The Philippine Constabulary (1901) Insular police force that replaced the Guardia Civil Led by Americans with

some junior Filipino officers Recruited among Christians, Muslims and northern Philippine non-Christian groups Had the power to regulate firearms, take the lead in health emergencies, expand the telegraph and postal systems Regarded as peace officers

Constabulary units joined the army to help govern two military controlled provinces the Moro province and the Mountain province. The populations of the latter were considered backward and uncivilized in contrast to the lowland Christian Filipinos. There was resistance from these communities since the American forces killed hundreds of Muslim men, women and children. Both provinces were soon under the control of the military. Muslim elites also hoped that through their alliance with the Americans they could recover their position in the South East Asian trading network. A new state agency, the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes Census of 1903 portrayed colonial society as a collection of many tribe speaking different languages and declared the term Filipino to be properly applicable to Christians only. Muslims and other non-Christians in Mindanao were described as uncivilized races There were no elected governments in the special provinces Army and constabulary officials insisted that cultural difference dictated special rule of long duration because Muslims know little about our form of government and saw no reason to unite with Filipinos In 1908, Muslim leaders and American officers and settlers even called for the separation of Mindanao from the rest of the colony

The constabulary became the bridge for reform-minded central state actors (mostly American) and the local state actors (Filipinos). Two unsuccessful aspects of state building were in LAND and TAX policy. In, 1903 the United States announced the purchase of 165,922 hectares of Friar states for 7.2 million dollars. Taft was planning to sell the land to cultivators hoping to consolidate his relationship with Filipino elites. Half of the land that was still virgin forest was not transferred to landless peasants. Instead, the Department of Interior sold or leased them to American and Filipino business interests. This early land reform program was implemented with no support mechanics to ensure its success. Farmers were given a tantalizing glimpse of freedom and then abandoned to find their own way out of the agrarian wilderness. Predictably, many fell back into tenancy, now to wealthy Filipino hacienderos who later purchased the land when tenants failed to pay debts. The Americans removed the clergys role in tax collection but did not fulfill the promise of more equitable taxation. The cedula was retained despite its very regressive nature--one peso being more costly to the poor peasant than thirty-five pesos to the rich landowner. U.S. officials showed a surprising lack of real commitment to equity in taxation especially in view of their professed aim of uplifting the whole Filipino people. (Harry Luton) Parallel State Building in the Special Provinces

Conservative Nationalism The United States could not draw the best and brightest of its countrymen to the Philippines. This created problems for colonial officials faced with perpetual shortages of personnel. In 1901, the Philippine Commission created the basic civil law for municipal and provincial government. It required that qualified electors: 1) Be males 2) Be aged 23 and above

3) Reside in the municipality where they were to vote for a period of 6 months immediately preceding the elections 4) Belong to any of the three classes: individuals who speak, read and write English/Spanish, own real property worth at least P500, or have held local government positions prior to the occupation of the country in 1899 The Partido Fedral (Federalist Party) - The first generation of Filipino leaders under the American regime - By charting a middle road, the Federalistas hoped to show that they remained true to the spirit of the revolution, but realistic in the face of American power that the only practical route was collaboration with the new colonizers and tutelage training The Partido Nacionalista (Nationalist Party) - Former Katipuneros, intellectuals, and members of the urban middle classes and lower strata - Had no access to American patrons - Differentiated itself from the Federalistas by its commitment to work for eventual Philippine independence - envisaged independence as a culmination of successive stages of increasing Filipino autonomy, which could convince the Americans that the Filipinos were ready for independence