MacArthur returns control to Philippines government
President Osmena appeals to legislators to reestablish Congress in Manila
MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Gen. Douglas MacArthur restored civil administration of the Philippines to the Commonwealth government today.
He solemnly proclaimed, “My country has kept the faith.”
He thus fulfilled a pledge given to the Filipinos when he withdrew his troops from Manila three years ago.
Standing among the ruins of burned and sacked Manila, Gen. MacArthur reviewed those three years of “bitterness, struggle and sacrifice,” and vowed that “by these ashes” the enemy “has wantonly fixed the pattern of his own doom.”
Gen. MacArthur’s historic action, broadcast throughout the world over the voice of Freedom Radio, was hailed by a cheering throng of civil and military officials gathered in the liberated capital.
Praises MacArthur
President Sergio Osmena, in accepting restoration of the civil government, appealed to all duly-elected members of the Congress who “have remained steadfast to their allegiance” to return to Manila and reestablish the legislative branch.
“I ask all my people to help reestablish law and order for a formal return so that in 1945 our request for independence will be granted,” President Osmena said.
The Philippines President warmly praised the American general for fulfilling his vow “to return” and drew a loud burst of applause when he predicted that “Gen. Douglas MacArthur will go down in history.”
Gen. MacArthur had told the Filipinos that the long struggle through the three dark years of Jap occupation was “not in vain.”
He said:
God has indeed blessed our arms. The great unleashed power of America, supported by our Allies, turned the tide of battle in the Pacific and resulted in an unbroken string of crushing defeats upon the enemy – culminating in the redemption of your soil and the liberation of your people.
My country has kept the faith.
Army of free men
He said the American soldiers came here as an army of free men that brought “your people once again under democracy’s banner… to rededicate your churches, long desecrated, to the glory of God and public worship… to reopen their schools… to till the soils and reap its harvests… to reestablish their industries… and to restore the sanctity and happiness of their homes, unafraid of violent intrusion.”
Gen. MacArthur continued:
On behalf of my government, I now solemnly declare: Mr. President, the full powers and responsibilities under the Constitution are restored to the Commonwealth, whose seat is here, reestablished according to law.