811.5211B/9–2845
The Consul General at Manila ( Steintorf ) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 8.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my telegram No. 584 of August 29 and to the Department’s telegram no. 713 of September 20 concerning a ruling by the Philippine Department of Justice restricting ownership of all land to citizens of the Philippine Islands.
The text of the ruling of the Philippine Department of Justice is transmitted herewith.89
In accordance with my telegram mentioned above I called on President Osmeña on the morning of August 30 [29?]. I told him that I had seen press reports to the effect that the Secretary of Justice had issued a ruling restricting ownership of all types of land to Philippine nationals. I said that I was somewhat concerned over the implications of this ruling since I had been under the impression that the restricted provision of the Philippine constitution applied only to the public domain and to private agricultural lands under certain conditions. I was afraid that the extension of this restriction to residential and business property might have unfortunate international repercussions. I said that in view of the probable early independence of the Philippines that the interim provision of the constitution permitting Americans to own land would no longer be effective and that in consequence Americans would also be affected by this ruling. I expressed fear that this would hamper relations between our two countries and perhaps discourage American investments in the Philippines. I made it clear to President Osmeña that I was not in any sense making an official protest—I was merely expressing my personal ideas on the subject and attempting to learn more about the ruling. President Osmeña said that he was entirely in sympathy with my views but that he had not been informed about this particular ruling and that he would investigate and send me a memorandum on the subject. This memorandum was prepared the same day and a copy is transmitted herewith.90 No further action was taken on the matter pending receipt of the request[ed] instructions from the Department.
It will be noted from the attached memorandum that the ruling was made primarily to obtain a definite adjudication of the constitution, and to provide guidance for the registration of transfers of land which may have been made during the period of Japanese occupation. The press reports on which my conversation with President [Page 1228] Osmeña was based were a somewhat sensational interpretation of Section 5 of the directive of the Secretary of Justice. It is not certain that the ruling does in fact restrict all transfers of property to Philippine citizens although this is a probable inference. Basically there exists uncertainty as to exact interpretation of Sections 1 and 5 of Article XII of the Philippine constitution which, taken in conjunction with Commonwealth Act No. 144 as amended by Commonwealth Act No. 615, might be interpreted as restricting ownership of all classes of property to Philippine nationals. As noted in the President’s memorandum, this is a matter which was up for decision in the court prior to the war. It has been reported that the Secretary of Justice holds that all land was at one time a part of the public domain and that therefore it is subject to the above-mentioned provision of the Philippine constitution. This is not the commonly held interpretation which has been that this constitutional provision applied only to land which was a part of the public domain as of the date of promulgation of the constitution. Accordingly, it has been generally held that the constitutional provision did not apply to residential and business property.
In view of the present trend towards extreme nationalism and the general resentment of alien domination of Philippine resources I think it most likely that the extreme interpretation of the Secretary of Justice may become effective. I shall take the earliest opportunity to discuss the matter further with President Osmeña in accordance with the Department’s instructions.
Respectfully yours,