THE PHILIPPINECOMMONWEALTH

DECEMBER 7, 1933 Quezon arrived in Washington D.C.

He went about his task.

He talked with several key congressman, and finally had an interview with the president.

JANUARY 16, 1934Two weeks later, Quezon presented proposals he

had been to submit .

Which he suggested:o Independence within two or three years with limited free

trade during those two or three years.

o Reciprocal trade relations after independence or independence in six years with autonomy in the meantime , and then special trade relations to continue after independence.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

-suggested some kind of a compromise Senator Millard Tydings and Representative John McDuffie of Manama conferred with the Filipino Leaders.

On MARCH 19

-The House of Representatives

23 MARCH

-the Senate passed the Tydings McDuffie Law, the new independence law of Philippines.

President Roosevelt signed it on MARCH 24, and the Philippine Legislature unanimously accepted it on MAY 1, 1934 .

The Philippine would become commonwealth for a ten year transition period before absolute independence in 1946.

JULY 30 ,1934

A constitutional convention started work on new constitution, the fundamental law of the land.

FEBRUARY 15,1935

The convention was ended and President over by Claro M. Recto.

Roosevelt approved the new Philippine Constitution a month later.

SEPTEMBER 17National election were held.

Quezon - was elected president of the commonwealth.

Osmenia – was a vice- president.

On, NOVEMBER 15, 1935 , they took their oaths of office.

The Philippine population during the commonwealth was estimated at about 16 million, an increase from the 1903 population of 10.3 million.

The preferential trade arrangement petrified the few export enterprises in the country.

The economic difficulties of the Philippine

Commonwealth is perhaps best illustrated in

the mad equate public school system.

1937-one fifth of the annual budget was set aside

for education.

1941-four years later, the share of the schools

was increased to more than one third.

There were fewer and fewer classrooms,

fewer books, fewer blackboards, and even

fewer teacher whose salaries were lowest of

all public employees.

The government decided to shorten the

elementary school fro program to only six

years.

In his election campaign speeches,

Quezon promised he would start a social

justice program as a remedy.

But nothing much was done to fulfill his

promise, when he became a president of

commonwealth.

In fact , the social problems of Central

Luzon started during Quezon’s presidency.

1936Quezon also announced that would not be carried

out the plan to purchase large haciendas and resell them as small plots.

In early century, he explained , the Americans had already tried the same thing. They had bought the friars land, and resold them to small land -owners.

Preparatory Committee on Philippine Affairs was established to improve the situation.

It extended to fifteen years the period of limited free trade with United States, but with regressive duty-free quotas instead of increasing the tariffs on Philippine exports.

Quezon saw that the Philippines was militarily unprepared for independence.

1930

Quezon had asked already to Douglas

MacArthur, soon to retire from U.S. Army to act

as his military adviser, with the title “Field

Marshall”.

Defense and military preparations were duly

started.Quezon himself announced that every

Filipino was bond to defend and even die for

his country.

All this time the Japan was engaged in as expansion program.

Cordell HullThe American secretary of state, warned Japan of

possible negative American public opinion.

October 15, 1940 :afterThe export of iron and steel scrap to countries

outside of the western hemisphere clearly meaning Japan was forbidden.

July 26, 1941:Less than a year later onThe American government froze Japanese credits

in the United States and the British did the same.

General MacArthurWas named commander in chief of the United

States Army Forces in the FAR east (USAFFE).