Quezon tells why Filipinos fought as they did

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Part of Philippines

Title: Quezon tells why Filipinos fought as they did
Language: English
Year: 1943
Rights
Fulltext: forth in that great document, known as the Atlantic Char· rer, which was proclaimed by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill on August 14, 1941. "We have been barding since December 7, 1941, ro preserve our country from the menace of Japanese aggression. Although a large part of our territory is overrun by Japanese military forces, our soldiers are still actively engaged in meeting and harassing the foe wherever possible. We do nor intend to be cowed by the armed might of Japan. We shall continue the struggle with every means in our power. 'We desire ro associate ourselves with chose nations which are fighting for the preservation of life and liberty against. the forces of barbarism that seek world domination. Accordingly, the Commonwealth of the Philippines hereby formally adheres to the Declaration by United Nations of January 1, 1942." Mr. Hull, in his prompt reply to President Quezon's letter, said : "The entire freedom-loving world admires the great courage and valor shown by the people of the Philippines during the past six months as they have galla?tly fought to preserve their country from Japanese aggression. On behalf of rhis Government, as depository for the Declaration by United Nations, I cake pleasure in welcoming into ·chis group the Commonweald1 of the Philip~ines." . The Philippines was the 28th country to JOIO the United Nations. Since President Quezon signed the Declaration three other nations have joined. These nations of different creeds and races are united in the war to preserve human dignity and freedom. This international recognition of the Philippines signalized the world's awakening to the Filipino's long struggle for freedom. It was a realization of a hope of the councless Filipino heroes who had given their lives in centuries past and more recently in Bataan and Corregidor. As one of the United Nations, the Philippines will participate in the reconstruction of the world envisioned by the Atlantic Charter. Because of the Filipinos' long contact with both Western and Oriental civilizations, the Philippines stands in an excellent position to serve as interpreter of the West to the Ease and of chc East to chc·Wcst. Quezon Tells Why Filipinos Fought As They Did President Quezon recently explained ta the /lmerican people why the Filipinos fought as gallantly as they did in the Battle of the Philippines. He pointed 011t the vital difference between the resistance put up by Filipinos against the Japanese invaders and the m11ch less impressive resistance shown by the people in Indo-China, Bnrma, Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies. The President said that Filipinos were fighting for their own freedom and for a country vICcory, and it will come. The Japanese occupation of our homeland we see only as a passing-though tragic-phase of our history. Our eyes arc on the future, and on the happiness and freedom which the future holds for us. The record of the Filipino people in chis war has been written in blood, and it is a record of which you and I can be proud. le is a record of unflinching loyalty to the United Scates, a record of heroic deeds. It is a record wirllouc parallel in the Orient, and-I may add-in the hi5tory of colonialism. which fully belonged to them. He to/J Americans that Filipinos fought not because they owed allegiance to the United States but because America had done what no other colonizing power had done to ih colonies. "Under your flag we had tasted freedom," the President Full text of the speech delivered by President Manuel L. Que{on before the Maryland Bar Association in Baltimore on January 16, 1943. In the case of China, which fought and is fighting Japan with a courage and determination that is the admiration of the world, she is defending her own sovereignty and declared. President Quezon's timely message to' the American people was delivered before the Maryland Bar Association in Baltimore. The full text follows: I APPRECIATE more than I can say your invitation chat I be your guest of honor on this occasion, ai;id I thank Senator Radcllife for the invitation he has extended to me in your behalf. Today, as you know, the Japanese occupy my country. But before they succeeded, we fought them to exhaustion, despite overwhelming odds. Even now there are still many Americans and Filipinos who have refused to surrender. They are in the hills, still resisting. We will continue to fight them until the .American forces arrive in sufficient numbers to throw the Japanese out of the Philippines. We have not accepted defeat in rile Philippines. The word is 4 her own Bag. In the Philippines, it was your Bag and your sovereignty that were assailed. Ir is rrue that it was our country that was invaded. But so was Indo-China, and Burma, and Malaya, and rile Netherlands East Indies, where the Hags of foreign countries were Hying. Have the natives of these countries fought the invader? Except for those who were enlisted in the regular armies of these sovereign nations, no one else among them rook part in the war by the side of the governments to which they owed. allegiance. Certainly, rile people as a whole did nor fight. WHY WAS there this vital difference in the Philippines? The answer is that, when we fought for your Bag, we were fighting for our own freedom; when we resisted rhe invasion of our country, we did so because we knew the Philippines was our country nor only de facto but de jure. And we were loyal to you, co your Hag and to your PHILIPPINES co~1ntry, n_or because under international law we owed you th.is alle~1ance, but because you have won our undying friendship and affection-because you did by us what no other colonizing power has done by the people who had fallen under its sway. For you have been our benefactors a~d liberators, and the presence of your flag in the Philippmes was the symbol of our freedom. It was there only to allow you to finish the work you had started to do--to help set up an independent Philippine Republic. That is why nor only the regular Filipino soldier fought by your side, but our own citizen army. Thar is why nor only our citizen army, bur the whole civilian population, to a man, answered the call of duty and did their pan in resisting the enemy. THE IMMENSE majority of General MacArthur's infantry -that superb military commander-was composed of Filipinos, and 20,000 of our young men laid down their lives in the Battle of the Philippines-many, many more than the lives lost by their heroic brothers, the Americans. According to official United States Government statistics, America has lost some 8,000 soldiers, sailors and merchant seamen on all fronts everywhere in the world since the war began. In this figure are included those Filipinos who were serving in the Regular Army of the United States, and the total is less than half the number of those killed who were serving in the Philippine Army. And now lee me cell you why the Filipino people fought by your side to the bitter end. By the time Admiral Dewey came to Manila, the Spaniards were able to offer only a token resistance. America's war against Spain was fought, in the Philippines. with the aid of the Filipinos themselves. After the last crumbling remnant of Spain's Empire was forced out of the Philippines, the Filipino people felt that the time had come for self-government. Their hopes were not realized. And there came instead several years of bloodshed between Americans and Filipinos. After the early years of bitterness and distrust, the Filipino people began to know and understand che real purpose of America_ They realized that the American people were not embarked on a ruthless imperialistic policy. In che words of President McKinley: ''The Philippines are ours, noc to exploit but to develop, to civilize, to educate, co train in' the science of self-government. This is the path of duty which we muse follow or be recreant to a mighty crust committed to us." EACH American President who followed McKinley reiterated this thought in his own words. During the administration of Woodrow Wilson, the Congress of the United Scates enacted the Jones Law,. which promised independence when a stable government could be established in the Philippines. This pledge America kept. Your own Senator Tydings, under the administration and with the recommendation of President Roosevelt, introduced the Bill in 1934 that fulfilled that promise. In the course of the debate on his Bill in the Senate, referring to the war between Americans and Filipinos, Senator Tydings said: ''That war never was intended. We [Americans] never intended to MARCH 15, 1943 scay there. We promised che Filipinos that, if they would cooperate with us, we would stand by them and give them their country .... In Heaven's name, is it coo much to ask under these circumstances that we give chem every chance to work om a just destiny under their own flag, and that they shall have all the assistance we can give them?" In 1934, the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed. The Filipino people will be eternally grateful to Senator Tydings for sponsoring this legislation. I repeat: The bacrle we fought on Bataan and Corregidor less than a year ago was fought because of the spirit chat lay behind the Act which bears the name of the gentleman from Maryland. It might have been easy for us to delude ourselves into accepting the siren song of Japanese propaganda, which told us that Japan was waging war only against the United States, and not against the Filipino people. They pounded the Philippines with this propaganda. But they failed completely, because we knew what Japan had done in Manchuria and in China. And we contrasted their deeds with what America had done in che Philippines. UNDER your flag, we had casted freedom, and no people who have known the blessings of liberty will wane ro live without it. Under the terms of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, the Filipino people had established the Government of the Commonwealth under a Constitution of our own making, in preparation for complete independence. That is why the Filipino people fought. They fought for freedom. They fought because rhey knew chat America had made a promise, and chat she would keep the promise. They fought because rhey respected themselves and knew chat they-like any otl1er nation-had a right co determine their own destiny as pare of the interlocking society that is rhe human race. All chis, I am sure, was somewhere in the mind of Jesus Villamar, the young Filipino flier who led a squadron of six obsolete planes co battle fifty-four Japanese bombers somewhere south of Manila. le was the impulse which caused the Filipino soldier to hold his own helmet over the bare head of General MacArthur while the shell fragments core inco his hands on Corregidor. le was etched deep in the soul of the Filipino school teacher who preferred co die rather than obey the Japanese order co lower the American flag and fly the Philippine colors alongside the "Rising Sun" over his little village schoolhouse. The school teacher was paying tribute to the solidarity between the United States and the Philippines-a solidarity chat will live even when, one day soon, the Philippine flag flies alone over our schoolhouses. That will be on our day of independence, when the Philippine Republic cakes its place among the family of sovereign states. WHEN our flag flies alone over the Philippines, your own Scar-Spangled Banner-which has outlived the bursting bombs of Fort McHenry and of Corregidor-will always wave in our hearts, and your friendship will always be cherished by every one of us above the friendship of any ocher nation. 5 Here in Maryland, before you, the citizens of the Free State, I want to pay tribute now to Senator Tydings, coauthor of the Philippine Independence Act, and to all his colleagues in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. As for your President, under whose leadership the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed, and who was coauthor of the Atlantic Charter, his name will be written in history as one of the world's greatest spokesmen of freedom and human dignity. The tides of war and descruction have swept over the Philippines since the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act. Today a new situation exists there. The years of peace and progress foreseen in the Philippine Independence Act have been scarred by Japanese aggression. The Pacific war has taught us a lesson-both the United States and the Philippines. President Roosevelt doubtless meant this when he said, while the battle was raging in Bataan: "I give to the people of the Philippines my .so~emn pledge that their freedom will be redeemed an? their independence established and protected. The entire resources in men and material of the United States stand behind that pledge." I hope that we shall have tl~e f~ll supp?rt of both ~ena tor Tydings and Senator Radcliffe m carry1.ng out President Roosevelt's pledge on behalf of the American people. W HAT America did in. the Philippines i~ time ?f peace has repaid her well m her hour of pen! and m terms of the esteem and respect of all mankind. I speak for the people of che Philippines when I express our lasting recognition of America's honorable and high-minded policy. Today, in the midst of war, the whole world looks co you to add even greater lustre to your name and reputation as the champion of human freedom. Commissioner Safeguards Filipinos' Interests Resident Commissioner Joaquin M. Elizalde can look back on more than four years rich with accomplishments in protecting Filipinos in their legal rights as citizens of the Philippines, in establishing unity and cooperation among various Filipino groups in the United States, and in promoting friendlier understanding between Americans and Filipinos. A one-time source of much trouble to Filipinos was their citizenship status in the United States. As noncitizens they were barred from many opportunities enjoyed by citizens. Ac the outbreak of the war, clarification of their status became imperative. In many cases arising from chis particular difficulty the Resident Commissioner succeeded in obtaining just and equitable legislation and rulings for Filipinos who, as citizens of the Philippines, owed allegiance co the United Scates and were entitled co privileges and opportunities accorded citizens of the United Srates. Even with their status as United Srates nationals fully esrablished, Filipinos often encountered difficulties in having themselves identified as citizens of the Philippines. To cope wich this problem, the Resident Commissioner's office, through its Nationals Division, with the approval of the Office of Philippine Affairs in the Department of Srate, issued cenificaces of identity, providing documentary evidence of their citizenship. This certificate helped many Filipinos retain or secure employment, which otherwise would have been dosed co them as a result of a misunderstanding of their true status. Filipinos Eligible to Work in Defense Plants In January, 1939, when the appropriations for the Works Progress Administration were submitted to the Congress, it was provided that no part of the money would be paid to anyone who was not a citizen of the United States. Thus many citizens of the Philippines would have been deprived of the benefits of this relief measure had it not been for the timely intervention of the Residenc Commissioner. He succeeded in including among the beneficiaries of this measure "persons owing allegiance to the United States who are in need." The same provision was included in later relief appropriations. Similar provisions in appropriation acts and national defense contracts for 1942 and 1943 permitted Filipinos to work in war plants. Today thousands of Filipinos work in shipyards, arsenals, airplane planes and Government agencies, like the Office of War Information and Office of Censorship. Passage of another bill providing "that no person shall be eligible to hold any civil position or civil office under the United Scates, and in the continental United Scates, unless such person is a citizen of the United States." It was, fortunately, never reported our of committee. Other legislative measures enacted by Congress on the strength of representations made by Resident Commissioner Elizalde include the Nationality Act of 1940, which, as amended, permits the naturalization of Filipinos who have joined the armed forces of the United States; the law appropriating the sugar excise tax funds to provide for public relief and civilian defense in the Philippines, and an amendment to the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 to give preference to Filipino seamen in posts allowed noncitizens in the American merchant marine. Legal Division Alert At one time a bill was introduced in the Senate of Washington State prohibiting aliens from joining labor organizations. This measure would have adversely affected Filipinos. With the assistance of the War Department and the congressional representatives of the state of Washington, Mr. Elizalde had the bill amended so as not to affect Filipinos. In some passport and immigradon difficulties, the Office of the Resident Commissioner has rendered assistance to Filipinos. R~pres~ntatives of this office have appeared before the lmm1grat1on Appeal Board in behalf of citizens PHILIPPINES