Filipino nationalism

Filipino nationalism
Filipino nationalism began with an upsurge of patriotic sentiments
and nationalistic ideals in the 1800s Philippines that came as a
consequence of more than three centuries of Spanish rule. This served
as the backbone of the first nationalist revolution in Asia, the
Philippine Revolution of 1896, and continues up to this day. These
nationalistic sentiments have led to a wide-ranging campaign for
political, social, and economical freedom in the Philippines.

Flag of the Philippines

Background
In the years before the 11th century, the Philippines was divided into numerous principalities known as barangays, a
name derived from Malayan boats called balangays. These small political units were ruled by datus, rajahs or
sultans.[1] In 1565, European colonization began in earnest when Spanish explorer Miguel Lpez de Legazpi arrived
from Mexico and formed the first European settlements in Cebu. Beginning with just five ships and five hundred
men accompanied by Augustinian monks, and further strengthened in 1567 by two hundred soldiers, he was able to
repel competing Portuguese colonizers and to create the foundations for the Spanish colonization of the Archipelago.
In 1571, the Spanish occupied the kingdoms of Maynila and Tondo and established Manila as the capital of the
Spanish East Indies. This Spanish colonization united the Philippine archipelago into a single political entity.

The start of Filipino nationalism (1760s1820s)

The term "Filipino" originally referred to the natives of the Philippines themselves. It was Pedro Chirino, a Spanish
Jesuit, who first called the natives "Filipinos," in his book Relacin de las Islas Filipinas (Rome, 1604). However,
during their 333-year rule of the Philippines, the Spanish rulers preferred to call the natives indios.[2]
Also during the colonial era, the Spaniards born in the Philippines, who were more known as insulares, criollos, or
Creoles, were also called "Filipinos." Spanish-born Spaniards or mainland Spaniards residing in the Philippines were
referred to as Peninsulares. Those of mixed ancestry were referred to as Mestizos. The Creoles, despite being
regarded by the Peninsulares as inferior to them, had enjoyed various government and church positions, and
composed the majority of the government bureaucracy.[3] The sense of national consciousness came from the
Creoles, who now regard themselves as "Filipino". It was brought to its advent by three major factors: 1)economy,
2)education and 3)secularization of parishes.

Filipino nationalism

Economy
The decline of Galleon trade between
Manila and Acapulco was caused by
the arrival of the ship Buen Consejo in
1765. The Buen Consejo took the
shorter routeWikipedia:Please clarify
via Cape of Good Hope, a rocky
headland on the Atlantic coast
controlled by Portugal. The journey
through the Cape of Good Hope takes
The Manila-Acapulco trade route started in 1568 and Spanish treasure fleets (white) and
three months from Spain to the
its eastwards rivals, the Portuguese India Armadas routes of 14981640 (blue)
Philippines, whereas the journey of the
galleon trade takes five months. The
event proved that Portugal was already past its prime in controlling the route via the Cape of Good Hope, which was
already under Dutch control as early as 1652. Shorter journeys to and from Spain brought faster trade and quicker
spread of ideas from Europe. Also, the growing sense of economic insecurity in the later years of the 18th century
led the Creoles to turn their attention to agricultural production. The Creoles gradually changed from a very
government-dependent class into capital-driven entrepreneurs. Their turning of attention towards guilded soil caused
the rise of the large private haciendas. Various government and church positions were transferred to the roles of the
Peninsulares who were characterized mostly in the 19th century Philippine history as corrupt bureaucrats.
During the 1780s, two institutions were established in order to enhance the economic
capacity of the Philippines. These were the Economic Societies of Friends of the Country and
the Royal Company of the Philippines. The former, introduced by Governor-General Jose
Basco in 1780, was composed of leading men in business, industry and profession, the
society was tasked to explore and exploit the natural resources of the archipelago. It offered
local and foreign scholarships, besides training grants in agriculture and established an
academy of design. It was also credited to the carabao ban of 1782, the formation of the
silversmiths and gold beaters guild and the construction of the first papermill in the
Philippines in 1825. The latter, created by Carlos III on March 10, 1785, was granted
exclusive monopoly of bringing to Manila; Chinese and Indian goods and shipping them
directly to Spain via the Cape of Good Hope. It was stiffly objected by the Dutch and English
who saw it as a direct attack on their trade of Asian goods. It was also vehemently opposed
by the traders of the Galleon trade who saw it as competition.[4]

Jose Basco, the 44th

governor-general of
the Philippines under
Spanish colonial rule

Education
During the administration of Governor-General Jose Raon, a royal order from Spain, which stated that every village
or barrio must have a school and a teacher, was implemented. The implementation of the order expanded the reach of
basic education during the Spanish era. Also, during the 18th century, modern agricultural tools made many people
leave farming for pursuing academic and intellectual courses. After the arrival of Buen Consejo, the Philippines had
more direct contact to Europe and the ideas circulating . Thus, the Philippines was influenced by the principles
during the Age of Enlightenment and radical changes during the French Revolution.

Filipino nationalism

Secularization of parishes
By royal decree on February 27, 1767, King Carlos III ordered the Jesuits to be
expelled from Spain, and from all her colonies. The decree reached the
Philippines in early 1768, wherein Governor-General Raon tried to do the Jesuits
a favor by delaying the implementation of the royal order in exchange of bribes.
This gave the Jesuit friars to hide all of their possessions and destroy documents
that could be held against them, which were supposed to be confiscated. The first
batch of Jesuits, numbered 64, left Manila only by May 17, 1768. This event
caused Raon to face prosecution from the next Governor-General, as ordered by
the King of Spain. Raon died before the judgment for him was laid.
The expulsion of Jesuit friars from the country resulted to a shortage of priests in
the parishes. This prompted the current Manila archbishop, Basilio Sancho de
Santa Justa, to launch his favorite project: secularization of Philippine parishes.
Portrait of Charles III of Spain, 1761
Sancho reasoned out that friars were only sent to facilitate missions to areas that
are not yet much Christianized. Native priests must be ordained to facilitate the
parishes since the Philippines was already a Christian country. Sancho recruited every Indio he got to become
priests. There was even a joke at the time that there were no one to man the galleons anymore, since Sancho had
made them all priests. The secularization partly failed because many members of the newly formed native clergy
soiled the parishes with their ignorance, sloth, and the like. One achievement of Sancho's secularization project was
the establishment of a school for native boys who aspire to become priests.

Effect of the progress during the period (1760s1820s)

The earliest signs of the effect to Filipino Nationalism by the developments mentioned could be seen in the writings
of Luis Rodrguez Varela, a Creole educated in liberal France and highly exposed to the Age of Enlightenment.
Knighted under the Order of Carlos III, Varela was perhaps the only Philippine Creole who was actually part of
European nobility. The court gazette in Madrid announced that he was to become a Conde and from that point on
proudly called himself El Conde Filipino. He championed the rights of Filipinos in the islands and slowly made the
term applicable to anyone born in the Philippines.

Further progress of Filipino Nationalism (1820s-1860)

At this stage, the Creoles slowly introduced their own reforms. Parishes began to have native priests at the time of
Archbishop Sancho. The Philippines was given representation in the Spanish Cortes three times (last time was from
18361837). However, on June 1, 1823, a Creole revolt broke out in Manila led by the Mexican-blood Creole
captain Andres Novales. The revolt, caused by an order from Spain that declared military officers commissioned in
the Peninsula (Spain) should outrank all those appointed in the Colonies, saw Manila cheering with Novales's cry of
"Viva la Independencia" (English: Long Live Independence). The revolt prompted the government to deport Varela
together with other Creoles [allegedly known as Los Hijos del Pas (English: The Children of the Country)], after
being associated with the Creole reformists. The Novales Revolt would soon be followed by another Creole plot of
secession known as the Palmero Conspiracy, which was caused by the replacement of Creole public officials,
especially provincial governors, with Peninsulars.

Filipino nationalism

4
Economic developments also did a part in making up the shape of Filipino
Nationalism. Before the opening of Manila to foreign trade, the Spanish
authorities discouraged foreign merchants from residing in the colony and
engaging in business. In 1823, Governor-General Mariano Ricafort promulgated
an edict prohibiting foreign merchants from engaging in retail trade and visiting
the provinces for purposes of trade. However, by the royal decree of September
6, 1834, the privileges of the Company were abolished and the port of Manila
was opened to trade.

Shortly after opening Manila to world trade, the Spanish merchants began to lose
their commercial supremacy in the Philippines. In 1834, restrictions against
foreign traders were relaxed when Manila became an open port. By the end of
1859, there were 15 foreign firms in Manila: seven of which were British, three
Painting of a Spanish galleon during
American, two French, two Swiss and one German. In response to Sinibaldo de
Manila-Acapulco Trade
Mas' recommendations, more ports were opened by Spain to world trade. The
ports of Sual, Pangasinan, Iloilo and Zamboanga were opened in 1855. Cebu was opened in 1860, Legazpi and
Tacloban in 1873. Like Japan that rushed into modernization and national transformation during the Meiji
Restoration, the Philippines and its people saw that the Spanish and its government is not as invincible as it was two
centuries before. The Indios and the Creoles became more influenced by foreign ideas of liberalism as the
Philippines became more open to foreigners. Foreigners who visited the Philippines had noticed the speed of the
circulation of the ideas of Voltaire and Thomas Paine. Songs about liberty and equality were also being sung at the
time. Some Spanish who foresaw a "fast verging" Indio takeover of the archipelago began to send money out of the
Philippines.

First Propaganda Movement (1860-1872)

Varela would then retire from politics but his nationalism was carried on by
another Creole, one Pedro Pelez, who campaigned for the rights of Filipino
priests (Creoles, Mestizos and Indios) and pressed for secularization of
Philippine parishes. He reasoned out the same point Sancho had, friars are for
missions on areas that are still pagan. The Latin American revolutions and
decline of friar influence in Spain resulted in the increase of the regular clergy
(Peninsular friars) in the Philippines. Filipino priests (Creoles, Mestizos and
Indios) were being replaced by Spanish friars (Peninsulares) and Pelez
demanded explanation as to the legality of replacing a secular with
regularswhich is in contradiction to the Exponi nobis. Pelez brought the case
to the Vatican and almost succeeded if not for an earthquake that cut his career
short. The earthquake struck on June 3, 1863, during the feast of Corpus Christi.
The ideology would be carried by his more militant disciple, Jos Burgos.

Padre Jos Apolonio Burgos

Demonstrations became a norm in Manila during the 1860s. One of the first of a series of demonstrations was during
the transfer of the remains of former Governor-General Simn de Anda y Salazar from the Manila Cathedral after the
1863 earthquake. Anda was a hero for the natives because he fought friar power during his term, and he established a
separate government in Bacolor during the British occupation of Manila. On the day of the transfer, a young Indio
priest approached the coffin and laid a laurel wreath dedicated by "The Secular Clergy of the Philippines" to Don
Simn de Anda. Then, a young Indio student went to the coffin and offered a crown of flowers. Lastly, a number of
gobernadorcillos went to do their own salutations for Don Simn de Anda. Since none of those acts were in the
program, the Spanish saw that it was a secretly planned demonstration. Though no one told who the mastermind was,

Filipino nationalism

there were rumors that it was Padre Burgos. The demonstrations got more frequent and more influential during the
liberal regime of Governor-General Carlos Mara de la Torre (18691871). Only two weeks after the arrival of de la
Torre as Governor-General, Burgos and Joaquin Pardo de Tavera led a demonstration at the Plaza de Santa
Potenciana. Among the demonstrators were Jose Icaza, Jacobo Zobel, Ignacio Rocha, Manuel Genato and Maximo
Paterno. The demo cry was "Viva Filipinas para los Filipinos!". In November 1870, a student movement, denounced
as a riot or motin, at the University of Santo Tomas formed a committee to demand reforms on the school and its
curricula. It later announced support of Philippine autonomy and recognition of the Philippines as a province of
Spain. The committee was headed by Felipe Buencamino.
During this period, a secret society of reformists met in a cistern under a well at the house of
Father Mariano Gmez. The society, headed by Jose Maria Basa, worked mainly on a Madrid
journal called the Eco de Filipinas (not to be confused with the El Eco de Filipinas that was
published much later, in September 1890). The journal exposed problems in the Philippines
and pressed on reforms that they seek for the country. Among the members were Burgos,
Maximo Paterno, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, and Father Agustin Mendoza. It served as a
precursor to La Solidaridad. However, Burgos died after the infamous Cavite Mutiny, which
was pinned on Burgos as his attempt to start a Creole Revolution and make himself president
of the Philippines or Rey Indio. The death of Jos Burgos, and the other alleged conspirators,
Mariano Gmez and Jacinto Zamora on February 17, 1872, seemingly ended the entire Creole
movement. Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo y Gutirrez unleashed his reign of terror in
order to prevent the spread of the Creole ideologyFilipino nationalism.

Carlos Mara de la
Torre y Nava
Cerrada, the 91st
Governor-General
of the Philippines

Another event in history created an impact on Filipino nationalism during this period. Before 1869, the route through
the Cape of Good Hope proved to be a shortest available journey to Europe by Indios and Creoles alike. The journey
takes 3 months travel by sea. On November 17, 1869, the Suez Canal opened after 10 years of construction work. At
its advent, the journey from the Philippines to Spain was further reduced to one month. This allowed a much faster
spread of European ideology and an increase of Filipino presence in Europe itself. The Propaganda Movement would
later benefit from the Suez Canal for the shorter route it provided.

Second Propaganda Movement (18721892)

The events of 1872 however invited the
other colored section of the Ilustrados
(Intellectually Enlightened Class), the
growing middle-class natives, to at least do
something to preserve the Creole ideals.
Seeing the impossibility of a revolution
against
Izquierdo
and
the
Governor-General's brutal reign convinced
the Ilustrados to get out of the Philippines
and continue propaganda in Europe. This
massive propaganda upheaval from 1872 to
Filipino expatriates in Europe formed the Propaganda Movement. Photographed in
Madrid, Spain in 1890.
1892 is now known as the Second
Propaganda Movement. Through their
writings and orations, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lpez Jaena and Jos Rizal sounded the trumpets of Filipino
nationalism and brought it to the level of the masses. The propagandists mainly aimed for representation of the
Philippines in the Cortes Generales, secularization of the clergy, legalization of Spanish and Filipino equality, among

Filipino nationalism

others. Their main work was the newspaper called La Solidaridad (Solidarity), which was first published at
Barcelona on December 13, 1888. Rizal, the foremost figure of the propagandists, created the Noli Me Tngere
(published 1887) and El filibusterismo (published 1891). It rode the increasing anti-Spanish (anti-Peninsulares)
sentiments in the islands and pushed the people towards revolution, rather than discourage them that a revolution
was not the solution for independence.

Post-propaganda era
By July 1892, Rizal returned to the Philippines and established a progressive organization he called the La Liga
Filipina (The Philippine League). However, the organization collapsed after Rizal's arrest and deportation to Dapitan
on July 7. At the same day, a Philippine revolutionary society was founded by Ilustrados led by Andrs Bonifacio,
Deodato Arellano, Ladislao Diwa, Teodoro Plata and Valentn Daz. The main aim of the organization, named
Katipunan, was to win Philippine independence through a revolution and establish a republic thereafter. The rise of
the Katipunan signaled the end of peaceful propaganda for reforms.

Philippine Revolution
The Katipunan reached an overwhelming membership and attracted
almost the lowly of the Filipino class[citation needed]. In June 1896,
Bonifacio sent an emissary to Dapitan to reach Rizal's support, but the
latter refused for an armed revolution. On August 19, 1896, Katipunan
was discovered by a Spanish friar which started the Philippine
Revolution.

Original flag of the Philippines, as conceived by

Emilio Aguinaldo.

The revolution flared up initially into the eight provinces of Central

Luzon. General Emilio Aguinaldo, a member of the Katipunan, spread
an armed resistance through Southern Tagalog region where he liberated Cavite towns little by little. Leadership
conflicts between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo culminated in the Imus Assembly in December 1896 and Tejeros
Convention in March 1897. Aguinaldo was elected in absentia as President of an insurgent revolutionary government
by the Tejeros convention. Bonifacio, acting as Supremo of the Katipunan, declared the convention proceedings void
and attempted to reassert leadership of the revolution. In late April Aguinaldo fully assumed presidential office after
consolidating his position with revolutionary leaders. Aguinaldo's government then ordered the arrest of Bonifacio,
who stood trial on charges of sedition and treason against Aguinaldo's government and conspiracy to murder
Aguinaldo, resulting in his conviction and execution
In December 1897, Aguinaldo agreed to the Pact of Biak-na-Bato with the Spanish colonial government. Aguinaldo
and his revolutionary leadership were exiled to Hong Kong. However, not all of the revolutionary generals complied
with the agreement. One, General Francisco Makabulos, established a Central Executive Committee to serve as the
interim government until a more suitable one was created.

Filipino nationalism

Independence declaration and the Philippine-American War

In 1898, as conflicts continued in the Philippines, the USSMaine,
having been sent to Cuba because of U.S. concerns for the safety of its
citizens during an ongoing Cuban revolution, exploded and sank in
Havana harbor. This event precipitated the SpanishAmerican War.
After Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish squadron at
Manila, a German squadron, led by Vice Admiral Otto von Diederichs,
arrived in Manila and engaged in maneuvers which Dewey, seeing this
as obstruction of his blockade, offered warafter which the Germans
backed down.

Revolutionaries gather during the Malolos

congress of the First Philippine Republic.

The U.S. invited Aguinaldo to return to the Philippines in the hope he

would rally Filipinos against the Spanish colonial government. Aguinaldo arrived on May 19, 1898, via transport
provided by Dewey. By the time U.S. land forces had arrived, the Filipinos had taken control of the entire island of
Luzon, except for the walled city of Intramuros. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared the independence of the
Philippines in Kawit, Cavite, establishing the First Philippine Republic under Asia's first democratic constitution, the
Malolos Constitution, an insurgency against Spanish rule.
Spain and the United States sent commissioners to Paris to draw up the terms of the Treaty of Paris which ended the
SpanishAmerican War.In the treaty, Spain ceded the Philippines, along with Guam and Puerto Rico, to the United
States. Cession of the Philippines involved payment by the U.S. of US$20,000,000.00. U.S. President McKinley
described the acquisition of the Philippines as "... a gift from the gods", saying that since "they were unfit for
self-government, ... there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift
and civilize and Christianize them", in spite of the Philippines having been already Christianized by the Spanish over
the course of several centuries.
Filipino forces under Aguinaldo as President of the insurrgent Philippine Republic resisted the U.S. occupation,
resulting in the PhilippineAmerican War (18991913). The poorly-equipped Filipino troops were easily
overpowered by American troops in open combat, but they were formidable opponents in guerrilla warfare. Malolos,
the revolutionary capital, was captured on March 31, 1899. Aguinaldo and his government escaped however,
establishing a new capital at San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. On June 5, 1899, Antonio Luna, Aguinaldo's most capable
military commander, was killed by Aguinaldo's guards in an apparent assassination while visiting Cabanatuan,
Nueva Ecija to meet with Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo dissolved the regular army on November 13 and ordered the
establishment of decentralized guerrilla commands in each of several military zones. Another key general, Gregorio
del Pilar, was killed on December 2, 1899 in the Battle of Tirad Passa rear guard action to delay the Americans
while Aguinaldo made good his escape through the mountains.
Aguinaldo was captured at Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901 and was brought to Manila. Convinced of the futility
of further resistance, he swore allegiance to the United States and issued a proclamation calling on his compatriots to
lay down their arms, officially bringing an end to the war. However, sporadic insurgent resistance to American rule
continued in various parts of the Philippines, notably insurgencies such as the Irreconcilables and the Moro
Rebellion, until 1913.

Filipino nationalism

The Insular Government and the Commonwealth era (1901-1941)

Insular Government
The 1902 Philippine Organic Act was a constitution for the Insular
Government, as the U.S. civil administration was known. This was a
form of territorial government that reported to the Bureau of Insular
Affairs. The act provided for a governor general appointed by the U.S.
president and an elected lower house. It also disestablished the
Catholic Church as the state religion.
Two years after completion and publication of a census, a general
William Howard Taft addressing the audience at
the First Philippine Assembly in the Manila
election was conducted for the choice of delegates to a popular
Grand Opera House
assembly. An elected Philippine Assembly was convened in 1907 as
the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the Philippine
Commission as the upper house. Every year from 1907 the Philippine Assembly and later the Philippine Legislature
passed resolutions expressing the Filipino desire for independence.
Philippine nationalists led by Manuel Quezn and Sergio Osmea enthusiastically endorsed the draft Jones Bill of
1912, which provided for Philippine independence after eight years, but later changed their views, opting for a bill
which focused less on time than on the conditions of independence. The nationalists demanded complete and
absolute independence to be guaranteed by the United States, since they feared that too-rapid independence from
American rule without such guarantees might cause the Philippines to fall into Japanese hands. The Jones bill was
rewritten and passed Congress in 1916 with a later date of independence.[5]
The law, officially the Philippine Autonomy Act but popularly known as the Jones Law, served as the new organic
act (or constitution) for the Philippines. Its preamble stated that the eventual independence of the Philippines would
be American policy, subject to the establishment of a stable government. The law maintained the Governor General
of the Philippines, appointed by the President of the United States, but established a bicameral Philippine Legislature
to replace the elected Philippine Assembly (lower house); it replaced the appointive Philippine Commission (upper
house) with an elected senate.
The Filipinos suspended their independence campaign during the First World War and supported the United States
against Germany. After the war they resumed their independence efforts. The Philippine legislature funded an
independence mission to the U.S. in 1919. The mission departed Manila on February 28 and met in the U.S. with and
presented their case to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, in his 1921 farewell
message to Congress, certified that the Filipino people had performed the condition imposed on them as a
prerequisite to independence, declaring that, this having been done, the duty of the U.S. is to grant Philippine
independence.[6]
After the first independence mission, public funding of such missions was ruled illegal. Subsequent independence
missions in 1922, 1923, 1930, 1931 1932, and two missions in 1933 were funded by voluntary contributions.
Numerous independence bills were submitted to the U.S. Congress, which passed the HareHawesCutting Bill on
December 30, 1932. U.S. President Herbert Hoover vetoed the bill on January 13, 1933. Congress overrode the veto
on January 17, and the HareHawesCutting Act became U.S. law. The law promised Philippine independence after
10 years, but reserved several military and naval bases for the United States, as well as imposing tariffs and quotas
on Philippine exports. The law also required the Philippine Senate to ratify the law. Quezon urged the Philippine
Senate to reject the bill, which it did. Quezon himself led the twelfth independence mission to Washington to secure
a better independence act. The result was the TydingsMcDuffie Act of 1934 which was very similar to the
HareHawesCutting Act except in minor details. The TydingsMcDuffie Act was ratified by the Philippine Senate.
The law provided for the granting of Philippine independence by 1946.

Filipino nationalism

Commonwealth era
The Tydings-McDuffie Act provided for the drafting and guidelines of
a Constitution, for a 10-year "transitional period" as the
Commonwealth of the Philippines before the granting of Philippine
independence. On May 5, 1934, the Philippines legislature passed an
act setting the election of convention delegates. Governor General
Frank Murphy designated July 10 as the election date, and the
convention held its inaugural session on July 30. The completed draft
constitution was approved by the convention on February 8, 1935,
approved by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt on March 23, and
ratified by popular vote on May 14.

March 23, 1935: Constitutional Convention.

Seated, left to right: George H. Dern, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Manuel L. Quezon

On September 17, 1935, presidential elections were held. Candidates

included former president Emilio Aguinaldo, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente leader Gregorio Aglipay, and others.
Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmea of the Nacionalista Party were proclaimed the winners, winning the seats of
president and vice-president, respectively. The Commonwealth Government was inaugurated on the morning of
November 15, 1935, in ceremonies held on the steps of the Legislative Building in Manila. The event was attended
by a crowd of around 300,000 people.

Japanese occupation and the Second Republic (1941-1945)

Japan launched a surprise attack on the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the
attack on Pearl Harbor. Aerial bombardment, which destroyed most of the American aircraft in the islands, was
followed by landings of ground troops on Luzon. The defending Philippine and United States troops were under the
command of General Douglas MacArthur. Under the pressure of superior numbers, the defending forces withdrew to
the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay. On January 2, 1942, General
MacArthur declared the capital city, Manila, an open city to prevent its destruction. The Philippine defense
continued until the final surrender of United States-Philippine forces on the Bataan Peninsula in April 1942 and on
Corregidor in May of the same year.

Jos Paciano Laurel was the only

president of the Second Philippine
Republic.

The Philippine Executive Commission was established in 1942 with Jorge B.

Vargas as its first Chairman. The PEC was created as the temporary care-taker
government of the Greater Manila area and eventually of the whole Philippines
during the Japanese occupation of the country during World War II. On May 6,
1943, Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo during a visit to the Philippines pledged to
establish the Republic of the Philippines. This pledge of Tojo prompted the
"KALIBAPI," to call for a convention on June 19, 1943 and twenty of its
members were elected to form the Preparatory Commission for Independence.
The commission tasked to draft a constitution for the Philippine Republic and
elected head was Jos P. Laurel. The Preparatory Commission presented its draft
Constitution on September 4, 1943 and three days later, the "KALIBAPI" general
assembly ratified the draft Constitution.

The Japanese-sponsored establishment of the Republic of the Philippines was

proclaimed on October 14, 1943 with Jos P. Laurel being sworn-in as President.
On the same day, a "Pact of Alliance" was signed between the new Philippine
Republic and the Japanese government that was ratified two days later by the National Assembly. The Philippine
Republic was immediately recognized by Japan, and in the succeeding days by Germany, Thailand, Manchukuo,
Burma, Croatia and Italy while neutral Spain sent its "greetings."

Filipino nationalism

10

In October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur, the overall commander of American forces in the Pacific, had
gathered enough additional troops and supplies to begin the retaking of the Philippines, landing with Sergio Osmea
who had assumed the Presidency after Quezon's death. The battles entailed long fierce fighting; some of the Japanese
continued to fight until the official surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945. The Second Republic
was dissolved earlier, on August 14. After their landing, Filipino and American forces also undertook measures to
suppress the Huk movement, which was originally founded to fight the Japanese Occupation.

Third Republic (1946-1972)

Proclamation of independence

Carlos, America buried imperialism here today!

General Douglas MacArthur to Carlos Romulo at the recognition of the independence of the Philippines.

On July 4, 1946, representatives of the United States of America and of the Republic of the Philippines signed a
Treaty of General Relations between the two governments. The treaty provided for the recognition of the
independence of the Republic of the Philippines as of July 4, 1946, and the relinquishment of American sovereignty
over the Philippine Islands.
From 1946 to 1961, the Philippines observed Independence Day on July 4. However, on May 12, 1962, President
Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28 proclaiming June 12, 1962 as a special public holiday
throughout the Philippines. In 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 changed the date of Independence Day from July 4 to
June 12 and renamed the July 4 holiday as Philippine Republic Day.
But in the hearts of eighteen million Filipinos, the American flag now flies more triumphantly than ever.

President Manuel Roxas addressing the crowd after the flag-raising ceremony on July 4, 1946

Despite eventual success of Filipinos to claim political and social independence, a new type of colonialism rose in
the country. It is known as neocolonialism. Neocolonialism is defined as the practice of using economic, linguistic,
and cultural forces to control a country (usually former European colonies in Africa or Asia) in lieu of direct military
or political control. Since most of the country was ravaged by the Second World War, the Philippines depended
mainly on the United States to restore her industries and businesses. The country only began to build local industries
to reduce economic dependence on foreign nations during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos. Nationalism in
the real sense remained stuck up in a false Filipinistic posture. Examples of governmental efforts to enforce
nationalistic policies began with former President Ramon Magsaysay sworn into office wearing the Barong Tagalog,
a first by any Philippine president. It was fervently followed by the nationalist program "Filipino First Policy" of
Carlos P. Garcia.

Filipino nationalism

Radical nationalism
After World War II, the Hukbalahap (Filipino: Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon) guerillas continued the
revolutionary struggle to establish a Communist government in the Philippines. Nationalism in the real sense
remained stuck up in a false Filipinistic posture. The radical wing of the nationalists, led by peasant leader Luis
Taruc, renamed themselves as the Hukbong Magpalaya ng Bayan (English: Army to Liberate the People). At its
heyday, the Huk movement commanded an estimated 170,000 armed troops with a base of at least two million
civilian supporters. Ramon Magsaysay, which was then the Secretary of National Defense during the Quirino
administration, was instrumental in halting the Communist movement.
In 1964, Jose Maria Sison co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan (Patriotic Youth) with Nilo S. Tayag. This
organization rallied the Filipino youth against the Vietnam War, against the Marcos presidency, and corrupt
politicians. On December 26, 1968, he formed and chaired the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the
Philippines (CPP), an organization within the Communist Party founded on Marxist-Leninist-Mao Zedong Thought,
stemming from his own experiences as a youth leader and a labor and land reform activist. This is known as the
"First Great Rectification" movement where Sison and other radical youths criticized the existing Party's leadership
and failure. The reformed CPP included Maoism within the political line as well as the struggle for a National
Democratic Revolution in two-stages, consisting of a protracted people's war as its first part to be followed by a
socialist revolution.
Radical nationalism in the Philippines emphasized the Philippine Revolution under Bonifacio as unfinished and
henceforth continued, under working class leadership. Writers such as Teodoro Agoncillo, Renato Constantino
advocated patriotic sentiment by means of revisiting Filipino history in a Filipino perspective.

Martial law and the Fourth Republic (1972-1986)

On September 22, 1972, former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile was reportedly ambushed by communists while
his staff car was driving in San Juan, killing his driver but leaving him unscathed. The assassination attempt, along
with the growing threat of the New People's Army and citizen unrest, gave Marcos enough reason to declare
Proclamation No. 1081, which he signed on September 17 (postdated to September 21), the same day. Marcos, who
henceforth ruled by decree, curtailed press freedom and other civil liberties, abolished Congress, shut down media
establishments, and ordered the arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists.
The first years of martial law saw an increase in military hardware and personnel in the Philippines, giving a
precursor to reduce military dependence on American personnel to police the country. In 1984, American lease on
Philippines military bases were extended only by 5 years, as compared to 25 years' extension in 1959. Agricultural
production, especially in rice production (which increased 42% in 8 years), was increased to decrease dependence on
food importation. Philippine culture and arts were promoted with the establishment of institutions such as the
National Arts Center. However, to help finance a number of economic development projects, the Marcos
government borrowed large amounts of money from international lenders.[7] Thus, proving that the country was not
yet fully independent economically. The Philippines' external debt rose from $360 million (US) in 1962 to $28.3
billion in 1986, making the Philippines one of the most indebted countries in Asia.

The Fifth Republic (1986-present)

From February 2225, 1986, many demonstrations against Marcos took place on a long stretch of Epifanio de los
Santos Avenue. The event, known as the People Power Revolution, involved many famous figures such as
Archbishop Jaime Sin, Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile. Finally, on February 25, the
Marcos family was transported by a U.S. Air Force HH-3E Rescue helicopters to Clark Air Base in Angeles City,
Pampanga, about 83 kilometers north of Manila, before boarding US Air Force DC-9 Medivac and C-141B planes
bound for Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, and finally to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii where Marcos arrived

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Filipino nationalism
on February 26. Many people around the world rejoiced and congratulated Filipinos they knew. Corazon Aquino
succeeded as president of the Philippines.
In 1986, Aquino adopted Original Pilipino Music (OPM, defined as "any musical composition created by a Filipino,
whether the lyrics be in Pilipino, English or in any other language or dialect") by requiring hourly broadcasts of
OPM songs on all radio programs having musical formats in order to conserve, promote and popularize the nation's
historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations, and to give patronage to arts and letters.
Singers like Regine Velasquez, Randy Santiago, Ogie Alcasid, Gary Valenciano, Manilyn Reynes, Donna Cruz and
others are contributed to the President's implementation of Filipino music over the airwaves. Stations like
DZOO-FM, DWLS, etc., are adopted hourly OPMs effectively after the implementation. Aquino also encouraged the
tourism sector to boost the national economy. Under her six-year term, the Department of Tourism launched a
program called The Philippines: Fiesta Islands of Asia in 1989, offers tourist visits in the country to show their
natural wonders, to protect their indigenous peoples, to preserve heritage sites and to contribute historical
importance. In 1987, then President Corazon C. Aquino penned Executive Order No. 118 creating the Presidential
Commission on Culture and Arts. Five years later, in 1992, this presidential directive was enacted into
lawRepublic Act 7356, creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
On June 12, 1998, the nation celebrated its centennial year of independence from Spain. The celebrations were held
simultaneously nationwide by then President Fidel V. Ramos and Filipino communities worldwide. A commission
was established for the said event, the National Centennial Commission headed by former Vice President Salvador
Laurel presided all events around the country. One of the major projects of the commission was the Expo Pilipino, a
grand showcase of the Philippines' growth as a nation for the last 100 years, located in the Clark Special Economic
Zone (formerly Clark Air Base) in Angeles City, Pampanga.
During his term, President Joseph Estrada ordered to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to adopt
a Filipino language-based radio format known as masanamed for his icon term Masa (or Masses).[citation needed]
All radio stations adopted the masa format in 1998.[citation needed] Many stations continued to use the masa format
after President Estrada left the presidency in 2001 because the masa format resonated with listeners. Some in the
radio industry decry the effects masa formatting has had.[8]
On August 14, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III directed the Department of Transportation and Communications
(DOTC) and the NTC to fully implement Executive Order No. 255 [9], issued on July 25, 1987 by former Philippines
President Corazon Aquino, requiring all radio stations to broadcast a minimum of four original Filipino musical
compositions in every clock hour of programs with a musical format.
On April 13, 2012, The Manila Times, the oldest English language newspaper in the Philippines, published an
editorial titled "Unpatriotic editing and reporting", taking the Filipino journalistic community to task for their
reporting of what it described as "confrontation between our Philippine Navy and 'law enforcement' ships of the
People's Republic of China" in the Spratly Islands. The editorial opined that Philippine reports should state that
disputed territories are Philippine territory, and characterized those who refer to disputed territories as "being
claimed by the Philippines" as "unpatriotic writers and editors".
On February 14, 2013, National Book Store, the Philippines' largest bookstore chain, has withdrawn Chinese-made
globes, which reflect China's nine-dotted line encompassing the South China Sea, from its shelves. Department of
Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a statement that, "[National Bookstore] has taken a patriotic
position to proactively support the Philippine government in advancing Philippine foreign policy objectives." He
said the decision to pull out the globes came after a dialogue with the bookstore management, which claimed they
were unaware of the misinformation contained in the educational materials.

12

Filipino nationalism

References
[1] Philippine History by Maria Christine N. Halili. "Chapter 3: Precolonial Philippines" (Published by Rex Bookstore; Manila, Sampaloc St.
Year 2004)
[2] http:/ / jonroyeca. blogspot. com/ 2012/ 11/ sino-ang-mga-orihinal-na-pilipino. html
[3] Renato Constantino, The Philippines: A Past Revisited
[4] , "The charter of the Royal Philippine Company was promulgated on to last for 25 years."
[5] Wong Kwok Chu, "The Jones Bills 1912-16: A Reappraisal of Filipino Views on Independence", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 1982
13(2): 252-269
[6] (Note: 1. The book cover incorrectly lists author as "Maximo M Lalaw", 2. Originally published in 1921 by The McCullough Printing Co.,
Manila)
[7] See
[8] (requoted with permission)
[9] http:/ / www. lawphil. net/ executive/ execord/ eo1987/ eo_255_1987. html

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Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Filipino nationalism Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=581050096 Contributors: Aisteco, Alternativity, Annnne1214, Arius1998, Artchil, Artchildaug, Aymatth2, Bacoleo,
Blakegripling ph, CK6569, CalJW, Calmer Waters, Caltas, Ceyockey, Charles Essie, ChrisGualtieri, Colonies Chris, CommonsDelinker, Coretheapple, Crisco 1492, Debresser, Download,
Elemesh, Extra999, Filipino nationalism, Ginsuloft, Glacierfairy, GoingBatty, Hemlock Martinis, Hmains, Howard the Duck, Iloilo Wanderer, JaGa, Jackfork, JiveTalkinChoirBoy, Johnmperry,
Jojit fb, Jondel, Joseph Solis in Australia, Kauffner, Keresaspa, Kikichugirl, Lagalag, MartyWilliams, MatthewVanitas, Mk32, Moray An Par, Neddyseagoon, Noq, Ohconfucius, Pare Mo,
Peridan, Philipandrew, PigFlu Oink, Qtoktok, RightCowLeftCoast, Rjwilmsi, Rodsan18, Ruffyuppie, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, The Thing That Should Not Be, TheTechieGeek63, Tpbradbury,
Wackywace, Wtmitchell, Xeltran, 85 anonymous edits

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Contributors: World_Topography.jpg: NASA/JPL/NIMA derivative work: Uxbona (talk)
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File:Philippines Flag Original.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Philippines_Flag_Original.svg License: Public domain Contributors: own work, based on source
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File:Signing the Constitution of the Philippine Commonwealth, 23 March 1935.jpg Source:
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Gyzmr, J 1982, Man vyi, Techman224
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