The Philippine republic. [1926]

Paged THE PHILIPPINE REP ULIC

Page 6

THE PHILIPPINE FtEPUfBLIC

Filipino Legislators Score Wood's Arbitrary Acts

(Special to The Philippine Republic.)
MANILA.-All possibility of any future
reconciliation between Gov. Gen. Leonard
Wood and the Philippine legislature appeared
to vanish when the former announced in an
executive order that hereafter he would alone
exercise the duties and powers of the Board
of Control.
The action is the most far-reaching step
that Gov. Wood has ever taken in his campaign of reducing the powers and participation of Filipinos in their government.
The Board of Control, under a law of the
Philippine legislature, has been composed up
to now of the Governor General, the President
of the Philippine Senate (Manuel L. Quezon),
and the Speaker of the House (Manuel
Roxas.)
The Board of Control selects the directors
and virtually controls the destinies of all
Philippine Government-owned corporations,
including the Philippine National Bank,
Manila Railroad Co., National Development
Co., National Coal Co., and other corporations in which more than $28,000,000 of the
public funds of the Philippines are invested.
Governor Wood cited as his authority for
excommunicating the Filipino members of the
Board, opinions he had obtained from the
Judge Advocate General of the United States
Army and the Attorney General of the United
States, holding the Philippine statutes invalid.
Senate President Quezon and Speaker
Roxas, in official replies to Governor Wood,
stated they would ignore the order and "continue performing the duties devolving upon
us as members of the board," adding:
'It is a well-established principle of constitutional government * * * that determination
of the constitutionality of law falls exclusively
within the province of the judicial department."
'"In order to make our position clear in this
matter, we beg to invite your attention to the
fact that laws creating the board of control
neither have been repealed by the legislature, annulled by the United States Congress, nor declared
unconstitutional and void by a court of competent
Jurisdiction.
"On the countrary they have been in force and
acted upon by you and other executives of the
government for a number of years, and their
validity previously has been recognized in many
instances by legal departments of both the Federal
and insular governments. Such being the case,
we feel that we are in conscience-bound to abide
by these laws until they either are repealed by
the legislature, annulled by the United States
Congress or declared unconstitutional by the
courts."
Although Gov. Wood was in possession of
the opinions on which he based his action on
November 7, two days prior to the, adjournment of the legislature, he delayed taking
action until the legislature had adjourned,
thus preventing action by the legislature.
The matter was considered of such grave
import, however, that a large number of the
legislators were recalled to Manila, and the
following public protest was issued against
the innumerable arbitrary acts of Gov. Wood:
Full Text of Proclamation
More than a quarter of a century has
elapsed since the Philippines came under the
American flag, an emblem of freedom and not
of subjection; a symbol of altruism and not of
selfishness or greed. American sovereignty
was implanted in our country with the avowed
purpose of training us in the art of selfgovernment and of granting us independence.
Our welfare and not her gain was to be America's aim. Our country was committed to her
in tfust to be conserved and developed for the
benefit of our people. Believing in the sin

cerity of America's purpose, the Filipinos
have applied themselves with patient diligence
to the task of meeting conditions exacted of
them, anxiously awaiting Lhe day when America would honor her proniise.
The first twenty years of civil government
were marked by mutual understanding and
co-operation between Americans and Filipinos. At the end of that period, when it
seemed that the goal had finally been
reached and after the President of the United
States had advised Congress that the time
had come for America to fulfill her sacred
pledge, Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood was sent
to the Philippines as Governor-General.
Cognizant of the part taken by Gen.
Wood in the liberation of Cuba, the Filipino
people expected that tinder his administration the spirit of co-operation would be maintained, and that the work of political emancipation would be completed. Contrary,
however, to our expectations, his conduct
of government has been characterized by a
train of usurpations and arbitrary acts resulting in the curtailment of our autonomy,
destruction of our constitutional system, and
reversal of America's Philippine policy.
This line of conduct recently culminated
in the issuance of Executive Order No. 37
by which he attempted to nullify the laws
creating the Board of Control and assumed
the functions of that body. The gravity of
his last step becomes the more evident when
we recall the series of usurpations heretofore committed by him.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most
wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has set at naught both legal authority
and responsibility of the Filipino heads of
Departments.
He has substituted his constitutional advisers for a group of military attaches without legal standing in the government and
not responsible to the people.
He has reversed the policy of Filipinizing
the service of government by appointing
Americans even whent Filipinos of proven
capacity were available.
He has obstructed the carrying out of
national economic policies duly adopted by
the Legislature merely because they are in
conflict with his personal views.
He has rendered merely perfunctory the
power of the Legislature to pass the annual
appropriation law by reviving items in the
law of the preceding year after vetoing the
corresponding items of the current appropriation act in flagrant violation of the organic law.
He has made appointments to positions
and authorized the payment of salaries therefor after having vetoed. the appropriation
for such salaries.
He has used certain public funds to grant
additional compensation to p'ublic officials in
clear violation of the law.
He has assumed the right to allot funds
voted for public works in a manner not
authorized by law.
He has arrogated unto himself the right
of exercising powers granted by the law to
the emergency board after abolishing said
Board on the ground that its powers involved
an unlawful delegation of legislative authority.
He has unduly interfered in the administration of justice.
He has refused to obtain the advice of the
Senate in making appointments where such
advice is required by the organic act.
He has refused to submit to the Senate

appointments for vacancies occurring during
the recess of the Legislature in contravention to the organic act.
He has continued in office nominees whose
appointments had been rejected by the Senate.
He has usurped legislative powers by
imposing conditions on legislative measures
approved by him.
He has, in the administration of affairs in
Mindanao, brought about a condition which
has given rise to discord and dissension between certain groups of Christian and Mohammedan Filipinos.
He has by his policies created strained
relations between resident Americans and
Filipinos.
He has endeavored on the pretext of getting the government out of business to dispose all companies capitalized by the government worth many millions of the people's
money to powerful American interests.
He has sanctioned the campaign of insidious propaganda in the United States
against the Filipino people and their aspirations.
He has attempted to close the Philippine
National Bank, so necessary to the economic
development of the country.
He has adopted the practice of intervening
in and controlling directly to the minutest details the affairs of the Philippine government
both insular and local in violation of the principle of self-government.
He has insistently sought the amendment
of our land laws approved by the Congress
of the United States, which amendment would
open up the resources of our country to exploitation by predatory interests.
Not content with these and other arbitrary
acts, the Governor General has recently promulgated Executive Order No. 37, declaring
that the laws creating and defining the powers of the Board of Control, which is authorized to vote the stock owned by the Government in certain private corporations, are
absolute nullities. In the same order the
Governor General also announces his purpose
to exercise solely and by himself the powers
and duties devolving upon said Board.
This executive order is purported to be
based on an opinion rendered by the Judge
Advocate General of the United States Army
and a confirmatory opinion of the Acting
Attorney-General of the United States, which
opinions were received by the Governor
General November 7. Despite this fact he
found it convenient to withhold publication
of his order until November 10, a few hours
after the Legislature had adjourned, thus
depriving the Legislature of the opportunity
to consider the matter.
The laws creating and defining the powers
of the Board of Control have been in force
and acted upon by the present Governor
General and other officers of the government
for a number of years and they have neither
been repealed by the Legislature, annulled
by Congress, nor declared unconstitutional by
the Courts. To hold that the Governor General by a mere executive order can set them
aside is to subvert the whole system of constitutional government and destroy the theory
of separation of powers which the Governor
General has always been so intent in upholding.
In the face of this critical situation, we,
the constitutional representatives of the
Filipino people, met to deliberate upon the
(Concluded on opposite page.)