1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Philippine Islands

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (see ). The census of 1918 gave the pop. as 10,350,640, of whom 855,368 were classed as non-Christians. The 9,495,272 Christians were in 1918: Filipinos, 9,429,857; Chinese, 45,156; Japanese, 6,684; Americans, 6,405; Spaniards, 4,015; English, 1,063; all others, 2,092. The non-Christians were subdivided into Mahommedans and pagans. In 1917 H. Otley Beyer, of the University of the Philippines, estimated the Mahommedan pop. at 315,980, while the provincial governors of Mindanao and Sulu estimated it in 1919 at 402,799. Of the pagans, approximately 30,000 were Negritos, and most of the others belonged to Malayan stocks. Headhunting among the pagans virtually ceased owing to vigilant Government control.

The Christians include eight races, namely, Tagalog, Sambal, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Iloko, Ibanag, Bicol, all inhabiting the island of Luzon and islands near it, and the Bisaya, inhabiting the southern islands, including part of Mindanao. Each race has a distinct language, which differs from the others as widely as

the Romance languages differ among themselves. The English language is used currently in all parts of the islands, being spoken by more people than ever spoke Spanish. Literacy is high among the Christian population. The cultural position of the Negritos is about the same as when they were discovered by the Spanish in 1521. The so-called &ldquo;wild&rdquo; peoples (all pagans except for a few who have embraced Christianity) occupy about the stage of culture exhibited in the 16th century by the ancestors of the Christian Filipinos. The culture of the Christian Filipinos is distinctly occidental and is unique in the Orient.

Manila, the capital, and Baguio, the summer capital, located in the uplands, in the Mountain province, are the only two chartered cities. Manila, the metropolis, which coincides with Manila province, had in 1918 a pop. of 283,613, or 20,858 to the sq. m., and Baguio had 5,462. In the 55 provinces and sub-provinces, there were in 1918 881 municipalities, 80 municipal districts, and 15 other subdivisions. The largest municipalities in 1918 were: Cebú with 65,300 inhabitants; Albay (Luzon), with 53,105; Iloilo (Panay), with 49,808; Batangas (Luzon), with 41,182; Ormoc (Leyte), with 38,247; Laoag (Ilocos Norte), with 38,294; and Baybay (Leyte), with 36,934. The most important are Cebú and Iloilo. The most populous provinces are: Cebú, with 857,410 inhabitants; Leyte, with 597,995; Pangasinan, with 567,644; Iloilo, with 508,272; Occidental Negros, with 397,325; Sámar, with 380,211; Bohol, with 359,600, and Batangas, with 340,195. The most densely populated provinces, apart from Manila, are Ilocos Sur (Luzon), with 217,410 inhabitants, or 492 to the sq. m.; Siquijor (Oriental Negros), with 56,695, or 461 to the sq. m.; Cebú, with 459 to the sq. m.; La Unión (Luzon), with 160,575, or 459 to the sq. m.; Cavite (Luzon), with 157,347, or 339 to the sq. m.; Pampanga (Luzon), with 257,641, or 313 to the sq. m.; Pangasinan (Luzon), with 292 to the sq. m.; and Laguna (Luzon), with 195,371, or 271 to the sq. mile. The Batanes Is., a sub-province lying N. of Luzon, have the smallest pop. of any provincial division (8,214), and a density of 111 to the sq. mile. The least densely populated is the sub-province of Apayao (Mountain province, Luzon), which has 11,123 inhabitants, but only 6 to the sq. mile. The majority of the people are engaged in agricultural and allied pursuits, and among the professional classes are men of considerable attainments.

Government.—In 1913, upon the occasion of the appointment by the President of the United States of a new governor-general of the Philippines, majority membership on the Philippine Commission was given to the Filipinos by presidential appointment. On Aug 29 1916 the U.S. Congress passed the Jones Act. The short preamble declared that &ldquo;it has always been the purpose of the people of the United States to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable form of government can be established therein.&rdquo; The Act created a Senate to supersede the Philippine Commission, 12 senatorial districts being established, each of which is represented by two senators elected by duly qualified voters except the 12th district (consisting of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, the Mountain province, Baguio, and Nueva Vizcaya), whose senators are appointed by the governor-general. The Philippine Assembly was replaced by the House of Representatives, the membership of 81 of the Assembly to be increased in the new body by three representatives from the Mountain province, one from Nueva Vizcaya, and five from the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. Senators are required to be over 30 years of age, able to read and write English or Spanish, and to have been residents of the Philippines for at least two consecutive years and actual residents of the senatorial districts from which elected for at least one year immediately preceding election. Representatives must be over 25 years of age, and have the same residential qualification.

Senators are elected for six years, representatives for three. The Act extended the suffrage to males of 21 or over, to include those who under previous law were legal voters and had exercised their right; those who owned real property to the value of $250; those who annually paid $15 or more of the established taxes; and those who were able to read and write either Spanish, English, or a native language. Two resident commissioners with three-year terms were provided for, and paid by, the United States, to be over 30 years of age and bona fide electors; these commissioners to have seats in the House of Representatives at Washington, with right of debate but no vote in that body. The Legislature convenes on Oct. 16, but it may change that date within certain limits if it choose. A governor-general, vice-governor, auditor, and deputy auditor are appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the consent of the Senate. The vice-governor is in control of the Bureaus of Education and Health, but the remainder of his former bureaus and his subordinate duties were shifted to the Interior Department. Power is given to the Legislature to reorganize the other departments and bureaus of the Government. The chief justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of the United States by and with the consent of the Senate, and the judges of the courts of first instance are similarly appointed by the governor-general by and with the advice of the Senate of the Philippine Islands. The awards of the Supreme Court are reviewable by the Supreme Court of the United States.

History.—W. Cameron Forbes was appointed acting governor-general in May 1909, and on Nov. 11 of the same year governor-general, succeeding James T. Smith. During his term, which expired on Oct. 6 1913, many public improvements were made, and the principle of the Filipinization of the civil service was carried out consistently, although comparatively few Filipinos were appointed to the higher offices.

The Taal volcano, which had been quiescent for a century and a half, erupted on Jan. 30 1911. Some 1,300 lives were lost. The outburst was accompanied by violent earthquakes, of which 1,014 were registered in Manila in about a fortnight. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in all parts of the islands, but are rarely of magnitude. During Governor-General Forbes's term no general appropriation measure for the expenses of Government was passed after that of 1910, because the two Houses could not agree upon the method of drawing it. In consequence, the provision of the organic Act of 1902 which declared that in the event of the failure to pass a general appropriation measure, the sum appropriated last should be considered as reappropriated, was declared to be in effect, and proclamation was so made each year. The breach between the two Houses tended to widen, and much constructive legislation that should have been enacted failed of passage. Educational measures, however, were generally assured of enactment and one is continually struck by the number of measures of this kind passed by each session of the Legislature. During this period also the demand for political independence by certain Filipino leaders, especially by Manuel Quezon, for part of the time resident commissioner in Washington, was constant and insistent. The Americans in the Philippines, regarded as appointees of the political party in control in the United States, were skilfully made to appear hostile to Filipino interests, and that administration was represented as withholding an inherent right of the Filipino people. The desire of the Filipinos for independence was and is real, and has grown with each succeeding year; the whole course of American administration has fostered that aspiration, and continually greater autonomy has been granted, although differences of opinion have been manifest as to the safety with which this could be done.

The change of administration in Washington in 1913 was hailed with delight by the Filipinos, in the belief that it would soon lead to political independence. On Oct. 6 1913 Francis Burton Harrison, who had been appointed governor-general by President Wilson, arrived in Manila, and immediately assumed office. By presidential appointment the majority on the Philippine Commission passed to the Filipinos. Various changes were made by the new governor-general in the personnel of several of the bureaus, the chief innovation being that Filipinos were appointed to a number of the higher posts. On Jan. 1 1917 there were 31 Americans and 22 Filipinos acting as chiefs and assistant chiefs, and on July 1 1920, 20 Americans and 30 Filipinos. On the latter date there were 760 Americans and 12,047 Filipinos connected with the Government, while in 1913 there had been 2,623 of the former and 6,363 of the latter. This increased rapidity in the Filipinization of the civil service after 1913, especially of the higher offices, has been criticized on the ground of decreased efficiency, but while this was necessarily the result to a considerable extent, it was not universally so, and the policy led, as a natural corollary, to a greater official harmony than had reigned previously. In Feb. 1916 an Act of the Legislature, providing a temporary pension for employees who had been in the service of the Philippine Government for from six to ten years or longer, gave an impetus to many Americans to request retirement under the terms of that Act. While technically the provisions of the Act apply to Filipinos as well as to Americans, it has been the policy of the Government to retire eligible Filipinos only because of age or physical disability. Upon the declaration of war against Germany by the United States, many Americans resigned to enlist, and it was felt that Americans were leaving the Philippine service too rapidly, especially the teachers. A very earnest effort was made after the war to recruit American teachers.

The virtual Filipino autonomy resulting from the above-mentioned changes was increased by the enactment by Congress in Aug. 1916 of the Jones Act, by which the Philippine Commission was replaced by an elective Senate (see Government above). The era of good feeling, inaugurated in 1913 by the change of Government, was seen almost immediately in the passing of an appropriation measure for the general expenses of Government the first to be enacted since 1910. Such measures have been passed annually since. One of the early Acts of the Legislature was to reduce certain salaries, especially those of the Philippine commissioners and of certain bureau chiefs; but, as in the United States, a bonus system was later adopted because of the increase in the cost of living and the governor-general recommended that salaries be increased. In 1915 the Philippine National Bank was created, taking over the former Agricultural Bank owned by the Government, which had never functioned acceptably. In the same year the Code Committee, after several years' work, finished the administrative code of the islands, which was passed by the Legislature. Among the first Acts of the all-Filipino Legislature of 1916-7 was the reorganization of the several departments of the Government, the result being that the Department of Public Instruction came to be the only one directly under an American.

The period was marked by generous appropriations for educational purposes, the most notable of these being the appropriation of $15,332,912 for the extension of free elemental education (see Education above). A previous Act prohibiting the display of the Philippine flag was repealed, a measure desired most ardently by Filipinos.

Upon the declaration of war against Germany by the United States, the Filipinos offered to supply a division of troops for the U.S. army and to supply funds for the construction of a destroyer and submarine for the U.S. navy, and there was a generous subscription to the Red Cross and to Liberty bonds. A volunteer National Guard was formed, which was joined by many of the Filipino youth, this being disbanded in 1919. There were also many Filipinos who served in the army and navy of the United States. In this connexion it should be noted that Filipinos have been admitted to West Point and Annapolis. Some 22

German ships, which had been interned in Manila harbour at the beginning of the World War, were seized after the American declaration of war, and the crews sent to an internment camp in the United States after a partly successful attempt had been made to damage the machinery and scuttle the vessels. Business during the war was brisk, notwithstanding the lack of shipping; but after the war, a depression developed from which the islands had not recovered in 1921. Governor-General Harrison resigned his post, as from March 3 1921, because of the change of administration in the United States, and Vice-Governor Yeater became acting governor-general. Shortly after assuming office, President Harding despatched Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood and W. Cameron Forbes to the Philippines to make a complete survey and report on conditions. On Oct. 5 1921 Gen. Wood took oath of office as governor-general of the islands.

The Wood-Forbes report recommended, among other things, &ldquo;that the present general status of the Philippine Islands continue until the people have had time to absorb and thoroughly master the powers already in their hands,&rdquo; and &ldquo;that under no circumstances should the American Government permit to be established in the Philippine Islands a situation which would leave the United States in a position of responsibility without authority.&rdquo;


 * (J. A. Ro.)