The First Philippine Legislature was the first session of 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 ...

, the first representative legislature 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 ...

. Then known as the

Philippine Islands 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 Philippines under the sovereign control 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 territori ...

through 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 ...

. The Philippine Legislature consisted of an appointed

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

, the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Presi ...

, and an elected 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 ...

. These bodies were the predecessors of the

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 ...

and Philippine House of the

Philippine Congress 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, although colloquially the te ...

Sessions

* Inaugural Regular Session: October 16, 1907 – February 1, 1908 * First Regular Session: February 3, 1908 – May 21, 1908 * ''First Special Session'': May 22 – June 19, 1908 * Second Regular Session: February 1 – May 20, 1909

Legislation

The First Philippine Legislature passed a total of 170 laws (Act Nos. 1801–1970)

Major legislation

* Act No. 1801 — ''Gabaldon Act''

Leadership

Philippine Commission

* Governor-General and ex-officio President of the Philippine Commission:

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 ...

Philippine Assembly

* Speaker:

Sergio Osmeña Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was vice president under Manuel L. Quezon. Upon Quezon's sudd ...

(Cebu–2nd, Nacionalista) * Majority Floor Leader:

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 de ...

(Tayabas–1st, Nacionalista) * Minority Floor Leader: Vicente Singson Encarnacion (Ilocos Sur–1st, Progresista)

Members

Philippine Commission

Sources: * ''Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Inaugural Session of the First Philippine Legislature''. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1908. * ''Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the First Session and a Special Session of the First Philippine Legislature''. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1908. * ''Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session of the First Philippine Legislature''. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1910.

Sessions

Legislation

Major legislation

Leadership

Philippine Commission

Philippine Assembly

Members

Philippine Commission

Philippine Assembly

See also

References

Further reading

External links