Manuel L. Quezon

Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also referred to by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the entire Philippines (as opposed to the government of previous Philippine states), and is considered to have been the second president of the Philippines, after Emilio Aguinaldo (1899–1901).

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Quezon and the second or maternal family name is Molina.
Manuel L. Quezon
2nd President of the Philippines
In office
15 November 1935 – 1 August 1944
Vice PresidentSergio Osmeña
Preceded byEmilio Aguinaldo (1901)
Frank Murphy (Governor General)
Succeeded bySergio Osmeña
José P. Laurel (de facto)
Secretary of National Defense
In office
16 July 1941 – 11 December 1941
Preceded byTeófilo Sison
Succeeded byJorge B. Vargas
1st President of the Senate of the Philippines
In office
29 August 1916 – 15 November 1935
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGil Montilla (National Assembly Speaker)
Senator of the Philippines
from the 5th District
In office
16 October 1916 – 15 November 1935
Serving with
Vicente Ilustre (1916–1919)
Antero Soriano (1919–1925)
José P. Laurel (1925–1931)
Claro M. Recto (1931–1935)
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Resident Commissioner of the Philippines
In office
23 November 1909 – 15 October 1916
Serving with Benito Legarda (1909–1912)
Preceded byPablo Ocampo
Succeeded byTeodoro R. Yangco
Majority Leader of the Philippine House of Representatives
In office
16 October 1907 – 23 November 1909
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAlberto Barreto (Philippine Assembly)
Member of the Philippine Assembly
from Tayabas's 1st district
In office
16 October 1907 – 15 May 1909
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byFilemon Pérez
Governor of Tayabas
In office
1906–1907
Preceded byRicardo Paras
Succeeded byAlfredo Castro
Personal details
Born
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina

(1878-08-19)19 August 1878
Baler, El Príncipe, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died1 August 1944(1944-08-01) (aged 65)
Saranac Lake, New York, U.S.
Resting placeQuezon Memorial Circle
Political partyNacionalista Party
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1918)
Children4
RelativesManolo Quezon (adopted grandson)
EducationColegio de San Juan de Letran
University of Santo Tomas
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Philippines
Branch/servicePhilippine Revolutionary Army
Philippine Commonwealth Army
Years of service1899–1900
1941–1944
Rank Major (1899–1900)
Battles/warsPhilippine–American War
World War II
 • Philippines Campaign
 • Japanese occupation of the Philippines

During his presidency, Quezon tackled the problem of landless peasants in the countryside. His other major decisions include the reorganization of the islands' military defense, approval of a recommendation for government reorganization, the promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, dealing with the foreign stranglehold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform, and opposing graft and corruption within the government. He established a government-in-exile in the U.S. with the outbreak of the war and the threat of Japanese invasion.

It was during his exile in the U.S. that he died of tuberculosis at Saranac Lake, New York. He was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery until the end of World War II, when his remains were moved to Manila. His final resting place is the Quezon Memorial Circle.

In 2015, the Board of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation approved a posthumous bestowal of the Wallenberg Medal upon President Quezon and to the people of the Philippines for having reached out, between 1937 and 1941, to the victims of the Holocaust. President Benigno Aquino III and then-94-year-old Maria Zenaida Quezon Avanceña, the daughter of the former president, were informed of this recognition.

Early life and career
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina during his tender years

Quezon, was born in Baler in the district of El Príncipe[1] (now Baler, Aurora). His parents were Lucio Quezon (died 1898) and María Dolores Molina (1840–1893). His father was a primary grade school teacher (maestro) from Paco, Manila and a retired sergeant of the Spanish Civil Guard (sargento de Guardia Civil), while his mother was a primary grade school teacher (maestra) in their hometown. His father spoke and taught Spanish as a teacher. According to historian Augusto de Viana and as written in his timeline on the history of Baler, Quezon's father, Lucio, was a Chinese-Spanish mestizo who came from the Parián or Chinatown district outside Intramuros in Paco, Manila, though learned how to speak Spanish presumably in his time in the Spanish Guardia Civil and eventually married his mother who was a Spanish-Filipino mestiza born through a Spanish priest, Father Jose Urbina de Esparragosa, who arrived in Baler in 1847 serving as the town’s parish priest.[2]

Although both his parents must have contributed to his education, he received most of his primary education from the public school established by the Spanish government in his village, as part of the establishment of the free public education system in the Philippines, as he himself testified during his speech delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States during the discussion of the Jones Bill, in 1914.[3] He later boarded at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he completed secondary school.

In 1899, Quezon left his law studies at the University of Santo Tomas to join the independence movement. During the Philippine–American War he was an aide-de-camp to Emilio Aguinaldo.[4] He rose to the rank of Major and fought in the Bataan sector. However, after surrendering in 1900 wherein he made his first break in the American press,[5] Quezon returned to the university and passed the bar examinations in 1903, achieving fourth place.

He worked for a time as a clerk and surveyor, entering government service as an appointed fiscal (treasurer) for Mindoro and later Tayabas. He became a councilor and was elected governor of Tayabas in 1906 after a hard-fought election.

Congressional career

House of Representatives

In 1907, he was elected to the first Philippine Assembly – which later became the House of Representatives – where he served as majority floor leader and chairman of the committee on rules as well as the chairman also of the committee on appropriations. From 1909 to 1916, he served as one of the Philippines' two resident commissioners to the U.S. House of Representatives, lobbying for the passage of the Philippine Autonomy Act or Jones Law.

Senate President Quezon (third from left) with representatives from the Philippine Independence Mission in 1924

Senate

Quezon returned to Manila in 1916 and was elected senator. He was later elected Senate President by his peers, serving continuously until 1935 (19 years), the longest serving in history. He headed the first Independent Mission to the U.S. Congress in 1919 and secured the passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act in 1934. In 1922, Quezon became the leader of the Nacionalista Party alliance Partido Nacionalista-Colectivista.[6]

Presidency
Presidential styles of
Manuel L. Quezon
Reference styleHis Excellency[7]
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Alternative styleMr. President

First term (1935–1941)
First inauguration of Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon at the steps of the Legislative Building in Manila on 15 November 1935.
Presidential car of Manuel Luis Quezon displayed at Museo ng Pampangulong Sasakyan (Presidential Car Museum)

In 1935, Quezon won the Philippines' first national presidential election under the banner of the Nacionalista Party. He obtained nearly 68% of the vote against his two main rivals, Emilio Aguinaldo and Gregorio Aglipay. Quezon was inaugurated in November 1935. He is recognized as the second President of the Philippines. However, in January 2008, House Representative Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro filed a bill seeking instead to declare General Miguel Malvar as the second Philippine President, having directly succeeded Aguinaldo in 1901.[8]

Administration and cabinet

Appointments 1935–1941
PortfolioMinisterTook officeLeft officeParty
President Manuel L. Quezon19351941Nacionalista
Vice President Sergio Osmeña19351941Nacionalista
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce Benigno Aquino19381940Nacionalista
 Rafael Alunan, Sr.19401941
Secretary of Public Instruction Sergio Osmeña15 November 193518 April 1939Nacionalista
 Jorge Bocobo19 April 193922 January 1941
Secretary of Finance Elpidio Quirino15 November 193518 February 1936Nacionalista
 Antonio de las Alas18 February 193615 November 1938
 Manuel Roxas26 November 193828 August 1941Nacionalista
 Serafin Marabut28 August 194129 December 1941
Secretary of the Interior Elpidio Quirino19351938Nacionalista
 Rafael Alunan19381940
Secretary of Justice José Yulo15 November 1935November 1938Nacionalista
 José Abad Santos5 December 193816 July 1941
Commissioner of Justice Teofilo Sison18 July 1941November 1941Nacionalista
Secretary of Public Works
and Communications		 Mariano Jesús Cuenco19351941Nacionalista
Secretary of National Defense Teofilo Sison19391941Nacionalista
 Serafin Marabut1941
 Basilio Valdes23 December 1941
Secretary of Labor José Avelino19351938Nacionalista
 Hermenegildo Villanueva19381939Nacionalista
 Sotero Baluyut19391941Nacionalista
Secretary to the President Jorge B. Vargas19351941
Auditor-General Jaime Hernández19351941
Commissioner of the Budget Serafin Marabut19351941
Commissioner of Civil Service José Gil19351941
Resident Commissioner of the Philippines
to the United States Congress		 Quintín Paredes19351938Nacionalista
 Joaquín Miguel Elizalde19381941

Supreme Court appointments

President Quezon was given the power, under the Reorganization Act, to appoint the first all-Filipino cabinet in the Philippines in 1935. From 1901 to 1935, although a Filipino was always appointed chief justice, the majority of the members of the Supreme Court were Americans. Complete Filipinization was achieved only with the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. Claro M. Recto and José P. Laurel were among Quezon's first appointees to replace the American justices. The membership in the Supreme Court increased to 11: a chief justice and ten associate justices, who sat en banc or in two divisions of five members each.

Government reorganization

To meet the demands of the newly established government set-up and in compliance with the provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, as well as the requirements of the Constitution, President Quezon, true to his pledge of "More Government and less politics", initiated a reorganization of the government bodies.[9] To this effect, he established the Government Survey Board to study the existing institutions and in the light of the changed circumstances, make the necessary recommendations.[9]

Early results were seen with the revamping of the Executive Department. Offices and bureaus were either merged with one another or outrightly abolished. Some new ones, however, were created.[9] President Quezon ordered the transfer of the Philippine Constabulary from the Department of Interior, to the Department of Finance. Among the changes in the Executive Departments by way of modification in functions or new responsibilities, were those of the National Defense, Agriculture and Commerce, Public Works and Communications, and Health and Public Welfare.[9]

In keeping with other exigencies posed by the Constitution, new offices and boards were created either by Executive Order or by appropriate legislative action.[9] Among these were the Council of National Defense,[10] the Board of National Relief,[11] the Mindanao and Sulu Commission, and the Civil Service Board of Appeals.[9][12]

Social justice program

Pledged to improve the lot of the Philippine working class and seeking the inspiration from the social doctrines of Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI, aside from the authoritative treatises of the world's leading sociologists, President Quezon started a vigorous program of social justice, which he traduced into reality through appropriate executive measures and legislation obtained from the National Assembly.[9]

Thus, a court of Industrial Relations was established to mediate disputes, under certain conditions, minimizing the inconveniences of the strikes and lockouts. A minimum wage law was enacted, as well as a law providing for an eight-hour work day and a tenancy law for the Filipino farmers. Another measure was the creation of the position of Public Defender to help poor litigants in their court suits.[9]

Commonwealth Act No. 20 authorized Quezon to institute expropriation proceedings and/or acquire large landed estates to re-sell them at nominal cost and under easy terms to tenants thereon, thus enabling them to possess a lot and a home of their own. It was by virtue of this law that the Buenavista estate was acquired by the Commonwealth Government. Quezon also launched a cooperative system of agriculture among the owners of the subdivided estates in order to alleviate their situation and to provide them greater earnings.[9][13]

In all these, Quezon showed an earnest desire to follow the constitutional mandate on the promotion of social justice.[9]

Economy

Upon the creation of the Commonwealth, the economic condition of the nation was stable and promising.[9] With foreign trade reaching a peak of four hundred million pesos, the upward trend in business was accentuated and assumed the aspect of a boom. Exports crops were generally good and, with the exception of tobacco, they were all in high demand in foreign trade markets. Indeed, the value of the Philippine exports reached an all high of 320,896,000 pesos, the highest since 1929.[9]

Manuel Quezon signing documents.

Additionally, government revenues amounted to 76,675,000 pesos in 1936, as compared with the 1935 revenue of 65,000,000 pesos. Even the government companies, with the exception of the Manila Railroad, managed to earn profits. Gold production increased about 37% and iron nearly 100%, while cement production augmented by some 14%.[9]

Notwithstanding this prosperous situation,[9] the government had to meet certain economic problems besetting the country. For this purpose, the National Economic Council was created. This body advised the government in economic and financial questions, including promotion of industries, diversification of crops and enterprises, tariffs, taxation, and formulation of an economic program in the preparation for the future independent Republic of the Philippines.[9]

Again, a law reorganized the National Development Company; the National Rice and Corn Company (NARIC) was created and was given a capital of four million pesos.[9]

Upon the recommendation of the National Economic Council, agricultural colonies were established in the country, especially in Koronadal, Malig, and other appropriate sites in Mindanao. The government, moreover, offered facilities of every sort to encourage migration and settlement in those places.[9] The Agricultural and Industrial Bank was established to aid small farmers with convenient loans on easy terms.[14] Attention was also devoted to soil survey, as well as to the proper disposition of lands of the public domain. These steps and measures held much promise for improved economic welfare.[9]

Agrarian reform
See also: Land reform in the Philippines

When the Commonwealth Government was established, President Quezon implemented the Rice Share Tenancy Act of 1933.[15][16] The purpose of this act was to regulate the share-tenancy contracts by establishing minimum standards.[15] Primarily, the Act provided for better tenant-landlord relationship, a 50–50 sharing of the crop, regulation of interest to 10% per agricultural year, and a safeguard against arbitrary dismissal by the landlord.[15] However, because of one major flaw of this law, no petition for the Rice Share Tenancy Act was ever presented.[15]

The major flaw of this law was that it could be used only when the majority of municipal councils in a province petitioned for it.[15] Since landowners usually controlled such councils, no province ever asked that the law be applied. Therefore, Quezon ordered that the act be mandatory in all Central Luzon provinces.[15] However, contracts were good for only one year. By simply refusing to renew their contract, landlords were able to eject tenants. As a result, peasant organizations clamored in vain for a law that would make the contract automatically renewable for as long as the tenants fulfilled their obligations.[15]

In 1936, this Act was amended to get rid of its loophole, but the landlords made its application relative and not absolute. Consequently, it was never carried out in spite of its good intentions. In fact, by 1939, thousands of peasants in Central Luzon were being threatened with wholesale eviction.[15]

The desire of Quezon to placate both landlords and tenants pleased neither. By the early 1940s, thousands of tenants in Central Luzon were ejected from their farmlands and the rural conflict was more acute than ever.[15]

Indeed, during the Commonwealth period, agrarian problems persisted.[15] This motivated the government to incorporate a cardinal principle on social justice in the 1935 Constitution. Dictated by the social justice program of the government, expropriation of landed estates and other landholdings commenced. Likewise, the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) began an orderly settlement of public agricultural lands. At the outbreak of the Second World War, major settlement areas containing more than 65,000 hectares were already established.[15]

Educational reforms

Turning his attention to the matter of education in the country, President Quezon by virtue of Executive Order No. 19, dated 19 February 1936, created the National Council of Education, with Rafael Palma, former President of the University of the Philippines, as its first chairman.[9][17] Funds retained from the early approved Residence Certificate Law were devoted to the maintenance of the public schools all over the nation and the opening of many more to meet the needs of the young people. Indeed, by this time there were already 6,511 primary schools; 1,039 intermediate schools; 133 secondary and special schools; and five junior colleges. The total number of pupils enrolled was 1,262,353, who were placed under the charge of 28,485 schools teachers. That year's appropriation for public education amounted to 14,566,850 pesos.[9] The private institutions of learning, for their part, accommodated more than ninety seven thousand students, thus considerably aiding the government in solving the annual school crisis. To implement the pertinent constitutional provision, the Office of Adult Education was also created.[9]

Women's suffrage
President Quezon signing the Women’s Suffrage Bill following the 1937 plebiscite

President Quezon initiated women's suffrage in the Philippines during the Commonwealth Era.[18] As a result of the prolonged debate between the proponents of women's suffrage and their opponents, the Constitution finally provided that the issue be resolved by the women themselves in a plebiscite. If no less than 300,000 of them were to affirmatively vote in favor of the grant within two years, it would be deemed granted the country's women. Complying with this mandate, the government ordered a plebiscite to be held for the purpose on 3 April 1937.

Quezon broadcasting to his countrymen in Manila, from Washington, D.C., 5 April. For the first 25 minutes on air, Quezon discussed women's suffrage and urged that the 10-year independence program be limited to a shorter period, 4/5/1937.

Following a rather vigorous campaign, on the day of the plebiscite, the turnout of female voters was impressive. The affirmative votes numbered 447,725, as against 44,307 who opposed the grant.[18]

National language

Another constitutional provision to be implemented by President Quezon's administration dealt with the question of The Philippines' national language. Following a year's study, the Institute of the National Language – established in 1936 – recommended that Tagalog be adopted as the basis for the national language. The proposal was well received, considering that the Director – the first to be appointed – at the time, Jaime C. de Veyra, was an ethnic Waray-Visayan.

In December 1937, Quezon issued a proclamation approving the constitution made by the Institute and declaring that the adoption of the national language would take place two years hence. With the presidential approval, the Institute of National Language started to work on a grammar and dictionary of the language.[18]

Council of State

In 1938, President Quezon enlarged the composition of the Council of State through Executive Order No. 144.[18][19] This highest of advisory bodies to the President was henceforth to be composed of the President, the Vice-President, Senate President, House Speaker, Senate President pro tempore, House Speaker pro tempore, Majority Floor leader of both chambers of Congress, former Presidents of the Philippines, and some three to five prominent citizens.[18]

1938 midterm election
Main article: 1938 Philippine legislative election

The elections for the Second National Assembly were held on 8 November 1938, under a new law that allowed block voting[20] which favored the governing Nacionalista Party. As expected, all the 98 seats of the National Assembly went to the Nacionalistas. José Yulo, who was Quezon's Secretary of Justice from 1934 to 1938, was elected Speaker.

The Second National Assembly embarked on passing legislation strengthening the economy. Unfortunately, the cloud of the Second World War loomed over the horizon. Certain laws passed by the First National Assembly were modified or repealed to meet existing realities.[21][22] A controversial immigration law that set an annual limit of 50 immigrants per country,[23] which affected mostly Chinese and Japanese nationals escaping the Sino-Japanese War, was passed in 1940. Since the law bordered on foreign relations it required the approval of the U.S. President which was nevertheless obtained. When the result of the 1939 census was published, the National Assembly updated the apportionment of legislative districts, which became the basis for the 1941 elections.

1939 plebiscite

On 7 August 1939, the United States Congress enacted a law embodying the recommendations submitted by the Joint Preparatory Commission on Philippine Affairs. Because the new law required an amendment of the Ordinance appended to the Constitution, a plebiscite was held on 24 August 1939. The amendment was carried by 1,339,453 votes against 49,633.[18]

Third official language
C.A. Dewitt and Manuel Quezon

Quezon established the Institute of National Language (INL) to create a national language for the country. On 30 December 1937, President Quezon, through Executive Order No. 134, officially declared Tagalog as the basis of the national language of the Philippines. The national language was compulsorily taught in schools for the 1940-1941 academic year. The National Assembly later enacted Law No. 570 raising the national language elaborated by the institute to the status of official language of the Philippines, at par with English and Spanish, effective 4 July 1946, upon the establishment of the Philippine Republic.[18][24]

1940 plebiscite
Main article: 1940 Philippine constitutional plebiscites

Coincident with the local elections for the 1940, another plebiscite was held this time to ratify the proposed amendments to the Constitution regarding the restoration of the bicameral legislature, the presidential term, which was to be fixed at four years with one re-election; and the establishment of an independent Commission on Elections. With the Nacionalista Party, which had proposed said amendment in their convention, working hard under the leadership of its party president, Speaker Jose Yulo, the amendments were overwhelmingly ratified by the electorate. Speaker Yulo and Assemblyman Dominador Tan traveled to the United States to obtain President Franklin D. Roosevelt's approval, which was given on 2 December 1940. Two days later President Quezon proclaimed the amendments.

1941 presidential election
Main article: 1941 Philippine presidential election

Quezon had originally been barred by the Philippine constitution from seeking re-election. However, in 1940, constitutional amendments were ratified allowing him to seek re-election for a fresh term ending in 1943. In the 1941 presidential election, Quezon was re-elected over former Senator Juan Sumulong with nearly 82% of the vote.

Second term (1941–1944)

Pre-war Talks

As crisis mounted in the Pacific, the Phlippines also prepares for war. The military youth training, under General Douglas MacArthur, was intensified. Blackout practices were held, the first of which happened on the night of 10 July 1941 in Manila. First aid was taught on all schools and social clubs. On 1 April 1941, President Quezon built the Civilian Emergency Administration (CEA), with branches on provinces and towns. Also, air raid drills were established.

War Cabinet 1941–1944

The outbreak of World War II and the Japanese invasion resulted in periodic and drastic changes to the government structure. Executive Order 390, 22 December 1941 abolished the Department of the Interior and established a new line of succession. Executive Order 396, 24 December 1941 further reorganized and grouped the cabinet, with the functions of Secretary of Justice assigned to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Office Name Term
PresidentManuel L. Quezon1941–1944 (extended, 1943)
Vice PresidentSergio Osmeña1941–1944 (extended, 1943)
Secretary of FinanceJosé Abad Santos30 December 1941 – 26 March 1942
Secretary of JusticeJosé Abad Santos26 March 1942 – 2 May 1942
Secretary of Finance, Agriculture, and CommerceAndrés Soriano26 March 1942 – 31 July 1944
Secretary of National Defense, Public Works, Communications and LaborBasilio Valdes23 December 1941 – 1 August 1944
Secretary of Public Instruction, Health, and Public WelfareSergio Osmeña24 December 1941 – 1 August 1944
Secretary to the PresidentManuel Roxas24 December 1941 – 26 March 1942
Arturo Rotor13 June 1942 – 1 August 1944
Secretary to the CabinetManuel Nieto19 May 1944 – 1 August 1944
Secretary without PortfolioAndrés Soriano2–26 March 1942
Treasurer of the PhilippinesAndrés Soriano19 February 1942 – 26 March 1942
Manuel Roxas26 March 1942 – 8 May 1942
Auditor-GeneralJaime Hernández30 December 1941 – 1 August 1944
Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the United States CongressJoaquín Miguel Elizalde30 December 1941 – 1 August 1944 (given cabinet rank, May, 1942)
Secretary of Information and Public RelationsCarlos P. Rómulo1943–1944
Sources
  • The Sixth Annual Report of the United States High Commission to the Philippine Island to the President and Congress of the United States, Covering the Fiscal Year 1 July 1941 to 30 June 1942 Washington D.C. 20 October 1942
  • Executive Orders of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Manila, Bureau of Printing 1945

Jewish refugees

In a notable humanitarian act, Quezon, in cooperation with United States High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt, facilitated the entry into the Philippines of Jewish refugees fleeing fascist regimes in Europe while taking on critics who were convinced by fascist propaganda that Jewish settlement was a threat to the country.[25][26][27] Quezon and McNutt proposed to have 30,000 refugee families on Mindanao, and 30,000-40,000 refugees on Polillo. Quezon gave, as a 10-year loan to Manila’s Jewish Refugee Committee, land beside Quezon's family home in Marikina. The land would house homeless refugees in Marikina Hall, dedicated on 23 April 1940.[28]

Government-in-exile
Main article: Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
President Quezon, with some of his family members, are welcomed in Washington, D.C. by President Roosevelt.

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II,[29] he evacuated to Corregidor, where he was formally inaugurated for his second term, then the Visayas and Mindanao. Upon the invitation of the US government,[30] he was further evacuated to Australia,[31] and then to the United States, where he established the Commonwealth government in exile with headquarters in Washington, D.C.. There, he served as a member of the Pacific War Council, signed the declaration of the United Nations against the Axis Powers, and wrote his autobiography, The Good Fight.[18]

To carry on the government duties in exile, President Quezon hired an entire floor of one wing of the Shoreham Hotel to accommodate his family and his office. The offices of the government were established at the quarters of the Philippine Resident Commissioner, Joaquin Elizalde. The latter was made a member of the President's wartime Cabinet. Others likewise appointed were Brigadier-General Carlos P. Romulo, as Secretary of the Department of Information and Public Relations, and Jaime Hernandez as Auditor General.[18]

On 2 June 1942, President Quezon addressed the United States House of Representatives, impressing upon them the vital necessity of relieving the Philippine front. Before the Senate, later, the Philippine President reiterated the same message and urged the senators to adopt the slogan "Remember Bataan". Despite his precarious state of health, President Quezon roamed the States to deliver timely and rousing speeches calculated to keep the Philippine war uppermost in the minds of the American nation.[18]

Talks of post-war Philippines
Washington, D.C. Representatives of 26 United Nations at Flag day ceremonies in the White House to reaffirm their pact. Seated, left to right: Francisco Castillo Najera, Ambassador of Mexico; President Roosevelt; Manuel Quezon, President of the Philippine Islands; and Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

On the occasion of his first birthday celebration in the United States, Manuel Quezon broadcast a radio message to the Philippine residents in Hawaii, who contributed to the celebration by purchasing four million pesos worth of World War II bonds.[18] Further showing the Philippine government's cooperation with the war effort, Quezon officially offered the U.S. Army a Philippine infantry regiment, which was authorized by the U.S. Department of War to train in California. He also had the Philippine government acquire Elizalde's yacht, which, renamed Bataan and totally manned by the Philippine officers and crew, was donated to the United States for use in the war.[18]

Early in November 1942, Quezon held conferences with President Roosevelt to work out a plan for the creation of a joint commission to study the economic conditions of post-war Philippines. Eighteen months later, the United States Congress would pass an Act creating the Philippine Rehabilitation Commission as an outcome of such talks between the two Presidents.[18]

Quezon-Osmeña impasse

By 1943, the Philippine government-in-exile was faced with a serious crisis.[18] According to the 1935 Constitution, the official term of President Quezon was to expire on 30 December 1943 and Vice-President Sergio Osmeña would automatically succeed him to the presidency. This eventuality was brought to the attention of President Quezon by Osmeña himself, who wrote the former to this effect. Aside from replying to this letter informing Vice-President Osmeña that it would not be wise and prudent to effect any such change under the circumstances, President Quezon issued a press release along the same line. Osmeña then requested the opinion of U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings, who upheld Osmeña's view as more in keeping with the law. Quezon, however, remained adamant. He accordingly sought President Roosevelt's decision. The latter chose to remain aloof from the controversy, suggesting instead that the Philippine officials themselves solve the impasse.[18]

A cabinet meeting was then convened by President Quezon. Aside from Quezon and Osmeña, others present in this momentous meeting were Resident Commissioner Joaquín Elizalde, Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, and his cabinet secretaries, Andrés Soriano and Jaime Hernandez. Following a spirited discussion, the Cabinet supported Elizalde's opinion favoring the decision, and announced his plan to retire in California.[18]

After the meeting, however, Osmeña approached Quezon and broached his plan to ask the United States Congress to suspend the constitutional provisions for presidential succession until after the Philippines had been liberated. This legal way out was agreeable to Quezon and the members of his cabinet. Proper steps were taken to carry out the proposal. Sponsored by Senator Tydings and Congressman Bell, the pertinent resolution was unanimously approved by the Senate on a voice vote and passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 181 to 107 on 10 November 1943.[18]

Death
Tomb of President Quezon and his wife Aurora at Museo ni Quezon, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City

Quezon suffered from tuberculosis and spent his last years in hospitals, such as at a Miami Beach Army hospital in April 1944.[32] That summer, he was at a "cure cottage" in Saranac Lake, New York, where he died on 1 August 1944. He was initially buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His body was later brought by former Governor-General and High Commissioner Frank Murphy onboard the USS Princeton and re-interred in Manila at the Manila North Cemetery on 17 July 1946.[33] Quezon's remains were then moved to Quezon City within a miniature copy of Napoleon's tomb[34] at the monument at the Quezon Memorial Circle on 1 August 1979.[35]

Electoral history
 Summary of the September 16, 1935 Philippine presidential election results
Candidates Parties Votes %
Manuel L. QuezonNacionalista Party (Nationalist Party)695,33267.99%
Emilio AguinaldoNational Socialist Party179,34917.54%
Gregorio AglipayRepublican Party148,01014.47%
Pascual RacuyalIndependent1580.00%
Total 1,021,445 100%
Valid votes 1,021,445 ~98.89%
Votes cast 1,022,547 ~63.91%
Registered voters ~1,600,000 100.00%
 Summary of the November 11, 1941 Philippine presidential election results
Candidates Parties Votes %
Manuel L. QuezonNacionalista Party (Nationalist Party)1,340,32081.78%
Juan SumulongPopular Front298,60818.22%
Hilario MoncadoModernist Party00.00%
Total 1,638,928 100%

Personal life
President Quezon with his wife Aurora (left) and daughter Maria Aurora "Baby" (right) in 1938

Quezon was married to his first cousin, Aurora Aragón Quezon, on 17 December 1918. The couple had four children: María Aurora "Baby" Quezon (23 September 1919 – 28 April 1949), María Zeneida "Nini" Quezon-Avancena (born 9 April 1921), Luisa Corazón Paz "Nenita" Quezon (17 February – 14 December 1924) and Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezon, Jr. (23 June 1926 – 18 September 1998). His adopted grandson, Manuel L. "Manolo" Quezon III (born 30 May 1970), a prominent writer and former undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, was named after him.

Ancestry

Honors
Foreign Honors
National Honors
  • Manuel L. Quezon Day (August 19) – celebrated in Lucena and Quezon province[42]

Legacy

Recording of speech

A sample of Quezon's voice is preserved in the recording of a speech entitled "Message to My People", delivered in English and Spanish.[53] According to Manuel L. Quezon III, his grandfather's speech was recorded when he was President of the Senate "in the 1920s, when he was first diagnosed with tuberculosis and assumed he didn't have much longer to live."[54]

gollark: I hack the ward using the Log4j vulnerability.
gollark: The location of the rocks.
gollark: I attain cool rocks™.
gollark: I go to floor 2.
gollark: I look around.

See also

References
  • MacArthur, Douglas (1964). Reminiscences. McGraw-Hill.
  • Quezon, Manuel Luis (1974). The Good Fight. AMS Press. ISBN 978-0-404-09036-4.
  • Perret, Geoffrey (1996). Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur.

Notes
  1. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. "History of Baler". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2012. When military district of El Príncipe was created in 1856, Baler became its capital...On June 12, 1902 a civil government was established, moving the district of El Príncipe away from the administrative jurisdiction of Nueva Ecija...and placing it under the jurisdiction of Tayabas Province.
  2. Flores, Wilson Lee (13 July 2008). "Love in the time of war: Manuel Quezon's dad, Anne Curtis, Jericho Rosales & Ed Angara in Baler". PhilStar Global Sunday Lifestyle. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. Quezon, Manuel Luis (1915), "Escuelas públicas durante el régimen español" [Public schools during the Spanish regime], Philippine Assembly, Third Legislature, Third Session, Document No.4042-A 87 Speeches of Manuel L. Quezon, Philippine resident commissioner, delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States during the discussion of Jones Bill, 26 September-14 October 1914 [Asamblea Filipina, Tercera Legislatura, Tercer Período de Sesiones, Documento N.o 4042-A 87, Discursos del Manuel L. Quezon, comisionado residente de Filipinas, Pronunciados en la Cámara de representantes de los Estados Unidos con motivo de la discusión del Bill Jones, 26, septiembre-14, octubre, 1914] (in Spanish), Manila, Philippines: Bureau of Printing, p. 35, archived from the original on 18 July 2010, retrieved 24 July 2010, ...there were public schools in the Philippines long before the American occupation, and, in fact, I have been educated in one of these schools, even though my hometown is such a small town, isolated in the mountains of the Northeastern part of the island of Luzon. (Spanish). [...había escuelas públicas en Filipinas mucho antes de la ocupación americana, y que, de hecho, yo me había educado en una de esas escuelas, aunque mi pueblo natal es un pueblo tan pequeño, aislado en las montañas de la parte Noreste de la isla de Luzón.]
  4. Office of History and Preservation, United States Congress. (n.d.). Quezon, Manuel Luis, (1878–1944). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  5. Reyes, Pedrito (1953). Pictorial History of the Philippines.
  6. Bowman, John S., ed. (2000). Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. Columbia University Press. p. 494. ISBN 0231500041. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. "Official Program Aquino Inaugural (Excerpts)". Archived from the original on 12 February 2015.
  8. Cruz, Maricel (2 January 2008). "Lawmaker: History wrong on Gen. Malvar". Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  9. Molina, Antonio M. (1961). The Philippines Through the Centuries (Print ed.). Manila: University of Sto. Tomas Cooperative.
  10. "Commonwealth Act No. 1". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  11. "Executive Order No. 61, s. 1936". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  12. "Executive Order No. 39, s. 1936". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  13. "Commonwealth Act No. 20". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  14. "C.A. No. 459: An Act Creating the Agricultural and Industrial Bank". The Corpus Juris. 9 June 1939. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  15. Manapat, Carlos, et al. Economics, Taxation, and Agrarian Reform. Quezon City: C&E Pub., 2010.Print.
  16. "Act No. 4054". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  17. "Executive Order No. 19, s. 1936". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  18. Molina, Antonio. The Philippines: Through the centuries. Manila: University of Sto. Tomas Cooperative, 1961. Print.
  19. "Executive Order No. 144, s. 1938". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  20. "Block voting". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  21. Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 494 amended CA 444 "Eight Hour Law" authorizing the President to suspend the law.
  22. "C.A. No. 494: An Act to Authorize the President of the Philippines to Suspend, Until We Date of Adjournment of the Next Regular Session of the National Assembly Either Wholly or Partially the Operation of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four Hundred and Forty-Four, Commonly Known as the Eight-Hour Labor Law". The Corpus Juris. 30 September 1939. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  23. "Commonwealth Act No. 613". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  24. "Executive Order No. 134, s. 1937". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  25. Peñamante, Laurice (7 June 2017). "Nine Waves of Refugees in the Philippines - UNHCR Philippines". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  26. Rodis, Rodel (13 April 2013). "Philippines: A Jewish refuge from the Holocaust". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  27. Berger, Joseph (14 February 2005). "A Filipino-American Effort to Harbor Jews Is Honored". Nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  28. Quezon III, Manuel L. (30 May 2019). "Jewish Refugees and the Philippines, a timeline: nationalism, propaganda, war". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  29. Evacuation flights may be identified at the AirForceHistoryIndex.org site by searching for Quezon
  30. 1st Lt William Haddock Campbell, USAAF, received the DSC for his role as co-pilot in the evacuation of the Philippine president from the Philippines, as reported in a local Chicago newspaper, The Garfieldian, 1 April 1943 edition.
  31. Quezon, Manuel L. Jr. (8 December 2001). "Escape from Corregidor, December 8, 2001". philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com.
  32. "The Miami News – Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  33. "Official Month in Review: July 1946". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Office of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  34. "Paranormal and Historical".
  35. "Museo ni Manuel Quezon". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  36. Lucio Quezon's parentage is unclear as church records in Paco, Manila were destroyed twice; during the Philippine–American War in 1899, and during the Battle of Manila in 1945. He was believed to be the son of Estanislao Quezon and Anastacia Vélez y Montes.
  37. "Film # 008033781 Image Film # 008033781; ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXY-2WWS — FamilySearch.org". Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  38. "Film # 008167279 Image Film # 008167279; ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2Z-X7RL-L — FamilySearch.org". Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  39. "Film # 008033781 Image Film # 008033781; ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXY-24R4 — FamilySearch.org". Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  40. "Film # 008167279 Image Film # 008167279; ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2Z-X751-H — FamilySearch.org". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  41. María de los Dolores was a foundling, thus she has no family name.
    "Film # 008033783 Image Film # 008033783; ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXY-29FY-F — FamilySearch.org". Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  42. "Proclamation No. 2105, s. 1981". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 18 August 1981. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  43. "Picture of commemorative coin". Caimages.collectors.com. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  44. Park, Madison (2 February 2015). "How the Philippines saved 1,200 Jews during Holocaust". CNN. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  45. Contreras, Volt (31 December 2010). "Monument in Israel Honors Filipinos". Asian Journal. Manila: Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  46. "Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  47. "31 Interesting Facts About Hundred Islands National Park - Jacaranda's Travels - Philippines Tourists Spots". Jacarandatravels.com. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  48. "Kapuso stars portray heroes in GMA's cinematic version of the National Anthem". Philippine Entertainment Portal. 21 August 2010. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  49. Amadís, Ma. Guerrero (14 August 2015). "Manuel L. Quezon is the subject of a new musical". Inquirer Lifestyle. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  50. "Benjamin Alves wants to play Quezon again in 'Heneral Luna' sequels". GMA News Online (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal. 12 October 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  51. Deveza, Reyma (25 August 2018). "Benjamin Alves to play Manuel L. Quezon in upcoming movie". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  52. "'Quezon's Game' named Best Foreign Movie in Texas fest". Manila Standard. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  53. "Sound file" (MP3). Quezon.ph. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  54. "Talumpati: Manuel L. Quezon". Filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Pablo Ocampo		 Resident Commissioner of the Philippines
1909–1916
Served alongside: Benito Legarda, Manuel Earnshaw		 Succeeded by
Teodoro R. Yangco
Political offices
New office President of the Senate
1916–1935		 Succeeded by
Gil Montilla
as Speaker of the National Assembly
Vacant
Title last held by
Emilio Aguinaldo
as President of the First Philippine Republic		 President of the Philippines
1935–1944		 Succeeded by
José P. Laurel
as President of the Second Philippine Republic
Preceded by
Frank Murphy
as Governor General of the Philippines
Preceded by
Teófilo Sison		 Secretary of National Defense
1941		 Succeeded by
Jorge B. Vargas
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.