The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, to assist with governing the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by President
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
on January 20, 1899 as a recommendatory body.
The second Philippine Commission, also known as the Taft Commission, was a body appointed by the president to exercise legislative and limited executive powers in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. It was first appointed by President McKinley in 1900 under his executive authority. The
Philippine Organic Act was passed by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
in 1902; this enshrined into law the commission's legislative and executive authority. As stipulated in the Philippine Organic Act, the
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
Philippine Legislature
The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...
was established in 1907, with the commission as the
upper house
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
and the elected
Philippine Assembly
The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly wa ...
acting as
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
. The
Jones Act of 1916 ended the commission, replacing it with an elected
Philippine Senate
The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives a ...
as the legislature's upper house.
First Philippine Commission
On January 20, 1899,
President McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Hist ...
appointed the First Philippine Commission (the Schurman Commission), a five-person group headed by
Dr. Jacob Schurman, president of
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, to investigate conditions in the islands and make recommendations. In the report that they issued to the president the following year, the commissioners acknowledged Filipino aspirations for independence; they declared, however, that the Philippines was not ready for it. Specific recommendations included the establishment of civilian government as rapidly as possible (the American chief executive in the islands at that time was the military governor), including establishment of a
bicameral legislature, autonomous governments on the provincial and municipal levels, and a system of free public elementary schools.
Second Philippine Commission
From ''Philippines:
A Country Study
The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain a ...
'' by Ronald E. Dolan:
The Second Philippine Commission (the Taft Commission), appointed by McKinley on March 16, 1900, and headed by
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
, was granted legislative as well as limited executive powers. Between September 1900 and August 1902, it issued 499 laws. A
judicial system
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
was established, including a
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, and a
legal code
A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
was drawn up to replace antiquated Spanish ordinances. A
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
was organized. The 1901 municipal code provided for popularly elected
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
s,
vice president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
s, and councilors to serve on
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
boards. The municipal board members were responsible for collecting taxes, maintaining municipal properties, and undertaking necessary construction projects; they also elected
provincial governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
s." On July 4, 1901, Taft became governor of a civil administration for the Philippines. This regime, called the
Insular Government
The Insular Government of the Philippine IslandsThis form of the name appeared in the titles of U.S. Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See s:Costas v. Insular Government of the Philippine Islands/Opinion of the Court, Costas v ...
, administered the country until 1935.
![BaguioCityjf0151 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/BaguioCityjf0151_02.JPG)
"The
Philippine Organic Act of July 1902
The Philippine Organic Act (c. 1369, ) was a basic law for the Insular Government that was enacted by the United States Congress on July 1, 1902. It is also known as the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Cooper Act, after its author Henry A. Coope ...
stipulated that... a Philippine Legislature would be established composed of a lower house, the
Philippine Assembly
The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly wa ...
, which would be popularly elected, and an upper house consisting of the Philippine Commission. The two houses would share legislative powers, although the upper house alone would pass laws relating to the Moros and other non-Christian peoples. The act also provided for extending the
United States Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections rais ...
to Filipinos and sending two Filipino resident commissioners to Washington to attend sessions of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
. In July 1907, the first elections for the assembly were held, and it opened its first session on October 16, 1907."
Membership
Leaders
The body was led by the
governor-general of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the colon ...
:
*
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
(1901–1904)
*
Luke Edward Wright
Luke Edward Wright (August 29, 1846 – November 17, 1922) was a United States political figure. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1904 to 1905 and also as Secretary of War from 1908 to 1909.
Biography
Luke Edward Wright was ...
(1904–1905)
*
Henry Clay Ide
Henry Clay Ide (September 18, 1844 – June 13, 1921) was a United States of America, U.S. judge, colonial commissioner, ambassador, and Governor-General of the Philippines.
Biography Early life, States Attorney, Senator, and Presidential C ...
(1905–1906)
*
James Francis Smith
James Francis Smith (January 28, 1859 – June 29, 1928) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Governor-General of the Philippines and an associate judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals.
Education and c ...
(1906–1909)
*
William Cameron Forbes
William Cameron Forbes (May 21, 1870 – December 24, 1959) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He served as governor-general of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913 and ambassador of the United States to Japan from 1930 to 1932.
He was ...
(1909–1913)
*
Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed governor-general of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodro ...
(1913–1916)
Other members
Secretary of finance and justice:
Secretary of the Interior:
Secretary of commerce and police:
Secretary of public instruction:
Philippine members (1901–1909):
Philippine members (1909–1913):
See also
*
Congress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of R ...
References and notes
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
* NB: very little material (if any) actually online
* NB: very little material (if any) actually online
{{Authority control
Historical legislatures in the Philippines
Defunct upper houses
United States national commissions
Legislatures of dependent territories