Pres. Manuel Roxas (1892 – 1948)

President of the Philippines (May 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948). Last President of the Commonwealth. First President of the Post-Commonwealth Republic (aka Third Republic). Senate President (1945-1946). Executive Secretary and designated successor to the presidency during WWII. Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and Aide-De-Camp to Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Speaker of the House of Representatives (1922-1933). Secretary of Finance (1938). Provincial Governor of Capiz province (1919). Municipal Councilor of Capiz town. Bar Topnotcher in 1914.

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Name: Manuel Acuña Roxas

Birth

Date: 1 January 1892
Place: Capiz (now Roxas City), Capiz province

Death

Date: 15 April 1948
Age: 56
Place: US Air Force Base, Clark, Angeles City, Pampanga
Cause: Heart Attack (after delivering a speech)

Family

Father: Gerardo Roxas (killed by the Spanish Guardia Civil before Manuel was born)
Mother: Rosario Acuña
Spouse: Trinidad De Leon

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.

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.
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.
- Term ended in time with the appointed date of Philippine independence: July 4, 1946
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.