION TO INDEPENDENCE By DR. FRANCISCO BENITEZ, Dean, College of Education, U. P. For the last fifty years at least, the fundamental concern of our people has been and is in the struggle. for the achievement of independent nationhood. After these years of efforts, our people today, an impartial observer will see, are as well prepared

190 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS for it as any other people in the world that at present aspire for its independence. Ours is, in the first place, a homogenous people, possessed of the same culture that has been the result of Malayan, Hindu, Chinese, Spanish and American influences, able to communicate with one another in English, and Spanish, the overwhelming majority of us being Christians united by a long history of sacrifices for liberty, and, thanks to the liberal policy of America, enlightened in the principles of good government and democracy. An impartial observer will further notice that the mind of our people is irrevocably made up on this question, not because we are ungrateful to the United States, but because we realize that on account of fundamental differences in race and history and of our geographical situation, our people must work out their own destiny as a nation and in that way contribute their share to human progress and welfare. Our thirty years of association with America has been beneficial not only because of the generous original policy of the United States towards the Philippines as announced by President McKinley, but strange as it may seem, because some sincere American friends of our people again and again doubted our capacity for self-government. There were those who were skeptical of our people's ability not only in government but also in the different fields of endeavor, and this served as a challenge and a stimulus to our people. In education, there were those who doubted whether Filipinos could be trained to teach in the high schools and in colleges and universities. However experience has shown that in education, as in every other field, whenever the Filipinos were given the opportunity to acquire the necessary training, they demonstrated beyond any doubt their ability and proficiency. Now, even the most skeptical no longer question the Filipinos' ability to maintain a good government of their own and to perform all those other obligations and duties essential for individual and social welfare. After these many years of trials and struggles, the fundamental aspiration of our people is still unrealized and we are, therefore, in a condition similar to that of a man whose one great and fundamental desire has been suppressed. We are

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 191 obssessed with one great desire and nothing will make us normal and content except the realization of this fundamental wish-national self-realization. In our contact with Americans, vigorous and efficient producers we have naturally learned to change somewhat our standards of values. We now realize more than ever the importance of material and economic development to a people, the need of roads and bridges, sanitation and schools, but all these things will remain secondary to the supreme aspiration-the achievement of independence or national self-realization, for on this depends our self-respect. For it, our people have fought and died in the past, and for it the present generation is willing to sacrifice their material well-being. In the meantime, and confident that America's promise of granting us independence will be kept, we should consider some of the great problems that will confront an independent Philippines. In education, what problems will confront us? Before any other oriental people, ours committed themselves to the democratic system of social organization and the republican form of government, and it is to be presumed that an independent Philippines will continue the democratic social organization and re-establish a republican form of government. Democracy has, as its essential basis, an enlightened population which in turn is dependent upon universal education. We believe, therefore, that the most fundamental educational problem that an independent Philippines will have to face is the eradication, within five or at most ten years, of illiteracy in our country. After ascertaining the total amount of funds from our municipalities, provinces, and the insular government available for education, we shall have to undertake this task. We must devote our available resources to the education of all children of school age and of all illiterate adults, giving to all as good an education as our resources will permit. It may be necessary, to carry out this policy, to enact a law compelling all children between the ages of seven and eleven to attend the primary schools and all illiterate adults between the ages of eighteen and fifty to attend night schools organized for them.

192 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Such a policy which would make education for all children of school age and all illiterate adults compulsory will naturally tend to lower our educational standards at the beginning but we are convinced that in spite of this temporary disadvantage, we must plan for universal education if we want a stable foundation of an independent Philippines. There are at present in our country about 2,000,000 people over 18 years old who have not received the benefits of public instruction and who can not even read or write in their native language. Here we have an important element of our population, an important group of the Filipino people, left untouched and untaught. They are the citizens of to-day. We neglect them for the sake of training the citizens of tomorrow, forgetting that our adult population is our greatest resource now, for it comprises the present Filipino people. We love our children and will make sacrifices for their welfare; but can we afford to neglect the present generation of adults, the people who make of our country a land of opportunity and happiness or a land of economic slavery and political tyranny? For the sake of our young people, we should educate the adults, as no amount of instruction of the young will make them good citizens unless in their life outside the school-in the home and in the neighborhood-they live with and are influenced by good, intelligent, public-spirited adult citizens. With a plan for universal education that is national in scope, we will still have the special problem of educating the Mohammedan and non-Christian Filipinos, our backward peoples, so they may be raised to the same level and standards of life as the Christian Filipinos and thus assimilate them into our body politic. To this end, an independent Philippine government should see to it that at least five hundred well-selected Mohammedan and non-Christian Filipinos, young men and young women, are brought to Manila at the expense of the government for their training as teachers for Mindanao and Sulu and in order that they may have the opportunity of association and contact with other Filipinos and thus become

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 193 truly Filipinos not only in race but also in spirit. And if in addition to this measure the government should send immigrants from densely inhabited provinces such as the Ilocos and Cebu to settle in Mindanao, in Mindoro and other sparsely inhabited regions of our country, we venture to predict that within ten years all our people-Christians, Mohammedans, and others —will be self-supporting and intelligent citizens of the country. On account of differences in religion between the southern and northern Filipinos, there are those who believe that Mohammedans and Christians in our country are not bound by the same historical past, and, therefore, are not united at present in their aspirations for a common destiny. Historians and anthropologists assure us that our people had the same civilization for a thousand years before the coming of the Spaniards. Even at the time of Spanish occupation, the rulers of Luzon and Mindanao were related by blood and by marriage and had friendly relations with one another. The Spanish occupation, therefore, of our country, is only a short period of time as compared with the long period of common history previous to their coming. The Filipinos of the South for the most part remained uninfluenced by Spanish domination. while the Filipinos of Luzon and Visayas adopted many of the aspects and features of Spanish civilization. Now these two groups of our people, belonging to the same race, are united again in one mighty effort to strengthen and solidify our national structure. The history of our people is like a stream that from its source flowed on for thousands of years, and then at an obstruction in its path became divided for the brief lapse of three centuries. Now its waters, at last united again, flow on toward a greater destiny. Belonging as we do to the same race and sharing the same traditions, we will find the permanent foundations of our national solidarity in like-mindedness, in the love of our people for our land and our country. The more deeply our people become rooted in our native soil, the more permanent and the more vigorous will our nation's existence and solidarity become.

194 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS WCe all realize, of course, that separation from America will mean for a few years following it economic readjustment for our people. Our educational leaders must, therefore, plan those measures which will make of our entire population efficient producers as well as wise consumers; and thus gradually not only undertaking efficient agricultural production but also engaging themselves in industries, trade and commerce we will be enabled to support, by greater economic development, an independent country. We believe that once we have secured an independent existence and have realized our fundamental aspiration, our best minds will devote themselves to those economic activities and other forms of endeavor which are essential to the maintenance and progress of an independent country. For the modern spirit is economic. The needs of ever-increasing millions demand that all the resources of the earth be exploited for the production of wealth. They say to us: You have vast resources still untouched. What do you propose to do with them? Utilize them! Produce! If you are unwilling or unable to do so, step aside and give way to those who can and will. In the face of such a challenge we must take stock of ourselves and understand once for all that in failing to be economically productive we are headed for extinction. Theoretically we may be right when we say that there is no need of exploiting our natural resources; that we shall keep them intact for our children's children. Theoretically justice will avail us nothing. For better or for worse we are a part of this age. We have accepted its benefits. We must help carry its burdens, take our place in the harness or else be crushed underfoot. Economic productiveness then should be a dominant feature of education in an independent Philippines. Because of our traditions, the product of the influences of Spanish civilization, we have, until the coming of the Americans, conceived of the educated man as one who has the cultural refinement and the social graces primarily, rather than a well-balanced ability to produce and to serve as well as to consume and utilize. But since American occupation and our contact with its aggressive economic organization, and, with the economic motive under

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 195 lying all social movements in the whole world today, we are confronted by the necessity, if we are to survive as a people, of changing our conception of the educated man and conceive of him as a man who can produce efficiently as well as consume wisely. More and more, we should feel that a man who speaks or writes one or two foreign languages, who is at home with the fine arts, and possesses the social graces is not fundamentally educated unless he has, in the first place, the ability to produce and to support himself. And yet, the aim of the new education should not be to turn out men who are producers only and nothing more; for the purely vocational education is as little to be desired as the purely cultural. Man earns his bread by the sweat of his brow; but he lives not by bread alone. With independence, we will be more conscious of our responsibilities and obligations as well as of our rights as an independent and self-respecting unit in the family of nations, and, with independence, there will be in our country a rennaisance, a new determination to do and achieve all those things which will enable us not only to maintain and to foster progress and welfare among us but to discharge all those duties that a civilized people owe to mankind. And as our civilization is the product of the influences of both the East and the West, we hope, as an independent nation, to contribute to a better understanding between the Eastern and Western nations. In conclusion, let me just mention that with independence, the control of public education-its administrative organization, finance, curriculum, personnel, etc.-will naturally be in Filipino hands. I am convinced that Filipino leaders and educators have the necessary training, experience and vision, to evolve a system of education that will meet the needs and demands of the Philippines as an independent country. Such a system will aim to make of the Filipinos a self-supporting, vigorous, intelligent, patriotic and happy people, cherishing those practices, ideas and ideals that constitute the core of our nationality.

196 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS After the foregoing papers were read, a brief discussion on the main points presented by the different speakers followed. After the discussion the Section voted to indorse the following points to the Committee on Resolutions: 1. The adoption of the Tagalog language as the national language of the Philippines. In connection with this recommendation, a resolution for the creation of a committee of five for the purpose of taking up with the legislature the feasibility of adopting the J dialect as the national language was approved and presented to the Committee on Resolutions of the Congress for action. 2. That the University of the Philippines be free from political control and infuence in order that it may serve better as a factor in the shaping of a scientific and liberal mentality of the Filipino people. 3. The following objectives in our educational policy: (a) Eradication of illiteracy among children and adults; (b) Education of the Non-Christian population of the Philippines, viz; the Moros and others so as to bring them to the same standards of culture as those of the Christian Filipinos; (c) Emphasis on economic development and vocational education. The session adjourned at 12:00 noon.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION Second Session The second session of the Educational Section was held at 9:30 A. M. on February 25, 1930, with President Gavino Tabufiar, of the National University, as Chairman. There were three speakers. The first speaker was Director Angel Argiuelles, of the Bureau of Science. He read the following paper: THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN AN INDEPENDENT PHILIPPINES. By ANGEL ARGUELLES, Assistant Director, Bureau of Science The recent world war has brought to the front the great importance which science plays in the life of a nation both in time of peace and in time of war. The present period of world development is bound to bring about conditions that will compel nations to struggle with great intensity for commercial and industrial supremacy. In this, science plays a dominant role. It is admitted by all students of Far Eastern affairs that the countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean are destined to undergo marvelous changes in the near future. This will make the Orient one of the busiest centers of industrial and commercial activities. The Philippines is in the vortex of this impending development and it would be of highest importance to marshal the forces of the nation in such away as to meet adequately the new conditions. The Philippines was under the Spanish regime for some 300 years and during this period very little emphasis was placed on industrial and commercial development. In the last thirty 197

198 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS years, however, great changes have taken place and marked progress in science and commerce has been attained. Nevertheless, considerable work remains yet to be accomplished to insure solid economic development. The government is called upon to work out an industrial program with a-view to acce- lerating the economic development of the Islands. This is fully justified by the fact that we are considerably handicapped by the lack of an adequate number of aggressive and experienced captains of industry who can develop to the full extent the promising technical industries of the islands. During the last one hundred years science has progressed by leaps and bounds. This progress has been the result of the common effort of scientific men in the leading nations of the world. Science has been called "an organized knowledge of the forces of nature for the service of men." In the present high degree of civilization, science is inextricably bound with progressive culture as well as with economic development. A people that aspires for a national existence, or one enjoying the full rights and privileges of a free nation, must look to science as one of the fundamental instruments in building a high level of civilization and attaining those elements which go to make up national strength and power. Only a glimpse of the various phases of science touching vital activities of the country will be discussed here. The technical branches of the government are contributing their respective parts to the advancement of science for the benefit of our industry and agriculture. As attested by common experience, the most progressive countries of the world are highly industrialized and this would be impossible without a high degree of scientific development. Wherever one finds a progressive and highly developed country or nation, science will invariably be found to be highly developed and to be receiving the greatest attention on the part of the government, and the people highly responsive in the adoption of scientific discoveries. But in order to put the scientific work upon a sound basis it is necessary that there be an adequate supply of men trained along specialized lines and that proper support be given investigational work. Scientific investigation requires men of ability with

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 199 steadfast purpose and strong inclination to undertake problems of direct value to the country. Men engaged in scientific work should have the spirit of a missionary because such line of activity does not offer as big material gains as in other professional callings. However, it would be only proper for institutions engaged in research work to render adequate inducement to men of proven ability to dedicate themselves in their line of work. Furthermore, the carrying out of research requires proper laboratory equipment. The government has been interested in developing scientific work but more support should be given in view of the growing need of our industry and agriculture. It is quite evident that science is a part and parcel of our national progress. Ex-President Coolidge has vividly described the scientific work in America. "The place of scientific research in our governmental economy should have more appropriate recognition. With developed bureaus, with all our indebtedness to investigation we are still lacking in proper appreciation of scientific work. It is not comforting to our pride to think of the eminent scientists who are serving our government without adequate recompense or the losses in personnel we sustain by lack of appropriate provision for those who would be our greatest benefactors. As the test of civilization is in the sense of values there is little room as yet for boasting. The most competent organization of national scientific work which will seek, hold and suitably reward investigators of the highest rank is the fundamental requirement." A tropical country like the Philippines requires a highly developed organization to take care of the hygiene and sanitation of the people. Up to about thirty years ago, life in the tropics was considered extremely hazardous in view of the fact that epidemic diseases like cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox and others may break out at irregular intervals. In those days when medical science was not fully harnessed to cope with the situation, a considerable proportion of the population became decimated because of the ravages of diseases in one form or another. Fortunately the great advances of science along this direction have made tropical life much more enjoyable and safe

200 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS thaii in previous years. However, science must struggle on in combating the different types of epidemic diseases which confront people living in the tropics. It will be the part of wisdom to closely keep abreast with the progress of sanitation and hygiene in order that our population can grow normally and with vigor and strength. The importance of this work is so self-evident that its necessity need not be emphasized. There looms a problem of giant magnitude which an independent Philippines must face and that is the proper development of instrumentalities for national defense. Modern war- fare can only be carried out with a reasonable degree of success tIy the intensive application of science. The modern instruments of warfare have reached such a high degree of perfection and complexity that only a nation with advanced technical knowledge can hope to employ them effectively. It has been said that war, reduced to the simplest terms, is the pitting of the resources of one nation or group of nations against those of another. The side which has the greatest resources or the side which uses its resources to the greatest possible advantage maintains the better position. Since science makes the resources more available or enables their efficient use it becomes a vital military factor. Just as science is useful in time of peace so it is of paramount importance in time of war. The manufacture of modern explosives is essentially a chemical industry founded upon careful research and supervised by trained and experienced technical men. The explosives of today are quite distinct from regular mixtures of charcoal, saltpeter and sulphur of the old days. Picric acid is probably the first known modern explosive. Later on this was followed by the discovery of gun cotton and nitroglycerine. These two substances form the basis of modern smokeless powder and dynamite. Trinitrotoluol and other nitrated bodies were extensively 4 used during the last world war. So the development of the different kinds of explosive for national defense is of great importance. One of the greatest works developed in the last world war was ih connection with poisonous gas. The research on the different chemical warfare gases used with a view to study their

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 201 properties and manufacture for national defense is also of great importance. The chemical warfare is considered the most effective and at the same time the least costly for national defense. Then there is the engineering side which also must not be overlooked. The use of the airplane, submarine and the utilization of artillery guns make us realize the many scientific problems Which an independent nation must face in order that it may survive. The Philippines is fortunate in being endowed by nature with potential wealth in agriculture, forestry and mines. The agricultural wealth of the country is the dominant element in our national economic structures. But in order that agriculture can be developed profitably on a permanent basis science must be called to service. Our great export crops of sugar, coconut, abaca, tobacco, together with other minor crops, and that of rice which is the food of the nation, must be developed along scientific lines to increase or maintain the present high production. These crops must also be protected from the ravages of plant pests and diseases. Our sad experience with the once profitable coffee industry of Lipa and the present menace of the leaf miner on the vast coconut plantations of central Luzon should give us ample cause for reflection. Scientific investigations to counteract serious destruction by plant pests on our money crops are imperative. Systematic experimentation should also be carried out for the principal crops with a view to study the method of cultivation, plant breeding and fertilization in order that profitable crop can be assured to the farmer. It is necessary that scientific work must be undertaken hand in hand with the growth and development of our agriculture. The proper utilization of our agricultural products as well as those of our natural resources would require the establishment of technical industries. No nation can go very far in economic prosperity and general progress by being contented to produce raw materials for export. The modern tendency among progressive peoples is to utilize the raw agricultural products and materials from natural resources and elaborate them as much as possible into finished products for export abroad. In this manner better prices are obtained and at the

202 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS same time technical industries are built up whereby the masses of the people may find lucrative employment. In this way people become trained to utilize their time and energy for some productive endeavor, and at the same time earn living wages. This would tend to raise the standard of living. Our lack of industrial development gives us so much unemployed man power in the provinces. It, therefore, becomes a function of the state to encourage industrial development, to create wealth for the country, give employment to the masses, and thereby help elevate the earning capacity of the people. Among the manifold uses and application of science in the life of a nation several facts stand out in bold relief-sanitation and hygiene in order that the population may grow in number and in strength; agriculture which furnishes raw material for the industries so that the people may have the necessities and comfort of life; the industries so that the raw agricultural products can be converted into elaborate commodities for the world's market and to establish a more solid economic foundation; and last but not least is the encouragement of research in science so that the instruments of national defense can be developed to the highest efficiency, and the country may be able to defend itself when attacked in the course of its national existence. A people highly imbued with scientific ideas, who make use of science in all national activities, can well look with confidence into the future. We should bear in mind the significant statement of a British scientist in which emphasis is laid on the fact that science conquers all. "Sciencia vinces-whether it be on the field of battle, on the waves of the ocean, amid the din and smoke of the workshop, or on the broad acres under the light of heaven; and assuredly, in the future, even more than in the past, not only the prosperity, but even the existence of the nation will be found to depend upon the 'improvement of Natural Knowledge'-that is, upon the more complete application of scientific knowledge and methods to every department of industrial and national activity."

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 203 It can be properly stated that the gospel of science is the gospel of intelligent and productive work. A nation with this gospel deeply engrained in its complex make up, is bound to rise and will survive thru the vicissitudes of time. The next speaker was Director Fabian de la Rosa, of the School of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines. He read the following paper: PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE AS AN INCENTIVE TO PHILIPPINE ART BYBy PROF. FABIAN DE LA ROSA, Director, School of Fine Arts, U. P. Mr. President and Gentlemen: My presence in this solemn occasion is due to an invitation which I received from the executive Secretary of the. Independence Congress, Mr. Maximo Kalaw, who has assigned me the following subject: "Independent Philippines as a Stimulus to the Filipino Art." Before all, I believe it convenient to let it be known that at present we still do not have our own national art, in the sense that the phrase is interpreted in occidental countries, producers up to the present of the greatest and most magnificent works owing to the artistic activities of the soul. On the other hand, when we say "Filipino art" I do not doubt that the phrase means the effective existence of Filipino nationality with all the creative elements of the whole nationality, but for the purpose of the theme, it matters little how such has been realized; for what is important, what is interesting, is for us to be, as I believe we already are, a whole organic body so that in that way the Philippines can exist with a national background. This last is the fundamental factor, perhaps the only one, that can guide us with security to the knowledge if anyone so desires, of the genesis and the development of the art of a nation. But since this is not the occasion, and neither am I

204 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS conveniently prepared to treat such a difficult question, I shall limit myself to the literal development of the theme assigned to me. And now, as the Philippines is a country that does not yet enjoy political freedom, the more elevated activity, it is true, and actually the end which the whole country look forward to, though it be not necessarily contained in the concept of it as proven by the Greeks, the Jews, and also the Germans of the eighteenth century, who looked for nationality only in cultural activities, can this circumstance constitute an obstacle to the formation and development of a native art? No, this will never do, except in the improbable case that the Filipinos be without their will, that is, the idea, which is the factor of nationality, for as an European author said: "These groups of men form a nation who in any direction wish to constitute a unity and act as such." Fortunately the Filipinos have will, that is, we wish to be a free and independent nation directing our domestic affairs without foreign interference. On the other hand there is no human power on earth that can impede the activities of the soul in their artistic manifestations. Of this exists not a single example in the already long history of art. rWe may, however, have the most complete assurance that in the course of time the Philippines, independent or not can count on its own art, with the only condition that we possess and learn to conserve and improve our racial virtues in conjunction with the good elements which we accept from the outside, capable of strengthening and elevating to the utmost possible height our moral and material personality. Thus our future art will have all the characteristics of a sane, noble and sincere art, because the Filipino artist, being an integral part of a society made up of human elements cannot help but create good works too. But let us suppose for a moment that we take conditionally or unconditionally all the innovations, novelties, customs and other things from our ruler, if they are good and perfectly adaptable from the American point of view, but perfectly unadaptable and improper from our own point of view, it will result that in the long run, the native baggage of our good

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 205 things which the very same foreigners admire, will be relegated to the second or last place and in its position will substitute another with elements which, in the form of a disguise, will hide what little we have left which distinguish us from the rest, converting ourselves in this way into mere talking manikins, deprived of proper impulse and, hence, of originality, soul and irreplaceable elements destined to the perfecting of man, elevating him to the serene heights of beauty to make him forget if only for a minute his pains and miseries during his pilgrimage in this world. Transformed in this sense, the psychology of the Filipinos and, consequently of the whole Filipino nation, we can easily figure out the value of the atmosphere formed by the society which is a natural product of such a change. All that is produced in the bosom of such atmosphere, amplifying what has already been stated above, will be of no importance to our wishes of improvement. And in the sectors' of the esthetic character of the nation, ours, the influence of said atmosphere would be of worse and fatal results; for then, from the basis of the ideal building of the future national art which we are now beginning to construct will be seen abandoned and finally covered up and disappearing under the action of our inconsistent and changeable character. This is the sole and enormous danger which will prevent the realization of our legitimate desires of having a national art easily conjurable if we make use of an element whose wonderful spiritual transformative and acquisitive power has worked and will work miracles forever, for the benefit of humanity. I refer to the education of the will and the character. The most distinguished arts, those that have learned to express in a superior form the significant epochs of humanity as well as the ideas, the dreams, and loves of a country, of a race, or nation, had their origin in the bosom of a free and independent community. Were it not for these circumstances, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and even Greece itself would not have been able to bequeath to the world the leaping mass of artistic works which has glorified the past generations and up to the present it continues giving actually sweet and deli

206 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS cious emotions with the divine nectar of beauty, the deified emanation of the Supreme Artist, Creator of the Universe. To follow the example of those nations, unquestionable hierarchs in the immense domains of arts, the Philippines should be free, mistress of her own acts and her own destiny equal to the mentioned nations. What is happening in art now here in our country is significant enough of what it might be in the future. In it we already see projecting with enough relief the characters of a commercial art. They are the primary effects of the influence of the esthetic ideas of our rulers. Permit me to say something about this subject, for its'better understanding. Ordinarily, the American artist, especially he who has not taken artistic courses in Europe, feels inclined and more commonly finds himself impelled to continue his artistic activities within the powerful current produced by predominance in the society of his country, or in North America, of an eagerness, let us say ideal, though running the risk of falling in a paradox, to possess and accumulate immense wealth by means of industry. Within this atmosphere it is natural that the pure art would not have many cultivators in said country, for the simple reason that whoever dedicate in it has to make use of a great proportion and intensity of his intellectual faculties, and possess, besides, an exquisite sense of harmony united, at least, to a regular professional culture and other auxiliary knowledge which a real artist is obliged to possess these days. There are, it is true, some very rare American artists, who do not allow themselves to be swept away by the current, but they either live for years in Europe working in that environment or reside in their country to comply with just one sole purpose, but usually to go back to Europe as if they fear the contagion of industrialism in their country. Thus this very race, well-selected number of American artists do not exercise, cannot exercise the necessary influence to change the course of the esthetic ideals of their country in the sense of elevating their art to the level of Europe. In view, therefore, of all that has been said before, the Filipino artists cannot help but wish for the immediate and com

EDUCATIONAL SECTION 207 plete independence of our beloved country, the Philippines, without misunderstanding such a wish to mean, resentment or ill-will against America, to whom, on the contrary, we feel that we owe great favors. It is more. This aspiration for liberty, inherent to all created beings from the most insignificant animal to the most civilized man, is stimulated and is intensifying itself from day to day in the Filipino soul by virtue of the example of history and the spirit of that same country which, contradicting itself and weakening in this way the faith which the others have put on it, as champion of liberty, wants to continue retaining us without our expressed consent, alleging motives more deceiving than real. Only a Philippines completely free and independent can reflect in art a pure and polished image of its native soul, thus providing its artists moments of intense and sane happiness, which will serve as a stimulant to his soul to create work of superior quality, where will be seen reproduced the effects that an atmosphere of liberty can generate in the will and sensibility of the artist; because, say what you will and think as you will, a controlled country is found constantly exposed to suffer great moral and material changes to the detriment oftentimes of its good native qualities, which means little or nothing to the ruler that always feels more interested in what concerns itself than on things belonging to the controlled country. And so, we can see by ourselves what would happen to art which is the cleanest mirror of the soul and customs of the nation; what would happen to art, I repeat, which reflects a similar image. It can not be any other than a hybridous, irresolute, insincere and weak art. Thanks. In the discussion on the part that the students should take in the campaign for independence, President Mariano de los Santos of the University of Manila, made a vigorous appeal so that the students in the Philippines, the students in America and the students in Europe and Asia might help in the campaign for inde

208 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS pendence. )r. Vidal A. Tan, of the University of the Philippines, spoke on the possibility of suppressing regional societies for these encourage the spirit of sectionalism instead of national unity. Mr. Emerito Ramos, of the College of Law, University of the Philippines, spoke on what the Junior Independence League could do to promote the spirit of patriotism and the enthusiam for independence. After somewhat long and interesting discussions on the different topics presented by the speakers, the following resolutions were adopted and referred to the Committee on Resolutions of the Congress for action: That the Legislature be requested to hear the Filipino scientists before any action on the proposed transfer of the Alabang Experimental Station to the Philippine Research Institute is taken. That this Congress go on record as favoring the adoption of a plan for the gradual control of our scientific facilities. That a Committee of five leading Filipino scientists be appointed to study the best ways and means of encouraging scientific pursuits in the Philippines. That the delegates to this Independence Congress be requested to head an organization of students in their respective provinces which will be called "The Provincial Students' Independence Federation." That we include as an important part of the curriculum in the public schools the teaching of patriotism and if the Legislature does not authorize such idea because of lack of funds, that competent persons be given the authority to give lectures on patriotism at least once a week to students of the public schools, attendance to which to be obligatory. That a Committee of Three, consisting of President Mariano de los Santos, Dr. Vidal A. Tan and Mr. Emerito Ramos, be appointed to draft appropriate resolutions for indorsement to the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress as to the best ways' of carrying out the suggestions made by the various speakers. The Second Session of the Educational Section was adjourned at 12:30 p. m.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION The International Relations Section of the First Independence Congress held its session at 9:30 a. m. on February 23, 1930. The Chairman was the Honorable Mariano H. de Joya. The chairman called the section to order and then addressed the members as follows: THE RECOGNITION OF NEW STATES AND THE POSSIBLE GUARANTEES TO PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE By the HON. MARIANO H. DE JOYA, Formerly Judge of the Court of First Instance It is well known that Public International Law and its true importance have only been officially recognized by the Nations of Europe since the year 1648 of the Congress of Westphalia, the deliberations of which had for one of its principal results the recognition of the principle of equality of the free and sovereign nations. In the said Congress, all the important powers of Europe, with the exception of England, Russia, and Poland were represented; and naturally they treated each other as sovereign and independent countries forming among themselves the Family of Nations, that since then has been exercising the right to admit other nations in their group of the Great Powers, which are in actuality, Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy in Europe. Since there also exist other Great Powers as the United States of America and the Empire of the Rising Sun, these Great Powers personify the civilization and culture of their respective hemispheres in particular and of the whole civilized world in general; and, therefore, the said countries are the more authorized exponents of the civilization and progress of the world. 209

210 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS What concerns us now is the union of conditions and circumstances under which a new country that affirms and establishes itself by means of its own vitality and its own endeavor could be-recognized by the other powers and admitted to the Concert of the Free and Independent Nations. The recognition of the independence of a country by the others is of great importance, because the recognition is equivalent to the confirmation of the independence and the granting to the recognized country of the fulness of rights and obligations. In the first place before a country may be recognized and * admitted by the others in their group, it is absolutely necessary that it should have a de facto independent existence with its own territory, and that its inhabitants should have a civilization and culture equal or similar to those of the other powers that have already formed part in the Great Family of Sovereign Nations, relying at the same time on the true solidarity of its political constitution represented by a stable government, proper and responsible. The superficial extension of the territory and the number of its inhabitants are questions of secondary importance. A nation or small country as the Republic of Cuba or that of Panama might be as free, sovereign, and independent as the Great British Empire. With respect to civilization and culture which the said country should have, it is desired that they be equal or similar to those existing in the most cultured and civilized nations. But before and above all there should exist a true stability in the political constitution of the new country which should have its own government free from foreign influence and inter- ference, of permanent character, lasting and responsible in order to be able to win the good will, sympathy, help, and con- fidence of the other powers, that its rights and interests as well as those of its subjects and citizens shall always be protected and defended as if they were in their own respective countries. Naturally all this implies, urges, and presupposes wisdom, good faith, prudence, and uprightness on the part of the country and of the notables and leaders.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 211 The form of government adopted by the new country matters little. The different forms of government which history records have their respective merits and disadvantages: the Monarchy, the government of the past, may easily change into despotism; the Aristocracy, the government of the present, may degenerate into oligarchy; and the Democracy, that luminous form of the government of the future on which depend the most legitimate hopes of all the countries, may degenerate and change into ochlocracy, still more dangerous than despotism, being in the hands of inexpert men, led by hatred and thirsty of revenge. It may be said, however, that the most stable, happy, and durable government which may be established in a definite' country is that which has for its basis the free-will, the complete liberty which all countries should have of choosing the sovereignty to which they wish to subject themselves and the form of government which they wish to adopt; in accordance with their creative intellect, psychology, and historical antecedents. This will of a country may establish and help itself in natural and artificial reasons and ties. If the foundation is the nationality which implies community of blood, religion, idiom, laws and institutions, a common past with the same aspirations, happiness, tribulations, fortified by uniform and general culture, the political unity will coincide with the same moral unity as that of France, Belgium, or Italy. If being free is man's natural right, as the great thinkers say and affirm, then it cannot be denied that that right is also the patrimony of all countries and inherent in them. Thus declared the illustrious founders of the Great North American Republic and thus proclaimed all the great thinkers who have ever served the cause of the entire humanity. The diversity of races, religions, idioms, laws, institutions and customs, however, are not obstacles to the formation of a great free, and prosperous state so long as its basis be liberty. The ties that bind actually the 120,000,000 inhabitants of the vast territories of the United States of America cannot be more artificial-men belonging to all races professing an infinity of religious and political creeds, subject to diverse sys

212 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS tems of legislation, with customs and traditions of all the circuits of the earth; but in spite of all that they constitute the greatest and most powerful nation of the world, where all the hatred and injurious rivalries are drowned, because they are firmly united by the same cause of liberty by the heat of which all nationalities are melted. On the other side of the Atlantic exists also the prototype of the Great American Republic-the Swiss Confederate-whose inhabitants, notwithstanding their diversity of races, religions and languages have succeeded in establishing a free, happy, and prosperous state, the union of which was made possible for their community of interests and for the same ideals, sacrifices, and tribulations, from the most ominous days of its past bloody history of the attainment of liberty. But when the will of the countries are not paid attention to in the formation of a state, the happy and durable union of the different territories that artificially compose it, is very difficult if not impossible. We have the Latin Belgium and the Teutonic Holland, united arbitrarily by the Great Powers of Europe in 1815, which separated by force in 1831. In the case of Bulgaria and Oriental Roumania we can see its antithesis. Their inhabitants are of the same race and after having been separated, by the arbitrariness of the Great Powers in Europe in 1878, Oriental Roumania sustained an obstinate fight against Turkey to be united again with Bulgaria. The same fight, with its unheard-of atrocities upheld for many years by the Ottoman Empire against its old dependencies and provinces as Montenegro, Servia, Roumania and Bulgaria which resulted into the complete separation of these last ones from the old Metropolis, equally demonstrates in an unequivocal manner the irresistible justice and triumph of the principle of nationality over the arbitrariness of the right of force. And at last may be mentioned the Empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, composed of diverse nationalities which have never forgotten.to manifest in a way or other their legitimate and noble aspiration of living an independent life more in conformity with reason and with their historical antecedents; and from the ruins of which sprang forth the new republics of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Finland and many others.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 213 As has already been said the recognition of the independence of a new state by the other powers is equivalent to its ratification, which state from then acquires the fulness of the right and obligations inherent in every free, sovereign, and independent nation. Once recognized its independence, the new nation acquires the fundamental rights inherent to all sovereign countries which are the rights to the existence, independence, proper conservation, property, jurisdiction, equality and sovereignty, and the establishing of relations with other powers. The recognition of a new nation may be accomplished under diverse conditions. In the first place we have the recognition and admission of the old countries which have been independent since very remote ages. Switzerland, which had obtainedits independence from the Hapsburgs in the fourteenth century, and Holland, which had been independent since the sixteenth century, were recognized and admitted as sovereign nations by the Powers of Europe at the Congress of Westphalia in 1648. Russia, which established itself as an independent nation in the fifteenth century, was recognized and equally admitted by the other Powers of Europe in the international concert in 1721. Japan, which for many centuries had been having an independent life, was only recognized as a member of the Great Family of Civilized Nations in 1899, when the Christian Powers abolished their Consular Tribunals which were established in that Empire for the protection of the rights and interests of their subjects and citizens. The Ottoman Empire, which had enjoyed real independence for several centuries and was threatened by all Europe for many years, was only admitted by the Great Powers to the benefits and advantages of the Public Laws of Europe in the year 1856 in the Congress of Paris. Persia and China, independent countries since very remote antiquity, were only officially recognized by the Powers of Europe, in the year 1907, as members of the Great Family of free and independent states. In the second place, there may be born a new state from the division of territories of a nation whose independence and sovereignty have previously been recognized; and this division

214 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS may happen in a peaceful way, or by means of force. Brazil, which up to 1825 had belonged to Portugal, separated itself peacefully from that country in that year and has become one of the great Republics of the New World. Norway and Sweden, which had been united under the same monarch since 1814, peacefully separated from each other in 1905; and since then have been recognized as independent and sovereign states by the other powers; and in 1922 Egypt was declared by England an independent and sovereign nation. But the formation of new states by means of division of territory of an old state has almost always been effected by means of force. The primitive Thirteen English Colonies in North America which rose in rebellion in 1775, proclaiming in 1776 their independence, which was recognized by France in 1778 only, was recognized definitely by England in 1783. Argentina, which declared its independence of Spain in 1810 was only recognized by the United States in 1824 which together with England recognized a year later the independence of Chili, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico in 1825, when the independence of the said states had already been firmly established. Belgium, which was united with Holland under one sole government in 1815, by the Great Powers, after a bloody fight against Holland, was declared a free and sovereign nation by the same powers in 1831, though Holland recognized the independence of Belgium only in 1839. Cuba, which for many years sustained an unequal fight against Spain, was recognized as independent by the United States and Spain in 1898. And at last, the diminutive Panama, after a revolution against the Republic of Colombia, was recognized as an independent nation by the United States in 1903. A new state may equally be formed by the union of various small states as the formation of the Modern Kingdom of Italy in 1860 and the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. The constructive act of recognition of one new state by another may be formal or virtual. It is formal or official when the recognition is done by means of a declaration to that effect as the recognition of the independence of the Congo Free State in 1884 by the United States; or if made in a treaty

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 215 as the recognition of the said country by Germany in 1885; or in a proclamation about the particular proposition made by another state. On the other hand it is virtual when the recognition is inferred from the establishment of diplomatic and consular relations between the new state and recognizer, as those established between the Thirteen Primitive North-American States on one hand and France and Holland on the other, since 1778, in which the Thirteen States were implicitly treated by the latter states as independent and sovereign nations. But whatever be the nature and recognition given, it is indisputable that the fact which constitutes it, is an act independent and sovereign of the state recognizer, which cannot be forced under any circumstance by any state. Sometimes the recognition of the independence of a new state by another is given prematurely, which may give rise to serious international difficulties and to war between the nation doing the recognizing and the old metropolis of the new state, and consequently all premature recognition is generally evaded. Undoubtedly the recognition of the independence of the United States by France in 1778 was premature, resulting immediately into the necessity of establishing an alliance between the two countries against England, which lasted till 1783 when peace between the said nations was restored, Great Britain having recognized the independence of its old colonies. It may equally be said that the recognition of the independence of Cuba by the United States in 1898 was also premature; as the United States government had to have war with Spain. The recognition of a new state may be individual or collective. It is individual when it is granted by the different states separately, as the recognition of the independence of the United States by France in 1778 and that df the independence of Cuba and Panama by the United States in 1898 and in 1903, respectively. And it is collective, when the recognition is done altogether by several powers, as that of the independence of Greece in 1830; that of Belgium in 1831; that of Turkey in 1856 and that of Montenegro, Servia, Roumania and Bulgaria in 1878.

216 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The recognition may also be absolute or conditional: it is absolute when no condition is imposed upon as the recognition of the independence of the United States and that of the South American Republics by the European Powers; and it is conditional when some limitation is imposed upon as that imposed upon Switzerland and Belgium by the Great Powers of not taking part in offensive wars or entering into an alliance of offensive character, and that which was imposed by the same Great Powers upon Montenegro, Servia and Roumania in recognizing them as independent and sovereign nations, to establish a complete religious freedom. And the most recent cases of conditional recognition of a new state are those of Cuba and Egypt. The government of the United States established the Republic of Cuba in 1901 imposing principally the following conditions: 1. That Cuba cannot make any treaty with any other power, which will put into danger the independence of Cuba. 2. That Cuba cannot incur any obligations which its ingresses do not justify. 3. That Cuba should permit that the United States exercise the right of intervention for the protection of the independence of Cuba and for the conservation of an adequate government for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty. 4. And that Cuba should cede to the United States lands for naval and coal stations. And in 1922 Great Britain recognized the independence of Egypt reserving for herself: 1. The right of defending the Suez Canal and Egypt against the aggression of any other power; 2. And the right to protect the interests of the foreigners in Egypt. And now comes the question: What are the conditions and circumstances under which may be recognized the independence of the future Philippine Republic? And what might be the possible guarantees of our independence?

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 217 There are four different ways of solving the Philippine problem: In the first place, the Government of the United States may recognize the independence of the Philippines and then completely abandon us. With a territory and number of inhabitants much greater than those of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cuba, Hungary, Portugal and Switzerland, and we, knowing our rights, responsibilities, and duties under International Law, this arrangement may be accepted by the Philippines, making *itself afterwards a member of the League of Nations in order to receive its protection against all aggression. But this solution perhaps will not be compatible with the American interests in this Extreme Orient. The generous blood of her sons has been shed in this dear land in order that the principles of liberty and democracy, so sacred in the hearts of the Americans, might be established permanently in this Pearl of the Orient. Besides, the American commerce in this part of the world ascends to the sixth part of the 'totality of foreign commerce, and all this needs the adequate protection of her government and consequently the necessity for America to have here naval and military stations. In the second place, the independence of the Philippines may be recognized by the Government of the United States soliciting afterwards our perpetual neutralization by the Great Powers, or by Japan, Great Britain, France, and the United States at least on condition that the future Philippine Republic will not make any treaty of offensive alliance with any other power following the examples of Switzerland which was neutralized in 1815 and Belgium which was neutralized in 1839 by the Great Powers of Europe. But, as has already been said, for sentimental or materialistic reasons, the government of the United States wants to keep some portions of the Philippine territory even after our independence is granted, and so, the idea of perpetual neutralization seems also impracticable. In the third place, another possible solution of the Philippine problem is to grant and recognize our independence, imposing on the future Philippine Republic the condition and obligation of not ceding any part of its territory to any foreign

218 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS power in exchange for the collective guarantee of its political independence and territorial integrity by the Great Powers; or by Japan, Great Britain, France, and the United States at least. But this solution seems also impracticable, taking into consideration the political, economic, and cultural relations which has existed between America and the Philippines. This solution, however, has been considered practicable by the Great Powers of Europe, that are interested in the affairs of the Baltics when Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia signed a treaty in 1907 promising their collective guarantee to the political independence and territorial integrity of Norway under the precise condition that she will not cede any part of her territory to any other power. And at last, taking into account the general nationalistic movement in all the Philippines which has not yet lost its faith to the American sense of justice nor in her noble traditions nor in the immortal principles of the founders of the Great North-American Republic; and having engraved in the mind the solemn promise of America to the Philippines that has always acted in accordance with such promise of emancipation, with absolute confidence and great faith and loyalty; and appealing to the national immaculate honor and taking into account at the same time the national interests of America in this Extreme Orient, it looks as if the most feasible and logical solution of the Filipino problem is the restoration of the Philippine Republic under conditions and circumstances similar to those imposed on the Republic of Cuba and the Kingdom of Egypt. As has been stated, for sentimental reasons, America does not want to leave the Philippines entirely; and for materialistic reasons, she will need certain portions of the Philippine territory for military and naval ends to be able to give due protection to her citizens and her interests in the Extreme Orient. Besides, there abounds precedents in the history of the United States, in which the government has guaranteed the political independence and the territorial integrity of other states as in cases of the Republic of New Granada in 1846, of the Re

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 219 public of Nicaragua in 1867 and of the Republic of Cuba in the year 1901. In view of the deeds and exposed considerations, one may ask himself, what should be the future of weak nations like ours? It is always hard and dangerous to speak on future accomplishments; but as sons of a young country, who may speak better of her hopes and aspirations than of her triumphs, considering history as the soul of the past, the image of the present, and the mirror of the future, we dare affirm that the future of the small nations cannot be more brilliant than ours. The slow but sure triumph of democracy in all parts of the earth is irresistible. All countries, all continents, have felt its enslaving influence, because the principle of Liberty, which Democracy consecrates, has already penetrated in the conscience of the world. Besides, the principle of Nationality also has triumphed and will continue triumphing in all places. -This principle has triumphed in all countries of the Middle Europe as well as in Belgium, without saying anything of France, heart and brain of the polished Europe; and because of the World War has triumphed equally in the vast Empires of Germany, AustriaHungary and Russia, realizing thus the resurrection of all nationalities. And with the progress of International Justice and Morality and with the ever growing respect to Nationalism and the rights of Humanity, we, the sons of this dear land, receiving inspirations from the heroic examples of our forefathers and following the beautiful paths of peace and progress illumined by the light of Truth and Justice, perchance in a future not far distant, in the most fortunate day of our history, under the help of the Divine Providence and with the cooperation of the great North-American Country, we also might reach the height of our noble and just aspirations and proclaim from the top that in this Extreme Orient exists a Christian and civilized country, conscious of its destinies, of its rights, and of its great and serious responsibilities before humanity and the coming generations.

220 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS After the Chairman, the next speaker was the Honorable Felipe Agoncillo who spoke on the following subject, "Our Negotiations for Independence in 1898 -99". The Honorable Felipe Agoncillo was the Envoy Plenipotentiary of the Philippine Republic in 1898 and he told the Congressmen of his labors and experiences in working for the recognition of the independence of the Islands. He presented to the Congress the following important historical documents connected with his diplomatic mission: 4 THE DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE (1898-1899) OF THE HON. FELIPE AGONCILLO * EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT MEMORANDUM addressed by FELIPE AGONCILLO, envoy plenipotentiary of the Philippine Government in the Philippine Islands to his Excellency, William McKinley, President of the United States of North America, concerning the situation and aspirations of the Philippine people. 1. Immediately after the beginning of the Spanish War, the American representatives and officers at Singapore, Hongkong, and Manila invited the natives of the Philippine Islands to second the action of the American armed forces which action they seconded with pleasure and loyalty, as allies, in the confidence that their personality and their political, autonomous, and sovereign rights would be recognized. 2. In order that such action be efficacious and executive, it was necessary: (a) to organize the army of the Filipinos; (b) to organize their military staff and headquarters; and (c) to organize a government independent from America and Spain, with the stability and the prestige indispensable for maintaining order where the authority of Spain was to cease and to secure the regular functioning of the life of the Philippine people. * The above memorandum and the letters addressed to the American Episcopate and the Ambassador of Austria-Hungary have been translated from the Spanish original by Mr. Leo. Fischer of the Executive Bureau.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 221 3. All this was done with the consent of the admiral in command of the fleet and of the generals and military and political officers of the United States of America in the Philippine Islands who, aware of it, not only did not object to it but accepted it as a consummated fact and maintained official relations with the new organization, utilizing the same for their subsequent activities and for carrying on the campaign which was consequently brought to a successful conclusion. 4. In the Protocol between the United States of America and Spain, it was covenanted, however, that a Commission composed of members designated by both nations was to negotiate and conclude the Treaty of Peace (art. 5) in which it would be determined who was to control the Philippines, and what was to be the form of government (art. 3). 5. Neither one State nor other apparently gave attention to the right of the Filipinos to participate in this determination which will affect their destinies in history. 6. The lawful government of the natives now functioning in the Philippine Islands has been sanctioned by the only legitimate source of public power, the vote of its fellow-citizens, whose authority and representation it has, and it has in fact been recognized, not objected to, and utilized by the American nation. Said Government, in the performance of its duties, considers that it must address itself to the American public powers and remind them of its right, owing to its existence, its services, and its loyalty, to be consulted and considered and given a voice and decisive vote in all the questions to be finally settled in the Paris Conference or in consequence thereof, concerning the Philippines. 7. The present lawful Philippine Government, of which the invincible leader General Emilio Aguinaldo is the president, also believes that the moment has come to remind and even to notify, if proper, in a formal and precise manner, the Illustrious President and Government of Washington of its existence and normal andregular functioning, as well as of its relations of reciprocity with the authorities of the American Republic in the Philippine Islands. 8. It desires to state (in the same manner), that the Philippine people unanimously confirms its independence and confides that the American people will recognize the same, mindful of the offers made and obligations contracted in its name, proclaiming the principles of liberty, justice, and right expressed in its famous, sacred Declaration of Independence for the benefit of the new nation which logically rises in that part of the globe under the impulse of its present beneficent and humanitarian action. 9. And the Philippine people hope that pending a permanent understanding for the evacuation of their territory, their present

222 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS lawful de facto government will be accorded the rights of a belligerent and such other rights as may be proper, in order to compel Spain to submit to the just historical law which deprives her of the tutelage she has arrogated to herself over those Islands and which she was incapable of carrying on humanely and socially without detriment to the general interests. 10. The Philippine people and their aforesaid Government and legitimate representatives pray and urge the noble President of the Republic of the United States of America and the public powers thereof to be guided by the aspiration, recognize the rights and sanctions, and proclaim, imbued by their sentiments of justice and honor, that which was offered by their international representatives, as set forth in this document. In the city of Washington, capital of the United States of America, this third day of October of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT Washington, D. C., October 5, 1898. To the Very Reverend President, Members, and Secretary of the American Episcopate assembled in Triennial Convention in Washington. I am' rejoiced to learn that this day your Triennial Convention will take place, and taking advantage of this solemn occasion, I deem it my duty to address to you this message, the genuine expression of my high esteem and respect for the high clergy of America which certainly represents morality and sacred Christian charity, both virtues that elevate it in the opinion of the world. Upon rendering this tribute to the high ecclesiastic dignitaries of America, I pray you not to deny me a part of your prayers to the Highest in favor of the natives of the Philippine Islands and ask you to beseech the Almighty to protect and assist them in this supreme moment of their history and grant them the liberties and juridical personality to which they are entitled by their loyalty and their 4 services to the American cause. The humanitarian, noble Republic of the United States of America is aiding us in our labor of political and social redemption. We bless it and pray that the union and friendship may be perpetual and may bear the seal of evangelic brotherhood impressed upon it by the prelates assembled this day. FBILIPE AGONCILLO.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 223 EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT Paris, December 2. 1898. His Excellency, the Ambassador of H. M. the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Your Excellency:Pursuant to orders communicated to me by His Excellency, General Aguinaldo, President of the Philippine National Government, directing me to congratulate on his behalf H. M. Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, upon his jubilee, I gladly comply with this honorable mission by repairing to the building of this Embassy and expressing the profound respect and high esteem of the Philippine people and, in its representation, their President and National Government, on occasion of said jubilee. The well-merited fame of your august monarch for rectitude, justice, and prudence has reached our remote Islands where he is much admired, and we deplore that on this happy day his throne is not shared by the virtuous Empress who has passed into history blessed by all. I beg, Y. E., to convey this sincere message to your illustrious sovereign whose life, we pray the Almighty to preserve for many years. I am, with the highest esteem, your Excellency's obedient and humble servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT London, Dec. 9, 1898. President McKinley Washington, D. C. Your message announces military occupation Philippines. If such occupation means alteration statu quo, I respectfully beg you allow present position between Americans and Filipinos continue until their mutual relations be definitely settled. Pray remember that American and Filipino army worked allied for same cause of justice honour humanity. Aguinaldo and his national government following dictates unanimous public opinion are extremely anxious preserve alliance America. I implore not disappoint us. By thus consenting your glorious humanitarian fame will eternally live in heart of every Filipino. The sense of justice of American nation is our shield. AGONCILLO.

224 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Paris, Dec. 9, 1898. President McKinley Washington, D. C. Owners of property merchants and professionals of the Philippine Committee refuse to be represented by Messrs. Cortes in Washington and protest against their adverse manifestations toward Aguinaldo 4 and government. f FELIPE AGONCILLO, Plenipotentiary Philippine Government. Paris, Dec. 9, 1898. Senator Sherman Hoar Washington, D. C. Philippine Committee in name of Aguinaldo and government return their most expressive thanks for your sympathetic and valiant speeches in favor of Philippine Independence. FELIPE AGONCILLO, Plenipotentiary Philippine Government. Paris, Dec. 13, 1898. Ex-President Grover Cleveland Princeton. You are right Imperialists instead sowing freedom love only outcome humanitarian policy Philippines will harvest oppression hatred between two peoples ought be allies. Your condemnation expansion everywhere echoed Filipinos pray for prosperity mighty American nation. Beg you continue ardently supporting noble cause Philippine independence opposing military occupation. FELIPE AGONCILLO, Plenipotentiary Philippine Government. Paris, Dec. 13, 1898. Sherman Ex-Secretary of State Foreign Office Washington, D. C. Thanks sympathy Aguinaldo deserves admiration. Alliance America Philippines can subsist only helping his work. Grateful Filipinos

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 225 Paris request your further valuable support independence opposing military occupation. FELIPE AGONCILLO, Plenipotentiary Philippine Government. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT Citcular letter addressed to the following Senators of the United States of America. Paris, Dec. 10, 1898. Vice Pres. Hobart Senator W. V. Allen W. E. Chandler " Eugene Hale M. A. Hanna " J. T. Morgan W. J. Sewell G. F. Hoar " C. K. Davies " W. P. Frye S. M. Cullom " Henry Lodge " C. D. Clark J. B. Foraker " George Grey " David Turpie " J. W. Daniels " R. Q. Mills To the Hon. Senator of the United States of America Capitol, Washington, D. C. Sir: The opening of the present session of the American Senate will put you in a position to influence the just and good understanding between the American and the Filipino nations, and I beg you to help my efforts to this end. The free citizens and Senators of the United States of America cannot follow the steps of the monarchical countries, whose institutions are based on force and oppression, the only form adequate to a Colony or Possession; but they are expected to contribute to the realization in history of the great principle of submitting the government of every country to the wish of the inhab

226 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS itants thereof, under the form adopted by your great Republic. Freedom, suffrage and independent self-government are the only real basis of an ordained State in the present times. Like America, the Philippines will grow prosperous and happy, if instead of sowing oppression and militarism and their inevitable consequences, war and disorder, the Senate of the United States, complying with the expectation of my countrymen and the formal promises made before the war by all the representatives in the Far East of the American Administration, will recognize the Independence of the Philippines, and proclaim the everlasting friendship and alliance of our two countries, joined by their common sentiments, created in the field of honour, combating as comrades for justice and humanity. W So, pray, help the Filipinos to obtain their noble aspirations. I intend to return to America at the first opportunity, and will not fail to personally offer you the assurance of my respect and high consideration. I am, Sir, Your most obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCIIuO. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT Paris, Dec. 10, 1898. To Colonel John Hay Secretary of State Washington, D. C. Sir: Now that the peace Commission of Paris are concluding their labours, I intend to return to America, and I think it is my first duty to offer you my respects and high consideration. Your elevated position will grant you the privilege of influencing the resolution which the worthy President McKinley and the American nation will adopt in respect to the control and future connection of your country, with the Philippines; and I therefore, acting under a formal power of attorney, dated the 26th, of August, 1898, and granted to me by the gallant General Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the Government of the Philippines, beg to inform,you that my Government wish, as their first endeavour, to obtain the friendship and alliance of the American people. We expect to be recognized and proclaimed by America as a new independent State, and wherever the Filipino flag waves there will be a friendly home for any American citizens. With good will and

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 227 honest understanding, these sentiments, which in appearance are contradictory may have a practical consummation. Please grant the weight of your advices to this end, and believe me that my Government as well as myself will do everything in our power to second you, and to obtain that every Filipino raise an altar on his heart dedicated to the eternal memory of your noble redemption, and ever pray to the Almighty for the greatness and prosperity of the Republic of the United States of America. I am, Sir, Your most obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT Paris, Dec. 12, 1898. His Excellency William McKinley President of the United States of America Washington, D. C. U. S.A. Your Excellency: By the extracts of your Message to the Senate cabled to Europe, you have decided on the military occupation of the Philippines by the American Army, until Congress shall decide what is to be the future form of Government in the islands; and as the articles of the European Press predict the imminence of a rupture between the American and Filipino Forces, I have thought it my duty to request you by a cable message, which I hope reached you safely and which I now confirm by the enclosed copy, not to enforce this military occupation by the American Army, but in the meantime to tolerate the present status quo. Side by side with the American Forces the Filipino Army has been fighting on behalf of their own country, and also on that of the United States, and if the native army has been organized and formed with such patriotic objects, and with the authority and consent of Admiral Dewey, why cannot this same army be admitted to perform such military occupation? General Aguinaldo and his government are anxious and ready to come to a just and reasonable understanding for the future with the American Government, but they are entitled also not to be disappointed, now that the war is over, in their legitimate expectations nor deprived of the status of which they are in possession, which are but the natural consequences of the promises made to them by the

228 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS American Officers, who before the outbreak of hostilities, implored them to lend their aid and valuable support. The Filipino Army is regularly constituted, has a formal organization and fights as a united body, and consequently cannot be considered as mere bands of guerrillas. Under such conditions they deserve the consideration and privileges that are everywhere accorded to a legitimately constituted army. Again, you are aware that General Aguinaldo and his government are de facto a power recognized and obeyed by every Filipino, and maintain an orderly and regular civil administration in all the islands, except within the limits of the cities of Manila and Cavite, which are under American control. This position will justify your act if you consent to my request. We are only asking for justice and a fulfilment of the promises which we were led to understand were made in your name and in that of your great nation. Your Excellency, the first Magistrate of a mighty Republic, with such well merited fame of being just, must be generous and magnanimous with a people who, at the first call, have shed their blood in defense of American interests. Our unimpeachable deeds entitle us to your consideration and protection, and I have such complete confidence in your conscientious judgment that I cannot but rely on you, and I therefore reiterate to your Excellency my most earnest request for justice, peace and everlasting friendship. I am, Your Excellency, Your most obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO. Paris, Dec. 13, 1898. Senator Hoar Capitol, Washington, D. C. Filipinos everywhere congratulate you thank you. Hail best noble efforts against military rule colonial expansion. We want American alliance citizenship not subjugation, beg you oppose military occupation. AGONCILLO. FILIPINO REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE OF PARIS Paris, December 14, 1898. The President of the Extraordinary Delegation of the Philippine Government. The President of the Republic, by cablegram of 3rd instant, states to this committee the following: "Cortazar-Paris-Reference tele

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 229 gram, please ask Agoncillo carry on campaign America. Commissioners going there. Roxas may remain in Paris waiting instructions Aguinaldo." In compliance with the instructions contained in the above-quoted telegram, I have the honor to transmit same to you for your information and whatever action you may want to take. May God preserve you, R. M. ABARCA. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT The Arlington Washington, D. C. Jan. 11, 1899. To the Honorable The Secretary of State. Sir: On Friday, January 6, 1899, I had the honor, through my Secretary, Sefior Lopez, to submit to you the request that I be accorded the privilege of an audience with you to arrange for the presentation of my letters of credential to the President, and to state to you that I, as envoy from the Philippine Republic to the President of the United States, would be pleased to know the most agreeable time for me to call and pay my respects and ascertain when it would meet the President's convenience to receive me. Accompanying this letter was a memorandum referring to the condition of the government of the Philippine Republic, which I have the honor to represent. Permit me to express my sincere regret that up to the present time I have not been favored with a reply to, or an acknowledgment of, the letter submitted as stated. This regret isthe greater because of the present unhappy relations existing between the Philippine Government and the representatives of the American Government now in the Philippine Islands appreciating as I do thoroughly, the material injurious consequences to result from any conflict which might arise between the two governments, as well as the moral damage which would be inflicted by the severance of the relations of trust and confidence which have heretofore existed. This feeling must be my apology for venturing to address you urging respectfully the importance of a speedy answer to the communication in question. I venture to submit to you herewith some considerations bearing upon the right of my country to recognition as an independent sovereignty, as well as upon the benefits to be derived by the parties most immediately concerned from the granting of such recognition.

230 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS In view of the present status of affairs in the Philippine Islands, and the fact that in the present strained position, the impetuous action of a Filipino or the over-zeal of an American soldier, acts based upon the impulse of a moment, may create a condition resulting in grievous loss of life, as well as a memory that both nations might carry with them for years, I again urge upon you the necessity of early and frank communication between the representatives of the d countries in question. Permit me to subscribe myself, with the expression of the highest consideration for you, Your most obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT The Arlington Washington, D. C. Jan. 17, 1899. His Eminence Cardinal James Gibbons Baltimore, Md. Your Eminence: Believing that you would be interested in it, I take pleasure in sending you at this time a copy of a Memorandum sent by me to the Secretary of State and relating to the recognition of the independence of the Philippine Republic. For more than three centuries the Philippine Islands have been subjected to a foreign rule and particularly for the past hundred years have struggled against it, their inhabitants shedding their blood freely, and making all material sacrifices any nation could be expected to make for the attainment of its liberty. We now find within sight the fruition of the desires of hundreds of years. My belief in your interest in the Memorandum in question must be an apology for sending it to you. At sometime I should be extremely gratified to learn from you your sentiments relative to its contents. With the sincere hope that the Memorandum referred to may meet with your approval, I am with highest consideration, your Obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 231 The Arlington Washington, D. C. Jan. 20, 1899. To the Honorable The Secretary of State. Sir: Owing to the present condition of affairs in this country as touches the welfare of my nation, it has seemed to me proper to enclose to you this accompanying Memorial with the earnest and respectful request that it be presented to the President of the United States so that he may kindly send it without delay to the United States Senate. ^ Permit me also to express regret, that I have as yet received no assurances of the peaceful intentions of the United States toward my people, and that they are still left to fear that America contemplates the forcible destruction of its late ally; the more so, as without the explanation desired, additional troops have just embarked for the Philippines. Violent expressions in the newspapers and false accusations contained in them against the undersigned may, I fear, further serve to increase uneasiness among my people, and I regret to observe that these expressions and accusations have received no official condemnation. With the entire hope that the general opinion as to the purpose of American warlike preparation may be erroneous, and that amity may prevail between our respective nations. I am, with assurance of the highest consideration, Very respectfully, your obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO. The Arlington Washington, D. C. Jan. 24, 1899. To the Honorable Secretary of State. Sir: I had the honor on January 11, 1899, to address a letter to you touching the question of my recognition as the envoy of the PHilippine Republic, accompanying the same with a memorandum demonstrating that according to all American precedents the Philippine Republic was entitled, through its representative, to receive the recognition sought for. In concluding the letter in question, I ventured to call

232 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS your attention to the fact that in the present strained position at Manila, the impetuous action of a Filipino, or the over-zeal of an American soldier might create a condition resulting in grievous loss of life, and for this reason I particularly urged upon you the necessity of early and frank communication between the representatives of the two countries. Since the delivery of the letter referred to we have been made aware through the newspapers of the fact that the very circumstances adverted to as possible have nearly caused the actual existence of a state of war between the two nations, and the language used by me was so far prophetic that the subsequent facts have amply justified its employment. The conditions have not essentially changed since the writing of my former letter except in certain respects affecting the matters to be hereinafter more fully set forth and the urgency then pointed out, I respectfully submit, still exists even in an accentuated degree. As the Washington representative of the Philippine Republic, permit me respectfully to call your attention to certain conditions surrounding the relations of the two countries, which in my opinion call for immediate alleviation. There are at the present time, as we are informed, approximately twenty thousand armed and disciplined American troops in the city of Manila and vicinity, controlling a population of about three hundred thousand. A number of war vessels are stationed in the harbor and many other American men-of-war and transports are to be found within the limits of the Philippine Archipelago, although the actual possession of the American troops extends over, not to exceed one hundred and forty-three out of more than two hundred thousand square miles of territory. Despite the existence of these enormous forces within an extremely circumscribed area, we are informed through the public prints that other vessels of war have been ordered from distant parts of the globe to reinforce those now among the Islands in question; while but a few days ago a transport sailed from New York City carrying about two thousand soldiers, and having Manila as its destination, and as we are further informed, regiments of troops are under orders to proceed by way of San Francisco to the Philippines. The public prints inform us that an attack upon the Philippine Islands is contemplated; the islands to be taken in detail, the smaller ones first, the larger ones blockaded, so that they may not assist those first attacked. It is naturally the impression of my government and people that these warlike preparations intimate existing or immediate military operations in the Orient, and they readily conceive that it must be contemplated that such operations are to be levied at the existing government of the Philippine Islands.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 233 As the representative of the Philippine government, I hesitate to give adhesion to this idea for I cannot believe that there is any present or threatened future difficulty between the American and Philippine governments, justifying warlike activities, and as a believer in the humanity of the American people, refused to acquiesce in the idea that America designs war upon the Philippine Islands. But lately the United States and the government I have the honor to represent have been associated in a conflict against a common enemy. The purpose for which the United States entered upon such a struggle has been accomplished by the expulsion of Spain from her West Indian possessions. The desire of the Philippine Republic has been practically attained by the almost complete expulsion of the Spanish government from the Philippine Islands, the Philippine government now holding as prisoners of war between nine thousand and ten thousand soldiers lately in arms under the Spanish flag and Spain possessing only a few small garrisons in isolated points of minor importance and not worth enumerating. In view of the foregoing, I cannot as I have said, conceive any reason why the armies and navies of the United States lately employed against her common enemy should now be turned against America's recent associate. The United States has no active enemy in the Orient, having proclaimed an armistice with its late antagonist. It is true that such antagonist has undertaken to convey to the United States its alleged claim against the Philippine Islands, a claim which Spain was not capable of enforcing and which never found its origin in the consent of the people of these islands. Are my government and people to be left to suppose that it is because of some desire on the part of the American government to enforce against its late associate this exploded claim that the United States is massing its forces at the late capital of the Philippine Islands? The Philippine Islands are in a state of public order. They possess a government satisfactory to their inhabitants and are withcut an enemy within their borders offering any resistance to its just operations, and they find themselves to be at peace with all the world. I am sure you will appreciate, in view of the circumstances I have detailed, the quieting and reassuring effect upon the minds of my countrymen to result from a disclaim upon the part of the American government of any intention to attack their liberties and independence. Notwithstanding the serious difficulty under which I labor in not having been formally received by the American government as representative of the Filipino nation, I feel it my imperative

234 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS duty to call your attention to the disturbing facts before enumerated to the end that I may receive from you such assurances as will satisfy my government that it is not the intention of America to make war upon a new Republic of Asia, and which 'will explain to it the reason why large armies and navies should be dispatched to the Philippine Islands and which will relieve my countrymen of the fear that now possesses them that their liberties are in danger at the hands of a Republic whose name they have always believed was associated with freedom, and to whom they have come first applying for recognition among the nations of the earth. I desire again to express the gratitude of my nation to America for services rendered by her in furthering Filipino independence, and to express the hope that friendly relations may ever continue. In view of the present alarming situation may I respectfully urge the importance of an immediate answer. I have the honor to be with the assurance of my highest regards, Your respectfully obedient servant, FBLIPE AGONCILLO. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT The Arlington Hotel, Washington, D. C. Jan. 25, 1899. To the General Convocation of the House of Bishops. Gentlemen: Believing that you would be interested in it, I take pleasure in sending you at this time a copy of a memorandum sent by me to the Secretary of State, and relating to the recognition of the independence of the Philippine Islands. For more than three centuries 4 the Philippine Islands have been subjected to a foreign rule and particularly for the past hundred years have struggled against it, their inhabitants shedding their blood freely, and making all material sacrifices any nation could be expected to make for the attainment of its liberty. We now find within sight the fruition of the desires of hundred of years. My belief in your interest in the Memorandum in question must be an apology for sending it to you. At the same time I would be extremely gratified to learn from you your sentiments relative to its contents.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 235 With the sincere hope that the Memorandum referred to may meet with your approval, I am with highest consideration, Your obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO. EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATION OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT The Arlington Washington, D. C. Feb. 2, 1899. To the Honorable The Secretary of State. Sir: In my communication to you of date January 20, 1899, I referred, as if enclosed, to a map, showing the present condition as to occupancy of the Philippine Islands, and demonstrating that at this moment the American forces, simply by entrenched camps, control one hundred and forty-three square miles, with a population of 200,000, and the Philippine Republic, 107,845 square miles covering population of 9,395,000; the Spanish forces having garrisons in islands of 31,830 square miles, with a population of 203,000. This map, not having been completed on the date named, was not then inclosed, but is respectfully sent herewith. It is to be noted that late information contained in the newspapers is to the effect that the island of Balabac is now under control of my government, thus materially reducing the area of Spanish possessions, and correspondingly increasing those of the Philippine Republic. In support of statements heretofore made by-me to you, relative to the order prevailing among the Philippine Islands, and the satisfaction of their inhabitants with the government there existing, and their determination to preserve their independence, so hardly won, I desire respectfully to refer to the report of Paymaster Wilcox and Cadet Sergeant, recently submitted to the Navy Department, presenting the results of a trip of two months through the islands of Luzon. I have the honor to be, with assurances of the highest consideration, Very respectfully your obedient servant, FELIPE AGONCILLO.

236 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The last speaker in the morning was Mr. Pedro Aunario. He read the following paper: OUR NEIGHBORS IN THE FAR EAST By PEDRO AUNARIO The subject assigned to me to be discussed this morning is very broad. It is not my desire to treat it in all its phases, but simply to present some salient facts of the moment to arrive at the conclusion that the need of knowing well the neighboring countries of the Extreme Orient and of fostering our amicable relations with them is now more imperative than ever. The great surprise which we had in the hecatomb of '98, which brought the United States to these Islands, was that we Filipinos knew little of the Americans, of their history, and their character. That event caught us entirely unaware. Neither the country nor the then directors were prepared to face the new situation. To a certain extent I belong to the school of those who believe that the changes of decoration in history were produced by those great hecatombs, which do not depend on our will, but the effect of which is to renew the old order of things. I am placing now before your consideration a few salient and very well-known facts which are like brush strokes that give us an idea of the picture which is being developed in the scenery and which is within the reach of the naked eyes. First: The birth of the era of the Pacific called to unite all human races in a great council of nations; second: the sorrowful crisis of enlightenment in China, the nation which may break the actual equilibrium of powers in the Extreme Orient, if it succeeds in realizing its interior unification and in getting rid of the many powerful foreign influences, which have embroiled its national existence; third: the wave of restlessness which has spread in all Asia at this time; and fourth: the consideration that if Europe and America have come so near the Extreme Orient by means of the dirigibles and the airplanes, shortening rapidly the distances, with greater reason.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 237 the naturally neighboring countries situated in the same geogiaphical plane would be drawn nearer and nearer to each other every day, by the same means which progress and the mechanical inventions put into the service of the free nations. rt ~ These facts are of general character. The facts which we may call isolated, and of more immediate meaning to our future, because they keep relation with the present political and indefinite status of our country, are the following: 1. The indirect repercussion, full of possibilities and consequences, the extent of which we cannot guess, which the Filipino problem had in the naval Conference held in Washington in 1922 and which is now being held in London about limitation of naval armaments; 2. The movement which is being initiated in the Pacific States of America to exclude the Filipino immigrants under the classification of Oriental workers and to limit the number of Filipino workers to be allowed to enter the United States as was done with the other independent countries, who sent their annual contingent emigrants to the American soil without taking into account at all that we are a country under the protection of the American flag; 3. The organized force which the producers of beet sugar, the agricultural associated interests and the enormous American capital invested in Cuban sugar industry are working to limit the free entrance of our products in the American market; 4. The revelation of Brigadier 'General Crowder, made in the. tariff-hearings, that one of the plans issued by the Staff of the American army is to close immediately the commercial route between the United States and the Philippines in case of war; 5. The Japanese exclusion law which Japan took as a shock to her national dignity and to her prestige of first class power in the world, and which the more prominent statesmen of the empire consider a question not yet solved in a satisfactory way as to remind them constantly of that measure on the day of the opening of the Japanese Diet;

238 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS 6. The mention which the report of the special WoodForbes Mission made of the influence which the Japanese had exercised in northern Luzon during the period of Spanish conquest. These general and isolated facts are neither imaginary nor invented. They are real and have occurred and altogether seem to hang a shadow over our future and show the course which the law of gravity is following insensibly in this part of the world. Wrell, then, the impression which I wish to impress in the mind of my listeners is that our preparation and the readiness which we need to create in the mind of the public should not be limited only to normal times, of pacific and tranquil living together, but should be extended to the possible and probable contingencies of our uncertain destiny. How and in what way? Simply to take from now on the precautions, which the countries of practical instinct and warned by the sages, should take in finding in an insurance policy the protection which we all need for the coming of unexpected accidents in human life. And this policy, in the concept of international relations specialty when it treats of small countries, as ours is, beside the great ones, is the cultivation of friendly relations, the effort of getting better acquainted with each other as a guide in the future. I shall tell you frankly that the clearer idea of relations of neighborhood I have condensed in the magnificent advice that an old man with good common sense and experience gave to his son, twenty-one years old. "Try", said the father, "to have good relations with those around you and those near your home. If you cannot gain'the friendship of even your neighbors, you are unfit to live in the world. Do not allow others to interpret their purposes and then be communicated to you. Make an effort to understand them talking to them directly. If they are your possible enemies, you will know how to defend yourself better. Under any circumstance if their house burns, yours too will; and when you are afflicted by a common misfortune, you would need mutual help." I wish to present before you another consideration before ending this conference.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 239 According to statistical data, which I have at hand, and which I shall not cite in order not to tire you, our exports to the neighboring countries have considerably decreased in the last nine years. On the other hand, our importation and exportation with the United States, the best market in the world, increase greatly, year in and year out, as a natural consequences of the actual political and commercial relation with our metropolis. This shows that our economic dependence, from a fountain magnificent and abundant of supplies situated 7,000 miles away from our shores, is being strengthened more and more. Well, I do not wish to think now, having in view the cited facts, that one of the possible risks against which we wish to protect ourselves is to be manifested in a conflagration in the Pacific and have for its result what has been revealed as one of the plans of the staff of American Army in the tariff-hearings, that is: the closing of the commercial route between the United States and the Philippines. I do not want to think of it. But the prudent and alert people should prepare themselves, as I have already said, for the surprise which the future may have in store for us while we are not yet free and independent. The real fact is that the thinking heads with its foreseeing and practical instinct have thought of that contingency and have prepared for it. I think that we Filipinos can do the same. And if, at any time, occurs what does not depend on our will, where are we going to send our products in those critical moments, and which should be the natural fountains of provision from which we have to depend to satisfy the most common necessities of our actual civilized life? The answer comes spontaneously from our lips. Those natural fountains should be Australia, which provides us with cattle, carbon, flour and other alimentary products; Java, which sells us crude petroleum, gasoline, iron, steel, dyes, oil, etc.; Siam and Indo-China, which send us rice, carabao for our farms, and fertilizers; Japan, which sells us cotton cloths, ready-made garments, silks of all kinds, effects of crystal, sporting goods, toys, chemical-products; and

240 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS China and all the other neighboring countries, which have a well-developed industrial life. Here is, therefore, another reason to make us ready for any contingency. I shall not finish without uniting my voice with those of all Filipinos who convene to affirm that among all the forms of foreign government that there are in the world now, none is so benevolent, so tolerant, liberal and humane as that which the United States has implanted in these Islands. It would be ignoble to deny this clear and evident fact. Under this government we have greatly advanced in all the branches of human activity. We, the Filipinos, wish to feel the inspiration of the high ideals of the American life and its progress. And with the same sincerity, that we make this just declaration which honors our character, we should ask in this occasion if the time has come for us to think, taking into consideration the facts already expressed, if the great American democracy would always be incompatible with the aspirations of the Philippine democracy for economic, ethnological, and geographic reasons; if the moment has already come to know by the signs which we see at present, the surprises which may be in store for us in the future, uncertain and unknown to our country. The people of our race who will discuss this same subject with greater knowledge and greater perspicacity while we are not yet free and independent, will give, I am sure, a more enlightened response to our present preoccupations, and if we attain our object, we, who have responded to the call of this first Congress, giving the best we can of our thoughts to speak of our neighbors in the Extreme Orient, have complied with our duty in the history of our country. A general discussion followed, which was continued in the afternoon. It was the feeling of the majority of the section that there were four different ways of solving the Philippine problem. In the first place, the government of the United States might recognize the independence of the Philippines and then com

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 241 pletely abandon us. The Philippines could accept this arrangement making herself afterwards a member of the League of Nations in order that she might have a right to protection against all aggressions. This solution perhaps would not be compatible with the interests of America in this Extreme Orient. American commerce in this part of the world reached one sixth of her total foreign commerce; and this needed the adequate protection of the government and consequently the necessity of having naval and coal stations in our territory. In the second place, Philippine independence might be recognized by the Government of the United States, with a pledge of perpetual neutralization from the Great Powers, or from Japan, Great Britain, France and the United States. In the third place, another possible solution of the Philippine problem was to recognize our independence, imposing to the future Philippine Republic the condition and obligation of not ceding any portion of its territory to any foreign power in exchange of the collective guarantee of its political independence and territorial integrity by the Great Powers or by Japan, the Great Britain, France and the United States at least. A similar solution, was considered feasible by the Great Powers of Europe interested in Baltic affairs, when Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia signed a treaty in 1907, promising their collective guarantee of the political independence and territorial integrity of Norway under the precise condition that she would not cede any portion of her territory to any other power.

242 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS And lastly, it looked to others that the most logical and feasible solution of the Philippine Problem was the restoration of the Philippine Republic under conditions and circumstances similar to those imposed to the Republic of Cuba and the Kingdom of Egypt. But after the discussion of all the different possibilities, the people attending the section unanimously recommended to the Independence Congress to insist on immediate, absolute and complete independence. 4

NATIONAL DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS SECTION The session of the National Defense and Communications Section of the First Independence Congress was held at 9:30 A. M. on February 24, 1930, with General Tomas Mascardo as Chairman. The first speaker was General Jose Alejandrino. He read the following paper: THE STAMBOULISKI SYSTEM AND OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE By GEN. JosP ALEJANDRINO Ex-General of the Revolution, Ex-Senator and Distinguished Member of the Democrata Party Considering the progress which we have made in all aspects of life, there is no doubt that our country is actually more deserving of independence than it was thirty-one years ago, but if the right to independence will depend only on our capacity to maintain the integrity of our territory, we can affirm that, owing precisely to the material progress which we have made, this capacity to repel an invasion is now less than it was then. We could resist the American forces for over two years on account of the difficulty of communications and the possibility of sustaining the "guerrilla" warfare at that time. At present I do not believe we can resist for a single month the American army though we be better armed than in '98, taking into consideration the facilitates which our roads and other means of communication would offer for its advance and the progress of military science. 243

244 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The fact that the Philippines is composed of thousands of islands is advantageous for the Archipelago. Having the borders clearly defined, our country is free from conflicts which might originate from boundary questions. We also avoid the incidents which originate from antagonism between the inhabitants of the borders where generally are found the corrupted and adventurous people dedicated to smuggling and other illegal occupations. We are at the same time far from serious conflicts, which often take place between troops that guard both sides of the frontiers. Our agents of order to have our laws obeyed will not dare violate those of the foreign terri tories. Reasonably we shall never be the object of aggression by another strong power, under the same motive as Belgium. for our country is not an obligatory place to attack more easily another nation. It is true that the squad of a powerful nation who is at war with another, taking advantage of our weakness, may violate our neutrality, converting any one of our ports into a base of their operations; but it is also true, that we cannot be made responsible, if it is then attacked and destroyed by the enemy's forces, and in that case have the fight take place in the sea where we shall suffer very little material loss. Such was the case of the battle of Chemulpo, Korusa. Our insular condition, though it has advantages, also offers disadvantages. A continental country surrounded by various nations, through racial affinity, through communal interests, through the character of its neighbors, through the class relations which they have maintained among themselves, knows which of its frontiers is more exposed to attacks and it can concentrate on better defensive means. In case of war, it can pay less attention to the other frontiers to accumulate its forces on the attacked point. Besides a continental nation finds it difficult to remain isolated from the rest of the world and finds itself deprived of the essential elements for the defence. On the other hand, we that have all our boundaries open, in case of war, the enemy can choose the point which suits him best for the attack and invasion. Given the distances between

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 245 islands, we have to defend an extensive area and we can be very easily blockaded and cut off from the rest of the world. If America decides to reserve in the Philippines coal stations, for her fleet in the Extreme Orient, which are entirely isolated from the rest of our territory, the problem of our national defense will be more complicated and exposed to conflicts. Our duty of neutrality will oblige us to defend the interference on these bases against any enemy of the United States, and to prevent attack on our own territory and in case of impotence, the American forces themselves can take charge of the defense and the fight with all its consequences if such happen on our own ground. If any of these bases be taken by the enemy and the American forces that guard them leave our territory unarmed respecting our neutrality, their enemies in turn can fight them on our own soil, and we shall suffer all the horrors of the war without at last gaining anything and without even the right to exact indemnity for damages done to us. Such happened in China during the Ru'so-Japanese war. This dangerous situation may be prevented if the United States will agree to establish her bases in far away islands with the defense entirely in her own charge. Undoubtedly our condition as an archipelago will call for its ideal defense, the construction and maintenance of a powerful squad; for the squads, though not very convenient for immediate defence, cost less than the war navy which can only be maintained by first class nations. The nations of the third and fourth order that possess some warships cannot depend on them in facing the navy of any of the powerful nations which are the only ones that might do us an aggression. On the other hand, though the squads can serve both for the defensive and offensive, they may be attributed as a pretension to wish to take an active part in the politics of this part of the world and disturb its peace. Besides the nations will limit the number and tonnage of the ships which we can construct in such a way that they cannot face the other nations' war fleet and they will only constitute a heavy burden for us without fulfilling its objective.

246 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Shall we fortify our shores? This plan is the best which we can adopt, because it will palpably show that our desire is only to defend our integrity, and it cannot be alleged that we have any intention of threatening the security of our neighbors. The forts in order to be effective should constitute a series of perfect steps along our coasts so that they would support one another. The isolated forts have little or no value. During the world war when some links of the chain of forts which protected the eastern frontier of France were broken, and the formidable fort of Verdun was found isolated, the Germans did not preoccupy themselves in conquering it and they passed through it gaining ground till they reached the doors of Paris. If the Philippines does not count on anything else but on the forts of Corregidor for her defense, Manila and the whole of the country can be taken by the enemy without any effort. How much money and how many years do we need in order to effect a defensive program of this kind? Perhaps several thousand millions, and figuring out 'on the basis of double our actual income, a period of many years. Besides, taking into account the constant fight between the projectile and the cuirass, it is hoped that this colossal work can never be considered finished, because even when our technicians constantly modify the plans, in accordance with the last improvements of military science, it is very possible that when the last fort is finished, the first will be considered antiquated and will have no more value than that of a historic monument, as the walls that surround the old Manila, which in their time must have been formidable. Besides, these defenses need for its effective function an extensive network of rails, strategic ways, and a float of transports. Whatever be the system of defense that we adopt, given our easily blockaded condition, if we wish to present an effective and prolonged resistance, we have to create all those enterprises which will provide us with all that is essential. Firstly, we need to produce the amount of rice sufficient to feed our population. We need to explore our petroleum mines or find a substitute of carbon, iron, copper, etc.; to establish high kilns,

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 247 big casting houses, arsenals, dockyards, machine workshops, etc.; to create chemical industries related to the manufacture of explosives and many other things which the military art requires now that war is done scientifically. Let us suppose for a moment that by exerting superhuman efforts we can construct and maintain a powerful warship and fortify our shores; I still cannot fully believe that we can be sure of our independence. Our defensive means, though they be powerful, have to be relative and in proportion to our population and to our economic resources, and if we be attacked by any of the imperialistic nations, we shall have to succumb though we fight heroically, after a certain period.of time. Besides, our islands being situated in the Pacific which, according to predictions, is destined to be the theatre of the future world war, we may, even without wanting it, be involved in the conflict, and at the end, during readjustment, the group of victorious nations decide our death as an independent nation to form part of the new grouping or be a dependent of another nation. This is the case with the small country of Montenegro which had been independent since time immemorial. In the last war it sacrificed numerous lives and drained off its treasures in favor of the allies, but when the hour of victory sounded, these same allies decreed that it be wiped off the map in order to form part of the nation Jugo Slavia under the dominion of Servia. The adverse circumstances that, in the actual state of international politics, surrounds the formation of a small nation whose inhabitants belong to a race considered inferior, and inclines to backwardness, as claimed by a certain well-known person, far from discouraging us, should on the contrary serve as a powerful stimulus so that we may make all the sacrifices that are necessary to assure the existence of our nation and demonstrate the falsity of the theory about the supposed incapacity of our race to establish and maintain a stable government. There are many countries, as Abyssinia and Liberia in Africa; Afghanistan and Siam in Asia; Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and others in America; Portugal,

248 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Bulgaria, and Albany in Europe; that I think have no better right than we have to enjoy a free existence and they have remained independent up to the present. One of those small nations, Bulgaria, gives us an example which I offer to present to the consideration of our country advocating strongly for its adoption if at some time we become independent. Bulgaria is actually a small kingdom which has five million inhabitants. For more than four hundred years it had been under the dominion of the Turks. Less than fifty years ago, with the Treaty of Berlin there was established the tributary princedom of Turkey, and only since 1903 after the war of the Balkans, did it obtain its complete freedom, forming itself into a kingdom. During the world war it sided with Germany sacrificing more than three hundred thousand lives and all its resources. After the war it found itself completely exhausted and reduced to poverty, having to pay, besides, its own share of the indemnities and reparations. The Bulgarians, far from being discouraged, decided to devote all their energy to the progress and prosperity of their country. One of its great statesmen, Stambouliski, thought of a plan: from the fifty thousand and more young men that annually come to legal age are taken the necessary number to serve the small army. The rest are divided into brigades and are employed for eight or ten months in the construction of roads, railroad tracks, national and municipal buildings, urbanization and indemnification of cities and towns, construction of irrigation system and cultivation of uncultivated lands to increase production exploitation of mines, work in factories of arms and ammunitions and in all other enterprises that are needed for the aggrandizement of the nation. The fifty thousand and.nore women who also reach annually the age of sixteen are obliged to serve for six months in work adecuate to their sex. They work in factories where they weave goods for the soldiers' and workers' uniforms. They enter in shops where these uniforms are made. They prepare the food and wait on people in hospitals, and in schools and they render some other services that are in accord with their capacities.

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 249 The service of these men and women is free and obligatory whether in military service or in other kinds of work, receiving no more compensation than free clothing, board, and lodging. This system has become so popular in Bulgaria that annually only about five hundred or less than one per cent apply for the right of exemption, paying from two hundred forty to eight hundred pesos, depending upon their resources; but those who resort to this right are not well looked upon and are considered unpatriotic. All citizens are also obliged, when required by the government, to serve at any time for ten days a year, depending on his capacity. For instance, a man of science may be called upon for research work, an artist to dedicate to his line of work, etc. Frank G. Carpenter, author of the book from which I took these data, says: 'The Stambouliski system is not only the most adequate to a poor nation, avid of progress, but also helps to the democratization of its inhabitants, inspires in them sentiments of solidarity with the State, conscious of having contributed to its aggrandizement and forms, best of all, a strong national discipline. I have seen," he says, "sons and daughters of the rich bankers, working happily and contentedly by the side of the sons and daughters of factory men and farmers. If in America," he adds, "we had adopted this system or a similar one, besides all its advantages, we would have evaded the injustice of paying a dollar a day to the soldiers who exposed their lives in the front and suffered all sorts of miseries during the world war while the working class who were employed in gun factories and others that manufacture articles of urgent needs in the war received a salary of from ten to twenty dollars a day." If we adopt this plan, modifying it to suit our needs in such a way that no one can exercise his political and civil rights without first performing his obligations to the State, undoubtedly we would solve many problems which seem impossible, taking into consideration our resources. Counting upon twelve million inhabitants in the same proportion as Bulgaria we shall have something like one hundred

250 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS twenty thousand young men who will come to legal age annually and the same number of young women. Deducting those who should serve in our army and navy, we would have left more than two hundred thousand young people of both sexes who may be employed in all kinds of work of the State. The work of two hundred thousand young people, in fulness of life animated by patriotism, will bring many millions of pesos annually to the nation. Before adopting a political defensive of any kind, I believe that we should take into account the following lessons taken from the contemporary international history: First: A weak country may be conquered by a powerful nation, but cannot remain a subject without the consent of the Great Powers. Shantung in China was taken by Japan from Germany with the sacrifices of life and money, but it had to. be abandoned on the pressure of the Powers. Second: A country may not be conquered and yet be under the sovereignty of another nation in accordance with the will of the Powers. Example: The decrees after the world war. In view of these lessons, personally I am of the opinion that we should economize in all branches of the administration in order to attend to the national defense; but it is not prudent to load our country with heavy taxes and expose ourselves to a sure bankruptcy organizing defensive forces superior to our economic capacity; worse still to resort to loans which are a sure pretext to a foreign intervention in our interior government as what happened in Haiti and China when the representatives of the creditor nations administered the custom houses. We should devote ourselves to maintaining those forces of sea and land sufficient to conserve the order and strictly execute our laws. With the Stambouliski system we can easily in time of peace put a police corps of about twenty-thousand men with an expense not any greater than what actually we spend in the constabulary. If this corps of insular police and and all the municipal police receive instructions in military organization, they would be able to serve as a nucleus around which the

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 251 young men of age who would be obliged to serve may be called and be made to take part in military exercises for a few days in the year as well as those who receive military instruction in our centers of learning, all of whom will constitute in time of war an army or a small navy capable of presenting the necessary resistance to demonstrate our vigorous protest. In case of defeat there would still be left for us the decision of the League of Nations, who will determine our definite fate in accordance naturally with their own convenience. I advocate that the nucleus of our army in time of peace be a sort of police force and not a regular army as it is, because I am convinced that militarism, wherever it has been planted and has taken root, has always caused failure to democratic institutions. The army is an organism which is not only fruitless but also expensive. The army men, because of the fact that they carry sabers and have their own laws, have learned to consider themselves superior to the rest of mortals whom they look upon with scorn and disdain. Such happened in Russia, Germany, and Austria and continues happening in many other nations. On the other hand if the nucleus of the army be the police force, they will render in time of peace a real service maintaining order, and in instructing them well in the art of warfare it is enough to increase their number in such a way that while one half of the force are actually doing police work the other half in turn may receive the necessary military instruction. Finally I believe that the best guarantee of our existence as an independent nation should be a stable government, honorable, efficient, and just but worthy, whose acts inspire confidence with other nations, and which proceeds in such a way that in all questions that might arise between our government and that of another nation, we can always prove before the world that reason and justice are on our side.

252 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The second speaker was the Honorable Filemon Perez, Secretary of Commerce and Communications. He read the following paper: THE NATIONALIZATION OF OUR HIGHWAYS By the HON. FILEMON PEREZ, Secretary, Department of Commerce and Communications. MR. PRESIDENT, GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS: For two powerful motives I have willingly accepted the invitation extended to me to speak before this solemn assembly: First, because it treats of an act of tremendous transcendency, which will be recorded in history as one of the definite movements of our people in their fight for the conquest of the supreme ideal; and secondly, because with it I am offered an excellent opportunity to plan a fundamental question intimately related with the problem of our material and economic development considered as a condition essential to the existence of a country which aspires to be independent. I refer, gentlemen, to the necessity of formulating a systematic and well-organized program for the construction of highways, bridges, and harbors, piers and other improvements for the promotion of commerce, of agriculture, and of the industries of the country; but a vast and integral program, conceived from the truly national point of view and having for its basic beginning the general convenience of the nation, more than the local or particular interest of each region or district. My actual experience in the Department of Commerce and Communications has taught me different things, and one of them is the firm conviction which I possess that the time has come to adopt a definite orientation in the sense which I have pointed out, if we wish to get the greatest possible benefit of our investments in public improvements for the fostering of commerce, and if we wish to prepare ourselves to face the contacts which the change of political status might bring to these Islands.

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 253 No one ignores what is now happening with respect to the distribution and disposal of funds for works of this kind. An insatiable eagerness for undertaking them reigns in all provinces, and this eagerness is translated in an infinity of law projects which each elective public official, provincial or insular, considers himself obliged to formulate. We have reached to such an extreme in this respect that it looks as if all decrees of a legislator or provincial governor are measured in proportion to the quantity of projects which he can adopt appropriating money for the mentioned purpose and to his ability of formulating it at once and converting it into laws. I am first to recognize that this eagerness is highly commendable when it comes to the legitimate desire of each senator or representative to obtain for his respective district all the advantages, all the benefits, and all the improvements possible; for it is but natural if we take into consideration that the actions of a legislator are the faithful and exact reflex of the feeling of his constituents. With this attitude of the elector which is general and uniform in all the districts of the Philippines, what is there strange in the legislator centering his anxieties and efforts in the attainment of these improvements? And what is there strange that the departments of the Insular Government, run by men selected by the majority see themselves compelled to a certain extent to be molded to the policy of the Legislature in this respect? If this way of thinking or proceeding on the part of the electorate is sound or not, if it is prejudicial or not to the community, this is not the right time to discuss it. Anyway, I cannot help but sympathize with such efforts to satisfy the electorate, and nothing would make me feel more grateful than to be able to cooperate and contribute to the realization of all these plans and projects. Very well then. If we have the millions which other countries possess, there would be no difficulty in satisfying everybody, undertaking the construction of roads and highways simultaneously in all the provinces, in the municipalities and barrios to the very nooks and corners of the Islands. But such is not the case. Our resources are, unfortunately, limited, very limited in truth. And here rises the difficulties which

254 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS create a serious problem for the department of Commerce and Communications. Not being humanely possible to be carried out at the same time all plans for improvement it does not matter how excellent and beneficial they might be, we find ourselves constrained to go to places. This on one side. On the other are also the contingencies and vicissitudes which accompany each election with the consequent change of senator or representative and other elective officials. It thus occurs that when the actual legislator is a son or resident of the northern part of a district or a province, all his recommendations tend to the improvement of that part; but if in the next election brings out a man from the southern part the most natural thing is for his efforts to tend again to concentrate on the improvement of that section where he belongs; and if to this fact we add the wishes of the provincial governor and those of the board who might have come from different regions, we have as a necessary sequel an infinity of projects'which would be begun and worked out during the three succeeding years without finishing in many occasions those that were initiated by their predecessors. And thus we go on having a kind of continuous rotation in the whole archipelago without finishing a single unit, a cycle-let us call it-of a general system of roads and ways of communication for all the country. In support of what I say you may see the statistics about improvements from the funds commonly called the "pork barrel" for the last four years, that is, from 1927 to 1930, inclusive. In accordance with these data during that period there was approved by the Legislature one hundred sixty highway projects in different parts of the Archipelago with the budget of P32,069,205. In fact the work was undertaken, but as the assigned funds each year were not sufficient to finish it, the great majority of the work was abandoned with the consequent loss of money already invested in it.

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 255 Because it treats of a very important point since it involves millions of pesos of the State, permit me, gentlemen, to extend the question a little bit more. In 1927 when they initiated the apportionment of the "pork barrel", there was a total of fifty-one approved projects, the cost of which was calculated to be P12,847,543, and for which they hardly disposed of P872,000. Of these fifty-one projects, only seven received a continuous apportionment of funds up to the present year, amounting to P522,000 while seventeen others continued also to the present but with intermittent budgets. On the other hand, thirteen projects were totally abandoned after an initial investment of P143,000 which may be counted as lost. In 1928, twenty-three projects of the previous year were left and there were added thirty-four new projects for which were needed P5,795,108, but which received only P892,000. Of the said thirty-four new projects, five received continuous appropriation to the amount of P290,000 and thirteen which continued up to the present but with an intermittent appropriation which amounts to P373,000. The other thirteen projects were totally cancelled that year, after having had initial expenses valued P132,000. In 1929 there were left thirty-three projects begun in the two previous years and to them were added thirty-seven new projects with a cost calculated to be P7,381,786 and for which was obtained the sum of P567,000. Of these thirty-seven new projects, fourteen were carried on to the present with an appropriation of P364,000, having cancelled or abandoned the works of the other twenty-three after having spent in them the amount of P357,000. And we come to the present year, 1930, with a total of seventy-eight projects in which thirty-eight are new with an appropriation of P6,0,44,768. Of this amount, however, they hardly got P892,000. We do not know how many of these projects would continue in the subsequent years and how many would be completely abandoned.

256 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS RESUME OF THE FOUR YEARS Projects approved and initiated............ 160 Cost, estimated..................... P32,069,205 Amount spent..................... 3,758,000 Projects with continuous appropriation...... 26 Cost, estimated.................... P 7,205,692 Amount voted and spent............. 957,000 Projects totally abandoned................ 49 Initial expenses in them.............. 632,000 It may be seen above that of the P32,069,205, which constituted the appropriation necessary for the one hundred sixty projects approved during these four years, there were voted only P3,758,000; so that in order to complete them there would be needed the stupendous sum of P28,311,205. Of the one hundred sixty initiated projects only twentysix, costing P7,205,692 received continuous appropriation amounting to P1,176,000. At this rate it would take twentysix years to finish these twenty-six projects only. With respect to the thirty projects with intermittent appropriation in which they received appropriations they would not be finished till after thirty-eight years. As to the forty-nine projects cancelled or totally abandoned, P632,000 were spent for them as seen above. Although it is evident that that money could have been employed in other things with greater advantage, however, the amount is so insignificant in relation to the money needed for the completion of the work that we might just as well consider the expense as a total loss. And the fact that in various other projects with intermittent funds the work has to be suspended for a year, and at times for two and more years, imply loss also of. such a sum which should be remedied in the future. But this will not be possible, gentlemen, while we have no definite program or a unity of policy in this highway work the funds of which are called the "pork barrel." Imagine for a moment the materialization of the Burnham plan in the city of Manila. Let us suppose that the government commences to construct a building in the government center for the Bureau of Lands for instance; and without finishing

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 257 it yet, to satisfy the demands of certain sections of the city, it expropriates some pieces of land for the continuation of Taft Avenue, and without completing this street, it proceeds to the extension of Avenida Rizal; and then leaving all this in such a state, it begins to widen Carriedo Street or to construct a park in Plaza de Miranda, and leaving them all half-finished, it lays the corner stone of the Capitol, while on the other side is initiating the plaster coating of a new Pasig bridge, the dredging of the estuaries, the opening of new streets and other improvements incJided in this great Burnham plan. What a sight would the city present with these units which form a part of the plan all begun and not a single one finished? If we arc convinced that such a procedure would be impractical, I believe that the same criticism may and should be applied with respect to the proceedings which are being done actually in the form of highway constructions, bridges, and other public works traversing the country, most of which remain incipient, perhaps already abandoned or perhaps pending the contingencies of local, provincial, or regional politics. Well then: What is the remedy? I propose the adoption of a program, national, systematic and coordinated, omitting all particular conveniences and only taking for a norm the interest of the whole nation. And in order to get rid of complaint or resentment that the country is being deprived of its genuine representatives in the Legislature of having a direct intervention in the formulation of that program, the following procedure may be practiced: First, in each province may be held a convention of elected insular and provincial officers, municipal presidents, and private citizens of vision with the technical assessor or the district engineer. The convention will decide the criterion of each province in which the highway which would be considered as the principal artery in the territory and which would constitute a part of the proposed national system without forgetting the following extremes: (a) Viability of the work from the technical point of view; (b) Consideration about its cost;

258 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS (c) Utility and extension of the benefits it would bring, taking into account the sections which would be developed with its opening: and (d) Its connection with the ports and principal highways of other limiting provinces. This road will connect with those of the other provinces to form part of the national system already mentioned. Secondly, the same convention will decide also that other highways of secondary importance should be so constructed as to unite different municipalities among themselves and connect them with the national highway. S Thirdly, the same assembly should equally show and recommend what roads and highways should be considered as most important in all municipalities and should be made to connect some barrios with others and join them with other provincial highways and finally with the cited national or insular highway. It has already been said that in this study should be included not only the highways and bridges but also other improvements for the fostering of commerce and material development of the country as the posts and terminals, especially in isolated provinces which have no direct connection with free and open ports for the exterior commerce. Once the convention has decided about the extremes, all the papers about the case should be sent to the office of public works for the study of the details, this coordination, and in short, the total perfectionment of the plan. Thus, the question might be reduced to simple and concrete terms in this form: The insular or annually voted funds by A the Legislature would be applied to the construction of highways which would form the main trunk of the insular or national system, the provincial annual funds should be used for provincial roads to unite municipalities; and the municipal funds should be spent only for roads within the municipality connecting its barrios or connecting them with their neighbors. With a plan thus formed, the Department of Commerce and Communications may then dedicate to the study of all projects

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 259 for determining the order of their primacy or importance from the point of view of general interest. The adoption of the above policy is a necessity which is advised by the logic of things. Such has been the procedure in the United States, in Japan, in all parts, and wherever exists a sentiment of national unity which is sufficiently developed; for to it is reduced in the last analysis, the whole question; the existence of a collective conscience, strong and sound which agrees in putting above local or regional advantages the interest of the nation. Let us take the case of America, where the federal government invests immense sums in road improvement without the protest of other sections which do not directly participate in such improvement. According to official statistics Congress has voted in the last thirteen years only, or rather from 1917 to 1929, the stupendous sum of P1,530,000,000 with the purpose of helping in the construction of national highways. With respect to the improvement of important ports only for those of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, the government with other entities has already invested an approximate amount of P4,672,500,000 distributed thus: Port of New York: For piers, gangplanks, bulkheads of defense, floating and fixed bridges, landing places shipyards, etc...... P 3,472,000 Port of Philadelphia: For piers, gangplanks, bulkheads of defense, floating and fixed bridges, landing places shipyards, etc...... 1,050,000,000 Port of Baltimore: For piers, gangplanks, bulkheads of defense, elevators of cereals, warehouses, landing- places, shipyards, etc.... 200,500,000 Total................. P4,672,500,00Q In this enormous sum were not included the $750,402,000 spent for the construction and maintenance of the Panama Canal or the P70,000,000 for the fortification of that zone.

260 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Passing now to other works of maritime type also, exclusively at the cost of the federal government as the arsenals, naval stations, and ship-repairing plants, we see that up to June 30, 1929, there has been spent for them the sum total of P4,186,229,170.06. These data have been gathered in order to give us an idea * of the enormity of the sums which in the United States, not to cite any other advanced country on earth, the government invests in improvements for the promotion of commerce, the general interest of the nation, sums which are concentrated in fixed localities only, without hearing any protest from sections not improved. In the same way, we have in our country certain strategic points which should preferably be improved for the interest of commerce and for general convenience. For the same reason, if the government undertakes such improvement voting for it a great amount from the Insular Treasury, the other sections of the country should not feel that their projects have been postponed neither should they see in it motives for resentment. If the national interest calls for the construction of a great insular highway from the northern Luzon through Manila to the Bicol provinces, the other provinces not found on the way should not complain. On the other hand if the government undertakes, for instance, the dredging of a port in Samar or Leyte, the construction of gangplank in Misamis or any other point in southern Mindanao, or the enlarging of facilities for navigation in Cebu, let not the other provinces see in these works nothing that will indicate a desire to favor certain specified sections of the archipelago. I wish to emphasize once more that in adopting a general plan in the way shown, the Department of Commerce and Communications would separate-completely the considerations over advantages of local importance in order to see only those of collective interest, placing itself in an elevated plane from which it can scrutinize the problem in its entirety with a serene criterion and an ample and comprehensive vision.

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 261 - Here it is, gentlemen of the Congress, the great job which the Department of Commerce is proposing to undertake for the better advantage of the funds which the Legislature appropriates every year for highways, bridges, ports and other improvements for the material development of our country. It is a vast plan and is full of obstacles. But at the same time it is a capital point which I wish to make as the angular stone of the policy of the Department of Commerce and Communications if I am given help and convenient means. This help must come from all, but specially from our legislators, on whose shoulders rests the principal responsibility of the great work of providing the executive departments of our government of those facilities needed for the fulfillment of the mission which corresponds to them. I shall consider myself exceptionally fortunate if, in leaving my work-when the time comes for me to do it-I would be able to feel the satisfaction of believing that I have contributed my grain of sand in the realization of that great project. Gentlemen of the Congress: If the realization of our political ambitions is really approaching, if it is true that there gleams in the horizon rays of hope and that finally the Filipino people would be given the opportunity to live under their own determination, this is the moment of shaking and strengthening the civic conscience among our citizens. We should separate when we treat of public questions from party or regional considerations in order to give preference to the common good. Let us go up so that from there we can have a more complete and comprehensive perspective of our national necessities and conveniences. I repeat my gratitude to the organizers of this great convention for the opportunity which they gave me in making me speak now and directly plan before the country, which you genuinely and splendidly represent, this question of great transcendency for a country, which like ours, is preparing to assume the reins of its own government.

262 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS After these two speakers, the points and plans presented them were discussed and it was agreed that the National Defense and Communications Sections indorse the plans contained in the papers of General Alejandrino and Secretary Perez. The following resolutions were approved by the Section and indorsed to the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress: 1. Resolution urging the Legislature to establish and maintain an aerial service to be attached to the Philippine Constabulary and the Bureau of Posts. 2. Resolution urging the yearly appropriation of P1,000,000 to be spent for the purchase of airplanes and other equipments for our national defense. 3. Resolution recommending the admission to the Independence Congress of all officers of the Philippine National Guard. 4. Resolution urging the Legislature to adopt a systematic plan for railways and highways. 5. Resolution urging compulsory military training in the Philippine schools. 6. Resolution urging the formation of a national committee to study the means of effectively defending our national territory. 7. Resolution urging the Legislature to send stu- v dents abroad to study chemical engineering and aviation. 8. Resolution urging the establishment of aviation schools. 9. Resolution urging the Philippine Legislature to offer prizes to those who can find a substitute for gasoline and lubricating oil.

DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS 263 10. Resolution urging the creation of a committee to study the national defense of Switzerland and the Labor Army of Bulgaria. 11. Resolution urging the Philippine Legislature to create a source of funds for National Defense. The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p. m. Another meeting in the afternoon was held to discuss the resolutions.

MINDANAO AND THE MOUNTAIN PROVINCE SECTION The Mindanao and the Mountain Province Section of the First Independence Congress held its session at 9:30 A. M. on February 26, 1930, with the Honorable Teopisto Guingona, former Senator from the twelfth district, as Chairman. The first speaker was Representative Jose P. Melencio. He read the following paper: MINDANAO AND INDEPENDENCE By the HON. JOSE P. MELENCIO, Representative from Cotabato. MR. CHAIRMAN AND DELEGATES: These are times that thrill and inspire and move citizens to wholesome speculations. Every day, every hour, every heartbeat, as it were, transports us nearer to something definite about our destiny as a people. And in the exultation born of the thought of a cherished ideal that may likely be attained, we are already making plans, summoning to the imagination the vision of a state all our own. Carried on the wings of economics, and, hence, immutable, it seems that what has always been as elusive as a will-o'-thewisp, what in despair we almost gave up as lost to us until eternity, may yet be within our reach in spite of present setbacks, thus affording us a real start at nationhood and an opportunity to demonstrate the latent capabilities of our race. If independence comes, our nationalistic history shall have had its continuity. "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibuste- rismo," the sparks that ignited the fires of decision; the revolu264 *

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 265 tion that devastated the edifices of mediaeval vassalage; and our peaceful campaign for emancipation since representative democracy was implanted here-these are the successive steps leading to the shrine days on a pilgrimate to the temple, with hearts throbbing with anxiety and devotion, unhesitant and unafraid, hoping and praying for the breaking of the dawn. There are no ominous signs in the firmament. Internationally, the nations are striving for a lasting understanding, and all thought of conflicts is being adjourned. Locally, there is perfect peace and order. And, what more, in the horizon, to the south of us, a new Mindanao is even now emerging. It does not, and it need not stand on the way to freedom. That Mindanao is my subject today. Out of the uncertainties of yesterday, the ramparts of a better order are there being constructed. On all sides evidences of a quickened existence are discernible. The cross and the crescent are not inconsistent there. Good-naturedly, they smile on each other, marching hand in hand as friends and comrades. Some day, perhaps, one of them will be discarded altogether; the more fit will survive. But there will be no actual clashes due to religious convictions and impulses. More noteworthy yet, Christians and Mohammedans, every now and then, go to the marriage altar together, to be there united by the compelling dictates of their hearts. In no case yet has one of those marriages hit the rocks of disaster. There are other encouraging signs of the times. Our Mohammedan kinsmen are steadily embracing the ways of modernity. Aged-old prejudices and antiquated traditions are gradually being dumped into the scrap-heap, and a new outlook towards life is manifest everywhere. More and more, faster and faster, they are adopting the trappings of modern civilization. Their wants are increasing; they are beginning to produce more. They are fond of riding in motor cars. They enjoy the movies. They get the same thrill out of athletics and of boxing bouts as we do. Many of them are fitting their picturesque vintas with motors so they can travel about faster. They are having their lands registered under the Torrens System, and they are building more substantial

266 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS homes. A goodly number of them are acquiring a speaking knowledge of the Spanish, the Visayan or the Tagalog, while English is becoming widespread among those of the young generation who could take advantage of the public schools. But despite it all, what we have in Mindanao is a mere start. Modernity is only beginning to take root. With the 4 coming of independence, the momentum of progress will have to be accelerated. And it could be done, if we would only marshall the energies afforded by her size and vitality. We have eager and responsive materials in the inhabitants of that region, and we have a territory appropriate for the regeneration of any people. Mohammedanism need not obstruct the pathway to a people's advancement. It was not a hindrance in the case of Turkey. Under the energetic guidance of one man with a dynamic personality, Turkey, overnight, has transformed and recreated herself. It was a case of effective propaganda and of a will power determined to accomplish its plans. The story of Turkey could be re-enacted in Mindanao and Sulu. We have to awaken our Mohammedans to the capabilities of their own genius. We have to inspire them with an ideal that would stimulate their creative instinct. The individual's relation to the modern state, still dimly comprehended at present, has to be inculcated in their collective mentality. The sense of our oneness as a people and the physical inseparability of our seven thousand islands have to be brought home to them more and more. We need a Rizal from among them who, with a master hand, could shatter misleading idols and decrepit notions, and could breathe into them a rejuvenated soul,-a Rizal to instill into their groping minds a virile conception of country, so that our Filipinas and the dear flag of the fathers to them may have a powerful meaning and a compelling appeal. In a strict sense there should be no such thing as a Moro Problem whose mere mention conjures up in the imagination cottas and battlements and untractable inhabitants. If there has been such a problem in the past, it was because the approach to it has been erroneous. It has not been a whole

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 267 hearted and earnest approach, and whatever programme of development there has been, has not been on a scale productive of rapid and positive accomplishments. An independent Philippines will have to give Mindanao preferential attention. "Let well enough alone," which is the sum-total of our accomplishments there so far, would have to be discarded for something more in keeping with fruitful statesmanship. Heretofore it was only when someone advocated segregation, or when disorders occurred there, that all of us would take notice and bestir ourselves, and think of Mindanao and make grandiose plans for its advancement. Twice or thrice now, our enthusiasm has been keyed up to the point when we sent two or three legislative committees and created one or two executive bodies, with the usual rendition of reports. The latest concoction is the so-called Coordinating Board. It is the most recent child of our Mindanao fancy. It is a magnificent scheme-on paper.- And, supposedly, it could produce magical results if really there were activities to coordinate. As things now are, however, there are no such activities of a magnitude worthy of coordination. In order to have such activities, funds are needed, plenty of funds. But we have been an absolute and heartless miser when it comes to funds for Mindanao. On the average we appropriate about thirty thousand pesos a year for promoting migration to that region, half a million for administrative salaries and expenses and various insular aids, and about two hundred thousand for roads, distributed among six provinces. Given the immensity of the territory, the question is: How could we, with two hundred thirty thousand pesos a year, hasten the progress of Mindanao so that it could keep pace with the progress of the northern islands and provinces? Here up nbrth we could afford to spend thirteen million pesos for a single pier, five million for a legislative building, and three million for a post office building. From Aparri to Sorsogon, and everywhere in the Visayan islands, there are beautiful first-class roads, asphalted driveways, imposing public edifices. Evidences of general prosperity may be seen whithersoever one may roam.

268 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS In the greater portion of Non-Christian Mindanao, however, one could travel for days and weeks, and see nothing but wilderness and unspeakable backwardness. The hinterland of Mindanao is retarded progress personified. And yet it is known that our country as a whole could not arrive at its ultimate glories nor could it attain solidity without that region. The individual has not had a real chance in Mindanao and Sulu. His has been a single-handed combat against the relentless forces of nature. He has had no credit facilities, and he has had no incentive to greater production because of the difficulty of transporting his products to the market. Thirty-nine thousand square miles of territory that we have there could boast of only two hundred kilometers of good roads. mostly near the coast. Telephone and telegraph communications are also so inadequate that murders and disturbances of public order may occur in the interior and yet not be known at the capital until weeks afterwards. This condition is a disgrace, when we consider the potentialities of that fascinating expanse of our territorial domain. Envision to yourselves its promise and its future. Larger than Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Denmark or Greece, it has a capacity for sixty million people. There is room there for a whole empire. It could be the field for Filipino energy, enterprise and initiative for countless generations. The riches slumbering beneath the surface of its plains challenge description. It has river systems vying with each one another in size and navigability; miles and miles of level plains fit for crops of any kind. It has plenty of waterfalls from which power could be generated for every industry imaginable and with which a whole network of railways could be electrified. It could be converted into a perpetual source of raw materials for every purpose. The Japanese have long ago realized the fertility of the region. So have the Americans and the Spaniards. They have formed corporations actually in possession of lands there, and they have been exporting products of Mindanao soil all these years. On the other side of the curtain, you could count with your

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 269 fingers the number of our countrymen who are there engaged in agriculture on a big scale. There is plenty of Filipino capital hidden in stockings, bamboo poles, and elsewhere. Its principal characteristic, however, is timidity. It is not the adventurous kind of capital. It seldom takes chances. American and foreign capital, on the other hand, hesitates to make large investments in Mindanao because of the uncertain political status of our country. With the coming of independence, we shall have to rely on Filipino capital and initiative for the development of Mindanao. But the government would have to extend the necessary encouragement in order to achieve something tangible. It will have to provide roads, shipping and docking facilities, and various means of communication from one place to another. Once these things are provided for, the rest will take care of itself. The Filipino who desires to leave his hometown and settle elsewhere, prefers to migrate to those places where transportation and communication facilities already exist. And he cannot be blamed. The province of Nueva Ecija is the outstanding example of this rule. Ten or twelve years ago, fully one-half of this province was covered with forest, and it was very sparsely populated. As soon as the present highways, however, were completed, all those virgin lands were applied for by immigrants from far and near, until today that province has become the premier producer of palay. Its population has doubled, besides, and the value of farms throughout the province has gone upwards a thousandfold. Mindanao will have to go through exactly the same process if its settlement and economic development are to be expedited and if it is to become a factor in our financial destiny. Economics is the key to the transformation of that region, the only thing that could there light for all time the lamp of culture and of modernity. All the other ramifications of the so-called Moro Problem hinges on this central point. Social and intellectual development will follow the economic, just as sure as night follows day.

270 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The four hundred thousand Mohammedans that we have there do not constitute an obstacle to this economic development. With the opening up of transportation facilities, their wants will increase all the more, and they will have a stimulus to greater production. Transportation facilities are the modernizing agencies which they cannot resist. If we fail to provide them on a worth-while scale, we rob Mindanao of its legitimate chances. If. in the past, many Mohammedan Filipinos have failed to pay taxes and to send their children to the schools, it was because they really could not spare the money necessary for the purpose. Oftentimes, they could not even afford to have three meals a day and to clothe their children properly. If there have been disturbances of public order, it was, in many cases, because of misguided fanaticism, which the rays of modernity had not yet penetrated. When a people have nothing to do, and when their energies could not have a broader field for expansion, their minds become receptive to all kinds of outlandish propositions. One thing is undeniable, however, and that is, that the Mohammedan Filipino is good at heart. He has a well-defined personality and a faculty for progress. Once he understands what is expected of him, he lends his wholehearted cooperation. undue interference of any kind. Treat him right, and he will always be a friend. Wrong him or oppress him, and his whole soul rebels until he feels that he has righted the wrong he has suffered. The young generation are intelligent and alert. With the proper schooling, they could be the guardians of their own heritage and trusted with the affairs of their respective communities. Hence, the necessity of providing more and better schools from which could be disseminated all that is attractive to them of contemporary science, learning and civilization. In the interim that the yoing generation is being prepared for the responsibilities of tomorrow, we shall have to utilize the Datu, or the Sultan, and rely on his power and influence among his people. For any innovation intended to be introduced in Mindanao, the Datu has yet to be the starting

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 271 point. Whatever social progress has been achieved there so far, has been due mostly to his example. Oftentimes, he has his deeply ingrained prejudices, but he is almost always conquerable through persuasion rather than through compulsion, and once a concession is wrung from him, all its logical consequences follow. The friendship and goodwill of the Datus are indispensable in the hastening of the improvement of conditions in Mindanao and Sulu. Cultivate that friendship, and you always have a faithful, kind and accommodating helper. Assure him of his position and dignity, and there is hardly any progressive innovation that he will not carry out. Once the Datus of Mindanao are fully reconciled to the new order, to the schools and to the system of government and the institutions that we have implanted there, we shall have struck at the roots of whatever backwardness and apathy still remain-it merely becomes a matter of time when they and their followers will be writing a different history on the hills of Sulu and the valleys of Lanao and Cotabato. And this is essential. Because geographical unity with them is not enough. There must be social, political and moral unity with them besides. Mindanao ought also to be made physically nearer to us here by every means possible. Efforts should be exerted to reduce the shipping rates between Manila and the ports of the region, and there should be more frequent steamship service. At present the passenger rates to Mindanao are, considering the accommodations, almost as high as the rates to Hongkong, while the freight rates from Manila to other overseas ports, San Francisco for example, are in many cases proportionately lower than from here to Mindanao. The building of a national highway from Aparri to that) region deserves a most serious consideration. It is an ambitious project, but is within the bounds of possibility. A ferry across San Bernardino Strait and another one across the Strait of Surigao would solve the problem. In other lands, engineering skill and government determination have made similar projects possible. In the

272 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Philippines, there is no reason why the story would not be repeated. The building of a railroad system which would traverse Mindanao from north to south and from east to west also demands attention. It is never too early to make a survey of its location and to study the manner of best financing its construction. It need not be finished at a bound; it could be built little by little. Such a railroad system in co1ijunction with roads as feeders would be the ideal solution of the transportation problems of the region. Such, in hurried strokes, are in my opinion the fundamentals of our collective mission in Mindanao, now and in the future, with or without independence. That region cries out for help, for life-giving roots to progress, for initiative and willing hands, r for the instrumentalities and facilities that would make it attractive to Filipinos of the North. Upon our country's shoulders now is the mighty incubus of economic dependence. We pay a tax to foreign nations for almost every necessity of ours under the sun. When we ride in an automobile, when we turn on the lights, when we play the piano, when we look at the watch, when we go to the shows, when we purchase the materials for our very flag-we pay a tribute to a corporation over the seas. The only thing that could counter-balance this outflow of our fortunes is for ourselves to extract the riches from the still virgin lands of such regions as Mindanao and engage in manufactures ourselves so we could sell more than we buy. Thereby a great part of our prosperity would not be as fictitious; as it is now. A new principle of action must inspire our Mindanao attitude from now on. And the sooner the better, because as long as it is not fully reclaimed by us, its vastness and its richness would ever be a tempting morsel to peoples seeking an outlet for their surplus vigor, industriousness and energy. With all its available lands, it is there that imperceptible infiltration could ripen, before we are aware of it, into spheres of influence, with all the havoc that it would wreak on all our dreams for a greater Mindanao preserved for ourselves and our posterity.

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 273 On the threshold of the new national consciousness that could be expected from this Congress, may our first concern be our Southland. Clearly, our task there is to make the third star of our flag twinkle and shine as bright as the other two, standing for a Mindanao that is not merely a geographical expression, but something real, tangible, integral in all respects with the rest of the Archipelago, vibrant with energy, and pursuing its logical destiny. After the reading of the paper of Representative Melencio a discussion of the points brought out followed. Questions were directed to the speaker and he answered all of them satisfactorily. Representative Vamenta brought out the point that the Moro problem is purely a domestic problem and with an easy solution; that the Moros do not constitute a different race and if they are treated justly and fairly, they will always be on the side of their Christian brothers. The next speaker was Director Ludovico Hidrosollo of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. He read the following paper: WHAT IS BEING DONE FOR THE NON-CHRISTIAN POPULATION OF THE PHILIRPINES By DIRECTOR LUDOVICO HIDROSOLLO, of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes GENTLEMEN: As a matter of review, may I be permitted first to mention the provinces considered as our non-Christian territory. According to the Organic Act, commonly known as the Jones Law, the non-Christian territory of the Philippines is composed of the provinces of Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao

274 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS and Zamboanga, on the island of Mindanao; the province of Sulu, covering the Sulu Archipelago; and the Mountain Province and the province of Nueva Vizcaya in northern Luzon. These nine provinces constitute the twelfth senatorial district and are represented in the Legislature by senators and representatives appointed by the Governor-General. They have a combined area of 44,665 square miles which is about 40 per cent of the total area of the Philippines. The following countries, with their respective areas, are given in order that we may have a good idea of the size of the so-called non-Christian territory of the Islands: Square Miles Belgium.................... 11,744 Cuba....................... 41,634 Denmark..................... 16,958 G reece....................... 4 1,933 H olland.................... 12,582 Of the countries given above, Belgium is the most densely populated, having a population of 670 to the square mile. If the non-Christian territory of the Philippines were populated as Belgium is, it would have a population of 30,251,840. The population of the special provinces under the Bureau is given in the last general census as 1,064,253, or ten per cent of the total population of the Philippines. Of this 813,308 are non Christian-Mohammedans and pagans. This number represents less than eight per cent of the total population of the Archipelago. The population of the nine provinces under the Bureau at the end of the year 1928 as estimated by the provincial governors was 1,265,785. The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of non-Christian Tribes, exercises direct control —supervision over the governments of these nine provinces, provincial and municipal. In these provinces, there are 33 organized municipalities and 221 municipal districts. Each of the organized municipalities is governed by a council with the municipal president

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 275 as chairman. The municipal districts are governed directly by the respective provincial boards, acting as council for such municipal districts. The provincial governor and the provincial treasurer act for the municipal districts in the same capacity as the president and treasurer of a municipality. The individual districts, however, have their own. municipal district officials as in the case of the regular municipalities, but their powers and duties are nominal and their principal work is to act as advisers and helpers of the provincial board. The functions in general of the Bureau of non-Christian Tribes may be better understood by quoting the provisions of Section 704 and 705 of the Administrative Code. "SEC. 704. Jurisdiction of the Bureau of nonChristian Tribes.-Through the Bureau of non-Christian Tribes shall be exercised the supervision and control of the Secretary of the Interior over the government of the provinces, municipalities, and other local political divisions of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, the Mountain Province, and the province of Nueva Vizcaya. "SEC. 705. Special duties and purposes of the Bureau. —It will be the duty of the Bureau of nonChristian Tribes to continue the work for advancement and liberty in favor of the regions inhabited by nonChristian Filipinos and to foster by all adequate means and in a systematic, rapid, and complete manner the moral, material, economic, social, and political development of those regions, always having in view the aim of rendering permanent the mutual intelligence between and complete fusion of all the Christian and non-Christian elements populating the provinces of the Archipelago." The Bureau of non-Christian is a creation of the Jones Law. It is the only bureau in the Insular Government so created. Where the Bureau has extended its activities to a very marked degree is in the case of land settlement work and in its intervention on the securing of land titles by non-Christian and Christian Filipino homeseekers and colonists who have established themselves permanently in the specially organized provinces. There is also material progress in the activities of the Bureau with regard to the extension of government control

276 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS and influence over non-Christians found in the regularly organized provinces. At present, such control and influence have been extended to the following provinces: Abra, Bataan, Mindoro, Misamis, Negros'Oriental, Pampanga, Rizal, Surigao. Tarlac, Tayabas, Zambales and Palawan. Mindanao is' populated with Christian, Mohammedan and pagan peoples. Only two of the eight provinces which compose the island are predominantly Mohammedan. These two are Ianao and Cotabato. The Sulu Archipelago, which has a total area of 1,030 square miles, is almost entirely Moroland. According to latest estimates, there are only about 6,000 Christian Filipinos in this province. Just when the apostles of Islam first came to Mindanao cannot be definitely stated. To Macdum, a noted Arabian scholar of his day, is given credit for having "firmly established" Mohammedanism in Mindanao and Sulu. This was about the year 1380 A. D. He is said to have practiced "magic and medicine", and to have visited nearly every island in the Archipelago. Although Mohammedanism was established in Mindanao about a century and a half before the coming of the Christians, it is notable that less than half of the population of that island are followers of Islam; while throughout the rest of the Philippine Archipelago, with the exception of Sulu and Palawan, it is safe to say that over ninety-five per cent of the people are Christians. It appears that there never was a concerted and sustained effort to convert the people as a whole to the faith of Islam. It appears that the spiritual welfare of the natives was a matter of secondary consideration to their conquerors. About the middle of the 19th century, the power of Spain was definitely felt in Mindanao. In 1848, Sultan Kudrat acknowledged allegiance to the Spanish crown and permitted the establishment of a trading post at Cotabato. With greater military strength and better equipment, the Spaniards gradually increased their influence during the ensuing years. They never succeeded, however, in completely subjugating the Moro people, despite the valor shown by the gallant Spanish soldiers. The

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 277 Spaniards were usually successful in major military operations, but failed to hold their territorial gains for lack of sufficient forces in the field. Spanish sovereignty, therefore, over Mindanao and Sulu was only nominal. Spain is entitled, however, to our gratitude because of the fact that, by virtue of her treaty with the Sultan of Sulu, the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao became de jure a part of the Philippine Islands. Among the pagan people, the advancement of Spanish prestige seems to have been due to the tireless efforts of the intrepid priests, rather than to the force of ayms. In reading a history of Agusan written by a Jesuit priest, I find that the Spanish priests who performed missionary work among the thousands of natives of that province many years ago were treated with the greatest consideration and respect by the primitive people. More than a quarter of a century ago, the Americans came and to them was left the difficult task of pacifying and bringing under government control and influence the Mohammedans of the South. The American army had to fight many fierce battles in order to bring about a condition conducive to the establishment of an orderly government. We owe an everlasting gratitude to the new sovereign nation for her altruistic and benevolent policy designed to help us become a united, prosperous, contented and self-governing people. Due to its spectacular character, the so-called "Moro problem" has been given considerable speculative publicity. Our newspaper editors take special delight in reports of "Moro outrages" seemingly because murder in band committed by Mohammedan outlaws is more romantic and of greater interest to readers than accounts of similar crimes in the regular provinces. Yet, the popular mental picture of Moroland would lose much color if painted in its true tone. As a matter of fact, life and property in Mindanao and Sulu, except in remote settlements, are about as safe as in any other part of the Philippines. People must go through certain evolutional changes in their upward march from barbarism to civilization. Through the efforts of the different government agencies in Mindanao-Sulu, there is being gradually developed there a people

278 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS in whom the' ethics of civilization, as we understand them, find acceptance. When the generation which is now in school and is learning these ethics comes into power and influence, conditions will be much more encouraging; government and its efforts to lead the people along the highway of progress will be keenly appreciated. In my travels throughout Mindanao and Sulu, I meet crowds of Moro people in the different communities that I visit. At the meetings usually held, they talk about schools, about roads, about growing different plants of economic value. I have heard from them expressions of condemnation for wrong doings. Civic duties, personal relations and governmental obligations are discussed. It is encouraging, indeed, to note the growing interest shown by the Moro local officials in matters of government. It is natural, of course, to find concealed opposition on the part of some chieftains to the school system and to the kind of government which has been established for them. The gradual enlightenment of the younger people as a result of education, and the powers and'prerogatives of the present government are gradually destroying the prestige and influence of these chieftains. Together with the loss of prestige and influence goes hand in hand the loss of opportunity to receive the tribute formerly exacted from the common men. Christianity and Mohammedanism do not harmoniously mix in any part of the world. In religion, most men take things for granted rather than exercise reason. Fortunately, the Christian and Mohammedan elements of the population in Mindanao and Sulu have managed to live together peacefully as a whole. In the annual report of the Governor of Lanao for 1928, I find these remarks: "The least that is said about the differences between Christians and Mohammedans and the more effort that is put forth to establish and maintain friendly relations, the more speedy will these differences, to a considerable extent imaginary, be removed, and the relationship of man to man, give and take, live and let live, be established." In my opinion, the majority of the Mohammedan Filipinos do not feel, or do not realize, that they are a part of the Filipino.

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 279 people. Yet, whether we wish it or not, whether they wish it or not, they and we are racially the same, have to live together in these sea-girt islands, and share one common destiny. We must be careful in our dealings with them. The average Datu is very proud and very sensitive. He resents being looked upon as inferior. If we go to the Moro country and say that our object is to help the Moro people because they are backward, or they do not know how to help themselves, we are likely to provoke resentment. We must try to deal with the Moro just the same as we deal with any other man, taking into consideration his lack of the opportunities or advantages which the Christian Filipinos have had. Upon the old social and political system in Moroland resulting from a vague and incoherent Mohammedanism and permitting the exploitation of the sacops by the chieftains, we have established the present government which is fundamentally the same as the government established in the' regularly organized provinces. It involves the policy of gradually bringing all the provinces of the Philippines together under a common political institution. As such government goes ahead maintaining law and order, promoting the occupation and cultivation of vacant public lands, constructing means of communication, and extending more and more the present educational system which is a very effective means of breaking down old barriers and of creating the spirit of understanding and harmony, we will see the improvement of conditions which we all desire and the so-called Moro problem, through peace, industry, education, patience and justice, will solve itself. It will take time, but it will come. After Director Hidrosollo the following also took the floor and told the Congressmen of their feelings with regard to the independence question: DATU MANDI: He said that before, he was one of those Moros who opposed independence, that he headed a movement against our national aspirations

280 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS before, but that now he is perfectly convinced that the Moros should be with their Christian brothers in the independence movement. He submitted a resolution to this effect. MR. AUKASA SAMPANG: He said that the Mohammedans are with their Christian brothers in their demand for freedom. SULTAN SA RAMAIN: He said that the Moros of Lanao desire the independence of the country and that they are ready to fight and die if it is necessary to get it. He said that Mindanao is represented by one of the stars that adorn our national flag which star should be properly taken care of all the time so that it may shine with the same splendor and intensity as the others that represent Visayas and Luzon. DATU LALA: He said that those of Lanao are entirely the same as their Christian brothers and as the latter, they also desire the independence of the Philippines. MR. ABDULLAH JIMENEZ: He categorically stated that the Mohammendans of the South think and feel in the same manner as the Christian Filipinos, and like the latter, they desire the immediate independence of the country. He suggested that in future missions to the United States some Mohammedans should be included giving them in such manner all the oppor' tunity to work at the side of their brothers, the Christian Filipinos, for the immediate liberation of the Philippines.

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 281 The following resolutions were approved: RESOLUTION Presented by Datu Mandi Requesting the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress to make known in a clear and unequivocal way that the Mohammedans, the same as their brethren, the Christian Filipinos, want the absolute, complete and immediate independence of the Philippines and that they protest against all intent to divide and disintegrate them. Whereas, the Islands which form the group called Mindanao and Sulu are an integral part of the Philippine Archipelago; Whereas, the said islands are inhabited by people of the same race which populate the rest of the Philippines; Whereas, the Mohammedans that inhabit Mindanao and Sulu and that constitute only one-third of its total population think and feel in the same way as their brethren, the Christian Filipinos; Therefore, be it resolved to request as we at present request, the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress in order that in a clear and unequivocal way it may be made known that the Mohammedans, like their brethren the Christian Filipinos, want the absolute, complete and immediate independence of the Philippines and that they protest against any intent to divide and disintegrate them. Manila, February 26, 1930. Unanimously approved. RESOLUTION Presented by B. J. Bello Be it resolved, that the office of the Provincial Governor of the Mountain Province, that of the Mayor of Baguio and all

282 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS the seats which may be occupied, without the necessity of amending the Jones Law, be filipinized, in accordance with the policy of Presidents Wilson and Harding. Manila, February 26, 1930. Unanimously approved. RESOLUTION Presented by Attorney Ruperto V. Sunga to the Independence Congress Whereas, one of the efficacious means of obtaining our political emancipation is the Filipino products such as sugar, coconut and others; WVhereas, the exploitation by the Filipinos of public lands which are still uncultivated is also one of the efficacious means for our economic problem and also for the problem of Mindanao and Sulu and the Mountain provinces; Therefore, be it resolved, as at present it is resolved, by the Independence Congress to recommend and suggest to all the municipal and provincial government of the Philippines that, as municipal corporations, there be voted a capital of P10,000 each and that they solicit from the Insular government a ranch of one thousand twenty-four hectares of public lands in Mindanao, Sulu and Mountain provinces for agricultural exploitation; that all, as municipal corporations, group themselves and form a whole Mother corporation with their acquired lands and invested capitals; that once formed the Mother corporation let it sell shares that would be the most popular among Filipino lovers of liberty and well being till the necessary capital for the desired exploitation of all the lands of the corporation is obtained; that the corporation be an agricultural one which would dedicate to the planting of sugar canes, coconuts, 'and other products for exportation. Approved February 26, 1930.

MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE 283 Estimated values: Eight hundred municipal governments as corporation at 1,024 Ha. each. Capital at P10,000 each.......... Necessary capital for Mother Co.... Capital to be subscribed.......... Annual rent at P50.00 Ha........ 819,200 Ha. P 8,000,000.00 100,000,000.00 92,000,000.00 40,060,000.00 RESOLUTION Presented by Paterno Zaballero Petitioning the Philippine Legislature to approve the Perez nationalization of highways plan with a particular attention to Mindanao. Whereas, it has always been the intention of the Philippine Legislature to solve the so-called Mindanao problem; Whereas, the only solution of this problem lies in the extensive road building in that Island; and Whereas, the Perez plan of Nationalization of Highways is the only solution to that problem. Therefore, be it resolved, as it is hereby resolved, that the Independence Congress (Mindanao Section) petition the Philippine Legislature endorsing the Perez Nationalization of Highways Plan with particular attention to Mindanao. Manila, February 26, 1930. Approved unanimously.

I:o 0 U CQ O 284

WOMEN'S SECTION The Women's Section of the First Independence Congress held its session at 9:30 A. M., on February 26, 1930, with Mrs. Sofia R. de Veyra as Chairman. Mrs. de Veyra in her opening remarks, said that the struggle for liberty, the Filipino woman is given equal opportunity with the men, as evidenced in their participation in the First Independence Congress, to serve the cause of their country. She later on delivered the following address: ADDRESS OF MRS. SOFIA R. DE VEYRA, PRESIDENT, FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS MEMBERS OF THE INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS AND COUNTRYMEN: The traditional gallantry of the Filipino has been once more in evidence when they gave us, women, the same privileges as they have in this First Independence Congress. Speaking for myself, I confess to you that I was caught unaware of the honor which is mine this morning, to preside the Women's Section. So, we women should welcome the opportunity presented to us today to take an active part in this Independence Congress. More and more each year, the woman is being recognized as an important factor in world affairs and it is gratifying to note that the organizers of this Congress have not excluded the woman, but have rather given her an equal place and an equal opportunity to do her bit for her country's cause. We will not be called upon to lead an army, as was St. Joan of Arc, nor will we have to take a gunner's place, as did Molly Pitcher, but we are called upon to stand side by side with our men to 285

286 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS face our country's needs and do our best to remedy them. It may be true that women's place is in the home, but the home does not have to absorb all her attention. All over the world the woman is coming into her own. We must recognize this fact. We can and we must stand by our men and face the problems with them, and we can do this without neglecting the home and without losing one particle of our own womanliness. The men have given us the opportunity to work with them. We are to have an equal share with them, and hence we have an equal responsibility. Let us face the problems squarely. Never before have we been invited to discuss these problems on an equal basis with the men. Let us take advantage of this opportunity to show them that we are capable and willing to do olr part. Let them not be disappointed in the confidence they have placed in us. In life, woman is man's partner, sharing with him the joys and sorrows, helping him to solve life's problems. Why can she not also take part in shaping the destiny of the nation? Women of other countries have done it, and are doing it. If St. Joan of Arc had been afraid of criticism, if she had not led the French army, what would have been the result? Let us follow her example. She saw where the path of duty lay and she followed it. She was burned at the stake, it is true; but today France honors St. Joan of Arc, France loves "La Pucelle d'Orleans" who stood firm in her convictions and gave up her life for them. Let us be like her in her love of her country and her strength of character. Let us love the Philippines as she loved France, and though we may never be called upon to die for our country, let us be ready to make the sacrifices that alone can build up a nation capable of governing itself. Our work must not consist in mere idle talk. We are attending this Congress in order to discuss the best means by which we may cooperate with our men in their struggle for independence. Those of us who can offer some suggestions should do so without hesitancy. We must take advantage of this opportunity, and we must have something definite, something concrete as a result of' today's discussion.

WOMEN'S SECTION 287 We must realize that once independence is granted conditions are bound to be different. There will be a time when we shall be called upon to face far greater problems than we discuss today. If independence is granted during our lifetime, we shall have the responsibility of setting on its feet a new nation among nations. During the difficult years when the Philippine Republic is in its infancy, we shall be called upon to make sacrifices, perhaps even greater sacrifices than the men. We must be prepared for this because unless we are ready now for what is to come in the future, we may be caught unawares, and God only knows what the outcome will be. In the bewilderment of works that is my lot to perform every day I confess to you, my dear ladies, I felt I did not know what to do. My first thought on which I immediately acted on was to go to the different persons who I thought could give me suggestions as to what particular activities our men wish us to cooperate with them in securing our freedom and getting prepared to assume the responsibility that will be all ours when our independence is given us. The next speaker was Miss Paz Gloria-Canave. She delivered the following speech: ADDRESS OF MRS. PAZ GLORIA-CANAVE MADAM CHAIRMAN AND LADIES OF THE CONVENTION: I was hesitating to take part in the program because I cannot think of novel suggestions on the subject, "The Part that Women Should Play in Promoting the Movement for Independence." My brief remarks will stress only the following points: 1. To encourage writing on subjects concerning the culture, progress and civilization attained by this country which entitle her to demand her independence.-It has been shown that women are not behind men when it comes to the use of the pen. The Filipino women could do much to acquaint other

288 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS countries with truths about the Philippines. I think most of us here are familiar with the work of Dr. Mendoza-Guazon entitled "The Development and Progress of the Filipino Women." It is a valuable piece of work. Besides the wrong impression that has been created about the Filipinos, the work is certainly a distinct contribution, bringing forth the fact that we had our own individual civilization long before the coming of the Spaniards. It is this kind of writing that should be encouraged-among our educated and capable Filipino women. If we have more women able to take up the pen in defense of this country, we do not need to resort to resolutions condemning such sensational writers as Miss Mayo and the royal Countess Artamanoff. I believe that our women leaders should be made to understand that their pens are needed for the advertisement and defense of their country. Now that there are coming into limelight some promising short story writers among the young women, we should try to encourage these people to write more about conditions in this country of which we can be proud. Very recently too there have been appearing in the Sunday issues, of the Philippines Herald a column entitled "Who is who among our women." This column should be welcomed because it gives us the names of women who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields, and thus prove to the eyes of the world, that our women are not so behind as generally presumed for women in the Orient. It is unfortunate that we have only very few magazines devoted to the interests of Filipino women but these few ones we have should afford a ready vehicle for acquainting other people of our progress. 2. To cultivate in the hearts and minds of our children sentiments of patriotism.-The women are the best teachers and the most powerful teachers. The true mother takes charge of the education of her children during the most precious and

WOMEN'S SECTION 289 formative stage of their lives. The home is the best place to inculcate patriotism. Pictures and stories of great men could be shown and taught respectively to the children as clearly as we possibly can. Even pictures of beautiful scenes in the locality-now that this is possible thru the works of some of our artists-can well adorn the home in order to make the children appreciate the beauty of their own country. You travel thru Japan and you cannot fail to notice the painted small cards containing pictures of familiar scenes in that country. Yet how different in this country? We had still to pass laws forbidding the display of our (nude) mountain brothers and only recently did we encourage the printing of local scenes such as those popularized in Japan long ago. Lately, too, our public schools was the center of attack by one of our legislators who claims that they are turning out eaglets. No matter how this accusation may approach the truth we have no reason to fear if in our homes we do not rear these eaglets. No school can turn out eaglets out of creatures reared otherwise in their patriotic homes by patriotic mothers. 3. My third point is to teach and practice economy, especially in home management.-We are told of the immense expense, national and individual of an independent country. The best way to prepare for this responsibility is to practise economy right away. Now and then we hear remarks that we are extravagant. In my observation I find some truths in these remarks. We women who control the purse and the budget of the family should practise economy in our daily life. Mr. Confessor thinks that we are having a high cost of living because we are forced to buy high priced American goods. This may be true and if we accustom ourselves with American standards, that monopoly will continue, and we shall have more difficulty in meeting our expenses when we become independent. Other things being equal, we should patronize our local industries. 5. Lastly, let us continue to give our moral support to any movement working for our ultimate emancipation.

290 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS The last to read a paper was Miss Ramona Tirona, Associate Professor in the University of the Philippines. She read the following paper: THE ROLE OF THE FILIPINO WOMEN IN THE CUL- TIVATION AND DIFFUSION OF RIGHT ATTITUDES TOWARD INDEPENDENCE By RAMONA TIRONA There is always a conservative group in any community and it is generally believed that women form a part of that element. Whatever might be the meaning of conservatism in its broadest sense, I shall only refer to it here, for the purpose of our discussion, as a tendency to adhere to a practice one has been used to believe or to accept and, consequently, the hesitation to deviate from it because of the fear of losing something by the change. A certain degree of conservatism is, undoubtedly, necessary in the life of any social group in order to check impulsive and radical changes that are destructive. On the other hand, when too much conservatism prevails, great advances and achievements cannot be effected because timidity and fear are not only antagonistic to the assertion of personality but are also conducive to stagnation and decay. Now let us briefly analyze a certain phenomenon that affects the expression of our national aspiration. I suppose that we all agree that independence is cherished by all of us. There is no mentally sound Filipino who has not thought likewise. But in spite of the general valuation of freedom, there has been entertained a fear'on the part of many of our people about the fate of the country in case independence is granted. What will become of our trade, of our agricultural and industrial interests, of our private and governmental institutions, of the maintenance of our government, of our safety from external attack? All these questions have been asked and have become an object of apprehensive concern.

WOMEN'S SECTION 291 It is because the answers to them have been advanced repeatedly in the form of bugaboos by selfish interested groups that many people have allowed such fears to exaggerate themselves and to take the better of them. And I must say also that many of us women have passed through the same experience. This Congress has made possible a most sincere and open discussion of the very facts that have constituted the basis of fears with regard to independence. Men best qualified to speak on the varied subjects treated have given us the cold realities; some in the form of absolute, plain statements, shorn of imaginary embellishments; others in terms of figures, statistics, and carefully studied estimates. Contrary to what has been anticipated by the opponents of independence, our future problems, our shortages, our handicaps have been exposed, analyzed, and thrashed openmindedly in the eagerness to show the truth. Yes, it is admitted that we are going to have some very grave problems as an aftermath to independence. Our exports will suffer, our trade will decrease, our income will be reduced, and new expenses will be met such as those of national defense and many other items that an independent government must provide for. But such conditions are necessary in the process of adjustment. They are, however, temporary. And the earlier we make provisions to meet them the abler we shall find ourselves in minimizing the losses incident to adjustments. We have to prepare our attitude toward the unpleasurable consequences that might come. The difficulties that must be confronted will have to be solved. There is no way out of them. Fears are dispelled not by evading their cause but by actually facing it with a determination to overcome it. Hesitation and timidity only delay action and take one nowhere. Whoever learns how to swim braves the risk of death, plunging into the water, since nothing can be accomplished by keeping away from it. If sacrifices are to be made for our independence, let us have them take place sooner. The torture of any expected pain that is slow in coming is greater, indeed, than that of an intensive one that is immediately experienced.

292 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Let no retrogression, conservatism and torturing apprehension prolong the pain of the expectancy of sacrifices that must be endured. It behooves, therefore, the Filipino women to exercise their influence upon those fellow countrymen and women who are afraid of the future of the Philippines in the event of independence, in the cultivation and diffusion of a courageous sharing in the burdens that must be borne. And I feel that attitude toward facing the problems, helping solve them, and in this duty the Filipino women can render an invaluable service to the promotion of the independence movement. They are best fit to develop and to diffuse the right attitude toward independence because as mothers, sisters, and friends they are potential forces in the creation of those feeling, states that give rise to "social emotivation" and which, sociologists claim, are fundamentally essential to group solidarity and great nationalistic undertakings. Then a general discussion took place in which several women leaders of the country participated. Dra. Honoria Acosta-Sison said that the women must teach their children very early the love of country, of things Filipino, history, scenery, nationality, etc. Mrs. Amparo F. Gonzalez elucidated the idea of economy in the home by the strict budgeting of income and expenditure. The custom in some Filipino homes to pamper the young girls in their luxuries to the sacrifice of other members of the family was lamented. Mrs. Winnifred 0. Pablo, Assistant Professor in the University of the Philippines, contended that in her contact here and in America, she always found the Filipino students proud of their country. She desired that the women of this country should lead in emphasizing the fact that when one is a Filipino citizen, no matter whether he is purely of Filipino parentage or not, he is a Filipino and not a mestizo, for there is no

WOMEN'S SECTION 293 mestizo nationality. The following resolutions were passed: RESOLUTIONS It was resolved: 1. That the Women's Section of the First Independence Congress as the Executive Committee of the Independence Congress suggest to the Philippine Legislature that it revise the present law authorizing the creation of school boards, amending it to the effect that the Executive Board be composed of five members, the majority of whom to be women; and that the members of the board shall be composed of the old and younger generation of good standing. 2. That the Independence Congress ask the Legislature to encourage the formation of Parent-Teachers Associations throughout the Islands. 3. That the Independence Congress suggest to the Legislature to require compulsory education in patriotism in the schools, and to give more emphasis in the teaching of ethics. 4. That the Independence Congress ask the Legislature for the segregation of sexes in the Intermediate and High Schools of this country, in matters of classes and separate hours of instruction. 5. That the Women's Section of the First Independence Congress solicit the help of Mrs. Hoover, the wives of Congressmen in the U. S. A., and the Women's Clubs of that country towards securing the immediate independence of the Philippines.

LABOR SECTION The Labor Section of the First Independence Congress held its session at 9:00 A. M., on February 25, 1930, with Dean Jorge Bocobo as Chairman. The Chairman, in his opening remarks, stated the main purpose of the meeting and expressed his appreciation of the keen interest which the labor element and its sympathizers had been taking in Philippine national problems. He also remarked that the laboring mass, which constituted the vast majority of the population, should be a dominant factor in shaping the national policies and future destiny of the Islands. The first speaker of the day was Professor Serafin E. Macaraig, of the University of the Philippines who read the following paper: IMMIGRATION AND POPULATION PROBLEMS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS By Dr. SERAFIN E. MACARAIG, Assistant Professor of Sociology, U. P. MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS: A very distinguished American publicist, a very strong sympathizer of our independence movement, truly said that, with the advent of independence, our troubles and problems will have just begun. As a member of this Congress, part of whose purpose is the discussion of problems which may confront a Philippine republic, I have chosen for my topic "The Immigration and Population Problems of an Independent Philippines." 294

LABOR SECTION 295 Glancing 'at the map of Asia and its neighborhood, one cannot help being impressed with the tremendous concentration of population in countries bordering the Philippine Islands. To the north of us there are 78 million Japanese; to the northeast we have nearly half a billion Chinese; in our immediate neighborhood, in the regions comprising the southwestern part of Asia and the East Indies, there are 150 million Malayans; while not far distant from these regions there are, in India, 300 million Hindus, The Philippines, therefore, with its proportionately vast territory and abundant natural resources has been claimed to be the only outlet for overpopulated Oriental countries the flow and invasion from which are at present precluded by the United States Immigration and Chinese Exclusion Laws which are now being enforced in the Philippines. However, with the advent of independence, the imperialists claim that the immigration tide into the Philippines, either from Japan or China, will become inevitable, and that it will not be long before the Chinese or Japanese shall swamp the Filipinos. American government officials, of whom Governor General Harrison was the foremost, have openly admitted their fears of a possible population menace from either China or Japan, and have expressed in no uncompromising terms their opposition to either contract labor or Chinese immigration. Filipino intellectuals, in the face of a seemingly inevitable flow of Orientals into the country in case of independence, have adopted the compromising attitude of a limited form of im, migration, similar to the quota system in the United States, instead of a rigid exclusion law, in order to alleviate Chinese ill feeling. A sector of Filipino officialdom in the Philippine government, which has been in contact with the various classes of immigrants into the Philippines and which has sincerely felt the need of heeding the demand of the capitalists for an assimilable race of immigrants to come into the Islands, has openly advocated allowing the entry of indentured Javenese labor from Java and Madura. On the other hand, labor, because of the persistent attitude of the Chinese in coming into the islands in spite of the Chinese exclusion laws, has bitterly

296 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS fought every move to encourage Chinese immigration. Fears have been expressed that, with the unbridled flow of Chinese into the Philippines as a result of the lifting of the Chinese Exclusion laws, the native laborer, in his inability to compete with the low-standard Chinese coolies, will be despoiled of his inheritance and his right to earn a living. 4 The fears of these groups seem to have no foundation under the conditions at present prevailing in Oriental countries, because the social conditions and legal restrictions imposed by the respective mother countries exercise a restraining influence upon the probable flow of their population to the Philippines. The threat of a Japanese menace and the fears that have been entertained by the Filipinos themselves against a possible Japanese invasion in the Philippines are the products of a systematic propaganda, both in Congress and in the press, which the imperialists have been pounding into us, and have become a part of our thoughts and ideas. Japanese invasion, if such there be, is a political rather than a population menace. Admitting, for the sake of argument, that with the declaration of independence in the Philippines Japan would extend her imperialistic designs to the Islands, it still can be maintained that the population menace cannot become a reality. Conquest in the history of all colonization has brought into the conquered country not mass migration, but administrators 'and colonizers. Economically, conquest also brings with it capital and not mass migration, because capital will always find labor among the conquered people not only cheaper but also easier to exploit, because of the privileges which the capital of the conqueror may acquire in a newly conquered territory. Like colonization, economic exploitation by the mother country will not bring mass migration, but will bring intelligence and direction which in all colonial countries has been found to be a very insignificant and minor element in the population. Nor does history seem to furnish evidence to show that Japanese population is a menace to the integrity of a Philippine nationality. There has never been restriction against Japanese immigration into the Philippines; yet at no time in the history of our country before 1900 have more than 200,000 Japanese come

LABOR SECTION 297 into the Islands. It is true that from 1900 to 1918 some 18,000 Japanese did come into the Islands, in the employ of the Ohta Industrial Company and the Mindanao Island Exploit Company; but, due to the agitation and hard feelings which raised against further colonization in Mindanao, some sold out their holdings and left for the home country, so that we have now only about 10,000 in the Islands. The Japanese harbored no resentment or ill feeling, in as much as they were excluded, not on the basis of racial discrimination as has been done in the United States, but because the Filipinos insisted upon their right to develop their country themselves which right the Japanese people are willing to respect, as they have done in South America and other countries into which their people have migrated. It is equally true that the Japanese are not by nature a migratory people. They have a foothold in Korea and in Formosa, but the Japanese population of 350,000 of Korea has remained stationary for the last ten years, while in Formosa, a country which can easily support 8,000,000 and at present, with a population of only 3,000,000, has only 157,000 Japanese. On the other hand, the movement of Japanese from the central provinces to the northern regions, which are colder and therefore more inviting to the Japanese, has been steady and persistent. The reasons are obvious-the Japanese has more of an onion-skin than the American or the German and has very little stamina for surviving in tropical region. Recent developments in the Japanese Empire also preclude the possibility of Japanese mass migration into the Philippines. The leaders of thought of the country, such as Dr. Inazo Nitobe and Professor Ehimidzu of the Imperial University of Tokyo, have come to realize that the solution of Japanese overpopulation can be solved, not through emigration, but by the adjustment of social and economic conditions at home. Japan is now 98 per cent economically self-supporting and the poisonous idea, that has been injected into our minds by the imperialists that Japan has a larger population than she can feed, is nothing more than a delusion and a snare. Only 15 per cent of the arable land of the Empire is now under cul

298 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS tivation, and at least 2,000,000 hectares could be profitably brought under cultivation. With intensive cultivation, the application of agricultural science for the production of more varieties of crops, and the use of mechanical contrivances to irrigate the mountain slopes and of fertilization, it is estimated by Dr. Nitobe that Japan can support a very much larger population than her present one. The recent movement for industrialization, which is an attempt to provide work for the increasing population of Japan and to stem the tide of emigration to foreign countries from which they have been discourteously excluded, precludes also the threat of a population menace from Japan. The present industrialization movement which was been marked by great advances in mass production with the aid of very little machinery calls for the fullest and most intensive use of its native laborers. Industrial magnates, in spite of the higher wages paid in Japan than those paid in either China or the Philippines, have not found it profitable to import indentured Chinese labor, but have preferred to use Japanese labor, not only for economic purposes, but also for patriotic ones. The resulting demand for labor with which to carry on her industries requires that the growing population should be made to stay. India's population of 300,000,000, is more than the country can support. Coupled with the poverty and political insecurity in India, Hindu immigration into the Philippines may seem inevitable. There are, however, certain social conditions which would prevent any form of mass migration of the Hindus into these Islands. The village system of living and the strong family solidarity because of the dependence of the offspring upon their elders, and vice versa, would prevent mass migration. They lack the independent spirit and the desire for adventure with which the Europeans who settled in America were imbued. Furthermore, the Philippines does not possess the interest for the Hindu that the United States possessed for the Europeans. It is true that the golden romance and the expectation of exploiting our natural resources have been prominent in the literature on the Philippines, but these are mere possibilities. To the Hindu who lacks the adventurous spirit

LABOR SECTION 299 possibilities are mere dreams and they have no attraction for him, The most discouraging restriction upon Hindu emigration to the Philippines is the control exercised by the British government over India emigration to foreign countries. On the pretext that Indians migrating to foreign countries have been abused, exploited, and robbed, the British government has from time to time curtailed and extended the privilege of emigration of Indian people in accordance with British interests. To-day emigration and the dispatch of indentured labor to the French and Dutch colonies have been stopped and Hindus are allowed to emigrate only to British colonies, such as Mauritius, British Guiana, Trinidad, St. Vincent, Fiji, and Natal. Until India shall have obtained her independence from the British Empire, it will be reasonable to assume that the mother country would prefer to have the surplus population of India go to her colonies to help develop the resources of the people in whom she is more interested. The menace of 150 million Malayans in southeastern Asia and the East Indies, if it should ever come at all, will be from the direction of Java and Madura. In order to escape political slavery and enter a country where opportunities and resources are certainly more abundant, the outward flow of these people may seem to be naturally toward the Philippines. Holland's interest in her other East Indies colonies and outlying possessions will not allow the surplus population to get out of her control, because other islands of the East Indies and her outlying possessions are sparsely populated and their resources have hardly been touched and exploited. For this reason she has, by restrictive legislation, prohibited indentured emigration to foreign countries and has encouraged the proper redistribution of the population among her possessions by systematic colonization of and emigration to other Dutch possessions. Like Great Britain, Holland will not release the population of her colonies to other countries, because of her interest in her own colonies. ~ Our very great hope for freedom from the population menace of Japan, India, and Java seems to be darkened, however, by the possibility of a Chinese invasion. China's enormous

300 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS population of 500 million congested in her cities and plains which comprise only one-third of her territory; the insecurity,of life and property in the country as a result of the frequent wars and rebellions, the poverty and famine that have swept over her people, and the encouragement of Chinese immigration by Chinese officials in the Philippines seem to conspire together in driving the Chinese from the densely populated and war-ridden regions into her sparsely settled neighboring countries. Chinese of the congested central plains of Honan, Shantung, and Chile are moving at the rate of one hundred thousand a year into Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia. The movement from the crowded provinces of Fukien and Kwantung has spread out into French Indo-China, British Malaya, India, Formosa, Siam, and the Dutch colonies to the number of not less than 8,500,000, of which the Philippines has only about 53,000. That, with the lifting of the Chinese exclusion laws as a result of independence, a greater flow of Chinese into the Philippines will be inevitable, we must admit; we must also admit our defenselessness against such an invasion. Friendliness toward China will enable us to limit immigration by a quota system, and this plan may be resorted to; but our only salvation under present conditions seems to lie in the inherent tendency of all population movements to reach a saturation point, and in the future development of China. The Chinese population which is moving into the direction of countries southeast of China comes from the crowded provinces of Fukien and Kuantung. Fukien has a population of 13,000,000 with an area half as large as that of the Philippines, while Kuantung with an area a little smaller than that of the Philippines has the enormous population of 37,000,000. These two provinces are certainly more crowded than the Philippines; but it is equally true that, outside of the Philippines, there are about twelve countries to which their surplus population can be encouraged to go. There will come a time, as has happened in Ireland, France and Spain, when they can no longer release a part of their population and will take a hand in discouraging emigration. The present forces of emigration from these two provinces and other parts of China cannot always work

LABOR SECTION 301 together. Political or economic conditions may improve. Wars and famine may come and go. Immigration into the Philippines will always follow in the wake of these forces and will fluctuate accordingly. When political persecutions in Germany and Ireland stopped, migration from these countries to the United States ceased. When economic prosperity began to reign in Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, and Switzerland emigration from those countries to the United States also commenced to decline. When we began our agitation against Japanese in Davao and Japan started her industrialization movement, the Japanese were only too willing to leave for the home country where their labors and services were needed. Examples may be indefinitely multiplied to show that immigration tides are not limitless and unending, and it is to the inexorable law of population, rather than to moral or physical defense, that we may pin our hope against Chinese immigration into the Philippines. Agriculturally speaking, China has struck the Malthusian limit in her congested districts; but P. M. Rocby, in an article in the Geographical Review for January, 1925, maintained that China could support a still larger population by improving the means of communication in the vast interior of China, by a proper redistribution of the population, and by scientific and proper schemes of irrigation, water control, and afforestation. There is still another means by which China can stem the tide of her emigration to other countries-the possibilities of industrialization. Professor J. B. Roorbach of Harvard University said: "To the minerals hoarded in these mountains she has paid little attention, never dreaming of the vast potential wealth locked far beneath her soils, awaiting but the magic touch of modern industry to release it. To her present agricultural industries these resources of coal and metals, once developed, will supply new raw materials and mechanical power, which ultimately will make possible, in the hands of her enormous population, the development of a manufacturing industry of almost inconceivable magnitude, and will lay the foundation of a world-wide commerce."

302 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS While we must admit for the present, then, that the menace from China may seem inevitable, it is unfair and very fatalistic for us to assume that China will never be able to solve her own population problem. Present adverse conditions, may be improved in the future, after China has passed through her present chaotic condition. Let us hope, then, that this temporary menace will have disappeared. In the meantime, therefore, the population problem of the Philippines must be considered in its local aspect. There are those who claim that the present population, if evenly distributed, would be just the ideal number; but there are others who maintain that the extent and abundance of our resources can fully accommodate a population of fifty millions, which would be just enough to make the struggle for existence keener and would result in the acceleration of our economic development, which heretofore has been delayed because of the indolence of the people. If we take the view that we will need a population of 50 millions to develop and utilize our natural resources fully, the present natural growth of our population of 2.4 per cent can be depended upon. At the present rate of increase, sixty years from now we will have a population of from 45 to 50 millions; but, if we take labor's view, that what we need is proper redistribution and not an increase of population, we should be confronted by the problem of limiting the growth of our population. During the last twenty-five years our death rate has been cut 50 per cent, without a corresponding decrease in the birth rate, which means that, with greater application of science to health problems in the Philippines, our natural increase will continue, and sixty years from now we shall have a larger population than we may really need. The problems of limitation, I must admit, cannot be solved by preaching birth control. Education, the rise in the standard of living, a change in the social valuation and ideals of our people would contribute more to the voluntary limitation of our population than will all the preaching in favor of birth control. Our immediate problem is the proper redistribution of our unevenly distributed population. We must encourage the

LABOR SECTION 303 people in the Ilocano regions and the central Visayas, where the density of population varies from 400 to 500 a square mile, to go into regions like Mindanao and Palawan, where we scarcely have five to ten people to the square mile. Under the present system, in which no continuity of policy has been adopted for the proper redistribution of our population, it will be impossible to encourage interisland migration to and colonization of our sparsely settled regions. A definite policy and a continuous appropriation must be provided, in order to encourage the people to go into the sparsely populated regions of the Islands. This is not enough, however; we cannot dump these people into the wilds of Mindanao or Mindoro to cultivate their lands, raise their crops, and later find themselves without hope of being able to market the products of their industry. We must prepare the community into which we send them by providing them with healthy surroundings and a system of transportation,.so that they will not be isolated from other communities with which their interest and work have definitely bound them. After Prof. Macaraig, Don Joaquin Balmori next spoke as follows: THE DIGNIFICATION OF LABOR AS A FACTOR FOR NATIONAL STRENGTH By Don JOAQUIN BALMORI MR. CHAIRMAN, FELLOW CONGRESSMEN: Assigned, and with much honor, by the organization committee of the first independence congress to be one of the speakers in the sessions of the Labor Section, I was pleased in a way about the imposition intrusted, because this shows that it does not only recognize the participation of the working element in our struggle for liberty, but also it gives us a chance to express our point of view about the vital problem of our independence. It is not a secret to any one that the Filipino laborers in all the many campaigns which have taken place, since the days of the Revolution up to the present, from

304 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS the armed struggles to the pacific ones, never have misinterpreted the contribution to the cause which we all consider as belonging to the whole country to affect and pertain not to a group or determined section but to all the Filipino people. It is a known fact that laborers were the principal initiators and components of the Katipunan; that laborers were the ma- jority of those who went to camp in that epoch of bloody turbulence, when all of us without class distinction, creeds nor caste, seized arms to redeem our country; and now in our campaigns for our Independence, those same laborers have contributed with their obolus, their interest, and their work to the Independence fund in order to support the leaders who fight and set up watching for it and to help as much as they can this first independence congress, the pinnacle of our longing and eagerness to enjoy an independent and free life. A factor, most important, not only in the Philippines but in all countries of the world, the work, or rather the labor element, cannot remain isolated or indifferent to the movements towards the betterment, progress and emancipation of its country. Thus, the dignification of labor should be, in truth, a factor of national vigor as a worthy, honest and productive work brings as a consequence the dignification and elevation of the working element, of those sons of toil who appropriate all that they can and value to enlarge production, to enrich the public property to make their country flourishing and capable of being self-supporting. Philippine independence by virtue of economic readjustment which will come later on will give as one of its results the lessening of its public rent. Such, instead of terrifying us, should strengthen us and comfort us, and thus convinced that we should depend solely on ourselves in what pertains our production, we would force ourselves in recovering the goal lost in the exterior market, we shall feel compelled not to rest, if we do not wish to perish absorbed by the stronger and the wealthier in the economic contest. And the element which will have the heaviest of this responsibility on its back is, without any doubt, the labor element. But the laborer, conscious of his duties, acquainted with all that he strives for, will not in any way neglect the important role

LABOR SECTION 305 which the Philippines has assigned him, if the working conditions be dignified and elevated, placing them if not on the same basis, at least on one similar to those that exist in the more progressive countries of the world. There is nothing worst than the wicked exploitation of labor, because the laborer, deprived of his forces and necessities, does not see in his efforts but the mere desire of redeeming himself from his misery, forgetting until late, the exigencies and obligations he owes his country. The dignification of labor comes hand in hand with the dignification of the laborer, and when the labor element is integrated by worthy men, they feel like the others, the need of the stimulus, the eagerness to get away from the slavery, the desire to enjoy a good living, stimulus, liberty and betterment which is easier to obtain when their own country enjoys independence and is not found subjected to the fetters and impositions of any sovereign. With it is found. the fortitude of a nation, for as the majority of the components of a country belong to the labor class, the betterment of the greatest number produces satisfaction and gratitude to all. And the country is better when the people are satisfied and contented. We have as a clear example of this the same North American Nation, not to cite other countries, where the condition of labor are truly elevated. I do not say that those same conditions be the ones imposed in the Philippines, for neither is our country rich nor has our production reached the wonderful marks which exist in the United States. But I do suggest that while we are going forward in our industries and our commerce that the conditions of labor be made more liberal, more splendid, and better paid in order to prevent the Filipino laborers from feeling neglected, forgotten, when they form the principal elements in the enrichment of the nation. America is now a great country, more so for its labor than for its wealth. All admire and feel surprised at the progress of the United States; but not all realize that that progress is due to a great extent to the working element which, some with their muscles, others with their intelligence and,all with the lively desire to contribute to the aggrandizement of the nation, have done all

306 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS that was possible to make them feel no more than mere Americans. Something similar to it will happen in the Philippines as had already happened in the other independent countries among which is Japan. In Japan, as you know, work is not only a duty but it is a religion. In Italy during the Fascist age, work is being surrounded with such guarantees and securities that, in truth, wonderful as are the Italian industries, they have flourished beyond measure, and like commerce keep invading new parts which formerly were barren. The German reconstruction is due mainly to its workers and laborers who, during the sorrowful era of the nation, knew how to set the example of sacrifice, because during the flourishing time they received the recompense and prize which their labor and cooperation deserved. And we say nothing of France, the great republic which paid much during the war and which now, after a lapse of some years, seems to acquire back all its old splendor and power in the markets of the world, thanks to its laborers. Spain, the republics of Central and South America, China, and the other countries are also dignifying and surprising the world, due to their laborers and workers. As has been explained before, all that is done to dignify labor, does not get lost; because in the long run, the nation gets hardy, strong, and vigorous. We see very well that in countries where labor is not yet well directed in the paths of progress and modernity; where work continues to be considered as belonging to slaves; where work is not worthy, disobeying thus the sacred commandment of gaining our bread with the sweat of our brow; where work is not a necessity, an honor, a distinction, but still is branded as a stamp of infamy, of censure and of shame; in those countries, gentlemen of the Congress, the national vigor is being weakened because the force which should support it and stimulate it, is found very weak and because the masses have no faith in redemption by its own force. And so in those countries is killed the sense of personal dignity, by confusing the laborers with the very beasts of burden; because every laborer lives with no faith on his own future; and because all the while he just looks at the end of his misfortunes and his miseries, as life for the poor disinherited of wealth has no

LABOR SECTION 307 charm in it, no attraction, no stimulus. If, on the contrary, we have the laborer considered always as a man and the labor as a necessity, an obligation, without which nothing may possibly be obtained nor accomplished; if we try to have labor treated not as a punishment but a means to emancipate one's self and win in the fight for existence; those laborers, who feel the same sentiments that others feel, who patronize the same elevated ideas as other well-born men, will be, without doubt, the great supporters of turning the country each time wealthier, more flourishing, and more independent. The last speaker was Mr. Felipe E. Jose, First VicePresident of the Labor Congress and formerly President of the Workers and Peasants' Association of the Philippines, who read the following paper: THE LABORERS IN ALL MOVEMENTS By FELIPE E. JOSE MR. PRESIDENT, FELLOW CITIZENS: We thought that we, known as the weak, humble and low, were already forgotten by those known as the powerful, wealthy and educated. We also believed that in time of peace, the mission of the laborers is limited to the raising of food to keep alive the dominating class. But this Independence Congress has recognized that we are still of some value, at least in so far as the organizers of the Congress are concerned, and we consider it a great honor to become members of this Congress. We thought that we would forever remain tools and equipment of the rich and talented,' of the capitalists and masters; but I can prove that this belief is no longer true nowadays. The poor as well as the rich has his own self-respect, his own feelings which have often suffered bitter tortures in life. I regard the laborers the hope of every country, whether independent or not. They are the slaves; they are the steps used

308 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS by the upper class in ascending the high administrative posts. Magnificent edifices the world over are the product of their hard and strong muscles. They, together with the mixers of sand and lime for cement-from their sweat the filthiest home could be cleaned. Their strength is used as the pounding base for all stones lying dormant on the shores for life's happiness. Now that we are talking of liberty and the way by which we can show America our true aim, our fervent desire and fitness to run our own government, the laborers are disposed to help not only as tools and instruments as were once regarded, but are ready to stand on their feet and prove that yesterday and today they have never lost their love for liberty, the redemption of their country, known as the "life" of their souls. Even in America, the independence of the Philippines has become an interesting subject. The working class there, who has experienced innumerable hardships and has suffered the scorch of the burning sun, tells the American nation that we deserve freedom because the Filipino laborers are ready to face the world by all honest and reasonable means. Yesterday, the laborers were no more than the slaves of Egypt during the time when the great Pyramid, which still has traces of the blood of the poor, was being erected. Because yesterday, besides the presence of foreign oppressors, there were still the rich and the great who tried to press down the poor and the weak. The laborers learned to stretch their muscles and to open their eyes. In other words, they learned to die fighting for their rights. The great answered the call of the poor; the laboring class which was the source of wealth of the rich stood up; they bathed in their own blood and learned to clear away the cloud of misfortune of their Mother Country. Then, Oh, pity for the rich!.Things were inverted. The cruel crawled in front of the once unfortunate class. From every part of the Philippines was heard a unanimous cry-the unique voice of the oppressed-and they armed together like one man to redeem the suffering people. Confusion among the rich took place; those who possessed great wealth could neither stand nor sit for fear of losing their

LABOR SECTION 309 lives; others fled; some joined the enemies of their people with the belief that they would be safe, as it was not yet time for the poor to rise. Convents became crowded, for those who believed that they would be saved flocked there. The revolutionists triumphed and the light that was darkened by the three and a half centuries of Spanish regime shone once more. The chain of slavery was broken and the rich and powerful who became the accomplices of the friars repented. The victorious created a government, headed by the few deserving and intelligent persons. The poor laborers who were used as a defense against enemies, the weak and faithful slaves who were used as bullets for cannons continued rendering service. They were still the first ones to be exposed to combats and were used as baits at the mouth of death. For these reasons, we want to let the world know that the Filipino laborers can be useful not only as tools of labor, bearers of heavy burden, but also as means in building the pivot of freedom and as an instrument in erecting the flag of liberty. So with heads up and hearts open, we are making it known to the four winds that the rich and powerful who desire to become leaders of national movements can be assured of our help so long as they, are fighting for a common cause. Just as the common masses of yesterday proved their loyalty to their country, so are the laboring classes of today. The least doubt should never be entertained for we are also prepared to die for our country's sake. We are saying plainly that if the rich and educated people think that the success of Philippine mission depends on us, right now we offer our lives to fight for liberty until the last. If it is the life of the laborers that America needs to recognize our right for freedom, we are here with hearts open to offer her what is in our power. Because of our problem now and in the future, there is one incident that should never be forgotten and which should be recorded in the history of our independence movements: The difference of opinion among our political leaders and of our labor organizations serve as a great drawback in any national undertaking. This weakness created doubts in the minds of foreign observers and oftentimes our enemies make use of this

310 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS opportunity in releasing issues against Philippine independence. The constant conflict among our intellectuals becomes thick clouds that destroys our bright future, and often results in disunion. I firmly believe that as soon as our leaders are bound for one common cause and are in sympathy with each other's views and ideas, we will obtain the freedom that we have been struggling for and we will be one of those envied and respected nations in the world. For what reason do we fail to respect our own government? Why is it that our capitalists do not seem to sympathize with our movement? Why are our legistators afraid to pass bills that will lighten our burden? Why are those persons, who with our support became members of the Senate and House of Representatives, not doing us justice? Oh! it's because they see us disunited. When we are united for a common cause and when our selfish motives no longer exist, everybody will recognize our greatness. But so long as we remain disunited, so long as we do not have one road to tread upon, we shall forever remain low for the great to trample down on their way to success. But I believe that there is no sickness without remedy; no darkness without light; no suffering without relief; and if there is day there is night. So it is with us and our country. Subjects today, tomorrow free; disunited at present, some day solidly united. And being thus, when the great American nation shall deem it fit to grant us our independence for which we have been long waiting, be sure that our triumph shall not be hindered by any factor or power under the sun. After the last scheduled speaker, the Chairman asked Mr. Vicente Lontok to lead the discussion which the latter did. He took up first the points brought out by Professor Macaraig in his speech and he enumerated them to refresh the minds of the congressmen. Nobody stood up to discuss those points either because they were not prepared to discuss them or there was a general acceptance of the speaker's views.

LABOR SECTION 311 Mr. Lontok then took up next Mr. Balmori's speech for which he had nothing to say but praise. And in order that a movement could be started in the Islands for the dignification of Filipino laborers, he presented his resolution to request the authorities to adopt the nine points for the dignification of labor, as approved by the League of Nations in its labor session at Washington, D. C., in 1919. A resolution to this effect was approved as well as a resolution expressing the sentiment of the labor element for the wrongs done to Filipino laborers in California which resulted in the death of Fermin Tobera during the Watsonville riot, and that there be a day of mourning when Tobera's remains arrive in Manila and that a humiliation day be held in the Luneta on account of the Watsonville affair. In the discussion of the speech of Mr. Jose it was suggested that the labor element should have a representative in any Philippine mission to the U. S. Congress. Mr. Rodriguez made suggestions on how to improve the laborers' conditions by giving them adequate wages, improved working conditions, shorter hours of work, vocational, educational training, and security of employment in order not only to satisfy the laborers' craving for equality of economic status but also to improve their efficiency as workers and to increase their chances for becoming better citizens of the future Philippine Republic. Representative Varona discussed the purpose of the Labor Section, the condition of the laboring mass in case of independence-what they would do, what they would hope and expect to be-and wound up with a sugges

312 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINCS tion for solidarity in order to be more effective making their demands for independence. Ex-Representative Ponciano Morales discussed the tenancy system and suggested that the Government be urged to set aside annually an appropriation to help the laborers acquire and develop the unutilized lands of the country. A resolution urging the Filipino people to boycott any foreign firm against the independence movement was indorsed by the Labor Section. The meeting adjourned at 12:00 noon.

LAST PLENARY SESSION February 26, 1930 The last plenary session of the First Independence Congress was held in the Manila Grand Opera House at 2:30 P. M. on Wednesday, February 26, 1930, with honorable, President Rafael Palma as chairman. As in the first plenary session, the Manila Grand Opera House was filled to its full capacity. After the invocation by Mons. Gregorio Aglipay, Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church, the Honorable Emiliano Tria Tirona, formerly minority floor leader in the Senate, arose and spoke as follows: ADDRESS OF THE HONORABLE EMILIANO TRIA TIRONA, FORMERLY MINORITY FLOOR LEADER IN THE SENATE For eight years the Filipino people fought for their independence; first, against Spain and afterwards against the powerful North-American nation, sacrificing the lives of their best sons. For more than twenty years these same people have been fighting in the fields of peace for the same ideal. The generous concessions of America to our country were not sufficient to make her desist from her eagerness of emancipation. This demonstrates that it is a useless task to tempt the Filipino people with cajoling promises of a material and prosperous life in exchange with their renouncing a free and independent life. And it is because our country, more than the wealth that its so much praised economic development can carry, esteems greatly the precious blood of its heroes and the lives of those who fell in defense of its sacred liberty. 313

314 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Our country does not forget neither can it forget the edifying example of its national heroes and martyrs, who, imitating Patrick Henry, siouted in the crash of the battles in order that America and the whole world might hear them: "Give us liberty or give us death." And it is because the Filipino, as a good lover of his home, loves his country, as his most sacred home, where he keeps the dearest affections of his heart, and prefers living in a hut where he is the boss to living in a palace adorned with precious stones, where a foreigner, and not he, bosses. The Filipino prefers seeing his country poor but free, to seeing it rich but subjugated; and it is difficult for our country to berich under the protection of another nation. No country in the world has been made rich under the tutelage of another, it does not matter if that other be as great, generous, and liberal as the United States. At most our treasury might have great returns from the development of our industry and commerce; but the American capital will be the soul of such a development. Our immense public lands will attract the covetousness of that capital, avid of expansion, and will be exploited for its.own benefit. And once that capital is rooted, far from favoring the quick advent of our independence it would form an obstacle for its natural conservatism and because it would believe that no flag outside of its own can protect its investments. Thus we have those merchants who, after having invested their capital in the country, after having prospered in their business and enterprises, thanks to the generous protection of the Filipino people, when they arrive in America, and when there is agitated the Filipino question, appear before the Committee in the Congress of the United States to oppose the early concession of our independence. It is to be taken into consideration, however, that some of them act, moved by an altruistic spirit, making people believe that they are serving for the best interests of the Filipino people, in opposing our independence under the eternal argument that such an independence would bring in itself the eco

LAST PLENARY SESSION 315 nomic ruin of the country and that this country once separated from America would easily be a victim of the voracity of the great powers of the Pacific. But, behind that cape of altruism hides the fear that their great investments would not find the same protection which is found under the dominion of their country. We should tell those augurers of disaster and bankruptcy that their fears are not well founded; that if we come to be independent due to the recognition of our own worth by the Congress of the United States, the Filipinos, as a people and as individuals, would give to the capitalists, merchants, and American products greater protection than we now, in our state of dependence, receive for ourselves; and that instead of considering them as our bosses, dominators, and invaders, we would look upon them as our benefactors, and their investments would be guaranteed, not only with the might of the Philippine Government but also by the might of the affection and gratitude of the whole people. The material power may be destroyed by a superior power: It is ephimeral, but the power that creates affection and gratitude is perennial. The danger that the Philippines, once independent would be easily seized by Japan's voracity or by another neighboring power, as China, is remote. Not only by certain ethnical affinity between our country and those nations, not only because the current pacifists are flooding the whole world, having learned the lesson from the horrors of the past universal conflagration, but because there is a movement of mutual sym. pathy and attraction between related races that we should not fear such danger. It is not easy for a strong nation to abuse of the weakness of another. It does not matter if the Philippines be only a dot in the world map. But her commercial relations with the great powers, as America, England, France, and with even Japan and China, would constitute a solid guarantee of the stability of our independence and would remove the dangers that are much feared by those who oppose our independence.

316 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS God has made the Philippines a country composed of many islands. It is truly difficult and costly to have an effective system of national defense. But the capacity of a country in order to become independent should not depend on its capacity to defend against a foreign aggression. If that is the standard which would be required of a country that wishes to manage its own destinies, many independent nations smaller and poorer in natural resources than ours, as Belgium and Switzerland in Europe and many South-American republics, would not have survived as nations independent of foreign tutelage. For purposes of our national defense, it is enough that we have a system of defense which would make costly the invasion of our territory by any foreign power. To require the Philippines to have its national defense organized to the extreme of making impossible all foreign invasion as a prerequisite to its independence would result in its never enjoying it. Fortunately there were established institutions called to check frequent war among nations. There we have the International Court to decide the controversies between two nations; there is the League of Nations established to preserve not only the great but also the small democracies. But let us suppose the case that the Philippines be the object of an unjustified transgression on the part of a stronger nation, and that its voice demanding justice be unheeded by the powers that have interests in the country and who exercise the moral leadership of the world, we the Filipinos would do as an individual does when attacked by wrong-doers; defend himself against the attacks as much as possible even if it costs his own life. The Filipinos would learn to resist and repel the aggression with all the means and resources they can dispose of and defend the statutes of their national dignity. And if they perish in the conflict, over the corpses of 13,000,000 Filipinos would raise up the soul of a country whose heroism would occupy an immortal page in the history of Humanity. Even now under the aid and protection of the most powerful nation in the world, if there should be a conflict between

LAST PLENARY SESSION 317 America, and some other nation, President Roosevelt and some other military men believed that the Philippines would be the weak and vulnerable point of America. If in all respects whether independent or subjected we would be running some risk, it would be more preferable to run that risk when we are masters of our own destiny. We should not, however, confide the preservation of our independence in the power of force which we can dispose of: but on our conduct, in the spirit of justice which would guide us in the dealings which we would have with the citizens of other countries, and in the sense of justice and humanity of those same countries. As to the feared economic ruin which would come when independence comes, I may say, that our expert financiers would know how to face it. Plans to face a similar contingency have been outlived in the sectional reunions of this Congress; it has been demonstrated by means of figures that the Government of the Philippine Republic would be able to maintain the most peremptory necessities of the nation if done within reasonable economy. It is possible and probable that the country in the first years of its independence would feel an economic depression; but such a phenomenon is registered in gill countries that begin to live free from foreign tutelage. Even America after its separation from England had several years of economic depression. But such an abnormal state is transitory. Sooner or later would come the normal situation. Referring now to the organization of the Congress, I believe that it responds to a keenly-felt necessity. Even when I was at the point of leaving, about 1923, I proposed to the National Assembly a resolution which was adopted, in the sense of promoting the union, in a national body, deprived of party tinge, of all the elements and alive classes of the country, to guide in a very effective way the campaign for our national cause. In our experience as members of a political group we have stumbled with the prejudice of the other grouping when we

318 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS took the initiative in a measure which tended to the getting of our independence; the same thing occurred when the initiative came from the other group. On the other hand in an organization like tje present Congress, in whose bosom one enters with no party feelings, comes with prejudice against no one, sees things from a prism notably national; he can discuss all the- necessary means for the success of our ideal and whichever forms of independence, without the discussion carrying any party color. So we joined the Supreme National Council, with the sole eagerness of promoting a solid concentration of all live forces of our country for great effectiveness of our campaigns for independence. Latsly when the Independence League was organized, we did not hide our sympathy for such a patriotic organization to pursue purposes similar to those of this Congress. It is to be hoped that this Congress would have its opinion heard about any political or economic measure which might affect our independence, on occasions when the Philippine Legislature or the Independence Commission which is an organism composed of representatives elected by the people, need the meeting of this congress, and therefore, it hoped that it would be made a permanent institution. It is also hoped that this Congress would influence the Resident Commissioners in America, as speaking-trumpets of the aspirations of our country, in their selection, the various, political tendencies predominant in the country. They should consider the duty of Resident Commissioner from the national and not the partisan point of view. And the Resident Commissioners who,, with their continuous contact with Congress and the American administration, are found in better conditions to know the family secrets of American politics with respect to our country, should be the ones to assume the responsibility of the direction of the pro-independence campaign in America.

LAST PLENARY SESSION 319 It is hoped that this Congress shall also influence in order that the missions which would be sent to the United States would work there in a permanent character during a time which should be fixed; and if, after an intensive and extensive campaign for our independence, they find out that it is impossible to obtain it, by the means employed, they should come back to the country to give us account of the results of their labor and their failure in order to be able to invent other means more efficacious and more effective to obtain such independence within the order and the law. Blessed be the hour in which the Philippines, warned by the failures of the past campaigns, will decide to unite themselves in a compact and vigorous bundle in order to pursue the fight for our emancipation! Let that union be frank, sincere, and enduring. And if, by bad luck, that union be destroyed, it would be better for America to revoke all the concessions given to the Filipino people; to implant here a strong and tyrannical government; and thus when the country tastes the bitterness of foreign yoke. its sons will unite, without doubt as they united during the sad days of the revolution. For there is no better bond of union than pain. When we feel that a common disgrace torments us, ill-will, envy, and mutual jealousy disappear, and these mixed passions will melt in the crucible of adversity under the destructive action of the sacred fire of sublime love as a consecration of all loves; such is the love to our unfortunate fatherland. After Ex-Senator Tirona, Dean Jorge Bocobo, arose and addressed the members as follows: ABOLISH THE POLITICAL PARTIES! By JORGE BocoBo Dean, College of Law, U. P. FELLOW COUNTRYMEN: Divided counsel is the tragedy of our independence movement. Our hearts are aflame with the love of freedom, and

320 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS we all desire to see concerted action, but we can not resist a tendency which creates dissension between Consolidados, Democratas and Veteranos. Is this division due to lack of patriotism? Certainly not, because every Filipino loves his country and is ready, if need be, to die for her. Is it because of failure to understand the need of union? No, because every utterance by spokesmen of all parties and groups recognizes the dire consequences of disintegration. Then, my countrymen, why do we continue to work at cross-purposes in our common cause, the sacred legacy of those who have fallen so that our country may stand with head erect among the nations of the world? The reason, it seems to me, is to be found in our own weakness which prevents us from doing that which our heart and our mind tell us to do. If we had the force of character and the staunch determination to forget our mutual grievances, our beloved mother, our adored Philippines, would not be weeping to-day till her heart seems to break, because her own children are quarrelling while the house is on fire. The need of the hour is a searching of our own souls, to discover and suppress those thoughts and sentiments which, like weeds in a garden, smother the plant of union and keep the flower of national solidarity from blossoming under these tropic skies. Fellow countrymen, the existence of political parties-the Consolidados, Democratas and Veteranos-is unsuited to our condition as a subject race, struggling for national freedom. From the very nature of things, there should be only one party here, the party of the Filipino people as against the imperialist interests. The theory that for the sake of democracy, we should fight over domestic issues while uniting ourselves on the independence movement has proved to be impossible. Because of the resentment caused by internal questions, we find it difficult to rally the national character for united action in the independence movement.

LAST PLENARY SESSION 321 But, my countrymen, it is not too late. There is still left in the depths of our beings enough strength of will to strive together under the banner of the Sun and Three Stars, while the radiance of our beloved flag shines on our faces that look toward the future years-the years of national dignity and national glory. The Honorable Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippine Senate, could not be present at the last plenary session to address the members. However, he asked the President of the session to read the following letter before the Congress: LETTER OF THE HONORABLE MANUEL L. QUEZON, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINE SENATE Manila, February 26, 1930. President of Independence Congress, Manila. MY DEAR PRESIDENT PALMA: I request that you communicate to the Congress my profound regret for not having been able, due to my state of health, to attend personally its sessions, not even this closing session in which I have been invited to speak. To some extent I applaud this circumstance which has prevented me from directly intervening in the work of the Congress, because the great result it has accomplished, without the direction of the political leaders and under the exclusive call of a group of leaders in science, in arts, in commerce, in industry, in agriculture and in labor, but who do not serve in politics, reveals, in an indisputable way, that the national conscience is awake and that our aspiration to be an independent nation follows the determination of our country to rule its own destiny with full knowledge of the responsibilities and sacrifices that are implied.

322 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS On the other hand it is, in truth, unnecessary for me to speak. In the plenary sessions of this Congress as well as in the sessions by different subdivisions, all the affairs which should be treated have been treated, and I see that there is nothing I can add to what has been said. I wish to insist in the fact that, after having deposed the weapons, the Filipinos adopted the policy of going on fighting for their emancipation, protecting themselves only with constitutional means. We have adopted this proceeding, because we have had,. as we still have, faith in America, in her feelings of justice, in her love for liberty and, finally, in the promise given to us in the preamble of the Jones Law. We cannot and we should not be disuaded from this policy. Our campaign in the future has to be based on that same faith and on that same promise. The attitude of any American or group of Americans who has been inspired with egoistic sentiments in his relations with the Filipinos, or the behavior of any ruler, who has been interpreted by us as inspired by the proposition of ignoring our rights, has never represented, either the attitude or the policy in general, of the people and the government of the United States in their relations with the Filipino people. With truth, it has been said that in the history of colonization no metropolis has treated its colonies inhabited by people of a different race, with the altruistic regards with which America has treated the Philippines. The fact that, in spite of this, the Filipinos insist in wishing to be independent does not deduct the merits of the noble proceeding of the United States. It simply shows the impossibility of satisfying the aspirations of a people who has reached the age of maturity in all respect except in the enjoyment of their national rights. I am delighted, therefore, that in the speeches which have been given there was shown* the gratitude of the Filipino people towards the Americans. No one can predict which should be the immediate result of the actual agitation in the Congress of the United States in favor of our independence, but it is undoubtful that our selfcontrol, our patience, in front of the obstacles which are presented, at the time that our determination to conquer them, our

LAST PLENARY SESSION 323 respect toward the opinion of those who are not with us, and our observance of the precepts of the Constitution and of the laws, contribute powerfully to the final accomplishment of our claim. We should not forget in our campaign that, in the age in which we live, the independence of the countries means more than independence, interdependence; that is, that independence when we have it would not mean our isolation from the rest of the world and less our right to do as we please in contempt of the rights and interests of the other countries and their citizens. To be independent is to be admitted in the family of nations; hence, our acts now and our acts to-morrow as individuals and as a people should be such that would inspire the confidence and security, that we shall know how to live with other people and that we shall know how to manage our government not only for the benefit of the natives, but also for the protection and safeguard of those residing in our own territory. My last words are of warm greetings to the organizers of this Congress, to those who took part in it and to the country in general and of a reminder to all the Filipinos in that on questions which affect the dignity and liberty of our country, in union is strength and in the division, weakness. Sincerely yours, (Sgd.) MANUEL L. QUEZON, President of the Senate. The Committee on Organization which was composed of the signers of the manifesto constituted the Committee on Resolutions of the Independence Congress. Due to the lack of time, the Committee was unable to discuss the various resolutions approved by the various sections. There was only one resolution recommended by the Committee and that was the resolution containing the independence creed. This

324 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS was read and presented in behalf of the Committee by Dean Maximo M. Kalaw and was approved by the Independence Congress unanimously. INDEPENDENCE CREED We, members of the First Independence Congress, convened at the City of Manila, Philippine Islands, from February 22nd to 26th, 1930, on the initiative of private citizens, and composed of representatives of business and agriculture, directors of civic organizations, leaders in the various professions, publicists, educators, labor, religious and student leaders, municipal presidents, Moro chiefs, co-workers of Rizal and Del Pilar in Spain, veterans of the revolution, elective officials of the provincial governments, high officials of the former Philippine Republic, past and present members of the Philippine Legislature and Filipino members of the Council of State, after deliberating upon the problems of independence including national defense, finance and economics, as well as political, social and educational questions which would be faced by an independent Philippines, hereby make the following declaration: While fully conscious of the debt of gratitude we owe to America for her benevolent policy in the Philippines, we are convinced that immediate independence is the only solution in consonance with the unalterable desires of the Filipino people. No matter how lightly an alien control may rest on a people, it cannot, it will not, make that people happy. The genius and potentialities of the Filipino people can only be developed in an atmosphere of freedom unrestrained by foreign rule. Differences in race, history and civilization render difficult, if not impossible, a common life under one flag between the American and Filipino peoples. The uncertainty of our future political status hampers the economic development of the country.

LAST PLENARY SESSION 325 Our present trade relations with the United States are not conducive to the economic independence of the Philippines, and whatever may be the temporary advantages of such relations, we are willing to forego them for the sake of freedom. The longer we remain under America, the harder will it be for us to be freed from our political and economic dependence on her. We are now better prepared for nationhood than many independent states of today and we are ready to assume the risks and responsibilities of independence. We are not unmindful of the fact that in the final solution and settlement of the Philippine problem, American and foreign interest must be adequately safeguarded. The establishment of a Philippine Republic today will but be the logical and just outcome of our long struggles for freedom and will be in keeping with America's history and traditions. Independence will make for closer friendship and better understanding between America and the Philippines, while retention fosters distrust and ill-feeling. In our solemn constitutional covenant with America she has promised to grant us independence as soon as a stable government can be established. This condition has long been fulfilled. Therefore, in the name and in behalf of the Filipino people, we solemnly affirm, with full realization of the consequences and responsibilities of political independence, that our people should be allowed to live an independent life and to establish a government of their own without any further delay and without any condition which makes its advent uncertain; hence we respectfully reiterate our petition to the people and government

326 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS of the United States to grant the Philippines immediate, complete and absolute independence. Approved unanimously. February 26, 1930. FELIPE AGONCILLO, President, Inaugural Session. RAFAEL PALMA, President, Last Plenary Session. MAXIMO M. KALAW, Executive Secretary. President Rafael Palma then addressed the Congress as follows: SPEECH OF PRESIDENT RAFAEL PALMA DELIVERED AT THE LAST PLENARY SESSION OF THE FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS HELD ON FEBRUARY 26, 1930 There is every reason to congratulate ourselves for the thoughtful initiative of Dean Kalaw and other members of the Organization Committee who have received such spontaneous and whole-hearted support from representative elements of the country. This Congress, as originally conceived, has served to give an organized expression to our longings for independence which we have always known to have ever burned in the hearts of our masses, and which only needed a chance to flame forth in a tangible and impressive manifestation. We shall never appeal in vain to the patriotism of our people.. Those who doubt it, be they within or without.the country, are due for a shocking disappointment sooner or later. Our entire past belies the theory of our inferiority and incapacity as a race. The sixteenth century found the Filipinos living

LAST PLENARY SESSION 327 in separate and, at times, rival communities, speaking different dialects and possessing different customs and local usages. Then a foreign power subdued them and imposed upon them its authority, its religion and its laws. The Filipinos suffered the loss of everything dear to their hearts-the gods of their religion, the characters of their alphabet, the essence of the political and civil institutions on which they were reared, their thriving commercewith nearby countries-all the vestiges of their ancient culture. But far from diminishing or being annihilated, as has happened to people in other parts or the world, the Filipinos maintained intact their racial unity, and upon it laid the foundations of their own nationality. They did not refuse the admission of new elements of culture, but appropriated them; they did not disintegrate but strengthened instead, their material and spiritual one-ness. Despite the difficulties and sufferings arising from changed laws and beliefs and from the ravages of pirates and epidemics which depopulated entire communities, the Filipinos multiplied and survived, and what is more striking, at the end of the nineteenth century, they rose again and emerged into a new nationality ever anxious to regain its lost rights and liberties. The same experience repeated itself more recently with the advent of American occupation. Decimated by war and impoverished by the paralyzation of their agriculture and trade, the Filipinos were again subdued and were given a new political constitution, a new code of laws, a new language, and new practices and usages. The disarrangements to which the new order of things have given rise need not be retold; The Filipinos, far from allowing themselves to be overcome by the consequent difficulties, did overcome them, and made the best out of new political and social institutions implanted, and of the instrumentalities of government granted to them. They exercised their powers and rights with ability and discretion; gave all the proofs needed to demonstrate their capacity. They multiplied, grew and progressed in all lines and ways toward their national aggrandizement. In spite of the benevolent policy pursued and the alluring benefits offered in exchange of

328 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS our voluntary acceptance of the relations of partnership in which we found ourselves with the great and powerful American nation, we have assembled here, in solemn convention, to give voice and language to the ardent yearnings of our souls, to say once more that our faith has remained unshaken; that our ideal is the same; that more than ever, we desire our peaceful separation from the United States, mindful, though we are, of the benefits we shall miss and the risks and difficulties which we shall encounter with separation; because we are convinced that no matter how light is the yoke that weighs on our shoulders it is no less a yoke; that no matter how great the benefits received or to be received, these benefits could be easily withdrawn in the same way as they were granted; that there is nothing definite in the present situation and that the permanent and lasting interests of the two countries-the United States and the Philippines-demand a just and immediate solution. Nothing is gained by the further prolongation of our association with the Americans. After all, the present political relations between the two countries have always been considered to be of a temporary character. Now more than ever our political relations should be terminated inasmuch as there is seemingly a growing incompatibility of economic interests between the Americans and the Filipinos as shown by recent events. It would not be fair on the part of the United States to sacrifice for her benefit the interests of the people of the Philippine Islands, because that is tyrannical, nor would it be proper for the people of the Philippines to depend indefinitely on the generosity of the United States, because that is shameful and humiliating. Hence, the necessity for a peaceful and friendly separation of the two countries to the end that they may govern their respective interests and shape their destinies in accordance with the requirements of their own well-being. The experiment undertaken by the genius of America in this country should be ended before she is charged with hypocrisy. She imposes her authority over the inhabitants of this country with the avowed purpose of promoting their welfare

LAST PLENARY SESSION 329 and liberation. Even under the policy enunciated by Presidents Roosevelt and Taft that it will require a generation before the Filipinos could be permitted to decide whether or not they want their political emancipation, they are now entitled to demand their political separation from the United States in view of the fact that the period of one generation has already elapsed. When the Filipinos have become convinced that they have complied with the terms and conditions of their convenant with America, any effort to prolong the political dependence of the Philippines on the United States will only serve to check normal and permanent progress of the country. From now on the control of the United States over this country will be felt more keenly and less tolerable by the Filipinos and the agitation for independence will be carried on with greater vigor and decision until the desired results are attained. Mark this now, gentlemen of this Congress, mark this! We must consider the present campaign as the final and decisive stage of our fight for liberty. We should make a direct appeal to the people of America in view of the fact that our previous demands addressed to the administration and Congress of the United States have not been heeded. This campaign must necessarily be long and costly. But we should not be discouraged in launching it. We know that every American is absorbed in his own business, that in all likelihood he would not lend an attentive ear to our demands. But we should make him listen and act. We know too that the American continent is large and to cover and move it we must station our best men there and provide them with the means to carry on the campaign. We should send men and money until the campaign matures and produces results. It is folly to believe that independence will come simply because we desire it without imposing on ourselves all sorts of sacrifices. No, gentlemen of the Congress, we need to give and give "until it hurts." The call of the hour is one of generosity, of abnegation and of sacrifice. We cannot evade it. If we desire to be consistent with ourselves, if we want to deserve the destiny to which we aspire, if we not only cherish our ideal in

330 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS our heart but want to make it a living reality we cannot merely bargain in money and sacrifice, for independence is a blessing which we cannot pay too dearly. But I know that both men and money will come to our rescue, because I know there is patriotism here. We have such a plentiful supply in this land that we even dare to misspend it in fruitless discussions which lead us nowhere. Why should we doubt and suspect each other's patriotism? When the country calls upon her sons to unite for service, why should we harrass ourselves with unimportant matters of trivial detail? They have done their duty-those who fought on the fields of battle, as well as those who have struggled in the arena of peace. Who would question the patriotism of those who, in the supreme hour of danger, heroically faced the horrors of death in order to sustain and safeguard the dignity and honor of the Filipino race? And who would likewise deny the patriotism of those who, upon seeing the impotence of our arms in the face of superior forces, endeavoured through peaceful and legal channels to recover the flag of our fathers so that it might once more wave, if not as a symbol of our sovereignty, at least as a solemn and earnest pledge of our liberty? I believe that we have every reason to be proud of the conduct of our men both in war and in peace, and there is no justifiable motive to denounce the action of any of our leaders in whose hands has been entrusted the keeping of her supreme interest in her moments of need. What pleases me most on this occasion is the fact that the young generation whom we expect to continue our labors are so identified with our ideals and are so ready to fight more vigorously for the same principles for which we have struggled as to leave no further doubts regarding the definite destiny of the Filipino people. We who have reached the afternoon of life and can only watch as the shadows throng and lengthen with the setting of the sun on the course of life and its events, cannot but feel optimistic at knowing that our efforts have not been in vain and that after us a new generation is coming

LAST PLENARY SESSION 331 so full of aspiration and vigor, a new generation to lead to its happy consummation the task that the Fatherland has entrusted to us all. At this time of our life, when selfish ambitions have ceased to have their wonted urgency, and earthly honors and material reward have lost their wonted lure, a certain urge for disinterested counsel based on the accumulated wisdom of mellowing years springs more naturally from the heart. I too, have my counsel to give to my people in this critical period of our history. And that is, we should never give up the fight for the independence of the country, for there is no other way to attain her happiness and aggrandizement; that we should live in harmony and peace among ourselves if we want to insure the respect of our fellowmen; and that we discourage all elements of discord in these days of anxiety and struggle, which make our greatest enemy from within and which discredit the work we have in hand and can doom-it to failure. The last plenary session was concluded by the Independence Hymn and the Philippine National Hymn sung by students from the Centro Escolar de Senioritas.

I PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HYMN Land of the morning, Child of the sun returning, With fervor burning, Thee do our souls adore. Land dear and holy, Cradle of noble heroes, Ne'er shall invaders Trample, they sacred shore. Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds And o'er thy hills and sea Do we behold the radiance, feel the throb, Of glorious liberty. Thy banner, dear to all our hearts, Its sun and stars alight,Oh, never shall its shining field Be dimmed by tyrant's might! Beautiful land of love, 0 land of Light, In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie. But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged, For us, thy sons, to suffer and die. 332

APPENDIX A FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS LIST OP MEMBERS -A Abad, Tirso, Abalos, Jose R. Abafio, Maximo Abastillas, Jose Abaya, Gavino S. Abeja, Gregorio Abella, Fernando Abella, Guillermo L. Abello, Tomas P. Abenoja, Cosine Abordo, Perfecto Abreu, Jose Abrille, C. F. de Villa Abuel, Apolinario L. Abueva, Teodo>ro Acevedo, Carlos H. Acosta, Herinenegildo Y. Acosta-Sison, Honoria Acosta, Jose Acosta., Remigio Adolfo, Clarencio A. Adre y Tady, Santiago Adriano, Felipe Aduna, Felipe Af able, Fernando Afable, V. S. Africa, Bernabe Africa, Francisco M. Agco, Benigno Aglipay, Gregorio Aguilar, Amancio Aguilar, Faustino Aguilar, M. Aguilar, Urbano Aguinaldo, Leopoldo R. Aguinaldo, Manuel Agustin, Segundo Alagar, F. G. Alas, Antonio de las Alba, Gabriel Alba, Leodegario Alba, Leopoldo M. Albaladejo, Elviro Albano, Daniel S. Albarracin, Lorenzo Albert, Jose' Alberto, Jose' V. Alcala, Timoteo Alcantara, Dionisio Alcantara, Gregorio Alcazaren, Juan Alegre, Juan B. Alejandrino, Jos6 Alejo, Joaquin Alemesa, Julio Alfonso, Francisco Alfonso>, Mateo Alfonso, Tomas Alindada, Vicente Alip, Datu. Alisangco, Gregorio Allas, Teofilo Almendras, Paulo G. Alonto, Alauya (Sultan) Alonzo, Agustin S. Alonzo, Tomas Alpuerto, Pacifico Alrin, Datu Bulang Nosca Alumia, Juan R. Alunan, Rafael R. Alvarado, Eduardo R. Alvarado, Francisco Alvarado, Vicente Alvarez, Agripino, L. Alvarez, Agustin L. Alvarez, Gil Benitez Alvarico, Constancio G. Alvear., Domingo Alvero, Rosa Sevilla de Alzona, Encarnacion. Alzona, Godof redo Y. Amado, Juan Ambrosio, Dominador B. Ancajas, Roque Angeles, Justo B. Angeles, Nemesio Angeles, Servando de los Anonas, Gregorio Ansaldo, Angel A. Antonio, Sixto Antoporda, Julio Anunciacion, NazariQ 333

334 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Anzures, Pablo Arguelles, A. C. Apacible, Galicano Armas, Melecio de Apacible, Capt. Galicano Aromin, Policarpo Apacible, Jose Arranz, Melecio Aquino, Jose A. Arrieta, B. C. Aquino, Bernabe B. Arroyo, Mariano Aquino, Dominador Arsciwals, Juan L. Aquino, Eustaquio Artadi, Jose Aquino, Pedro D. Artiaga, J. Arambulo, Hilarion Aruego, Jose M. Arambulo, Primo Arvisu, Teodoro C. Arambulo, Victorino Asuzano, Crisostomo A. Araneta, J. Arnado Atienza, Buenaventura Araneta, Salvador Aunario, Pedro Arcaya, Cenon L. Aure, Gabriel A. Arce, Ambrosio. Austria, Quirino E. Arce, Cef erino, Avancefia, Amando Arcedera, Adriano Avecilla, Alejandro Arcega, Rafael L. Avelino, Librada Arellano, Gregorio Avila, Jose Arellano, Juan Ayala, Jacinto Arevalo, R. A. Ayalde, Marcelo Azanza, Pascual B. -B S Bangan, Laidan Datu Bagaoisan, Candido Bajar, Marcos M. Bala, Pedro E.. Baladad, Amado Balagtas, Rafael Balangue, Quintin Balmaceda, Cornelio Balmaceda, Julian C. Balmori, Joaquin Balse, Carlos Baluyut, Anastacio Baluyut, Sotero Banaag, Luis Bangoy, Cayetano B. Bafia, Leon M. Bafiaga, Hon. Gregorio Bafiez, Dr. Jose S. Bafiuelos, Jose' Barin, Alejandro Baronia, Juan L. Barredo, Efigio H. Barredo, Pedro Barrera, Consuelo (Prdf.) Barrera, Marciano Barretto, Alberto Barrio, Luis del Barros, R. Vicente Bartolome. Nemesio Barza, Isaac Barza, Pascual Basa, Carlos S Basa, Claro S. Basa, Jose' L. Basan, Cecilio S. Bata-n, Andres Batol, Melecio S. Batad, F. C. Batungbakal, Jose, Bautista, Agripino D. Bautista, Antonio Bautista, Esteban D. Bautista, Jesus Bautista, Juan Bautista, Martin Baylen, Manuel Bejar, Angel Bello, Buenaventura J. Belmonte, Gabriel 'Beltran, Engracio Beltran, Esteban Benetua, Venancio Bengson, Antonio Bengson, Arturo Benitez, ConradoBenitez, Eulogio Benitez, Francisco Benitez, Francisca, Tirona de Benitez, Paz Marquez de Benf eres, Dainpolon Berces, Felix Bernabe, Remigio V. Bernardo, Maximo Bernardo, Vicente A. Blanco, Bartolome C. Blanco, Manuel

APPENDIX35 335 - Blanco, Ramon Bias, Apolinar Bobarez, Romualdo Bocobo, Jorge Bodino, Espiridion Bolaflo, Amado Bonifacio, Hon. Arsenio Borja, Bernabe F. Borja,. Gaspar Borja, Juan de Braga, Agustin Braga, Jacinto Brillantes, Bonifacio Briones, Bartolome E. Buenafe, Jua-n Buenaflor, M. Caballero, Leopoldo Cabatingan, Pablo Cabongon, Donato 0. Cachero, Eusebio Cacho, Eudoclo Cacho, Vicer~te Cacibes, Jose A. Cadhit, Gregorio Cagingin, Aguedo Caig, Manuel Cajucom, Felino Cajucom, J. M. Calderon, Marciano B. Calimlim, Jose P. Caluag, Damaso Caluen, Gracio Calunipang, Angel Caluya, Alejandro Calvo, Aquilino Calvo, Galicano Calvo, Recaredo Ma. Camacho, Raymundo 0. Campos, Eliseo Campos, Eulogio Canent, Rufino Canival, Ambrosio Canlas, Ricardo Cafia, Antonio 0. Caffizares, Miguel Caparos, Eriberto Caramanza, Mariano Cararidang, Bernardo Carbonell, Juan G. Carcellar, Pio, Carifigal, Marcelo Carifio, Jose Carmelo, Santos Carnmona, Vicente Carpio, Maria Lanzar Buenaflor, Tomas Buenaventura, A. Buenconsejo, A. Buenconsejo, Alejandro J. Buendia, Hon. Andres Buendia, Julian A. Buendia, Nicolas Bugante, Faustino Bulatao, Emilio Bunguil, Rufino Bunye, Alfredo M. Bunye, Ignacio Burgos, M. X. Jr. Bustamante, Bernabe Bustamante, Jos6 Buo, Butalid, Bernabe BuoMoises -CCarreon, Claudio P. Carreon, Esniaragdo Carreon, Ruperto Carrillo, Pastor Casanova, Isidro Casibang, S. Casafias Orbeta, Filomeno Casimiro, Pascual Caspellan, Julio Castalieda, Manuel N. Castillejos, Claudio Castillo, Francisco Castillo, Modesto Castillo, Magdaleno Castro, Alfredo Castro, Apolonio Castro, Lucas de Castro, Pio G. de Castro, Remegio Mat. Catalan, Bernardo S. Catapang, Vicente Catalon, Lorenzo Catindig, Jose' Catral, Antonio Cavestany, Jose' M. Cecilio, Agaton Cecilio, Hon. Silverio Celeste, Jose' L. Celis, Jesus P. Centeno, Pio Cervantes, Luis B. Chan, Manuel 0. Chavez, Apolonio Chavez, Clementino Chioco, Dr. Flor 0. Chioco, Juan Cinco, C. N. Cinco, Hon. Eladio Clarin, Jos4 A.

3 36 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Clemente, Amando Cortez, Pedro V. Clemente, Felix Cortes, Prospero Clemente, Fernando Coscolluela, Jos6 A. Clemente, Leopoldo Costa, Conrado Clement~e, Pio Cribe, Serafion Clidor., Mateo Crisostomo, Aniceto V. Cobangbang, Aureijo N. Crispino, Aifredo Coching, F. Cristobal, J. J. Codella, Jose' B. Cristobal, Ruperto S. Colendrino, Juan G. Cruz, Amado Coleto, Pedro Cruz, Anataijo, B. Collantes, Andres Cruz, Bonif acio de la Concepcion, Isabelo Cruz, Corneijo C. Concepcion, Jose' Reyes Cruz, Esteban T. Concepcion, Miguel N. Cruz, Fortunato B. Concepcion, Toribio Cruz, Francisco Concepcion, V. Cruz, Jose' de la Confesor, Tomas Cruz, J. Silva de la Contos, Jose' R. Cruz, LeQn Corcuera, 'A. Leynes Cruz, Meliton Cordero, Narciso Cruz, Patricio, Mariano Cordero, Severino Cruz, Pedro D. Cordova, Norberto Cruz, Ramon B. Cordova, Teofisto M. Cruz, Ruf o G. Coronel, Jose' E'. Cruz, Sinf oroso Corpus, Enrique Cruz, Vicente de la Corpus, Pio V. -Cuaderno, Miguel Corrales, Carlos Cudilla, V. Corrales, Jos6 Cuenco, Maria-no Jesus Corro, Platon. Cuenco, Miguel Cortes, Ariston Cuesta, Ceferino de la Cortes, Bias Cuesta, Jose' de la Cortes, Olimpio C. Cuevas, Manuel Cunanan, Fernando Dabao, Luis Diamonon, Victoriano Dacanay, Fausto L. Dianela, Tomas Dacanay, Jose' Q. Diaz., Felix Dacanay, Leoncio Diaz, Vicente Dacanay, Paciano Diaz, Zoilo Dancel, Andres Dikit, G. Dancel y Garcia, Pedro Dimaano, Lucio Dantes, Francisco Dimaculanagan, Jose' T. Danton, Maximino, Dimagiba, Hermogenes A. Dario, Angel Dimalanta, Fortunato David, Ed. G. Dimayuga, Albino C. David, Manuel H. Dimayuga, Antonio J. David, Pablo Angeles Dimayuga, Jose' A. David, Rafael Dimayuga, Prospero Dayaw, Francisco Diokno, Pedro Dayoan, Norberto Diokno, Ramon Daza, Hon. Eugenio D. Dionisio, E. Decena, Pedro Dionisio, Victorio C. Delfin, Trifon Dios, Celestino L. de Delgado, Francisco Diosmito, Vi~cente Delgado, Jose' M. Diwa, Gregorio Delgado, Tomas Diwa, Ladislao,

APPENDIX37 337 Dizon, Amado Dizon, Bonif acio Dizon, Eulogio R. Dizon, Pedro A. Dizon, Tomas Dobles, Roman Dolorico, Martin Domingo, Esteban Domingo, Gil Dominigo, Jose' G. Donesa, Alfonso P. Doria, Santos Duefias, J. Dulfa, Eligio S. Dumlao, Andres Dumpit, Vicente Duqtue, Teotimo Duran, Pio -B ]laldama, Eugenio Esguerra, Segundo Echevarria, Leopoldo R. Esmilla, Nemesio Edades, Victorio C. Espejo, Macario B. Edarus, Saik Espino, Gerardo Eduardo, Prudencio B. Espino, L. L. Ejercito, Zacarias Espinosa, Jose' Elayda, Inocencio Espinosa, Porfirio, Elizondo, Catalino B. Espiritu, Barsinico Ella, Zonsimo Espiritu, Jose' A. Eloriaga, Manuel Espirit~u, Santiago Empleo, Esteban A. Esquivel, Prudencio Enage, Francisco Estacio, Antonio Encarnacion, Alipio Estebanf, Juan Encarnacion, Vicente Estella, Felipe Encomienda, Prudencio M. Estrella, Bernardino Enriquez, Jacinto Estrella, Carlos Enriquez, Jos6 Estrella, Epifanio, M. Epino, Mamerto P. Estrella, Miguel Escolin, Pedro Eubanas, Froilan Escudero, Manuel Evangelista, Andrtes Escueta, M. Evangelista, Jose' E. E~vangelista, Teodoro T. -F Fabella, Vicente Fabella, Jose' Faigal, Alfonso C. Fajardo, Juan Farolan, M. Faustino, Leopoldo A. Feliciano, Jose' M. Feliciano, Jose' Felizardo, Genaro Feria, Felicisimo, R. Fernandez, Avelino. Fer~nandez, Celestino L. Fernandez, Sr. Jose' Fernandez, Jr. Jose' Fernandez, Juan A. Fernandez, Leandro H. Fernandez Lumba, Enrique Fernandez, Ramon Fernandez, Vicente T. Fernando, Antonio S. Fernando, Clemente Fernando, Isaias Ferrer, Antonio Ferrer, Luis Ferrera, Adriano, Festin, Leonardo Figueroa, A. Figueroa, Fidel Filizardo, G. Florendo, Gerardo Flores, Delfin B. Flores, Fabian Flores, Jose' G. Fonacier, Santiago A. Formoso, Vicente Foronda, Lorenzo Fortuna, Primo V. Francia, Julio Francia, Mariano Francis, Jose' R. Francisco, Angel Francisco, Jose' Francisco, Pedro N. Francisco, Roman Fugaban, Pablo L. Fulgencio, Felipe

3 38 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Gabe, Alejandro M. Goicondria, Angel de Gabriel, Serafin C. Gomez, Bonif acio Gaetos, Galicano Gomez, Dominador Gaffud, Miguel B. Gomez, Feliciano Gaic, Datu Bagumbaran Gomez, Guillermo Gala, Emilio de Gomez, Liborio Galang, Filomeno Gomez, Teodoro Galang, Sebastian M. Gonzaga, Aguedo Galang, Zoilo M. Gonzaga, Lino Galicano, Troadio Gonzales, Alfredo Gallego, Manuel V. Gonzales, Antonio Galvez, Vicente Gonzales, Isidoro Gamad, Jose' M. Gonzales, Jose' A. Gamboa, Domingo Gonzales, Jose' Gamnboa, Generoso Gonzales, Leon Gamboa, Melquiades J. Gonzales, Marcelino G. Gana, Agustin Gonzales, Melquiades R. Gana, Filomeno 0. Gonzales, Santiago Gana, Mariano D. Gonzales, Simon R. Garces, Vicente H. Gonzales, Teodoro, Garcia, Andres Gorosin, Espiridion Garcia, Arturo Gorospe, Alejandro Garcia, Bernabe Granada, Segundo Garcia, Canuto Granada, Walterio Garcia, E steban C. Gregorio, Francisco Garcia, Faustino Gregorio, Santiago C. Garcia, Gaudencio Grif al, Maximo Garcia, Joaquin Guab, Pampilo V. Garcia, Marcelo P. Guazon, Maria Paz Mendoza Garcia, Maximo Guanzon, Olimpio Garcia, Nicanor C. Guma, Florentino do Garcia, Pantaleon Guerrero, Alfredo Garcia, Urbano Guevara, Guillermo Garganera, Eulogio C. Guevara, Romulo Garong, Santiago C. Guin-gona, Teopisto Garrido, Jose' Guinto, Leon G. Gatmaitan, Geronimo Gumabon, Santiago Gatmaitan, Pedro Gumawid, Miguel Gavino, Tirso Guru, Derunbagan Datu Genciana, Jose' 0. Gutierrez, Isabelo Genero~so, Jose' Guzman, A. de Generoso, Jose' G. Guzman, Bernabe de Generoso, Sebastian T. Guzman, Hilarion Geronimo, Francisco Guzman, Isabelo de Giron, Jose' P. Guzman, Luis y Rivas Gloria, Diego Guzma-h, Luis Gochangco, Ephraim G. Guzman, Meliton Gochangco, Inocencio Guzman, Nicanor de Godoy, Eusebio A. Guzman, Thorn. F. do Guzmaan, Ventura -H — Halili, Donato M. Hechano~va, Simplicio Hermano, A. J. Hernandez, Amado V. Hernandez, Gabriel Hernandez, Isidro Herrera, Godofredo Herrera, Julio

APPENDIX33 339 IHilado, Serafin P. Hilario, Ceferino Hilario, Jos6 M. Hilario., J. S. Hilario, Zoilo Hocson, Felix Hugo, Martin - I Ibaiiez, Catalino Ibaiiez, Servillano Ignacio, Arturo A. Ignacio, Timoteo C. Isic Jacinto, Dernetrio Jacinto, Jos6 F. Jakosalem, Alfonso Jakosalem, Dionisio Jamias, Angel V. Jamias, Cristino Jaranilla, Trinidad J. Jarnero, Geronimo J. Jaucian, Jr. Cirilo Javier, Alfredo Javier, Ruperto S. Jazmines, Mariano Jeciel, Raymnundo Jesus, Carlos V. de Jesus. Raymundo C. Kagahastian, R. Kagaoan, Pedro F. Kahn, Carlos E. Kaiyod, Conrado Kalaw, Maria Kalaw, Maximo M. Kalaw, Pura Villanueva de Ilagam, Fermin Ilagan, Simeon Imperial, Leoncio Infantado, Segundo M. Iro, Antonio Jesus, Roman de Jhocson, Domingo Jimenez, Abdula Jimenez, Damian L. Jimenez, Jos6 V. Jimenez, Pedro V. Jime-no, P. Martinez Jocson, F. Jose', Felipe E. Jose', Ladislao Jos6, M-aximiano Jovido. Francisco Joya, M. H. de Jugueta, Ciriaco Juzgaya, Vice-nte Kalaw, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Valerio Kamantigue, Jacinto Kamatoy, Roman Kara-an, Marcelo P. Kison, Simeon Kipping, Carlos La 0. Gabriel La 0, Julian Labao, Regino Labaya, Jorge J. Labengco, Silvino Labrador, Alejo Labrador, Benigno Lacson, Aniceto Lacson, Ricardo C. Ladao, Joaquin Lafrades, Gregorio A. Lagdameo, Amado Lagdameo, B. Lagman, Eligio, Laguda, Salvador Laguio, Perfecto E. Laico, Ananias Laico, Francisco Lanaus, Gervasio, Lantin, Gregorio T. Lantin, Pedro Dr. Lanting, Juan L. Lanuza, Pedro Rivera Lanuza, Victorio Lapuz, Ciriaco Lara, Casimiro, B. Lara, Cipriano Lara, Toribio Lariosa, Jose6 Lasam, G. Lasam, Honorio Lasmarias, Tomas

340 INDEPENDENC'E CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Laurel, Jose' P. Limlingan, Gerardo S. Laurente, Mannel F. Lindo, Z. M.Laureola, M. A. -Lipana, Marcos Lava, Francisco A. Lizares, Nicolas A. Lavadia, Catalino Lizares, Simplici6 Laygo, Enrique Locsin., Jos6 C. Laza, Iflgo, Locsin, Ramon. P. Lazaro, Leonardo B. Lontok, Marcelino Lazatin, Francisco Lontok, Vicente Lazo, Melanio Lopez, Mariano C. Ledesma, Demetrio B. Lopez, Silvio A. Leiva, Lamberto Lopez, Sixto Lejano, Artemio L. Lopez Vito, Jose' Lejano, Hilarion Lorenzana, Cef erino Lejano, Francisco Lozada, Gregorio Lenan. Antonio R. Lucas, Hermogenes Leon, Felix de Lucero, Fermin Leon, Gregorio de Lucero, Juan T. Leon, Guillermo R. de Luciano, Andres Leon, Jr. Jose' de Lugay, Jose' R. Leon, Jose' Santiago de Lukban, Agustin Leon, Pascual de Lukban, Cayetano, LermaMarcelo Lullana, Apolonio Leuterio, Mariano P. Lumangkulab, Datu Diego Leuterio, Pablo Lumanlan, Belarmino Leviste, Lauro P. Lumba, Enrique Leynes, Alberto M. Luna, Antonio L. Licop, Gonzalo Luna, Esteban R. Licuanan, Francisco Luna, Juan L. Lim, Juan Dominguez Luna, Laconico L. Lim, Pedro Luna, Luis Lim, Rodrigo C. Luna, Miguel G. Limjo-co, Angel T. Luna, Rufino Limjoco, Gregorio Luque, Baldomero S. Luz, Arsenio N. - LL - Llamansares, Teodoro Llanera, Mariano Llamas, Antonio G. Llenado, Agustin Llamas, Dionisio R. Llorente, Julio Lloret, Ricardo Gonzales Mabalot, Benito Mabunay, Domingo Macabulas, Teodato Macaraig, Serafin Macasaet, Ramon Maceda, Olivo, Maceren, Pablo D. Madamba, Canuto M. Maddela, Tomnas P. Maestrado, Silvino, Magapo, Pedro Magbitang, Amando Maglalang, Gil Maglamoc, Teofilo, T. Maglaqui, Florentino, Maglaya, Carlos B. Magpantay, Alfredo Mahinay, Delfin Malabanan, Alejandro Malabanan, Filemon D. Malabanan, Francisco Mallari, Lazaro C. Maloles, Eustacio Manalang, Elias Manalo, Anastacio Manalo, Felix Manapat, Vicente Manat; Cirilo A.

APPENDIX34 341 Mandi, Datto F. Mandigma, Antonio M. Mangalindan, Francisco Manguerra, Mariano Manikis, Norberto Mansilla, Pedro J. Mafigohig-,, Eliseo B. Mapua, Domingo Mapua, Elena Mapua, Tomas Marabut, Serafin Maramba, Daniel Maramba, Felix Marana, Gregorio Maranan, Simeon Marafion, Joaquin Maravillas, Filomeno Marcelo, Procopio Marcos, Mariano Mariano, Baltazar Mariano, Jos6 Mariano, Patricio Mariano, Pedro Mariano, Ramon Marohom, Lala. Datu Maronilla-Seva, N. Marquez, Servando Martinez, Ascue Francisco Martinez, Dalmacio A. Martinez, Leopoldo Martinez, Pio, Maruya, M. Mas, Florencio M.' Masan~gkay, Eligio Masangkay, G. Mascardo, Tomas Mata, Agapito Mateo, Bonif acio Mateo, Marciano San Maulawin, Roman Maulit, Alejo, Mayo, Jose' L. Mayor, H. M. Mayoral, Rafael M. Medina, Buenaventura Medina, Gaudencio' Meer, Bibiano, L. Mejia, Sergio C. Melencio. Josd P. Melchor, Alejandro Menchavez, Sergio Mendiola, Ricardo Mendiola, Teodoro, Mendoza, Faustino Mendoza, Jose' L. Mendoza, Lorenzo Mendoza, Ramon Mendoza, Teofilo Mercado, Cornelio Mercado, Jose' Mercado, Julian E. Mercado, Julio Mercado, Monico Mercado, Pastor Merto, Epifanio S. Millar, Fabian R. Mills, Vicente Mina, Maximino Mindaros, Felix Miranda, Florencio Mobo, R-eyes, Simeon Mojica, Clemente Mondelo, Gregorio Mondo-k, Emilio G. Montana, Cirilo A. Montano, Pantaleon Montenegro, A. Montes, Turiano D. Montilla, Luis Morales, Angel Morales, I. N. Morales, J. V. Morales, Luis Morales, Pastor Morales, Ponciano Moreno, Rafael M. Moriones, Domingo Moscoso, S. 0. Mundo, Bernardo del Murillo., Mateo G. 7ra, Ramon Nable, Mariano Nakpil, Juan Nanaman, Gregorio, Naliagas, Juan C. Natividad, Peregrino C. Nava, Pablo Naval, Eligio, Navarro, Dionisio Navarro, Urbano Navoa., E. -NNedruda, Esteban Nepomuceno, Ricardo Nepomuceno, Vicente Nicanor, Antonio Nicolas, Ciriaco, Nierras, Eugenio Nieva, Gregorio Noble, Roman Noble, Vicente Noel, Maximino

342 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Nolasco, Juan Norada, Florencio Nosce, Antonio Novenario, Leon Nueno, Jose' Topac'io Nuesa, Sotero N. Nueva, Rafael C. Nuguid, Roberto Nuque, Alejandro Nuval, Gregorio Oben, Crispin Obias, Honesto P. Oblesaren, Jose' Oca, Pedro de Ocampo, Canuto de Ocampo, D. de Ocampo, Macario P. Ocampo, Pedro J. Ocampo, Vicente Ocera, Arcacio de Gefemia, Gerardo Olano, Vicente H. Oliva, Florencio E. Olivares, Jos6 C. Oliveros. Cornelio Ollada, Felipe B. Ong, Geminiano Ongkiko, Felipe Oppus, Tomnas Ora, Teofilo Orense, Eusebio Ortega, Joaquin B. Ortigas, Francisco Ortiz, Mariano Ortiz, Mauro Ortiz. Montano A. Osmeiia, Sergio Ozarriz, Jos6 Pablo. Ambrosio Pablo, W. 0. Pacaldo, Victorio Pacheco, Antonio Pacis, Vicente A. Padilla, E'ngracio Padilla, Josde Padilla, Nicanor Padua, Regino Paez, Josd6 Pagaspas, J. V. Paguia, Antonio D. Paguia, Antonio de Paguio, Pedro Q. Pagulayan, Victor Palarca, Sisenando Palileo, Aurelio Palisoc, Martin Pallones, Petronilo Palma., Precioso Palma, Rafael Palomo. Donato R. Pamarang, Norberto V. Pangan, Bernardo Panganiban, Cirio H. Panganiban, Miguel R. Panlasigui, Isidoro Pansacola, Francisco Pantas, Briccio B. Pantoja, Ceferino Papa, Donato Paras, Ricardo Sr. Paredes, Andres J. Paredes, Quintin Pareja, Policarpo Pargas, Dominador Pascual, Andres Pascual, Sinf oroso Pascual, Wenceslao Patajo, Domingo Patajo, Romualdo Pautos Pricecio B. Pavino, Paterno, Paz, Delfin de la Paz, Fabian de la Paz, Wenceslao de la Peckson, Jos6 Tomas Pecson, D. T. Pecson., Potenciano Pelaez, Gregorio Pelaez, Leon Pefia, Daniel B. Pefia, Simplicio B. Peralta, Rufino Perez, Anacleto F. Perez, Cirilo B. Perez, Eugenio Perez, J. Perez, Proceso Perez, Rodrigo D. Perfecto, F. A. Perfecto, Gregorio Perlas, Jesus C. Pescozo, Domingo Pestafio, Pablo P. Petinglay, Perfecto M. Pilar, Constancio del Pilar, Pedro S. del

APPENDIX34 '343 Pimentel, Francisco Posadas, Juan Pineda, Fortunato Priela, Jose6 Plata, Agapito Principe, Marciano, Platon, Fulgencio Principe, Mariano Platon, Vicente Pronove, R. A. Poblador, Fabian Protacio, Bernardino Poblador, Filemon Pujeda, Fabian Poblete, Pedro Pumarang, Norberto Poblete, Vicente Punsalan, Ramon Poblete, Victorino Punzalang, Alberto Policarpo, Rufino Pura, Angel R. Ponce, Alfonso E. Purugganan, Eustaquio Ponce, Domingo Purugganan, Januario Puyat, Gonzalo Querubin, Ap. Quilon, Nicolas Quesada, Eugenio C. Quimpo, Rafael R,. Quevedo, Pedro Q'uiogue, Manuel Quezon, Manuel L. Quirino, Elpidio Quiaoit, Teogenes Quirolgico, A. Quicho, Grego-rio R. Quisumbing, Fernando Quijano, Emiliano Quintana, Pedro -RRaagas, Agapito P. R. Rayos, Bias F. Rabor, Emiliano Rea, Eduardo Rafols, Nicolas Real, Ramon Ragaoan, Pedro Recto, Evaristo B. Ragudo, Vicente Redondo, Sisenando D. Ramagos, Catalino Redor, Delfin Ramirez, Angel Refuerzo, A. B. Ramirez, Ceferirno Regala, Roberto Ramirez, Emilio Regalado, Iffgo Ed. Ramivrez, Feliciaho Relativo, V. M. Ramirez, Gregorio Rellosa, Vicente Ramirez, Joaquin B. Remegio, Prudencio Ramirez, Marcelo Remo, Emiliano Ramirez, Mariano S. Remnolleno, Alejandro Ramirez, P. Resurreccion, Agustin Ramirez, Simeon Resurreccion, Primitivo Ramos, Agustin Revilla, Lv. C. Ramos, Aurelio C. Reyes, Antonino Ramos, Emerito N. Reyes, Aquilino Ramos' Emiterio P. Reyes, Benito de los Ramos," Honorio Reyes, Carmelo Ramos, Jose' Reyes, Celestino Ramos, Juan Reyes, Cornelio de los Ramos. Justo Reyes, Eusebio Ramnos, Narciso Reyes, Eusebio S. Ramos Norberto de Reyes, Fabian Ramos, Segundo Reyes, Fidel Ramos, Victor Reyes, H. Ramoso, Feliciano Reyes, Hermenegildo B. Rangel, Narciso, Reyes, Isabelo de los *Rafieaes, Potenciano Reyes, Jr. Isabelo de los Rafiola, Fructuoso Reyes, Juan M. de los

344 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Reyes, Jos6 S. Reyes, Juan S. Reyes, Modesto Reyes, R. Reyes, Teofilo Reyes, Teofilo D. Reynaldo, Federico Reynera, Hilari-o P. Reynoso, Ramon Ricaf ort, Arsenio Rimando, Enrique Rionda, Casimiro Rios, Adriano N. Rivera, Godofredo Rivera, Jos6 Maria Rivera, Juan A. Rivera, Macario P. Rivera, Mamerto P. Rivera, Marciano C. Rivera, Victoriano Roa, Alfredo Rocamora, A. L. Roa, Eduardo Roces, Marcos Rodas, Sotero Rodriguez, Eulogio B. Rodriguez, Maximo Rodriguez, Tomas Rodulfa, Eligio S. Rolda, Miguel Roman, Felipe Romey, Ildefonso K. Romualdez, Estela Romulo, Carlos. P. Sabas, Sinforoso Sabido, Pedro Sabbun, Claro Saguil, Antonio Sagnip, Francisco Saj or, -M. S. Salamat, Mariano Salamatin, Victor, R. Salas Rodriguez, Felix S. Salaverria, -Gabriel Salazar, Jacinto Salazar, Vicente J. Salcedo, E. L. Salgado, Pascual Salonga, Esteban Salud, Inocencio Salvador, Maximo G. Salvador, M. Salvani, Enrique Samaco, Eusebio Samaniego, Pedro Samanillo, Nicolas Ronquillo', Carlos Root, Juan Roque, Francisco R. Roque, Norberto Roque, Teofilo Roque, Vicente Rosa, Bernardo de la Rosa, Fabian de la Rosa, Luciano de la Rosa, Manuel de la Rosal, Lorenzo Rosario, Agapito del Rosario, Casto del Rosario, C. E. del Rosario, Eduardo Tankiang del -Rosario, Felix del Rosario, Fidel del Rosario, Jorge del Rosario, Pablo G. del Rosario, Patricio del Rosario, Vicente del Rosauro, Mariano Roxas, Baldomero Roxas, Felix M. Roxas, Nicanor A. Roxas, Hilario Rubio, Conrado Ruiz, Alejandro Ruiz, Eleuterio Ruiz, Emiliano, Ruiz, Vicente Runes, Ildefonso T. Runez, Jose, B. Rustia, Guillermo Samia, Leon Sampang, A. Samonte, Domingo J. Samonte, Segundo Samonte, Vedasto J. Samson, Alfredo R. Samson, Bernardo San Agustin, Dionisio San' Agustin, Gregorio San Agustin, Primitivo San Jose, Ramon R. San Juan, Ruf o M. San Mateo. Marciano Sanchez, Juan R. Sanchez, Lorenzo Sanchez, Luis Sanciangco, Gregorio Sandoval, Domiciano J. Santa Ana, Pio Santa Maria, Enrique Santa Maria, Francisco Santiago, Anacleto

APPENDIX34 345 0Santiago, Angel Segundera, Juan Santiago, Concepcion Aragon Sendo, Jose A. Santiago, Filome'no Serion, Silverio Santiago, Jose' M. Serna, Rito de la Santiago, Pedro A. Serrano, Filemon C. Santiago, Ruperto Serrano, Simeon Santiago, Jose Turiano Servillas, P. P. Santos, Adolfo C. Seva, Moises A. Santos, Ambrosio Severo, Manuel Santos, Antonio* A. Sevilla, Alf redo Santos, Apolinario G. de los Sevilla, Jose N. Santos. Arcadio Siapno, I. Santos, Cesar, M. Siguion Reyna, Lamberto Santos, Cirilo B. Silverio, Tito Santos, Dominador'L. Sinco, Vicente G. Santos, E. M. Singco, Juan Santos, E'usebio Singson Encarnacion, Vicente Santos," Francisco T,* S-iopongco, Jos6 L. Santos, Francisco D. Siping, Juan Vergara Santos, Fruto R. Sison, A. Santos, Hermenegildo R. Sison, Antonio G. Santos, Hermenegildo Y. Sison, Bienvenido A. Santos, Isidoro de' Sison, Eusebio V. Santos," Jose' Abad Sison, Leopoldo Santos, Jose' K. Sison, N. A. Santos, Juan K. Sison, Olimpio Santos, Leon Sison, P~edro Santos, Mariano de los Sison, Pedro M a. Santos, Marcelino Sison, Perf ecto Santos. Pascual Sison, T. Santos., Paterno Sison, Teofilo Santos., Paulino Sitchon, Eleazar T.' Santos, Quirino Abad Soberano, Fidel Santos, Salvador Abad Sobrepefia, Enrique C. Santos. Simon Solis, Leonor Teresa Saiiiel, I-sidoro Solis, Max B. Sarate, Francisco Solis, Valentin Sarillo, Elias M. Solis, Vicente Saripada, Datu Sakar Soliven, Benito Sarmiento, Lucio R. Soncuya, Jos6 Satorre., Damaso Soriano, Francisco Sauco, Teofilo E. Soriano, Manuel Sauco, Vicente L. Sotelo, Marcelino Savillo, Elias M. Sotto, Vicente S-awi, Balbino B. Suarez, Juan Sebastian, Jeremias T. Sulit, Nicanor Sebastian, Proceso Sunico, Francisco T. Sebial, Julio Suntay, Angel Segarra, Agaton S. Sufier, Teodulfo Segui, Eliodoro B. Sufiga, Ruperto Segundo, Daniel Susam, C. Suva, Geronimo Tablante, P. Tagle de Leon, Aniceto Tabuena, Jesus Tai flo, Silverio R. Tabuiiar, Gabino Tajon, Sabas Tacderas, Vicente Talosig, Candido A.

346 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Tamondong, Julio Tolentino, Arturo M. Tamayo, Lorenzo T. Tolentino, Miguel Tan, Bienvenido A. Tolentino, Teodoro B. Tan, Pedro G. Tomacruz, 'Rafael Tan, Vidal A: Tomacruz, Sebastian Tan~chico., Emilio A. Tongko, Primo Tanchoco, Filemon. Topacio, Felipe Tangco, Marcelo Topacio, Jose' Tanhod, Ciriaco Torenatos, Juan Taningco, Mariano D. Torralba, Francisco Tapia, Ladislao Torres, Antonio C. Taqueban, Florentino Torres, Bernardo Tayko, Felipe Torres, Juan P. Tayzo-n, Antonio Torres, Juan S. Tecson, Pablo Torres, Ramon Tecson., Sabino, Trazo, Priscilo Y. Tecson-Ocampo, Sabino Toting, Bartolome Tejada, Isabelo Trias, Raf ael Tengco, Damaso Trillana, Apolonio Tengco, Vicente R. Trillana, Nazario Teodoro, Jose' Trillanes, Joaquin M. Teotico, Jos6 R. Trinidad, Esteban D. Tienzo, Telesforo Trinidad, Mariano Tionko, Eusebio Trinidad, Wenceslao Tiongson, Felix Trivifio, Vicente Tiongson, Juan L. Triumf ante, Jacinto L. Tirona, Emiliano Tria Tuason., Andres Tirona, Ramona S. Tubarigui, Marcos A. Tirona, Tomas T. Tulio, Artemio Tobias, Moises Tupas, Jose' M. Tobias, Saturnino Tupas, Jose' Tuzon, Eladio M. Ubaldo, Mariano A. Uichangco, Ursula B. Ulanday, Hipolito S. Umali, Ambrosio Umali, Antonio Umali, Ramnon Umali, Rosendo L. -UUmali, Tomas R. Umayam, Bartolome A. Unson, Miguel Urgello, Vicente Urquico, Manuel Urrutia, Francisco Ursua, Jacinto A. Utamares, Jos6 Valderas, Jos6 Valdez. Felix B. Valenciano, Jose' Valenciano, Ysmael Valente, Florencio Valenzuela, Emilia Malabanan Valenzuela, Patrocinio Valenzuela, Pio Valenzuela, Rufino Valera, Agapito S. Vales, Gonzalo T. Vamenta, Isidro VTargas, Eduardo Vargas, Estanislao Vargas, Jorge B. Vargas. Jos6 Vargas, Raymundo Varona, Francisco Velarde, Herminio Velez, A. Velez, Pablo Veloso. Jose' Venago, Martin F. Veneracion. Andres Ventenilla, Juan Ventura, Francisco

APPENDIX34 347 Ventura, Honorio Venturanza, Isabelo M. Venturanza, Ruperto Vera, Jos6 0. Vera, Pedro Vera, Vicente de Vergara, Estanislao Vergara, Moises Vergara, Narciso Veyra., Jaime C. de Veyra, Jesus I. Veyra, Martin P. de Veyra, Sofia R. de Vicente, Antonio M. Victoriano, Pacifico Victorio, Mamerto Vilar, Raf ael. Viligan, Bernardo Villa, Gregorio Villacete, Salvador Villacorta, Calixto XVillacorta, Jos6 Villacorte, F. Villadolid, Deogracias Villamar, Exequiel F. Villamar, Juan Villamayor, Miguel K. Villamin, Cirilo Villamin, Roque Villamor, Blas Villamor, Juan Villanueva, Augusto Yambao, Lazaro Yamnzon, J. L. Yap, Ildefonso D. Ybaiiez, Paulino Ybiernas, Vicente Ycasiano, Trinidad Zafra, Nicolas Zaldivar, Calixto 0. Zaldivar, E. Zaldivar, Mauricio Zamora, Angel Zamora, Francisco Zamora, Jose' Villanueva, Clara Aragon de Villanueva, Hermenegildo Villanueva, Isidro A. Villanueva, Joaquin Villanueva, Jos6 Villanueva, Mariano Villanueva, Pascual Villanueva, Serafin Villanueva, Silvino, Villanueva, T. Villarama, Antonio Villareal, B. C. Villareal, Felipe Villareal, Julio Villa-Real, Manuel Villarica, Martin Villarin, Germiniano Villarta. Jos6 Villas, Catalino A. Villegas, Espiridion Villegas.. Valente Villena., Jose' Vilo, Crisostomo Viloria Roces, Pedro Vingal, E. Virata,. Emilio P. Virata, Enrique T. Virrey, Nicolas Virtucio, Mamerto Virtucio, Teodorico Virtudes, Juan Viterbo, Antonio Ylagan, Flora A. Ylino, Cirilo Yffiguez, Alfredo Yujuico, Isidro M. Yulo Regalado. Jos6 Yupano, Dalmacio Zamuco, Macario T. Zandueta, Francisco Zapanta, Francisco Zarzoso, Marcos Zenarosa, Jose' D. Zoleta, -F. E. Zufiega, Roman

APPENDIX B SUPPORT FROM VARIOUS SOURCES GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO: "I sympathize with the in-,dependence congress." DON FELIPE AGONCILLO, President, Independence League. (In a letter to Dean Kalaw): "I have the pleasure of acknowledging receipt of your letter enclosing copy of the manifesto calling the Independence Congress. After reading these two documents, I do not see any reason why I should not participate in the holding of said congress." SENATOR JUAN SUMULONG, President, Democrata Party: "Although it is well known that the Filipino people support as one man the cause of their national independence, it would be very desirable that, while the American Congress is deliberating on our status and on our future, another Philippine congress, the Independence Congress, wherein all the people will be represented, should make its voice heard and should renew once more our demand for emancipation." SPEAKER MANUEL ROXAS, REPRESENTATIVE GIL, RESIDENT COMMISSIONERS PEDRO GUEVARA AND CAMILO OSIAS: "We are extremely gratified that the Independence Congress will be held. It will strengthen our cause in America. It will once more make evident our national solidarity and our vehement desire for independence. Constituted as it will be by all representative elements of the Filipino people including business and agricultural interests, the Congress will show that we are fully aware of the consequences of independence and the obligations and responsibilities that it entails. The friends of Philippine independence, seeing the firm determination of the Filipinos to be free, will receive a new inspiration in their efforts to obtain the fulfillment of America's promise." SENATOR SERGIO OSMEJA: "Our objective will not be attained if we do not know how to place our solidarity as a nation over and above our minor differences. The independence congress which on the initiative of a group of independent and representative citizens which will be held in Manlia this coming February is, in my judgment, the most effective step that can be taken to strengthen the spirit of unity and responsibility which should guide the actions of all elements of our population that are sincerely interested in carrying to a successful termination our peaceful struggle for liberty. "I adhere cordially to the idea of holding the independence congress not only because such an event will furnish another proof before the American people of the reality of our desire for freedom, but also because it will help the Filipino people in organizing and preparing for the burdens and responsibilities of an independent government." 348

APPENDIX 349 PRESIDENT MANUEL L. QUEZON "From my sick bed I heartily endorse the calling of the independence congress, composed of representative elements of the past and of the present and I call upon all those who are qualified for membership to come to Manila for the congress. To use the famous phrase of President Wilson, politics should be adjourned and all party lines eliminated when an opportunity like the independence congress is presented." SPEAKER-PRO-TEMPORE DE LAS ALAS: "The idea of holding at this time an Independence Congress is most opportune." SENATOR W. H. KING: "I understand that on the 22nd instant, thousands of representatives from all parts of the Philippine Islands will meet in Manila to express their views concerning Philippine independence. I am gratified to learn of the unanimity of the Filipinos concerning a question so vital to them. The representatives of the Filipino people in Washington are ably presenting the claims of the Filipinos for independence. Many Americans believe that Congress should enact legislation under which the aspirations of the Filipinos for an independent government may be realized. Though there is opposition to such legislation I believe that in the not long distant future the Filipinos will secure their independence and establish a government of their own choosing competent to meet all problems, domestic and foreign, with which it Will be confronted. I extend cordial greetings to the convention." SENATOR H. B. HAWES: "The voice of liberty will ultimately prevail. Our national promise will be redeemed. Solidarity of expression by Filipinos, unity in counsel and determination should find its way to America now when this subject will soon come before our Congress for decision. "There will be delays occasioned by organized opposition and by other matters pressing upon the Congress for consideration. This is unavoidable. Tell your story to the American representatives here. They will be given audience but this is a large country and it takes time to cover it. "You will have Tories as we did in our struggle for liberty and I am sure you will treat them as we did ours. "Finally you will win your independence."

APPENDIX C. RESOLUTIONS OF ADHERENCE TO THE FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS HELD IN THE CITY OF MANILA, FEBRUARY 22, 1930 Resolution No. 14 of the Municipal Council of Pilar, Abra, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 14 of the Municipal Council of Libon, Albay, approved on February 7, 1930. Resolution No. 6 of the Union Obrera de Tabaco, Inc., Tabaco, Albay, approved February 5, 1930. Resolution No. 25 of the Municipal Council of Camalig, Albay, approved on February 11, 1930. Resolution No. 20 of the Municipal Council of Guinobatan, Albay, approved February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 6 of the Municipal Council of Malinao, Albay, approved on February 8, 1930. Resolution No. 12, Municipal Council of Oas, Albay, approved on February 7, 1930. Resolution No. 37, Municipal Council of Calolbon, Albay, approved on March 15, 1930. Resolution No. 65, Municipal Council of Legaspi, Albay, approved on February 28, 1930. Resolution No. 12, Municipal Council of Batangas, Batangas, approved February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 1, Municipal Council of San Jose, Batangas, approved February 16, 1930. Resolution No. 23, Municipal Council of Rosario, Batangas, approved on February 20, 1930. Resolution of the inhabitants of Balayan, Batangas, approved on February 16, 1930. Resolution by the Local Independence Congress held in the Municipality of Tuy, Batangas, approved on February 18, 1930. Resolution No. 2 of the convention held by the residents of Lian on February 18, 1930, expressing adherence to the Independence Congress. Statement expressing adhenrence to the Independence Congress by the Popular Assembly held at Talisay, Batangas, February 16, 1930. Resolution of the Municipal Council of Tanauan, Batangas, approved on February 17, 1930. Resolution No. 14, Municipal Council of Lemery, Batangas, approved on February 7 and 8, 1930. Statement expressing adherence to the Independence Congress by a Popular Convention held at San Luis, Batangas, February 15, 1930. 350

APPENDIX 351 Resolution No. 1, approved on February 19, 1930, by a Popular Convention held at Bolbok, Batangas. Resolution of the people of Ibaan, Batangas, approved on February 16, 1930. Resolution of the Municipal Council of Malvar, Batangas, approved on February 17, 1930. Resolution No. 10, Municipal Council of Pilar, Bataan, approved on February 8, 1930. Resolution No. 9, Municipal Council of Sta. Maria, Bulacan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 7, Municipal Council of Guiguinto, Bulacan, approved on February 14, 1930. Resolution No. 12, Municipal Council of Gonzaga, Cagayan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 8, Municipal Council of Rizal, Cagayan, approved on February 17, 1930. Resolution No. 10 of the Municipal Council of Dao, Capiz, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 8 of the Municipal Council of Carmona, Cavite, approved on February 3, 1930. Resolution No. 30 of the Municipal Council of Iriga, Camarines Sur, approved on February 16, 1930. Resolution No. 19 of the Municipal Council of Baao, Camarines Sur, approved on February 28, 1930. Resolution No. 71 of the Provincial Board of Davao, approved on February 3, 1930. Resolution No. 6 of the Assembly of Municipal Presidents of Ilocos Sur held at Vigan, January 23, 24 and 25, 1930. Resolution No. 20 of the Municipal Council of Dumagas, Iloilo, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution of a Popular Assembly held at Lofigos, Laguna, on February 9, 1930. Resolution No. 33 of the Municipal Council of Pangil, Laguna, approved on February 6, 1930. Resolution No. 7 of the Municipal Council of Famy, Laguna, approved on March 3, 1930. Resolution No. 25 of the Municipal Council of Aroroy, Masbate, approved on March 31, 1930. Resolution No. 20 of the Municipal Council of Mansalay, Mindoro, approved on February 6, 1930. Resolution No. 6 of the Municipal Council of Baco, Mindoro, approved on February 18, 1930. Resolution No. 106 of the Municipal Council of Gigaquit, Misamis, approved on November 15, 1930, expressing their desire for independence. Resolution No. 106 of the Provincial Board of Misamis at Cagayan, approved on March 22, 1930. Resolution No 14 of the Municipal Council of Laur, Nueva Ecija, approved on February 19, 1930.

352 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Resolution No. 36 of the Municipal Council of Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, approved on February 15,1930. Resolution No. 28 of the Municipal Council of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution No. 22 of the Municipal Council of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, approved on February 20, 1930. Resolution No. 230 of the Provincial Board of Pangasinan, approved on February 12, 1930. Resolution No. 38 of the Presidents' Convention at Lingayen, Pangasinan, approved on March 19, 1930. Resolution No. 16 of the Municipal Council of San Jacinto, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 35 of the Municipal Council of Manaoag, Pangasinan, approved February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 6 of the Municipal Council of Labrador, Pangasinan, approved February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 26 of the Municipal Council of Calasiao, Pangasinan, approved February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 22 of the Municipal Council of Rosales, Pangasinan, approved on February 4, 1930. Resolution No. 23 of the Municipal Council of Alcala, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 15 of the Municipal Council of Navotas, Rizal, approved on February 23, 1930. Resolution No. 1 of the Municipal Council of Jalajala, Rizal, approved on February 20, 1930. Resolution No. 38 of the Municipal Council of Las Pifias, Rizal, approved on March 10, 1930. Resolution No. 27 of the Municipal Council of Sorsogon, Sorsogon, approved on February 21, 1930. Resolution No 14 of the Municipal Council of Bacon, Sorsogon, approved on January 31, 1930. Resolution No. 21 of the Municipal Council of Tayabas, approved on January 20, 1930. Resolution No. 32 of the Municipal Council of Sariaya, Tayabas, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 2 of the Municipal Council of Talisay, Occ. Negros, approved on February 16, 1930. Resolution No. 18 of the Municipal Council of Bangar, La Union, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution No. 12 of the Municipal Council of Luna, La Union, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 14 of the Municipal Council of Aringay, La Union, approved on February 28, 1930. Resolution of the Filipino residents in Japan, approved on February 25, 1930. Resolution approved on March 1, 1930 in a convention of "Ganaderos y Cocoteros" at Romblon. Resolution of the Student Body of the Cebu City, approved on February 16, 1930.

APPENDIX 353 Resolution No. 6 of the Logia Malolos No. 46 de M. L. y A., approved on February 3, 1930. Resolution of "Samahang Bulakan", approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 23 of the Bulacan Government. Employees Savings and Loan Association, approved on February 20, 1930. Resolution No. 4 of Iglesia de Jesucristo, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution approved on February 17, 1930, in a joint meeting of The Knights of Christ the King, and the Sodalists of the Blessed Virgin of Ilocos Sur. Resolution of "Katipunan Matanda" approved on February 9, 1930. Resolution of the Alabat Jolly Club, Alabat, Tayabas, approved on February 26, 1930. Resolution No. 1 of the Masbate Bar Association, Masbate, Masbate, approved on February 20, 1930. Resolution of the First National Congress of Coconut Planters held at the City of Manila, approved on February 22, 1930. Resolution No. 3 of "Pagasa Ng Ulila", Malolos, Bulacan, approved on February 14, 1930. Resolution of the Culion Medical Society, Culion, Palawan, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution No. 12 of the Municipal Council of Agno, Pangasinan, approved on February 14, 1930. Resolution No. 23 of the Municipal Council of Aguilar, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 18 of the Municipal Council of Alaminos, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 16 of the Municipal Council of Burgos, Pangasinan, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution No. 35 of the Municipal Council of Manawag, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 23 of the Municipal Council of Mangaldan, Pangasinan, approved on February 14, 1930. Resolution No. 29 of the Municipal Council of Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, approved on February 19, 1930. Resolution No. 16 of the Municipal Council of San Jacinto, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 19 of the Municipal Council of San Quintin, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 16 of the Municipal Council of Sto. Tomas, Pangasinan, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution No. 22 of the Municipal Council of Sual, Pangasinan, approved on February 17, 1930. Resolution No. 29 of the Municipal Council of Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, approved on February 17, 1930. Resolution No. 22 of the Municipal Council of Mangatarem, Pangasinan, approved February 19, 1930.

354 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS Resolution of the Supreme Council of "Cruzados de Cristo Rey", Manila, approved on January 30, 1930. Resolution No. 63 of the Municipal Council of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, approved on February 17, 1930. Resolution No. 24 of the Municipal Council of Tagbilaran, Bohol, approved on February 15, 1930. Resolution of the Municipal Council of San Fabian, Pangasinan, approved on February 20, 1930. Letter dated February 24, 1930, from the Municipal President of Mariveles, Bataan, expressing the adherence of the municipality to the Independence Congress.

APPENDIX D. FIRST INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS COMPLETE PROGRAM I. FEBRUARY 18-21, 1930, INCLUSIVE Registration of members. Place: Philippine Columbian Bldg., Taft Avenue. No member will be admitted in the session hall without badge. Registration fee, two pesos (P2.00). II. FEBRUARY 22, 1930, 9:00 A. M. Place: Manila Grand Opera House Presiding Officer-HON. FELIPE AGONCILLO 1. Overture (Themes: American and Philippine National Hymns arranged by Dr. Francisco Santiago)-The Philippine Constabulary Band 2. Invocation-Rev. Osmundo Lim, President Uni6n de Clerigos Filipinos 3. Welcome on behalf of the Committee on Organization-Dean Maximo M. Kalaw 4. Address-Hon. Felipe Agoncillo, Presiding Officer 5. Address-Hon. Antonio de las Alas, Speaker Pro-Tempore, House of Representatives 6. Independence Hymn (Especially composed by Dr. F. Santiago)Girls from Philippine Women's College 7. Address on behalf of the Filipino Women-Dofia Rosa Sevilla de Alvero 8. Address-Hon. Juan Sumulong, Minority Floor leader in the Senate 9. Address-Hon. Sergio Osmefia, Majority Floor leader in the Senate and President Pro-Tempore 10. Philippine National Hymn-Girls from the Instituto de Mujeres and the Audience led by Prof. Bonifacio Abdon 4:00-6:00 P. M.-University of the Philippines Military Review and Musical Program rendered by the University of the Philippines in honor of the Members of the Independence Congress. Prof. Agustin Alonzo, In Charge. 355

356 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS III. FEBRUARY 23, 1930 Sectional Meetings ECONOMIC SECTON Place: Little Theater, Rizal Hall, U. P.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, HON. RAM6N FERNANDEZ; Secretary, PROF. MARIANO GANA Speakers: 1. Director Conrado Benitez-"Why the Filipinos Have Neglected Business Pursuits" 2. Hon. Miguel Unson-"The Possible Budget of the Future Philippine Republic" 3. Hon. Rafael Alunan-"Our Economic Problems in Case of Independence" 4. Discussion of possible taxation under a republic led by Senator Quirino and Representative Festin 5. Resume of discussion by the Chairman POLITICAL SECTION (GOVERNMENTAL PROBLEMS) Place: Faculty Hall, U. P.-Time: 9-12 A. M.,Chairman, HON. JUAN SUMULONG; Secretary, PROF. QUIRINO E. AUSTRIA Speakers: 1. Hon. Jose P. Laurel-"Our Provincial and Municipal Governments under an Independent Philippines" 2. Hon. Jose Abad Santos-"The Future of Our Administration of Justice" 3. Hon. Honorio Ventura-"The Keeping of Law and Order in Our Municipalities" 4. Discussion -5. Resum6 of discussion by the Chairman INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION Place: Philippine Columbian Bldg.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, JUDGE MARIANO H. DE JOYA; Secretary, DR. BERNABE B. AFRICA Speakers: 1. Hon. Felipe Agoncillo-"Our Negotiations for Independence in 1898-1899" 2. Don Pedro Aunario-"Our Neighbors in the Far East" 3. Discussion on the possible guaranties of independence led by the Chairman 4. Resume of discussion by the Chairman

APPENDIX35 357 IV. FEBRUARY 24., 1930 (,Sectiona*l Meetings-Cont'd..) NATIONAL DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATIONS SECTION Place: Faculty Hall, U. P.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairinuxn, GEN. ToMAS MASCARDO; Secretary, MR. MARTiN P. DE VEYRA Speakers: 1. Gen. Jose Alejandrino-"'The Defenses of the Philippines" 2. Hon. Filemon Perez-"The Nationalization of Our Highways" 3. Discussion 4. Resume' of discussion by the Chairman EDUCATIONAL SECTION Place: Phil. Columbian Bldg.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, DEAN FRANCIso BENITE; Secretary, PROF. ISIMOo PANLASIGUI Speakers: 1. Hon. Lope K. Santos-"The Vernacular as a Factor in National Solidarity and Independence" 2. Pros. Rafael Palma-"The Role of the University of the Philippines in an Independent Philippines" 3. Dean Francisco Benitez-"Our Educational Policy in Relation to Independence" 4. Discugsion, 5. Resume' of the discussion by the Chairman I ~~ECONOMIC SECTION Place: Little Theater, Rizal Hall, U. P.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, HON. FRANCISCO ORTIGAS; Secretary, PROF. MARIANO D. GANA Speakers: 1. Don Leopoldo R. Aguinaldo-"-jForeign and Domestic Commerce Under Independence" 2. Discussion of the tariff problem led by Under-Secretary Gomez, Hon. Tomas Confesor and Mr. Cornelio Balmaceda. 3. Resume' of the discussion by the Chairman.

358 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS V. FEBRUARY 24, 1930 (Sectional Meetings-Cont'd.) EDUCATIONAL SECTION Place: Phil. Columbian Bldg.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, PRES. GAVINO TABUNAR; Secretary, PROF. ISIDORO PANLASIGUI Speakers: 1. Director Fabian de la Rosa-"Philippine Independence as an Incentive to Philippine Art" 2. Director Angel Argielles-"The Role of Science in an Independent Philippines" 3. Prof. Carlos P. Romulo-"The Press as a Factor in Nationalism" 4. Hon. Claro M. Recto-"The Influence of Independence Upon Literature" 5. Discussion led by Pres. Mariano de los Santos, Dr. Vidal A. Tan and Mr. Emerito Ramos on the part that the students should play in the independence movement. 6. Resume of the discussion by the Chairman POLITICAL SECTION Place: Faculty Hall, U. P.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, HON. ALBERTO BARRETTO; Secretary, PROF. QUIRINO E. AUSTRIA Speakers: 1. Director Teodoro M. Kalaw-"The Spirit of the Philippine Revolution as an Inspiration to the Present Campaign for Independence" 2. Hon. Ramon Torres-"The Filipino Press and Our Struggle for Freedom" 3. Hon. Teodoro Sandiko-"Our Campaign for Independence in the United States" 4. Discussion 5. Resume of the discussion by the Chairman LABOR SECTION Place: Little Theater, Rizal Hall, U. P.-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, DEAN JORGE BOOOBO; Secretary, MR. PIO DE CASTRO Speakers: 1. Prof. Serafin E. Macaraig-"Immigration and Population Problems of the Philippine Islands" 2. Don Joaquin Balmori-"The Dignification of Labor as a Factor for National Strength" 3. Mr. Isabelo Tejada-"Labor Problems" 4. Discussion led by Mr. Marcelino Lontok 5. Resume of discussion by the Chairman

APPENDIX 359 VI. FEBRUARY 26, 1930 (Sectional Meetings-Cont'd.) WOMEN'S SECTION Place: Phil. Columbian-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, MRS. SOFIA R. DE VEYRA; Secretary, MRS. MARIA L. CARPIO Discussion of the following topic: "The part that the Filipino Women should play to promote the movement for independence" Women invited to take part: Dr. Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon, Prof. Ramona Tirona, Dr. Encarnacion Alzona, Mrs. Paz GloriaCanave, Mrs. Francisco Delgado, Miss Librada Avelino, Miss Concepcion Aguila, and Mrs. Pura V. de Kalaw MINDANAO AND MOUNTAIN PROVINCE SECTION Place: Faculty Hall-Time: 9-12 A. M. Chairman, HON. TEOPISTO GUINGONA; Secretary, ABDULLAH JIMENEZ Speakers: 1. Hon. Jose G. Sanvictores-"The Development of Mindanao" 2. Hon. Jose P. Melencio ---"The Moro Problem" 3. Director Ludovico Hidrosollo-"What is being done for the nonChristian population of the Philippines?" 4. Discussion led by Moro chiefs 5. Resume of the Discussion by the Chairman VII. FEBRUARY 26, 1930 12:30 Noon.-Meeting of the Committee on Organization attended by President and chairmen of sections to discuss resolutions. Place: Phil. Columbian LAST PLENARY SESSION (Sectional Meetings —Cont'd.) Place: Manila Grand Opera House, 2:30 P. M. Presiding Officer-HON. RAFAEL PALMA 1. Overture-Constabulary Band 2. Invocation-Mons. Gregorio Aglipay 3. Address-Hon. Emiliano T. Tirona 4. Address, "The Need of Organization and Cooperation in the Independence Campaign in the Philippines"-Dr. Jorge Bocobo, Dean, College of Law, U. P. 5. Hymn "Mabuhay"-Girls from the Centro Escolar de Sefioritas 6. Address, "The Part of the Filipino Laborer in the Campaign for Independence"-Hon. Francisco Varona 7. Address —Hon. Manuel L. Quezon 8. Presentation of Resolutions-The signers of the manifesto with Dean Maximo M. Kalaw as Chairman 9. (a) Independence Hymn-Girls from Centro Escolar de Sefioritas and the Audience-By Prof. Francisco Santiago (b) Philippine National Hymn

APPENDIX E INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS HYMN CTtik af cugtugir rRi DR. FRANCIfCO,SANTIAQO n) TEMPO MARCIALE Ha -li. na mana ka ba - 0 come and join th's lo rious ba -yan, Hi-nqin plea, -_ Pra -er ti-nu bu 'an Li ber tyV, - ay ka *and rmos ya -an..Ka. la - a.an Biq -an na ka mnnr fu. nay. n ya-on pen dence!lr.de pendcnce!GrAnt us nowour oongea for rig;. We are ay nag. hi hn - tay- - Ka.la Po ple's hid den Light. In de -an... Ka la ya.an... I -big na ming ma kam dence!ln. de- pendence!why de - ny us yet its p na - Iin..Ang miL - hWng Ka - rin - Ian raea -d.d To de, -ferd it a ny hour. Ka -laIn. cle Ftl-i. pi -nas! ka.la'. Th li - pi - na.51 In de ya. an.... pen dene!

APPENDIX F FIRST PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE WORLD CONGRESS (Held in Paris, France) Declaration of Purposes and Resolution We, delegates of different colonies of Filipino citizens residing in different parts of the world, forming the FIRST PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE WORLD CONGRESS, convened at the City of Paris, France, on Monday, May 26, 1930, on the initiative of private Filipino citizens following the brilliant example of the dead Filipino patriots, Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Antonio Luna, Juan Luna, Pedro A. Paterno, Jose M. Panganiban, Antonio Regidor, Felix Resurrecci6n Hidalgo, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Valentin Ventura, Jos6 Ramirez, Gonzalo Tuason and others, who many years before have been living in Europe, striving for the freedom and independence of our beloved mother country, THE PHILIPPINES, DO HEREBY DECLARE BEFORE GOD AND BEFORE THE WORLD; More than four hundred years ago THE PHILIPPINES WAS A FREE AND INDEPENDENT NATION, with her own civilization, sovereignty and government, owning her own land by divine and natural birthright. When the Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan, under the service of the Spanish Government, sailed to circumnavigate the world and by chance discovered some of the islands of the Philippine Archipelago on March 16, 1521, he, without any just title, declared them as belonging to the Spanish kingdom. Since then the Spaniards decided to rule the Philippines as they ruled the countries of Netherlands, Milan, Naples, Sicily and Central and South America. The Spanish Government in the Philippines lasted more than three hundred years. The Spanish rule, however, was very beneficial to the Filipino people, and now that the wounds of the past have been healed, the Filipinos acknowledge with filial love and eternal gratitude the uplifting and noble work of Spain. After the Spanish discovery, the Filipino people soon received the lights of Western civilization, earlier than any other Eastern country. The Philippines flourished under the blessings of the Eastern and Western civilizations, blended together. The Filipinos became a Christian nation, and their customs and ways of living were raised to the same standards, as those of the Westerners, without thereby losing their main national characteristics. Nevertheless, the Filipinos, like the peoples of Central and South America, were not satisfied to continue living under foreign tutelage. They knew that they were born free and independent, and wanted to have their own national freedom. More than twenty uprisings took place against the Spanish Government. The last and most serious revolt hppened in 1898. It brought about the final downfall of the Spanish Government in the Philippines and the es361

362 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS tablishment of the Philippine Republic, many years before the Chinese, Turkish, Greek and other republics created in Asia and Central Europe. In the struggle of the Filipinos against the Spanish Government in 1898, the United States, in the name of altruism and liberty, offered her assistance to the Filipino people to overthrow the Spanish rule and promised them that she would recognize their independence as soon as peace and order reigned in the country. The Filipinos had trusted the word of the American nation and since the early days of 1898 the United States and the Philippines became friends and allies. They fought together against Spain. Later when the United States declared war against Germany, the Filipinos gladly assisted the Americans, pledging their lives and resources' for the triumph of the ideals of the American nation. The bond of friendship and good will between the Americans and Filipinos became stronger, the Filipinos looking up to the United States with filial love and eternal gratitude. The struggle of the Filipino people for freedom and national self-respect is somewhat different from that of the colonies belonging to other nations. The Filipinos have no illfeeling or hatred against the Americans. They have been, and are still, faithful and loyal to the Americans, as friends and as allies. They appreciate the blessings of the American rule. The effort of the American nation to experiment in the East the establishment of a democracy modelled after the American pattern has been so successful that the Philippines can claim today, and produce evidence to show, that she is in a better position and more qualified, politically and economically, to assume all the attributes of independence, freedom and sovereignty than more than two-thirds of the nations of the world who are today free and independent. So far the Americans have been fair and just with the Filipinos: they have been fulfilling one by one their promises, as evidenced by the passage by the American Congress of many laws which resulted in placing almost all the functions of the government of the Philippines into the hands of Filipino citizens. The time has come for the American nation to finish her noble and altruistic work: to carry out the sacred promise contained in a congressional measure, the Jones Law, in view of the fact that the Filipino people have already succeeded in establishing a stable government in their country, the only condition set forth as prerequisite to the granting of their independence. The Filipinos still have faith in the nobility and greatness of the American nation. They realize that nowadays there is a reawakening of modern America. The American citizens of today are looking back with respect to their history, traditions and ideals. The Filipino people trust that the United States will now fulfill her promise of independence to the Philippines, thus adding another brilliant record to her history already replete with glorious and heroic deeds. THEREFORE, under this impression and understanding, we are sure that the Congress of the United States will soon act favorably on the recommendation of the late President Woodrow Wilson, dated December 2, 1920, that the Philippines be granted her most coveted independence: we are also convinced that, as the cause of the Filipino people is just and holy, God, who is merciful, can never forsake us,

APPENDIX 363 and for that reason, before passing the present resolution, we have prayed for divine guidance and inspiration; hence, in the name and on behalf of the different colonies of Filipino citizens residing in different parts of the world, we do hereby resolve to ask the General President of this FIRST PHLIPPINE INDEPENDENCE WORLD CONGRESS to send by cable to the Congress of the United States, through the Resident Commissioners of the Philippines in Washington, the following request: "Delegates Filipino colonies residing different parts world, forming FIRST PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE WORLD CONGRESS, convened City Paris, May 26, respectfully request the people and government of the United States to grant the Philippines immediate, complete and absolute independence. Filipinos will appreciate with eternal gratitude this act of American justice and generosity." Approved, May 26, 1930. Certified correct: GREGORIO YNCIONG ZARA, Secretary, First Philippine Independence World Congress. Address: 9 rue Victor Cousin Paris (France)

APPENDIX G DECLARATION OF FREEMASONS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (In Congress Assembled on May 30, 1930) Freemasonry is a world-wide institution whose tenets are intended to bring peace, harmony and tolerance among men. Its principle of Brotherly Love unites men of every country, sect and opinion, and causes true friendship to exist among peoples who might otherwise remain apart as perpetual enemies. In their search for Truth, freemasons are distinguished in their conduct by sincerity, civic courage and plain dealing. Conscious that Justice is the very support of civil society, freemasons maintain and proclaim that it is the standard or boundary of right which enables man to render unto every other man his just due. For this reason, the history of Freemasonry everywhere is intimately linked with the struggles of nations and individuals for their inalienable rights, and freemasons in all countries and climes, and of whatever race or religion, have ever distinguished themselves in defending those rights within the bounds of law and in keeping with human dignity. In the Philippines, the deeds of Freemasonry have been an honor to, not a stain upon, the universal tradition of the Fraternity. Spanish and Filipino freemasons of the highest social standing among their respective peoples, worked together for the welfare of the Philippines and the liberalization of its government. With the implantation of the American sovereignty here, American and Filipino freemasons carried on that same task, and together they collaborated to make of the Philippines the best country in the world. Occupying the most exalted positions in their own government and in the government of this country, American freemasons were the ones principally responsible for the work of education and liberalization undertaken in the Philippines with a view to making of it a free and independent nation. Filipino masons are mainly the ones who, occupying the highest position in this government, and fully recognizing those noble purposes, today are guiding the nation towards the attainment of that glorious and desired goal. It is evident to all masons that the moral foundation of Filipino-American friendship lies in the acceptance and realization of the masonic principle of Justice, which will enable the United States to grant the Philippines what she has been promised, and what she is entitled to possess, namely, Freedom. For this reason, We, freemasons of the Philippine Islands, duly assembled in congress on thig day, month and year of Our Lord, 30th of May of 1930, for the purpose of reaffirming our faith in those masonic principles which govern nations and individuals in their dealing with one another, do solemnly declare that it is our earnest desire that those principles be applied faithfully and with integrity to the Filipino people, and that our motto of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity be a reality as evident in this country as it is in other parts of the -orld where the ideals of Freemasonry are equally practiced. We solemnly 364

APPENDIX 365 declare, under our oath and honor as freemasons, that, for the peace, happiness and prosperity of all elements living together in this land; to put an end to the uneasiness, anxiety and unrest, which now undermine the foundation of our national stability, and which are in turn the direct result of the uncertainty, the prolonged indefiniteness and the actual ambiguity in the political relations between America and the Philippines; and, in general, to extend a helping hand in raising the sad and dejected spirit of the peoples of the Orient due to continuous and unjust discrimination against their races, Philippine independence should be granted to the Filipinos without any further delay. And we declare finally, that in adopting this resolution no other motive or desire inspires us than that of serving the high aims of Humanity under the exalted ideals of Freemasonry. We authorize the executive authorities of this Congress to print this resolution, send copies of it to persons and entities they may designate, and give it due publicity.

I

C~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN GRADUATE LIBRARY DATE DUE Arq,g ~r AUG E-110 AUG 1 9 197 aft I. OAN

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 3 9015 02779 5965 BOOK CARD DO NOT REMOVE A Charge will be made if this card is mutilated Liii ~~~or not returned with the book GRADUATE LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

-" iCW4 ii u IX+lli*l-r ,...Yrlir..11I a*(..II.-CY rWu~EIli ItCk(lS'I LILUIICIWU T.UC*' ; r 'i. ' 'Y Ir; ili;Y(\T~11L IlI'C1 I~BR.~'sr.LCIIFILW1TJ'CT `Y.L~rlr: %i.1::::: ~? II ~1CGk5'ijh*li~TWBL'lsWPP Yai P i'ir~i.;sf9criJt`ri;t~fi;;UPEl ~ r; I r!Pf:i, si;fX,ihjSiY B;dflfleidlidXlflEGirirERr' *IZ itlR1IF ISSLBt~L~ UiiYa.lL;kTlfiPJL`WXC~ t3 t: i:rlOsEClnC.h'HIUU,t mLYI if)tLiPtCPL1YI 1'I;JZ~Jr3it I'LUIRITljlBTk';ULtfjIl??t mlilrPLt ~ljGIWa4BEdCSiahS'~Tn~R' II r; iIt sIllC;MirlXdni;ZlfE?;`f':).; M'ilh`LPSYilIl';dPTrSIENQ iKnRsaren r!::BPlrYw'.l`iTIS)iMX:tBf~ itfir.ZFEE~tJkCiP,SEZPiXrsgZIY3L[ Ili i'QSrCfFf:'K,Jtibiit (f;ilitilaCUrfin3EYff!,P:s, I'i jifi P: t r P ~IE