"Ang sugo ng bayang api" Si Benigno Ramos at Misyong Sakdal sa Kasarinlan (1932-1933)

• Published in: Social science Diliman Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 49 - 73
• Main Author: Marlon S. Delupio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of the Philippines 01.06.2017
• Subjects: Benigno Ramos; Sakdal Independence Mission; Sakdal Newspaper; Sakdal poetry
• ISSN: 1655-1524

The years 1919 to 1934 witnessed the Filipino struggle for independence against the United States. This will be examined by contextualizing the struggle for independence within the period of the Great Depression in 1929, which had ramifications on the economic conditions of the United States, as well as the threat of the Japanese invasion that threatened the Philippines. These two factors created the possibility for the Americans to concretely entertain the idea of granting independence to the Philippines. The Philippine Independence missions to the United States headed by Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, and Manuel Roxas, proved this. The Sakdal, which began as a forthnightly and later on developed into a social movement, came about during the critical moments of the Filipinos’ struggle against American colonialism. The Sakdal was founded on the belief, espoused by its founder Benigno Ramos, that Philippine independence was the answer to address poverty and improve the plight of the ordinary Filipinos. In this regard, this paper will also focus on the Sakdal Mission for Independence from 1932–1933, which remain understudied and unexplored as an important aspect of the Philippine struggle for independence. The Pahayagang Sakdal, which is a rich source of information on the Sakdal independent mission to the United States will be the the primary source used for this paper. An analysis of poems by Sakdalistas, which express their views on the independence mission and of Benigno Ramos as “Envoy of this Hapless Land” will also be undertaken.