Philippine legislative election, 1938

Philippine legislative election, 1938

November 8, 1938

All 98 seats of the Second National Assembly 50 seats needed for a majority   Majority party   Leader José Yulo Party Nacionalista Leader since 1938 Leader's seat Negros Occidental–3rd Last election 64 (Consolidato) 19 (Pro-Independencia) Seats won 98 Seat change 15

Speaker before election Gil Montilla Nacionalista Elected Speaker Jose Yulo Nacionalista

The Elections for the Second National Assembly were held on November 8, 1938, under a new law that allowed block voting^[1] which favored the governing Nacionalista Party (which the Consolidato and the Pro-Independencia factions reconciled). As expected all the 98 seats of the National Assembly went to the Nacionalistas. Jose Yulo who was Quezon's Secretary of Justice from 1934 to 1938, was elected Speaker.

Summary

Ahead of the first midterm polls in the country, the two factions of the Nacionalista Party had already reunited. The party went into the 1938 Elections with the confidence of having practically every branch of government under the control of its stalwarts. This reconsolidation of political forces left the opposition in tatters, with the Allied Minorities, a loose caucus of opposition parties, failing to stop the Nacionalista bid.

The elections of 1938 proved to be historic in two ways: It was the first and last time that a single party would secure 100 percent of the seats in the legislature, with the Nacionalistas winning all 98 seats; and it ushered in the years of one-party rule in the country.^[2]

Results

 Summary of the 8 November 1938 Philippine National Assembly election results

Parties and coalitions		%	Seats
Nacionalista Party (Coalicion Nacionalista)		100.0	98
Total		100.00	98
Source: Philippine Legislatures:100 Years by Cesar Pobre.

Contributions

The Second National Assembly embarked on passing legislations strengthening the economy, the cloud of the Second World War loomed over the horizon. Certain laws passed by the First National Assembly were modified or repealed to meet existing realities.^[3] A controversial immigration law that set an annual limit of 50 immigrants per country which^[4] affected mostly Chinese and Japanese nationals escaping the Sino-Japanese War was passed in 1940. Since the law bordered on foreign relations it required the approval of the U.S. President which was nevertheless obtained. When the result of the 1939 census was published, the National Assembly updated the apportionment of legislative districts, which became the basis for the 1941 elections.

References

1. Block voting - Philippine Daily Inquirer. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
2. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning (2013). Philippine Electoral Almanac. p. 11.
3. Commonweatlh Act (CA) No. 494 amended CA 444 "Eight Hour Law" authorizing the President to suspend the law.
4. Immigration Act of 1940 (CA No. 613), Sec. 13. Accessed on April 13, 2007

External links

• Official website of the Commission on Elections