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| Long title | An Act temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Enacted by | the57th United States Congress |
| Effective | July 1, 1902 |
| Citations | |
| Statutes at Large | 32 Stat. 691 |
| Legislative history | |
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ThePhilippine Organic Act (c. 1369, 32 Stat. 691) that was enacted by theUnited States Congress on July 1, 1902 was thebasic law for theInsular Government. It is also known as thePhilippine Bill of 1902 and theCooper Act, after its authorHenry A. Cooper.
The Philippine Organic Act provided for the creation of an electedPhilippine Assembly after the following conditions were met:
After the convening of the Assembly,legislative power shall then be vested in a bicameral legislature composed of thePhilippine Commission as the upper house and the Philippine Assembly as the lower house. Supervision of the islands was assigned to the War Department'sBureau of Insular Affairs.
Other key provisions included:
This act was superseded by thePhilippine Autonomy Act, or theJones Law, enacted on August 29, 1916.[citation needed]
The act was preceded by theSpooner Amendment to the Army Appropriations Act of 1901 (31 Stat. 895, 910, enacted March 2, 1901) which had provided that:
... all military, civil, and judicial powers necessary to govern the Philippine Islands ... shall until otherwise provided by Congress be vested in such person and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner, as the President of the United States shall direct, for the establishment of civil government, and for maintaining and protecting the inhabitants of said Islands in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion.
This was complemented by a cable from theSecretary of WarElihu Root to thePhilippine Commission on March 5, 1901:[2]
Until further orders government will continue under existing instructions and orders.
The comprehensive Spooner Amendment, and these instructions and orders, virtually constituted for many months the charter of government for the Philippine Islands.[3] Between September 1900 and August 1902, theSecond Philippine Commission (the Taft Commission) issued 499 laws.[1]
The act was enacted into law on July 1, 1902, and the Philippine Commission executed its provisions.[4] A census was conducted in 1903, and published on March 25, 1905.[4] ThePhilippine Assembly elections of 1907 were held on July 30, 1907, for 80 seats, and on October 16, 1907, the1st Philippine Legislature was inaugurated at theManila Grand Opera House.[4]
As a result of the act, the Catholic Church agreed to gradually substitute Spanishpriests with Filipinos and to sell its land.[1] It refused however to send thefriars immediately back to Spain.[1] In 1904, the American administration bought 166,000 hectares, a major part of the friars' holding, over half of which was in the Manila area, and the land was resold to Filipinos—some of them tenants but the majority of them estate owners.[1]