On banknotes, postage stamps, and the coat of arms, the government referred to itself simply as the "Philippine Islands".

The legality of these actions was contested until the passage of the Spooner Amendment in 1901, which granted the U.S. president authority to govern the Philippines.

[17] Despite this, the Insular Government failed to investigate the land titles of the friars' and restore them to the patrimony of the Filipinos.

[18] Two years after the completion and publication of a census, a general election was conducted for the choice of delegates to a popular assembly.

Philippine nationalists led by Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña enthusiastically endorsed the draft Jones Bill of 1912, which provided for Philippine independence after eight years, but later changed their views, opting for a bill which focused less on time than on the conditions of independence.

[20] The Democratic Party in the United States had strongly opposed acquisitions of the Philippines in the first place, and increasingly became committed to independence.

The election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who advocated a constitutional government in the Philippines as a step towards independence, in 1912 opened up the opportunity.

Its preamble stated that the eventual independence of the Philippines would be American policy, subject to the establishment of a stable government.

[24] On March 17, 1919, the Philippine Legislature passed a "Declaration of Purposes", which stated the inflexible desire of the Filipino people to be free and sovereign.

[25] The "Declaration of Purposes" referred to the Jones Law as a veritable pact, or covenant, between the American and Filipino peoples whereby the United States promised to recognize the independence of the Philippines as soon as a stable government should be established.

The mission departed Manila on February 28 and met in America with and presented their case to Secretary of War Newton D.

[29] In 1921, US President Harding sent William Cameron Forbes and Leonard Wood as heads of the Wood-Forbes Commission to investigate conditions in the Philippines.

[30][31] The Commission concluded that Filipinos were not yet ready for independence from the United States, a finding that was widely criticized in the Philippines.

He advocated for and oversaw the process of Filipinization, or the transfer of authority to Filipinos in the United States territory's Insular Government to better prepare for independence.

[citation needed] His pro-Filipino stance made him a popular figure in the Philippines but also the object of criticism of conservative Americans who viewed his liberal governance as not supportive enough of US interests.

[40] Under his administration, the Governor-General's Spanish-era mansion called Malacañang Palace was expanded with the construction of an executive building.

In 1921, Republican president Warren G. Harding sent William Cameron Forbes and Leonard Wood as heads of the Wood-Forbes Commission to investigate conditions in the Philippines.

[30][31] The Commission concluded that Filipinos were not yet ready for independence from the United States, a finding that was widely criticized in the Philippines.

The office of President of the Philippines was created to replace the Governor-General as Chief Executive, taking over many of the former's duties.

Similar to delegates and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, they were nonvoting members of Congress.Military districts El Príncipe and Binangonan de Lampon were separated from Nueva Écija and Laguna and transferred to Tayabas in 1902.