DID YOU KNOW: July 17, 1923 bribery scandal

On July 17, 1923, Filipino officials in Governor-General Leonard Wood’s Cabinet resigned over their objection to Wood’s order to reinstate Ray Conley, an American detective involved in a bribery scandal.

Interior Secretary Jose P. Laurel, who earlier suspended Conley,  chose to leave because he did not want a dishonest man in his department.

With Laurel’s influence, Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, House Speaker Manuel A. Roxas, Justice Secretary Jose Abad Santos, Commerce and Communications Secretary Ernesto Laguda, Finance Secretary Alberto Barredo, and Agriculture and Natural Resources Secretary Rafael Corpus also resigned. —Andrea Gregorio, Inquirer Research intern