Manuel Quezon

Who was Manuel Quezon?

Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines, and is considered by most Filipinos to have been the second president of the Philippines, after Emilio Aguinaldo.

Quezón was the first Senate president elected to the presidency, the first president elected through a national election and the first incumbent to secure re-election. He is known as the "Father of the National Language".

During his presidency, Quezón tackled the problem of landless peasants in the countryside. Other major decisions include reorganization of the islands' military defense, approval of recommendation for government reorganization, promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, dealing with the foreign stranglehold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform, and opposing graft and corruption within the government. He established an exiled government in the U.S. with the outbreak of the war and the threat of Japanese invasion.