Teresa Magbanua Part 9 - Calm

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After her surrender, Teresa Magbanua returned home. She returned home to a husband that still remains little more than a quick mention in the story of her life. How the marriage went after that, no one can say. They did not have children, for what that’s worth. I would say it’s worth very little. But it would have been a reason to get along. Whether or not that would be wise is not the issue. Filipinos value family above all things. Parents love their children and sacrifice all they can for them. And perhaps you would want to put something poetic there about the nation being her child, but I would not do that. I would, perhaps, caution you if you were to consider it. Words may not mean what you intend them to. 

Regardless, there would have been something practical about having children, even beyond the connections they provide, the justification for a continued coupling that may not be ideal but had to continue. After all, divorce wouldn’t have been an option, even if bitterness remained after a denial and a departure that seemingly happened all for nothing. Children would have been something to keep them going, to fill their days beyond just farming. Not to say that there was anything wrong with farming. It wasn’t an unprofitable endeavor, even though the world might have looked a bit different under US Forces. 

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At face value, it was meant to look more kind. The overtaking of the Philippines by US Forces was meant to be a ‘benevolent assimilation,’ as it was called by President McKinley. The US had a right to the islands, it was argued, as an extension of the Treaty of Paris that ended the war with Spain, but they had a duty to rule justly and honorably, earning the love and respect of the Filipino people. 

Needless to say, it was more complicated than that. There were even some on US soil who could not accept this ‘benevolence’ and wanted the Philippines to know freedom outright. Whereas on the islands, there were still small skirmish if not outright warfare that lasted for almost a decade after.

There was talk of full independence for the Philippines, yes, but it must happened, it was also said in hushed whispers, in a way that was financially beneficial to the US, if not all parties. And there was the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship. I mean, let’s be realistic here. Spain had been beaten by the US because it was in its decline as an empire. The United States was on an up-swing, the extent of which could not be known at the time. There was money to be made for all, in the right circumstances. And as the de facto rulers of the Philippines for now, they could make that happen.

Consequently, full independence for the Philippines was promised but delayed. For the time being, something called the “Insular Government,” the US Colonial Administration by another name, was put into place. Under it, the US held the reigns through the Governor-General, but it did start to create a Congress, beginning with a lower house of elected officials, truly elected officials, who were able to decide Filipino affairs. Then, after a couple years and a bit more work, came the establishment of an upper house, to better mirror the US model, as was the intention. But though the details were imported, the day to day actions were those of the people, including repeated calls for independence. Now. 

Which--the US might have wanted to explain--was always the plan. It really was. Once the Filipino government was stable, they could have it all to themselves. No need to worry. But the thing is, the argument went, what did they think was going to happen after they had won independence from Spain, assuming the United States had never gotten involved. Why, the Philippines would need a government of its own, and tits people could devise their own model, but why reinvent the wheel? After all, hadn’t the United States gone through their own revolution? They rebelled against the British, won, and then made a nice system for themselves. Why not use that model?

The argument had its merits, and the relationship lacked the bitterness the one with Spain did. And the economic growth was exactly what was hoped for. Trade had increased ten-fold, and two-thirds of it was with the United States, at a fairly deep discount, tariff-wise. 

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Progress was slow, politically, but it was still working out for them. Impatience did develop, as it always would have but not to the point of more war. In fact, when the first World War broke out, the Philippines set aside its desires and supported the US.

But it was conditional, you can almost hear the Filipino legislators add. This wasn’t a blank check of support. We won’t always be your willing colony, they seemed to say. We won’t tolerate this status quo forever. We still want independence, but we get it, extenuating circumstances and all that.

Even after that war, there was still the dragging of feet. Filipinos went to the US to plead their case, but their pleas were ruled…. not quite illegal. The issue of how they raised their money for their missions to the US would come, as a way of ignoring the larger issue.. Again and again and again. All the while, numerous independence bills were still being introduced to the United States Congress , and they seemingly kept finding new ways to meet their end. 

That is, until the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill made it out of Congress on December 30, 1932. The first of its kind to make it that far, and there was some pride to be had in that, but for its troubles, it was vetoed by U.S. President Herbert Hoover vetoed on January 13, 1933. Nothing personal, he would probably say. There were reasons not to want Filipino independence just yet. Give it a few years, he might have been thinking, and under his breath, adding, when this is another president’s problem or when this arrangement isn’t so beneficial. There were cases to be made for his veto; they just may not be very good.  

But that wasn’t going to be the end of it. Congress overrode the veto on January 17, and the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act became U.S. law, and this new law promised the Philippines its independence after 10 years, assuming certain military and naval bases remained in place. Also, there needed to be some tariffs and trade quotas, you know? You can have independence, it seemed to say, but there are consequences and needs of ours that need to be met. 

At first glance, the act doesn’t read so one-sidedly, and so asking the Philippine Senate to ratify this law as if it were a typical treaty seemed like a safe bet but far from it. 

There is an important figure in Filipino history that enters the story here. I haven’t had a chance to talk about him yet on this podcast, but his time in the spotlight will come. For now, there was a Senator named Manuel L. Quezon who was so trusted and beloved that in a few years, he would be elevated to a presidency in just a few years. But for now, for this moment in history when an agreement was on his desk that offered independence with strings, Quezon urged the Philippine Senate to reject the bill, which it did, and then Quezon himself led another mission to Washington D.C. to secure a better independence act. 

And on that, there was some success. Rather than being tied by the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, this trip produced the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934 which does seem very similar to the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act except in a few minor details. The Tydings-McDuffie Act found success on all fronts, even being ratified by the Philippine Senate. And this meant that the Philippines would finally have its independence, after a few more structural changes to the government system but no later than 1946.

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And with that everyone got to work. Senator Quezon became President Quezon and more structure was added to the government, still replicating the US system. Frustration had been building, yes, but it left the original largely argument untouched. And so much work had already been done in that direction. Things couldn’t possibly go wrong now, right?

Well, they did. Not because the US went back on its word but because its word wasn’t entirely welcomed in the region.

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This has been a production of Miscellany Media Studios with music licensed from the Sounds like an Earful music supply. Thanks for listening! Find more information about our shows at miscellanymedia.online or follow us on Twitter @miscellanymedia for updates on current and future projects.

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