Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era PDF

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era Prepared by: Maybelle R. Dasalla, LPT. WOODGROVE BANK Background of...

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era Prepared by: Maybelle R. Dasalla, LPT. WOODGROVE BANK Background of the authors WOODGROVE BANK Alfredo mccoy He was born on June 8, 1945 in Massachusetts, USA. He earned his BA in European Studies from Columbia College in 1968. He finished his MA in Asian Studies at the University of California in Berkeley in 1969 and his PhD in Southeast Asian History at Yale University in 1977. He studied Philippine political caricatures to understand the social and political contexts of the country during American Period, and later worked with Alfredo Roces. WOODGROVE 3 BANK Alfredo reyes roces He was born on April 29, 1923. He was a painter, an essayist, and a versatile artist who is considered to be a prominent figure in Philippine art. Several newspapers included political cartoons in their editorials: The Philippines Free Press- was founded in 1906. It featured investigative articles regarding the country’s development. It also advocated integrity, democracy and Philippine national progress. WOODGROVE 4 BANK Alfredo reyes roces Lipag Kalabaw was also launched in 1907 and published Tagalog and Spanish. Their artists and writers maintained anonymity as they used pen names which gave an avenue for free expression. The Independent was founded in 1915. It was a weekly newspaper published in English and Spanish that served as a forum for discussion of political issues. WOODGROVE 5 BANK Alfredo reyes roces Bag-ong Kusog which literally means “New Force” often talked about the differences between the Spanish and American colonial governments. This depicted the breakdown of hallowed customs and social practices due to American influence. It focused on criticism of American co-education that endangered the virtues of women. WOODGROVE 6 BANK A. Is the Police Force Bribed? (The Independent, June 09, 1917), p. 32. WOODGROVE 7 BANK A. Is the Police Force Bribed? (The Independent, June 09, 1917), p. 32. This cartoon depicts the first of Manila's periodic police scandals. In 1917 a mysterious informant named Pedro Chua wrote the Philippines Free Press alleging that senior police were accepting bribes from Chinese gambling houses in Binondo and Quiapo districts. Demonstrating the power of Manila's leading weekly newspaper, publication of Chua’s letter sparked allegations that led eventually to "the suicide of a police chief." After a series of sensational charges and counter charges, the Free Press finally withdrew its illegal allegations. WOODGROVE 8 BANK A. Is the Police Force Bribed? (The Independent, June 09, 1917), p. 32. Despite the free press retreat, Vicente Sotto's Independent insisted, in this editorial cartoon, that Chua charges were accurate. Such allegations of police corruption in gambling law enforcement were a constant theme in cartoons throughout the American period. Several times a year, cartoon showed the Manila Police protecting gambling clubs patronized the Filipino politicians , taking bribes from Chinese clubs or failing to break up the city's criminal gangs. WOODGROVE 9 BANK A. Is the Police Force Bribed? (The Independent, June 09, 1917), p. 32. The cartoonist, Fernando Amorsolo, gives the illustration his usual racist edge. While the corrupt Filipino policeman is with own with normal features, the Chinese are caricatured as emaciated, leering creatures more rodent than human. Although Amorsolo was more extreme than most, cartoonists often showed Chinese corruptors or opium smugglers in a similarly racist manner. WOODGROVE 10 BANK B. Where The Mosquito Is King, Donde El Mosquito Es Rey (Free Press, 16 April 1921), p. 36. WOODGROVE 11 BANK B. Where The Mosquito Is King, Donde El Mosquito Es Rey (Free Press, 16 April 1921), p. 36. Built on a swamp and ringed with streams and ponds Manila is natural breeding ground for malarial mosquitos. During the 19th century, Spanish public health procedures were grossly inadequate to the imperatives of Manila's site, and the Americans found the city of cesspool of ill health when they occupied it in 1898. WOODGROVE 12 BANK B. Where The Mosquito Is King, Donde El Mosquito Es Rey (Free Press, 16 April 1921), p. 36. With their experience in tropical health gained in the Caribbean, Americans made major advances in epidemic disease control during the first decades of their rule. Through an arbitrary application of public health regulations, the Board of Health brought tropical disease -- malaria, smallpox, cholera and plague -- under control. During the cholera epidemic of 1902-1904, for example, 4,386 people died in Manila, a mild toll compared to previous outbreaks in the late 19 th century. Subsequent outbreaks in 1905-1906 were contained and by 1911 the disease had been eradicated. WOODGROVE 13 BANK B. Where The Mosquito Is King, Donde El Mosquito Es Rey (Free Press, 16 April 1921), p. 36. During the same period, construction of sewers and sanitary waterworks combined with an activist public health program made the conquest of malaria in Manila a colonial success story. The Board of Health distributed millions of doses of quinine and eliminated mosquito breeding grounds by filling up the standing water hole, such as the moats around Intramuros, or spraying them with petroleum. Houses near swampy sites were relocated and the low ground filled. WOODGROVE 14 BANK B. Where The Mosquito Is King, Donde El Mosquito Es Rey (Free Press, 16 April 1921), p. 36. By 1920, however, the Board of Health was resting on its laurels and the quality of mosquito control was slipping dangerously. Under Governor-General Francis B. Harrison's "Filipinization" program, the Board of Health had been turned over to Filipino civil servants who did not administer the public health programs with the same efficiency. WOODGROVE 15 BANK C. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” “Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad” ((Philippines Free Press, Feb. 12, 1921), p. 41. WOODGROVE 16 BANK C. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” “Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad” ((Philippines Free Press, Feb. 12, 1921), p. 41. The Philippine Assembly passed a law authorizing all legislators, active or retired, to bear firearms. The Manila press was outraged, but the legislators ignored the opposition and promulgated the law over the screams of protest. WOODGROVE 17 BANK C. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” “Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad” ((Philippines Free Press, Feb. 12, 1921), p. 41. In its mocking editorial of February 1921 the Free Press commented: "Now, with our legislators and officials able to strut around with a gun or two guns strapped about their manly waists, they will have to be respected. Now there will be no question as to who is running this show, no affront to their personal dignity, no danger of being threated just like ordinary people… WOODGROVE 18 BANK C. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” “Libertad, Igualdad, Fraternidad” ((Philippines Free Press, Feb. 12, 1921), p. 41. "It matters not that of late the director of Constabulary has been urging greater and greater restrictions of the license to carry arms… All that matters…is that the official have a chance to show that he is somebody and must be respected." WOODGROVE 19 BANK D. The Loyalty of the Filipinos (The Independent, 14 April 1917), p. 181. WOODGROVE 20 BANK D. The Loyalty of the Filipinos (The Independent, 14 April 1917), p. 181. World War I sparked an outburst of pro-American loyalty among Filipinos and transformed Uncle Sam’s media image. The pre-war cartoons of 1907-08 showed him as a satanic monster, drawn in Caucasian caricature with great nose, fanged teeth and crooked smile. These three cartoons from war and post war issues of the nationalist newspaper The Independent, by contrast, show him as a figure worthy of Filipino love and respect. WOODGROVE 21 BANK  D. The Loyalty of the Filipinos (The Independent, 14 April 1917), p. 181. The Loyalty of the Filipinos (below) was published on 14 April 1917, only ten days after the U.S Congress declared war on Germany and America entered the conflict. The artist Fernando Amorsolo draws a wise, handsome Uncle Sam leading little Juan, loyal and smiling, on the road to war. Accurately gauging America’s mood, House speaker Sergio Osmeña won unprecedented political concessions by suspending the independence campaign for the duration and offering the United States 25,000 troops, a destroyer and a submarine. Despite the country’s poverty, Osmeña orchestrated a nationwide loyalty drive which netted $20 million in U.S. war bond sales and $500.000 in Red Cross donations. WOODGROVE 22 BANK  WOODGROVE BANK THANK YOU for listening! WOODGROVE BANK