THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION AND THE
SECOND PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC
•BY
•REZEL GERMEDIA
•JOANNA FRANCINE MENDOZA
•KAYRELLE ANGELA GUILLERMO
Japanese Occupation
• The global situation of world war is the fear of many Filipino leaders that the
Philippines will be implicated in the war. General Douglas McArthur was
commissioned to prepare the national security measure of the Commonwealth
Government; in as much as National Security, the problem is a concern.)
• Japan attacks the Philippines -
• December 8, 1941 -
• Occurred between Dec 8, 1941 – May 8, 1942
• The Japanese occupation of the Philippines occurred when Imperial Japan
occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. The
invasion started ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
• In the history of all nations, a moment comes when the people rise and
establish their nation-state independence in which they find justice and
security. With the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japan could
neutralize the American forces in the Pacific. World War I was those nations
that either participated directly in or were affected by any of the events of
World War II.
• The Japanese invasion of the Philippines was well-planned. It should be noted
that the Pearl Harbor bombings were well studied from the reports of Japanese
spies for several years. The time of bombings in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and
the Philippines were well taken by the Japanese, considering that the
Americans were unprepared for the Japanese invasion.
Second Philippine Republic
1943 constitution
• The 1943 Constitution was the constitution of the
Japanese-sponsored Second Republic of the Philippines
(1943-1945).
• It was recognized as legitimate and binding only in
Japanese-controlled areas of the Philippines but was
ignored by the United States government and the
Philippine Commonwealth government in-exile.
June 16, 1943
• On June 16, 1943, Premier Hideki Tojo promised independence to
the Philippines. The KALIBAPI would then form the Preparatory
Committee on Philippine Independence (PCPI) composed of 20
delegates, which was tasked with drafting a new Constitution.
• The Japanese monitored the drafting of the constitution and
instructed the members of PCPI, led by Jose P. Laurel, that the
constitution should conform with the principles of the Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
THE KALIBAPI
• the KALIBAPI create the Preparatory Committee for Philippine
Independence on June 19, 1943. A draft constitution was formed
by the Preparatory Commission for Independence, consisting of
20 members from the KALIBAPI. The Preparatory Commission, led
by Jose P. Laurel ,presented its draft Constitution on September 4,
1943 and three days later, the KALIBAPI general assembly
ratified the draft Constitution.
The President of the Second Republic
• Jose P. Laurel
• José Paciano Laurel y García, CCLH
• He was the president of the Second Philippine Republic,
a Japanese puppet state when occupied during World
War II, from 1943 to 1945.
Content of the Constitution
• The 1943 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,
composed of a preamble and twelve articles, creates a
Republican state with a powerful executive branch and
subordinate legislative and judicial branches.
• It enumerates the duties and rights of the citizens, requires the
government to develop Tagalog as the national language, and
stipulates that one year after the termination of the Great East
Asia War or the World War II; a new constitution shall be
formulated and adopted to replace this Constitution.
Content of the Constitution
• Article I
The Philippines is a Republican state. And shall be known as the Republic of the
Philippines.
• Article II
The executive power is vested in the President, who is to be elected by the members
of the National Assembly from among themselves. The President is the head of
government, and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
The powers of the President are: to veto any bill of the Assembly, to promulgate
regulations when the Assembly is not in session and in times of war or national
emergency, to declare martial law, to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus, and to appoint the members of the Council of State and officials of the local
government.
Content of the Constitution
• Article III
A limited legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly whose
members, like the President, are not directly elected by the people. Rather, the Assembly is
to be composed of representatives from each province elected in Kalibapi conventions
throughout the country with appointed governors and mayors as ex-officio members.
• Article IV
The judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court whose justices, together with judges of
lower courts, are to be appointed by the President.
Article V
The President and the Justices of the Supreme Court shall be removed from office on
impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason,
bribery, or other high crimes. The Supreme Court shall have the sole power to try all
impeachments.
Greater East Asia Conference
• The Greater East Asia Conference was an international summit
held in Tokyo from 5 to 6 November 1943, in which Japan hosted
the heads of state of various component members of the Greater
East Asean Co- prosperity sphere. The event was also referred to
as the Tokyo Conference. The Conference addressed few issues
of any substance, but was intended from the start as a
propaganda show piece, to illustrate the Empire of Japan's
commitments to the Pan-Asianism ideal and to emphasize its role
as the "liberator" of Asia from Western colonialism.
Problems of the Republic
During his term in office, Laurel was faced with various problems that the
country was experiencing, such as the following:
• Shortages of food, clothing, oil, and other necessities.
• Heavy Japanese military presence throughout the entire region.
• Japanese control of transportation, media, and communications.
• The Filipino resistance movement, as evidenced by the two assassination
attempts against Laurel.
Laurel attempted to show that the independence of the republic was genuine by
rectifying these problems.
Problems of the Republic
• Economic starvation
As a result of the war, the Philippines' economy suffered economic starvation. In effect,
food shortage was experienced throughout the country. The Filipino farmers complied
with planting cotton instead of food. The Filipinos survived and learned to develop
initiative and alternative food.
• Food shortage
Prioritizing the shortages of food, he organized an agency to distribute rice,
even though most of the rice was confiscated by Japanese soldiers.
• Peso devaluation
The Japanese money, or "Mickey Mouse, " circulated during the Japanese regime.
Inflation is caused by money that is more than goods and services. The peso
devaluation is one of the economic problems at that time.
Problems of the Republic
• Industry
Agricultural production, business establishment, roads, bridges, buildings, and
industry were destroyed by war. The only profitable business is portfolio
business or buys and sells.
Allied Occupation in Japan after WWII
• The groundwork for the Allied occupation of a defeated Japan was laid during
the war. In a series of wartime conferences, the leaders of the Allied powers of
Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the Republic of China, and the United States
discussed how to disarm Japan, deal with its colonies (especially Korea and
Taiwan), stabilize the Japanese economy, and prevent the remilitarization of
the state in the future. In the Potsdam Declaration, they called for Japan’s
unconditional surrender; by August of 1945, that objective had been achieved.
