Part 16

Agricultural education.--The Philippines being essentially an agricultural country, agricultural education is given considerable attention. The Bureau of Education at present maintains 13 large agricultural schools, 15 farm schools, and 162 settlement farm schools. The agricultural school range in area from about 125 to about 3,000 acres; the farm schools, from about 40 to 125 acres; the settlement farm schools, from about 30 to about 100 acres. In addition to these, the Bureau of Education has an extensive program of school and home gardening and maintains numerous agricultural clubs for boys and girls. Under the stress of the world-wide economic crisis brought about by the World War, the general office appealed to the country for increased productions, and in response to this appeal, the schools now have over 4,000 school gardens and over 100,000 home gardens. Annually there are held over 20,000 Garden Days where there are over 143,000 pupils' exhibits and about 40,000 farmers' exhibits.

Athletics.--The system of physical education here compares favorably with the best in the world. The temptation of developing only a few "stars" has been valiantly resisted and the athletic slogan of "Athletics for Everybody" has been stressed instead. As a result of this policy over 96 per cent of the pupils enrolled in the elementary and secondary schools take active participation in the program of athletics and games during the year.

Primary and Secondary Curriculum.--In the seven years' course the studies are principally language, reading, good manners and right conduct, arithmetic, civics, hygiene and sanitation, writing, drawing, music, and Philippine history and government, in addition to a definite vocational training and organized play and athletics. Besides the regular secondary course, specialized secondary courses such as the normal, commercial, trade, agricultural, and domestic science are offered.

Number of pupils.--The enrollment of pupils in the public schools below the University of the Philippines from the school year 1913-1914 to 1920-1921 is as follows:

+-----------+------------------- | | Increase over | | previous year Year | Enrollment|---------+--------- | | Number | Per cent -----------+-----------+---------+--------- 1913-1914 | 621,114 | 180,980 | 41.0 1914-1915 | 621,114 | ------- | ---- 1915-1916 | 638,548 | 17,434 | 2.8 1916-1917 | 675,997 | 37,449 | 5.8 1917-1918 | 671,398 | 4,699 | .7 1918-1919 | 681,588 | 10,290 | 1.5 1919-1920 | 791,626 | 110,040 | 16.0 1920-1921. | 943,364 | 151,736 | 19.0 1921-1922. | 1,077,342 | 133,978 | 13.0 -----------+-----------+---------+---------

Number of schools and teachers.--The number of schools rose from 2,934 in 1913 to 7,670 in March, 1922, representing an increase of 128 per cent. The average annual decrease in the number of schools from 1909 to 1913 (5 years preceding Filipino autonomy) was 181, or 4.8 per cent, while the average yearly increase from 1914 to 1920 was 416.

The number of Filipino teachers increased from 7,671 in 1913 to 24,017 in 1922, which means an increase of 16,346, or 213 per cent. The number of American teachers dropped from 658 in March, 1913, to 347 in March, 1922.

Number of school buildings.--The number of permanent school buildings constructed up to 1913 was 624, which number rose to 1,301. In other words, during nine years (1913-1922), 108 per cent more permanent buildings were erected.

Universities.--Foremost among the universities in the Islands is the University of the Philippines, which corresponds to a state university. It gives courses in liberal arts, the sciences, education, medicine and surgery, dentistry, pharmacy, agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering, law, forestry, music, and the fine arts. Collegiate degrees are conferred upon graduates in all the courses mentioned with the exception of the last two, for which diplomas of proficiency are issued to the graduates.

The enrollment in the University for the school year 1922-1923 is 4,839, so that in 10 years the attendance rose from 1,400 in 1911-1912 to 4,839 in 1922-1923, representing an increase of 237 per cent. The University has now 45 buildings of permanent materials.

The Santo Tomas University was the first to be established. It has the distinction of being the oldest university under the American flag, having been founded a quarter of a century before Harvard. It gives courses in law, medicine, pharmacy, civil engineering, philosophy and letters, and theology, and has about 700 students. The medium of instruction is the Spanish language.

Besides these two universities there is the National University with upwards of 4,500 students and the Manila University with almost 3,000. The presidents of the last two universities are Filipinos.

The overwhelming majority of the faculty in all the institutions of high learning in the Islands are Filipinos.

VII. SANITATION.--In sanitation the progress attained by the Philippines during the Filipinized government has also been rapid. The sanitary work is now controlled by a central bureau called the Philippine Health Service. With this centralization of activities health measures can be enforced more economically and more effectively than in previous years.

The municipalities are grouped into sanitary divisions, each of which is in charge of a competent official. With few exceptions the men in charge are qualified physicians. At the end of the year 1921, there were 307 sanitary divisions comprising 792 out of the 846 municipalities. In other words, nearly 94 per cent of the total number of municipalities in the Philippines form a part of these sanitary divisions.

Some of the important functions of the Philippine Health Service are as follows:

1. Control and supervision of all hospitals for dangerous communicable diseases, and the isolation of persons suffering from such diseases.

2. Control of sanitation of schoolhouses and premises, prisons and all other places for the detention of prisoners.

3. Establishment and maintenance of internal quarantine in times of epidemic and the systematic inoculation of the inhabitants with virus, sera, and prophylactics.

COMPARATIVE DEATH RATE SCALE FOR 1917

Countries Death rate per 1,000 inhabitants

Oriental: Egypt. 40.50 China. 40.00 India. 35.00 Straits Settlement. 31.64 Ceylon. 27.00 Burma. 24.93 Philippines. 22.29 Anglo-Saxon: United States. 14.70 England. 13.70 Canada. 12.70 South Australia. 11.73 Queensland. 11.00 New Zealand. 10.35 Latin: Porto Rico. 28.50 Mexico. 23.39 Cuba. 19.70 Italy. 18.20 France. 17.70

VIII. LOCAL AUTONOMY.--Greater autonomy has been extended to the provinces and municipalities especially as regards local taxes, education, sanitation, and permanent public improvements.

One of the significant and substantial results of the new policy is the remarkable improvement in the finances of the provinces and municipalities. During the period 1914 to 1920 a general revision of assessment of real properties was conducted in all the provinces. From this assessment we find an increase of 1,703,449 in the number of lots of taxable real property on December 31, 1920, as compared with the corresponding figure on September 30, 1913, representing an increase of about 100 per cent. The increase, of course, means increased revenue from the real property taxes for the local government.

A study of the revenues of the provinces and municipalities during 1914 to 1920, as compared with the period 1909 to 1913, shows an increase of 1,090 per cent, the average percentage of yearly increase being 155.5 per cent. In 1922 the revenues of the provinces were P19,264,264; those of the municipalities were P32,486,068.

IX. PUBLIC WELFARE.--One of the first acts of the Philippine government since control was turned over into the hands of Filipinos was the creation of the so-called Public Welfare Board entrusted with the task of coördinating the work of private and public welfare agencies. The board acts as the agency for controlling the disbursement of public charity funds to semi-public institutions like the Anti-tuberculosis Society, the Gota de Leche, and the Women's Clubs.

On February 23, 1916, an act was passed by the Legislature appropriating P1,000,000 for the protection of early infancy and the establishment of branches of the "Gota de Leche." Local organizations were granted aid from this funds as much as what they raised.

In 1917 the government established an orphanage for destitute and dependent children from all over the islands, managed according to the most modern methods.

[Public Welfare Commissioner]

On February 18, 1918, the public welfare board membership was reduced to five and its administrative control placed under the Department of the Interior. The administration of the million-peso funds for the protection of early infancy and the establishment of maternity and child-welfare centers were also placed under the control of the Secretary of the Interior on March 22, 1920. Later these activities were all grouped together by Act 2988, enacted February 24, 1921, into one office--the office of the public welfare commissioner--which started operation on May 1, 1921.

The aim of the office is summarized thus: To promote all work directed towards the early reduction of infant mortality in the Philippines by employing adequate means for this purpose and for carrying out other activities intended to bring about the general welfare of the community, especially that which concerns children.

A central executive office is maintained in Manila. It investigates social conditions and compiles sociological information for distribution. Social centers are being established throughout the Islands. On December, 1922, 183 puericulture centers were in existence as against 80 on December, 1921.

X. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.--The Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands presided over by a Filipino has always enjoyed the respect and confidence of every citizen. It is above all influence, being composed of men of integrity and of exceptional talent.

The Courts of First Instance have also a comparatively good record as is evident from the number of decisions affirmed, reversed, and modified by the Supreme Court. The figures are as follows:

+-------+--------------+-------------+------------- | | Affirmed | Reversed | Modified Period |Total +-------+------+------+------+------+------ |number | Number| Per |Number| Per |Number| Per | | | cent | | cent | | cent -----------------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------ August 31, 1911 | | | | | | | to September, | | | | | | | 1, 1913. | 1,454 | 910 | 62.5 | 365 | 25.1 | 179 | 12.2 | | | | | | | March 3, 1919 to | | | | | | | March 4, 1921. | 1,782 | 1,194 | 67.0 | 372 | 20.8 | 216 | 12.1 -----------------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------

The foregoing figures indicate that there was a larger percentage of decisions affirmed and smaller percentage of decisions reversed by the Supreme Court during the time when the Filipino people were given substantial autonomy proving that the administration of justice has been considerably improved with the Filipinos in control.

In 1913 there were 12,000 pending cases disposed of; in 1921 the number rose to 16,874; in 1922, 20,632.

From 1907 to 1913, for a period of seven years before Filipino autonomy, the average yearly number of decrees of titles to land issued by the Philippine courts was only 1,935; while from 1914 to 1920, during seven years of Filipino self-government, the average yearly number of land titles settled was 12,396, six times more than the preceding period.

XI. GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES.--In order to hasten the economic progress of the Islands, the Philippine government has been compelled to organize and engage in certain business enterprises of national importance that private initiative and capital have so far failed to develop. There are now four of these government owned enterprises--the Philippine National Bank, the Manila Railroad, the National Coal Company, and the National Development Company. The underlying motives behind these ventures are:

(1) To conserve the resources of the Islands for Filipinos; (2) to protect the people against exploitation; (3) to safeguard against profiteering; (4) to facilitate the extension of credit to private concerns.

The Philippine National Bank.--The need for a national bank in the Islands has long been felt. Previous to its establishment, Filipino farmers and merchants had to go to foreign banks in order to secure the necessary capital. The Philippine government had also to deposit its money with foreign banking institutions which gave a very low rate of interest. All the foreign banks made very little investments in the Islands, preferring to deal almost exclusively with export and import trade.

To remedy these conditions the Philippine National Bank was organized. From a modest beginning the bank grew by leaps and bounds, especially during the war.

[Constructive Service]

In spite of the many criticisms hurled against it, the constructive service that the bank has rendered to the community stands out in bold relief--the financing of the liberty loans, the handling of the sale of alien property, the financial assistance extended in time of dire need to two banks doing business in the islands, the financing of sugar centrals, the giving of loans to agriculturists, and the extension of banking facilities to merchants and manufacturers.

The post-war depression caught the bank unprepared to meet the emergencies and it suffered heavy losses. The bank, however, is now in a fair way to sound footing. But as an institution, despite its reverses, it has come to be part and parcel of Philippine financial life. The Filipino people regard the bank as indispensable in the economic development of the islands.

The Manila Railroad.--The Philippine railroads were taken over by the government in 1916. They were bought from an old English company. The principal motive that impelled the purchase of the lines from the English owners was the failure of the owners to operate the lines with profit. This failure resulted in the imposition of greater burden on the taxpayers in the way of payment for interest on railroad bonds guaranteed by the government from the early days of American administration. The secondary motive was of course to nationalize this most important medium of communication and to put it at government disposal in case of emergency.

From 1914 to 1916 the aggregate net deficit of the company was about $600,000. Under government management the railroad has been gaining steadily. In 1917 the gain was $400,000; in 1918, $130,000; in 1920, $120,000; and in 1921 $148,000, with the added advantage that the government has not been called upon to pay any interest on the bonds.

The National Coal Company.--During the war the coal shortage was one of the great problems that the government had to solve. The Philippine Islands are rich in coal deposits, but very little private capital has been invested in its exploitation. The Philippine Legislature, therefore, chartered the National Coal Company and supplied it with a capital of $1,700,000. The company is now ready to furnish at least the coal needed by the government, which is about 120,000 tons a year, heretofore imported from foreign countries.

The National Development Company.--The company was organized for the purpose of financing isolated commercial, industrial or agricultural enterprises that the government may desire to establish for the general welfare of the country, the motive being that whenever or wherever there was profiteering the government should enter into competition with the profiteer and compel him to reduce the cost of his goods.

The stock of the company is controlled, as in other government companies, by a committee of three, composed of the Governor-General, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Other development companies which have been established by law, some of which have not yet begun to function, are the National Cement Company (2855), the National Coal Company (2705), the National Iron Company (2862), and the National Petroleum Company (2814).

XIV. THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT

The sporadic but persistent agitation for reform which ultimately evolved into the organized movement for independence since 1892, began soon after the discovery of the Islands. In the beginning, dissatisfaction manifested itself in more or less unimportant and localized uprisings against the oppressive measures which the Spanish rulers sought to impose upon the inhabitants.

Some of these uprisings, in outline form, were the following:

[Uprisings against Spain]

1574.--The first governor in Manila ordered the residents to supply his troops food, and took two of the leading Filipinos as hostages. After a time the Filipinos refused to submit any longer to the imposition. The governor ordered the hostages to be shot. The Filipinos revolted.

1585.--The Province of Pampanga was a center of revolts.

1588.--A conspiracy against Legaspi and against the principal officials of the city. The idea in this revolt was to expel the Spaniards from the Philippine Islands.

1589.--Popular revolt in the Provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte.

1622.--Like Pampanga, Bohol became a center of revolts. This year saw a strange revolt which had a religious cause but later gained national importance. It also developed leadership in the person of one Tamblot. He was executed but his memory lived to inspire another rebellion.

This same year saw an uprising in the Province of Leyte.

1643.--Ladia led a revolt in Bulacan. His plan was easily discovered and he was put to death.

1645.--An uprising against the tax system in the Province of Pampanga, the second revolt in that province.

1649.--The most widespread revolt the Spanish government had yet seen against the system of conscripting labor whenever a Spaniard needed it. Starting in Leyte the uprising spread from one province to another and would not have been suppressed had not the governor incited Filipinos against Filipinos.

1660.--Miniago led a rebellion in Pampanga against the system of forced labor. At this time the Filipinos had already learned the Spanish way of making promises which were never fulfilled, thus instilling hatred in the Filipinos.

This same year witnessed another revolt in Pangasinan following the Miniago revolt. The leader by the name of Malong gave the Spanish government an almost unbearable trouble. He proclaimed his province, Pangasinan, independent and started to set up a government of its own. His army swept everything before it, but at last suffered defeat by the hands of Spaniards. The Filipinos were gradually developing military men, and at this time, one General Pedro Gumapus had been recognized. He was arrested, however, and put to death with many of his comrades.

1661.--A revolt in Ilocos, an aftermath of the Malong rebellion.

1686.--A conspiracy in Manila, but soon suppressed.

1719.--The riot in which Governor Bustamante and his son were killed. This was the result of the long discord between the government and the church.

1744.--Another rebellion in Bohol. This time the leader was Dagohoy and under his leadership his army was able to drive the Spanish troops away. Dagohoy set up a government in Bohol.

1762.--Pangasinan revolted again, but again unsuccessful.

1762.--A revolt occurred during the war with Great Britain. Silan offered his services to raise troops against the British. In reply the government sent him to prison for a spy. The Filipinos revolted and broke jail, letting the prisoner out. Silan was later murdered by an assassin whom the Spaniards hired. His widow who continued the revolt was arrested and hanged.

1762.--The Provinces of Cagayan, Laguna, and Batangas revolted against the tax system.

1785.--Nueva Ecija revolted.

1807.--A rebellion in Ilocos in which the Filipinos demanded constitutional rights. The rebels captured the town of Piddig and overcame the Spanish forces.

1811.--The Igorots plotted to annihilate all the Spaniards. The plan was betrayed to the authorities and was nipped in the bud.

1812.--For the first time in the history of Spain the demand for reforms was met with constitutional concession. The Filipinos were to have representation in the Cortes of Spain. The constitution was later discarded by King Ferdinand VII and upon hearing this the Filipinos revolted.

1814.--A rebellion against the oppressive tax system.

1820.--An uprising during a cholera epidemic, as the people believed that the government had been neglecting its duty. It was quelled, and a frightful massacre followed.

1823.--A mutiny at Novales led by a mestizo army officer.

1827.--This year the rebels of Bohol were temporarily subjugated after an independence of about eight years.

1840.--An extensive revolt in southern Luzon led by Apolinario de la Cruz, a student in theology. Cruz organized a Brotherhood of San Juan and asked for the coöperation of the church. In reply, De la Cruz was arrested for working seditiously. Revolt followed in which the leader was arrested and shot.

1843.--An uprising in Manila as a resentment against the treatment of De la Cruz.

1872.--This revolt was different from any other previous revolt as it was no longer a protest against specific injustice but a revolt based upon idealistic basis. The leaders came from the educated class. The victims included such harmless men as Father Burgos, Father Zamora, and Father Gomez who were executed.

1883, 1888.--These years saw various revolts against oppressive treatments.

1892.--This year marked the beginning of the long and constructive struggle which changed the history of the Filipino people. It was characterized by a systematic campaign for freedom, culminating in the execution of Jose Rizal and the successful Revolution of 1896.

THE ORGANIZED MOVEMENT.--The leadership and the national ideals which these uprisings developed, became apparent in the Revolution of 1896 when the masses rose in arms against Spain and demanded separation and freedom. General MacArthur said of this Revolution: