Editing Commonwealth of the Philippines (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|History of the Philippines#Commonwealth}}

=== Creation ===
{{See also|1934 Philippine Constitutional Convention election}}
[[File:Manuel Quezon LCCN2011647833 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright|President [[Manuel L. Quezon|Manuel Luis Quezon]] of the Philippines]]
[[File:Signing the Constitution of the Philippine Commonwealth, 23 March 1935.jpg|thumb|left|''March 23, 1935'': Constitutional Convention. Seated, left to right: [[George H. Dern]], President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Manuel L. Quezon]]]]
The pre-1935 U.S. territorial administration, or Insular Government, was headed by a governor general who was appointed by the president of the United States. In December 1932, the [[United States Congress]] passed the [[Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act]] with the premise of granting [[Filipinos]] independence. Provisions of the law included reserving several military and naval bases for the United States as well as imposing tariffs and quotas on Philippine exports.<ref name="US-influence">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Philippines, The period of U.S. influence |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-23717/Philippines |access-date=February 10, 2007 |edition=online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205150116/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-23717/Philippines |archive-date=February 5, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hare-Hawes-Cutting-Act |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9039248/Hare-Hawes-Cutting-Act |access-date=February 10, 2007 |edition=online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312044428/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9039248/Hare-Hawes-Cutting-Act |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> When it reached him for a possible signature, President [[Herbert Hoover]] vetoed the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, but the American Congress overrode Hoover's veto in 1933 and passed the law over Hoover's objections.<ref>{{Harvnb|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|pp=345–346}}</ref> The bill, however, was opposed by then-Philippine Senate President [[Manuel L. Quezon]] and was also rejected by the [[Philippine Senate]].{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=38–39}}

This led to the creation and passing of the [[Tydings–McDuffie Act]]<ref group="lower-alpha">Officially, the [http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm Philippine Independence Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611111931/http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm |date=June 11, 2011 }}; {{USPL|73|127}}; approved on March 24, 1934.</ref> or the Philippine Independence Act, which allowed the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with a ten-year period of peaceful transition to full independence – the date of which was to be on the 4th of July following the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth.<ref name="US-influence" /><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Tydings-McDuffie Act |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9073977/Tydings-McDuffie-Act |access-date=February 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016184551/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9073977/Tydings-McDuffie-Act |archive-date=October 16, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Text of the Tydings-McDuffie Act |url=http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611111931/http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |access-date=February 10, 2007 |publisher=The ChanRobles Group}}</ref>

A Constitutional Convention was convened in [[Manila]] on July 30, 1934. On February 8, 1935, the 1935 Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was approved by the convention by a vote of 177 to 1. The constitution was approved by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on March 25, 1935, and ratified by popular vote on May 14, 1935.<ref>{{Citation |title=Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines |url=http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/laws/constitutions/8-philippineconstitutions/66-1935-constitution.html |year=1935 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522092815/http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/laws/constitutions/8-philippineconstitutions/66-1935-constitution.html |publisher=The corpus juris |archive-date=May 22, 2009}}.</ref>{{sfn|Zaide|1994|pp=317–318}}

On September 16, 1935,<ref name=InaugurationDate /> [[1935 Philippine presidential election|presidential elections]] were held. Candidates included former president [[Emilio Aguinaldo]], [[Philippine Independent Church]] leader [[Gregorio Aglipay]], and others. Manuel L. Quezon and [[Sergio Osmeña]] of the [[Nacionalista Party]] were proclaimed the winners, winning the seats of president and vice-president, respectively.<ref name="US-influence" />

The Commonwealth government was inaugurated on the morning of November 15, 1935, in ceremonies held on the steps of the [[Old Legislative Building (Manila)|Legislative Building]] in Manila. The event was attended by a crowd of around 300,000 people.<ref name=InaugurationDate />

=== Pre-war ===
[[File:Jones Bridge Manila 1930's Philippines.jpg|left|thumb|266x266px|Manila circa 1936-1939.]]
The new government embarked on ambitious nation-building policies in preparation for economic and political independence.<ref name="US-influence" /> These included national defense (such as the [[National Defense Act of 1935]], which organized a [[conscription]] for service in the country), greater control over the [[Economy of the Philippines|economy]], the perfection of democratic institutions, reforms in education, the improvement of transportation, the promotion of local capital, and industrialization.

However, uncertainties, especially in the diplomatic and military situation in [[Southeast Asia]], in the level of U.S. commitment to the future [[Republic of the Philippines]], and in the economy due to the [[Great Depression]], proved to be major problems. The situation was further complicated by the presence of agrarian unrest and power struggles between Osmeña and Quezon,<ref name="US-influence" /> especially after Quezon was permitted to be re-elected after one six-year term.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

A proper evaluation of the policies'{{clarify|reason=what policy?|date=March 2024}} effectiveness or failure is difficult due to the Japanese invasion and [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|occupation]] during World War II.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Battle of Malaya {{!}} The Japanese Invasion of Malaya as a Case S |url=https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3072&context=etd_all |access-date=March 5, 2024 |page={{page needed |date=March 2024}}}}</ref>

=== World War II ===
{{Main|Military history of the Philippines during World War II|Japanese occupation of the Philippines}}
{{History of the Philippines}}[[Empire of Japan|Japan]] launched a surprise [[Battle of the Philippines (1942)|attack on the Philippines]] on December 8, 1941. The Commonwealth government drafted the [[Philippine Army]] into the [[U.S. Army Forces Far East]], which would resist Japanese occupation. Manila was declared an [[open city]] to prevent its destruction,{{Sfn|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|p=390}} and it was occupied by the Japanese on January 2, 1942.{{sfn|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|p=392}} Meanwhile, battles against the Japanese continued on the [[Battle of Bataan|Bataan Peninsula]], [[Battle of Corregidor|Corregidor]], and [[Battle of Leyte|Leyte]] until the final surrender of United States-Philippine forces in May 1942.{{Sfn|Lacsamana|1990|p= 168}}
[[File:Quezon Roosevelt.jpg|thumb|right|[[Manuel L. Quezon]] visiting [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in Washington, D.C., while in exile]]

Quezon and Osmeña were escorted by troops from Manila to [[Corregidor]] and later left for Australia prior to going to the U.S., where they set up a government in exile, based at the [[Omni Shoreham Hotel|Shoreham Hotel]] in Washington, D.C.{{Sfn|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|p= 415}} This government participated in the [[Pacific War Council]] as well as the [[Declaration by United Nations]]. Quezon became ill with tuberculosis and died from it, with Osmeña succeeding him as president.<ref name="Talmon1998p295">{{Cite book |last=Talmon |first=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scc8EboiJX8C |title=Recognition of Governments in International Law: With Particular Reference to Governments in Exile |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-826573-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=scc8EboiJX8C&pg=PA295 295]}}</ref>

The main general headquarters of the [[Philippine Commonwealth Army]] (PCA), located on the military station in [[Ermita, Manila]], was closed down on December 24, 1941. It was taken over by the Japanese Imperial Forces when they occupied the city on January 2, 1942. Elsewhere in the country, other military posts of the PCA in [[Luzon]], the [[Visayas]], and [[Mindanao]] engaged in military action against the Japanese.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Meanwhile, the Japanese military organized a new government in the Philippines known as the [[Second Philippine Republic]], headed by President [[Jose P. Laurel]]. This pro-Japanese government became very unpopular.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=40–41}}

[[Philippine resistance against Japan|Resistance to the Japanese occupation]] continued in the Philippines. This included the ''[[Hukbalahap]]'' ("People's Army Against the Japanese"), which consisted of 30,000 armed men and controlled much of [[Central Luzon]];{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=40–41}} they attacked both the Japanese and other non-Huk guerrillas.<ref name=Sinclair2011>{{Citation |last=Sinclair |first=Peter T. II |title=Men of Destiny: The American and Filipino Guerillas During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines |date=December 1, 2011 |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a558187.pdf |work=dtic.mil |page=35 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903110240/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a558187.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College |quote=<!--These communist guerrillas fought against both the Japanese and other guerrilla bands. --> |archive-date=September 3, 2014}}</ref> Remnants of the Philippine Army, as well as unsurrendered Americans, also successfully fought the Japanese through [[guerrilla warfare]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Willoughby |first1=Charles A. |url=https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/index.htm#contents |title=Reports of General MacArthur: The campaign of MacArthur in the Pacific Volume I |last2=Prange |first2=Gordon W. |date=June 20, 2006 |publisher=Center of Military History |chapter=Chapter X Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines |lccn=66-60005 |author-link=Charles A. Willoughby |access-date=March 6, 2020 |chapter-url=https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/ch10.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075747/https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/index.htm#contents |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |orig-year=1966}}</ref> These efforts eventually liberated all but 12 of the 48 [[Provinces of the Philippines|provinces]].{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=40–41}}
[[File:Douglas MacArthur lands Leyte1.jpg|thumb|General MacArthur and President Osmeña returning to the Philippines]]
[[General (United States)|General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s army landed on Leyte on October 20, 1944,<ref name="US-influence" /> as did the Philippine Commonwealth troops who arrived in other [[amphibious landing]]s. The [[Philippine Constabulary]] was placed on active service with the [[Philippine Commonwealth Army]] and re-established from October 28, 1944, to June 30, 1946, during the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|Allied liberation]] and the post–World War II era. Fighting continued in remote corners of the Philippines until Japan's surrender in August 1945, which was signed on September 2 in Tokyo Bay. Estimates of Filipino war dead reached one million, and Manila was extensively damaged when Japanese marines refused to vacate the city when ordered to do so by the Japanese High Command.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|p=41}} After the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|war in the Philippines]], the Commonwealth was restored, and a one-year transitional period in preparation for independence began. Elections followed in April 1946, with [[Manuel Roxas]] winning as the first president of the independent [[Republic of the Philippines]] and [[Elpidio Quirino]] winning as vice president.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

=== Independence of the Philippines ===
{{further|Independence Day (Philippines)|Republic Day (Philippines)}}
The Commonwealth ended when the [[Treaty of Manila (1946)|U.S. recognized Philippine independence on]] July 4, 1946, as scheduled.<ref name="pinas">{{Cite web |title=Philippine History |url=http://pinas.dlsu.edu.ph/history/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822045537/http://pinas.dlsu.edu.ph/history/history.html |archive-date=August 22, 2006 |access-date=February 11, 2007 |publisher=DLSU-Manila}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|1998}}</ref> However, the economy remained dependent on the U.S.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|p=43}} This was due to the [[Bell Trade Act]], otherwise known as the Philippine Trade Act, which was a precondition for receiving war rehabilitation grants from the United States.<ref name="beterano">{{Cite web |date=Feb 2004 |title=Balitang Beterano: Facts about Philippine Independence |url=http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/tl/tl012375.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609104852/http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/tl/tl012375.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2012 |access-date=February 11, 2007 |publisher=Philippine Headline News Online}}</ref>