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The Rise of Quezon and Osmena

Manuel L. Quezon
- Manuel Luis Quezon was born on August 19, 1878 in Baler, Tayabas (now Quezon),
to Lucio Quezon, a native of Paco, Manila and Maria Dolores Molina.He studied law at
the University of Sto. Tomas and passed the bar examinations in 1903. He became the
fiscal of his home province and was soon elected governor.In the 1907 election, he ran
for the Philippine Assembly under the Nacionalista Party, won by a large majority, and
became the majority floor leader.

In 1909, he was elected Resident Commissioner to Washington, D.C., a post he

held until 1916. His most significant achievement was the passage of the Jones Act
that provided for the grant of Philippine independence. He was elected senator in 1916
and eventually became Senate President. He headed the first Independence Mission to
the U.S. Congress, and brought home the Tydings-McDuffie Independence Law in
1934.

The “Star of Baler “ shone as the First President of the Commonwealth after his
brilliant performance as the First Senate President. He was steadfast in his vision to
deliver the masses from the shackles of colonialism which intensified his efforts to
secure independence for his country. Such vision culminated in the establishment of
political stability within the framework of the 1935 Constitution, the formulation of
policies to ensure the social well-being of the people, and the adjustment of the national
economy to the challenges of independent nationhood. He was a dynamic Filipino
leader and a true friend of the poor and the oppressed whom he loved and cared so
well. Quezon is one of the most illustrious sons our country has ever produced.

Quezon was married to Aurora Aragon and had four children. He died on August 1,
1944 in Saranac Lake, New York.

(https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/senators/senpres/quezon.asp )
 Republic of the Philippines

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Sergio Osmeña (born Sept. 9, 1878, Cebu City, Phil.—died Oct. 19, 1961, Manila) was a
Filipino statesman, founder of the Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista) and
president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946.

Sergio Osmeña.
Osmeña received a law degree from the University of Santo Tomás, Manila, in 1903. He
was also editor of a Spanish newspaper, El Nuevo Día, in Cebu City. In 1904 the U.S.
colonial administration appointed him governor of the province of Cebu and fiscal
(district attorney) for the provinces of Cebu and Negros Oriental. Two years later he was
elected governor of Cebu. In 1907 he was elected delegate to the Philippine National
Assembly and founded the Nationalist Party, which came to dominate Philippine
political life.
Osmeña remained leader of the Nationalists until 1921, when he was succeeded by
Manuel Quezon, who had joined him in a coalition. Made speaker of the House of
Representatives in 1916, he served until his election to the Senate in 1923. In 1933 he
went to Washington, D.C., to secure passage of the Hare–Hawes–Cutting
independence bill, but Quezon differed with Osmeña over the bill’s provision to retain
U.S. military bases after independence. The bill, vetoed by the Philippine Assembly, was
superseded by the Tydings–McDuffie Act of March 1934, making the Philippines a
commonwealth with a large measure of independence. The following year Osmeña
became vice president, with Quezon as president. He remained vice president during the
Japanese occupation, when the government was in exile in Washington, D.C. On the
death of Quezon in August 1944, Osmeña became president. He served as president
until the elections of April 1946, when he was defeated by Manuel Roxas, who became
the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.
 Republic of the Philippines

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On November 15, 1935, the Filipino people took the penultimate step to independence with the

inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Only two months prior, on September 16,

a million Filipinos had trooped to the polls to elect their two highest officials—the President and

Vice President. This was the first time in the history of the nation that a Filipino would finally sit

as Chief Executive and hold office in Malacañan Palace.{{1}}

Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and his running mate Senate President pro tempore Sergio

Osmeña were elected as President and Vice President, while voters elected representatives for

the new unicameral National Assembly and for local positions.

 Republic of the Philippines

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Inauguration of the Commonwealth of

the Philippines.
The Commonwealth was the culmination of efforts to secure a definitive timetable for the

withdrawal of American sovereignty over the Philippines.

Early on, at the start of the American occupation, the United States had established local

governments with local elected town and provincial officials. Afterward came a gradual

expansion of national legislative representation, beginning with the Philippine Assembly (or

Lower House) in 1907.{{2}}

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It was not until the Jones Law of 1916 that the pledge of eventual independence—once Filipinos

were ready for self-governance—was made. The Jones Law led to the creation of an all-Filipino

legislature composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives. However, the

position of Chief Executive—the Governor-General—and what was considered the most

important cabinet portfolio—Public Instruction (precursor to the Department of Education)—

were reserved for American officials appointed by the President of the United States. Half of the

Philippine Supreme Court was reserved for Americans as well.

Independence Missions from 1919 onwards were periodically sent to the U.S. Congress and the

White House to lobby for and negotiate independence. In 1931, the OsRox Mission (which

stands for “Osmeña and Roxas”) successfully lobbied for the enactment of the Hare-Hawes-

Cutting Act, which was passed over President Herbert Hoover’s veto in 1932. This was,

however, rejected by the Philippine Legislature. In 1934, a new mission (the QuAquAl Mission,

made up of Quezon, Benigno Aquino Sr., and Rafael Alunan) negotiated the Tydings-McDuffie

or the Philippine Independence Act, which set a ten-year transition period to be known as the

Commonwealth of the Philippines, followed by the recognition of the independence of the

Philippines by the United States.

The Tydings-McDuffie Act established the parameters for the preparatory period. Some powers

of supervision were reserved to the United States, as well as foreign diplomacy and currency. In

all other respects, the Philippines became self-governing.

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Among the provisions was the election in 1934 of a Constitutional Convention to draft the

constitution of the incoming commonwealth government. Its was presided over by Claro M.

Recto with 202 elected Filipino delegates who decided that the constitution to be written would

cover not only the transitional Commonwealth, but would apply to the Republic as well. The

convention finished its work on February 8, 1935 and submitted it to the President of the United

States for certification that its provisions complied with the Philippine Independence Act. It was

certified on March 25, 1935 and it was subsequently ratified by the Filipino people in a plebiscite

on May 14, 1935.

Aside from the certification by the President of the United States of the draft constitution for the

Commonwealth of the Philippines, the United States government also reserved certain powers:

currency, coinage, imports, exports, and immigration laws would require the approval of the

President of the United States. The United States could also intervene in the processes of the

Commonwealth of the Philippines via Proclamation by President of the United States. All

decisions of the courts of the Philippines were also subject to review by the Supreme Court of

the United States. However, these powers were exercised rarely.

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Quezon and the

WWII Pacific War Council
With war looming over the world following German aggression in Europe and the Japanese

annexation of Manchuria, the National Assembly conferred emergency powers on the

government. The Philippine Army was placed under the command of the United States Armed

Forces Far East (USAFFE), headed by Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur, who was recalled to

active service after having served as military adviser to the Commonwealth since 1935.

Filipinos reelected Quezon, Osmeña, and legislators to fill seats in the newly created bicameral

congress on November 11, 1941. War in Asia broke out on December 8, 1941 following the

Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the American naval fortress in Hawaii, and Axis military

advances throughout Southeast Asia.

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USAFFE, composed of Filipino and American personnel, held off the Japanese war machine that

had routed the French, British, and Dutch colonial governments in the region. But lack of

reinforcements, disease, and obsolete armaments due to the “Europe First” policy adopted by

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, hampered any real progress.

On December 24, 1941, President Quezon and his war cabinet evacuated to the island stronghold

of Corregidor in Manila Bay and two months later left for Australia, en route to the safety of the

United States. There the Commonwealth Government continued to function in exile, gaining

recognition from the world community as a member of the United Nations. President Quezon

continued to represent the Commonwealth of the Philippines in Washington, D.C. He would

serve in the same capacity, with an extended term in 1943 by virtue of Joint Resolution No. 25 of

the United States Congress, until his death on August 1, 1944, resulting in Osmeña’s ascension

to the Presidency. Osmeña gave his inaugural address in Washington, D.C., making him the only

Philippine President thus far to deliver an inaugural address outside the Philippines.

On October 20, 1944, Allied forces under the command of Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur

landed on the shores of Leyte and began the campaign to liberate the Philippines. He was

accompanied by President Osmeña, whose return formally reestablished the Commonwealth

Government on Philippine soil. With the nullification of all acts of the Second Republic,

President Osmeña convened the Congress, elected in November 11, 1941, on June 9, 1945.
 Republic of the Philippines

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On April 23, 1946, the first postwar election was held, in which Manuel Roxas and Elpidio

Quirino were elected President and Vice President over re-electionist Osmeña and his running

mate, Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr.

Roxas took his oath of office on May 28, 1946 as the third and last President of the

Commonwealth of the Philippines in front of the ruins of the Legislative Building in Manila. In

the succeeding weeks, pursuant to the provisions of the Philippine Independence Act, the

Commonwealth of the Philippines became the Republic of the Philippines—the Third Republic.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/the-commonwealth-of-the-philippines/ \

Manuel Quezon (born August 19, 1878, Baler, Philippines—died August 1, 1944, Saranac
Lake, New York, U.S.) was a Filipino statesman, leader of the independence movement,
and the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth established under U.S. tutelage
in 1935.
Quezon was the son of a schoolteacher and small landholder of Tagalog descent on the
island of Luzon. He cut short his law studies at the University of Santo Tomás in Manila
in 1899 to participate in the struggle for independence against the United States, led by
Emilio Aguinaldo. After Aguinaldo surrendered in 1901, however, Quezon returned to
 Republic of the Philippines

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the university, obtained his degree (1903), and practiced law for a few years. Convinced
that the only way to independence was through cooperation with the United States, he
ran for governor of Tayabas province in 1905. Once elected, he served for two years
before being elected a representative in 1907 to the newly established Philippine
Assembly.
In 1909 Quezon was appointed resident commissioner for the Philippines, entitled to
speak, but not vote, in the U.S. House of Representatives; during his years in
Washington, D.C., he fought vigorously for a speedy grant of independence by the
United States. Quezon played a major role in obtaining Congress’ passage in 1916 of the
Jones Act, which pledged independence for the Philippines without giving a specific
date when it would take effect. The act gave the Philippines greater autonomy and
provided for the creation of a bicameral national legislature modeled after the U.S.
Congress. Quezon resigned as commissioner and returned to Manila to be elected to the
newly formed Philippine Senate in 1916; he subsequently served as its president until
1935. In 1922 he gained control of the Nacionalista Party, which had previously been led
by his rival Sergio Osmeña.
Quezon fought for passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act (1934), which provided for full
independence for the Philippines 10 years after the creation of a constitution and the
establishment of a Commonwealth government that would be the forerunner of an
independent republic. Quezon was elected president of the newly formulated
Commonwealth on September 17, 1935. As president he reorganized the islands’ military
defense (aided by U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur as his special adviser), tackled the huge
problem of landless peasants in the countryside who still worked as tenants on large
estates, promoted the settlement and development of the large southern island of
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Mindanao, and fought graft and corruption in the government. A new national capital,
later known as Quezon City, was built in a suburb of Manila.