COMMONWEALTH

The nation commemorated on August 19, 2015, the birth of President Manuel Luis M.
Quezon, the first President of Philippine Commonwealth, who served from November 15, 1935,
to Aug. 1, 1944. It was Quezon Day, pursuant to Republic Act 6741 on August 4, 1989. It was
a special nonworking holiday in Quezon City, named after President Quezon, and in provinces of
Quezon and Aurora (formerly Tayabas), his birthplace. He was president at the time Quezon City
was inaugurated in 1939. His remains are at the Quezon Memorial Circle, where there were flagraising and wreath-laying rites yesterday.
President Quezon is remembered for the creation of the Institute of National Language in
1936, which recommend Tagalog to be the basis for the National Language, and decreed that it
be taught in all schools. He is called Father of the National Language. He is also remembered
for laying the groundwork for Philippine independence, having worked for passage of the
Philippine Autonomy Act or Jones Law that granted Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.
He was the first President elected through a national election on November 15, 1935, and
first incumbent to be reelected to a second term, later extended, with amendments to 1935
Constitution. His presidency centered on agrarian reform; he reorganized the bureaucracy and
defense establishment, promoted Mindanao development, dealt with foreign interests in trade
and commerce, and fought graft and corruption.
He reached out to the poor and marginalized, the heart of his campaign for social justice.
A lawyer (4th place in the Bar exams of 1903), he worked for workers rights and more jobs. He
provided the youth with knowledge and skills to improve themselves. He appointed the first allFilipino Supreme Court in 1935. He established the National Council of Education to upgrade
public schools and open more schools to meet the needs of young Filipinos. He initiated
womens suffrage during the Commonwealth Era.
Prior to the presidency, he held various posts form 1906 to 1941: Councilor and later
governor of Tayabas; majority floor leader of the first Philippine Assembly; Resident
Commissioner to United States House of Representatives; Senator, becoming first Senate
President; head of the first Independence Mission to US Congress that brought home the
Tydings-McDuffie Law; and Secretary of National Defense.
He called on Filipinos in one of his speeches to bear in mind that the Philippines is your
country and the only country God has given you. Your country is a great country; it has a great
past and a great future. The Philippines of yesterday is consecrated by sacrifices of martyrs and
soldiers. The Philippines of today is honored by wholehearted devotion to its cause by
courageous statesman. The Philippines of tomorrow will be the country of plenty, of happiness
and of freedom.
Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/philippine-history-president-manuel-l-quezons-legacies-of-patriotism-socialjustice/#IwSVIk62wPk1zMFT.99