Manuel L. Quezon

Early life and education

Quezon was born on 19 August 1878 in Baler in the district of El Príncipe, then part of Nueva Écija (now Baler, Aurora). His parents were Lucio Quezon Urbina (1850–1898) and María Dolores Molina (1840–1893). Both were primary-school teachers, although his father was a retired sargento of the Guardia Civil (sergeant of the colonial gendarmerie).

According to historian Augusto de Viana in his timeline of Baler, Quezon's father was a Chinese mestizo who came from the Parián (a Chinatown outside Intramuros) in Paco, Manila. He spoke Spanish in the Civil Guard and married María, a Spanish mestiza sired by the Spanish priest José Urbina de Esparragosa. Urbina had come to Baler to serve as its parish priest in 1847 from Esparragosa de la Serena, Cáceres Province, Spain. Quezon is Chinese mestizo surname originally from Hokkien Chinese spelled in Spanish orthography used in the colonial period, possibly from the Chinese: 雞孫; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ke-sun, with Chinese: 雞; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ke and Chinese: 孫; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sun; lit. 'grandson'; many Filipino surnames that end with "-zon", "-son", and "-chon" as the Hispancised form of the Hokkien Chinese: 孫; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sun; lit. 'grandson'.

He later boarded at the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán, where he graduated from secondary school in 1894. Lucio and Quezon's brother Pedro were later killed in 1898 by road bandits disguised as government officials on the way to Baler.

In 1899, Quezon left his law studies at the University of Santo Tomas to join the Filipino war effort, and joined the Republican army during the Philippine–American War. He was an aide-de-camp to Emilio Aguinaldo. Quezon became a major, and fought in the Bataan sector. After surrendering in 1900, he returned to university and passed the 1903 bar examinations.

Quezon worked for a time as a clerk and surveyor, entering government service as treasurer for Mindoro and (later) his home province of Tayabas. He became a municipal councilor of Lucena, and was elected governor of Tayabas in 1906.

Congressional career

House of Representatives (1907–1916)

Quezon was elected in 1907 to represent Tayabas's 1st district in the first Philippine Assembly (which later became the House of Representatives) during the 1st Philippine Legislature, where he was majority floor leader and chairman of the committees on rules and appropriations. Quezon told the U.S. House of Representatives during a 1914 discussion of the Jones Bill that he received most of his primary education at the village school established by the Spanish government as part of the Philippines' free public-education system. Months before his term ended, he gave up his seat at the Philippine Assembly upon being appointed as one of the Philippines' two resident commissioners. Quezon aimed for the Resident Commissioner seat in 1909, which was held by Nacionalista Pablo Ocampo. He won decisively with 61 out of 71 votes, while Ocampo received four votes, and a third candidate got none.

Quezon arrived in Washington, D.C., in December 1909 and made his residence in Champlain Apartment House. Due to him not being well-versed in the English language, he hired a tutor and self-studied a Spanish–English dictionary. During his time in the US, he received the nickname "Casey" among his American friends.

He served two terms as resident commissioner from 1909 to 1916, he lobbied for the passage of the Philippine Autonomy Act (the Jones Law).

In the fall of 1910, disagreements between Benito Legarda and Quezon, and between the Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly, caused issues for their re-elections as resident commissioners. The assembly did not certify Legarda's nomination because he was against immediate independence of the Philippines, leading the commission to reject Quezon's candidacy. After months of failed attempts to resolve the problem, the House extended their terms until October 1912. In November 1912, Quezon suggested Manuel Earnshaw to replace retiring Legarda, and Quezon was re-elected.

Senate (1916–1935)

On 14 October 1916, Quezon received the highest number of votes for the Fifth Senatorial District and was confirmed Senator-elect by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison under Executive Order No. 73. Due to the passage of the Jones Law, he resigned as resident commissioner on 15 October 1916. A farewell banquet was organized for him at the Willard Hotel by his friends and acquaintances in Washington. He then returned to Manila. On 16 October 1916, the new Philippine Legislature under the Jones Law was inaugurated. That same day, the new bicameral legislature convened with Quezon being elected Senate President. He served continuously until 1935 (19 years), the longest tenure in history until Senator Lorenzo Tañada's four consecutive terms (24 years, from 1947 to 1972). Quezon headed the first independent mission to the U.S. Congress in 1919, and secured passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act in 1934.

In 1921, Quezon made a public campaign against House Speaker Sergio Osmeña accusing him of being an autocratic leader and blamed him for the Philippine National Bank's financial mess. Both Osmeña and Quezon debated on this until 1922. As a result, the Nationalista Party was split into two. Quezon also resigned as Senate President that same year in January.

In 1922, he became leader of the Nacionalista Party alliance Partido Nacionalista-Colectivista. As Osmeña joined the 1922 Senate elections, Quezon's faction won. The party once again reunited with Quezon as senate president and Osmeña as senate president pro tempore.

In 1933, both Quezon and Osmeña clashed regarding the ratification of the Hare–Hawes–Cutting bill in the Philippine Legislature. As a result of the HHC controversy, Quezon's faction gained more support and won against Osmeña's faction in the 1934 senate elections.

On 9 July 1927, Quezon made his visit to Shanghai where he met with the wealthy elites. In his banquet speech: "I believe that the cause of Nationalist China is the cause of humanity. I think that it is only through the recognition of the fundamental principles of the rights of every nation to be free and independent and on an equal footing with other nations on earth that real peace and universal prosperity throughout the world can be established."

After his visit in Shanghai, Quezon then went to Nanjing meeting with Kuomintang leaders such as Chinese general Chiang Kai-shek and Chinese diplomat Hu Hanmin. He returned to the Philippines on 28 July 1927. Upon his return, Quezon urged Filipinos not to cooperate with Chinese nationalists. Quezon believed that having links with China would hinder the Philippines' independence campaign and offend the United States.

Presidency (1935–1944)

First term (1935–1941)

In 1935, Quezon won the Philippines' first national presidential election under the Nacionalista Party. He received nearly 68 percent of the vote against his two main rivals, Emilio Aguinaldo and Gregorio Aglipay. Quezon, inaugurated on 15 November 1935, is recognized as the second President of the Philippines. In January 2008, however, House Representative Rodolfo Valencia (Oriental Mindoro–1st) filed a bill seeking to declare General Miguel Malvar the second Philippine President; Malvar succeeded Aguinaldo in 1901.

National Defense

Quezon's administration established the Philippine Commonwealth's national-defense system under the National Defense Act of 1935, which provided for the development of a citizen army through compulsory military training and created the framework for building a Filipino force capable of defending the country.

Under the Reorganization Act, Quezon was given the power to appoint the first all-Filipino cabinet in 1935. From 1901 to 1935, a Filipino was chief justice but most Supreme Court justices were Americans. Complete Filipinization was achieved with the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. Claro M. Recto and José P. Laurel were among Quezon's first appointees to replace the American justices. Membership in the Supreme Court increased to 11: a chief justice and ten associate justices, who sat en banc or in two divisions of five members each.

Ramón Avanceña – 1935 (Chief Justice) – 1935–1941

José Abad Santos – 1935

Claro M. Recto – 1935–1936

José P. Laurel – 1935

José Abad Santos (Chief Justice) – 1941–1942

To meet the demands of the newly established government and comply with the Tydings-McDuffie Act and the Constitution, Quezon, – true to his pledge of "more government and less politics," – initiated a reorganization of the government. He established a Government Survey Board to study existing institutions and, in light of changed circumstances, make necessary recommendations.

Early results were seen with the revamping of the executive department; offices and bureaus were merged or abolished, and others were created. Quezon ordered the transfer of the Philippine Constabulary from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Finance. Other changes were made to the National Defense, Agriculture and Commerce, Public Works and Communications, and Health and Public Welfare departments.

New offices and boards were created by executive order or legislation. Among these were the Council of National Defense, the Board of National Relief, the Mindanao and Sulu Commission, and the Civil Service Board of Appeals.

Second term (1941–1944)

As crises mounted in the Pacific, the Philippines prepared for war. Youth military training under General Douglas MacArthur was intensified. The first blackout practice was held on the night of 10 July 1941 in Manila. First aid was taught in all schools and social clubs. Quezon established the Civilian Emergency Administration (CEA) on 1 April 1941, with branches in provinces and towns. Air-raid drills were also held.

The dismal results of the practice blackouts raised concerns of the minimal preparedness in the Philippines. Problems arose when the army and Philippine Constabulary was needed to control the peasant violence throughout the Philippines. In 1942, during Quezon's evacuation in Visayas at Negros Occidental, he spent frustrating hours communicating with officials. Quezon handled disputes between sugar workers and sugar central managers. In one occasion, Quezon ordered the manager of the Binalbagan Sugar Central to obtain money from the Philippine National Bank and pay its employees their salaries. As Binalbagan workers threatened Quezon that they would riot, he ordered the Philippine Constabulary to control the situation.

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II, Quezon evacuated to Corregidor (where he was inaugurated for his second term) and then to the Visayas and Mindanao. At the invitation of the U.S. government, he was evacuated to Australia, and then to the United States. Quezon established the Commonwealth government in exile, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Pacific War Council, signed the United Nations declaration against the Axis powers and wrote The Good Fight, his autobiography.

To conduct government business in exile, Quezon hired the entire floor of one wing of the Shoreham Hotel to accommodate his family and his office. Government offices were established at the quarters of Philippine Resident Commissioner Joaquin Elizalde, who became a member of Quezon's wartime cabinet. Other cabinet appointees were Brigadier-General Carlos P. Romulo as Secretary of the Department of Information and Public Relations and Jaime Hernandez as Auditor General.

Sitting under a canvas canopy outside the Malinta Tunnel on 22 January 1942, Quezon heard a fireside chat during which President Roosevelt said that the Allied forces were determined to defeat Berlin and Rome, followed by Tokyo. Quezon was infuriated, summoned General MacArthur and asked him if the US would support the Philippines; if not, Quezon would return to Manila and allow himself to become a prisoner of war. MacArthur replied that if the Filipinos fighting the Japanese learned that he returned to Manila and became a Japanese puppet, they would consider him a turncoat.

Death and burial

Quezon had developed tuberculosis and spent his last years in hospitals, including a Miami Beach Army hospital in April 1944. That summer, he was at a cure cottage in Saranac Lake, New York. Quezon died there at 10:05 a.m. ET on 1 August 1944, at age 65. His remains were initially buried in Arlington National Cemetery, but his body was brought by former Governor-General and High Commissioner Frank Murphy aboard the USS Princeton and re-interred in the Manila North Cemetery on 17 July 1946. Those were then moved to a miniature copy of Napoleon's tomb at the Quezon Memorial Shrine in Quezon City, on 1 August 1979.

Personal life

Quezon was married to his first cousin, Aurora Aragón Quezon. They wed through a civil ceremony on 14 December 1918, followed by a religious ceremony three days later, both in Hong Kong. The couple had four children: María Aurora "Baby" Quezon (23 September 1919 – 28 April 1949), María Zeneida "Nini" Quezon-Avanceña (9 April 1921 – 12 July 2021), Luisa Corazón Paz "Nenita" Quezon (17 February – 14 December 1924) and Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezon Jr. (23 June 1926 – 18 September 1998).

His grandson, Manuel L. "Manolo" Quezon III (born 30 May 1970), a writer and former undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, was named after him.

Awards and honors

The Foreign Orders, Medals and Decorations of President Manuel L. Quezon:

Foreign Awards

France: : Légion d'honneur, Officer

Mexico: : Order of the Aztec Eagle, Collar

Belgium: : Order of the Crown, Grand Cross

Spain: : Orden de la República Española, Grand Cross

Republic of China: : Order of Brilliant Jade, Grand Cordon

National Honors

: Order of the Golden Heart, Grand Collar (Maringal na Kuwintas) – 19 August 1960

: Order of the Knights of Rizal, Knight Grand Cross of Rizal (KGCR)

Legacy

Quezon City, the province of Quezon, Quezon Bridge in Manila, Manuel L. Quezon University, and many streets are named after him. The Quezon Service Cross is the Philippines' highest honor. Quezon is memorialized on Philippine currency, appearing on the Philippine twenty-peso note and two commemorative 1936 one-peso coins: one with Frank Murphy and another with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Open Doors, a Holocaust memorial in Rishon LeZion, Israel, is a 7-metre-tall (23 ft) sculpture designed by Filipino artist Luis Lee Jr. It was erected in honor of Quezon and the Filipinos who saved over 1,200 Jews from Nazi Germany.

Municipalities in six provinces are named after Quezon: Quezon, Bukidnon; Quezon, Isabela; Quezon, Nueva Ecija; Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya; Quezon, Palawan; and Quezon, Quezon. The Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon were inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register in 2011. Quezon Island is the most developed island in the Hundred Islands National Park.

Annually on 19 August, Manuel L. Quezon Day is celebrated throughout the Philippines as a special working holiday, except for the provinces of Quezon (including Lucena) and Aurora and Quezon City, where it is a non-working holiday. His birthplace Baler is now part of Aurora, which was a sub-province of Quezon and was named after his cousin and wife.

The Presidential Papers of Manuel Luis Quezon was inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific in 2010, and in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register in 2011.

In 2015, the Board of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation bestowed a posthumous Wallenberg Medal on Quezon and the people of the Philippines for reaching out to victims of the Holocaust from 1937 to 1941. President Benigno Aquino III and then-94-year-old Maria Zeneida Quezon-Avanceña, the daughter of the former president, were informed of this recognition.

In popular culture

Quezon was played by Richard Gutierrez in the 2010 music video of the Philippine national anthem produced and aired by GMA Network. Arnold Reyes played him in the musical MLQ: Ang Buhay ni Manuel Luis Quezon (2015). Quezon was played by Benjamin Alves in the film, Heneral Luna (2015). Alves and TJ Trinidad portrayed him in the 2018 film Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018). Quezon was played by Raymond Bagatsing in the film Quezon's Game (2019).

Jericho Rosales and Alves portrayed Quezon in his later and younger years, respectively, in the biopic, Quezon. With the National Commission for Culture and the Arts's support and the Film Development Council of the Philippines' funding, the biopic began filmmaking in March 2025 and was released in October 2025.

Speech recording

A sample of Quezon's voice is preserved in a recorded speech, "Message to My People", which he delivered in English and Spanish. Quezon recorded it while he was President of the Senate "in the 1920s, when he was first diagnosed with tuberculosis and assumed he didn't have much longer to live," according to his grandson Manuel L. Quezon III.