PRINTER'S NO. 4014
No. 608 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY COLEMAN, ARGALL, ARMSTRONG, M. BAKER, BARRAR,
BEBKO-JONES, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF, BISHOP, BUNT,
CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, COSTA, CREIGHTON, DeWEESE, J. EVANS,
FAIRCHILD, FEESE, FICHTER, GABIG, GEIST, GEORGE, HARHAI,
HERSHEY, HUTCHINSON, JOSEPHS, KAISER, KELLER, LEDERER,
MANDERINO, McGILL, McILHATTAN, PETRARCA, PICKETT, PIPPY,
READSHAW, SATHER, SHANER, SOLOBAY, R. STEVENSON, TIGUE,
TURZAI, WATSON, WOJNAROSKI, ZUG AND ALLEN, JUNE 12, 2002
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 12, 2002
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating the 104th anniversary of Philippine independence
2 from Spain.
3 WHEREAS, On May 1, 1898, the American forces commanded by
4 Commodore George Dewey with flagship USS Olympia destroyed the
5 Spanish Armada under Admiral Patricio Montojo in the battle of
6 Manila Bay in the Philippines; and
7 WHEREAS, The Filipinos had revolted against Spain's harsh
8 repression since Spain colonized the Philippines in 1521; and
9 WHEREAS, With joint Philippine-American arms cornering the
10 Spaniards in Manila and the flag of Spain being lowered, the
11 Philippines declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898,
12 after 377 years of colonial rule; and
13 WHEREAS, In August 1898, America claimed possession of the
14 Philippines to pursue Manifest Destiny, the 19th century vision
1 of American expansionism, and the Philippine Commonwealth was
2 born; and
3 WHEREAS, On July 26, 1941, during World War II, President
4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued a military order calling all
5 members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army into the service of
6 the United States Armed Forces of the Far East and violently
7 denied the Japanese plan of expansionism; and
8 WHEREAS, Philippine-American troops again fought side by side
9 and later suffered in Bataan and Corregidor and the infamous
10 Death March; and
11 WHEREAS, On July 4, 1946, United States High Commissioner
12 Paul V. McNutt, on behalf of President Harry S. Truman,
13 proclaimed the independence of the Philippines and fulfilled the
14 American policy of independence provided by the Tydings-McDuffie
15 Law of 1934; and
16 WHEREAS, American democratization of the Philippines
17 furthered native Philippine democratic instincts through those
18 tested American democratic principles which had been crafted in
19 this Commonwealth in Philadelphia; and
20 WHEREAS, Americans of Philippine ancestry have contributed so
21 much in the development of our nation; and
22 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is home to 20,000 Filipino Americans,
23 and our nation now has almost 2 million Filipino Americans who
24 continuously maintain their rich cultural heritage; and
25 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is also home to the Pearl S. Buck
26 Foundation founded by Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning author
27 Pearl Buck, who successfully intervened in the developmental and
28 educational progress of 26,000 Amerasian children, most of whom
29 were from the Philippines; therefore be it
30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives extend its
20020H0608R4014 - 2 -
1 special congratulations to Americans of Philippine ancestry on
2 the occasion of the 104th anniversary of the Philippine
3 independence from Spain declared on June 12, 1898, and
4 commemorate Philippine-American friendship.
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