Sergio Osmeña
(succeeded) August 1, 1944-May 28, 1946
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From 1941-1945, the national flag was flown upside-down to symbolize wartime.
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| Era | Fourth President of the Philippines | |
| Second President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines | ||
| Constitution | Amended 1935 Constitution | |
| Predecessor | Manuel L. Quezon | |
| Successor | Manuel Roxas | |
| Date elected | August 1, 1944 (succeeded) | |
| Inauguration | August 1, 1944, Washington, D.C. (aged 67) | |
| Seat of Government | Tacloban, Leyte (1944-1945) | |
| Manila (1945-1946) | ||
| Vice President | None | |
| Chief Justice | Manuel V. Moran (July 9, 1945-March 20, 1951) | |
| Senate President | Manuel Roxas (July 9, 1945-May 25, 1946) | |
| Speaker of the House | Jose C. Zulueta (June 9-December 20, 1945) | |
| Previous Positions | ||
| Executive | Provincial: Governor of Cebu (1905-1907) | |
| Bureaucracy: Fiscal of Cebu (1904- 1905) | ||
| Cabinet: Secretary of Public Instruction (1935-1939) | ||
| Cabinet: Secretary of Public Instruction, Health, and Public Welfare (1941-1944) | ||
| National: Vice President of the Philippines (November 15, 1935-August 1, 1944) | ||
| Legislative | Local: Municipal Councilor of Cebu (1903, re-elected in 1904) | |
| Lower House: Representative of the 2nd District of Cebu (1907-1922) | ||
| Lower House: Speaker of the House of Representatives (1907-1922) | ||
| Upper House: Senate President pro tempore (1922-1933) | ||
| Upper House: Senator for the 10th Senatorial District (1923-1935) | ||
| Judicial | None | |
| Others | 2nd in the Philippine Bar (1903) | |
| Worked under other Administrations | QUEZON as Vice President; Secretary of Public Instruction | |
| ROXAS as Member of Council of State | ||
| QUIRINO as Member of Council of State | ||
| MAGSAYSAY as Member of Council of State | ||
| GARCIA as Member of National Security Council | ||
| Personal Details | ||
| Born | September 9, 1878 | |
| Cebu City, Cebu | ||
| Died | October 19, 1961 | |
| Veterans Memorial Hospital, Quezon City | ||
| Resting Place | Manila North Cemetery, Manila | |
| Political Parties | Partido Nacionalista (1907-1921) | |
| Partido Nacionalista-Unipersonalista (1922) | ||
| Partido Nacionalista Consolidado (1923-1933) | ||
| Partido Nacionalista (“Pro”) (1934) | ||
| Nacionalista Coalition (Coalition Party) (1935-1937) | ||
| Partido Nacionalista (1937-1945) | ||
| Nacionalista Party (1945-1961) | ||
| Parents | Don Pedro Lee Singson Gotiaoco | |
| Juana Osmeña y Suico | ||
| Spouse | Estefania Chiong Veloso (1875-1918) (m. 1901) | |
| Esperanza Limjap (1894-1978) (m. 1920) | ||
| Children | (by Estefania Chiong Veloso) | |
| Edilberto Osmeña | ||
| Vicenta Osmeña | ||
| Nicasio Osmeña | ||
| Milagros Osmeña | ||
| Emilio Osmeña | ||
| Maria Paloma Osmeña | ||
| Teodoro Osmeña | ||
| Jose Osmeña | ||
| Sergio Osmeña Jr. | ||
| (by Esperanza Limjap) | ||
| Ramon Osmeña | ||
| Rosalinda Osmeña | ||
| Victor Osmeña | ||
| Education | Primary, Seminario Colegio de San Carlos (1892) | |
| Bachelor of Arts, Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1894) | ||
| Bachelor of Laws, University of Santo Tomas (1903) | ||
| Profession | Journalist | |
| Lawyer (second placer in the 1903 Philippine Bar Examination) | ||
WAR CABINET
(August 1, 1944-February 27, 1945)
| Department of Finance | Jaime Hernandez Secretary of Finance (August 9, 1944-November 1, 1944) |
| Department of Interior and Finance | Ismael Mathay Secretary of Interior and Finance (November 1, 1944-February 1945) |
| Department of Justice, Labor, and Welfare | Mariano Eraña Secretary of Justice, Labor, and Welfare (August 8, 1944-July 1945) |
| Department of Agriculture and Commerce | Manuel Nieto Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce (August 8, 1944-February 27, 1945) |
| Department of Public Instruction | Carlos P. Romulo Secretary of Public Instruction (November 2, 1944-February 1945) |
RESTORED COMMONWEALTH CABINET
(February 27, 1945-May 28, 1946)
| Department of Justice, Agriculture and Commerce | Delfin Jaranilla Secretary of Justice, Agriculture and Commerce (February 27, 1945-July 12, 1945) |
| Department of Agriculture and Commerce | Vicente Encarnacion Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce (July 12, 1945-1946) |
| Department of Finance and Reconstruction | Jaime Hernandez Secretary of Finance and Reconstruction (February 27, 1945) |
| Department of Public Instruction | Maximo Kalaw Secretary of Public Instruction (February 27, 1945-May 4, 1945) |
| Department of the Interior | Tomas Confesor Secretary of the Interior (February 27, 1945) |
| Department of Justice | Ramon Quisumbing Secretary of Justice (January 2, 1946-May 28, 1946) |
| Department of Labor | Marcelo Aduru Secretary of Labor (July 12, 1945) |
| Department of National Defense | Alfredo Montelibano Secretary of National Defense (July 19, 1945-May 27, 1946) |
| Tomás Cabili Secretary of National Defense (February 27, 1945-July 11, 1945) |
|
| Department of Public Works and Communications | Sotero Cabahug Secretary of Public Works and Communications (February 27, 1945) |
| Department of Health and Public Welfare | Basilio J. Valdes Secretary of Health and Public Welfare (February 27, 1945-July 12, 1945) |
| Jose Locsin Secretary of Health and Public Welfare (July 12, 1945-May 1946) |
|
| Secretary to the President | Jose S. Reyes Secretary to the President (February 27, 1945-May 5, 1945) |
| Department of Public Instruction | Francisco Benitez Secretary of Public Instruction (January 7, 1946-May 27, 1946) |
| Jose S. Reyes Secretary of Public Instruction (January 7, 1946) |
This tab is currently under construction. Please check again soon.
- Executive Orders: 15-W-109-W (total: 98)
- Administrative Orders: 1-44
- Proclamations: 1-38
- Population: 19.06 million (1946)
- Gross Domestic Product: P61,128 million (1946)
- Income Per Capita: P3,207 (1946)
- Total Exports: P4,370 (1946)
Source: National Statistics Office
This tab is currently under construction. Please check again soon.
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.
1941 Presidential Elections
1941 Vice Presidential Elections
1941 Legislative Elections
Following the death of President Manuel L. Quezon in 1944, Vice President Osmeña assumed the presidency.
Though Quezon had kept the Commonwealth government alive while in exile in Washington, he never established a legislature-in-exile. Thus, upon the reestablishment of the Commonwealth in 1945, President Osmeña called for a special session of Congress. The First Congress of the Commonwealth convened on June 9 of that year, with most of the Senators and Representatives elected in 1941 assuming their positions. Not all, however, were allowed to take their post because some were incarcerated for collaboration with the Japanese.
On April 23, 1946, a general election was held for President, Vice President, and members of both Houses of Congress
1946 Presidential Elections
In the presidential elections, Osmeña ran for re-election against Senate President Manuel Roxas of the breakaway Liberal Wing of the Nacionalista Party and Hilario Moncado of the Partido Modernista.
1946 Vice Presidential Elections
1946 Legislative Elections
The Second Congress of the Commonwealth convened on May 25, 1946; however, it would only last until July 4, 1946, with the inauguration of the Third Republic of the Philippines. Members of both Houses of Congress thus formed the First Congress of the Republic of the Philippines.
Click here for more information on the Philippine Legislature published on the Official Gazette.
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 Congress of the Commonwealth of Philippines
Delivered at Lepanto Street, Manila, June 9, 1945
Click here to access the full list and links to all the SONAs of the Presidents of the Philippines.
