From Four Nodes of History: The Human Rights Challenge in the Philippine Security Sector 3. What other events charted the course of the Philippines prior to the grant of its independence? Manuel Roxas was elected as the last president of the Philippine Commonwealth in the general elections of 1946. The circumstances of his political rehabilitation to politics dictated his complete agreement with US demands and interests. The US was able to get a lease for 23 US military bases and installations in the country and through the U.S.-R.P. Military Assistance Pact maintain undue control and influence in the AFP. All these events would define the political, economic and military direction of the Philippines in the decades to come. 86