View source for Commonwealth of the Philippines

{{Short description|U.S. territory in Southeast Asia (1935–1946)}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{lang|es|Mancomunidad de Filipinas}} ([[Philippine Spanish|Spanish]])<br />{{native name|tl|Komonwelt ng Pilipinas}}
| conventional_long_name = Commonwealth of the Philippines
| common_name            = Philippine Commonwealth
| life_span              = 1935–1942<br />1942–1945: [[Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines|Government-in-exile]]<br />1945–1946
| image_flag             = Flag of the Philippines (1936–1985, 1986–1998).svg
| image_flag2            = Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of the United States]]<br />[[Flag of the Philippines]]<br />(1935–1946)
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Philippines (1935–1940, 1941–1946).svg
| symbol_type            = [[Coat of arms of the Philippines|Coat of arms]]
| national_motto         = <!--please do not add the motto of the United States here as this was not the motto of the Philippine Commonwealth-->
| image_map              = The Republic of the Philippines - land tenancy - Department of State, Map Division - btv1b53196965g.jpg
| image_map_caption      = 1947 map of the Philippines
| status                 = {{ubli
 | [[Unincorporated territories of the United States|Unincorporated and organized]] U.S. [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealth]] (1935{{nbnd}}1946){{efn|The Philippines belonged to, but were not a part of, the United States. See the [[Insular Cases#Background|Insular Cases]] article for more information.}}
 | [[Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines|Government-in-exile]] (1942{{nbnd}}1945)
}}
| p1                     = Insular Government of the Philippine Islands{{!}}'''1935:'''<br />Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
| flag_p1                = Flag of the Philippines (1919-1936).svg
| p2                     = Second Philippine Republic{{!}}'''1945:'''<br />Second Philippine Republic
| flag_p2                = Flag of the Philippines (1943-1945).svg
| s1                     = Philippine Executive Commission{{!}}'''1942:'''<br />Philippine Executive Commission
| flag_s1                = Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg
| s2                     = Third Philippine Republic{{!}}'''1946:'''<br />{{nowrap|Third Philippine}}<br />Republic
| flag_s2                = Flag of the Philippines (1936–1985, 1986–1998).svg
| national_anthem        = <br />"[[Lupang Hinirang|The Philippine Hymn]]"{{efn|Some sources assert that an English version written by Mary A. Lane and [[Camilo Osías]] was legalized by Commonwealth Act No. 382.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roces |first=Alejandro R. |date=June 11, 2009 |title=Celebrating our freedom |work=The Philippine Star |url=https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2009/06/11/476114/celebrating-our-freedom |access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Uckung |first=Peter Jaynul V. |date=September 7, 2012 |title=Music for the National Soul |work=National Historical Commission of the Philippines |url=https://nhcp.gov.ph/music-for-the-national-soul/ |access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref> The act, however, only concerns itself with the instrumental composition by Julián Felipe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 5, 1938 |title=Commonwealth Act No. 382 |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1938/09/05/commonwealth-act-no-382/ |access-date=January 3, 2022 |website=Official Gazette (Philippines)}}</ref>
}}{{hsp}}<div style      = "display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center
|[[File:PhilippinesHymn.ogg]]}}</div>
| capital                = [[Manila]]{{efn|Capital held by enemy forces between December 24, 1941, and February 27, 1945. Temporary capitals were
* [[Corregidor Island]] from December 24, 1941;
* [[Iloilo City]] from February 22, 1942;
* [[Bacolod]] from February 26;
* [[Bago, Negros Occidental|Buenos Aires, Bago]] from February 27;
* [[Oroquieta]] from March 19;
* [[Bukidnon]] from March 23;
* Government-in-exile in [[Melbourne]], Australia, in April;
* Government-in-exile in [[Washington, D.C.]], from May 13, 1942, to October 1944;
* [[Tacloban]] from October 20, 1944.}}
| coordinates            = {{coord|14|35|45|N|120|58|38|E|type:city}}
| official_languages     = {{plainlist|
* [[English language|English]]
* [[Spanish language in the Philippines|Spanish]]<ref name="official languages provision">1935 Constitution, Article XIII, section 3 "The National Assembly shall take steps toward the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages. Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official languages."</ref><ref name="OLs">{{multiref2 | {{Cite book |last=Mair |first=Christian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xyYkxBmiA7AC&q=%22official%20language%22%20philippine%20commonwealth%20english&pg=PA480 |title=The politics of English as a world language: new horizons in postcolonial cultural studies |publisher=Rodopi |year=2003 |isbn=978-90-420-0876-2 |pages=479–482 |access-date=February 17, 2011}} | {{Cite book |last=Roger M. Thompson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1h9oF9rj-MC&pg=PA27 |title=Filipino English and Taglish: Language Switching from Multiple Perspectives |date=January 1, 2003 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=90-272-4891-5 |pages=27–29 |access-date=April 15, 2017}} | {{Cite book |last=Christian Mair |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xyYkxBmiA7AC&pg=PA480 |title=The Politics of English as a World Language: New Horizons in Postcolonial Cultural Studies |date=January 1, 2003 |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=90-420-0876-8 |page=480 |access-date=April 15, 2017}} | {{Cite book |last1=Antonio L. Rappa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXQTIl2eox4C&pg=PA68 |title=Language Policy and Modernity in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand |last2=Lionel Wee Hock An |date=February 23, 2006 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-4510-3 |page=68 |access-date=April 15, 2017}} }}</ref>
}}
| largest_city           = capital
| languages              = [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]<ref name=EO134 /><ref group=lower-alpha>Later replaced by or redesignated as [[Filipino language|Filipino]] as the national language.</ref>
| languages_type         = National language
| languages_sub          = no
| religion               = [[Separation of church and state|None official]]
'''Majority:'''<br/>[[Christianity]] ([[Catholic Church in the Philippines|Catholicism]], [[Protestantism in the Philippines|Protestantism]])
'''Minority:'''<br/>[[Islam in the Philippines|Sunni Islam]], [[Indigenous Philippine folk religions]]
| government_type        = [[Devolution|Devolved]] presidential [[Dependent territory|dependency]] within a federal republic
| title_leader           = [[High Commissioner to the Philippines|High Commissioner]]
| leader1                = [[Frank Murphy]]
| year_leader1           = 1935–1937
| leader2                = [[Paul V. McNutt]]
| year_leader2           = 1937–1939
| leader3                = [[Francis Bowes Sayre Sr.]]
| year_leader3           = 1939–1942
| leader4                = [[Harold L. Ickes]]
| year_leader4           = 1942–1945 (in exile)
| leader5                = [[Paul V. McNutt]]
| year_leader5           = 1945–1946
| title_representative   = [[President of the Philippines|President]]
| representative1        = [[Manuel L. Quezon]]
| year_representative1   = 1935–1944
| representative2        = [[Sergio Osmeña]]
| year_representative2   = 1944–1946
| representative3        = [[Manuel Roxas]]
| year_representative3   = 1946
| title_deputy           = [[Vice President of the Philippines|Vice President]]
| deputy1                = [[Sergio Osmeña]]
| year_deputy1           = 1935–1944
| deputy2                = [[Elpidio Quirino]]
| year_deputy2           = 1946
| legislature            = {{ubl
 | [[National Assembly of the Philippines|National Assembly]] (1935{{nbnd}}1941)
 | [[Congress of the Philippines|Congress]]  (1945{{nbnd}}1946)
}}
| upper_house            = [[Senate of the Philippines|Senate]]<br />(1945–1946)
| lower_house            = [[House of Representatives of the Philippines|House of Representatives]]<br />(1945–1946)
| era                    = [[Interwar period|Interwar]], [[World War II]]
| event_start            = {{nowrap|[[Tydings–McDuffie Act]]}}
| date_start             = November 15, 1935
| event1                 = [[Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines|Government-in-exile]]
| date_event1            = March 12, 1942
| event2                 = [[Philippines campaign (1944–1945)|Restoration]]
| date_event2            = February 27, 1945
| event_end              = [[Republic Day (Philippines)|Independence]]
| date_end               = July 4,
| year_end               = 1946
| event_post             = [[Treaty of Manila (1946)|Treaty of Manila]]
| date_post              = October 22, 1946
| currency               = {{ubl
 | [[Philippine peso]] ([[Philippine peso sign|₱]]) 
 |  [[United States dollar]] ([[Dollar sign|$]])
}}
| time_zone              = [[Philippine Standard Time|PST]]
| utc_offset             = +08:00
| today                  = [[Philippines]]
| footnotes              = {{notelist}}
| drives_on              = {{ubl
 | Left (before 1945)
 | Right (after 1945)
}}
}}

The '''Commonwealth of the Philippines''' ({{langx|es|Mancomunidad de Filipinas}};<ref name="PML">{{Cite web |title=Official Ballot |url=https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6UsbO9Te3XvO5ZNBvGKXy8WMFTwT-AxSZsNiHXlcysVda9STjbmt5G0xXwTZBmM0GA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003065655/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6UsbO9Te3XvO5ZNBvGKXy8WMFTwT-AxSZsNiHXlcysVda9STjbmt5G0xXwTZBmM0GA |archive-date=October 3, 2017 |access-date=July 12, 2017 |publisher=Presidential Museum and Library |quote=Officials of the Commonwealth of the Philippines – Funcionarios del Commonwealth de Filipinas}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1961 |title=Manuel Quezon historical marker |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manuel_Quezon_historical_marker_at_the_Arch_of_the_Centuries_UST.jpg |access-date=August 16, 2021 |publisher=National Historical Commission of the Philippines}}</ref> {{langx|tl|Komonwelt ng Pilipinas}}<ref name="filname">{{Cite journal |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1965 |title=Constitutional Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfaNAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Komonwelt+ng+Pilipinas%22 |journal=Philconsa Yearbook |publisher=Philippine Constitution Association |access-date=September 26, 2014}}{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Balangkas at Layunin ng Pamahalaang Komonwelt |url=http://lrmds.deped.gov.ph/download/1133 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816060828/http://lrmds.deped.gov.ph/download/1133 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=September 26, 2014 |website=Bureau of Elementary Education |publisher=Department of Education}}</ref>) was an [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated territory]] and [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealth]] of the [[United States]] that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the [[Tydings–McDuffie Act]] to replace the [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands]]<ref name="InaugurationDate">{{Citation |title=Timeline 1930–1939 |url=http://www.ssc.edu.ph/centennial%20website/SSC%201930-1939.htm |access-date=July 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405083845/http://www.ssc.edu.ph/centennial%20website/SSC%201930-1939.htm |url-status=live |publisher=St. Scholastica's College |archive-date=April 5, 2009}}.</ref>{{Sfn|Gin Ooi|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&dq=15+november&pg=PA387 387]}}{{sfn|Zaide|1994|p=319}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Roosevelt |first=Franklin D. |title=The American Presidency Project, the Commonwealth Road, consecrated on October 23, 1937 |date=November 14, 1935 |access-date=July 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101045033/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14980 |url-status=live |contribution=Proclamation 2148 on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines |contribution-url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14980 |place=Santa Barbara |publisher=University of California |quote=This Proclamation shall be effective upon its promulgation at Manila, Philippine Islands, on November 15, 1935, by the Secretary of War of the United States of America, who is hereby designated as my representative for that purpose. |archive-date=November 1, 2008}}</ref> and was designed as a [[Transitional government|transitional administration]] in preparation for full Philippine independence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Castro |first=Christi-Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uaZnkbiJbbYC&pg=PA204 |title=Musical Renderings of the Philippine Nation |date=April 7, 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-974640-8 |page=204 |access-date=July 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004959/http://books.google.com/books?id=uaZnkbiJbbYC&pg=PA204 |archive-date=May 2, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Its foreign affairs remained managed by the United States.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|p=39}}

During its more than a decade of existence, the Commonwealth had a strong [[executive (government)|executive]] and a [[Supreme Court of the Philippines|supreme court]]. Its [[National Assembly of the Philippines|legislature]], dominated by the [[Nacionalista Party]], was initially unicameral but later bicameral. In 1937, the government selected [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]{{snd}}the language of the capital [[Manila]] and its surrounding provinces{{snd}}as the basis of the [[Filipino language|national language]], although it would be many years before its usage became general. [[Women's suffrage]] was adopted, and the [[Economy of the Philippines|economy]] recovered to pre-[[Great Depression|Depression]] levels before the [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|Japanese invasion]] of the islands in 1941. A [[Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines|period of exile]] took place during [[World War II]] from 1942 to 1945, when [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|Japan occupied the Commonwealth]].

The Commonwealth officially ended on July 4, 1946, as the Philippines attained [[Republic Day (Philippines)|full sovereignty]] as provided for in Article XVIII of the [[Constitution of the Philippines#The 1935 Constitution|1935 Constitution]].<ref name="Const 1935">{{Cite web |date=February 8, 1935 |title=The 1935 Constitution |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1935-constitution/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527010032/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1935-constitution/ |archive-date=May 27, 2020 |access-date=May 22, 2020 |website=Official Gazette |publisher=Government of the Philippines}}</ref>

== Name ==
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was also known as the "Philippine Commonwealth",<ref name="Philippine Commonwealth">{{Citation |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade19.asp |title=A Decade of American Foreign Policy 1941–1949 Interim Meeting of Foreign Ministers |place=Moscow |access-date=September 30, 2009 |publisher=Yale |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430221645/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade19.asp |url-status=live}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D1EFF3D58107A93C4A8178AD95F418385F9 |title=The Philippine Commonwealth |date=November 16, 1935 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=October 1, 2009 |archive-date=December 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228061049/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D1EFF3D58107A93C4A8178AD95F418385F9 |url-status=live}}.</ref> or simply as "the Commonwealth". Its official name in Spanish, the other of the Commonwealth's two official languages, was {{lang|es|Commonwealth de Filipinas}} ({{IPA|es|filiˈpinas|}}). The 1935 Constitution uses "the Philippines" as the country's short-form name throughout its provisions, and uses "the Philippine Islands" only to refer to pre-1935 status and institutions.<ref name="Const 1935" /> Under the [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands|Insular Government]] (1901–1935), both terms were official.<ref group = lower-alpha>See for example, the [[Jones Law (Philippines)|Jones Law]] of 1916, which uses "Philippines" and "Philippine Islands" interchangeably.</ref><ref>{{Citation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226203438/http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/laws/constitutions/9-others/72-philippine-autonomy-act-jones-law.html |title=Philippine Autonomy Act (Jones Law) |publisher=The corpus juris |url=http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/laws/constitutions/9-others/72-philippine-autonomy-act-jones-law.html |archive-date=February 26, 2009}}.</ref> In 1937, Tagalog was declared to be the basis of a national language,<ref name=EO134 /> effective after two years. The country's official name translated into Tagalog would be {{lang|tl|Kómonwélt ng Pilipinas|}} ({{IPA|tl |pɪlɪˈpinas|}}).<ref>The national language was only made an official language upon independence, in 1946</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|History of the Philippines#Commonwealth}}

=== Creation ===
{{See also|1934 Philippine Constitutional Convention election}}
[[File:Manuel Quezon LCCN2011647833 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright|President [[Manuel L. Quezon|Manuel Luis Quezon]] of the Philippines]]
[[File:Signing the Constitution of the Philippine Commonwealth, 23 March 1935.jpg|thumb|left|''March 23, 1935'': Constitutional Convention. Seated, left to right: [[George H. Dern]], President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Manuel L. Quezon]]]]
The pre-1935 U.S. territorial administration, or Insular Government, was headed by a [[Governor-General of the Philippines|Governor-General]] appointed by the [[President of the United States]]. In December 1932, the [[United States Congress]] passed the [[Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act]] with the premise of granting [[Filipinos]] independence. Provisions of the law included reserving several military and naval bases for the United States, as well as imposing tariffs and quotas on Philippine exports.<ref name="US-influence">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Philippines, The period of U.S. influence |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-23717/Philippines |access-date=February 10, 2007 |edition=online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205150116/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-23717/Philippines |archive-date=February 5, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hare-Hawes-Cutting-Act |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9039248/Hare-Hawes-Cutting-Act |access-date=February 10, 2007 |edition=online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312044428/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9039248/Hare-Hawes-Cutting-Act |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> When it reached him for a possible signature, President [[Herbert Hoover]] vetoed the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, but the United States Congress overrode Hoover's veto in 1933 and passed the law despite Hoover's objections.<ref>{{Harvnb|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|pp=345–346}}</ref> The bill, however, was opposed by then-Philippine Senate President [[Manuel L. Quezon]] and was also rejected by the [[Philippine Senate]].{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=38–39}}

This led to the creation and passing of the [[Tydings–McDuffie Act]]<ref group="lower-alpha">Officially, the [http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm Philippine Independence Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611111931/http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm |date=June 11, 2011 }}; {{USPL|73|127}}; approved on March 24, 1934.</ref> or the Philippine Independence Act, which allowed the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with a ten-year period of peaceful transition to full independence – the date of which was to be 4 July after the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth.<ref name="US-influence" /><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Tydings-McDuffie Act |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9073977/Tydings-McDuffie-Act |access-date=February 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016184551/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9073977/Tydings-McDuffie-Act |archive-date=October 16, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Text of the Tydings-McDuffie Act |url=http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611111931/http://www.chanrobles.com/tydingsmcduffieact.htm |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |access-date=February 10, 2007 |publisher=The ChanRobles Group}}</ref>

A Constitutional Convention was convened in [[Manila]] on July 30, 1934, and on February 8, 1935, the 1935 Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was approved by the Convention by a vote of 177 to 1. The Constitution was approved by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on March 25, 1935, and ratified by [[Referendum|plebiscite]] on May 14, 1935.<ref>{{Citation |title=Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines |url=http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/laws/constitutions/8-philippineconstitutions/66-1935-constitution.html |year=1935 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522092815/http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/laws/constitutions/8-philippineconstitutions/66-1935-constitution.html |publisher=The corpus juris |archive-date=May 22, 2009}}.</ref>{{sfn|Zaide|1994|pp=317–318}}

On September 16, 1935,<ref name=InaugurationDate /> [[1935 Philippine presidential election|presidential elections]] were held. Candidates included former president [[Emilio Aguinaldo]], [[Philippine Independent Church]] ''[[Obispo Máximo]]'' [[Gregorio Aglipay]], and others. Manuel L. Quezon and [[Sergio Osmeña]] of the [[Nacionalista Party]] won the presidency and vice-presidency, respectively.<ref name="US-influence" />

The Commonwealth government was inaugurated on the morning of November 15, 1935, in ceremonies on the steps of the [[Old Legislative Building (Manila)|Legislative Building]] in Manila. The event was attended by a crowd of some 300,000 people.<ref name=InaugurationDate />

=== Pre-war ===
[[File:Jones Bridge Manila 1930's Philippines.jpg|left|thumb|266x266px|Manila circa 1936–1939.]]
The new Commonwealth government embarked on ambitious nation-building policies in preparation for economic and political independence.<ref name="US-influence" /> These included national defense (such as the [[National Defense Act of 1935]], which organized [[conscription]] in the country), greater control over the [[Economy of the Philippines|economy]], the perfection of democratic institutions, education reforms, the improvement of transport, the promotion of local capital, and industrialization.

However, several uncertainties proved to be major problems, especially the diplomatic and military situation in [[Southeast Asia]], the level of U.S. commitment to the eventual [[Republic of the Philippines]], and economic factors due to the [[Great Depression]]. The situation was further complicated by the presence of agrarian unrest and power struggles between Osmeña and Quezon,<ref name="US-influence" /> especially after Quezon was permitted re-election after a six-year term.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

A proper evaluation of the policies'{{clarify|reason=what policy?|date=March 2024}} effectiveness or failure is difficult due to the Japanese invasion and [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|occupation]] during World War II.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Battle of Malaya {{!}} The Japanese Invasion of Malaya as a Case S |url=https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3072&context=etd_all |access-date=March 5, 2024 |page={{page needed |date=March 2024}}}}</ref>

=== World War II ===
{{Main|Military history of the Philippines during World War II|Japanese occupation of the Philippines}}
{{History of the Philippines}}[[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]] launched a surprise [[Battle of the Philippines (1942)|attack on the Philippines]] on the morning of December 8, 1941. The Commonwealth government drafted the [[Philippine Army]] into the [[U.S. Army Forces Far East]], which would resist Japanese occupation. Manila was declared an [[open city]] to prevent its destruction,{{Sfn|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|p=390}} and occupied by the Japanese on January 2, 1942.{{sfn|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|p=392}} Meanwhile, fighting against the Japanese continued on the [[Battle of Bataan|Bataan Peninsula]], [[Battle of Corregidor|Corregidor]], and [[Battle of Leyte|Leyte]] until the final surrender of joint United States-Philippine forces in May 1942.{{Sfn|Lacsamana|1990|p= 168}}
[[File:Quezon Roosevelt.jpg|thumb|right|[[Manuel L. Quezon]] visiting [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in Washington, D.C., while in exile]]

Quezon and Osmeña were escorted by troops from Manila to [[Corregidor]], and later evacuated to Australia prior to heading for the mainland United States, where they set up a government-in-exile headquartered at the [[Omni Shoreham Hotel|Shoreham Hotel]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]{{Sfn|Agoncillo|Guerrero|1970|p= 415}} This government participated in the [[Pacific War Council]] as well as the [[Declaration by United Nations]]. Quezon fell ill with [[tuberculosis]] and died from it, with Osmeña succeeding him as president.<ref name="Talmon1998p295">{{Cite book |last=Talmon |first=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scc8EboiJX8C |title=Recognition of Governments in International Law: With Particular Reference to Governments in Exile |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-826573-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=scc8EboiJX8C&pg=PA295 295]}}</ref>

The main general headquarters of the [[Philippine Commonwealth Army]] (PCA), located at the military station in [[Ermita, Manila]], was closed down on December 24, 1941. It was seized by Imperial Japanese Imperial troops when they occupied the capital on January 2, 1942. Elsewhere in the country, other military posts of the PCA in [[Luzon]], the [[Visayas]], and [[Mindanao]] engaged in military action against the Japanese.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Meanwhile, the Japanese military organized the [[Second Philippine Republic]], headed by President [[Jose P. Laurel|José P. Laurel]]. This pro-Japanese [[puppet state]] proved very unpopular.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=40–41}}
[[File:Colonel Manuel Nieto.jpg|left|thumb|192x192px|[[Manuel Nieto (born 1892)|Colonel Manuel Nieto]], loyal assistant of [[Manuel L. Quezon|president Quezon]].]]
[[Philippine resistance against Japan|Resistance to Japanese occupation]] continued across the Philippines. This included the ''[[Hukbalahap]]'' (from the Tagalog acronym for "People's Army Against the Japanese"), which consisted of 30,000 armed men and controlled much of [[Central Luzon]];{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=40–41}} they attacked both Japanese and other non-Huk guerrillas.<ref name=Sinclair2011>{{Citation |last=Sinclair |first=Peter T. II |title=Men of Destiny: The American and Filipino Guerillas During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines |date=December 1, 2011 |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a558187.pdf |work=dtic.mil |page=35 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903110240/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a558187.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College |quote=<!--These communist guerrillas fought against both the Japanese and other guerrilla bands. --> |archive-date=September 3, 2014}}</ref> Remnants of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, as well as remnant Americans, also successfully fought the Japanese through [[guerrilla warfare]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Willoughby |first1=Charles A. |url=https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/index.htm#contents |title=Reports of General MacArthur: The campaign of MacArthur in the Pacific Volume I |last2=Prange |first2=Gordon W. |date=June 20, 2006 |publisher=Center of Military History |chapter=Chapter X Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines |lccn=66-60005 |author-link=Charles A. Willoughby |access-date=March 6, 2020 |chapter-url=https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/ch10.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075747/https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/index.htm#contents |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |orig-year=1966}}</ref> These efforts eventually liberated all but 12 of the country's then 48 [[Provinces of the Philippines|provinces]].{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|pp=40–41}}
[[File:Douglas MacArthur lands Leyte1.jpg|thumb|General MacArthur and President Osmeña returning to the Philippines]]
[[General (United States)|General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s army [[Leyte Landing|landed]] on Leyte on October 20, 1944,<ref name="US-influence" /> as did the Philippine Commonwealth troops who arrived in other [[amphibious landing]]s. The [[Philippine Constabulary]] was placed on active service with the [[Philippine Commonwealth Army]] and re-established from October 28, 1944, to June 30, 1946, during the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|Allied liberation]] and the post–World War II era. Fighting continued in remote corners of the Philippines until Japan's official surrender in August 1945, which was signed on September 2 in [[Tokyo Bay]]. Estimates of Filipino war dead reached one million, and Manila was extensively damaged when Japanese marines refused to vacate the city despite orders from the Japanese High Command.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|p=41}} After the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|war in the Philippines]], the Commonwealth was restored, and a one-year transitional period began in preparation for independence. Elections followed in April 1946, with [[Manuel Roxas]] winning as the first President of the independent [[Republic of the Philippines]] and [[Elpidio Quirino]] winning as vice-president.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

=== Independence of the Philippines ===
{{further|Independence Day (Philippines)|Republic Day (Philippines)}}
The Commonwealth was dissolved when the [[Treaty of Manila (1946)|U.S. recognized Philippine independence]] on July 4, 1946, as scheduled.<ref name="pinas">{{Cite web |title=Philippine History |url=http://pinas.dlsu.edu.ph/history/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822045537/http://pinas.dlsu.edu.ph/history/history.html |archive-date=August 22, 2006 |access-date=February 11, 2007 |publisher=DLSU-Manila}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Weir|1998}}</ref> However, the economy remained dependent on the U.S.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|p=43}} due to the [[Bell Trade Act]], otherwise known as the Philippine Trade Act, which a precondition for receiving war rehabilitation grants from the United States.<ref name="beterano">{{Cite web |date=Feb 2004 |title=Balitang Beterano: Facts about Philippine Independence |url=http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/tl/tl012375.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609104852/http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/tl/tl012375.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2012 |access-date=February 11, 2007 |publisher=Philippine Headline News Online}}</ref>

== Policies ==

=== Uprisings and agrarian reform ===
{{See also|Land reform in the Philippines}}

During the Commonwealth period, [[tenant farmer]]s held grievances often rooted in debt caused by the [[sharecropping]] system, as well as a dramatic population boom which further strained tenant farmers' families.<ref>{{cite web |title=Philippine history American Colony and Philippine Commonwealth (1901–1941) |url=http://www.asia.msu.edu/seasia/Philippines/History/hist_AmerColony.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010133830/http://www.asia.msu.edu/seasia/Philippines/History/hist_AmerColony.html |archive-date=October 10, 2007 |publisher=MSU |work=Windows on Asia |access-date=February 11, 2007}}</ref> An [[agrarian reform]] program was initiated by the Commonwealth government, but its success was hampered by ongoing clashes between tenants and landowners.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

An example of class conflict was the violence instigated by [[Benigno Ramos]] through his ''[[Sakdalista]]'' movement,{{sfn|Roces | Luna | Arcilla|1986 |p=140}} which advocated tax reductions, land reform, the breakup of large estates or ''[[hacienda]]s'', and the cutting of American ties. His uprising, which occurred in Central Luzon in May 1935, claimed about a hundred lives.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

=== National language ===
As per the 1935 Constitution, the Commonwealth had two official languages: English and Spanish.<ref name="official languages provision" /><ref name="OLs" /> Due to the diverse number of [[Languages of the Philippines|Philippine languages]], a provision calling for the "''development and adoption of a common national language based on the existing native dialects''" was drafted into the 1935 Constitution.{{sfn|Roces | Luna | Arcilla|1986 |p=338}} In 1936, the National Assembly enacted Commonwealth Act No. 184, creating the ''[[Surian ng Wikang Pambansa|Surián ng Wikang Pambansà]]'' (National Language Institute). This body was initially composed of President Quezon and six other members from various [[Ethnic groups of the Philippines|ethnic groups]]. In 1937,  deliberations by the ''Surián'' had resulted in its selection of [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] as the basis for the national language.{{sfn|Roces | Luna | Arcilla|1986 |p=338}}  This was made official on December 30, 1937, in an executive order which became effective two years later.<ref name=EO134>{{cite PH act |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1937/12/30/executive-order-no-134-s-1937 |title=PROCLAMING THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE OF THE PHILIPPINES BASED ON THE "TAGALOG" LANGUAGE |chamber=EO |number=134 |publisher=Official Gazette of the Philippine Government |date=December 30, 1937 |access-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924180022/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1937/12/30/executive-order-no-134-s-1937/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1940, the government authorized the creation of a [[dictionary]] and grammar for the language. In that same year, Commonwealth Act 570 was passed, allowing [[Filipino language|Filipino]] to become an official language upon independence.{{sfn|Roces | Luna | Arcilla|1986 |p=338}}

== Economy ==
The cash economy of the Commonwealth was mostly agriculture-based. Products included abaca, coconuts and coconut oil, sugar, and timber.<ref name="filipinas library" /> Numerous other crops and livestock were grown for local consumption by the Filipino people. Other sources for foreign income included the spin-off from money spent at American military bases on the Philippines such as the naval base at [[Subic Bay]] and [[Clark Air Base]] (with U.S. Army airplanes there as early as 1919), both on the island of [[Luzon]].{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

The performance of the economy was initially good despite challenges from various agrarian uprisings. Taxes collected from a robust coconut industry helped boost the economy by funding infrastructure and other development projects. However, growth was halted due to the outbreak of World War II.<ref name="filipinas library">{{cite web |title=American Colony and Philippine Commonwealth (1901–1941) |url=http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/history/ |publisher=Filipinas Heritage Library |access-date=February 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070129092523/http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/history/ |archive-date=January 29, 2007}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
In 1939, a census of the Philippines was taken and determined that it had a population of 16,000,303; of these 15.7 million were counted as "[[Brown (racial classification)|Brown]]", 141.8 thousand as "[[Yellow race|Yellow]]",  50.5 thousand as "[[Multiracial people|Mixed]]", 29.1 thousand as "[[Black people|Negro]]", 19.3 thousand as "[[White people|White]]", and under 1 thousand "Other".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1941-02.pdf |title=Statistical Abstract of the United States |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1941 |website=census.gov |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |access-date=September 8, 2014 |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201190643/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1941-02.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1941, the estimated population of the Philippines reached 17,000,000; there were 117,000 [[Filipino Chinese|Chinese]], 30,000 [[Filipinos of Japanese descent|Japanese]], and 9,000 [[Filipinos of American descent|Americans]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bailey |first=Rayne |date=2009 |title=Immigration and Migration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVcDEfNxEvAC&q=1941+Philippines+17+million+population&pg=PA107 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |page=107 |isbn=978-1-4381-0901-5 |access-date=September 8, 2014}}</ref> [[English language|English]] was spoken by 26.3% of the population, according to the 1939 Census.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Roger M. |date=2003 |title=Filipino English and Taglish: Language Switching from Multiple Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1h9oF9rj-MC&q=spanish+language+Philippine+commonwealth&pg=PA27 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |page=27 |isbn=9789027248916 |access-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref> [[Spanish language|Spanish]], after English overtook it beginning in the 1920s, became a language for the elite and in government; it was later banned during the Japanese occupation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Roger M. |date=2003 |title=Filipino English and Taglish: Language Switching from Multiple Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1h9oF9rj-MC&q=spanish+language+Philippine+commonwealth&pg=PA61 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |page=61 |isbn=9789027248916 |access-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref>

Estimated numbers of speakers of the dominant languages:{{sfn|Roces | Luna | Arcilla|1986 |p=338}}
*[[Cebuano language|Cebuano]]: 4,620,685
*[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]: 3,068,565
*[[Ilocano language|Ilocano]]: 2,353,518
*[[Hiligaynon language|Hiligaynon]]: 1,951,005
*[[Waray-Waray language|Waray]]: 920,009
*[[Kapampangan language|Kapampangan]]: 621,455
*[[Pangasinan language|Pangasinan]]: 573,752

== Government ==
The Commonwealth had its own constitution, which remained effective after independence until 1973,<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitutions of the Philippines |url=http://www.chanrobles.com/philsupremelaw.htm |publisher=The ChanRobles Group |access-date=February 10, 2007 |archive-date=January 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121071235/http://www.chanrobles.com/philsupremelaw.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> and was self-governing<ref name="Const 1935" /> although foreign policy and military affairs would be under the responsibility of the United States, and Laws passed by the legislature affecting immigration, foreign trade, and the currency system had to be approved by the United States president.{{Sfn|Seekins|1993|p=39}} Despite maintaining ultimate sovereignty, in some ways the US Government treated the Commonwealth as a sovereign state, and the Philippines sometimes acted in a state capacity in international relations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bühler |first1=Konrad G. |title=State Succession and Membership in International Organizations: Legal Theories Versus Political Pragmatism |date=2001 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |isbn=978-90-411-1553-9 |pages=37–40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ty7NAG1Jl-8C}}</ref>

During the 1935–41 period, the Commonwealth of the Philippines featured a very strong [[Executive (government)|executive]], a unicameral [[National Assembly of the Philippines|National Assembly]],{{sfn|Agoncillo|2001}}{{sfn|Hayden| 1942}} and a [[Supreme Court of the Philippines|Supreme Court]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Yamashita Standard |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/justice/world_issues_yam.html |publisher=PBS |access-date=February 12, 2007 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202519/http://robinrowland.com/sugamokwai.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> all composed entirely of Filipinos, as well as an elected [[Resident Commissioners from the Philippines|Resident Commissioner]] to the [[United States House of Representatives]] (as [[Puerto Rico]] does today). An American [[High Commissioner of the Philippines|High Commissioner]] and an American [[Office of the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines|Military Advisor]],<ref name="pinas" /> Douglas MacArthur headed the latter office from 1937 until the advent of World War II in 1941, holding the military rank of [[Field Marshal (Philippines)|Field Marshal of the Philippines]]. After 1946, the rank of field marshal disappeared from the Philippine military.

During 1939 and 1940, after an amendment in the Commonwealth's Constitution, a bicameral [[Philippine Congress|Congress]],<ref name="Arab news" /> consisting of a Senate,<ref name="Arab news" /> and of a [[Philippine House of Representatives|House of Representatives]],<ref name="Arab news" /> was restored, replacing the National Assembly.<ref name="Arab news">{{cite news |title=A History of Plebiscites in the Philippines |url=http://arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=80107&d=8&m=11&y=2006 |newspaper=Arab News |access-date=February 12, 2007 |archive-date=December 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205041248/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=80107&d=8&m=11&y=2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Politics ==
=== List of presidents ===
The colors indicate the political party or coalition of each president at Election Day.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- style="background:#cccccc"
! # 
! colspan="2" | President
! Took office
! Left office
! width="20%" | Party
! Vice President
! Term
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1 
| rowspan="2" style="background:#98fb98"| 
| rowspan="2" | [[Manuel L. Quezon]] 
| rowspan="2" | November 15, 1935 
| rowspan="2" | August 1, 1944{{efn|Died of [[tuberculosis]] in [[Saranac Lake, New York]].}} 
| rowspan="2" | [[Nacionalista Party (Philippines)|Nacionalista]] 
| rowspan="2" | [[Sergio Osmeña]] 
| [[1935 Philippine presidential election|1]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[1941 Philippine general election|2]]
|-
| 2 
| style="background:#98fb98" | 
| [[Sergio Osmeña]] 
| August 1, 1944
| May 28, 1946
| [[Nacionalista Party (Philippines)|Nacionalista]]
| ''vacant''
|-
| 3 
| style="background:#f0e68c" | 
| [[Manuel Roxas]]
| May 28, 1946
| July 4, 1946{{efn|End of Commonwealth government, independent Republic inaugurated.}}
| [[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal]]
| [[Elpidio Quirino]]
| [[1946 Philippine general election|3]]
|}

=== Quezon administration (1935–1944) ===
In 1935 Quezon won the Philippines' [[1935 Philippine general election|first national presidential election]] under the banner of the Nacionalista Party. He obtained nearly 68% of the vote against his two main rivals, Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop [[Gregorio Aglipay]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/784095/did-you-know-1st-national-elections-in-ph-held-on-sept-16-1935 |title=Did you know: 1st national elections in PH held on Sept. 16, 1935 |last=INQUIRER.net |website=newsinfo.inquirer.net |date=May 9, 2016 |language=en |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102709/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/784095/did-you-know-1st-national-elections-in-ph-held-on-sept-16-1935 |url-status=live}}</ref> Quezon was inaugurated on November 15, 1935.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1935/11/15/inaugural-address-of-president-quezon-november-15-1935/ |title=Inaugural Address of President Manuel L. Quezon, November 15, 1935 {{!}} GOVPH |website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327101231/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1935/11/15/inaugural-address-of-president-quezon-november-15-1935/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He is recognized as the second [[President of the Philippines]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/commonwealth/manuel-quezon/ |title=Manuel L. Quezon {{!}} Presidential Museum and Library |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026042339/http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/commonwealth/manuel-quezon/ |url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Manuel L. Quezon]] was inaugurated President of the Philippines in 1935, he became the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines since Emilio Aguinaldo and the [[Malolos Republic]] in 1898. However, in January 2008, Congressman Rodolfo Valencia of [[Oriental Mindoro]] filed a bill seeking instead to declare General [[Miguel Malvar]] as the second Philippine President, who took control over all Filipino forces after American soldiers captured President Emilio Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-bulletin/20150918/281685433635895 |title=My Lolo Miguel, the hero |last=Villegas |first=Bernardo |date=September 18, 2015 |website=Manila Bulletin |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327101424/https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-bulletin/20150918/281685433635895 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Quezon had originally been barred by the Philippine constitution from seeking re-election. However, in 1940, constitutional amendments were ratified allowing him to seek re-election for a fresh term ending in 1943.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/12/06/16/opinion-the-vice-presidency-a-briefer |title=OPINION: The vice-presidency: a briefer |last=III |first=Manuel L. Quezon |website=ABS-CBN News |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102014/https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/12/06/16/opinion-the-vice-presidency-a-briefer |url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[1941 Philippine general election|1941 presidential elections]], Quezon was re-elected over former Senator [[Juan Sumulong]] with nearly 82% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/02/mlqs-colorful-language |title=MLQ's colorful language |website=Manila Bulletin News |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327115048/https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/02/mlqs-colorful-language/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In a notable humanitarian act, Quezon, in cooperation with U.S. [[High Commissioner of the Philippines|High Commissioner]] [[Paul V. McNutt]], facilitated the entry into the Philippines of [[Jewish refugees]] fleeing [[fascist]] regimes in Europe. Quezon was also instrumental in promoting a project to resettle the refugees in Mindanao.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/interviews-and-profiles/manuel-l-quezon-president-of-the-philippines-rescuer-of-jews/2018/11/14/ |title=Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines, Rescuer Of Jews |last=Katz |first=Deborah |date=November 14, 2018 |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327112138/https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/interviews-and-profiles/manuel-l-quezon-president-of-the-philippines-rescuer-of-jews/2018/11/14/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Tomb of President Manuel Luis Quezon.jpg|thumb|Tomb of President Quezon and his wife Aurora at Museo ni Quezon, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City]]
The [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|Japanese invasion of the Philippines]] began with an [[Japanese invasion of Batan Island|invasion of Batan Island]] on December 8, 1941. When advancing Japanese forces threatened Manila, President Quezon, other senior officials of the Commonwealth government, and senior American military commanders relocated to [[Corregidor|Corregidor island]], and Manila was declared an [[open city]]. On February 20, Quezon, his family, and senior officials of the Commonwealth government were evacuated from the island by submarine on the first leg of what came to be a relocation of the [[Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines|Commonwealth government in exile]] to the U.S.<ref name="Talmon1998p295" />

Quezon suffered from [[tuberculosis]] and spent his last years in a "[[Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake|cure cottage]]" in [[Saranac Lake, New York|Saranac Lake]], NY, where he died on August 1, 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://opinion.inquirer.net/115423/quezon-and-tb |title=Quezon and TB |last=Tan |first=Michael L. |website=opinion.inquirer.net |date=August 17, 2018 |language=en |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102714/https://opinion.inquirer.net/115423/quezon-and-tb |url-status=live}}</ref> He was initially buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. His body was later carried by the {{USS|Princeton|CV-37|6}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xEWEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA141 |title=Valor of Many Stripes: Remarkable Americans in World War II |last=Baron |first=Scott |date=January 14, 2019 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7441-4 |language=en |access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref> and re-interred in Manila at the [[Manila North Cemetery]] in 1979, his remains were moved to [[Quezon City]] within the monument at the [[Quezon Memorial Circle]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://nhcp.gov.ph/museums/quezon-memorial-shrine/ |title=Museo ni Manuel Quezon |website=National Historical Commission of the Philippines |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007034324/http://nhcp.gov.ph/museums/quezon-memorial-shrine/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

=== Osmeña administration (1944–1946) ===
[[File:Sergio Osmena photo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Sergio Osmeña]], president from 1944 to 1946 ]]
Osmeña became president of the Commonwealth on Quezon's death in 1944.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergio-Osmena |title=Sergio Osmeña {{!}} president of Philippines |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802210246/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergio-Osmena |url-status=live}}</ref> He returned to the Philippines the same year with General [[Douglas MacArthur]] and the liberation forces.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/20/world/40-years-later-memories-of-macarthur-s-return.html |title=40 Years Later, Memories of Macarthur's Return |last=Lohr |first=Steve |date=October 20, 1984 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 27, 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327133006/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/20/world/40-years-later-memories-of-macarthur-s-return.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After the war Osmeña restored the Commonwealth government and the various executive departments. He continued the fight for Philippine independence.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

For the presidential election of 1946 Osmeña refused to campaign, saying that the Filipino people knew of his record of 40 years of honest and faithful service.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/sunstar-cebu/20120902/281659662218598 |title=Boasting of ancestors |last=Mercado |first=Juan |date=September 2, 2012 |website=Sunstar Cebu |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327101337/https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/sunstar-cebu/20120902/281659662218598 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, he was defeated by Manuel Roxas, who won 54% of the vote and became the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.<ref name=":0" />

=== Roxas administration (May 28, 1946 – July 4, 1946) ===
[[File:Manuel Roxas 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Manuel Roxas, last president of the Commonwealth]]
Roxas served as the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in a brief period, from his subsequent election on May 28, 1946, to July 4, 1946, the scheduled date of the proclamation of Philippine Independence.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manuel-Roxas-y-Acuna |title=Manuel Roxas {{!}} president of Philippines |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327103315/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manuel-Roxas-y-Acuna |url-status=live}}</ref> Roxas prepared the groundwork for the advent of a free and independent Philippines, assisted by the Congress (reorganized May 25, 1946), with Senator [[José Avelino]] as the Senate President and Congressman [[Eugenio Pérez]] as the [[Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines|House of Representatives Speaker]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/third-republic/manuel-roxas/ |title=Manuel Roxas {{!}} Presidential Museum and Library |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104134557/http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/third-republic/manuel-roxas/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 3, 1946, Roxas appeared for the first time before the [[joint session]] of the Congress to deliver his first [[State of the Nation Address (Philippines)|state of the nation address]]. Among other things, he told the members of the Congress the grave problems and difficulties the Philippines were set to face and reported on his special trip to the U.S. – the approval for independence.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1946/06/03/president-roxas-on-first-state-of-the-nation-address-june-3-1946/ |title=President Roxas on First State of the Nation Address, June 3, 1946 {{!}} GOVPH |website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines |language=en-US |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324173014/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1946/06/03/president-roxas-on-first-state-of-the-nation-address-june-3-1946/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 21, he reappeared in another joint session of the Congress and urged the acceptance of two important laws passed by the U.S. Congress on April 30, 1946, regarding the Philippine lands. They are the [[Tydings–McDuffie Act|Philippine Rehabilitation Act]] and the [[Bell Trade Act|Philippine Trade Act]], which subjected the Philippine economy to continued American control.<ref>{{Citation |title=[[Official Gazette (Philippines)|Official Gazette]] |date=July 1946 |volume=42 |number=7 |pages=1625–1628}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1946/06/21/message-of-president-roxas-to-the-second-congress-on-urging-ratification-of-executive-agreement-with-the-usa-june-21-1946/ |title=Message of President Roxas to the Second Congress on urging ratification of Executive Agreement with the USA, June 21, 1946 |date=June 21, 1946 |publisher=Official Gazette of the Government of the Philippines |access-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118092433/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1946/06/21/message-of-president-roxas-to-the-second-congress-on-urging-ratification-of-executive-agreement-with-the-usa-june-21-1946/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Both recommendations were accepted by the Congress, after elected Congressmen from the leftist Democratic Alliance and Nacionalistas were denied the right to take their seats to vote against them.<ref>{{cite web | title=Philippines - Economic Relations with the United States after Independence | url=https://countrystudies.us/philippines/23.htm }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)]]
* [[Political history of the Philippines]]
* [[History of the Philippines]]
* [[Philippine Organic Act (1902)]]
* [[Jones Law (Philippines)]] Philippines Organic Act (1916)
* [[Treaty of Paris (1898)]]
* [[Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935]]
* [[Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act]] (1932)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{Citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cROcGAAACAAJ |title=Philippine Legislature, 100 Years |publisher=Philippine Historical Association, New Day Publishers |year=2000 |isbn=971-92245-0-9}}.
*{{Citation |last1=Agoncillo |first1=Teodoro A |first2=Milagros |last2=Guerrero |title=History of the Filipino People |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VTwMAAAAIAAJ |year=1970 |access-date=December 28, 2007 |publisher=Malaya Books}}
*{{Citation |volume=1 |last=Agoncillo |first=Teodoro |author-mask=3 |title=The Fateful Years: Japan's Adventure in the Philippines 1941–1945 |location=Quezon City, Philippines |publisher=University of the Philippines Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-971-542-274-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JhdxAAAAMAAJ}}.
*{{Citation |last=Gin Ooi |first=Keat |title=Southeast Asia: a historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-770-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC}}.
*{{Citation |last=Hayden |first=Joseph Ralston |title=The Philippines, a Study in National Development |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yOUBAAAAMAAJ |access-date=December 28, 2007 |publisher=Macmillan |year=1942}}.
*{{Citation |last=Lacsamana |first=Leodivico Cruz |title=Philippine History and Government |publisher=Phoenix |year=1990 |isbn=971-06-1894-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wb53AAAACAAJ |access-date=December 28, 2007}}.
*{{Citation |last1=Roces |first2=Juan Luis Z Jr |last2=Luna |first3=Reynaldo |last3=Arcilla |title=RR Philippine almanac: book of facts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TI9GHAAACAAJ |year=1986 |publisher=Ramon Roces y Pardo}}.
*{{Citation |last=Seekins |first=Donald M. |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Ronald E. |title=Philippines: A Country Study |location=Washington |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |year=1993 |edition=4th |isbn=0-8444-0748-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/philippinescount00dola_0 |chapter=Historical Setting |pages=1–63 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/philippinescount00dola_0/page/n36}}.
* {{Citation |last=Weir |first=Fraser |year=1998 |title=A Centennial History of Philippine Independence, 1898–1998 |url=https://sites.ualberta.ca/~vmitchel/.index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724094147/https://sites.ualberta.ca/~vmitchel/.index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |chapter-url=https://www.ualberta.ca/~vmitchel/fw5.html |chapter=American Colony and Philippine Commonwealth 1901–1941 |access-date=December 28, 2007}}
* {{Citation |last=Zaide |first=Sonia M |title=The Philippines: A Unique Nation |publisher=All-Nations |year=1994 |isbn=971-642-071-4}}

== External links ==
* {{Citation |url=http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=MCH000000004 |title=The Present Government of the Philippines |type=book |first=Maximo |last=Kalaw |publisher=Filipiniana |access-date=December 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212161414/http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=MCH000000004 |archive-date=February 12, 2009 |url-status=dead}}, detailing the functions of the different branches of the Philippine Commonwealth.
* {{Citation |url=http://www.houseofdavid.ca/frnlus.htm |title=Parallel and Divergent Aspects of British Rule in the Raj, French Rule in Indochina, Dutch Rule in the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), and American Rule in the Philippines |publisher=House of David |access-date=April 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307051759/http://www.houseofdavid.ca/frnlus.htm |archive-date=March 7, 2019 |url-status=dead}}.
* {{Citation |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/philippines/01_polity.php |title=Philippines: Polity Style: 1897–2009 |publisher=Archontology}}.
* {{Citation |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/the-commonwealth-of-the-philippines/ |title=The Commonwealth of the Philippines |publisher=Government |access-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028163326/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/the-commonwealth-of-the-philippines/ |url-status=dead}}.

{{Territories of the United States}}
{{Philippines topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippines, Commonwealth Of}}
[[Category:Commonwealth of the Philippines| ]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1946]]
[[Category:History of the Philippines (1898–1946)]]
[[Category:Former countries in Philippine history]]
[[Category:Former republics|Philippine Commonwealth]]
[[Category:Former regions and territories of the United States]]
[[Category:Governments in exile during World War II]]
[[Category:History of United States expansionism]]
[[Category:Military history of the Philippines during World War II]]
[[Category:Philippines–United States relations]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1935]]
[[Category:1935 establishments in the Philippines]]
[[Category:1946 disestablishments in the Philippines]]