Countries Death rate per
1,000 inhabitants
Oriental:
Egypt. 40.50
China. 40.00
India. 35.00
Straits Settlement. 31.64
Ceylon. 27.00
Burma. 24.93
Philippines. 22.29
Anglo-Saxon:
United States. 14.70
England. 13.70
Canada. 12.70
South Australia. 11.73
Queensland. 11.00
New Zealand. 10.35
Latin:
Porto Rico. 28.50
Mexico. 23.39
Cuba. 19.70
Italy. 18.20
France. 17.70
VIII. LOCAL AUTONOMY.--Greater autonomy has been extended to the
provinces and municipalities especially as regards local taxes,
education, sanitation, and permanent public improvements.
One of the significant and substantial results of the new policy
is the remarkable improvement in the finances of the provinces and
municipalities. During the period 1914 to 1920 a general revision of
assessment of real properties was conducted in all the provinces. From
this assessment we find an increase of 1,703,449 in the number of lots
of taxable real property on December 31, 1920, as compared with the
corresponding figure on September 30, 1913, representing an increase of
about 100 per cent. The increase, of course, means increased revenue
from the real property taxes for the local government.
A study of the revenues of the provinces and municipalities during 1914
to 1920, as compared with the period 1909 to 1913, shows an increase
of 1,090 per cent, the average percentage of yearly increase being
155.5 per cent. In 1922 the revenues of the provinces were P19,264,264;
those of the municipalities were P32,486,068.
IX. PUBLIC WELFARE.--One of the first acts of the Philippine government
since control was turned over into the hands of Filipinos was the
creation of the so-called Public Welfare Board entrusted with the task
of coördinating the work of private and public welfare agencies. The
board acts as the agency for controlling the disbursement of public
charity funds to semi-public institutions like the Anti-tuberculosis
Society, the Gota de Leche, and the Women's Clubs.
On February 23, 1916, an act was passed by the Legislature
appropriating P1,000,000 for the protection of early infancy and the
establishment of branches of the "Gota de Leche." Local organizations
were granted aid from this funds as much as what they raised.
In 1917 the government established an orphanage for destitute and
dependent children from all over the islands, managed according to
the most modern methods.
[Public Welfare Commissioner]
On February 18, 1918, the public welfare board membership was reduced
to five and its administrative control placed under the Department
of the Interior. The administration of the million-peso funds for
the protection of early infancy and the establishment of maternity
and child-welfare centers were also placed under the control of the
Secretary of the Interior on March 22, 1920. Later these activities
were all grouped together by Act 2988, enacted February 24, 1921,
into one office--the office of the public welfare commissioner--which
started operation on May 1, 1921.
The aim of the office is summarized thus: To promote all work directed
towards the early reduction of infant mortality in the Philippines
by employing adequate means for this purpose and for carrying out
other activities intended to bring about the general welfare of the
community, especially that which concerns children.
A central executive office is maintained in Manila. It investigates
social conditions and compiles sociological information for
distribution. Social centers are being established throughout the
Islands. On December, 1922, 183 puericulture centers were in existence
as against 80 on December, 1921.
X. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.--The Supreme Court of the Philippine
Islands presided over by a Filipino has always enjoyed the respect
and confidence of every citizen. It is above all influence, being
composed of men of integrity and of exceptional talent.
The Courts of First Instance have also a comparatively good record
as is evident from the number of decisions affirmed, reversed, and
modified by the Supreme Court. The figures are as follows:
-----------------+-------+--------------+-------------+-------------
| | Affirmed | Reversed | Modified
Period |Total +-------+------+------+------+------+------
|number | Number| Per |Number| Per |Number| Per
| | | cent | | cent | | cent
-----------------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------
August 31, 1911 | | | | | | |
to September, | | | | | | |
1, 1913. | 1,454 | 910 | 62.5 | 365 | 25.1 | 179 | 12.2
| | | | | | |
March 3, 1919 to | | | | | | |
March 4, 1921. | 1,782 | 1,194 | 67.0 | 372 | 20.8 | 216 | 12.1
-----------------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+------
The foregoing figures indicate that there was a larger percentage of
decisions affirmed and smaller percentage of decisions reversed by
the Supreme Court during the time when the Filipino people were given
substantial autonomy proving that the administration of justice has
been considerably improved with the Filipinos in control.
In 1913 there were 12,000 pending cases disposed of; in 1921 the
number rose to 16,874; in 1922, 20,632.
From 1907 to 1913, for a period of seven years before Filipino
autonomy, the average yearly number of decrees of titles to land
issued by the Philippine courts was only 1,935; while from 1914 to
1920, during seven years of Filipino self-government, the average
yearly number of land titles settled was 12,396, six times more than
the preceding period.
XI. GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES.--In order to hasten the economic progress
of the Islands, the Philippine government has been compelled to
organize and engage in certain business enterprises of national
importance that private initiative and capital have so far failed to
develop. There are now four of these government owned enterprises--the
Philippine National Bank, the Manila Railroad, the National Coal
Company, and the National Development Company. The underlying motives
behind these ventures are:
(1) To conserve the resources of the Islands for Filipinos; (2) to
protect the people against exploitation; (3) to safeguard against
profiteering; (4) to facilitate the extension of credit to private
concerns.
The Philippine National Bank.--The need for a national bank in the
Islands has long been felt. Previous to its establishment, Filipino
farmers and merchants had to go to foreign banks in order to secure
the necessary capital. The Philippine government had also to deposit
its money with foreign banking institutions which gave a very low
rate of interest. All the foreign banks made very little investments
in the Islands, preferring to deal almost exclusively with export
and import trade.
To remedy these conditions the Philippine National Bank was
organized. From a modest beginning the bank grew by leaps and bounds,
especially during the war.
[Constructive Service]
In spite of the many criticisms hurled against it, the constructive
service that the bank has rendered to the community stands out in
bold relief--the financing of the liberty loans, the handling of
the sale of alien property, the financial assistance extended in
time of dire need to two banks doing business in the islands, the
financing of sugar centrals, the giving of loans to agriculturists,
and the extension of banking facilities to merchants and manufacturers.
The post-war depression caught the bank unprepared to meet the
emergencies and it suffered heavy losses. The bank, however, is now
in a fair way to sound footing. But as an institution, despite its
reverses, it has come to be part and parcel of Philippine financial
life. The Filipino people regard the bank as indispensable in the
economic development of the islands.
The Manila Railroad.--The Philippine railroads were taken over
by the government in 1916. They were bought from an old English
company. The principal motive that impelled the purchase of the lines
from the English owners was the failure of the owners to operate
the lines with profit. This failure resulted in the imposition of
greater burden on the taxpayers in the way of payment for interest
on railroad bonds guaranteed by the government from the early days
of American administration. The secondary motive was of course to
nationalize this most important medium of communication and to put
it at government disposal in case of emergency.
From 1914 to 1916 the aggregate net deficit of the company was about
$600,000. Under government management the railroad has been gaining
steadily. In 1917 the gain was $400,000; in 1918, $130,000; in 1920,
$120,000; and in 1921 $148,000, with the added advantage that the
government has not been called upon to pay any interest on the bonds.
The National Coal Company.--During the war the coal shortage was one
of the great problems that the government had to solve. The Philippine
Islands are rich in coal deposits, but very little private capital
has been invested in its exploitation. The Philippine Legislature,
therefore, chartered the National Coal Company and supplied it with
a capital of $1,700,000. The company is now ready to furnish at least
the coal needed by the government, which is about 120,000 tons a year,
heretofore imported from foreign countries.
The National Development Company.--The company was organized for the
purpose of financing isolated commercial, industrial or agricultural
enterprises that the government may desire to establish for the general
welfare of the country, the motive being that whenever or wherever
there was profiteering the government should enter into competition
with the profiteer and compel him to reduce the cost of his goods.
The stock of the company is controlled, as in other government
companies, by a committee of three, composed of the Governor-General,
the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Other development companies which have been established by law, some of
which have not yet begun to function, are the National Cement Company
(2855), the National Coal Company (2705), the National Iron Company
(2862), and the National Petroleum Company (2814).