High Commissioner to the Philippines Paul V. McNutt
(left)
makes a point to Secretary of War
Harry H. Woodring
during an official visit to Washington in 1938.
The
high commissioner to the Philippines
was the personal representative of the
president of the United States
to the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
during the period 1935–1946. The office was created by the
Tydings?McDuffie Act
of 1934, which provided for a period of transition from direct American rule to the complete independence of the islands on July 4, 1946. It replaced the office of
governor-general of the Philippines
, who had direct executive authority. Under the commonwealth, executive power was held by an elected Filipino president. The executive power of the high commissioner was largely ceremonial, and its office is similar to that of an ambassador.
The office of high commissioner was held by:
- Frank Murphy
, November 15, 1935 ? December 31, 1936
- Weldon Jones
, December 31, 1936 ? April 26, 1937
(Acting)
[1]
- Paul V. McNutt
, April 26, 1937 ? July 12, 1939
- Weldon Jones
, July 12, 1939 ? October 28, 1939
(Acting)
- Francis Bowes Sayre Sr.
, October 28, 1939 ? October 12, 1942
[2]
- Harold L. Ickes
, October 12, 1942 ? September 14, 1945
(
Secretary of the Interior
, assuming functions during
Japanese occupation
)
- Paul V. McNutt
, September 14, 1945 ? July 4, 1946
Murphy had previously served as governor-general. Sayre's tenure was interrupted by the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
during World War II. McNutt became the first
United States ambassador to the Philippines
after
Philippine independence
in 1946.
High Commissioner's Residence
[
edit
]
Aerial view of the American High Commissioner's Residence, under construction, 1939
With the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth,
Malacanang Palace
was turned over to the
president of the Philippines
, necessitating a new home for the highest American government official in the Philippines. A new location was found along now-
Roxas Boulevard
and a High Commissioner's Residence was built. According to the book titled
Manila Americans
by Lewis Gleeck. "On April 1, 1937, McNutt arrived (in Manila) with Mrs. McNutt and a sixteen-year-old daughter. Since the relinquishment of Malacanang, there had been no official residence for the High Commissioner, so (Paul) McNutt moved into El Nido, the sumptuous Dewey Boulevard residence of Attorney E.A. Perkins...".
[3]
On January 2, 1942, as Japanese forces entered the city of
Manila
, four members of the high commissioner's staff, Elise Flahaven, George Gray, Virginia Hewlett and Margaret Pierce, lowered the
American flag
that flew at the high commissioner's headquarters, burned it and buried its ashes to prevent its capture by the Japanese. On February 22, 1945, General
Douglas MacArthur
, supreme commander of the Allied Forces in the
Southwest Pacific Area
, again raised the flag at the high commissioner's headquarters after recapturing Manila.
The high commissioner's headquarters today houses the American
embassy
in the Philippines.
The American Residence
[
edit
]
The American Residence in Baguio
The
American Residence
in Baguio was built to be the summer home of the high commissioner, to replace
The Mansion
that was the governor-general's summer residence and that had been turned over to the president of the Philippines upon the inauguration of the commonwealth.
[4]
[5]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
United States Bureau of Insular Affairs (1922).
Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department 1922
(Report). Washington: Government Printing Office.
- ^
"Sayre Arrives, October 28, 1939"
.
The Philippines Free Press Online
. October 28, 1939.
- ^
The residence is shown in 1938 in a short film by Andre de la Varre titled
Manila, Queen City of the Pacific
. A
video
of the film was uploaded to
YouTube
on May 6, 2008, by
travelfilmarchive
.
- ^
Cimatu, Frank (September 2, 2023).
"US Ambassador Residence in Baguio opens doors to history buffs on Victory Day"
.
Rappler
. Retrieved
June 20,
2024
.
- ^
Gasingan, Debbie (September 1, 2023).
"US Ambassador's Residence in Baguio City to open doors to visitors"
.
Presidential Communications Group
. Retrieved
June 20,
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]