Commonwealth of the Philippines

The Commonwealth of the Philippines (Spanish: Mancomunidad de Filipinas; Tagalog: Kómonwelt nañg Pilipinas) was an unincorporated territory and 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 and was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for full Philippine independence. Its foreign affairs remained managed by the United States.

Commonwealth of the Philippines
Mancomunidad de Filipinas (Spanish)
Komonwelt ng Pilipinas (Tagalog)
1935–1942
1942–1945: Government-in-exile
1945–1946
Flags
Anthem: 
"The Philippine Hymn"
1939 map of the Philippines
StatusUnincorporated and organized U.S. commonwealth (1935–1946)
Government-in-exile (1942–1945)
Capital
and largest city
Manila
14°35′45″N 120°58′38″E
Official languages
National languageTagalog
Religion
None official

Majority:
Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism)

Minority:
Sunni Islam, folk religion
GovernmentDevolved presidential constitutional dependency
High Commissioner 
 1935–1937
Frank Murphy
 1937–1939
Paul V. McNutt
 1939–1942
Francis Bowes Sayre Sr.
 1942–1945 (in exile)
Harold L. Ickes
 1945–1946
Paul V. McNutt
President 
 1935–1944
Manuel L. Quezon
 1944–1946
Sergio Osmeña
 1946
Manuel Roxas
Vice President 
 1935–1944
Sergio Osmeña
 1946
Elpidio Quirino
LegislatureNational Assembly
(1935–1941)
Congress
(1945–1946)
 Upper house
Senate
(1945–1946)
 Lower house
House of Representatives
(1945–1946)
Historical eraInterwar, World War II
 Tydings–McDuffie Act
November 15 1935
March 12, 1942
 Restoration
February 27, 1945
 Admitted to the UN
October 24, 1945
 Independence
July 4, 1946
 Treaty of Manila
October 22, 1946
CurrencyPhilippine peso (₱)
United States dollar ($)
Time zoneUTC+08:00 (PST)
Date format
  • mm/dd/yyyy
  • dd-mm-yyyy
Driving sideleft (before 1945)
right (after 1945)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
1935:
Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
1945:
Second Philippine Republic
1942:
Philippine Executive Commission
1946:
Third Philippine
Republic
Today part ofPhilippines
  1. Some sources assert that an English version written by Mary A. Lane and Camilo Osías was legalized by Commonwealth Act No. 382. The act, however, only concerns itself with the instrumental composition by Julián Felipe.
  2. The Philippines belonged to, but were not a part of, the United States. See the Insular Cases article for more information.
  3. 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;
    • 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.

During its more than a decade of existence, the Commonwealth had a strong executive and a supreme court. Its legislature, dominated by the Nacionalista Party, was at first unicameral but later bicameral. In 1937, the government selected Tagalog – the language of Manila and its surrounding provinces – as the basis of the national language, although it would be many years before its usage became general. Women's suffrage was adopted, and the economy recovered to its pre-Depression level before the Japanese occupation in 1942. A period of exile took place during World War II from 1942 to 1945, when Japan occupied the Commonwealth.

In 1946, the Commonwealth ended, and the Philippines attained full sovereignty as provided for in Article XVIII of the 1935 Constitution.

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