Elpidio Quirino

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Elpidio Quirino (November 16, 1890 - February 29, 1956) was a political leader and the sixth President of the Philippines. He served from April 17, 1948 to December 30, 1953.

Born on November 16, 1890 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Mariano Quirino of the same province and Gregoria Rivera of Agoo, La Union, Quirino spent his early years in Aringay, La Union. He attended the University of the Philippines in 1915, earning his law degree and practicing law until he was elected as member of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1919 to 1925, then as senator from 1925 to 1931. He then served as secretary of finance and secretary of the interior in the Commonwealth government.

In 1934 he was a member of the Philippine Independence mission to Washington D.C, headed by Manuel Quezon that secured the passage in the United States Congress of the Tydings-McDuffie Act. This legislation set the date for Philippine independence by 1945. Official declaration came on July 4, 1946.

He suffered the execution of his wife, Alicia Syquia, and three of his five children by the Japanese during World War II. After the war, he continued public service by serving as secretary of state and vice president to Manuel Roxas, the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. When Roxas died on April 15, 1948, Quirino assumed the presidency, and subsequently won election on his own right for a four-year term.

Quirino's administration faced a serious threat in the form of the communist Hukbalahap (Huk) movement. Though the Huks originally had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Luzon, communists steadily gained control over the leadership, and when Quirino's negotiation with Huk commander Luis Taruc broke down in 1948, Taruc openly declared himself a Communist and called for the overthrow of the government.

His six years as president were marked by notable postwar reconstruction, general economic gains, and increased economic aid from the United States. Basic social problems, however, particularly in the rural areas, remained unsolved, and his administration was tainted by widespread graft and corruption.

Ramon Magsaysay defeated him in his second bid for the presidency and consequently retired to private life in Novaliches, Manila. He died of a heart attack on leap year, February 29, 1956 (death anniversary observed on February 28).

Elpidio Quirino was a Catholic and is the first president of Ilocano descent.

Content source: http://www.op.gov.ph/museum/pres_quirino.asp. Edited for grammar, clarity, accuracy and relevance. Additional information not in the content source included.