Manuel L. Quezon
First term: November 15, 1935-December 30, 1941
Second term: December 30, 1941-August 1, 1944
(term extended on November 15, 1943)
Flag
From 1941-1945, the national flag was flown upside-down to symbolize wartime.
National Coat of Arms
1935-1940
1940-1941
1940-1941
1941-1946
Presidential Flags
| Era | Second President of the Philippines |
| First President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines | |
| Constitution | 1935 Constitution |
| Amended 1935 Constitution | |
| Successor | Sergio Osmeña |
| Date elected | September 16, 1935 695,332 votes (67.99% of the electorate) |
| November 11, 1941; 1,340,638 votes (81.78% of the electorate) | |
| Inauguration | November 15, 1935, Legislative Building (now National Museum), Manila (aged 57) |
| December 30, 1941, Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor Island (aged 63) | |
| November 15, 1943, Washington, D.C. (aged 65) (by virtue of U.S. Congressional Resolution) | |
| Seat of Government | Manila, Philippines (1935-1942) |
| Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. (1942-1944) | |
| Vice President | Sergio Osmeña (November 15, 1935-December 30, 1941; December 30, 1941-August 1, 1944) |
| Chief Justice | Ramon Avanceña (April 1, 1925-December 24, 1941) |
| Jose Abad Santos (December 24, 1941-May 2, 1942) | |
| Speaker of the National Assembly | Gil Montilla (November 25, 1935-December 30, 1938) |
| Jose Yulo (January 24, 1939-December 30, 1941) | |
| Previous Positions | |
| Executive | Provincial: Governor of Tayabas (1906-1907) |
| Bureaucracy: Provincial fiscal of Mindoro (1903-1904) | |
| Bureaucracy: Provincial fiscal of Tayabas (Now Quezon Province) (1904) | |
| Legislative | Local: Municipal Councilor of Lucena (1906) |
| Lower House: Assemblyman in the Philippine Assembly (1907-1909) | |
| Lower House: Resident Commissioner to the U.S. Congress (1909-1916) | |
| Upper House: Senate President (1916-1935) | |
| Upper House: Senator for the 5th Senatorial District (1916-1935) | |
| Judicial | None |
| Others | Major, Philippine Army (1898-1901);4th in the Philippine Bar (1903) |
| Worked under other Administrations | AGUINALDO as Aide-de-camp (c. 1899-1900) |
| Personal Details | |
| Born | August 19, 1878 |
| Baler, Aurora | |
| Died | August 1, 1944 |
| Saranac Lake, New York | |
| Resting Place | Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City |
| Political Parties | Partido Nacionalista (1907-1921) |
| Partido Colectivista Liberal (1922) | |
| Partido Nacionalista Consolidado (1923-1933) | |
| Partido Nacionalista-Democrata (1934) | |
| Nacionalista Coalition (Partido Nacionalista Democrata and Partido Pro-Independencia Democrata) (1935-1937) | |
| Nacionalista Party (1937-1944) | |
| Parents | Lucio Quezon |
| Maria Dolores Molina | |
| Spouse | Aurora Antonia Aragon y Molina (1888-1949) (m. 1918) |
| Children | Maria Aurora Quezon |
| Maria Zeneida Quezon-Avanceña | |
| Luisa Corazon Paz Quezon | |
| Manuel L. Quezon Jr. | |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts, Colegio de San Juan de Letran |
| Bachelor of Laws, University of Santo Tomas (began in 1894, resumed 1902-1903) | |
| Profession | Land Surveyor |
| Lawyer (fourth place in the 1903 Bar Exam) | |
COMMONWEALTH CABINET
| Department of Agriculture and Commerce | Rafael Alunan Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce |
| Department of Public Instruction | Jorge Bocobo Secretary of Public Instruction |
| Department of Finance | Serafin Marabut Secretary of Finance |
| Department of Interior | Francisco Zulueta Secretary of the Interior |
| Department of Justice | Teofilo L. Sison Secretary of Justice |
| Department of Public Works and Communication | Sotero Baluyot Secretary of Public Works and Communication |
| Secretary to the President | Jorge B. Vargas Secretary to the President |
| Department of Health and Public Welfare | Jose Fabella Secretary of Health and Public Welfare |
| Department of Labor | Leon Guinto Secretary of Labor |
| Department of National Defense | Jorge B. Vargas Secretary of National Defense (December 11-22, 1941) |
| Commander, United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) | Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur |
| Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army | Basilio J. Valdes |
| U.S. High Commissioner | Francis B. Sayre (1939-1942) |
WAR CABINET
(December 24, 1941-August 1, 1944)
| Department of Finance, Agriculture, and Commerce | Andres Soriano Secretary of Finance, Agriculture, and Commerce (March 26, 1942-July 31, 1944) |
| Jose Abad Santos Secretary of Finance, Agriculture, and Commerce (December 26, 1941-March 26, 1942) |
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| Department of National Defense, Public Works and Communications, and Labor | Basilio J. Valdes Secretary of National Defense, Public Works and Communications, and Labor (December 24, 1941-August 1, 1944) |
| Department of Public Instruction, Health, and Public Welfare | Sergio Osmeña Secretary of Public Instruction, Health, and Public Welfare (December 24, 1941-August 1, 1944) |
| Secretary to the President | Arturo Rotor Secretary to the President (June 13, 1942-August 1, 1944) |
| Manuel Roxas Secretary to the President (December 24, 1941-March 26, 1942) |
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| Department of Information and Public Relations | Carlos P. Romulo Secretary of Information and Public Relations (October 1, 1943–August 10, 1944) |
| Secretary to the Cabinet | Manuel Nieto (May 19, 1944-August 1, 1944) |
| Auditor-General | Jaime Hernandez (November 15, 1935-August 1, 1944) |
| Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives | Joaquin Elizalde (September 29, 1938-August 9, 1944) |
| Acting President of the Commonwealth Government in Unoccupied Areas | Jose Abad Santos (March 17, 1942) |
| U.S. High Commissioner | Francis B. Sayre (Resigns July 3, 1942) |
In 1935, President Quezon signed Executive Order No. 1, s. 1935, which began the numbering of executive issuances. Wartime issuances were affixed with a “W”. Executive Orders are defined in the 1987 Administrative Code as “acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers.”
- Executive Orders: 1-251; 1-W – 14-W(total:266)
- Administrative Orders: 1-44
- Proclamations: 1-292
- Population: 14.00 million (1936)
- Population: 17.00 million (1941)
- Total exports: P295.36 million (1936)
- Total exports: P 322.26 million (1941)
- U.S. Direct Investments in the Philippines: US$ 90.7 million (1940)
Source: A.V.H. Hartendorp, History of Industry and Trade of the Philippines (Manila: American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc., 1958)
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Legislative Acts passed by the legislature established by virtue of the 1935 Constitution were called Commonwealth Acts.
- Commonwealth Acts:
These infographics were published as part of the Philippine Electoral Almanac, a compendium and handy resource of Philippine national elections from 1935 onwards, by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office.
1935 Presidential Elections
Under the Tydings-McDuffie Independence Act, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established. On September 16, 1935, the first national presidential election in the Philippines was held, resulting in an overwhelming victory for the Coalition ticket led by Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña.
1935 Vice Presidential Elections
1935 Legislative Elections
By virtue of the 1935 Constitution, legislative power was vested in a unicameral National Assembly.
Of the 98 members elected to the National Assembly in 1935, 87 were from existing representative districts, three were from Mountain Province, and one from each of the eight existing special provinces.
A significant majority of representatives elected (72%) belonged to Quezon’s Partido Nacionalista Democrata (Antis), while 21% belonged to Osmeña’s Partido Pro-Independencia Democrata (Pros). While both factions of the Nacionalista Party coalesced on the national level, they were less united in the National Assembly.
1937 Plebiscite
1938 Legislative Elections
The election of November 8, 1938, was the first and last time that one single party would secure 100 percent of the seats in the legislature, with a reunited Nacionalista Party winning all 98 seats.
1939 Plebiscite
1940 Plebiscite
The unicameral National Assembly was replaced by a bicameral legislature composed of the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives.
In 1941, elections were held for the Presidency and Vice Presidency, as well as for members of both chambers.
1941 Presidential Elections
1941 Vice Presidential Elections
1941 Legislative Elections
The new terms of office for Congress were scheduled to begin on December 30, 1941, but the onset of World War II prevented the elected members from assuming their posts and the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was dissolved upon the exile of the government of the Philippines.
Seventy-five (75) SONAs have been delivered thus far. Click here to access the full list and links to all the SONAs of the Presidents of the Philippines.
Message to the First Assembly on National Defense
Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, November 25, 1935
On the Country’s Conditions and Problems
Delivered at the Opening of the First Session in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, Manila, June 16, 1936
Improvement of Philippine Conditions, Philippine Independence, and Relations with American High Commissioner
Delivered at the Opening of the Second Session of the National Assembly, in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, Manila, October 18, 1937
Revision of the System of Taxation
Delivered at the Opening of the Third Session in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, Manila, January 24, 1938
The State of the Nation and Important Economic Problems
Delivered at the Opening of the First Session in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, Manila, January 24, 1939
Sixth State of the Nation Address of President Manuel L. Quezon
Delivered at the Opening of the Second Session in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, Manila, January 22, 1940
Seventh State of the Nation Address of President Manuel L. Quezon
Delivered at the Opening of the Third Session in the Assembly Hall, Legislative Building, Manila, January 31, 1941
Click here to access the full list and links to all the SONAs of the Presidents of the Philippines.
