Elpidio Quirino

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Rivera and the surname or paternal family name is Quirino.

Elpidio Rivera Quirino (Tagalog: [kiˈɾino]; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953.

Elpidio Quirino
6th President of the Philippines
In office April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953
Vice President	Ramon Avanceña (1948–1949; de facto) Fernando Lopez (1949–1953)
Preceded by	Manuel Roxas
Succeeded by	Ramon Magsaysay
2nd Vice President of the Philippines
In office May 28, 1946 – April 17, 1948
President	Manuel Roxas
Preceded by	Sergio Osmeña
Succeeded by	Fernando Lopez
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In office September 16, 1946 – January 6, 1950
President	Manuel Roxas Himself
Preceded by	Abolished Position last held by Felipe Buencamino in 1899 as Secretary of Foreign Relations
Succeeded by	Felino Neri
Secretary of Finance
In office May 28, 1946 – November 24, 1946
President	Manuel Roxas
Preceded by	Jaime Hernandez
Succeeded by	Miguel Cuaderno
In office July 25, 1934 – February 18, 1936
President	Manuel L. Quezon
Preceded by	Vicente Encarnación
Succeeded by	Antonio de las Alas
Secretary of the Interior
In office 1935–1938
President	Manuel L. Quezon
Preceded by	Teófilo Sison
Succeeded by	Rafael Alunan
President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines
In office July 9, 1945 – May 25, 1946
President	Sergio Osmeña
Preceded by	José Avelino (acting)
Succeeded by	Melecio Arranz
Senator of the Philippines
In office July 9, 1945 – May 28, 1946
In office 1925 – November 15, 1935 Serving with Isabelo de los Reyes (1925–1928) Melecio Arranz (1928–1935)
Preceded by	Santiago Fonacier
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Constituency	1st senatorial district
Member of the House of Representatives from Ilocos Sur's 1st district
In office 1919–1922
Preceded by	Alberto Reyes
Succeeded by	Vicente Singson Pablo
Personal details
Born	Elpidio Rivera Quirino (1890-11-16)November 16, 1890 Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish East Indies
Died	February 29, 1956(1956-02-29) (aged 65) Quezon City, Philippines
Resting place	Manila South Cemetery (1956–2016) Libingan ng mga Bayani (since 2016)
Political party	Liberal (1946–1956)
Other political affiliations	Nacionalista (1919-1946)
Spouse	Alicia Syquia ​ ​ (m. 1921; died 1945)​
Relations	Cory Quirino (granddaughter)
Children	5, including Victoria Quirino González
Alma mater	University of the Philippines (LL.B)
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur's 1st district from 1919 to 1922. He was then elected as a senator from 1925 to 1935. In 1934, he became a member of the Philippine Independence Commission that was sent to Washington, D.C., which secured the passage of Tydings–McDuffie Act to the United States Congress. In 1935, he was also elected to the 1935 Constitutional Convention that drafted the 1935 Philippine Constitution for the newly established Philippine Commonwealth. In the new government, he served as secretary of the interior and finance under the cabinet of President Manuel L. Quezon.

After World War II, Quirino was elected vice-president in the April 1946 presidential election, consequently the second and last for the Commonwealth and first for the Third Republic. After the death of incumbent President Manuel Roxas in April 1948, he succeeded to the presidency. He won a full term under the Liberal Party ticket, defeating Nacionalista former president José P. Laurel as well as fellow Liberalista and former Senate President José Dira Avelino.

The Quirino administration was generally challenged by the Hukbalahap, who ransacked towns and barrios. Quirino ran for president again in November 1953 but was defeated by Ramon Magsaysay in a landslide.

Early life and career

Elpidio Quirino y Rivera was born on November 16, 1890, at the Vigan Provincial Jail in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. He was the third child of Mariano Quirino y Quebral of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur and Gregoria Rivera y Mendoza of Agoo, La Union. A Chinese mestizo descendant, Quirino was baptized on November 19, 1890.

His daughter, Victoria, became the youngest hostess of Malacañang Palace, at 16 years old, when Quirino ascended to the presidency on April 17, 1948. She married Luis M. Gonzalez in 1950, who became Philippine ambassador to Spain from 1966 to 1971.

Congressional career

House of Representatives

Quirino was engaged in private law practice of until he was elected as member of the Philippine House of Representatives for Ilocos Sur's 1st congressional district from 1919 to 1922, succeeding Alberto Reyes. He served for only one term and was succeeded by Vicente Singson Pablo in 1922.

Senate

Quirino was first elected as a senator from the 1st senatorial district in 1925. He was re-elected in 1931 and served until the bicameral Congress was abolished in favor of the unicameral National Assembly of the Philippines. He was later secured a comeback to the Senate in 1941, but was not able to serve until 1945 due to World War II.

Vice presidency (1946–1949)

President Elpidio Quirino weeps beside the coffin of his predecessor, Manuel Roxas during the latter's wake in 1948

Soon after the reconstitution of the Commonwealth government in 1945, Senators Manuel Roxas, Quirino and their allies called for an early national election to choose the president and vice president of the Philippines and members of the Congress. In December 1945, the House Insular Affairs of the United States Congress approved the joint resolution setting the date of the election on not later than April 30, 1946.

Prompted by this congressional action, President Sergio Osmeña called the Philippine Congress to a three-day special session. Congress enacted Commonwealth Act No. 725, setting the date of the election on April 23, 1946. The act was signed by President Osmeña on January 5, 1946.

Quirino was nominated as Senate President Manuel Roxas's running mate. The tandem won the election. As Vice President, Quirino was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Presidency (1948–1953)

See also: List of executive orders by Elpidio Quirino

Presidential styles of Elpidio Quirino
Reference style	His Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Alternative style	Mr. President

Quirino's five years as president were marked by notable postwar reconstruction, general economic gains and increased economic aid from the United States.

Administration and cabinet

Main article: List of cabinets of the Philippines § Elpidio Quirino (1948–1953)

First term (1948–1949)

Accession

Vice President Quirino taking the oath of office as inaugurated as President of the Philippines at the Council of State Room, Executive Building, Malacañang Palace.

Quirino assumed the presidency on April 17, 1948, taking his oath of office two days after the death of Manuel Roxas two days earlier of a heart attack after delivering a speech at Clark Air Base in Pampanga. The inauguration took place at the Council of State Room of the Malacañang Palace in Manila as the second non-scheduled extraordinary presidential inauguration. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ricardo Paras administered the oath of office. On the same day, Quirino delivered his short, 47-word inaugural remarks at the same room.

His first official act as the President was the proclamation of a state mourning throughout the country for Roxas's death. Since Quirino was a widower, his surviving daughter, Victoria, would serve as the official hostess and perform the functions traditionally ascribed to the First Lady.

New capital city

On July 17, 1948, Congress approved Republic Act No. 333, amending Commonwealth Act No. 502, declaring Quezon City as the new capital of the Philippines, replacing Manila. Nevertheless, pending the official transfer of the government offices to the new capital site, Manila remained to be such for all effective purposes.

Hukbalahap

The term Hukbalahap was a contraction of Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (in English: The Nation's Army Against the Japanese Soldiers), members of which were commonly referred to as Huks.

With the expiration of the Amnesty deadline on August 15, 1948, the government found out that the Huks had not lived up to the terms of the Quirino-Taruc agreement. Indeed, after having been seated in Congress and collecting his back pay allowance, Huk leader Luis Taruc surreptitiously fled away from Manila, even as a number of his followers had either submitted themselves to the conditions of the Amnesty proclamation or surrendered their arms. In the face of countercharges from the Huk to the effect that the government had not satisfied the agreed conditions, President Quirino ordered a stepped-up campaign against dissidents, restoring once more an aggressive policy in view of the failure of the friendly attitude previously adopted.

Fireside chats

To bring the government closer to the people, he revived President Quezon's "fireside chats", in which he enlightened the people on the activities of the Republic by the periodic radio broadcasts from Malacañang Palace.

Impeachment attempt

Quirino waving to the crowd

Riding on the crest of the growing wave of resentment against the Liberal Party, a move was next hatched to indict President Quirino himself. Led by Representative Agripino Escareal, a committee composed of seven members of the House of Representatives prepared a five-count accusation ranging from nepotism to gross expenditures. Speaker Eugenio Pérez appointed a committee of seven, headed by Representative Lorenzo Sumulong to look into the charges preparatory to their filing with the Senate, acting as an impeachment body. Solicitor General Felix Angelo Bautista entered his appearance as defense counsel for the chief executive. Following several hearings, on April 19, 1949, after a rather turbulent session that lasted all night, the congressional committee reached a verdict completely exonerating the President.

Romulo becomes President of the UN General Assembly

In September 1949, the Fourth General Assembly of the United Nations elected delegate Carlos P. Romulo as its President. The first Oriental to hold the position, Romulo was strongly supported by the Anglo-Saxon bloc, as well as by the group of Spanish-speaking nations, thus underscoring the hybrid nature of the Filipino people's culture and upbringing.

1949 presidential election

Main article: 1949 Philippine presidential election

Incumbent President Quirino won a full term as President after the untimely death of President Manuel Roxas in 1948 in the November 1949 presidential election. His running mate, Senator Fernando López, won as Vice President. Despite factions created in the administration party, Quirino won a satisfactory vote from the public. It was the only time in Philippine history where the duly elected president, vice president and senators all came from the same party, the Liberal Party. The election was widely criticized as being corrupt, with violence and fraud taking place. Opponents of Quirino were beaten or murdered by his supporters or the police and the election continues to be seen as corrupt.

Second term (1949–1953)

Quirino's second inauguration took place on Friday, December 30, 1949, at the Independence Grandstand in Manila. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Manuel Moran administered the oath of office.

President Elpidio Quirino taking the oath of office for his first full term as President of the Philippines at the Independence Grandstand (now Quirino Grandstand) in Manila.

Regional conference

In May 1950, upon the invitation of President Quirino and through the insistent suggestion of United Nations General Assembly President Romulo, official representatives of India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Thailand, Indonesia, and Australia met in Baguio for a regional conference sponsored by the Philippines. Taiwan and South Korea did not attend the conference because the latter did not contemplate the formation of a military union of the Southeast Asian nations. On the other hand, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and others were not invited because, at the time, they were not free and independent states. Due to the request of India and Indonesia, no political questions were taken up the conference. Instead, the delegates discussed economic and, most of all, cultural, problems confronting their respective countries. Strangely enough however, the Baguio Conference ended with an official communiqué in which the nations attending the same expressed their united agreement in supporting the right to self-determination of all peoples the world over. This initial regional meet held much promise of a future alliance of these neighboring nations for common protection and aid.

Huks' continued re-insurgence

The Quirino administration faced a serious threat in the form of the communist Hukbalahap movement. Although the Huks originally had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Luzon, communists steadily gained control over the leadership, and when Quirino's negotiation with Huk commander Luis Taruc broke down in 1948. Taruc then openly declared himself a communist and called for the overthrow of the government.

Peace campaign

With the communist organization estimated to still have more than 40,000 duly registered members by March 1951, the government went on with its sustained campaign to cope with the worsening peace and order problem. The 1951 budget included the use of a residue fund for the land resettlement program in favor of the surrendered HUKS. The money helped maintain the Economic Development Corps (EDCOR), with its settlements of 6,500 hectares in Kapatagan (Lanao) and 25,000 hectares in Buldon (Cotabato). In each group taken to these places there was a nucleus of former Army personnel and their families, who became a stabilizing factor and ensured the success of the program. Indeed, less than ten percent of the Huks who settled down gave up this new lease in life offered them by the government.

To promote the smooth restructuring of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military were made to undergo a reorganization. Battalion combat teams of 1,000 men each were established. Each operated independently of the High Command, except for overall coordination in operational plans. A total of 26 Battalion Combat Teams were put up. New army units were also established, such was the first Airborne Unit, the Scout Rangers, the Canine Unit, and the Cavalry Unit. These units all showed considerable ability.

1951 midterm election

Main article: 1951 Philippine general election

After a sweep by the Liberals in 1949, many Filipinos doubted the election result. This brought a sweep by the Nacionalistas in the 1951 elections. There was a special election for the vacated Senate seat of Fernando Lopez, who won as vice president in 1949. The Liberals won no seats in the Senate.

1953 presidential election

Main article: 1953 Philippine presidential election

Quirino ran for re-election to the presidency with José Yulo as his running mate in 1953 despite his ill health. His Secretary of National Defense, Ramon Magsaysay, resigned from office and joined the Nacionalista Party. Other prominent Liberals including Vice President Fernando Lopez, Ambassador Carlos Romulo, and Senators Tomás Cabili and Juan Sumulong also bolted Quirino's party.

On August 22, 1953, the Nacionalista and Democratic Parties formed a coalition to ensure Quirino's full defeat. On Election Day, Quirino was defeated by Magsaysay with a landslide vote margin of 1.5 million.

Quirino was accused of a Golden arinola scandal which led him to losing the 1953 Philippine presidential election

Domestic policies

Economy of the Philippines under
President Elpidio Quirino
1948–1953

Population
1948	$\approx$ 19.23 million
Gross Domestic Product (1985 constant prices)
1948	Php 99,628 million
1953	Php 146,070 million
Growth rate, 1948–53	9.32 %
Per capita income (1985 constant prices)
1948	Php 5,180
1953	Php 7,596
Total exports
1948	Php 35,921 million
1953	Php 34, 432 million
Exchange rates
1 US US$ = Php 2.00 1 Php = US US$ 0.50
Sources: Philippine Presidency Project Malaya, Jonathan; Malaya, Eduardo. So Help Us God... The Inaugurals of the Presidents of the Philippines. Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Economy

Upon assuming the reins of government, Quirino announced two main objectives of his administration: first, the economic reconstruction of the nation and second, the restoration of the faith and confidence of the people in the government. In connection to the first agenda, he created the President's Action Committee on Social Amelioration (PACSA) to mitigate the sufferings of indigent families, the Labor Management Advisory Board to advise him on labor matters, the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives Financing Administration (ACCFA) to help the farmers market their crops and save them from loan sharks, and the Rural Banks of the Philippines to facilitate credit utilities in rural areas.

Social programs

Enhancing President Manuel Roxas' policy of social justice to alleviate the lot of the common mass, President Quirino, almost immediately after assuming office, started a series of steps calculated to effectively ameliorate the economic condition of the people. After periodic surprise visits to the slums of Manila and other backward regions of the country, President Quirino officially made public a seven-point program for social security which included the following:

1. Unemployment insurance
2. Old-age insurance
3. Accident and permanent disability insurance
4. Health insurance
5. Maternity insurance
6. State relief; and
7. Labor opportunities

President Quirino also created the Social Security Commission and appointed Social Welfare Commissioner Asuncion Perez as its chairperson. This was followed by the creation of the PACSA, charges with extending aid, loans, and relief to less fortunate citizens. Both the policy and its implementation were hailed by the people as harbingers of great benefits.

Agrarian reform

See also: Land reform in the Philippines

As part of his agrarian reform agenda, President Quirino issued Executive Order No. 355 on October 23, 1950, which replaced the National Land Settlement Administration with Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) which takes over the responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery Equipment Corporation and the Rice and Corn Production Administration.

Integrity board

To cope with the insistent clamor for government improvement, President Quirino created the Integrity Board to probe into reports of graft and corruption in high government positions. Vice President Fernando Lopez was most instrumental through his courageous exposés, in securing such a decision from President Quirino.

Foreign policies

US President Harry S. Truman in the Oval Office, evidently receiving a cane as a gift from the Philippine President Elpidio Quirino as Ambassador Joaquín Elizalde looks on.

Quirino's administration excelled in diplomacy, impressing foreign heads of states and world statesmen by his intelligence and culture. He had official travels to the United States, European countries, and Southeast Asia. During his six years in office, he and his Foreign Affairs Secretary, Helen Cutaran Bennett, was able to negotiate treaties and agreements with other nations of the Free World. Two Asian heads of state visited the country—President Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China in July 1949 and President Sukarno of Indonesia in January 1951.

In 1950, at the onset of the Korean War, President Quirino authorized the deployment of over 7,450 Filipino soldiers to Korea, under the designation of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK).

While I recognise the United States as a great builder in this country, I have never surrendered the sovereignty, much less the dignity and future of our country.

— Elpidio Quirino

In 1951, the Philippines signed the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States to deter the threat of communism that existed during the Cold War. The military alliance remains to this day a key pillar of American foreign policy in Asia that also includes defense pacts with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Australia.

In an apparent show of genuine forgiveness and an attempt to improve public relations with Japan, Quirino granted amnesty to all Japanese war criminals and Filipino collaborators who were serving time or on death row in the Philippines. Quirino had lost his own wife and three children to the Japanese, along with five other members of his family. Despite this great personal loss, he said, "I do not want my children and my people to inherit from me hate for people who might yet be our friends, for the permanent interest of the country." Due to the high anti-Japanese sentiment at the time, many observers considered his actions to be political suicide. Controversially, Quirino even pardoned Japanese war criminals who murdered, raped, and inflicted other serious crimes towards Filipinos during World War II. The Manila Bulletin, an influential Filipino newspaper, has described his actions as "a historic gesture of 'forgiving the unforgivable'". All of the convicts were released by December 1953. They had been tried by the American-operated Philippine War Crimes Commission or Filipino civil courts. The pardons contributed to the reconciliation between the Philippines and Japan which eventually led to a friendly relationship.

Korean War

His daughter Victoria served as the First Lady during his presidency

On June 25, 1950, the world was astonished to hear the North Korean aggression against the independent South Korea. The United Nations immediately took up this challenge to the security of this part of the world. Carlos Romulo soon stood out as the most effective spokesman for the South Korean cause. On behalf of the government, Romulo offered to send a Philippine military contingent to be under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who had been named United Nations supreme commander for the punitive expedition. The Philippines, thus, became the first country to join the United States in the offer of military assistance to beleaguered South Korea.

President Quirino took the necessary steps to make the Philippine offer. On a purely voluntary basis, the first contingent – the Tenth Battalion Combat Team – was formed under Colonel Azurin, and dispatched to Korea, where its members quickly won much renown for their military skill and bravery. The name of Captain Jose Artiaga, Jr., heroically killed in action, stands out as a symbol of the country's contribution to the cause of freedom outside native shores. Other Philippine Combat Teams successively replaced the first contingent sent, and they all built a name for discipline, tenacity, and courage, until the armistice that brought the conflict to a halt.

Quirino-Foster Agreement

By the time of the creation of the Integrity Board, the Bell Mission, led by American banker Daniel W. Bell and composed of five members with a staff of twenty workers, following their period of stay in the Philippines, beginning in July 1950, finally submitted its report on October of the same year. The report made several proposals, most noteworthy, of which were that the United States on, President Quirino gamely and patriotically, took in the recommendations and sought to implement them. Thus, in November 1950, President Quirino and William Chapman Foster, representing the United States government, signed an agreement by virtue of which the former pledged to obtain the necessary Philippine legislation, in keeping with the Bell Mission Report, while envoy Foster promised the necessary by the same report.

However, much as he tried to become a good president, Quirino failed to win the people's affection. Several factors caused the unpopularity of his administration, namely:

• Failure of the government to check the Huk threat that made travel in the provinces unsafe, as evidenced by the killing of former First Lady Aurora Quezon and her companions on April 28, 1949, by the Huks on the Bongabong-Baler Road in Baler, Tayabas (now part of Aurora);
• Economic distress of the times, aggravated by rising unemployment rate, soaring prices of commodities, and unfavorable balance of trade.

Post-presidency and death (1953–1956)

Quirino in his mid 60s

The present tomb of Elpidio Quirino at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Following his failed bid for re-election, Quirino retired to private life. He offered his dedication to serve the Filipino people, becoming the "Father of Foreign Service" in the Philippines.

In the evening of February 29, 1956, Quirino was preparing to attend a meeting when he suffered a massive heart attack. He died shortly thereafter at 6:35 pm, at the age of 65, at his retirement house in Novaliches, Quezon City. President Ramon Magsaysay later declared March 1 to 15 as a "period of national mourning", wherein all flags at all government establishments in the country were flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. Quirino's remains lay in state at the Malacañang Palace from March 2 to 4. On March 5, a necrological service was held for him at the Legislative Building in Manila and his remains were later interred at the Manila South Cemetery.

On February 29, 2016, his remains were relocated and reinterred at a special tomb site in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig, in time for the 60th anniversary of his death.

Personal life

Quirino was married to Alicia Syquía (1903–1945) on January 16, 1921. The couple had five children: Tomás, Armando, Norma, Victoria, and Fe Angela. On February 9, 1945, his wife and three of their children (Armando, Norma and Fe Angela) were killed by Japanese troops as they fled their home during the Battle of Manila. His brother Antonio Quirino was the owner of Alto Broadcasting System, which later merged with Chronicle Broadcasting Network to form the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Elpidio Rivera Quirino
4. Juan Manuel Quirino 2. Mariano Quebral Quirino Potenciano Quebral 5. Toribia Manzano Quebral Francisca Manzano 1. Elpidio Rivera Quirino 6. Domingo Rivera 3. Gregoria Mendoza Rivera 7. María Mendoza

Memorials

There are a number of memorials dedicated to Quirino. In 1964, the municipality of Angaki in Ilocos Sur was renamed to Quirino in his honor. The province of Quirino, established in 1966, was named in his memory. Streets like the Quirino Avenue in Manila and Elpidio Quirino Avenue in Parañaque are named for him. The Novaliches–Ipo Road, where his retirement home is situated, was renamed as Quirino Highway. The Independence Grandstand in Manila's Rizal Park was also renamed to Quirino Grandstand in his honor.

Once the Quirino Avenue station of MRT Line 7 and the Quirino Highway station of the Metro Manila Subway commence operations, Quirino will have three train stations named after him, including the Quirino station of LRT Line 1.

In 2016, a memorial to him was established in Hibiya Park, Tokyo, Japan.

• 
  A memorial to Quirino in Hibiya Park, Tokyo, Japan
• 
  Elpidio Quirino Monument in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
• 
  Elpidio Quirino Monument in Caba, La Union
• 
  Bust of Quirino beside Quirino Grandstand, Manila

References

• Zaide, Gregorio (1956). Philippine Political and Cultural History: the Philippines since British Invasion (1957 Revised ed.). Manila, Philippines: McCullough Printing Company.
• Zaide, Gregorio F. (1984). Philippine History and Government. National Bookstore Printing Press.

External links

• Works by or about Elpidio Quirino at the Internet Archive
• The Philippine Presidency Project
• "Qurino is Dead; Filipino Leader – FILIPINO LEADER; President, 1948–54, Avoided Extremes in Guiding New Nation After the War". The New York Times. March 1, 1956. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
• Malacañang Museum – Elpidio Quirino
• Newspaper clippings about Elpidio Quirino in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW