William Howard Taft and the Philippines

First of all, in my last column “Father and son” I failed to mention two of my own classmates whose sons followed in the footsteps of their father and even did better.

• Brig. Gen. Rodrigo Ordoyo. His son Lt. Gen. Caesar

Ronnie Ordoyo, class 1980, closed out his military career as head of the Southern Luzon Command in the Bicol Region.

• Brig. Gen. Benjamin Ignacio. His son PNP Chief Supt. Alexander Ignacio, class 1983, is currently the PNP deputy comptroller with the equivalent rank of brigadier general.

Sometimes we overlook those who are closest to us. I welcome and would appreciate any other information on this matter.

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One of the main thoroughfares running through the City of Manila is Taft Avenue. It starts at Plaza Lawton and ends up in Baclaran, a distance of some eight kilometers. It is one of several streets in the city whose name has remained the same through the years. Dewey Boulevard is now Roxas Boulevard; Isaac Peral Street is now UN Avenue; Azcarraga is now Claro Recto Avenue.

Some military camps have also been renamed. Fort William McKinley in Taguig City was named after the 25th US president who presided over the annexation of the Philippines by the United States in 1898. By the Treaty of Paris, America paid Spain $20 million for the Philippine islands.  Commenting on the cost, a prominent politician of the day predicted: “We have bought 10 million Malays at $2 a head unpicked, and nobody knows what it will cost to pick them.” Perhaps, both sides now regret that the transaction ever took place.

Fort William McKinley is now Fort Bonifacio, home of the Philippine Army and the site of Bonifacio Global City, one of the great real estate developments in the country. The sale of the military camp was supposed to jump-start the AFP modernization program. That is another story.

Camp Murphy in Quezon City was named after Gov. Frank Murphy, a former mayor of Detroit who later became a Supreme Court justice. In his book “In Our Image,” Stanley Karnow had this to say about Murphy: “The Filipinos admired him as a devout Catholic and, like many of them, an unabashed philanderer.”

Camp Murphy is now Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, home of the AFP high command and the site of one of the more popular military golf courses in Metro Manila.

Nichols Air Base in Pasay City was originally named after Capt. Taylor A. Nichols, Philippine Scouts. It is now Villamor Air Base, official headquarters of the Philippine Air Force. Col. Jesus Villamor commanded the 6th Pursuit Squadron of the Philippine Army Air Corps and is credited with four kills against Japanese enemy aircraft at the start of World War II.

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Who was William Howard Taft? What role did he play in the development of our country, particularly in preparing the nation for eventual self-rule?

In her latest book “The Bully Pulpit,” Doris Kearns Goodwin focuses on the life of two American presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. One particular chapter, “Governor and Governor General,” provides us with insights on how Taft carried out his mission to “uplift and civilize” the Filipinos.

Taft was a federal circuit judge in Cincinnati when President William McKinley asked him to head a Philippine Commission to prepare the colony for civilian rule after the end of hostilities. While Taft opposed annexation, he believed that it was a “sacred duty” to help establish good government in the new possession. After being promised an eventual seat in the Supreme Court, he acceded to McKinley’s request.

In April 1900, Taft, accompanied by his wife Nellie and their three children, arrived in Manila to take up his new duties. His party was received with coldness by Army officers. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, the military governor, was not around to meet him personally, refusing to recognize Taft’s mandate for “it compromised the absolute authority he had exercised in ruling the islands.” General MacArthur continued to occupy Malacañang Palace while Taft had to secure his own housing.

Taft proceeded to hammer out legislation on education, health, civil service, public works, the courts and banking, laying down the foundations for a government of the future. Public hearings were held on the proposed measures. His policy of reaching out to the people aroused antipathy within the military regime. When he referred to Filipinos as “little brown brothers,” American soldiers countered “he may be a brother of Big Bill Taft, but he ain’t no brother of mine.”

The Philippine Commission revised the Spanish Tax Code that favored the wealthy. They built schools throughout the islands, bringing in hundreds of college graduates from America as teachers. Under Taft’s guidance, the commission also laid out plans for roads, railways, hospitals, harbors and ports.

Taft’s wife Nellie worked on cultural projects such as the organization of a Philippine Constabulary Band that would achieve  international renown. She instituted an educational campaign on good nutrition, helping to reduce infant mortality rates.

“In defiance of the established order, Nellie made it a rule that neither politics nor race should influence their hospitality in any way. . . While Nellie’s insistence on complete racial equality marked a spirit of tolerance, her guest lists were drawn from a narrow segment of the population—educated Filipinos of wealth and position.”

On July 4, 1901, Taft was inaugurated as the first civilian governor general of the Philippines. He would oversee US rule in the Philippines for 13 years, four as governor general and nine as secretary of war and, later, as the 27th president of the United States. While he left an “indelible imprint” on the islands, Doris Goodwin points out the flaws in Taft’s attempt to build a democracy from the top down. “His reliance upon the elite, refusal to sanction any opposition to the Federal Party (that supported close ties to the United States), the policy of granting suffrage to a select minority entrenched the existing feudal oligarchy thereby expanding the gap between rich and poor.”