were arrested would be cleared and those found guilty would be given light sentences, indicating that the syndicate was run by very powerful men within the US military establishment. 2. Why did the Bell Trade Act remove the basic essence of Philippine Independence? Two days before the US grant of Philippine independence, the Bell Trade Act was enacted by the US Congress. The Act effectively maintained US control over the Philippine economy and discouraged it from embarking on national industrialization. Its unequal provisions were the following: • The Philippine currency was pegged at two pesos per US dollar, discouraging Philippine exports from Filipinoowned factories to the US. • The Philippines would not have control of its imports and exports and give preferential tariffs to US goods. New Filipino manufacturing industries were not allowed to be protected from US competition through tariffs. • No restrictions for currency transfers from the Philippines to the U.S. Filipino guerrillas during World War II • A “parity” clause gave US citizens and corporations equal access to Philippine minerals, forests and other natural resources, despite provisions in the Philippine constitution (1935) to the contrary, and which the act required to be amended. Even President Sergio Osmena objected to the Bell Trade Act, calling it a “curtailment of Philippine sovereignty.” But the Act still became a law even when its parity clause violated the 1935 Philippine Constitution. 85