3. Birth
• Date: 1 January 1892
• Place: Capiz (now Roxas City), Capiz
province
4. Education
• Finished primary/elementary education at St.
Joseph College in Hong Kong
• Finished high school at Manila High School in
1910
• Earned College Degree in University of Manila
• Earned Bachelor of Laws at the school of law of
Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
which later became College of Law of the
University of the Philippines. He was a member
of the college’s first ever graduating class in 1913.
• Placed first in the Bar Examinations.
5. Timeline and highlights
• Worked as private secretary to Chief Justice Renato
Cayetano
• Taught law at the Philippine School of Law in 1915 to 1916.
• Elected Councilor of Capiz town.
• Elected Governor of Capiz province in 1919.
• Elected President of Governors’ Convention.
• Elected Congressman of Capiz province in 1922.
• Elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1922.
• Sent to the USA together with Osmeña on a mission
regarding Philippine Independence.
• Instrumental in getting the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law passed
in the US Congress. The law provided for the granting of
Philippine Independence in 10 years.
• Member of the Constitutional Assembly of 1934-1935.
6. • Appointed Secretary of Finance in Pres. Manuel Quezon‘s
Cabinet in 1938. Elected Senator in 1941, but was unable to
serve until 1945 because of the outbreak of World War II.
Served as Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Forces in the
Far East (USAFFE). Aide-de-camp to Gen. Douglas
MacArthur in Corregidor. Accompanied President Quezon
to Corregidor where he supervised the destruction of
Philippine currency to prevent its capture by the Japanese.
Appointed as Executive Secretary and designated as
successor to the presidency in the event that President
Quezon or Vice-Pres. Osmeña were captured or killed.
Captured and imprisoned by the Japanese invasion forces
in 1942. Accepted the position of chairman of the Economic
Planning Board in Pres. Laurel’s wartime Cabinet. Elected
Senate President in 1945. Elected as President of the
Philippine commonwealth on April 23, 1946.
7. • First president of the Philippine
Republic after gaining independence
from American occupation.
– Immediately assumed responsibility as the
government transitioned from being a
commonwealth to a republic.
– Served as president for only 2 years.
