Herbert Adams Gibbons
In the early 1930s, Gibbons argued that an American withdrawal from the Philippines would be futile, because Japan would immediately colonize the country if the United States were to pull out. In 1931, in a speech in Manila, Gibbons referred to the Philippine calls for independence as "claptrap." He said that if the United States were to withdraw, then it might as well negotiate with the League of Nations to hand the Philippines over to Japan as a mandate. The American business community roundly praised Gibbons' speech. However, Philippine nationalist leaders attacked Gibbons, saying that he was raising the "Japanese bogy" as a hurdle to Philippine independence. (Ultimately, the United States did not grant Philippine independence until 1946, after Japan was no longer a military threat to the former colony.)
Treaty of Manila (1946)
The Mock Battle of Manila culminated in the formal transfer of power over the Philippines. The Philippine Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898 was neglected by both Spain and the U.S.. Instead, they agreed on a set of terms provided by the Treaty of Paris, to which the First Philippine Republic objected, marking the start of the Philippine-American War.