Philippine Independence 1946: The End of American Colonial Rule

Philippine independence was formally recognised by the United States on 4 July 1946, ending nearly half a century of American colonial rule over the islands. At a ceremony on the Luneta in Manila, the American flag was lowered and the Philippine flag raised, and Manuel Roxas took office as the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.

The handover made the Philippines one of the first Asian colonies to gain independence after the Second World War. It came, however, in a country devastated by war and tied to the United States by economic and military agreements that shaped its politics for decades.

Background

The United States took the Philippines from Spain in 1898 and then fought the Philippine–American War against the republic proclaimed by Emilio Aguinaldo after the Philippine Revolution. American rule gradually gave Filipinos more self-government through an elected legislature.

The Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934 promised full independence after a ten-year transition. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was inaugurated on 15 November 1935, with Manuel Quezon as president, and independence was scheduled for 4 July 1946. American motives were mixed: alongside a genuine commitment to self-rule, US farm interests wanted to end the duty-free entry of Philippine sugar and other products, and labour groups wanted to limit Filipino immigration.

War and destruction

Japan invaded in December 1941, and American and Filipino forces surrendered in April and May 1942 after the defence of Bataan and Corregidor; the fall of Bataan was followed by the Bataan Death March. Quezon led a government in exile in the United States and died there in August 1944; Vice-President Sergio Osmeña succeeded him. A pro-Japanese republic was set up in Manila in 1943.

American forces returned in October 1944. The battle for Manila in February–March 1945 left much of the capital in ruins and killed an estimated 100,000 civilians. When the war ended, the economy was shattered, and there were bitter disputes over Filipinos who had collaborated with the Japanese.

The transfer of sovereignty

In the presidential election of April 1946, Manuel Roxas, who had served in the wartime puppet government but was defended by General Douglas MacArthur, defeated Osmeña. He was inaugurated as the last Commonwealth president on 28 May 1946.

On the morning of 4 July 1946, at a ceremony on the Luneta in Manila, US High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt read President Harry Truman’s proclamation recognising Philippine independence. The American flag was lowered and the Philippine flag raised, and Roxas took the oath as president of the Republic. The same day McNutt and Roxas signed the Treaty of General Relations, often called the Treaty of Manila, in which the United States surrendered all sovereignty over the islands. McNutt stayed on as the first US ambassador.

The choice of the American national holiday was deliberate. It symbolised the link between the two countries and presented independence as the fulfilment of an American promise. Other governments soon recognised the new republic. The Philippines had already signed the United Nations Charter in 1945 as a founding member, even before full independence.

Postwar ties and challenges

Independence came with strings attached. The Philippine Trade Act of 1946, known as the Bell Trade Act, kept free trade for a transition period, pegged the peso to the dollar and gave Americans “parity rights” equal to Filipinos in exploiting natural resources. Payments of war damage funds under a separate rehabilitation act were linked to acceptance of these terms, and the Philippine constitution was amended by plebiscite in 1947 to allow them.

The Military Bases Agreement of March 1947 gave the United States long-term leases on bases, including Clark Air Base and Subic Bay, which remained in American hands until the early 1990s. At home, the new government faced the communist-led Hukbalahap rebellion in central Luzon, corruption and slow reconstruction. The Huks, who had fought the Japanese as guerrillas, turned against the government after their elected congressmen were barred from taking their seats in 1946; the rebellion was only brought under control in the early 1950s.

Key people

• Manuel Roxas (1892–1948): last president of the Commonwealth and first president of the independent Republic.
• Paul V. McNutt (1891–1955): US High Commissioner who read the proclamation of independence and became the first US ambassador.
• Sergio Osmeña (1878–1961): Commonwealth president from 1944 to 1946, defeated by Roxas in the April 1946 election.
• Harry S. Truman (1884–1972): US president who issued the proclamation recognising Philippine independence.

Timeline

• 1934, 24 March: The Tydings–McDuffie Act sets a ten-year path to independence.
• 1935, 15 November: The Commonwealth of the Philippines is inaugurated.
• 1941, December: Japan invades the Philippines.
• 1945, February–March: The Battle of Manila devastates the capital.
• 1946, 23 April: Manuel Roxas wins the presidential election.
• 1946, 4 July: The United States recognises Philippine independence; the Treaty of Manila is signed.
• 1947, March: The Military Bases Agreement is signed and the parity amendment is approved.
• 1962, May: Independence Day is moved to 12 June.

Why it matters

The independence of the Philippines on 4 July 1946 was one of the first peaceful transfers of power from a Western colonial power to an Asian nation after 1945. It ended American colonial rule over the islands, but the trade and base agreements that came with it made the relationship between the two countries a lasting and often debated part of Philippine history.