The Pensionados: the Philippines’ colonial architect-planners and the propagation of the city beautiful planning paradigm

In 1903, the American colonial administration in the Philippines passed Act No. 854. It sponsored young Filipino adults to undertake higher education in the United States (U.S.). Upon returning to their homeland, many Pensionados (as they became known) held posts in the civil service. In the Bureau of Public Works’ Division of Architecture (DoA), newly-returned Filipinos accrued vocational experience under the supervision of American professionals. However, by 1919, given the colonial government’s Filipinization process, they oversaw the management of the DoA. Against the aforementioned historical backdrop, this paper seeks to break new planning history ground. The inquiry will not only emphasize the evolution of American colonial planning in the Philippines, but in alliance, it will put new attention upon the hitherto unfamiliar contribution of Filipino architect-planners to the forging of the modern cityscape. In summary, the paper will dispel the assumption that all urban planning in the country during the first half of the twentieth century was monolithically colonial. For the Pensionados, their planning schemes possessed native character.