Agrarian reform[edit]

See also: Land reform in the Philippines

When the Commonwealth Government was established, President Quezon implemented the Rice
Share Tenancy Act of 1933.[21][22] The purpose of this act was to regulate the share-tenancy contracts
by establishing minimum standards.[21] 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. [21] However, because of one major flaw of this
law, no petition for the Rice Share Tenancy Act was ever presented. [21]
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.[21] 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.[21] 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.[21]
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.[21]
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.[21]
Indeed, during the Commonwealth period, agrarian problems persisted. [21] 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. [21]
Educational reforms[edit]
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.[15]
[23]
 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.[15] 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. [15]
Women's suffrage[edit]

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.[24] 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 May 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. [24]
National language[edit]
Another constitutional question of the Philippines was that of the country's 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.
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.[24]
Visits to Japan (1937–1938)[edit]
As the Imperial Japan started to encroach the Philippines, President Quezon witfully and skillfully,
avoided antagonizing both the American officials and on the other side, the Japanese officials. In
fact, he visited Japan twice in his term as president. First was a three-day trip from 31 January to 2
February in 1937 then the other one was on 29 June until 10 July 1938. His meeting with the
Japanese officials made clear that despite his cordial dialogue with them, he would be very loyal to
the United States, while reassuring them that he would protect all the rights and privileges of
Japanese residents in the Philippines. It could be presumed that Quezon's visit to Japan ultimately
sending a beacon or a message wherein the Philippines could become a neutral nation in an event
of a Japan-American conflict, should America become indifferent to the concerns of his country. [25]
Council of State[edit]
In 1938, President Quezon enlarged the composition of the Council of State through Executive
Order No. 144.[24][26] 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. [24]
1938 midterm election[edit]
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[27] 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. [28][29] A
controversial immigration law that set an annual limit of 50 immigrants per country,[30] 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[edit]
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. [24]
Third official language[edit]
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.[24][31]
1940 plebiscite[edit]
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[edit]
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)[edit]

Pre-war talks[edit]
As crisis mounted in the Pacific, Philippines 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.[32] Also, air raid drills were established.
Jewish refugees[edit]
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.[33][34][35] 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, which is currently the Philippine School of Business
Administration, dedicated on 23 April 1940. [36]
Government-in-exile[edit]
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,[37] 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, [38] he was further evacuated to Australia,[39] 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.[24]
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.[24]
On 22 January 1942, President Quezon while sitting under a canvas canopy outside the Malinta
Tunnel heard a fireside chat that was later linked to President Roosevelt himself, stating that the
Allied forces are determined to defeat first, Berlin and Rome, then later on Tokyo. Quezon was
infuriated when he heard of this and immediately summoned MacArthur and asked him whether or
not he should go back to Manila, and become a prisoner of war, after all, it is very evident that
America would not immediately support the Philippines. MacArthur responded that should the
Filipinos that are courageously fighting the Japanese get a wind of him of going back to Manila and
the Japanese turned him to a sort of a puppet, they would stoutly accuse of him as a turncoat. And
that response from MacArthur would somehow pacify Quezon. [40]
Afterwards, he had listened to another broadcast, this time from former President Emilio Aguinaldo
urging him and the fellow Filipino officials to yield to the superior Japanese forces. Henceforth,
Quezon wrote a message to Roosevelt explicitly stating that: he and his people had been
abandoned by America, and hence it was his duty as elected president to cease the fighting.
MacArthur had gotten wind of such message and was determined to block the release of the
message to the public hence he ordered Major General Richard Marshall to counterbalance the
message of Quezon by releasing American propaganda whose purpose would be the "glorification of
Filipino loyalty and heroism".[41]
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.[24]