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The Treaty of Manila of 1946, formally the Treaty of General Relations and Protocol, is a treaty of general relations signed on July 4, 1946 in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, the capital of 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 relinquished U.S. sovereignty over the Philippines and recognized the independence of the
Republic of 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 treaty was signed by High Commissioner
Paul V. McNutt Paul Vories McNutt (July 19, 1891 – March 24, 1955) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 34th governor of Indiana, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the ...
as representative of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and President
Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 194 ...
as representative of 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 signed by US President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
on August 14, 1946, after the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
gave its
advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previo ...
on July 31, 1946 by ratification of the treaty. It was ratified by the Philippines on September 30, 1946.11  Bevans&nbs
3
/ref> The treaty entered into force on October 22, 1946, when ratifications were exchanged. The treaty was accompanied by a "provisional agreement concerning friendly relations and diplomatic and consular representation" (60 Stat. 1800, TIAS 1539, 6 UNTS 335) until the treaty was ratified.


Background

Commodore Dewey's decisive victory in the
Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...
on May 1, 1898 marked the fall of Spanish inshore defenses in the Philippines. Dewey's victory was later followed by an alliance between US forces and Filipino forces commanded by General
Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
, who declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898 and went on to form the
First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...
. Aguinaldo's proclamation of independence was recognized by neither Spain nor the US. At the time of Aguinaldo's proclamation, Filipino troops were set on defeating the last of the Spaniards. By the end of July, an estimated total of 12,000 US troops had arrived to join the Filipino forces. Tensions in the alliance surfaced during this period. To begin with, the American and Filipino troops were said to have "lacked that camaraderie usually present between military associates." In Major Cornelius Gardner's words:
Almost without exception, soldiers and also many officers refer to the natives in their presence as "niggers" and natives are beginning to understand what the word "nigger" means.
The "painful discrepancy in interests" became increasingly obvious to Aguinaldo, who once declined to attend a Fourth of July ceremony in Cavite after he was addressed "general," instead of "president," in the written invitation. The intentionality behind the alliance was directly addressed in conversations between Aguinaldo, Dewey, and other US generals. In a meeting, Aguinaldo was reported to have bluntly asked, "Does the United States intend to hold the Philippines as dependencies?" Brigadier General Thomas Anderson dismissed Aguinaldo's speculations: "I cannot answer that, but in 122 years we have established no colonies.... I leave you to draw your own inference."


Treaty of Paris (1898)

The
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
culminated in the formal transfer of power over the Philippines. The Philippine Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898 was neglected by both Spain and the U.S. Instead, both agreed on a set of terms provided by the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...
to which the First Philippine Republic objected, marking the start of the Philippine–American War. The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was an agreement made in 1898 that involved Spain relinquishing nearly all of the remaining
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
, especially
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, and ceding
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
,
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, and the Philippines to the United States. The cession of the Philippines involved a payment of $20 million from the United States to Spain. The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898 and ended the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
. The Treaty of Paris came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the documents of
ratification Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...
were exchanged. The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the Spanish Empire, apart from some small holdings in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It marked the beginning of the age of the United States as a world power.


Initial considerations of independence

In 1899, US 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 ...
appointed the First Philippine Commission to investigate and to make recommendations on the islands. Although it concluded "the Filipinos are wholly unprepared for independence... there being no Philippine nation, but only a collection of different peoples," it acknowledged Philippine desires for independence and recommended measures, such as public education and a bicameral legislature, to create an "advancement to a position among the most civilized peoples of the world" and thus to "an enlightened system of government under which the Philippine people may enjoy the largest measure of home rule and the amplest liberty." The Philippine–American War intervened, during which McKinley heeded the Commission's recommendations, established the
Second Philippine Commission The Taft Commission, also known as the Second Philippine Commission ( Filipino: ''Ikalawang Komisyon ng Pilipinas''), was established by United States President William McKinley on March 16, 1900, following the recommendations of the First Phili ...
(the Taft Commission), and granted it legislative and limited executive powers. At first, it was the sole legislative body of 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 ...
, but after the passage of the Philippine Organic Act in 1902, the Commission functioned as a house of a
bicameral legislature 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 ...
. By the end of his term, US President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
"came to believe that the United States could not sustain long-term imperialism because of its ideals of self-government and its party system." Furthermore, many Republicans and most Democrats had started to demand for an immediate promise by the US of eventual independence, which contributied to the slow US embrace of eventual Philippine independence. In 1916, Congress passed the Jones Law, which 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. It removed the Commission from the upper house of the legislature and replaced it with an elected senate, thus changing the
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 ...
into the Philippines' first fully-elected body and making it more autonomous of the US government. However, the
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...
continued to be headed by an appointed
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 ...
, who would always be an American. In 1934, Congress passed the
Tydings–McDuffie Act The Tydings–McDuffie Act, officially the Philippine Independence Act (), is an Act of Congress that established the process for the Philippines, then an American territory, to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. ...
to establish the process for the Philippines to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period.


Commonwealth of the Philippines (1934–1942, 1945–1946)

In 1934,
Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...
, the
President of the Senate of the Philippines The president of the Senate of the Philippines ( fil, pangulo ng Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas or ), commonly known as the Senate president, is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines, and thir ...
, headed a "Philippine Independence mission" to
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
. It successfully lobbied Congress and led to the passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act, officially the Philippine Independence Act, setting into motion the process for the Philippines to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. Under the act, the
1935 Constitution of the Philippines Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart bec ...
was written and the
Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
was established, with the first directly-elected
President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
(direct elections to the
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 ...
have been held since 1907). The Commonwealth, as established in 1935 featured a very strong executive, a unicameral
national assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
, and a supreme court that had entirely Filipinos for the first time since 1901. In 1935, Quezon won the election to fill the newly-created office of President, and a government was formed on the basis of principles that were superficially similar to the US Constitution. The new government embarked on an ambitious agenda of establishing the basis for national defense, greater control over the economy, reforms in education, improvement of transport, the colonization of the island of Mindanao, and the promotion of local capital and industrialization. The Commonwealth however, was also faced with agrarian unrest, an uncertain diplomatic and military situation in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, and uncertainty about the level of United States commitment to the future Republic of the Philippines. In 1939 and 1940, the Philippine Constitution was amended to restore a bicameral Congress and to permit the re-election of Quezon, previously restricted to a single, six-year term. During the Commonwealth years, the Philippines sent one elected
Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...
to the
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
, as
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and other
U.S. Territories Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...
currently do today.


Japanese occupation (1942–1945)

The Japanese invaded the Philippines in late 1941, gaining full control of the islands by May 1942. The occupation continued for three years until the
surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
, and the Commonwealth government went into exile from 1942 to 1945.


Independence (1946)

The Commonwealth ended when the United States recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946, as scheduled per the Tyding-McDuffie Act and Article XVIII of the 1935 Constitution. In accordance with the Tydings–McDuffie Act, President Harry S. Truman issued Proclamation 2695 of July 4, 1946 officially recognizing the independence of the Philippines. On the same day, the Treaty of Manila was signed. However, the economy remained dependent on the United States. As a precondition for receiving war rehabilitation grants from the United States, the Philippines agreed to the
Bell Trade Act The Bell Trade Act of 1946, also known as the Philippine Trade Act, was an act passed by the United States Congress specifying policy governing trade between the Philippines and the United States following independence of the Philippines from the ...
, otherwise known as the Philippine Trade Act. This granted preferential tariffs on U.S. trade and pegged the peso to the U.S. dollar.


Provisions

The Treaty of Manila relinquished U.S. possession of the Philippines and recognized the Republic of the Philippines. It contained several provisions that established but also limited full Philippine sovereignty. The treaty contained several key provisions: * ''Recognition of sovereignty:'' The United States recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines and acknowledged the control of the government by the Filipino people. * ''Military base retention:'' The United States retained military bases and related assets and the rights to seek "the mutual protection of the United States of America and of the Republic of the Philippines," as agreed upon by the Philippine government. * ''Diplomatic representation:'' The United States would provide temporary diplomatic representation on behalf of the Philippines when it was requested by its government and agreed upon by the United States. * ''Temporary judicial influence:'' Decisions on all cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court before independence regarding the Philippine government and people would take effect. No new cases originating in the Philippines could be filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. * ''Adherence to all continuing U.S. obligations of the Treaty of Paris (1898)'': The Philippines had to adhere to any continuing obligations of that treaty, which included: ** Freedom of religion for all Filipinos ** Right of Spanish citizens in the Philippines to appear before the courts and receive equal treatment before the law ** Maintaining the validity of Spanish patents and copyrights


Limitations

On July 4, 1946, representatives of the United States of America and of the
Republic of 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 ...
signed the 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. However, before the 1946 treaty was authorized, a secret agreement was signed between Philippine President Osmena and US President Truman. President Osmena "supported U.S. rights to bases in his country by backing them publicly and by signing a secret agreement." That culminated in the Military Bases Agreement, which was signed and submitted for Philippine Senate approval by Osmena's successor, President
Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 194 ...
. For that reason, "the U.S. retained dozens of military bases, including a few major ones. In addition, independence was qualified by legislation passed by the
US 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 Washingto ...
. For example, the
Bell Trade Act The Bell Trade Act of 1946, also known as the Philippine Trade Act, was an act passed by the United States Congress specifying policy governing trade between the Philippines and the United States following independence of the Philippines from the ...
provided a mechanism by which US import quotas might be established on Philippine articles that "are coming, or are likely to come, into substantial competition with like articles the product of the United States." It also required US citizens and corporations be granted equal access to Philippine minerals, forests, and other natural resources. In hearings before the Senate Committee on Finance, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
William L. Clayton William Lockhart "Will" Clayton (February 7, 1880 – February 8, 1966) was an American business leader and government official. Much of his business career centered on cotton trading. He and his three brothers-in-law formed a partnership that gr ...
described the law as "clearly inconsistent with the basic foreign economic policy of this country" and "clearly inconsistent with our promise to grant the Philippines genuine independence."


Philippine Government's Response to US–Philippines Military Bases Agreement of 1947

Despite these inconsistencies, Roxas did not have objections to most of the US-proposed military bases agreement in 1947. Here are some of the demands that Roxas approved. # The United States would acquire the military bases for 99 years (Article 29) # Clark Air Base would cover 130,000 acres, Olongapo City would be integrated into the Subic Naval Base, and areas surrounding the bases would be under US authority (Article 3) # The United States would have access to public utilities and other facilities under the same conditions as the Philippine armed forces (Article 7) # The Philippines would seek US approval before granting base rights to third nations (Article 25) However, there were two instances that even Roxas "felt politically unable to accept the U.S. position". Firstly, the US proposed to have its own large-scale military facility in Manila even though it would have intervened with urban growth as well as lead to "serious friction between U.S. soldiers and local citizens" because of the hostile postwar environment. Manila-based US military personnel were then already prone to altercations with the locals and so having an extensive US military base will only exacerbate the hostility. Secondly, the US demanded criminal jurisdiction over all members of the US military bases in the Philippines "regardless of who the victim was and whether the offense was committed on or off base, on or off duty," which was essentially a "revival of extraterritoriality." The US State Department viewed the Philippines' objections as reasonable and urged the War and Navy Departments to reconsider their excessive demands. After a month of negotiation, the US sought only navy and air bases in the Philippines, which removed the need for facility construction in Manila. Roxas praised the US for its decision to reconsider and stated that "on every major matter, the essential interests of the United States and the Philippines were 'identical.'" On March 17, Roxas submitted the Military Bases Agreement to the Philippine Senate for approval. Senator Tomas Confesor stated that the military bases were "established here by the United States, not so much for the benefit of the Philippines as for their own." He cautioned his fellow senators, "We are within the orbit of expansion of the American empire. Imperialism is not yet dead." The Military Bases Agreement was approved by the Philippine Senate on March 26, 1947, with all eighteen present senators in favor. Three senators did not attend the session in protest, and three others were barred by allegations of voter fraud.


See also

*
History of the Philippines (1946–65) Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...


References


Bibliography

* * . * *


External links

* {{Citation , url=http://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%207/v7.pdf , title=Treaty of General Relations Between the United States of America and the Republic of the Philippines. Signed at Manila, on 4 July 1946 , publisher=United Nations , access-date=June 12, 2012 Treaties of the United States 1946 in the Philippines Treaties of the Philippines Treaties concluded in 1946 History of Manila Philippines–United States relations History of the Philippines (1898–1946) Articles containing video clips Presidency of Harry S. Truman Presidency of Manuel Roxas