The Administrative System during the American Occupation

I. Structure during the American Occupation

It can be said that the structure of the bureaucracy during the American Occupation was not fixed. This was due to the different forms of government that were formed while the Philippines was under the American rule.

A. Background on the Philippines during the American Occupation

After the Spanish-American war, President McKinley amidst many other options, decided not to completely abandon the Philippines. In his way of thinking, the Philippines was not fit for self-government and would only plunge their own country into anarchy and gradually fall into the hands of a foreign power. Another reason he stated was that staying under the control of the U.S. would be good for the Philippines.

These are the reasons, simplified, of why America decided to occupy the Philippines:

1. Patriotism - brought about by the natural impulse of a people to keep the American flag over the Philippines "in memory of the heroes who raised it."

2. Jingoism - ardent belief in the fulfillment of America's "Manifest Destiny"

3. Commercialism - impelled by a desire for new markets in the Orient and new fields for American investments

4. Militarism - inspired by the necessity of having American bases in the Far East

5. Religion - a belief that God had opened a way for the spread of Protestant Christianity

6. Humanitarianism - an altruistic desire to assume the alleged "White Man's Burden" for the purpose of civilizing the Filipinos and training them for self-government

B. Military Government (1898-1901)

It was on August 14, 1898 after the capture of Manila when General Wesley Merritt, who was then the commander of the American forces, issued a proclamation to the Filipino people, declaring the military occupation of Manila. From this date, the American Military rule in the country started with Gen. Merritt as the first Military Governor.

The presence of war granted the President of the United States the authority to establish a military government in any territory being occupied by the Americans. Thus, the President was the source of al governmental powers in the country and he deputed to the military governor to exercise all functions of the government: executive, legislative, and judicial.

President of the United States: Source of all governmental powers

Military Governor: Exercised all functions of the government (executive, legislative, and judicial)

The military rule in the Philippines lasted for only three years. One of Merritt's official acts was the organization of the provost-marshal courts in Manila and in other pacified areas. Other acts of his soon followed, including the reorganization of the judiciary and the establishment of the Supreme Court composed of six Filipino jurists and three American army officers. In 1900 the Courts of First Instance was organized, and a Code of Criminal Procedure (General Order No. 58) was promulgated in order to replace the antiquated and clumsy Spanish laws on the subject of crime. The Philippine ports were placed under army control the tariff on products was continued with some modifications. The collection of internal revenue taxes was resumed for purposes of government income. Popular elections and political autonomy were introduced in the municipalities as soon as these had been pacified by American arms.

On August 29 1898 he was succeeded by General Elwell Otis who in turn was succeeded on May 5, 1900 by General Arthur MacArthur, the last Military Governor (until 1901).

C. The Schurman Commission, the Taft Commission, and the Spooner Amendment

On January 20, 1899, McKinley appointed the First Philippine Commission, known as the "Schurman Commission," as it was headed by Dr. Jacob Schurman. The commission had several functions, namely: to deliver America's message of goodwill to the Filipino people, to investigate the conditions in the Philippines, and to make recommendations to the US President as to the kind of government to be established in the Philippines. The commission arrived in Manila on March 4, 1899 to do what it was tasked to do. After which, the commission declared that the Filipino people were unprepared for independence and thus, the US should remain in the Philippines. The following are the recommendations:

1. Establishment of a territorial form of government with a legislature of two houses-the lower house to be elective and the upper house to be half elective and half appointive.

2. Withdrawal of military rule and establishment of civil government in places already at peace with the US.

3. Conservation of the natural resources of the Philippines for the Filipinos.

4. Organization of autonomous municipal and provincial governments.

5. Opening of free public elementary schools throughout the archipelago.

6. Appointment of men of high ability and fine character to important government offices.

Immediately after, the US put these things into effect.

To hasten the transfer of the government from military to civilian authorities, on March 16, 1900, McKinley appointed a second commission, the "Taft Commission," led by Judge William H. Taft. Unlike the first commission which was merely advisory in character, this one had legislative and some executive powers. McKinley also issued instructions for the guidance of the second commission. According to these instructions, the Commission was to exercise legislative as well as some executive functions, including the right to appoint officials. The Military Governor would continue to exercise executive functions but the legislative power was handed over to the Commission.

The Second Commission arrived in the Philippines on June 3, 1900, and started to exercise its legislative functions on September 1. From that time on, until August 1902, the Commission enacted a total of 440 laws, among which were those (1) creating the civil service system, (2) establishing the municipal and provincial governments, (3) providing for a code of civil procedure, (4) organizing the Philippine Constabulary (5) creating the first insular bureaus (Agriculture and Forestry), (6) providing for a public school system, and (7) creating the government of Benguet. Apart from its duty of enacting laws, the Commission toured the provinces and helped greatly in the pacification of the people.

On March 2, 1901, Congress passed the army appropriation act, together with the Spooner Amendment sponsored by Senator John C. Spooner of Wisconsin. This amendment provided that "all military, civil, and judicial powers necessary to govern the Philippine Islands...shall, until otherwise provided by Congress, be vested in such person or persons and shall be exercised in such a manner as the US President shall direct...." The amendment ended the military regime in the Philippines, for it signified that the President of the US was to govern this country by authority of Congress and not by his authority as Commander-in-Chief of the American Armed Forces. Thus the control of Philippine affairs passed from the President to the Congress.

D. Civil Government (1902-1916, prior to the passage of the Jones Law)

On July 4, 1901, the Civil Government was inaugurated at the Luneta with Judge William H. Taft as the first Civil Governor. To quickly transform the government from military to civil government, President McKinley appointed the Second Philippine Commission, more popularly known as the Taft Commission.

The first Congressional law that about the government of the Philippines was the Cooper Act, better known as the Philippine Bill of 1902. Among its provisions were: 1) extension of the Bill of Rights to the Filipinos, except the right of a trial by jury; 2) appointment of two Filipino resident commissioners to Washington; 3) establishment of an elective Philippine Assembly, after the proclamation of complete peace and two years after the publication of a census; 4) retention of the Philippine Commission as the upper house of the legislature with the Philippine Assembly acting as the lower house and 5) the conservation of the natural resources of the Philippines for the Filipinos.

Under the Cooper Act, the Civil Governor, who remained as Chairman of the Philippine Commission, exercised all executive power. The Philippine Assembly, made up of Filipinos elected by the people, stood as the lower house of the legislature, with the Philippine Commission acting as the upper house. In these two houses was vested the legislative power, except that the upper house had complete control of the legislation over non-Christian Filipinos. The Supreme Court, the Courts of First Instance, and the Justice of the Peace Courts exercised the judicial power.

The local government was completely in the hands of the Filipinos. In accordance with the Municipal Code of 1901 (Act No. 82), the eligible voters of the municipality voted for their town officials—president, vice president, and councilors. The Provincial Code of 1901 (Act No. 83) stipulated the election of the provincial governor by the councilors of the different municipalities. According to their form of government, the islands are divided into three classes: the Christian provinces, the non-Christian provinces, and the Moro provinces. The officers of the Christian province are the governor, the treasurer, the third member of the provincial board, and the fiscal or district attorney. The governor and third member are elected to office; the treasurer and fiscal are appointed by the governor of the Philippine Islands with the consent of the Commission. The provincial governor, the treasurer, and the third member form the provincial board, which legislates in a limited way for the province. The non-Christian tribes are under a governor, secretary, treasurer, supervisor and fiscal. In some provinces there is also a lieutenant-governor. These officers are appointed by the governor-general with the consent of the commission. The Moro province includes the greater part of Mindanao, the whole of the Sulu Archipelago, and smaller groups of islands. The inhabitants number 500,000, half of them Moros; the remainder, with the exception of some thousand Christians, are wild tribes. The Government of the Moro province is civil-military. It is divided into five districts, each with its governor and secretary, appointed by the governor of the province. On the legislative council of the entire province there is, besides the governor, a secretary, treasurer, and attorney. While the governor-general appoints these officers, the two first named are usually officers of the United States army detailed for this purpose. The district officers are also usually detailed from the army.

¨ National Government

Control of Philippine Affairs: US Congress

Executive Power: Civil Governor

Legislative Power: Philippine Commission (Upper House)

Philippine Assembly (Lower House)

Judicial Power: Supreme Court

Courts of First Instance

Justice of the Peace Courts

· 2 resident Commissioners

¨ Local Government

Provincial: Governor

Third Member

Treasurer

Municipal: President

Vice President

Councilors

E. Civil Government (1916-1935, before Commonwealth)

The Jones Law of 1916 otherwise called the Philippine Autonomy Act was essentially an American-made constitution granting a complete form of autonomous government in the Philippines. It demarcated functions of the government into executive, legislative, and judicial. The American Governor-General, who was appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the American Senate, exercised the executive power. He was given assistance by a Cabinet composed of all the secretaries of all the departments (Department of Interior, Department of Finance, Department of Commerce & Communication, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources) that also included the American Secretary of Public Instruction who also served as Vice-Governor. The legislative power was vested in an elective bicameral legislature. The upper house or the Senate, replacing the Philippine Commission, was made up of twenty-four senators, twenty-two of which were elected by the Filipino people and the remaining two were appointed by the Governor-General to stand for the non-Christian Filipinos. The Lower House of the House of Representatives was consisted of 93 representatives. The people elected eighty-four of them and nine were appointed by the Governor-General to represent the non-Christian Filipinos. The judicial power was exercised by the Supreme Court, Courts of First Instance, and the Justice of the Peace Courts. The Chief Justice, who was a Filipino, and the Associate Justices, who were Americans, were commissioned by the President with approval of the American Senate.

To be able to secure joint action and harmony between the executive and the legislative departments, Governor-General Harrison established the Council of State. This body was made up of the Secretaries of the Departments and the Senate President and the House Speaker.

¨ National Government

Executive Power: Governor-General, assisted by a Cabinet

Legislative Power: Senate (Upper House)

House of Representatives (Lower House)

Judicial Power: Supreme Court

Courts of First Instance

Justice of the Peace Courts

· Council of State

· 2 Resident Commissioners

¨ Local Government

Provincial: Governor

Third Member

Vocal

Municipal: President

Vice President

Councilors

I. Structure of the American Occupation

A. Military

LEGISLATIVE

EXECUTIVE

US PRESIDENT

MILITARY GOVERNOR

JUDICIAL

B. Civil Government (1902-1916)

US PRESIDENT

PHILIPPINE COMMISSION

(Legislative)

RESIDENT COMMISSIONER

RESIDENT COMMISSIONER

C. 1916-1935

CABINET

GOVERNOR GENERAL (Executive)

US CONGRESS

II. Processes during the American Occupation

A. Laws

· The Civil Governor, aside from performing executive functions, also had the authority to present bills in the Commission and the to discuss proposed legislation.

· The Philippine Commission/Senate and the Philippine Assembly/House of Representatives deliberated on bills and other matters and approved these bills to become laws. Examples of these laws were the Gabaldon Act which appropriated P 1 000 000 for the building of barrio schools and the law stipulating the creation of the University of the Philippines in 1908.

B. Judicial Process

· The Code of Criminal Procedures was promulgated in order to replace the antiquated and clumsy Spanish laws on the subject of crime.

C. Appointment of Officials

· The Civil Governor/Governor-General appointed able Filipinos to high positions in the government.

· Other officials, especially those in the province, were elected by the Filipinos.

III. Functions of Officials during the American Occupation

A. 1899-1901

· The President of the United States served as Commander-in-Chief.

· The Military Governor exercised all functions of the government (executive, legislative, and judicial) and he appointed officials to different positions.

B. 1902-1935

· The Civil Governor/Governor-General served as chairman of the Philippine Commission, exercised executive power in the pacified provinces, and appointed officials in the government.

· The Philippine Commission/Senate served as the Upper House of the bicameral legislature and exercised legislative functions, had complete control of legislation over the non-Christian peoples of the Philippines, and, together with the Philippine Assembly, prepared the annual budget.

·        The Philippine Commission as legislative body wielded broad powers and discharged vital functions. These included the power to make rules and orders having the effect of law, for raising revenue by means of taxes, customs and import duties.  It also appropriated and spent public funds.  It also enacted pieces of legislation largely of general application such as those establishing the country’s civil service system and judicial network, organizing the Philippine Constabulary and the police and creating the insular bureaus and offices, municipal and provincial governments.

·        The Senate, being the other half of a bicameral legislature, is essentially tasked with lawmaking. Its and duty to make laws are derived from the people through popular mandate.  It is for this reason that, in all instances, the welfare of the people is the paramount concern of all Senators in making laws. It must be noted, however, that the legislative power is not exclusively vested in Congress in view of the reservation made regarding initiative and referendum.

·        The Senate is supposed to project the national sentiment rather than the segmented interests and demands of various localities.  It plays a strategic role in the country’s growth and development by pushing initiatives that address the nation’s major concerns such as the economy, peace and order, education, health and social welfare.

· The Philippine Assembly/House of Representatives served as the Lower House of the bicameral legislature and exercised legislative functions, and, together with the Philippine Commission, prepared the annual budget.

·        The House of Representatives has working committees which deal with specific issues relative to their sectoral or functional jurisdictions. These committees conduct inquiries in aid of legislation and call upon government officials and the private sector, including concerned citizens, to appear before them.

· The Supreme Court is the highest judicial in the country and it exercised administrative supervision over all the courts of justice and their personnel.

· The courts of first instance try appeals from the lower court and cases in which they have original jurisdiction. Also, in contests growing out of an election for municipal officers they limited the increase of jurisdiction to the Courts of First Instance.

· Among the powers of the Justice of the Peace Courts is that of performing marriage ceremonies.

· The two resident commissioners served as spokesmen of the Philippines on the floor of the US Congress.

· The Cabinet assisted the Governor-General in his executive functions. The Cabinet oversees the implementation of government programs and the affairs of the country.

a. Department of Justice

·        Acted as the principal law agency of the government and as legal counsel and representative thereof, whenever so required

·        Investigated the commission of crimes, prosecute offenders and administer the probation and correction systems

·        Extended free legal assistance/representation to indigents and poor litigants in criminal cases and non-commercial civil disputes, and other litigations

·        Preserved the integrity of land titles through proper registration

b. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources

·        Directed executive control, direction, and supervision of the Bureau of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry, Bureau of Lands, Bureau of Science, and the Weather Bureau and all matters concerning hunting, fisheries, sponges and other sea products and such others as may be hereafter assigned to it by law.

c. Department of Interior

·        As the years of struggle for independence and self-government continued, the interior department became the premier office of the government tasked with various functions raging from supervision over local units, forest conservation, public instructions, control and supervision over the police, counter-insurgency, rehabilitation, community development and cooperatives development programs.

d. Department of Public Instruction

·        Established secularized and free public school system that trained people for duties of citizenship and avocation.

·        Assigned chaplains and non-commissioned officers to teach English as the medium of instruction.

e. Department of Finance

§         The Department of Finance handled the budget of the government and its distribution and allocation. It is also in charge of the taxes and revenue of products and of the people.

f. Department of Commerce and Communication

· The Department of Commerce and Communication took charge of the business dealings in and outside the country. It also handles the regulation of the modes of communication in the country.

· The Council of State advised the Governor-General on important matters, prepared and approved the budget before the Governor-General sent it to the legislature, and determined policies of the executive departments.

IV. Roles of Officials during the American Occupation

A. 1898-1901

· The US president is the leader, the main head who exercises all power in the Philippines. He is the head of the state or head of the colony, in this case). He is the symbol of supreme power.

· The Military Governor exercises all the functions of the government in the Philippines but he just the representative of the US president. He is the General Overseer.

B. 1916-1935

· The US President is still the symbol of Supreme Power here.

· The Civil Governor is the official who makes sure that laws are followed. He is the instructor, the General Overseer, also the representative of the US President.

· The Philippine Commission/Senate along with the Philippine Assembly/House of Representatives is the law-making body of the Philippines.

· The Philippine Assembly/House of Representatives are elected by the people, are also law-making bodies.

· The Resident Commissioners are the Filipino Representatives to the government.

· The Cabinet’s members are assistants of the Civil Governor.

· The Council of State is the Adviser of the Governor.

· The Supreme Court and those under it are the main bodies who serve as judges in keeping peace and order in the country, so it is safe to say that they serve the role of judges and peace-keepers.

V. Impersonality

If the definition of impersonality is taken as the understanding of the nature of functions and the disregard of personal matters and dealing with one’s work first, then during the American Occupation, officials exhibited impersonality. Every official was aware of his task and he did his work just as expected of him. There was also specialization and division of labor, as one is not appointed to a position he is not capable of handling.

VI. Merit and Fitness System

The Civil Service Act of 1900, one of the first laws enacted by the Americans, introduced the values and methods favored by US civil service reformers—recruitment by competitive examination, promotion by merit, permanence and neutrality. The Act created a bureaucracy, which appeared to live up to its billing as one based on a merit system.

Conclusion

Given all these information, especially the structure and hierarchy, we can say that we had a Weberian bureaucracy during the American Occupation. All the features of a Weberian bureaucracy were present when the Philippines was under the American rule.

References:

Carino, Ledivina V. Bureaucracy for Democracy. Quezon City: College of Public Administration

UP Diliman, 1994.

Zaide, Gregoria F. Philippine Political and Cultural History. Manila: McCullough Printing

Company, 1957.

http://www.ph.net/htdocs/government/phil/judiciary/

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12010a.htm

http://www.senate.gov.ph/about/history1.htm

http://www.senate.gov.ph/about/powers.htm

http://senate.hypermart.net/

http://www.deped.gov.ph/historydecs.htm