Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines administered the Philippines from 1935 until 1946 , aside from a period of exile in 1942 to 1945 when Japan occupied the country . It replaced the Insular Government , a U . S . territorial government , and was established by the Tydings – McDuffie Act . The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration , and it prepared the country for independence . 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 . The Commonwealth government went into exile from 1942 to 1945 , when the Philippines was under Japanese occupation . In 1946 , the Commonwealth ended and the Philippines became an independent Republic as provided for in Article XVIII of the 1935 Constitution . Names . The Commonwealth of the Philippines was also known as the " Philippine Commonwealth " , or simply as " the Commonwealth " . It had official names in ( ) and ( ) . The 1935 constitution specifies " the Philippines " as the country ' s short form name and uses " the Philippine Islands " only to refer to pre - 1935 status and institutions . Under the Insular Government ( 1901 - 1935 ) , both terms had official status . History . Creation . The pre - 1935 U . S . territorial administration , or Insular Government , was headed by a governor general who was appointed by the president of the United States . In December 1932 , the US Congress passed the Hare – Hawes – Cutting Act with the premise of granting Filipinos independence . Provisions of the bill included reserving several military and naval bases for the United States , as well as imposing tariffs and quotas on Philippine exports . When it reached him for possible signature , President Herbert Hoover vetoed the Hare – Hawes – Cutting Act , but the American Congress overrode Hoover ' s veto in 1933 and passed the bill over Hoover ' s objections . The bill , however , was opposed by the then Philippine Senate President Manuel L . Quezon and was also rejected by the Philippine Senate . This led to the creation and passing of a new bill known as Tydings – McDuffie Act , or Philippine Independence Act , which allowed the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with a ten - year period of peaceful transition to full independence – the date of which was to be on the 4th July following the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth . A Constitutional Convention was convened in Manila on July 30 , 1934 . On February 8 , 1935 , the 1935 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines was approved by the convention by a vote of 177 to 1 . The constitution was approved by President Franklin D . Roosevelt on March 23 , 1935 and ratified by popular vote on May 14 , 1935 . On 17 September 1935 , presidential elections were held . Candidates included former president Emilio Aguinaldo , the " Iglesia Filipina Independiente " leader Gregorio Aglipay , and others . Manuel L . Quezon and Sergio Osmeña of the Nacionalista Party were proclaimed the winners , winning the seats of president and vice - president , respectively . The Commonwealth Government was inaugurated on the morning of November 15 , 1935 , in ceremonies held on the steps of the Legislative Building in Manila . The event was attended by a crowd of around 300 , 000 people . Pre - War . The new government embarked on ambitious nation - building policies in preparation for economic and political independence . These included national defense ( such as the National Defense Act of 1935 , which organized a conscription for service in the country ) , greater control over the economy , the perfection of democratic institutions , reforms in education , improvement of transport , the promotion of local capital , industrialization , and the colonization of Mindanao . However , uncertainties , especially in the diplomatic and military situation in Southeast Asia , in the level of U . S . commitment to the future Republic of the Philippines , and in the economy due to the Great Depression , proved to be major problems . The situation was further complicated by the presence of agrarian unrest , and of power struggles between Osmeña and Quezon , especially after Quezon was permitted to be re - elected after one six - year term . A proper evaluation of the policies ' effectiveness or failure is difficult due to Japanese invasion and occupation during World War II . World War II . Japan launched a surprise attack on the Philippines on December 8 , 1941 . The Commonwealth government drafted the Philippine Army into the U . S . Army Forces Far East , which would resist Japanese occupation . Manila was declared an open city to prevent its destruction , and it was occupied by the Japanese on January 2 , 1942 . Meanwhile , battles against the Japanese continued on the Bataan Peninsula , Corregidor , and Leyte until the final surrender of United States - Philippine forces on May 1942 . Quezon and Osmeña were escorted by troops from Manila to Corregidor , and later they left for Australia and then the U . S . There they set up a government in exile , which participated in the Pacific War Council as well as the Declaration by United Nations . During this exile , Quezon became ill with tuberculosis , and later he died of it . Osmeña replaced him as the president . Meanwhile , the Japanese military organized a new government in the Philippines known as the Second Philippine Republic , which was headed by president José P . Laurel . This government ended up being very unpopular . The resistance to the Japanese occupation continued in the Philippines . This included the " Hukbalahap " ( " People ' s Army Against the Japanese " ) , which consisted of 30 , 000 armed people and controlled much of Central Luzon . Remnants of the Philippine Army also fought the Japanese through guerrilla warfare , and it was successful , since all but 12 of the 48 provinces were liberated . The American General Douglas MacArthur ' s army landed on Leyte on 20 October 1944 , and they were all welcomed as liberators , along with Philippine Commonwealth troops when other amphibious landing s soon followed . Fighting continued in remote corners of the Philippines until Japan ' s surrender in August 1945 , which was signed on 2 September in Tokyo Bay . Estimates for Filipino casualties reached one million , and Manila was extensively damaged when certain Japanese forces refused to vacate the city ( against their orders from the Japanese High Command ) . After the War in the Philippines , the Commonwealth was restored , and a one - year transitional period in preparation for independence began . Elections followed in April 1946 with Manuel Roxas winning as the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines and Elpidio Quirino winning as vice - president . In spite of the years of Japanese occupation , the Philippines became independent exactly as scheduled a decade before , on July 4 , 1946 . Independence . The Commonwealth ended when the US recognized Philippine independence on July 4 , 1946 , as scheduled . However , the economy remained dependent on the U . S . This was due to the Bell Trade Act , otherwise known as the Philippine Trade Act , which was a precondition for receiving war rehabilitation grants from the United States . Policies . Uprisings and agrarian reform . At the time , tenant farmers held grievances often rooted to debt caused by the sharecropping system , as well as by the dramatic increase in population , which added economic pressure to the tenant farmers ' families . As a result , an agrarian reform program was initiated by the Commonwealth . However , success of the program was hampered by ongoing clashes between tenants and landowners . An example of these clashes includes one initiated by Benigno Ramos through his " Sakdalista " movement , which advocated tax reductions , land reforms , the breakup of the large estates or " hacienda s " , and the severing of American ties . The uprising , which occurred in Central Luzon in May , 1935 , claimed about a hundred lives . National language . Due to the diverse number Philippine languages , a program for the " development and adoption of a common national language based on the existing native dialects " was drafted in the 1935 Philippine constitution . The Commonwealth created a " Surian ng Wikang Pambansa " ( National Language Institute ) , which was composed of Quezon and six other members from various ethnic groups . A deliberation was held and Tagalog ( due to its extensive literary tradition ) was selected as the basis for the " national language " to be called " Pilipino " . In 1940 , the Commonwealth authorized the creation of a dictionary and grammar book for the language . On the same year , Commonwealth Act 570 was passed , allowing Pilipino to become an official language upon independence . Economy . The cash economy of the Commonwealth was mostly agriculture - based . Products included abaca , coconuts and coconut oil , sugar , and timber . Numerous other crops and livestock were grown for local consumption by the Filipino people . Other sources for foreign income included the spin - off from money spent at the American army , navy , and air bases on the Philippines , such as the naval base at Subic Bay and Clark Air Base ( with U . S . Army airplanes there as early as 1919 ) , both on the island of Luzon . The performance of the economy was initially good despite challenges from various agrarian uprisings . Taxes collected from a robust coconut industry helped boost the economy by funding infrastructure and other development projects . However , growth was halted due to the outbreak of World War II . Demographics . In 1941 , the estimated population of the Philippines reached 17 , 000 , 000 while Manila ' s population was 684 , 000 . The number of Chinese rose to 117 , 000 . There were also 30 , 000 Japanese , with 20 , 000 living in Davao , and 9 , 000 US - Mexicans . As a second language , English was spoken by 27 % of the population , while Spanish as a first language was spoken by only 3 % , however Spanish was understood as a second language by a significant number of the population . Estimated numbers of speakers of the dominant languages : Government . The Commonwealth had its own constitution , which remained effective until 1973 , and was self - governing although foreign policy and military affairs would be under the responsibility of the United States , and certain legislation required the approval of the American President . During the 1935 – 41 period , the Commonwealth of the Philippines featured a very strong executive , a unicameral National Assembly , and a Supreme Court , all composed entirely of Filipinos , as well as an elected Resident Commissioner to the United States House of Representatives ( as Puerto Rico does today ) . An American High Commissioner and an American Military Advisor , Douglas MacArthur headed the latter office from 1937 until the advent of World War II in 1941 , holding the military rank of Field Marshal of the Philippines . After 1946 , the rank of field marshal disappeared from the Philippine military . During 1939 and 1940 , after an amendment in the Commonwealth ' s Constitution , a bicameral Congress , consisting of a Senate , and of a House of Representatives , was restored , replacing the National Assembly . Politics . List of presidents . The colors indicate the political party or coalition of each President at Election Day . Quezon Administration ( 1935 – 1944 ) . In 1935 Quezon won the Philippine ' s first national presidential election under the banner of the Nacionalista Party . He obtained nearly 68 % of the vote against his two main rivals , Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay . Quezon was inaugurated in November 1935 . He is recognized as the second President of the Philippines . When Manuel L . Quezon was inaugurated President of the Philippines in 1935 , he became the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines since Emilio Aguinaldo and the Malolos Republic in 1898 . However , in January 2008 , Congressman Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro filed a bill seeking instead to declare General Miguel Malvar as the second Philippine President , having directly succeeded Aguinaldo in 1901 . Quezon had originally been barred by the Philippine constitution from seeking re - election . However , in 1940 , constitutional amendments were ratified allowing him to seek re - election for a fresh term ending in 1943 . In the 1941 presidential elections , Quezon was re - elected over former Senator Juan Sumulong with nearly 82 % of the vote . In a notable humanitarian act , Quezon , in cooperation with U . S . High Commissioner Paul V . McNutt , facilitated the entry into the Philippines of Jewish refugees fleeing fascist regimes in Europe . Quezon was also instrumental in promoting a project to resettle the refugees in Mindanao . Quezon suffered from tuberculosis and spent his last years in a ‘ cure cottage ’ in Saranac Lake , NY , where he died on August 1 , 1944 . He was initially buried in Arlington National Cemetery . His body was later carried by the and re - interred in Manila at the Manila North Cemetery before being moved to Quezon City within the monument at the Quezon Memorial Circle . Osmeña Administration ( 1944 – 1946 ) . Osmeña became president of the Commonwealth on Quezon ' s death in 1944 . He returned to the Philippines the same year with General Douglas MacArthur and the liberation forces . After the war , Osmeña restored the Commonwealth government and the various executive departments . He continued the fight for Philippine independence . For the presidential election of 1946 , Osmeña refused to campaign , saying that the Filipino people knew of his record of 40 years of honest and faithful service . Nevertheless , he was defeated by Manuel Roxas , who won 54 % of the vote and became the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines . Roxas Administration ( May 28 , 1946 – July 4 , 1946 ) . Roxas served as the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in a brief period , from his subsequent election on May 28 , 1946 to July 4 , 1946 , the scheduled date of the proclamation of Philippine Independence . Roxas prepared the groundwork for the advent of a free and independent Philippines , assisted by the Congress ( reorganized May 25 , 1946 ) , with Senator José Avelino as the Senate President and Congressman Eugenio Pérez as the House of Representatives Speaker . On June 3 , 1946 , Roxas appeared for the first time before the joint session of the Congress to deliver his first state of the nation address . Among other things , he told the members of the Congress the grave problems and difficulties the Philippines are set to face and reports of his special trip to the US — the approval for independence . On June 21 , he reappeared into another joint session of the Congress and urged the acceptance of two important laws passed by the US Congress on April 30 , 1946 to the Philippine lands . They are the Philippine Rehabilitation Act and the Philippine Trade Act . Both recommendations were accepted by the Congress .