In 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1957, I do not recall meeting anyone, young or old, man or woman, who was in favor of Quirino and against Magsaysay. Poor Quirino! We all believed the tricks of Col. Ed Lansdale and the CIA!
However, to understand how ML came about as well as how and why Marcos succeeded, we have, to go back to the American Colonial, Philippine Commonwealth and Japanese Occupation Periods as well as the Third Philippine Republic.
Out of the total of forty – eight years (1898 – 1946) of formal American occupation presence and Colonial Rule, for forty years, Filipinos had a role as elected legislators. This role underwent transformations in 1907, 1916, 1935, 1941 and finally, 1946.
The United States Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. It created a fully elected Lower House of the Philippine Legislature. The Upper House was the Appointive Philippine Commission with an American Majority (My grandfather, Atty. Gregorio Araneta y Soriano [April 19, 1869 – March 9, 1930] served as a Member with Portfolio – Secretary of Justice and Finance.). The first nationwide elections were held on July 30, 1907, and the Philippine Assembly was inaugurated on October 16, 1907, at the Manila Grand Opera House.
Sergio Osmena (September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961), Manuel L. Quezon (August 19, 1878 – August 1, 1944) and Vicente Singson (August 5, 1875 – May 27, 1961) were elected Speaker, Majority and Minority Floor Leaders. There were 80, 81 and 90 members in 1907 – 1909, 1909 – 1910 and 1910 – 1916. Osmena was the highest - ranking Filipino official for ten years. As Majority Floor Leader, Quezon was the second most powerful Filipino official. They were classmates at the San Juan de Letran College in Manila and the University of Santo Tomas.
The Jones Law/The Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 was passed on August 29, 1916. It created a Bicameral Congress, composed of a fully elected and Filipino Upper House, the Senate. The Lower House/Philippine Assembly was replaced by the House of Representatives. They were inaugurated on October 16, 1916.
Manuel L. Quezon had lobbied for the passage of the Jones Law and took the entire credit for it. He ran for Senator, won, and was elected Senate President. Osmena stayed on as Congressman/Representative of Cebu’s 2nd district and Speaker. It was not clear which position, and which official was higher and senior. By today’s standards, it is very clear that they are both equal.
Although Senators then were elected by Senatorial Districts and not Nationwide, Quezon gradually eclipsed the leadership of Osmena. In 2022, Osmena ran for Senator of the Tenth Senatorial District. He was elected Senate President Pro Tempore. Quezon, thereafter, dominated Philippine Politics from 1922 – 1944. Meanwhile, Osmena, henceforth deferred to Quezon, even when Quezon’s two terms of four years each should have ended in 1943.
The most glaring example of Quezon’s unquestioned dominance was the matter of the two almost identical laws passed by the U. S. Congress: Hare Hawes Cutting Law and Tydings McDuffie Law. These laws provided for a Constitutional Convention to draft a Philippine Constitution, the creation of a Commonwealth Government and the grant of Philippine Independence after ten years.
The former was the result of lobbying by the OSROX Mission, and the latter was the result of Quezon’s lobbying after the defeat of the first law. It is obvious that a lot of Philippine Political History was molded by the leadership, self – centeredness and selfishness of Quezon. This was complimented by the less determined and dynamic character as well as willingness to compromise by Osmena. Among the Philippine Presidents, Sergio Osmena served the shortest period as President.
The future conditions, legalities and situation that would lead to Martial Law, the Marcos Dictatorship and the EDSA People Power Revolution were laid by the 1934 Constitutional Convention, the 1935 Constitution, the 1941 Amendments, World War II and the Japanese Occupation and the creation of the Liberal Party.
The Tydings McDuffie Act set the election of two hundred and two delegates for July 10, 1934. Out of 1,704,095 registered voters, 51.23 % or 873,021 voted. The draft Constitution was approved by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and ratified by a Filipino plebiscite on May 14, 1935. The Commonwealth Government and the newly elected officials were inaugurated on November 15, 1935.
In the, June 18, 1940, plebiscite, three major Amendments to the 1935 Constitution were approved, namely:
The Presidential and Vice - Presidential Terms were extended from six years without reelection to two four - year terms;
The Congress was changed from a Unicameral National Assembly to a Bicameral Congress with a Senate with twenty – four members elected nationwide, 8 – 8 – 8 every two years as the Upper House and a House of Representatives as the Lower House;
The three - man Commission on Elections (COMELEC) was created to take charge of all elections;
The first Amendment would weigh heavily on the future of Martial Law.
Two Filipinos, Assemblyman (2nd District, Ilocos Norte, June 2, 1925 – June 2, 1931) Mariano Marcos y Rubio (April 21, 1897 – March 8, 1945) and Vice President, Secretary of Agriculture, Assemblyman, Senator and Majority Floor Leader and Representative, Simeon Aquino y Quiambao, Sr. (September 3, 1894 – December 20, 1947) and their sons, Ferdinand Marcos y Edralin and Benigno Aquino y Aquino, laid the path to Martial Law.
World War II and the Japanese occupation would make it easier for Marcos to plan and implement Martial Law three decades later. In mid - 1941, many Filipinos were commissioned as officers in the USAFFE and the Philippine Army. They came from the Military Academies, ROTC and Direct Commission. Many of them would be retireable in 1970 and 1971. This would enable Marcos to strengthen his hold on the Armed Forces of the Philippines prior to Martial Law.
Post World War II, the following would be indispensable for Marcos’s intentions and plans:
Supreme Allied Commander General Douglas MacArthur preferred and supported Senate President, Senator, Secretary, Assemblyman, Delegate, Speaker, Representative, Governor, Councilor Manuel Roxas y Acuna (January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) over Sergio Osmena. Roxas split from the Nacionalista Party (NP) and organized (January 19, 1946, with Elpidio Quirino and Jose Avelino) the Liberal Party (LP).
(To be continued in future columns)
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