ELPIDIO QUIRINOThe Sixth President of the Philippines

BIOGRAPHY• Birthdate: November 16, 1890 ( Vigan, Ilocos Sur )• Parents: Don Mariano Quirino and Doña Gregoria Mendoza

Rivera • Wife: Alicia Syquia• Children: Fe, Armando, Norma, Thomas

and Victoria• Education:  

• High School: Vigan High School• High School:Manila High School (1911)• Law School: University of the Philippines (1915)• University of Manila - Doctor of Laws honoris

causa (April 16, 1948)

• Death: February 29, 1956 ( Heart Attack )

President Aquino’s children: (Left – Right) Victoria, Conchita, Thomas

Elpidio Quirino and his wife

POLITICS• 1919 to 1925 - Member of the Philippine House of

Representatives • 1925 to 1931 - Member of the Philippine Senate • 1931 - Secretary of Finance and then Secretary of Interior• 1934 - Member of the Philippine Independence Mission to

Washington, D.C. • 1943 - his wife and 3 of his children were killed during the

Battle of Manila • 1946 - Elected Vice-President and appointed Foreign Affairs

Secretary • 1949 - Elected as President of the 3rd Republic of the

Philippines

ADMINISTRATION

Quirino assumed the presidency on April 17, 1948, taking his oath of office two days after the death of Manuel Roxas. His first official act as the President was the proclamation of a state mourning throughout the country for Roxas' death.

ADMINISTRATION• Upon assuming the office of presidency, Quirino

presented his plan for a better government. His agenda is centered on two main objectives:• Unity among the Filipinos through the establishment of peace and

order• Maintanence of the people’s faith in the efficiency and sincerity of

the government

• The Quirino administration also paid attention to the growth of the economy through the process called industrialization

PROGRAMS FOR DEVELOPMENT• Improvement of the Economy

• establishement of farm-to-market roads• establishment of the Central Bank of the Philippines• Making the Magna Carta of Labor at Minimum Wage Law which

aims to give the laborers a better life• Increased tariff rates in order to earn more dollars.• Quirino launched and Economic Mobilization Program to

industrialize the country and give more jobs to the Filipinos.

PROGRAMS FOR DEVELOPMENT• Quirino-Foster Agreement

• Signed by President Quirino and G. William Foster of the United States

• Under this agreement, the United States and the Philippines would cooperate to develop the economy of the nation.

• The United States would provide funds and technology while the Philippines would supply manpower.

PROGRAMS FOR DEVELOPMENT

• Amnesty for the Huks• Ramon Magsaysay was appointed by the president to combat the

HUK insurgency. With his witty strategy, he made Luis Taruc surrender to the government

• President Quirino negotiated with Luis Taruc in Malacanang• The Economic Development Corps (EDCOR) was established. It

stated that all those who will surrender will be forgiven by the government and will be provided by land for farming

Philippine Expeditionary Forces To Korea (PEFTOK)

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

• Fidel V. Ramos was one of the soldiers deployed in the war

• The Philippines, thus, became the first country to join the United States in the offer of military assistance to beleaguered South Korea.

ACHIEVEMENTS• Passed the economic mobilization program in

industrializing the country through the opening of some industries

• Increased economic aid from the United States• Established the Central Bank of the Philippines in order to

stabilize the currency of our country• Created the president’s action committee on social

amelioration to alleviate the life condition of the poor especially in the rural areas

• Established the hydroelectric project in Lanao and the Burgos irrigation project in Zambales

POST-PRESIDENCY• 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:• Unabated rampage of graft and corruption in his government, as

revealed in the Tambobong-Buenavista scandal, the Import Control Anomalies, the Caledonia Pile Mess and the Textbook Racket;

• Wasteful spending of the people's money in extravagant junkets abroad;

• Failure of government to check the Huk menace which made travel in the provinces unsafe, as evidenced by the killing of former First Lady Aurora Quezon and her companions on April 21, 1949 by the Huks on the Bongabong-Baler road, Baler, Tayabas

• Economic distress of the times, aggravated by rising unemployment rate, soaring prices of commodities, and unfavorable balance of trade. Quirino's vaunted "Total Economic Mobilization Policy" failed to give economic relief to the suffering nation.

FACT

• He was first president to undergo an impeachment trial because he allegedly purchased a very expensive Golden Orinola using government money.

END.