Manuel L. Quezon (August 19, 1878 - August 1, 1944). He won the elections held in September 1935 to choose the head of the Commonwealth Government. It was a government made possible by the Tydings-McDuffie Law, which Quezon secured from the U.S. Quezon had emerged as the acknowledged leader of Philippine politics and possessed the kind of background and experience that appealed to Filipinos. He had a bachelor of arts degree, studied law, and landed fourth place in the 1903 Bar examinations. He served in the revolution, fighting in Tarlac, Pampanga, and Bataan, and ended up with the rank of major. He was appointed provincial fiscal of Mindoro and Tayabas, his home province. He was elected governor of Tayabas in 1905 and in 1907, first assemblyman from the province to the First Philippine National Assembly. In 1909, he was appointed resident commissioner to the U.S. and when he finished his term after eight years, he returned to the Philippines to become President of the Philippine Senate, created by the Jones Law. He was also top man of the ruling Nacionalista Party.
Quezon’s term (1935 - 1944), though chiefly known for making Pilipino the national language, tried to solve nagging problems inherited from the Spanish and American administrations. He directed his main efforts to bring about political stability, build up national defense against the threat of Japanese militarism, and strengthen an economy that was extremely dependent upon the U.S. He was also remembered for taking executive and legislative actions to implement his “social justice” program aimed at the underprivileged.
The Commonwealth Government was interrupted by the Japanese invasion of 1941. Quezon and his government were forced to go into exile in the U.S. He died on August 1, 1944, in New York.
