2. ELPIDIO QUIRINO BIOGRAPHY
PRESIDENT (NON-U.S.) (1890–1956)
Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956) was the second
president of the Independent Republic of the
Philippines.
Born in 1890, Elpidio Quirino was elected to the
Philippine Congress in 1919. He was part of the
independence mission to Washington that
freed the Philippines from American control in
1934. He then served as vice president under
Manuel Roxas, becoming president upon
Roxas' death in 1948. For six years, Quirino
oversaw postwar reconstruction, but his
administration suffered from corruption.
3. PROFILE ;
Elpidio Quirino was born on November 16, 1890,
in the small city of Vigan, on Luzon Island in the
Philippines. His father, Don Mariano Quirino,
was a warden at a provincial Jail. His mother
was Dona Gregoria Mendoza Rivera Quirino.
Young Elpidio graduated from elementary
school in nearby Caoayan. Advanced beyond
his years, Elpidio became a barrio (rural village)
teacher while studying at Vigan High School.
4. Elpidio Quirino moved to Manila and graduated from Manila High
School in 1911 and then passed the civil service exam. He entered
law school at the University of the Philippines, graduating in 1915,
and served as secretary to Senate President Manuel Quezon,
where he began his rise through the Philippine government. In 1919,
he was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives. In 1925,
he was elected to the Philippine Senate and was quickly given
Senate committee appointments .
In 1931 Elpidio Quirino was reelected to the Senate, and in 1934 he
served as a member of the Philippine Independence mission to
Washington, D.C., helping secure the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which set
the timetable for Philippine independence from the United States.
Quirino was also one of the drafters of the Philippine constitution,
which was approved in May 1935.
In April 1942, the Philippines were captured by Japanese imperial
forces. Elpidio Quirino refused to join the Japanese-sponsored
“puppet government” of Jose Laurel and instead went
underground. He was captured by Japanese military police and
imprisoned. His wife, son and two daughters were killed by
Japanese forces as they fled their home during the Battle of Manila
in early 1945.
5. After the war, Elpidio Quirino became the leader of the majority Liberal
Party and president pro tempore of the Senate. Anticipating the
country’s impending independence, elections were held in April 1946,
and Manuel Roxas was elected president, with Quirino as vice
president. When President Roxas unexpectedly died in April 1948,
Quirino became president. When he took office, Quirino had two goals:
reconstructing the nation and restoring the faith and confidence of the
people. However, Quirino soon faced impeachment, instituted by
members of the rival Nationalist Party. Charges ranged from nepotism
to misappropriation of funds, but after several months, he was
exonerated of all charges.
Elpidio Quirino was reelected president in November 1949, under
suspicion of widespread election fraud and intimidation. As president,
he attempted to improve social, economic and agrarian conditions. He
also established relations with Western and Asian countries. Quirino’s
administration faced a serious threat from the Communist-led
Hukbalahap (Huk) movement. Quirino appointed Defense Secretary
Ramon Magsaysay to suppress the insurrection. Although successful to
a degree in these areas, Quirino failed to act aggressively in
implementing many of the needed reforms. Further, Quirino was often
justly accused by Filipino nationalists of placing American interests
above Filipino ones. The Huk rebellion wasn’t suppressed until 1954,
under Quirino’s successor Ramon Magsaysay.
6. Elpidio Quirino ran for reelection in 1953 despite his poor
health. Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay angrily
resigned over Quirino’s alleged corruption and Joined
the opposition Nationalist Party. He would go on to
defeat Quirino in the general election. Elpidio Quirino
retired to private life and died of a heart attack in
February 29, 1956.
7. ACHIEVEMENTS OF QUIRINO ;
Supported the establishments of several industrial plants and
projects at strategic point all over the country, thereby mobilizing
its economic resources and ushering in an era of industrialization.
Burgos irrigation ProJect in Zambales
Hydroelectric ProJect in Lanao
Roads all over Mindanao
The cement factory in Bacnotan and La Union
Other new necessary industries which provided employment to
thousands
Amnesty for the Huks
Quirino negotiated with Luis Taruc in Malacanang
The result of this negotiation was granting Amnesty for the Huks
.
Social Justice Program
He established the Presidential Action Committee on Social
Amelioration (PACSA)
This agency provided protection for Huk victims and to all those
who were caught fighting
It also provided food, medicines, clothes, and jobs for the
unemployed.
8. Improvement of Economy
Quirino launched an Economic Mobilization program to
industrialize the country and give more jobs to the
Filipinos
Built more irrigation systems and farm-to-market roads to
help the farmers.
Labor relations also improved with him signing of the
Magna Carta of Labor and the Minimum Wage Law.
Increased tarrif rates in order to earn more dollars.
Economic relations with the United States
President Quirino and G. William Foster of the U.S. signed
the Quirino-Foster Agreement which implemented the
recommendations of the Bell Mission.
Under this agreement, the U.S. and the Philippines would
cooperate to develop the economy of the nation.
The U.S. would provide funds and technology while the
Philippines would supply manpower.
9. Post-war reconstruction.
General economic gains.
Increased economic aid from the United
States.
Restoration of peace and order.
Total economic mobilization.
10. CONDITION OF THE PHILIPPINES ;
When President Manuel Roxas died on April 15, 1948, Quirino
succeeded him as president of the republic. For his weakness in
tolerating rampant graft and corruption in his party, permitting
immorality in the armed forces, and neglecting the impoverished
plight of the majority of Filipinos, he was very unpopular, and in 1953
he was defeated by Ramon Magsaysay.
After the war, Quirino was elected vice-president in 1946 election,
consequently the second and last for the Commonwealth and first for
the third republic. After the death of the incumbent president Manuel
Roxas in 1948, he succeeded the presidency. In what was claimed to be
a dishonest and fraudulent 1949 presidential election, he won the
president’s office under Liberal Party ticket, defeating Nacionalista vie
and former president José P. Laurel as well as fellow Liberalista and
former senate president José Avelino.
PRIMARY PROBLEMS
Poverty was present specifically by the starvation problems of the
people in the Mountain Province. Wages of people cannot compensate
with the expenses of th people and the prices of the products due to
inflation. Famrlands were also disturbed by locusts and plagues of
rats which render crops and was useless for the farmers. Housing was
a huge problem since the war destroyed several sites in the rural
areas which cannot be renovated for future use. Unemployment was
also evident because the Americans were gradually decreasing their
business in the Philippines.
11. After his term, he retired to his new
country home in Novaliches, Quezon City,
where he died of a heart attack on
February 29, 1956.