CIVIL LIBERTIES

Delivered on the occasion of the interuniversity oratorical contest held under the auspices of the Civil Liberties Union at the Ateneo auditorium, Manila, on December 9, 1939.

I have listened to a speech warning our people against independence, on the grounds that every liberty you now enjoy may be lost, while under the American flag you are not denied any individual liberty. No one has outdone me in giving due credit to the Government and people of the United States for what they have done in the Philippines. But I cannot permit anyone to say in my presence that our people have enjoyed greater freedom under the American administration, or that our people will not enjoy their freedom under an independent Philippines, as much as they have enjoyed it under the American flag.

It is true, and I am proud of it, that I once said, “I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans.” I want to tell you that I have, in my life, made no other remark which went around the world but that. There had been no paper in the United States, including a village paper, which did not print that statement, and I also had seen it printed in many newspapers in Europe. I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by any foreigner. I said that once; I say it again, and I will always say it as long as I live. [Applause.]

But that is not an admission that a government run by Filipinos will be a government run like hell. [Laughter.] Much less can it be an admission that a government run by Americans or by the people of any other foreign country, for that matter, can ever be a government run like heaven. [Laughter.] We have had four years of our government—the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines—a government run by Filipinos, and I defy anybody, American, foreigner or Filipino, to tell me that ours today is a government run like hell. I should say that this is the best government we have ever had in the Philippines, and I will now enumerate the facts to prove this to you.

We have been under American administration. I will not speak now of the Spanish regime because that already belongs to history. We have been, I repeat, under American administration for over 40 years. But when did the common tao receive the protection of the Government if not only upon the establishment of the Commonwealth? You heard American governors-general charge the cacique of abusing his power, but they were merely denouncing the political bosses, not the economic bosses whom they never went after. When did Juan de la Cruz ever have any chance at social justice, not only upon the establishment of the Commonwealth? Under the American rule, a law in this country authorized the imprisonment of the kasama who left his landlord while still peculiarly obligated to the latter. But it was Manuel Quezon, let me tell you, who did away with that law.

Is that freedom? Would that be freedom—allowing a poor tao who owes his landlord to be sent to jail—which you so proudly claim the Filipino enjoyed under the former regime? The orators spoke of the provision in our Con situation which permits the President to suspend the right of habeas corpus under certain circumstances, such as when rebellion, insurrection or imminent danger exists. From where did the Filipino makers of the Constitution copy that provision? From the Act of Congress itself. That was a power given to the American governors-general, and nobody here tonight had protested against the exercise of that power while it was in their hands.

INTRODUCTION

The civil liberties speech was one of the most significant words that president Manuel L. Quezon delivered on the occasion of the interuniversity oratorical contest held under the auspices of the Civil Liberties Union at the Ateneo auditorium, Manila, on December 9, 1939. The speech was addressed to the Filipino’s true state of freedom while we’re in the hands of the Americans. We, Filipinos, only felt freedom when the Commonwealth was established that was governed by Quezon. The longingness of being free from colonizers kept the patriotism burning of our countrymen. With that, Quezon swore that he would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by foreigners.

TRUE FREEDOM OF THE FILIPINOS

The history of the Filipino has made significant events in the past that defined how the Republic of the Philippines went through the different time periods of invasion from various countries including the Spaniards, American regime, and the Japanese as well, all of which resulted to the underlying yearning of every Filipino hearts for freedom and independence from all sorts of colonization. Filipinos have always dealt with the problems of their freedom. From the chains of the Japanese to the jails of the Spaniards. It was given to them by the Americans after 333 years, but due to this, the Philippines had problems with their independence. On the other hand, the country was colonized by the Westerns for over 48 years and has influenced the country by a large margin, everything Filipinos do now are influenced by the colonizers.

History states that our great heroes have fought for our country's freedom, from the unwavering Spaniards to the ever deceitful Westerners. It is without question, the Philippines never thrived on its own because of how meek everything was. However, the Philippines soon harvested the tragedies of tomorrow and built a foundation for democracy. Freedom has never been sweeter, or so we thought; I firmly believe that true freedom exists if we can live every single day without consequences. The true freedom of the Filipino People is lost and entombed in history's shackles and yet to be uncovered.

In lieu of all that has been mentioned, for Filipinos and myself included; there has never been more an idea than the grandeur of true freedom. I laud the previous Jose Rizal and the Warrior of Mactan, for if it were not their blood spilled on the motherland we wouldn't have moved forward. But alas, The true meaning of Filipino Freedom is still in the carcasses below. Perhaps the true meaning is beyond those who sacrificed themselves, martyrs of poor leadership. But then again, was it ever thus? my fellow countrymen; we have played outstandingly.

ECONOMY DURING THE COMMONWEALTH

Within the years of Manuel L. Quezon as he governed the Republic of Philippines, the country experienced various changes that made the Filipinos doubt their freedom which also affected their citizenship and as well as their economy. After they waved their flag as a sign of independence in 1989, they were supposed to stand up against foreign invaders but the country was blinded by the words expressed by the Americans in opposition to its prior invaders, the Spaniards, making them believe that there was no exchange needed for their freedom. These occurrences affected many aspects of the country, one of which was the economy during the commonwealth era of the Philippines.

One of the most noticeable effects of the governance of the American regime in the commonwealth era was the rooting debt of the tenant farmers of the country due to the sharecropping system. The pressure was put on the farmers that worked hard during those times of the commonwealth era just in hope of having a beneficial economy. It was well known that the economy during this era was more focused on agriculture since it was the well known labor at that time. This led to various uprisings such as the agrarian reform that brought changes for the country in terms of land ownership and economic growth.

INDEPENDENT LEADERSHIP THAT QUEZON YEARNED FOR

Desire for freedom has been existing ever since the Spaniards colonized our nation, it was evident since the Battle of Mactan commenced in 1521. This desire still exists until we are colonized by the Western invaders. The Philippines was under American administration for more than 40 years since 1934, setting it on another course, one that was to start with self-sufficiency for the archipelago as a commonwealth rather than a colony, and end with the islands acquiring freedom in 1946. After the US adjoined and enslaved the Philippines, Filipinos after some time created competing nationalism in the nation - one dependent on division from the US and the other was in close ties with the public authority in Washington. The US has been the Philippines military oppressor and liberator, political model and the absolute opposite, monetary savior and enslaver. Hence, Quezon as an advocate of independence and US fighter demonstrated exceptionally irresolute about ending the US dominance in the nation.

The Philippines was granted freedom from the Spaniards, but only in acknowledged arrangement of the United States with respect to the Philippine Islands. The Filipino thought that the opportunity had arrived when steps ought to be taken quickly by the Government of the United States for the acknowledgment of the power of the Filipino individuals over their own country. It was the Philippines whom seeks for its division from the power of foreign invaders, not on the ground of complaints or misuses that call for redress but rather on the ground that the work of the ruling country has been so well and respectably played out that it is no longer necessary for the Philippines to coordinate the predeterminations of its own nation; thus the state, with appreciation for the administering nation at that time, seeks for partition with the lead of Quezon.