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Nation: The Federal Republic of the Philippines

Leader: Priscilla Aglipay-Rizal

History: The Philippines was colonized by Spain, whose oppression welded together the disaprate peoples of the Islands into one nation, nay, one civilization. When the Philippines rose up in revolt, America then stepped in to help, then betray the rebels and make common cause with the rich landowners to undermine the revolution and set up a new colony that served its interests. That said, there were [i]constructive[/i] elements to the US Occupation, such as in education and health care, as well as infrastructure. And credit where credit is due, the US did try and prepare the Philippines for Independence, acknowledging the skills of some of its people. Nevertheless, the Colonial Government's alliance with the rich landowners, who acquired estates larger than major cities under the American's tutelage, led to an unjust economic arrangement.

And when America went into civil war in the 30s, just after the end of the Great War, the people who were discontented with this state of things began to organize, led by one Gregorio Aglipay*, a former Catholic Priest who broke from the Vatican to establish his own Church, the Iglesia Filipina Independente (this was in the 1910s). Aglipay had Socialist and Communist leanings despite the two ideologies' hostility to religion, but rejected them to form his own ideology of 'Anti-Monopolism', which stated that smallholder farmers and networks of small worker-owned businesses were the best organization of society, but that a strong, federally-organized government with a substantial armed force was needed to ensure the destruction of monopolies and the [i]even[/i] distribution of largeese. This central government, however, would be elected bottom-up by the people and locally-organized councils.

Aglipay was also a married man (just like in the IRL Timeline, but earlier) due to his Church rejecting clerical celibacy and moving closer to Episcopalian and 'Old Catholic' theology. He had a wife, and through her, a daugther, Priscilla Aglipay, who in turn married one Manuel Rizal (both Priscilla and Manuel did not exist IRL), son of Paciano Rizal, brother of Jose Rizal, the National Hero of the Philippines. Priscilla was a finely educated woman, and also, to her father's surprise, physically strong and naturally assertive. Thus, she had been taken into his confidence and even taught how to use weapons and ride a horse and drive motorcars in her youth, and her new husband encouraged such things. And later on, she and Manuel joined Gregorio in founding the Second Katipunan, or [i]Pangalawang Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan[/i] (PKKK).

The Second Katipunan was a revolutionary organization founded upon the rules of Anti-Monopolism, which meant overthrowing the landed estates and over-mighty corporations that were supported by the Americans, just as said support was weakening. This organization, founded on a network of cells with strong rules of secrecy, spread like wildfire as the United States withdrew the last of its troops due to its internal conflict. As the landed classes were divided on whether to declare their own 'Republic', seek Japanese 'tutelage', or do both as a protectorate, the Second Katipunan struck in a coordinated revolt. Workers ceased working, soldiers mutinied, and the peasants declared war on their landlords. The rich and powerful tried to resist using mercenary gangs of private militias, but the civil war, though brief and brutal, was won by the PKKK.

But Gregorio Aglipay and Manuel Rizal were not there to see it, having lost their lives in the conflict. Priscilla Aglipay-Rizal, however, did, having found herself the most powerful woman in the Philippines. But instead of setting herself up as a dictator like she could have done, she instead set up free and fair elections that included her last remaining opponents; this enabled her to legitimately win the title of 'Lady President'. She then began the process of dismantling the landed estates, supporting the smallholders left behind, creating networks of worker-owned businesses, and establishing 'necessary' state-owned enterprises in areas where economies of scale were important, such as arms production, mining, and shipbuilding. Not merely that, but she also began establishing fellow Anti-Monopolist movements in other post-colonial nations.

[b]Other:[/b] The Philippine Military is made up of a 'regular army' of 40,000 men and women, and reservists and paramilitaries numbering 200,000 men and women (including independent women's units).

The Navy is composed of various ships 'left behind' by the US Asiatic Fleet during the final stages of the American Withdrawal and the Second Philippine Revolution:

- 4 Destroyers and 1 Destroyer Tender
- 9 Submarines (later powered through Ethanol)
- 1 Submarine Tender
- 3 Gunboats
- 2 Tankers
- 1 Tugboat
- 6 Torpedo Boats

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorio_Aglipay

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