Today is the 122nd birth anniversary of president Elpidio Quirino. He was a nationalist and

is correctly referred to as “the father of Philippine industrialization.” Unfortunately, the industrialization he pushed for has been undone in the past 30 years or so.

After the Japanese surrender ending the Second World War, the Commonwealth government was reconstituted in 1945. The Philippine Commonwealth president was Sergio Osmeña Sr.

There was a need to establish a new set of elected officials to work in earnest on postwar reconstruction. Senators Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino and their allies called for elections. Their idea was approved by the US Congress which passed a resolution setting the date for presidential, senatorial and congressional elections not later than April 30, 1946.

Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña called the Philippine Congress to a special session, which passed Commonwealth Act No. 725, setting the election on April 23, 1946. Osmeña signed it into law.

Elpidio Quirino was then Senate President pro tempore to Senate President Manuel Roxas.

They and their allies formed the Liberal Party to face the Nacionalistas led by Philippine Commonwealth President Osmeña.

The Roxas-Quirino team won. The Constitution gave presidents and vice-presidents four year terms. President Roxas soon appointed Elpidio Quirino secretary of Finance and later secretary of Foreign Affairs. Apo Pidiong was judged to be a good finance manager of the Philippine Republic. And it was when the DFA had him as its chief that our country began sound diplomatic relations with the rest of world, making sure of retaining our links with Spain and Latin-American countries.

Philippine independence restored
When the United States restored Philippine Independence on July 4, 1946 (the same day as US Independence Day), our president was Manuel Roxas and our vice-president was Apo Pidiong.

President Roxas died of a heart attack in 1948, only serving as chief of state for two years.
Elpidio Quirino took over and because he won the presidency for himself in the 1949 election, he served as president for six years.

Apo Pidiong’s six years as president was marked by great postwar rehabilitation and new construction work. Our economy was robust—with increases in American aid. From his presidency up to the 70s, the Philippines was Asia’s most vibrant economy—second only to Japan.

The same fundamental problems of our society that we still have now, however, undermined economic gains. And the Quirino administration also suffered from graft and corruption.

When the 1953 elections came, Apo Pidiong ran for a second term. His opposite in the Nacionalista Party was his own former Defense secretary, Ramon Magsaysay.

With the help of mass media and propaganda experts of the US Central Intelligence Agency, President Elpidio R. Qurino was unjustly demonized by Nacionalista Party campaigners supporting Ramon Magsaysay for president in the 1953 election. It was the height of the Cold War. The US-led “Free World” was so afraid of Communism.

Fear of Communism
Five years earlier, US and Western efforts to prevent the victory of Mao Zedong’s Communist People’s Liberation Army in China collapsed. Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China had been driven from the Chinese mainland and forced to take refuge in Taiwan, where it remains to this day and has become richer than the whole of the People’s Republic of China per capita and per square meter. Taiwan is a great monument to anti-Communism.

North Korea had a strong military backed by both the Soviet Union and China. South Korea was our close friend then and now.

In 1953 Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnamese Communists had already completely overrun North Vietnam.

And it looked like Communists could win the whole of Indochina and then Burma and Thailand.

In Malaya and Singapore (there was no Malaysia yet) Chin Peng’s Communists seemed to be gaining ground. Indonesia seemed safely Indonesian under the nationalist Sukarno. But its leadership was divided—even its military brass. Sukarno was neutral between the USA and the Communist bloc. But some Indonesian leaders, including Sukarno’s own vice-president was a close ally of the Chinese Communists.

There was a “Domino Theory” that reinforced the fear among the anti-Communists that Southeast Asia could become a Communist subcontinent.

So, US-style democratic Philippines was to be kept from going Communist at all cost. We had
the Hukbalahap—which seemed to be socialist and therefore potentially Communist. And by 1953, there were already Philippine Communist cells with comrades form China.

Luis Taruc’s cause was originally to organize the peasants and fight for their rights and their dignity and to own the land they were tilling. Taruc and his Hukbalahap—Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (National Army vs. the Japanese)—were patriotically allergic to Japanese invaders.

They knew Japan would also deprive them of their farms—be worse than oppressive landlords and American colonizers. But in 1953, with agrarian issues still festering Chinese and Russian Communists were here, in the underground, eager to help the local movement

Unjust characterization of a great man
Thus, Apo Pidiong was unjustly characterized as a corrupt leader who must be brought down so Ramon Magsaysay could be the next Filipino president.

Magsaysay turned out to be a great and honest president. But it was during his term, unfortunately, that good economic and finance-management ideas—championed by President Quirino—were dropped.

Among the massive projects of the Quirino years are the Ambuklao and Maria Cristina hydro electric power plants, the Burgos irigation project in Zambales and road networks in Mindanao.
President Quirino was one of the earliest advocates of environmental development and protection. He instituted the annual celebration of Arbor Day, a national day of tree planting with the aim of achieving 85 percent forest coverage. This remarkable forestation was during the Quirino administration. Sadly, today the Philippines forest cover is down to 35 percent.

There is another very happy legacy of President Quirino—though it does not come directly from him but from his younger brother Tony. Antonio Quirino, apart from being a strong secretary of justice, who earned the hatred of Communists and bandits, was a man of foresight. He was the first Pinoy to see the future importance of television. He set up the first TV station and had a radio station with his initials: DZAQ. The Lopezes ultimately bought Tony Quirino’s TV and radio stations, the beginnings of the gigantic ABS-CBN.