Harrison was Governor-General of the Philippines from 1913 to 1921 and 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] He was governor-general during the passages of the Philippine Autonomy Act, otherwise known as the Jones Act, which converted the partially elected Philippine Legislature with the appointed Philippine Commission as the upper house and the elected Philippine Assembly as the lower house, to a fully elected Philippine Legislature with the Philippine Senate replacing the now-dissolved Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines.
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| 1921 Harrison Day Pin and 1935 Popular Banquet in honor of Francis Burton Harrison ticket |
Despite the length of his tenure as governor-general, he vetoed only five bills, the least number by any American governor-general in the Philippines. His pro-Filipino stance made him a popular figure in the Philippines but also the object of criticism by conservative Americans who viewed his liberal governance as not supportive enough of U.S. interests.
Under his
administration, the Governor-General's Spanish-era mansion called Malacañan
Palace was expanded with the construction of an executive building. When he
left the Philippines, Harrison lived in Scotland until being recalled to the
Philippines in 1934 during a period of transition from an unincorporated
territory of the United States to the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
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| Gravesite of F.B. Harrison at the Manila North Cemetery. |
Source: Wikipedia
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