PART 7 PDF - Philippine Engineering During American Regime

During American Regime The coming of the Americans brought about drastic changes in our engineering culture. The new colonizers pursued -benevolent' policies that focused on English education. public health. free enterprise. and representative governance thus bringing with them were military engine...

During American Regime The coming of the Americans brought about drastic changes in our engineering culture. The new colonizers pursued -benevolent' policies that focused on English education. public health. free enterprise. and representative governance thus bringing with them were military engineers. Thomasite teachers. doctors and evangelist. Under the civil government established in July. 1901. such 'assimilation" manifested itself physically in the form of infrastructures. Highways. bridges. schools. hospitals. and government buildings steadily transformed the Philippine landscape. 1899 In his letter dated January 4. 1899 to Filipinos. US Major-General Elwell S. Otis. the Military Governor of the Philippines. announced US President William McKinley's instructions for the islands' Benevolent Assimilation. The instructions stated that the management of public property and revenue. and the use of all public means of transportation. were to be conducted by the military authorities (i.e. by the US Army) until such time that they would be transferred back to civilian authority. Thus. the Bureau of Engineering was placed under the supervision of American military engineers. The ports were opened to commerce for all foreign nations. 1900 Foundation of the Liceo de Manila. a private institution offering academic course for maestro de obras and headed by Leon Ma. Guerrero. The first private school to offer an academic title for Maestro de Obras. (the forerunner of formal education in architecture/engineering) The introduction of reinforced concrete in the Philippines was in the 1900s and its use in the construction of the Masonic Temple (Grand Lodge of the Philippines). the first multi-structure in Escotta. Manila. On April 20. 1900. the US military authorities returned the railroad to its owner Early 1900's Transportation in the Philippines was depended largely on trails. waterways. railroad. earth roads and partially-gravelled roads. Highway in the Philippines at that time is nothing more than a dream to most Filipinos. The US government initiated the development of roadways in the Philippines connecting towns. cities and provinces. The popular Macadam road type was introduced. It gained acceptance because of abundant supply of stones and gravel. 1901 By virtue of Act No. 83 passed by the Philippine Commission on February 6. 1901. public works and projects were placed under the Provincial Supervisions'. The 1901 municipal code (February 6. 1901) provided for popularly elected municipal board members who were responsible for collecting taxes. maintaining municipal properties. and undertaking necessary construction projects. 1902 The first professional association of architecture and surveyors was born on September 14. 1902 with the creation of the Academia de Arquitectura y Agrimensura de Filipinas (AAAF). Bureau of Engineering and Construction of Public Works and Bureau of Architecture and Construction of Public Buildings - were created by Act Numbers 222 and 268 of the Philippine Commission and placed under The Department of Commerce and Police The Philippine Commission passed Act Nos. 222 and 268 creating the Department of Commerce and Police which gave birth to the Bureau of Engineering and Construction of public works and the Bureau of Architecture and Construction of public buildings. The Philippine Bill of 1902 (July 1. 1902) or the Philippine Organic Act authorized the Government of the Philippine Islands to provide for the needs of commerce. This includes improving harbours. constructing maintaining bonded warehouses. wharves. piers. light-houses. signal and life-saving stations. buoys. and like instruments of commerce. as well as to adopt and enforce regulations. (The US Congress authorizes the Philippine Government to grant franchise and concession for the construction of public utilities and services) On December 8, 1902, the first Railroad Legislation Act (Philippine Commission Act No. 554) was passed granting the Manila Railroad Company (MRRCo) the right to construct branch lines 1903 AAFF changed the name of association to Academia de Arquitectura. Ingeniera y Agrimensura de Filipinas (AIAAF) — including civil engineers and surveyors But everything was confused and disorganized under our tolerant new masters. Even in government. it took several years before the Philippine commission could buckle down to work and create the first Philippine assembly. 1904 The above-mentioned Academia merged with the Liceo and established the Escuela de Ingeniera y Arquitectura, which offered a five-year course in architecture and civil engineering. 1905 The Escuela ceased to operate after its first year of inception. The Bureau of Public Works was created and placed under Department of Commerce and Police on October 26, 1905 Act No. 1401 of the Philippine Commission passed on October 4, 1905, abolished engineering districts and positions of district engineers. On October 26 of the same year. however, by virtue of a Reorganization Act. the Bureau of Public Works was created and placed under the Department of Commerce and Police. Along with the economic growth of the country was the need for a more extensive road network that would penetrate the rural areas. In order to achieve that end, provincial boards were created in 1907 with authority to collect double cedula taxes to finance the construction of provincial roads and bridges. In addition, the national government appropriated P1,700,000 as aid to such constructions. 1906 On July 7. 1906, Philippine Commission Act No. 1510 was enacted giving the concession of the railway to Speyer and Co. with Mr. Horace Higgins as General Manager 1907 The Faculty of Engineering of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) is the oldest engineering school in the Philippines. It was established on May 18, 1907, as School of Civil Engineering with one program offering leading to the degree of Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE). From faculty records, it appeals that it was only in 1912 when the earliest batch of students was conferred their MSCE degrees. Don Ramon Irureta-Goyena headed the UST-COE. During the early years of U.S. occupation, most of the civil engineers in our country came from America. The College was patterned after the University of Havana in Cuba and was fast set up at the second floor of the old UST building in Intramuros. 1908 The above-named Escuela was reorganized and reopened its doors to students but this time offered a three-year course for architecture, civil engineering and electrical engineering. 1909 Wawa Dam (also known as Montalban Dam) is a gravity dam constructed over the Marikina River in the municipality of Rodriguez in Rizal province. Philippines. The slightly arched dam is situated in the 360-metre (1,180 ft) high Montalban Gorge or Wawa Gorge, a water gap in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and east of Manila. It was built in 1909 during the American colonial era to provide the water needs for Metro Manila. It used to be the only source of water for Manila until Angat Dam was built and Wawa was abandoned. Due to insufficiency of water supply for Metro Manila, there was a strong clamor to reuse the dam. 1910 The Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines. in a resolution passed on June 3. 1910, appointed Mr. W.J. Colbert as acting Dean of the College of Engineering. His appointment was set to effect on June 13. 1910 thereby creating the College of Engineering. Dean Colbert was authorized to prepare the curriculum and select the necessary teaching personnel for the new course. Initially, a four-year course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science with an additional degree of Civil Engineer upon completion of an extra year of study was approved. The first instructor to be appointed was Mr. Jose P. Katigbak of the City Engineer's Office of Manila, as instructor in graphics (drawing) on a part-time basis. The first appearance of motor vehicles in the Philippine highways in 1910. Roads and bridges had to be kept in good condition at all times. Naturally. there was a need for funds to keep the roads passable the whole year round. 1911 In 1911. the AIAAF was dissolved when the civil engineers (and other engineering profession) withdrew to form their own professional organization (The Philippine Society of Engineers), but not before it has struggled for the passage of an Engineers and Architects Law. 1912 The Escuela was closed. The Irrigation Act of 1912: Under the American regime, the government initiated policies to stimulate national economic growth through irrigation development. The Irrigation Division under the Bureau of Public Works (BPW) was established in 1908 (the friar lands were sold to govt. which in turn were sold to the tenants in 1902). The Irrigation Act was passed in 1912. This regulated the appropriation of public waters, investigation, construction, operation and maintenance of irrigation systems. It also regulated the appropriation of public waters, prescribed rules on water rights and provided for the securing of payments for irrigation services from the beneficiaries. 1913 The first NIS, the San Miguel River Irrigation System in Tarlac with a service area of 6000 hectares was inaugurated in 1913. During World War I. all appropriations for irrigation was withdrawn and the Irrigation Division was downgraded to a section in the Design Division of the BPW. Through legislative Act No. 2562, financial assistance was given to existing private irrigation systems covering a minimum of 25 ha., through duly organized corporations or associations of landowners. 1914 Communal irrigation systems (CIS) were simple structures. The earliest on record is as far back as 1914, mostly located in the Ilocos area of northern Philippines and known as the zanjera. The term zanjera is derived from the Spanish term for turnout and used locally to refer to a co-operative irrigation society the function of which was to secure a stable and reliable supply of water for its members. Most zanjeras may have two or more sittios or barrios. Membership may comprise of all land owner or tenants or a combination of both. Water from these systems were usually obtained from river diversions by bamboo and rock structures-the brush dam." Being temporary structures, the community was brought together in its reconstruction on a regular basis. Different zanjeras may share a single main or diversion dam. In this case, necessary social adaptations were made to settle conflicts between individuals or groups. The construction, repair and maintenance costs of the physical system were shared by all the members through contributions in materials or labor. 1916 On February 4, 1916. By authority of Philippine Legislature Act No. 2574, former Governor General Harrison negotiates the acquisition of the MRRCo by the Philippine Government The Reorganization Act 2666 as amended by Act No. 2803 dated November 18. 1916 gave birth to the Department of Commerce and Communications (Department of Commerce and Police transformed to The Department of Commerce and Communications), consisting of the Bureau of Commerce and Industry. Bureau of Supply. Bureau of Public Works. Bureau of Posts. Bureau of Labor and Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey. To raise such needed funds, motor vehicles and drivers plying the highways were required to register with fee in 1921. To keep pace with further development in transportation and communications, the Department of Commerce and Police was transformed into the Department of Commerce and Communications under Reorganization Act No. 2666 of 1916. 18 January 1917 - 03 October 1922 When the first cabinet comprised of Filipinos was organized. Gov. Gen. Francis. B. Harrison appointed Cebu governor Dionisio Jakosalem as Secretary of Commerce and Communication. The construction of roads and public buildings marked his administration as governor of Cebu. He is credited with having linked the southern and northern parts of the province with roads. 1919 —1954 Metropolitan Water District was founded 1921 The Engineers and Architects Law (Act No. 2985) passed on February 23. 1921. The law created separate Board of Examiners for civil engineering and architecture. They were schooled abroad as civil engineers and architects. Due to the Engineers and Architects Law of 1921. Filipinos were allowed to practice as Architects and Engineers because of their experience as Maestro de Obras in the Spanish Period. Public Act No. 2985 was enacted empowering the Secretary of Commerce and Communication to appoint members of the boards of the architecture and engineering professions. The Act, which contained very general provisions on the regulation of engineering and architecture, was later amended by Acts No. 3159 and 3182. 1928 A group of civil engineers from the government sector formed the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE) which was the first civil engineering organization in the Philippines with Engr. Marcia! Kasilag as its first president. Engr. Kasilag thereupon received the honor of holding PRC Registration Number 1 for Civil Engineers. He then occupied a high-ranking position in the government and the early members of PSCE were government engineers. There were relatively few civil engineers in private practice during that time as most of the early graduates were readily engaged by the various government agencies. 1930's Puente Colgante Bridge was replaced by a modern steel arch bridge during early 1930's. It was renamed Quezon Bridge after Manuel L Quezon, the president of the Philippines at that time. 1931 Department of Commerce and Communications renamed as the Department of Public Works and Communications More development for the Department took place in 1931 when the Philippine Legislature passed on May 1 of that year Act No. 4007, renaming the Department of Commerce and Communications as Department of Public Works and Communications. This Ac, however, did not state the proper composition and functions of the DPWC.