Economic and Political Changes in the Occupied Philippines (1)

Economic and Political Changes in the occupied Philippines

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Political Japan realised that Filipino loyalty would be accomplished by focusing efforts on the institutional establishment of the government. Japan decided to make a “Philippine republic” on October 14th 1943 under Jose. P Laurel as President. Although the Japanese attempted to mask their true intents by elaborating that it would benefit the Philippines, people still suffered great Japanese brutality with the Philippines government becoming a puppet. Although this brutality diminished consequently under the American liberation, the Philippine congress who met for the first time on June 9 1945 faced countless problems which arose during the Japanese occupation. Whilst the government still stayed established it was needed to work with a convoluted economy and a country which had been destroyed by political warfare and guerilla violence. Economic Japanese invasion was detrimental to the economic landscape within the Philippines due to shortages and undermining conditions. The Philippines before the Pacific theatre of War were one of the greatest economic superpowers within Asia however Japanese invasion by the end of the War had destroyed the economic stability making them one of the poorest countries in the Asia Pacific region. War time conditions created sudden influxes in chronic shortages of basic commodities. With as lack of such material possession the Philippines a sense of desperation became apparent with individuals Wartime conditions gave rise to the chronic shortages of basic commodities. The deprivation of physical comforts and the desperation with which the people regarded the situation which did not offer any element of hope, led people to acts that would have been considered reprehensible in any civilized community, but under the conditions many Filipinos now found themselves in, became mandatory, and in fact patriotic.Thus emerged the phenomenon of the saboteur, the vandal, the looter, and the profiteer who took advantage of scarcity to exact his toll, the squatter who sneered at all titles to property, and worst of all the traitor personified by the makapili who would betray any person and any cause, for lucre. These also became permanent in the Philippines, in business, politics, and every sector of the community. http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/04/09/world-war-ii-in-the-philippines/ The war also sharpened social, economic and political tensions in the Philippines. Throughout Japanese occupied Asia people suffered badly. Filipinos were no exception. Corruption increased the gap between the rich and the poor widened and social structures broke down. In 1946 the Communist Party of the Philippines took advantage of the deteriorating

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conditions in the countryside to arouse support for rebellion. The war also spawned an armed society. Filipinos put up strong resistance to the invading Japanese and the fighting between United States/Filipino and Japanese forces in 1944–45 was extensive. The violence of the war years led to a greater preparedness to use force to achieve political ends in the post-independence Philippines. Historians of the Philippines have stressed the importance of the family to an understanding of the political structures and the political culture of the Philippines. They see independence in 1946 as changing very little. A small number of wealthy families, generally based on extensive regionally-based land holdings, have controlled Philippines politics since the first elections in 1907. In accordance the instructions of President Manuel Quezon to Jorge Vargas, the Filipino officials in Manila were told to enter into agreements and compromises with the Japanese to mitigate the sufferings of the people under the iron-clad rule of the Japanese. On January 23, 1942 the Philippine Executive Commission was established. “Philippine Republic,” with José P. Laurel, former Supreme Court justice, as president. But the people suffered greatly from Japanese brutality, and the puppet government added little support. Meanwhile, President Quezon, who had escaped with other high officials before the country fell, set up a government-in-exile in Washington. When he died (Aug., 1944), Vice President Sergio Osmeña became president. Osmeña returned to the Philippines with the first liberation forces, which surprised the Japanese by landing (Oct. 20, 1944) at Leyte, in the heart of the islands, after months of U.S. air strikes against Mindanao. The Philippine government was established at Tacloban, Leyte, on Oct. 23. After their landing, Filipino and American forces also undertook measures to suppress the Huk movement, which was originally founded to fight the Japanese Occupation. The Filipino and American forces removed local Huk governments and imprisoned many high-ranking members of the Philippine Communist Party. While these incidents happened, there was still fighting against the Japanese forces and, despite the American and Philippine measures against the Huk, they still supported American and Filipino soldiers in the fight against the Japanese. Since the end of World War II, the Philippines has been on an unfortunate economic trajectory, going from one of the richest countries in Asia (following Japan) to one of the poorest. Growth after the war was rapid, but slowed as years of economic mismanagement and political volatility during the Marcos regime contributed to economic stagnation and resulted in macroeconomic instability.