Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth
president of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the ...
from May 28, 1946, to July 4, 1946, and became the first President of the Independent
Third Philippine Republic
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (di ...
after the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
ceded its sovereignty over the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Early life and education

Manuel Roxas y Acuña was born on January 1, 1892, in
Capiz
Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...
, Capiz (present-day Roxas City) to
Gerardo Roxas y Luis and Rosario Acuña y Villaruz. He was a
posthumous child, as his father died after being mortally wounded by the Spanish
Guardia Civil the year before. He and his older brother, Mamerto, were raised by their mother and her father, ''Don'' Eleuterio Acuña. His other siblings from his father included Leopoldo and Margarita, while he also had half-siblings, Consuelo, Leopoldo, Ines, and Evaristo Picazo after his mother remarried.
Roxas received his early education in the public schools of Capiz and attended
St. Joseph's College in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
at age 12, but due to homesickness, he went back to Capiz. He eventually transferred to
Manila High School, graduating with honors in 1909.
Roxas began his law studies at a private law school established by
George A. Malcolm, the first dean of the
University of the Philippines College of Law. On his second year, he enrolled at
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
, where he was elected president of his class and the student council. In 1913, Roxas obtained his law degree, graduated class
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States.
The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
, and subsequently topped the bar examinations with a grade of 92% that same year. He then became professor of law at the
Philippine Law School and
National University
A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...
.
He served as secretary to Judge
Cayetano Arellano
Cayetano Simplicio Arellano y Lonzón (March 2, 1847 – December 23, 1920) was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines under the American Civil Government. Cayetano Arellano had occupied a high position in Aguinaldo's go ...
of the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.
Political career
In 1917, Roxas became a member of the
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of
Capiz
Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...
, serving until 1919. He then became the youngest provincial
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Capiz
Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...
, and served in that capacity from 1919 to 1922.
Roxas was elected to the
Philippine House of Representatives in 1922, and for twelve consecutive years was
Speaker of the House. He served as a member of the
Constitutional Convention of 1934,
secretary of finance, chairman of the National Economic Council, chairman of the National Development Company, and served in many other government corporations and agencies. He also served as a brigadier general in the
United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), was a recognized guerrilla leader and military leader of the Philippine Commonwealth Army. Roxas became one of the leaders of the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...
, which was dominated by the ''hacendado'' class who owned the vast ''hacienda'' estates that made up most of the cultivated land in the Philippines. The same ''hacendado'' elite who dominated the Philippines under Spanish rule continued to be the dominant social element under American rule. Roxas himself was a ''hacendado'', who had used his wealth to further his political ambitions. The politics of the Philippines were characterized by a clientistic system under which politicians would use their offices to create patronage networks, and personal differences between politicians were far greater than any ideological differences.
With the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the Philippines started to be seen as a liability in the United States as demands were made to end Filipino immigration to the United States and end the tariff free importation of Filipino agriculture into the American market as many American farmers complained they could not compete with Filipino farmers. To end Filipino immigration and access to the American market, many U.S. congressional leaders favored granting immediate independence to the Philippines. At the same time that the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
was debating granting independence to the Philippines, many Filipino leaders were worried by the increasing assertive claims being made by
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
that all of
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
was its sphere of influence. In a role reversal, it was the Filipinos who were opposed to immediate independence, which was proposed in the
Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill being debated within the halls of Congress.
In early 1930, Roxas flew to the United States with
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; zh, c=吳文釗, poj=Gô͘ Bûn-chiau; September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Ph ...
to lobby the U.S. Congress to go slow on the granting of independence in the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill. Aside from the fear of Japan, many Filipinos were deeply worried about the plans to impose heavy tariffs on Filipino agriculture after independence, which provided another reason to go slowly with independence. In
Washington, Roxas lobbied U.S. government leaders such as
Secretary of State Henry Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Demo ...
and
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Patrick Hurley. Roxas testified before the U.S. Congress that he favored Philippine independence, saying the Filipinos had fulfilled the "stable government" provision of the
Jones Act of 1916, which mandated that independence be granted when Filipinos proved that they had a "stable government". However, Roxas went on to testify that "with the granting of tariff autonomy, serious difficulties may arise". In common with the rest of the Filipino elite, Roxas saw the plans of the U.S. Congress to impose tariffs on Filipino goods after independence as an economic disaster for the Philippines.
In May 1930, Roxas reported to
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...
that both Hurley and Stimson had testified before the U.S. Congress saying that the Philippines were not ready for independence nor would be for anytime in the foreseeable future, which he thought had a major impact on the U.S. Congress. Roxas advised that Quezon should now try to appease Senators
Harry B. Hawes and
Bronson B. Cutting by sending them a message saying he wanted immediate independence, which Roxas felt was not likely at present. On May 24, 1930, Quezon followed Roxas's advice and sent public telegrams to both Hawes and Cutting saying the Filipinos "crave their national freedom". In a compromise, the Senate Insular Committee advised on June 2, 1930, that the Philippines should be given more autonomy to prepare for independence within the next 19 years. Upon his return to the Philippines in 1930, Roxas founded a new pro-independence group called Ang Bagong Katipunan ("The New Association") that proposed disbanding all political parties under its fold and the unification of national culture in order to negotiate better with the United States. The plans for ''Ang Bagong Katipunan'' created widespread opposition, as the group was seen as too authoritarian and as a vehicle for Roxas to challenge Quezon for the leadership of the Nacionalista Party. Ang Bagong Katipunan was soon disbanded.
In the summer of 1931, Hurley visited the Philippines to assess its readiness for independence. In talks with Quezon, Osmeña, and Roxas, it was agreed that the Philippines should become an autonomous commonwealth under American rule and would be allowed to keep exporting
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and
coconut oil
Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...
to the United States at the present rate. Roxas became seen as one of the less radical independence leaders, who favored "going slow" on independence to keep access to the U.S. market. At the time, Roxas cynically stated he and the other ''Nacionalistas'' had to make "radical statements for immediate, complete and absolute independence to maintain hold of the people". Filipino politics tended to be based more on personal loyalties to a politician who would reward his followers via patronage rather than ideological issues, and despite criticism of the ''Democratas'' that the ''Nacionalistas'' had abandoned their platform, the ''Nacionalistas'' triumphed in the election of July 13, 1931. In the election, Roxas was reelected and returned to his position as speaker of Philippine House of Representatives. In September 1931, Japan seized the
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
region of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. After the
Mukden Incident, the leaders of both the
U.S. Army and
U.S. Navy started to argue in Washington that the Philippines occupied a strategical position in
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, as naval and air bases located in the Philippines would allow any power that controlled them to dominate the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
, the key sea that linked the markets of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
to China. The prevailing opinion within the U.S. military was that the United States needed its Philippine bases to deter Japan from trying to seize control of all of East Asia.
In 1933, Roxas and Osmeña flew to Washington to negotiate Filipino independence from the United States. The Americans agreed to grant the Filipinos independence, but only on the condition that the United States be allowed to retain military bases in the Philippines, a condition that led for the act to be rejected by the Philippine Congress. Quezon was late to state that the allowing of the United States to retain its bases in the Philippines would make Filipino independence no different from the independence of the Japanese sham state of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
.
Senate
After amendments to the
1935 Philippine Constitution
The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and ra ...
were approved in 1941, Roxas was elected to the
Philippine Senate
The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...
, but was unable to serve until 1945 because of the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The United States was scheduled to grant the Philippines independence in 1945 while Japan started to make claims for a
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The , also known as the GEACPS, was a Pan-Asianism, pan-Asian union that the Empire of Japan tried to establish. Initially, it covered Japan (including Korea under Japanese rule, annexed Korea), Manchukuo, and Wang Jingwei regime, China, but as ...
from 1940 onward. In common with other members of the Filipino elite, Roxas started to cultivate ties with Japan as it was unclear whatever the Philippines would remain in the American sphere of influence after independence or fall into the Japanese sphere of influence. However, as the United States was planning on granting independence, ending more than 400 years of foreign rule, Filipino public opinion was hostile to the idea of the Philippines joining the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
Having enrolled prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as an officer in the reserves, Roxas was made liaison officer between the
Commonwealth government and the
USAFFE headquarters of General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
. On December 7, 1941, Japan went to war against the United States, bombing the U.S. naval base in
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
, Hawaii, while also bombing American bases in the Philippines. Shortly after, Japanese invasion forces landed on
Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, the largest and most populous of the islands of the Philippine archipelago. MacArthur had claimed that the American–Filipino forces under his command would stop any Japanese invasion "on the beaches", but instead the Japanese forces marched on
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, the capital and largest city of the Philippines. Roxas accompanied President Quezon to
Corregidor
Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
where he supervised the destruction of Philippine currency to prevent its capture by the Japanese. When Quezon left Corregidor, Roxas went to Mindanao to direct the resistance there. It was prior to Quezon's departure that he was made executive secretary and designated as successor to the presidency in case Quezon or Vice President
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; zh, c=吳文釗, poj=Gô͘ Bûn-chiau; September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Ph ...
were captured or killed. On January 3, 1942, President Quezon presented General MacArthur with a secret guaranty of $500,000.
The payment was related to the Filipino concept of ''
utang na loob'', where one offers a lavish gift in order to create a reciprocal obligation from the individual who receives the gift.
Through the payment was legal, it was questionable from an ethical perspective, and MacArthur always kept the payment secret, which did not become public knowledge until 1979.
Later that year, Quezon offered payment to General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
, which he refused, saying that as a United States Army official, his first loyalty was to the United States, which made accepting such a payment as morally wrong in his viewpoint.
Roxas was one of the few people who did know about Quezon's gift to MacArthur.
Roxas was captured in April 1942 by the Japanese invasion forces. He became chief advisor to the collaborationist government of
Jose P. Laurel. The American journalist Richard Rovere described Roxas as typical of the Filipino ''hacendado'' class (the wealthy owners of the ''hacienda'' estates) who sought to opportunistically ingratiate themselves with whatever power ruled the Philippines. An additional reason for the ''hacendados'' to support the Japanese occupation was that the main resistance group, the ''Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon '' (People's Army against the Japanese), better known as the Huks, was a Communist movement. Besides for opposing the Japanese, the Huks promised land reform, by breaking up the ''haciendas'', which caused the ''hacendados'' as a group to support the Japanese. The Manila chapter of the fascist Falange party had a membership of about 10,000 people, including members of the most prominent ''hacendado'' families such as the Ayalas, Zobels, Elizaldes and Sorianos. By 1945, the Huks had over 70,000 guerrillas in action, making them into easily the largest resistance group in the Philippines. The American historian Russell Buhite wrote: "Roxas was the Philippine equivalent of the fabled French statesman Charles Maurice de Tallyrand who was able to blend with the wind, able to work with authority wherever he found it". The American historian Richard Bernstein stated: "If Japan had won the war...the top man in the Philippines today would probably have been Manuel Roxas".
During Japanese occupation, Roxas provided intelligence to General MacArthur and the American forces via the intelligence-gathering apparatus and efforts of
Chick Parsons. Disguised as a Catholic priest, the bearded, tanned Parsons would visit Roxas even while the latter was effectively under house arrest, and privately "receive confession" from the Filipino statesman regarding the disposition of the Japanese forces, the collaborationist government, and various matters of state. Roxas also passed on information from Malacañang to the Fil-Am guerrilla movement through Ramona Snyder, the lover of guerrilla
Edwin Ramsey.
On October 20, 1943, the head of the Japanese military police, Akira Nagahama, surprised President Laurel in Malacañang and demanded the arrest of Roxas, whose office was a short distance away. Laurel replied, "You can go and get Roxas, but you'll have to kill me first."
Control of the rice supplies and pricing was power politics in Manila. President Laurel and Roxas, as chief of the Government Rice Procurement Authority, secretly blocked Japanese access to the rice stores controlled by the agency—they wanted to project that the largest possible supply of the staple food would be available to the civilian population at the lowest possible price. They managed the system successfully. But when the Japanese occupiers were forced to use their own procurement methods outside of the Laurel government, short supply and high demand drove the prices up for everyone.
Eventually as the war progressed, Japan managed to divert most of the rice harvest to feed the Japanese forces in Southeast Asia. The ruthless policies of confiscating rice harvests pushed many of the Filipino peasantry to the brink of starvation and made Roxas into one of the most hated men in the Philippines.
Roxas served in the Laurel government until April 1945, when he surrendered to American forces at Baguio. After his capture, MacArthur publicized Roxas' contributions to the resistance movement. MacArthur may have been blackmailed by Roxas, who threatened to reveal the guaranty he accepted in 1942. This was dangerous for The General, as MacArthur had ambitions to run as the candidate of the
Republican Party for the
1944 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 1944. The election took place during World War II which ended the following year. The History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticke ...
. MacArthur's political ambitions were an open secret at the time. In early 1944, letters between MacArthur and Congressman
Albert Miller were leaked to the press, wherein MacArthur expressed his criticism of the policies of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
and the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
, and dropped hints that he would be willing to accept the Republican nomination for the
presidential election to be held after the war.
Shortly after his capture, Roxas told the Americans that he wanted the United States to keep its military bases in the Philippines after independence in 1946, and promised to use all of his influence to persuade the Filipino congress to accept independence on those terms. Buhite wrote that by pardoning Roxas, MacArthur "...undermined his ability to treat other collaborators more harshly". Beyond his presidential ambitions, MacArthur had additional reasons to treat Roxas leniently. MacArthur believed that the men of the ''hacendado'' class, such as Roxas, were capable of providing the Philippines with competent leadership. The general felt that whatever Roxas and the other ''hacendados'' had done during the Japanese occupation was irrelevant compared to the need to have the ''haendados'' continue as the dominant group as MacArthur believed that the Philippines would descend into anarchy without the leadership of the educated class which had been responsible for governance since the time of the Spanish.
Osmeña was opposed to MacArthur's rehabilitation of Roxas, only to receive the reply that: "I have known General Roxas for over twenty years, and I know that he is no threat to our military security. Therefore we are not detaining here". It has been reported that MacArthur disliked President Osmeña, whom he felt was an incompetent leader, and much preferred Roxas to be the country's next president. The charismatic Roxas made for more appealing social company, which he used to his advantage in his dealings with The General. Moreover, Osmeña had often opposed MacArthur before the war. President Osmeña traveled to Washington in early 1945 to appeal for President Roosevelt's help against MacArthur, but he made tactless remarks in his meeting at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, inspiring the American president to declare that MacArthur should be allowed to rule the Philippines whatever way he liked. MacArthur announced in a speech that Roxas was "one of the prime factors in the guerilla movement" against the Japanese. Aside from Roxas, MacArthur pardoned over 5,000 Filipino collaborators. Even though over 80% of the Philippine Army officers went over to the Japanese in 1942, their commissions were restated.
When the Congress of the Philippines re-convened in 1945, legislators elected in 1941 Roxas as
Senate president. Of all members of the
1st Commonwealth Congress, 8 out of 14 senators and 19 out of 67 representatives had collaborated with the Japanese during the occupation. In an attempt to undermine Osmeña's chances of winning the
1946 Philippine presidential election, MacArthur forced the Osmeña administration to make unpopular decisions while he groomed Roxas to run in the 1946 election. On April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt died and his
vice-president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
,
Harry S Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th Vice president of the United States, vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Frank ...
, succeeded him. Truman had little interest in the Philippines, as he had more pressing concerns to face in his first months of office. When MacArthur left the Philippines for Japan to sign the armistice ending the war on August 30, 1945, the Philippines has been in a chaotic state, with the economy in tatters and the political status undecided. When he took over the American occupation of Japan, MacArthur in turn lost his interest in the Philippines, only returning to Manila on July 4, 1946, to witness the declaration of Filipino independence before promptly returning to Tokyo.
Presidential election of 1946
Prior to the
Philippine national elections of 1946, at the height of the last
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
elections, Senate President Roxas and his friends left the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...
and formed the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
.
Roxas became their candidate for president and
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953.
A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...
for vice-president. The Nacionalistas, on the other hand, had Osmeña for president and Senator
Eulogio Rodriguez for vice-president. Roxas had the staunch support of General MacArthur. The American military government strongly favored Roxas during the election, regarding him as the Filipino politician most likely to allow the American bases to continue in the Philippines after independence. The British historian Francis Pike wrote that Roxas "effectively brought" the 1946 election, helped by the fact that he owned the largest newspaper empire in the Philippines. The Roxas newspapers election coverage were essentially campaign ads for the Roxas campaign. Osmeña refused to campaign, saying that the Filipino people knew of his reputation. On April 23, 1946, Roxas won 54% of the vote, and the Liberal Party won a majority in the legislature.
Presidency (1946–1948)
Administration and cabinet
Last president of the Commonwealth
On May 28, 1946, prior to his inauguration, president-elect Roxas, accompanied by
United States High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt
Paul Vories McNutt (July 19, 1891 – March 24, 1955) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 34th governor of Indiana, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the ...
, left for the United States. During his U.S. visit, Roxas came out clearly for the United States to maintain its bases after independence, saying in a speech: "We will welcome the existence of your naval, air and army bases on such of our soil as it is mutually agreeable for the common protection of the United States and the Philippines, and will co-operate in the defense and security of those bases insofar as it is within our power to do so". After the experience of the Japanese occupation, Filipino public opinion was no longer against the presence of American bases after independence in quite the same way as before 1941. However, the U.S. government was apparently not aware of the change in public opinion, and favored Roxas as the man best able to allow the United States to keep its bases after independence.
On May 10, 1946, a draft agreement was signed in Washington allowing the United States to keep its Filipino bases for 99 years after independence. Roxas was willing to sign the agreement, but demanded that the number of American bases be reduced and complained that the sweeping immunity from Filipino law enjoyed by American military personnel envisioned in the agreement would not be popular with Filipino public opinion. He also made it clear that he was more comfortable with the Americans mostly having naval and air bases in the Philippines, and wanted the number of U.S. Army bases kept to the minimum. Some aspects of the Roxas desiderata were incorporated in the final agreement as the Americans agreed to reduce the number of bases in the Philippines after independence. Roxas's argument against the U.S. Army having bases were also incorporated in the agreement, through the fact that
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
saw the Philippines primarily as a place to project power into Asia led to most of the American bases being naval and air bases. Furthermore, as long the Americans dominated the waters and air spaces around the Philippines, another invasion was unlikely. However, the Americans refused to give make concessions on the immunity issue, being adamant that American military personnel enjoy immunity from Filipino law after independence.

On May 28, 1946, Roxas was inaugurated as the last president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The inaugural ceremonies were held in the ruins of the Legislative Building (now part of the
National Museum of the Philippines
The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...
) and were witnessed by about 200,000 people. In his address, he outlined the main policies of his administration, mainly: closer ties with the United States; adherence to the newly created
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
; national reconstruction; relief for the masses; social justice for the working class; the maintenance of peace and order; the preservation of individual rights and liberties of the citizenry; and honesty and efficiency of government.
On June 3, 1946, Roxas appeared for the first time before a
joint session
A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose.
Most often it refers to when both houses of a bicam ...
of Congress to deliver his first
State of the Nation Address. Among other things, he told the members of the Congress the grave problems and difficulties the Philippines face and reported on his special trip to the United States to discuss the approval for independence.
On June 21, Roxas reappeared in front of another joint session of Congress and urged the acceptance of two laws passed by the
Congress of the United States
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
on April 30, 1946—the
Tydings–McDuffie Act, of Philippine Rehabilitation Act, and the
Bell Trade Act or Philippine Trade Act. Both recommendations were accepted by the Congress. Under the Bell Trade Act, the goods from the Philippines were granted tariff-free access to the American market, achieving one of Roxas's key aims; in exchange, he accepted pegging the
Philippine peso to the U.S. dollar and American corporations were granted parity rights when it came to exploiting the minerals and forests of the Philippines. In exchange for accepting the Bell Trade Act, the U.S. Congress voted for some $2 billion in aid to the Philippines. Though the $2 billion was intended to assist with the reconstruction of the war-devastated nation, the vast majority of the money was stolen by Roxas and his corrupt friends. The American journalist Robert Shaplen noted after a visit to Manila: "It may well be that in no other city in the world was there so much graft and corruption and conniving after the war".
In the congressional elections, the Huks joined forces with socialists and peasant unions to form a new party, the Democratic Alliance. The party won six seats in Congress on a platform of punishing collaborators, land reform and opposing the Bell Trade Act. Among the Huk leaders elected to Congress was the party's leader
Luis Taruc
Luis Mangalus Taruc (; June 21, 1913 – May 4, 2005) was a Filipino people, Filipino political figure and rebel during the agrarian unrest of the 1930s until the end of the Cold War. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap group (from ''Hukbong B ...
. In what was described as "a monstrous abrogation of democratic procedure", Roxas expelled all members of Congress from the Democratic Alliance, claiming that they been elected illegally, and replaced them with his own bets. Roxas's expulsion of the Democratic Alliance from Congress was the beginning of a nation-wide purge of those who served in the Huk resistance against the Japanese as arrests and murders followed. Those who survived fled to the jungle and formed the ''Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan'' (the People's Revolutionary Army).".
First president of the Third Republic (1946–1948)
Roxas served as the president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in a brief period, from May 28, 1946, to July 4, 1946, during which time Roxas helped prepare the groundwork for an independent Philippines. He was inugurated at the ruins of
Legislative Building in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, which was ruined during the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Chief Justice Manuel Moran administered the oath of office.
Roxas's term as the president of the Commonwealth ended on the morning of July 4, 1946, when the
Third Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated and independence from the United States proclaimed. The occasion, attended by some 300,000 people, was marked by the simultaneous lowering of the
U.S. flag and raising of the
Philippine national flag, a
21-gun salute, and the pealing of church bells. Roxas then took the oath of office as the first president of the new republic before
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Chief Justice Manuel Moran.
The inaugural ceremonies took place at
Luneta Park in the
City of Manila. On the Grandstand alone were around 3,000 dignitaries and guests, consisting of President Roxas, Vice President Quirino, their respective parties, and the Cabinet; first
United States Ambassador to the Philippines
The Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of the Philippines () was established on July 4, 1946, after the Philippines gained its independence from the United States, as successor of the High Commissioner to the Philippines ...
Paul McNutt; General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
(coming from
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
);
United States Postmaster General
The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
Robert E. Hannegan; a delegation from the U.S. Congress led by
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
Senator
Millard Tydings (author of the Tydings–McDuffie Act) and
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
Representative
C. Jasper Bell (author of the Bell Trade Act); and former
Civil Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American-Filipino Politics of the United States, statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed Governor-General of the Philippines ...
.
Domestic policies
Economy
No sooner had the fanfare of the
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
festivities ended that the government and the people quickly put all hands to work in the tasks of rescuing the country from its dire economic straits. Reputed to be the most bombed and destroyed country in the world, the Philippines was in a sorry mess. Only
Stalingrad
Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...
and
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, for instance, could compare with
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
in point of destruction. All over the country more than a million people were unaccounted for. The war casualties as such could very well reach the two million mark. Conservative estimates had it that the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
had lost about two thirds of her material wealth.
[Molina, Antonio. ''The Philippines: Through the centuries''. Manila: University of Santo Tomas Cooperative, 1961. Print.] In 1946, the Filipino gross domestic produce was down 38.7% from where it had been in 1937.
The country was facing near bankruptcy.
There was no national economy, no export trade. Indeed, production for exports had not been restored. On the other hand, imports were to reach the amount of three million dollars. There was need of immediate aid from the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Something along this line was obtained. Again, loans from the United States, as well as some increase in the national revenues, were to help the new Republic.
Among the main remedies proposed was the establishment of the Philippine Rehabilitation Finance Corporation. This entity would be responsible for the construction of twelve thousand houses and for the grant of easy-term loans in the amount of P177,000,000. Another proposal was the creation of the
Central Bank of the Philippines
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...
to help stabilize the Philippine dollar reserves and coordinate and the nations banking activities gearing them to the economic progress.
Concentrating on the sugar industry, Roxas would exert such efforts as to succeed in increasing production from 13,000 tons at the time of the Philippine liberation to an all-high of one million tons.
Reconstruction after the war
The war had burned cities and towns, ruined farms and factories, blasted roads and bridges, shattered industries and commerce, massacred thousands of civilians, and paralyzed the educational system, where 80% of the school buildings, their equipment, laboratories and furniture were destroyed. Numberless books, invaluable documents and works of art, irreplaceable historical relics and family
heirloom
In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a family bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery.
The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in ...
s, hundreds of churches and temples were burned. The reconstruction of the damaged school buildings alone cost more than ₱126,000,000,000. Pike noted that the Japanese as part of their efforts of "liberation" from American imperialism by bringing the Philippines into the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere "...had smashed industrial buildings, banks, government offices and hotels. Infrastructure including ports had been sabotaged or destroyed in the heavy fighting for Manila".
The new republic began to function on an annual deficit of over P200,000,000 with little prospect of a balanced budget for some years to come.
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and other cities then were infested with criminal gangs which used techniques of American
gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
s in some activities—bank
holdups,
kidnapping
Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
and
burglar
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving trespass to land, the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal ...
ies. In rural regions, especially the provinces of
Central Luzon
Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...
and the
Southern Tagalog regions, the brigands terrorized towns and
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
s.
Agrarian reform
In 1946, shortly after his induction to presidency, Roxas proclaimed the Rice Share Tenancy Act of 1933 effective throughout the country.
[Manapat, Carlos, et al.'' Economics, Taxation, and Agrarian Reform''. Quezon City: C&E Pub., 2010. Print.] However, problems of
land tenure
In Common law#History, common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement betw ...
continued. In fact, these became worse in certain areas.
Among the remedial measures enacted was Republic Act No. 34, likewise known as the Tenant Act, which provided for a 70–30 sharing arrangements and regulated share-tenancy contracts.
It was passed to resolve the ongoing peasant unrest in Central Luzon.
Amnesty Proclamation
President Roxas, on January 28, 1948, granted full amnesty to all Philippine collaborators, many of whom were on trial or awaiting to be tried, particularly former President
José P. Laurel (1943–1945).
The Amnesty Proclamation did not apply to those collaborators, who were charged with the commission of common crimes, such as murder, rape, and arson. The presidential decision did much to heal a standing wound that somehow threatened to divide the people's sentiments.
It was a much-called for measure to bring about a closer unity in the trying times when such was most needed for the progress of the nation.
Civil war
After persecuting the ''
Hukbóng Bayan Laban sa Hapón'', Roxas opened peace talks with the Huks and invited a delegation of Huk leaders led by
Juan Feleo to come to Manila in August 1946. While returning to their jungle bases, Felco and the other Huk leaders were ambushed by police forces, with Felco's head was found floating in the Pampanga River. The ambush was intended to cripple the Huks, but instead led to a civil war as the police and the army rapidly lost control of much of Luzon to the Huks. Strongly opposed to the guerrilla movement ''
Hukbó ng Bayan Laban sa Hapón'' (Nation's Army Against the Japanese, also called "the Huks"), Roxas issued a proclamation outlawing the Huk movement on March 6, 1948.
At the same time, Roxas pardoned the Filipinos who had collaborated with the Japanese. The pardon of the collaborators lent some substance to the charge by the Huks that his administration was a continuation of the wartime collaborationist puppet government.
The
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
in a report noted that the Philippines was dominated by "an irresponsible ruling class which exercises economic and political power almost exclusively in its own interests". Secretary of State
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson ( ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American politician and lawyer. As the 51st United States Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to ...
complained that the Philippines was one of the most corrupt nations in Asia as he commented with some understatement "much of the aid to the Philippines has not been used as wisely as we wish it had". Acheson wanted to cease aid to the Philippines until reforms were mounted to crack down on corruption, but was blocked by John Melby, the head of the Filipino desk at the
U.S. State Department, who warned that to cut off aid would mean handing over the Philippines to the Huks. U.S. officials throughout the late 1940s that Roxas was a corrupt leader whose policies openly favored the ''hacendado'' class and that unless reforms were made, it was inevitable that the Huks would win.
Foreign policies
Treaty of General Relations
On August 5, 1946, Congress ratified the Treaty of General Relations that had been entered into by and between the
Republic of the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
and the United States on July 4, 1946.
Aside from withdrawing her sovereignty from the Philippines and recognizing her independence, the Treaty reserved for the United States some bases for the mutual protection of both countries; consented that the United States represent the Philippines in countries where the latter had not yet established diplomatic representation; made the Philippines assume all debts and obligations of the former government in the Philippines; and provided for the settlement of property rights of the citizens of both countries.
United States military bases

Although Roxas was successful in getting rehabilitation funds from the United States after independence, he was forced to concede military bases (23 of which were leased for 99 years), trade restriction for the Philippine citizens, and special privileges for U.S. property owners and investors. On March 21, 1947, the United States granted the Philippines some $17.7 million in military aid and another $25 million to assist with reconstruction. The Communist Huk rebellion led to fears in the United States that the Huks might come to power while the fact that the Kuomintang were clearly losing the Chinese civil war by this point led to the very real possibility that Chinese Communists might come to the power. In turn, there was much fear in Washington that a Communist China would grant the Soviet Union air and naval bases. The possibility of a Communist China vastly increased the geopolitical importance of the Philippines to the United States, which wanted to retain its air and naval bases in the Philippines to maintain control of the South China Sea. The Americans made it clear that they were prepared to pay "handsomely" for the right to keep their Filipino bases, which Roxas exploited.
Parity Rights Amendment
On March 11, 1947, Philippine voters, agreeing with Roxas, ratified in a nationwide
plebiscite
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...
the "
parity amendment" to the
1935 Constitution of the Philippines
The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and rat ...
, granting United States citizens the right to dispose of and utilize Philippine natural resources, or ''parity rights''.
Turtle and Mangsee Islands
On September 19, 1946, the Republic of the Philippines notified the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
that it wished to take over the administration of the
Turtle Islands and the
Mangsee Islands. Pursuant to a supplemental international agreement, the transfer of administration became effective on October 16, 1947.
Controversies
His administration was marred by graft and corruption; moreover, the abuses of the provincial military police contributed to the rise of the left-wing (Huk) movement in the countryside. His heavy-handed attempts to crush the Huks led to widespread peasant disaffection.
The good record of the Roxas administration was marred by notable failures: the failure to curb graft and corruption in the government (as evidenced by the surplus war property scandal), the Chinese immigration scandal, the school supplies scandal and the failure to check and stop the communist
Hukbalahap
The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight int ...
movement.
Assassination attempt
The night before the plebiscite, Roxas narrowly escaped assassination by Julio Guillen, a disgruntled barber from
Tondo, Manila
Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest, in terms of area and population, of Manila's sixteen districts, with a census-estimated 654,220 people in 2020. It consists of two congressional districts. It is also the se ...
, who hurled a
grenade
A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
at the platform on
Plaza Miranda
Plaza Miranda is a public square bounded by Quezon Boulevard, Hidalgo Street and Evangelista Street in Quiapo, Manila. It is the plaza which fronts the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (Quiapo Church), one of the main churc ...
immediately after Roxas had addressed a rally.
Death

On April 15, 1948, President Roxas delivered a speech before the
United States Thirteenth Air Force at the Kelly Theater in
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base in Luzon, located west of Angeles City, and about northwest of Metro Manila. It was previously operated by the U.S. Air Force and, before that, the U.S. Army, from 1903 to 1991. The base cov ...
, Pampanga. After the speech, he suffered dizziness and fatigue and was brought to the residence of Major General Eugene L. Eubank. That night, he suffered multiple heart attacks and died at 9:23 pm at the age of 56.
His body was brought to Manila the following day on a special train, reaching Malacañang at about 9:20 am. Sessions of Congress were suspended until after the burial which was set on Sunday, April 25, 1948. Vice President
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953.
A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...
, who was on board a southern cruise at the time of Roxas's death, arrived in Manila on April 17. That morning, Quirino immediately went to Malacañang and took the oath of office as president in the Council of State Room. The new president then appointed a committee to take charge of the funeral arrangements for the late president and issued a proclamation declaring a period of national mourning from April 17 to May 17.
Roxas was buried at the Manila North Cemetery.
Personal life

Roxas married
Trinidad de Leon on April 14, 1921, in a quiet ceremony at the Chapel of Sibul Springs,
San Miguel, Bulacan. The couple had two children, Rosario "Ruby" and
Gerardo (Gerry). Roxas also fathered three children with Juanita Muriedas McIlvain – Rosario "Charo" Roxas (mother of
Margie Moran), Consuelo Roxas, and Manuel "Manny" Roxas, Jr.
Legacy
On July 3, 1956, Roxas was posthumously awarded the
Quezon Service Cross
The Quezon Service Cross () is the highest order of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to only a handful of Filipinos since its creation in 1946.
Background
The award was created by ''Joint Resolution No. 4'' dated October ...
. The award was presented to his widow, Trinidad de Leon-Roxas, by Vice President
Carlos P. Garcia on behalf of President
Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...
.
Official Month in Review
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
In his honor, various cities and municipalities in the Philippines have been renamed after him, including Roxas, Oriental Mindoro in (1948), the first town to be named as such; Roxas, Isabela (1948); President Roxas, Capiz (1949); Roxas City, Capiz (1951); Roxas, Palawan (1951); President Roxas, Cotabato (1967); and President Manuel A. Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte (1967). Dewey Boulevard in Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
was renamed in his memory, and he is currently depicted on the 100 Philippine peso bill.
File:Phil2pisocomm.jpg, 1992 2-Piso President Manuel Roxas Birth Centennial Commemorative Coin
File:Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.jpg, Roxas Boulevard in Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...
, named after the president
File:Roxas Monument in Roxas City.jpg, Statue of Manuel Roxas in Roxas City
Roxas (, ), officially the City of Roxas (Capiznon language, Capiznon/; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Capiz, Philippines. According to the 2 ...
MAR Monument and Historical Marker.jpg, Statue of Manuel Roxas in Ermita, Manila
Ermita is a district in central Manila, Philippines. It is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of Manila, bearing the seat of city government and a large portion of the area's e ...
Family and ancestry
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
The Philippine Presidency Project
Manuel A. Roxas Elementary School
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxas, Manuel
1892 births
1948 deaths
Candidates in the 1946 Philippine presidential election
Filipino anti-communists
Filipino collaborators with Imperial Japan
20th-century Filipino lawyers
20th-century Roman Catholics
Filipino Roman Catholics
Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians
Secretaries of finance of the Philippines
Hiligaynon people
Presidents of the Senate of the Philippines
Senators of the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
Nacionalista Party politicians
Executive secretaries of the Philippines
Politicians from Capiz
Presidents of the Philippines
Manuel
Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Capiz
Governors of Capiz
Filipino people of Spanish descent
University of the Philippines alumni
University of the Philippines College of Law alumni
Articles containing video clips
Burials at the Manila North Cemetery
Quezon administration cabinet members
Filipino political party founders
Presidents of the Liberal Party of the Philippines
Members of the Philippine Legislature
Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines
Visayan people
Filipino independence activists