Manuel L. Quezon

Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (August 19, 1878 – August 1, 1944) was the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. In the Philippines he is considered the second President, after Emilio Aguinaldo (whose administration did not receive international recognition at the time and is not considered the first president by the United States).

Early life and career

Manuel L. Quezon, a Spanish-mestizo, was born in Baler, Tayabas (now found at Aurora). While serving as aide-de-camp to Emilio Aguinaldo (he had been a Lieutenant, then a Major, in the Bataan sector during the retreat and surrender in 1901), he fought with Filipino nationalists in the Philippine-American War.

He received his primary education from his mother and tutors (his father, a mestizo from Paco, Manila, was a Sergeant in the Spanish Army), and later boarded at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he completed secondary school. After the war, he completed Law at the University of Santo Tomas and passed the bar examinations in 1903, placing fourth. He worked for a time as a clerk and surveyor, entering government service as an appointed fiscal for Mindoro and later Tayabas. He became a councilor and was elected governor of Tayabas in 1906 as an independent. In 1907 he was elected to the first Philippine Assembly, where he served as majority floor leader and chairman of the committee on appropriations. From 1909-1916 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 Presidency and Independence Missions

File:MLQuezon.jpg

He was elected senator in 1916 and became Senate President, serving continuously until 1935 (19 years). He headed the first Independence Mission to the U.S. Congress in 1919, and brought home the Tydings-McDuffie Independence Law in 1934.

While in the United States, he personally met Napoleon Hill and was inspired to continue seeking for the Independence of the Philippines.

Presidency

In 1935 Manuel L. Quezon won the Philippine's first national presidential election against Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay. His original six year term without reelection was extended by constitutional amendment, allowing him to serve two additional years for a total of eight. He was reelected in November, 1941. 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. Quezon was also instrumental in promoting a project to resettle the refugees in Mindanao.

Government-in-exile

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II he fled to the United States. 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 (Good Fight, 1946).

Quezon suffered from tuberculosis and died in Saranac Lake, New York on August 1, 1944. He was initially buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His body was later carried by the USS Princeton (CV-37) and re-interred in Manila, at the Manila North Cemetery and then moved to Quezon City within the monument at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Quezon was married to his first cousin Aurora Aragón Quezon and had four children: María Aurora "Baby" Quezon (1919-1949), María Zeneida "Nini" Quezon Avancena (1921-), Luisa Corazón Paz "Nenita" Quezon (1923-1923) and Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezon, Jr. (1926-1998) with his son Manuel L. "Manolo" Quezon III (1970-)

Quotes

"I prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos to a country run like heaven by Americans. Because, however bad a Filipino government might be, we can always change it."

"My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins."

"Social Justice is far more beneficial when applied as a matter of sentiment, and not of law."

See also

• History of the Philippines
• Political History of the Philippines
• USS Princeton (CV-37)

References

• McArthur, Douglas (1964). Reminiscences.
• Quezon, Manuel L. (1946). The Good Fight.
• Perret, Geoffrey (1996). Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur.

External links

• The Philippine Presidency Project: Manuel L. Quezon
• Philippine Presidents
• Bonnie Harris, Cantor Joseph Cysner: From Zbaszyn to Manila.