PHILGOV

Emilio Aguinaldo
Born March 22, 1869 in Kawit, Cavite; the seventh of eight children. Married twice; first to Hilaria Del Rosario with 5 children then to Maria Agoncillo. At age 17, he was appointed as Cabeza de barangay. At 25, in 1894, he joined the secret organization KKK. At 29, elected as president of the First Philippine Republic. Went to Hong Kong after the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. Returned home after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Proclaimed Philippine Independence in his home at Kawit on June 12, 1898. Was captured by the Americans in Palanan, Isabela.
Achievements:
General Emilio Aguinaldo (January 23, 1899 – April 1, 1901) To make it easier for you to master, always remember why Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was on the 5-peso bill (which is not used anymore, instead his head-profile is on the 5-peso coin) bearing the Philippine flag at the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day, it’s because he was the first president of the Philippines First Republic (a.k.a. Malolos Republic).
During the Spanish‐American War, Emilio Aguinaldo consolidated a strong nationalist movement against Spain only to face a stronger opponent of Filipino independence, the U.S. government. Though initially aided by U.S. Navy and consular agents, Aguinaldo's provisional government became the primary obstacle to the annexation policy of President William McKinley after Spain capitulated in August 1898. Six months later, U.S. troops drove Filipino militias from Manila and pursued them into the countryside. With his political council divided between accommodationists and die‐hard nationalists, and his regiments poorly trained and ill‐equipped, Aguinaldo's was perhaps a doomed effort. Nevertheless, he used guerrilla tactics and clandestine political organization to resist, retreating from redoubt to redoubt until his capture by Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston on 31 March, 1901. Accepting defeat, he swore allegiance to the United States and retired to his plantation. In 1935, he lost a bid for the presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth. After supporting Japanese occupation during World War II, Aguinaldo was imprisoned in 1945, but received amnesty. He died in 1964, a tragic but beloved Philippine national hero.
First president
Youngest president – he became the country’s leader at age 28
Longest-lived president – he died when he was 94
One of the active leaders of KKK
Signed the Pact of Biak na Bato
Known as the President of the Revolutionary Government
He fought against the Spanish and American to retain our independence

Economic policy:
Fiscal Reform
The Malolos Congress continued its sessions and accomplished certain positive tasks. The Spanish fiscal system was provisionally retained.
The same was done with the existing taxes, save those upon cockfighting and other amusements.
War taxes were levied and voluntary contributions were solicited.
Customs duties were established.
A national loan was launched.

Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezon (August 19, 1878 – August 1, 1944) served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines (as opposed to other historical states), and is considered by most Filipinos to have been the second president of the Philippines, after Emilio Aguinaldo (1897–1901).
Quezon was the first Senate president elected to the presidency, the first president elected through a national election and the first incumbent to secure re-election (for a partial second term, later extended, due to amendments to the 1935 Constitution). He is known as the "Father of the National Language".
Achievements:
Notable facts about Manuel Luis Quezon is that, he is known as the “Father of National Language” (Ama ng Wikang Pambansa) and he died in Saranac Lake, New York due to tuberculosis. I’ve seen his life-sized wax statue inside the Quezon Memorial Circle, it was well crafted.
First Senate president elected as President of the Philippines
First president elected through a national election
First president under the Commonwealth
He created National Council of Education
He initiated women’s suffrage in the Philippines during the Commonwealth
He made Tagalog/Filipino as the national language of the Philippines
He appears on the twenty-peso bill
A province, a city, a bridge and a university in Manila were named after him
His body lies within the special monument on Quezon Memorial Circle

Economic Policies:
The creation of the National Economic Council to serve as advisory body on economic matters
Preparing for the phasing out of free trade between the Philippines and the United States after independence
Establishment of a minimum wage
The imposition of new taxes to bolster up the Philippine economy in preparation for eventual independence from America.
Laws:
In his maiden speech to Congress, Quezon submitted a petition requesting Philippine sovereignty. He asked members to support legislation that endorsed Philippine independence. One of those acts was the Philippine Autonomy Act.
Sponsored by William Jones of Virginia, the Philippine Autonomy Act officially committed the United States toward granting independence to the Philippines. The act also ensured broader autonomy for Filipinos within the colonial government.
Jose P. Laurel
President of the Second Republic from 1943 to 1945. He had been secretary of the interior (1923), senator (1925 - 1931), delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1934), and chief justice during the commonwealth. When World War II broke out, he was instructed by Manuel Quezon to stay in Manila and deal with the Japanese to soften the blow of enemy occupation. During the Japanese occupation, he served in various capacities and helped draft the 1943 constitution. As president he defended Filipino interests and resisted Japanese efforts to draft Filipinos into the Japanese military service. Upon return of the American forces, Laurel was imprisoned in Japan when Douglas Macarthur occupied that country He was returned to the Philippines to face charges of treason, but these were dropped when President Roxas issued an amnesty proclamation. In the Third Republic, he was elected senator and negotiated the Laurel-Langley Agreement.
Achievements:
He was considered as the legitimate president of the Philippines
He organized KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas).
He declared Martial Law in 1944
He and his family developed the establishment of Lyceum of the Philippines

Laws/Economic policies:
Politically, he reorganized the government, streamlining it and making it more responsive to the immediate needs and long-term needs. He abolished non-performing offices, combined others for efficiency, and created two new offices: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, specifically to address the nation’s economic problems.
Morally, he continued the pre-war code committee and urged it to come up with a civil code which would bolster the Filipinos civic and moral standing. In his inaugural address and other speeches, Laurel spoke of the role of women, the family, the need to strengthen the moral fiber of the nation and the need for moral regeneration. The code committee embodied some of his ideas, but the result of its work was not published during Laurel’s presidency.