Commonwealth of the Philippines

The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a self-governing Philippine government established in 1935 under U.S. sovereignty. It prepared the islands for independence, which followed in 1946 after Japanese occupation and World War II.

Philippine Organic Act: A 1902 U.S. law that established a civil government in the Philippines and defined its relationship to the United States. It established the early civil institutions that preceded the Commonwealth.
Manuel L. Quezon: A Filipino statesman who became the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. As president, he led the government and its preparations for independence.
Japanese occupation of the Philippines: Japan’s military occupation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. The occupation displaced the Commonwealth government and disrupted its planned transition.
Sergio Osmeña: A Filipino statesman who served as vice president and later president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. He succeeded Quezon as president during the government’s wartime exile and return.
Philippine Autonomy Act: A 1916 U.S. law that promised eventual Philippine independence and expanded Filipino control of government. Its independence promise set the political direction the Commonwealth later formalized.
National Assembly of the Philippines: The unicameral national legislature created by the 1935 Philippine Constitution. It exercised legislative authority during the Commonwealth’s early years.
Commonwealth government-in-exile: The Philippine Commonwealth government that operated abroad after Japan occupied the Philippines during World War II. It preserved the government’s claim to authority while the islands were occupied.
Manuel Roxas: A Filipino politician who became the last president of the Commonwealth and the first president of the independent republic. His presidency bridged the Commonwealth’s final months and independence.
Tydings–McDuffie Act: A 1934 U.S. law that authorized a Philippine constitution, a transitional commonwealth, and independence after ten years. It supplied the legal framework and timetable for establishing the Commonwealth.
Supreme Court of the Philippines: The highest court in the Philippine judicial system. The Commonwealth retained a national judiciary within its constitutional government.

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