Philippine Commission

The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines.

The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by President William McKinley on January 20, 1899 as a recommendatory body.

The Second Philippine Commission, also known as the Taft Commission, was appointed on March 16, 1900 to provide civil government to areas under U.S. control. It relied on the presidential war powers of the US military government for its authority. In 1901, the Spooner Amendment to the Army Appropriations Act of 1901 gave the commission, "All military, civil, and Judicial powers necessary to govern the Philippine Islands".[1] The Philippine Organic Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1902 enshrining into more permanent law the commission's legislative and executive authority. As stipulated in that act, the bicameral Philippine Legislature was established in 1907, with the Commission as the upper house and the elected Philippine Assembly acting as lower house. The Jones Act of 1916 ended the Commission, replacing it with an elected Philippine Senate as the legislature's upper house.

  1. ^ "The Spooner Amendment". scribd.com. n.d. Retrieved August 23, 2024.