History of the Philippines (1898–1946)
After the first independence mission, public funding of such missions was ruled illegal. Subsequent independence missions in 1922, 1923, 1930, 1931 1932, and two missions in 1933 were funded by voluntary contributions. Numerous independence bills were submitted to the U.S. Congress, which passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill on December 30, 1932. U.S. President Herbert Hoover vetoed the bill on January 13, 1933. Congress overrode the veto on January 17, and the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act became U.S. law. The law promised Philippine independence after 10 years, but reserved several military and naval bases for the United States, as well as imposing tariffs and quotas on Philippine exports. The law also required the Philippine Senate to ratify the law. Manuel L. Quezon urged the Philippine Senate to reject the bill, which it did. Quezon himself led the twelfth independence mission to Washington to secure a better independence act. The result was the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934 which was very similar to the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act except in minor details. The Tydings-McDuffie Act was ratified by the Philippine Senate. The law provided for the granting of Philippine independence by 1946.
National Assembly of the Philippines
Philippine independence was eventually proclaimed on October 14, 1943. Laurel called the National Assembly into a special session from October 17 to 23, when it passed resolutions expressing gratitude to the Japanese for its grant of independence. The National Assembly met for its first regular session from November 25, 1943 to February 2, 1944. It passed a total of 66 bills and 23 resolutions, ranging from the creation of new government agencies to address the existing problems and conditions during the war and other problems which had not been addressed during the Commonwealth period. Since the Philippines now acted as an independent state, the National Assembly created the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a Central Bank. It also extended additional powers to the President, similar to those granted to Quezon by the Commonwealth National Assembly.