Jose P. Laurel

"... our people will rise as one to meet the challenge."

Born: March 9, 1891
Died: November 6, 1959
Position in History: Philippines: 3rd President, Second Republic: Only President
Presidential Term: October 14, 1943 - August 17, 1945
Duration of Term: 673 days

Jose P. Laurel Sr. was born in Tanauan, Batangas to Sotero Laurel Sr. and Jacoba Garcia. Pepito, as he was known as a boy, enrolled in Manila South High School in Intramuros. In his teens, he was indicted for killing the rival suitor of his girlfriend. After studying and finishing law, he asked for and won acquittal. After finishing his secondary education, Laurel married Prudencia Hidalgo in 1911.

Laurel received law degrees from the University of the Philippines in 1915, Escuela de Derecho in 1919 and from Yale University in 1920. He became a member of the Cabinet in 1922 but resigned along with others in 1923 in protest of American Governor-General Leonard Wood. In 1924, Laurel was elected as an assemblyman and then as a member of the Senate in 1925. He was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1935 and received a degree in 1938 from the Tokyo International University.

Laurel stayed behind in the Philippines while the Commonwealth government relocated to the US. The idea was to assist the Japanese in an attempt to make the occupation less severe. As a result, he held high posts from 1942 - 1943. An assassination attempt was made on Laurel in June 1943 and two more attempts followed after he was appointed president of the Japanese sponsored Republic of the Philippines. Laurel eventually recovered from assassination attempts which were made by Filipino guerrillas. He maintained his post because of his eagerness to be of service to his countrymen. Throughout his time as president, Laurel tried to solve the problems of the Philippines which included the lack of food, robbery, economic and social problems. He also appealed to the guerrillas not to aggravate the already bad situation.

With the arrival of the liberation forces in 1944, Laurel and his cabinet were relocated to Japan. When the Japanese surrendered, he remained in Japan. When Laurel returned to the Philippines, he was arrested and charged with 132 counts of treason in July 1946. He was never brought to trial as he shared in the general amnesty of April 1948 to those who collaborated with the Japanese. Laurel was defeated in the 1949 presidential elections by Elpidio Quirino, but elected as a senator in 1951. He persuaded Ramon Magsaysay to leave the Liberals and join the Nationalists. In 1955, Laurel headed an economic mission to improve economic relations with the US. He retired from public life in 1957 and died November 6, 1959.

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