Philippine Commission
| Philippine Commission (or the Second Philippine Commission) |
|
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type |
unicameral
(1900-07) upper house (1907-16) of the Philippine Legislature |
| History | |
| Founded | March 16, 1900 |
| Disbanded | October 3, 1916 |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Philippine Senate |
| Leadership | |
The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the President of the United States to assist with governing the Philippines.
The first Philippine Commission was appointed by President William McKinley on January 20, 1899 to make recommendations.
The second Philippine Commission, also known as the Taft Commission, was a body appointed by the President to exercise legislative and limited executive powers in the Philippines. It was first appointed by President McKinley in 1900 under his executive authority. In 1902, the Philippine Organic Act was passed by the United States Congress which enshrined into law the Commission legislative and executive authority. Beginning in 1907, as stipulated in the Philippine Organic Act, the bicameral Philippine Legislature was established with the Commission as the upper house and the elected Philippine Assembly acting as lower house. The Jones Act of 1916 ended the Commission replacing it an elected Philippine Senate as the Legislature's upper house.
On January 20, 1899, President McKinley appointed the First Philippine Commission (the Schurman Commission), a five-person group headed by Dr. Jacob Schurman, president of Cornell University, to investigate conditions in the islands and make recommendations. In the report that they issued to the president the following year, the commissioners acknowledged Filipino aspirations for independence; they declared, however, that the Philippines was not ready for it. Specific recommendations included the establishment of civilian government as rapidly as possible (the American chief executive in the islands at that time was the military governor), including establishment of a bicameral legislature, autonomous governments on the provincial and municipal levels, and a system of free public elementary schools.
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