Manuel Luis Quezon

Manuel Luis Quezon (1878-1944) was the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. He prepared the groundwork for Philippine independence in 1946.

Manuel Quezon was born on Aug. 19, 1878, to Lucio Quezon and Maria Molina, both schoolteachers, in Baler, Tayabas (now Quezon) Province, in Luzon. Manuel enrolled at San Juan de Letran College, after which he was appointed lecturer at the University of Santo Tomás. There he studied law, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish-American War.

Quezon was considered "bright but lazy"; but when he joined the revolutionary forces of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo during the revolution against Spain, Quezon displayed his fearless, bold, and quick-tempered style of fighting. He was promoted from private to major until, in 1899, he surrendered to the Americans, spent 6 months in jail, and then returned to Manila.

Early Public Offices

In 1903 Quezon passed the bar examination and set up practice in Baler. He gave up private practice to assume the post of provincial fiscal of Mindoro and later of Tayabas. In 1906 he was elected provincial governor. His campaign showed his native political wisdom when he sided with popular issues in a somewhat opportunistic manner. Often he abandoned consistency for the sake of pursuing what to his enemies was nothing but plain demagoguery.

In 1907 Quezon ran successfully as candidate for the Philippine Assembly on the Nacionalista party platform. In the Assembly he was elected floor leader, and Sergio Osmeña, his archrival, became Speaker of the House. Quezon served as resident commissioner in Washington, D. C. (1909-1916), where he became notorious as a romantic dancer, playboy diplomat, and shrewd lobbyist. He was instrumental in having a law revised so that Filipinos would form a majority in the Philippine Commission, the highest governing body in the Philippines. In February 1916 he cosponsored the Jones Act, which gave the Filipinos the power to legislate for themselves subject to veto by the American governor general. With this act, Quezon returned home a hero.

In 1916 Quezon was elected to the Senate, and soon became its president. Here he began attacking Osmeña for the latter's theory of "unipersonal" leadership. Quezon's "collectivist" idea of leadership won in the 1922 election. Soon, however, the two warring factions of the Nacionalista party united in the Partido Nacionalista Consolidado, headed by Quezon, who then became president of the party.

In 1933 a bill providing for the future independence of the Philippines, the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill, was passed by the U.S. Senate. Quezon opposed the new law because "America would still hold military and naval bases in the Philippines even after the latter's independence, and, moreover, export duties regulated in the law would destroy both industry and trade." He was referring to what has since become the most troublesome cause of conflict between the Philippines and the United States: the right of jurisdiction over military bases and the special trade concessions given to landlords, compradors, and bureaucrat-capitalists with interests in export industries.

The real cause of Quezon's opposition to the law, apart from his objection to specific provisions, was the fact that it was identified with the Osmeña faction. Quezon led a mission to the United States to work for a bill generally similar to the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law, the Tydings-McDuffie Law, known also as the Philippine Independence Act. This law provided for Philippine independence in 1946 and tax-free importation of Philippine products such as sugar, coconut oil, and cordage into the United States and the diplomatic negotiation of the military bases issue.

President of the Philippines

In September 1935, under the banner of a coalition party, Quezon was elected first president of the commonwealth, with Osmeña as vice president. Quezon's first act as chief executive was to push a national defense bill through the rubber-stamp unicameral legislature, which he controlled. This bill made him chairman of the Council for National Defense, with the chief of staff of the armed forces directly subordinate to him.

On Aug. 10, 1940, influenced by the growing Japanese imperialist encroachment, Quezon jammed through the National Assembly the Emergency Powers Bill, which vested him with dictatorial powers. Passed by a vote of 62 to 1, the bill gave Quezon the authority to change even the social and economic structure of the country: he was given the authority to require civilians to render service to the government, to outlaw strikes, to commandeer shipping and other transportation, to control fuel resources, to revise the educational system, and so forth.

In November 1941 Quezon was reelected president of the commonwealth. When the Japanese forces occupied Manila in 1942, Quezon and his Cabinet fled from the Philippines and set up an exile government in Washington in May 1942. Quezon died on Aug. 1, 1944, a year before the liberation of the Philippines.

Assessment of Quezon

Although Quezon lived through the most turbulent times in Philippine history, when the peasantry—who composed 75 percent of the people—was rebelling against social injustice and age-old exploitation, he failed to institute long-lasting reforms in land tenancy, wages, income distribution, and other areas of crisis. Essentially a politician who was both tactful and bullheaded, supple and compulsive, Quezon served mainly the interest of the Filipino elite, or ruling oligarchy (about 200 families), who owned and controlled the estates and businesses.

Quezon became a popular hero when he attacked the racist policies of Governor Leonard Wood with his declaration that he preferred "a government run like hell by Filipinos to one run like heaven by Americans." Senator Claro M. Recto, a contemporary, pronounced the most balanced and acute judgment when he described Quezon as "a successful politician … because he was a master of political intrigue. He knew how to build strong and loyal friendships even among political opponents, but he knew also how to excite envy, distrust, ambition, jealousy, even among his own loyal followers."

Further Reading

The most authoritative source on Quezon's life is his autobiography, The Good Fight (1946). For his career and the historical circumstances surrounding it, the following are standard references: Carlos Quirino, Quezon: Man of Destiny (1935); Joseph R. Hayden, The Philippines: A Study in National Development (1942); Teodoro A. Agoncillo and Oscar M. Alfonso, History of the Filipino People (1960; rev. ed. 1967); Theodore Friend, Between Two Empires: The Ordeal of the Philippines, 1929-46 (1965); and Teodoro A. Agoncillo, A Short History of the Philippines (1969).

Additional Sources

Enosawa, G. H., Manuel L. Quezon: from Nipa house to Malacanan, Manila?: M.L. Morato, 1993.

Quezon: thoughts and anecdotes about him and his fights, Quezon City?: J.F. Rivera, 1979.

Romulo, Carlos P., The Philippine presidents: memoirs of, Quezon City: New Day Publishers; Detroit, Mich.: exclusive distributors, Cellar Book Shop, 1988. □

Manuel Luis Quezon , 1878–1944, first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–44). While a law student, he joined (1899) Emilio Aguinaldo 's insurrectionary army and fought the U.S. forces until 1901. He was imprisoned briefly after the insurrection. Admitted (1903) to the bar, he was elected (1905) governor of Tabayas prov. (renamed Quezon in his honor in 1946). As a member (1907–9) of the first Philippine assembly, he became floor leader of the majority nationalist party. He served (1909–16) as resident commissioner to the United States, crusading tirelessly for Philippine independence, and was instrumental in securing (1916) passage of the Jones Act, which increased self-government in the Philippines and gave the islands a pledge of future independence. On his return to the Philippines, he was elected (1916) to the first Philippine senate and was unanimously chosen president of that body—at the time the highest elective office in the land. He continued his ardent crusade for independence, strongly opposing the high-handed administration (1921–27) of Governor-General Leonard Wood , and after Wood's death effecting the appointment of the more sympathetic Henry Stimson. In 1934 he helped bring about passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Bill, which established the Commonwealth of the Philippines and promised complete independence in 1946. Quezon was elected (1935) president of the new commonwealth. As president he initiated administrative reforms, undertook many defense measures, and greatly expanded his power. Reelected in 1941, he escaped to the United States after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in World War II and conducted a government-in-exile there until his death.

Bibliography: See his autobiography, The Good Fight (1946) and biographies by S. H. Gwekoh (1948), E. Goettel (1970), and C. Quirino (1971).

Quezón y Molina, Manuel Luis (b. 19 Aug. 1878, d. 1 Aug. 1944). President of the Philippines 1935–42 Born in Baler on Luzon, he studied law and became an attorney in 1903. Originally an opponent of US control, he was elected governor in 1906, thanks to his charisma and active US help. He was elected to the Philippine Assembly in 1907, where he became the parliamentary leader of the largest party, the Nationalist Party. As resident commissioner for the Philippines in Washington (1909–16), he lobbied hard for Philippine independence, and gained the passing of the Jones Act of 1916, which extended Filipino autonomy. On his return he joined the Senate and became its President. He continued to advocate independence, but was equally concerned about preparing his country for statehood through the creation of an efficient administration, and a viable economy. Elected President of the transitional Commonweath of the Philippines, his attempts at reform were hampered by the power of entrenched interests, and the growing dependence on the USA in the face of Japanese expansionism. Upon the Japanese invasion in 1942, he presided over a government-in-exile in Washington until his death.

Quezon, Manuel Luis (1878–1944) Filipino statesman, President (1935–44). He followed AGUINALDO in the Philippine wars against Spain and the USA (1896–1901). Later he served in the Philippines Assembly and became resident commissioner for the Philippines in Washington (1909–16). His successful conduct in this post made him a national hero and he was elevated to the office of President of the Philippine Senate. In 1935 he became first President of the newly constituted Philippine Commonwealth and ruled his country dictatorially until forced into exile by the Japanese invasion in 1942. He headed a government in exile in the USA until his death, and was succeeded by his Vice-President, Sergio Osmena.

Quezon, Manuel (1878–1944)was elected president of the Philippines interim government, known as the Commonwealth, in 1935, and was re-elected in November 1941, but was forced to abandon Manila when the Japanese invaded Luzon in December 1941. He accompanied General MacArthur to the fortified island of Corregidor in Manila Bay but on 19 February 1942 was evacuated by submarine. He formed a government-in-exile in Washington on 14 May 1942, and on 15 November 1943 Roosevelt signed a bill which extended Quezon's term of office until the Japanese had been expelled from the Philippines. After his death he was replaced by Sergio Osmeña.

Quezon, Manuel Luis (1878–1944) Philippine statesman, first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–44). Quezon was imprisoned for his part in the revolt against US rule in 1901. After his release, he became leader of the Nationalist Party and, as commissioner to the US (1909–16), secured the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Bill (1934) that paved the way for independence. An autocratic president, Quezon instigated administrative reforms. His strengthening of Philippine defences failed to prevent Japan's invasion, and Quezon formed a govenment-in-exile in the US.