WesWorld

November 1941 Summary

A Provisional Government is formed under the leadership of Don Andres Soriano, which proceeds to root out remaining Macadandang loyalists and restore order across the nation. The authorities are very careful to proceed within the law, exposing the depths to which the former regime had fallen in corruption and peculation of public funds. On the international scene the Provisional Government quickly sends special envoys to explain the cause and results of what is quickly dubbed the October Revolution. Cayetano Arellano, hailed by many as the foremost opponent of the fallen regime, leaves Manila in early November to visit the United States to restart negotiations on the Philippine-American treaty, which Macadandang had allowed to fall into disuse. Don Ramon Fernandez is sent first to Batavia, to open discussions with the local Dutch authorities there, and thence to Europe. Late in the month the trial of the Macadandang regime’s foreign minister, Alfonso Enrile, gets under way; charged with numerous counts of embezzlement, peculation, bribery and conspiracy to levy war against the people of the Philippines, Enrile pleads guilty to all charges and is sentenced to twenty years penal servitude; in exchange, he agrees to testify for the prosecution in the forthcoming trials of other adherents of the former regime, including Macadandang himself.

From Compton’s Standard History of the Philippines: Origins of the Second Republic

The coup which toppled the government of Felipe Macadandang at the close of October 1941 should be seen as a victory of the Principalía, the old political and economic oligarchy, over the Katipunan, the revolutionaries of 1898 who had fought the War of Independence and ruled the nation for four decades. Divided at the outset by the differing outlooks of Aguinaldo and Álvarez the heirs of the Katipunan had gradually lost the confidence of the common citizens and had held on to their positions through the electoral chicanery and thuggery. Successive challenges from the Left had driven successive FLAN governments to take a road of repression which the ‘Populist League’ of Macadandang rapidly embraced. The mounting evidence of government corruption that emerged during 1941 finally turned the ordinary Philippine citizen against the nominally ‘democratic’ government and brought many to desire a firm, conservative leadership mindful of its responsibilities to the nation and to the people. This void was filled by the emergence of Don Andreas Soriano and other members of the Principalía as leaders of the opposition.

In the years since the establishment of the Second Republic, it has become clear that Soriano and his fellow oligarchs orchestrated the exposure of the peculations of the Macadandang regime and manipulated public opinion against the government joining with other conservative elements to introduce a new order – one which in theory reduced the control of the people over their government. In practice, the Second Republic was far more responsive to meeting the needs of the Philippine people as the nation moved forward into the mid-Twentieth Century.

December 1941 Summary

Restoration of public confidence remains a primary concern of the Provisional Government, followed closely by restoration of working relationships with neighboring nations. It is announced that a convention will be held in January 1942 to prepare a new constitution; also announced are an end to the wartime excise taxes that had been prolonged by the Macadandang regime – an announcement greeted with joy by the Philippine people. Public confidence is also boosted by the return from retirement of Admiral Don Roberto Cain, who assumes the position of Chief of Naval Operations. Special envoys are sent to Saigon to initiate discussions with the French authorities and to Edo to strengthen necessary trade ties with Japan. The Provisional Government begins the lengthy process of recovering from domestic and foreign banks public funds embezzled by the dictator Macadandang and his cronies – sums believed to exceed more than one hundred million pesos. Assistance was requested from foreign governments to determine there whereabouts of Elpidio Quirino, former vice president in the Macadandang regime, who fled to places unknown; he has been charged in absentia with various high crimes and misdemeanors.

The Manila Times – Sunday, 28 December 1941

Yesterday the citizens of Manila, and the whole Philippine people, celebrated as the first two armored cruisers ordered under the Four-Four Fleet Program, Visayas and Mindoro, slid down their ways and into the waters of Manila Bay. The launch of these two vessels marks a milestone in the reconstruction of the Navy.

Brilliant work. I love it.

Well, aside from the fact you killed Zorro!

*has a thought occur, does a search*
Hmm. There was a plotline regarding a certain someone that would be...maturing around this time. Specifically, Señor Litvyak's daughter would likely be in flight training by this point.

Thank you! Glad you liked it.

But who was Zorro?

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
Thank you! Glad you liked it.

But who was Zorro?

Juan Diego de la Vega, of course.