Liberation Article Outline

Liberation

I. Japanese Rebuilding
A. Aim: to orientalize the Filipinos
1. purge the Filipinos of traits imbibed through years of contact with the British and Americans
2. positive educational program focusing Japan as the center of culture and civilization
3. reviving pre-Hispanic elements as far as they were compatible with the Japanese aims

B. Education Measures
1. required Filipinos to learn Niponggo
2. replaced English school texts to Japanese texts
3. references to western culture were deleted
4. Philippine Cultural institute was opened
5. Elite were encouraged to study in Tokyo
6. stressed useful & vocational objects
- empty residential lots were planted with vegetables
- Radio Taisho: daily drill/body exercise broadcast

C. Masanori Oshima
1. professor of Philosophy at Imperial university of Tokyo
2. “the true Filipino trait is Family Spirit”
- evident in Tagalog literature
- moral force that fostered loyalty to pre-hispanic tribal community
- Christianity had not succeeded in eradicating it
- All Soul’s day: reunion of Filipino families
3. suggested changing Philippines name to “Apo”


D. Implementation of Plan: no time
1. Japanese occupation: January 2, 1942 - February 23, 1945
2. August 6 and 9: Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
3. May 6: suicide of Hitler
4. August 1945: Return of Peace
5. * Manila = second most devastated city

II. Return of MacArthur
A. Allied Forces
1. constant communication with guerilla units
2. August 9, 1944: Americans bombed Davao
3. August 12: Americans bombed Visayas
4. September 21: Americans bombed Manila
5. October 20: MacArthur, and Commonwealth officials land in Leyte

B. Philippine Guerillas
1. aided Allied offensive
2. presented Japanese with 2 enemies
3. Japs in desperate effort killed everyone on sight

C. After Japanese Retreat
1. MacArthur turned over Philippine government to Osmena
2. February 27, 1945 – MacArthur opens Malacanang
3. Osmena faced unbelievable odds (no desks, no writing papers… etc)

III. Osmena’s Regime
A. Initial Problem: legitimacy of office
1. vice presidential term – lasts till November 15 1943
2. Japanese – declared independence a month earlier
3. Quezon – wanted to continue in office

B. Solution
1. Opinions:
a. Some legislators wanted legal provision of Commonwealth terms to be observed
b. Others felt Quezon should be allowed to continue in office
c. Osmena: offered no objections, agreed to latter opinion for the sake of unity
2. Roosevelt: signs Administrative Join Resolution No. 95, legalizing Quezon’s presidency til normal conditions were restored
3. Quezon dies on August 1, 1944

C. Restoration Problem
1. Presence of Japanese military units in some parts of Philippines
2. ruined economy
3. Osmena wasn’t given help from MacArthur
a. Philippines too much bother
b. MacArthur disliked Osmena
c. Future of Philippines depended on both

D. Philippine Congress Convention (June 9, 1945)
1. 24 Senators = 2 died; 7 in prison suspected as traitors; 2 away from Manila; the rest did not belong to Osmena’s party
2. 98 representatives = only 70 came: 17 in detention; 11 died
3. Thus, out of 128 lawmakers = only 83 were present; almost all were suspected to have collaborated with Roxas

E. Second Problem: Collaboration
1. Osmena forced to reinstate lower officials a number of known collaborators to start the government machinery

IV. Roxas
A. Food Czar
1. Japz flooded 500 peso bills; food ran critically low
2. Laurel named Roxas the food czar; also incharge of feretting out hoarded supplies; prosecuting the guilty
3. Roxas neglected these duties and was deposed from Office

B. Collaborator
1. January 1945
- Makapili = counted 500, 000 trained members to spy for the Japanese
- Americans: “collaborator – one who sided with the enemy and therefore a traitor”
- Roosevelt: “collaborators – should be removed from public office”
2. After War
- Mac Arthur turned over all suspected collaborators
- No concrete guidelines for the conourts
- Osemena badly need the politicians


C. Exonaration
1. Mac Arthur
- exonerated Roxas;
- captured Yulo, delas Alas, Paredes, Sison
2. Tomas Cabili
- acting secretary of National defense
- General Order No. 20: remove from active duty all who had been active in the puppet government under the Japanese
- Challenged MacArthur’s exoneration of Roxas
3. Basilio Valdez
- chief of staff
- inactivated Roxas, reverting him to civilian life
- Cabili and Confesor tried blocking Roxas from permanent appointment
4. Osmena
- to avoid open confrontation:
a.) sent Cabili and Confessor to Washington
b.) convinced Roxas to remain with the Nationalist Party

V. People’s Court
A. Henry S. Truman
1. created People’s Court to finish the trials of suspected collaborators
2. gave Osmena the final say in each case
3. Mac Arthur: trials are responsibility of the Phil government not US

B. Osmena
1. distinguished between:
a. mere occupation of an office under Japanese
b. motive for doing so
c. one’s record in office – the norm of loyalty; not what one did but why one did it
2. collaboration could be due to:
a. desire to protect the people
b. pressure and fear from reprisal
c. outright disloyalty
· no clear policies guided the judges
· became the loophole that led to the solution of many collaboration cases

C. Roxas Case
1. MacArthur’s aid before the war
2. left in the Philippines, became an official in the puppet government
3. tried to escape but Japanese spy foiled the attempt
4. Roxas escaped death because of a Japanese soldier’s interceding
· other suspects could have made the same plea but they did not enjoy the personal friendship with MacArthur

VI. Roxa’s Candidacy
A. Mac Arthur
1. wanted an efficient government for the Philippines
2. Roxas = an able man in his eyes
3. forced the hungry Filipinos to election
4. roxas announces his candidacy for the presidency

B. Osmena
1. feared political eclipse by roxas
2. promised to observe original date of independence, if elected
3. 1945: went back to US to work out technical and economic assistance for the country; went home empty handed

C. Election Results
- Osemana was against all odds

1. Filipinos jumped unto Roxas bandwagon
2. Joaquin Elizalde (Osmena’s former campaign manager) switch loyalties
3. Paul V. McNutt, High Commissioner, supported Roxas in a fit of personal pique with Osmena
4. MacArthur gave army transportation and means of communication
5. Foreign Newspapers/Quezon former supportes sided with Roxas
6. Roxas won presidency by 54 % of the votes
- May 28, 1946 = became the third commonwealth president of the Philippines

D. Roxas Term
1. briefest and last presidential term under Commonwealth
2. July 4, 1946 – Philippines declared as independent and sovereign Republic
3. Roxas became the first president of the Philippine Republic