A Glance at Selected Philippine  

Political Caricature In Alfred McCoy’s 
 Philippine Cartoons: Political  
Caricature of the American Era 
(1900 –  1914)
Political Cartoons and Caricature are rather
recent art form, which veered away from
the classical art by exaggerating human
features and poking fun at it’s subject.
Political Cartoon, a drawing (often including caricature) made for
the purpose of conveying editorial commentary
on politics, politicians, and current events. Such cartoons play a role
in the political discourse of a society that provides for freedom of
speech and of the press.
Published in The Independent on 
May  20, 1916
The first example shown above was publish in The Independent
on May 20,1916. The cartoon shows a politician from Tondo,
named Dr. Santos, passing his crown to his brother-in-law, Dr.
Barcelona. A Filipino guy (as depicted wearing salakot and barong
tagalog) was trying to stop Santos, telling the latter to stop giving
Barcelona the crown because it is not his to begin with.
Published in The Independent on 
June 1917

This was drawn by Fernando Amorsolo

The second cartoon was also published by The Independent on 16
June 1917. This was drawn by Fernando Amorsolo and was aimed
as a commentary to the workings of Manila Police at that period.
Here, we see a Filipino child who stole a skinny chicken because he
had nothing to eat. The police officer was relentlessly pursuing the
said child. A man wearing a salakot, labeled Juan de la Cruz was
grabbing the officer, telling him to leave the small-time
pickpockets and thieves and to turn at the great thieves instead.
He was pointing to huge warehouses containing builks of rice,
milk, and grocery products.
A commentary on the unprecedented 
cases of colorum automobiles in the 
city streets
The third cartoon was a commentary on the unprecedented cases
of colorum automobiles in the city streets. The Philippine Free
Press published this commentary when fatal accidents involving
colorum vehicles and taxis occurred too often already.
The Fourth Cartoon Depicts a 
Cinema
The fourth cartoon depicts a cinema.
A blown-up police officer was at the screen saying that couples
are not allowed to neck and make love in the theater. Two
youngsters looked horrified while an older couple seemed
amused.
Published by The Independent 
on November 27, 1915
The next cartoon was published by The Independent on 27
November 1915. Here, we see the caricature of Uncle Sam riding a
chariot pulled by Filipinos wearing school uniforms. The Filipino
boys were carrying American objects like baseball bats, whiskey,
and boxing gloves. McCoy, in his caption to the said cartoon, says
that this cartoon was based on an event in 1907 when William
Howard Taft was brought to the Manila pier riding a chariot pulled
by students of Liceo de Manila. Such was condemned by the
nationalists at that time.
The last cartoon was published by 
 Lipang Kalabaw on August 24, 
1907
The last cartoon was published by Lipang Kalabaw on August 25,
1907. In the picture, we can see Uncle Sam rationing porridge to
the politicians and members of the Progresista Party (sometimes
known as the Federalista Party) while members of the
Nacionalista Party look on and wait for their turn. This cartoon
depicts the patronage of the United States being coveted by
politicians from either of the party.
 Analysis of the Political Caricatures 
During the American Period
The transition from the Spanish Colonial period to the American Occupation
period demonstrated different strands of changes and shifts in culture, society, and
politics. The Americans drastically introduced democracy to the nascent nation and
the consequences were far from ideal. Aside from this, it was also during the
American period that Filipinos were introduced to different manifestations of
modernity like healthcare, modern transportation, and media. This ushered in a more
open and freer press. The post-independence and the post-Filipino-American period
in the Philippines experienced differently by Filipinos coming from different classes.
The upper principalia class experienced economic prosperity with the opening up of
the Philippine economy to the United States but the majority of the poor Filipino
remained poor, desperate, and victims of state repression. were the selected
cartoons illustrate not only the opinion of certain media outfits about the Philippine
society during the American period but also paint a broad image of society and
politics under the United States.
 In the arena of politics, for example, we see the price that Filipinos
paid for the democracy modeled after the Americans. First, it seemed that
the Filipino politicians at that time did not understand well enough the
essence of democracy and the accompanying democratic institutions and
processes. This can be seen in the rising dynastic politics in Tondo as
depicted in the cartoon published by The Independent. Patronage also
became influential and powerful, not only between clients and patrons
but also between the newly formed political parties composed of the elite
and the United States. This was depicted in the cartoon where the United
States, represented by Uncle Sam, provided dole outs for members of the
Federalista while the Nacionalista politicians looked on and waited for
their turn. Thus, the essence of competing political parties to enforce
choices among the voters was cancelled out. The problem continues up to
the present where politicians transfer from one party to another
depending on which party was powerful in specific periods of time.
The transition from a Catholic-centered, Spanish-Filipino society to an
imperial American-assimilated one, and its complications, were also
depicted in the cartoons. One example is the unprecedented increase
of motorized vehicles in the city. Automobiles became a popular
mode of transportation in the city and led to the emergence of taxis.
However, the laws and policy implementation was mediocre. This
resulted in the increasing colorum and unlicensed vehicles
transporting people around the city. The rules governing the issuance
of driver's license was loose and traffic police could not be bothered
by rampant violations of traffic rules. This is a direct consequence of
the drastic urbanization of the Philippine society.
Another example is what McCoy called the "sexual revolution" that
occurred in the 1930s. Young early as that period, disturbed the
conservative Filipino mindset by engaging in daring sexual activities in
public spaces like cinemas. Here, was the meeting point between the
conservative people, as we can see how that period past and the
liberated future of the Philippines. Lastly, the cartoons also illustrated
the conditions of poor Filipinos in the Philippines it, nothing much has
changed. For example, a cartoon depicted how police authorities
oppress petty Filipino criminals while turning a blind eye on hoarders
who monopolize goods in their huge warehouses (presumably Chinese
merchants). The other cartoon depicts how Americans controlled
Filipinos through seemingly harmless American objects. By controlling
their consciousness and mentality, Americans got to control and
subjugate Filipinos.
Thank You