A Glance at Selected Philippine

Political Caricature in Alfred

McCoy's Philippine
Cartoons :Political Caricature of the
American Era (1900-1941)
Political cartoons and caricature are a rather recent art
form, which veered away from the classical art by
exaggerating human features and poking fun at its
subjects.
-Cartoons became an effective tool of publicizing
opinions through heavy use of symbolism, which is
different from a verbose written editorial and opinion
pieces. The unique way that is reason enough for
historians to examine these political cartoons.

In his book Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of

the American Era (1900-1941),Alfred McCoy, together
with Alfredo Roces, compiled cartoons published in
newspaper dailies and periodicals in the
aforementioned time period.
In his book Philippine Cartoons:Political
Caricature of the American Era (1900-1941),Alfred
McCoy, together with Alfredo Roces, compiled
cartoons published in newspaper dailies and
periodicals in the aforementioned time period.

The first example shown above was published in The

Independent on May 20,1916.
The cartoon shows a politician from
Tondo, named Dr. Santos, passing his
crown to his brother in law, Dr.
Barcelona. A Filipino guy (as depicted
wearing salamat and baring tagalog)
was trying to stop Santos, telling the
latter to stop giving Barcelona the
crown because it is not his to begin
with.
 The second cartoon was also published by The
Independent on 16 June 1967. This was drawn by
Fernando Amorsolo and was aimed as a
commentary to the workings of Manila Police at
that period.
We see a Filipino child who stole a skinny
chicken because he had nothing to eat.
The police officer was relentlessly
pursuing the said child. A man wearing a
salakot, labeled Juan Dela Cruz was
grabbing tje officer, tellin him to leave the
small time pickpockets and thieves and
to turn at the great thieves instead. He was
pointing to huge warehouses containing
bulks of rice, milk, and grocery products.
The third cartoon was a commentary on the
unprecedented cases of coloring automobile in the
city streets . The Philippine Free Press published
this commentary when fatal accidents involving
colorum vehicles and taxis occurred too often
already.
This fourth cartoon depicts a cinema. A
blown -up police officer was at the screen
saying that couples are not allowed to neck
and make love in the theatre.
The next cartoon was published by The
Independent on November 1915.
We see the caricature of Uncle Sam riding a
chariot pulled by Filipinos wearing school
uniforms. The Filipino boys were carrying
American objects like baseball bats, whiskey,
and boxing gloves. McCoy, in his caption to
the said cartoon , says that this cartoon was
based on an event in 1907 when William
Howard Taft was brought to the Manila pier
riding a chariot pulled by students of Liceo
de Manila. Such was condemned by the
nationalist that time.
The last cartoon was published by Lipang
Kalabaw on 24 August 1907. This cartoon
depicts the patronage of the United States
being covered by politicifrom either of the
party.
We can see Uncle Sam rationing
porridge to the politicians and
members of the Progresista Party
(sometimes known as the Federalista
Party) while members of the
Nacionalista Party look on amd wait
for their turn.
 Analysis of the
Political Caricatures
during the American
Period
 The transition from the Spanish Colonial
period to the American Occupation period
demonstrated different strands of changes
and shifts in culture, society, and politics. The
Americans drastically introduced democracy
to the nascent nation and the consequences
were far from from ideal. Aside from this, it
was also during the American period that
Filipinos were introduced to different
manifestations of modernity like healthcare,
modern transportation, and media.
Revisiting Corazon Aquino' s Speech Before the U.S
Congress
Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino functioned as
the symbol of the restoration of democracy and the
overthrow of the Marcos Dictatorship in 1986. The EDSA
People Power, which installed Cory Aquino in the
presidency, put the Philippines in the International
spotlight for overthrowing a dictator through peaceful
means.
The People Power Revolution of 1986
It was widely recognized around the world for its
peaceful character. When former senator Minot Aquino
was shot at the tarmac of the Manila International
Airport in 21 August 1983, the Marcos regime greatly
suffered a crisis of legitimacy. Protests from different
sectors frequented different areas in the country.
Marcos credibicredibility in the International
community also suffered.
 Paired with the looming economic crisis, Marcos had
to do something to prove to his allies in the United
States that he remained to be democratically anointed
leader of the country. He called for a Snap Election in
February 1986, where Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the
widow of the slain senator was convinced to run against
Marcos. The canvassing was rigged to Marcos favor but
the people expressed their protests against the corrupt
and authoritarian government. Leading military
officials of the regime and Martial Law orchestrator
themselves, Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos,
plotted to take over the presidency, until civilians
heeded the call of then Manila Archbishop Jaime
Cardinal Din and other civilian leaders gathered in
EDSA successfully turned a couple into a civilians
demonstration. The thousands of people who gathered
overthrew Ferdinand Marcos from the presidency after
21 years.
 Analysis of
Cory Aquino's
Speech
 Cory Aquino's speech was an
important event in the political and
diplomatic history of the country
because it has arguably cemented the
legitimacy of the EDSA government in
the International arena. The speech
talks of her family background,
especially her relationship with her
late husband, Ninoy Aquino.
-The rights and liberty of the Filipino
people.
-Alliance between the Philippines and
the United States despite the known
affinity between the said world super
power and Marcos.
Example- Cory recognized that the
large sum of foreign debts incurred by
the Marcos regime never benefited the
Filipino people. Cory expressed her
intention to pay off those debts.
Thank you for
Listening!!!
 Report by:
Awa-ao, Michelle
Gaytana, Zosimo