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#TodayinHistory by Indio Historian

This day in 1890, Elpidio Quirino, the sixth President of the Philippines, was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. While his administration was challenged by agrarian unrest after World War II, he sought to restore the public's trust in government.

The third child of Don Mariano Quebral Quirino and Doña Gregoria Mendoza Rivera, Elpidio was born in prison premises, as his father then served as warden of the Vigan town jail six years before the Philippine Revolution erupted.

He worked as a tutor, then as a clerk in the Philippine Constabulary, while completing his secondary education. He entered the UP College of Law and passed the Bar in 1916. He tried campaigning for a seat in the House of Representatives in 1919 and won as a representative for Ilocos Sur's First District.

Quirino married Doña Alicia Syquia in 1921 and had five children—Tomas, Armando, Norma, Victoria, and Fe Angela. Three years later, he was elected Senator. He was very much involved in the Independence Missions that campaigned for Philippine independence in the US Congress. It succeeded in 1934.

Under the Commonwealth, Quirino served as Pres. Manuel Quezon's Interior Secretary until 1938. He again ran for a Senate seat, winning in 1941, but wasn't able to serve due to the invasion of Japan.

During the Battle of Manila in February 1945, while trying to leave their house, his wife, including three of his five children, were killed by the Japanese while crossing a street in Ermita to escape the conflict. Quirino had to carry the corpses on foot to Paco.

After the Japanese occupation, Manuel Roxas was elected as President, and Quirino as Vice President, in the 1946 elections. However, Roxas’ sudden death in 1948 made Quirino assume the presidency, completing Roxas' term. He was elected as President in 1949.

During his administration in 1948, Quirino made peace for the first time with the Hukbalahap. Negotiations would however collapse. Certain Quirino policies made peace possible in the next administration, especially with his appointment of Ramon Magsaysay as Defense Secretary.

Quirino was also the first Philippine president who had no wife to stand in as First Lady. His daughter, Victoria, fulfilled this role, serving as the sixth Philippine First Lady, the official hostess of the Malacañan Palace, and the youngest Philippine First Lady in history, at age 16.

Photos:
- Quirino takes his oath as President after attending his predecessor's funeral, 1948, from Presidential Museum & Library
- Quirino, his wife Alicia Syquia, and their first child, undated, from Presidential Museum & Library
- Quirino weeps as Roxas was laid in state, from Presidential Museum & Library
- Victoria Quirino in Philippines Free Press, May 1, 1948


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