Remembering MLQ

Today, a nonworking holiday in Quezon City, is the 145th birth anniversary of one of the Philippines' greatest presidents, Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina. Born on August 19, 1878, Quezon was younger than Dr. Jose Rizal by 17 years. MLQ was already 18 when Rizal was executed.

- Atty. Josephus B. Jimenez

MLQ was the second president of our country, after Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a close friend of Cebu's grand old man Don Sergio Osmeña, and kingpin of the House of Representatives for the longest time. MLQ was the uncontested leader of the Senate until he was elected president under the 1935 Philippine Constitution and Osmeña, the vice president. The two were classmates in UST and took the Bar together in 1903. Osmeña placed second while Quezon got fourth. There were less than 20 who took that exam.

MLQ is best remembered for his fiery speeches, in one of which, he dared to tell the US Congress: "I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos to a government run like heaven by the Americans." He is also associated with that famous quote "My loyalty to my part ends where my loyalty to my country begins." He didn’t have a booming voice, in fact he sounded squeaky, but his speeches were eloquent and fiery. His favorite advocacies were social justice, land for the landless, and love of our national language.