Aurora Quezon
Encyclopedia
Aurora Antonia Aragón de Molina Vd.ª De Quezón (born Aurora Antonia Aragón y de Molina on February 19, 1888 – April 28, 1949), usually known simply as Aurora Quezón, and sometimes as Aurora Aragón-Quezón, was the wife of Philippine President
Manuel Luis Quezón
and the First Lady of the Philippines
from 1935 to 1944. Though she is recognized as the second First Lady of the Philippines
, she was actually the first spouse of a Philippine president to be called as such, the honorific being unknown during the presidency of Emilio Aguinaldo
, and thus not applied at that time to his wife Hilaria
. Much beloved by Filipinos, Quezón was known for involvement with humanitarian activities and served as the first Chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross
.
Five years after her husband's death, Quezón and her daughter "Baby" were assassinated while they were en route to open a hospital dedicated to her husband. The province of Aurora was named in her memory.
in Tayabas province. During the Philippine Revolution
, her father was imprisoned by the colonial authorities for being suspected as being a member of the Katipunan
; he would die in captivity. Among her tutors during her youth was her mother's sister, María Dolores Molina, who was the mother of her first cousin and future husband Manuel Luis Quezón. After her father's imprisonment, she was taken in by her aunt María Dolores and uncle Lucio, and she lived for a time under the same roof as her future spouse. After Manuel's own parents had died, he would stay with the Aragón family whenever he was in Baler.
After Pedro Aragón's death, his survivors, including daughter Aurora, had been cast into extreme poverty, surviving on subsistence farming. This experience was said to have shaped young Aurora's lifelong attitude of according equal treatment to everybody, no matter their status in life. The Aragón family later moved to Lucena
where Manuel was then serving as the provincial fiscal of Tayabas. Aurora, who had wanted to become a school teacher, enrolled at the Philippine Normal College
in Manila at the expense of her future husband, but had to stop her studies after two years due to her poor health.
. By 1916, he was elected to the Philippine Senate
and as that chamber's President
. Aurora often visited Manuel in Manila. In December, 1918, they were married in Hong Kong. They had four children: María Aurora or "Baby" (1919–1949); María Zeneida or "Nini" (b. 1921); Luisa Corazón Paz (1924–1924); and Manuel Lucio, Jr. or "Nonong" (1926–1998). Luisa would die in infancy.
The marriage lasted until President Quezón's death in 1944. It withstood despite Manuel's reputation as a libertine; the author Stanley Karnow
described Mrs. Quezón as finding "solace in prayer and the Philippine law against divorce". Still, Aurora has also been described as "a devoted wife and a strict but understanding mother". Manuel Quezon himself publicly extolled his wife as "my friend, companion and partner".
. During her husband's political life, Aurora Quezón stayed in the background, involving herself with women's organizations such as the National Federation of Women's Clubs, of which she was the honorary chairperson.
Time Magazine described Quezón as "dignified and portly". The Quezons were the first presidential couple to reside in Malacañang Palace
, but she spent as little time as possible there, preferring to stay in a "nipa house" in Malacañang Park or in her farm, Kaleidan, in Arayat, Pampanga
. She nevertheless was an active First Lady, engaging herself in the campaign to give Filipino women the right of suffrage, which was achieved in 1937. She was particularly involved in managing the family's Arayat farm to demonstrate how social justice
could be applied to landlord-tenant relationships in an agrarian setting. Quezón was involved in the Girl Scouts of the Philippines
and the Associación de Damas Filipinas, a noted orphanage in Manila. She was also the honorary president of another orphanage, the White Cross, located in San Juan.
President Quezón was re-elected in November 1941, but his presidency was immediately beset with crisis when Japan invaded the Philippines in the following month. Aurora accompanied her husband to Corregidor
in December, 1941, where the President was sworn in by Chief Justice José Abad Santos
for his second term on December 30, 1941. For the next two months, the Quezón family remained in Corregidor where, despite the difficult living conditions, Quezón was said to have maintained her poise and kept up with a daily mass
. In February 1942, they began their long journey via Australia to escape the Japanese, finally reaching the United States in June 1942.
While in exile, Quezón devoted her time to the care of her ailing husband, who died in Saranac, New York
from tuberculosis on August 1, 1944. She then moved to California to await their return to the Philippines. She and her daughters volunteered as nurses for the Red Cross.
. She returned the check, explaining: "I feel that on account of ... countless war widows and orphans ... I should waive collection of a pension . . . I cannot, in good conscience, receive ... Government assistance when so many of my less fortunate sisters and their children are not yet taken care of. . . I know [if I accepted] I would not be keeping faith with the memory of my beloved husband. . . ." This act, it was said, "demonstrated why thousands of Filipinos regard her as a combination queen-mother and patron saint". Quezón was offered a slot in the Liberal Party
senatorial slate for the 1946 elections
, which she declined. She however endorsed the presidential candidacy of Manuel Roxas
, who defeated her husband's vice-president and successor, Sergio Osmeña
, to win the presidency.
In 1947, with the active support of Quezón, the Philippine National Red Cross
was established as an independent Red Cross organization. She became the first Chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross, holding the position until her death. She also was named as honorary vice-president of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society.
She continued to be involved in civic work, such as the efforts to rebuild the Antipolo Church. She received honorary doctorates from the University of Santo Tomas
, and from the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor. She was likewise bestowed the Ozanam Award from the Ateneo de Manila University
, and the Pro Ecclessia et Pontifice Cross from Pope Pius XII
.
of the Hukbalahap
, the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines. She shrugged off the threat, remarking on the morning of the trip, "[Hukbalahap Supremo] Taruc
knows my white hair and he will not hurt me." Nonetheless, a convoy of thirteen vehicles, including two military jeeps full of armed soldiers, accompanied Quezón. Together with Quezon in her Buick sedan was her daughter "Baby", then a law student at the University of Santo Tomas
, her son-in-law Felipe "Philip" Buencamino, Quezon City
mayor Ponciano Bernardo
, and retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff
Major General Rafael Jalandoni.
They traveled along the Baler-Bongabon Road connecting Baler with Nueva Ecija
, which Quezón herself inaugurated in 1940. At Quezón's request, her vehicle led the caravan, and it soon sped away from the military jeep immediately behind it. As Quezón's vehicle traversed the mountain road, it was blocked by a group of armed men. The men ignored the protestations from General Jalandoni and Mayor Bernardo that Quezón was in the vehicle, and machine-gunfire erupted from the side of the road and from the mountain slopes. It was later estimated that between 100 to 200 armed men had participated in the attack. Mrs. Quezón, her daughter, and Bernardo were killed instantly, while her son-in-law was mortally wounded. The soldiers in the convoy arrived immediately at the scene and exchanged fire with the assailants, who were able to seize the valuables of the victims before fleeing the scene. In all, twelve members of the Quezon party and ten of the assailants were killed.
There was national and international condemnation of the massacre. United States President
Harry Truman was shocked and simply declared, "It was awful." A nine-day national mourning period was declared, and President Elpidio Quirino
openly wept during the funeral. Quezón was buried at Manila North Cemetery
. The mourners included her two surviving children, Manuel, Jr., and Nini, who herself was widowed by the massacre. While no Philippine President has ever been assassinated, Aurora Quezón is one of three presidential spouses who have been murdered. The other two were Alicia Syquia-Quirino and Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.
It was widely believed that the Hukbalahap
was responsible for the killings. In preparation of the attack, the ambuscaders had blockaded the road and rounded up passengers from passing vehicles, and one of those passengers claimed seeing a former employee of his who had joined the Huk as among the armed men. While General Jalandoni, who survived the attack, tagged the Huks as responsible, the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary laid blame instead on bandits. President Quirino blamed the Huks and responded by calling for "a people's war on the dissidents".
Luis Taruc
, Supremo of the Hukbalahap, denied that his group was responsible for the crime, though he also claimed that the Huk were conducting an investigation of their own if one of the group had breached ranks and participated in the killing. Nonetheless, after Taruc's surrender in 1954, he was formally charged
for the murder of Quezón and her party; these charges would be dropped before they could be heard on trial. Throughout the 1950s, several other captured Huk members would be charged for participation in the assassination, with five of them being sentenced to death by a Cabanatuan City
trial court.
On April 28, 2005, exactly fifty-six years after her death, the remains of Quezón were transferred from North Cemetery for interment in a black crypt beside her husband's sarcophagus
at the Quezon Memorial
in Quezon City
. The re-interment rites were attended by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
and the Quezóns' sole surviving child, Zenaida Quezón-Avanceña.
created the Aurora sub-province, comprising Baler and surrounding areas in the adjacent Quezon Province. In 1978, Aurora
became a separate province. Manuel and Aurora Quezón are the only spouses to have respective provinces in the Philippines named after them.
The Concerned Women of the Philippines have named the Aurora Aragon Quezón Peace Awards after Mrs. Quezón.
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Manuel Luis Quezón
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines...
and the First Lady of the Philippines
First Lady of the Philippines
The First Lady/ Gentleman of the Philippines is the unofficial title of the hostess/host of the Malacañang Palace, the nation's residence of its head of state...
from 1935 to 1944. Though she is recognized as the second First Lady of the Philippines
First Lady of the Philippines
The First Lady/ Gentleman of the Philippines is the unofficial title of the hostess/host of the Malacañang Palace, the nation's residence of its head of state...
, she was actually the first spouse of a Philippine president to be called as such, the honorific being unknown during the presidency of Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...
, and thus not applied at that time to his wife Hilaria
Hilaria Aguinaldo
Hilaria del Rosario was the first wife of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the first President of the Philippines . Emilio Aguinaldo married her on New Year's Day, 1896, the very same day he joined the Katipunan, the secret society that would initiate the Philippine Revolution...
. Much beloved by Filipinos, Quezón was known for involvement with humanitarian activities and served as the first Chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross
Philippine National Red Cross
Born officially in 1947, Philippine Red Cross , a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, has roots that trace back to the revolutionary days...
.
Five years after her husband's death, Quezón and her daughter "Baby" were assassinated while they were en route to open a hospital dedicated to her husband. The province of Aurora was named in her memory.
Early life
Quezón was born on February 19, 1888 to Pedro Aragón and Zeneida Molina, in the town of BalerBaler, Aurora
Baler is a 4th class municipality in the province of Aurora, Philippines. It is the provincial capital of Aurora. According to the latest census, it has a population of 34,492 people and 5.955 members per household....
in Tayabas province. During the Philippine Revolution
Philippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
, her father was imprisoned by the colonial authorities for being suspected as being a member of the Katipunan
Katipunan
The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...
; he would die in captivity. Among her tutors during her youth was her mother's sister, María Dolores Molina, who was the mother of her first cousin and future husband Manuel Luis Quezón. After her father's imprisonment, she was taken in by her aunt María Dolores and uncle Lucio, and she lived for a time under the same roof as her future spouse. After Manuel's own parents had died, he would stay with the Aragón family whenever he was in Baler.
After Pedro Aragón's death, his survivors, including daughter Aurora, had been cast into extreme poverty, surviving on subsistence farming. This experience was said to have shaped young Aurora's lifelong attitude of according equal treatment to everybody, no matter their status in life. The Aragón family later moved to Lucena
Lucena City
Metro Lucena has an estimated population of 700,000 which is mostly concentrated in the flat south-central portion of Quezon, which includes the cities of Lucena and Tayabas, Sariaya, Candelaria, Lucban & Pagbilao . The people are often characterized as friendly and hardworking...
where Manuel was then serving as the provincial fiscal of Tayabas. Aurora, who had wanted to become a school teacher, enrolled at the Philippine Normal College
Philippine Normal University
The Philippine Normal University is a public national university in the Philippines established during the early days of American rule of the Philippine Islands. Pursuant to a law passed by the Philippine Congress, Republic Act No...
in Manila at the expense of her future husband, but had to stop her studies after two years due to her poor health.
Marriage and family
In 1907, Manuel Luis Quezón was elected to the Philippine AssemblyPhilippine Assembly
The Philippine Assembly was the lower house of the legislative body of the Philippines during the early part of American colonial period. It was created by the Philippine Organic Act, passed in 1902, which also established the Philippine Commission as the upper house of the Philippine Legislature,...
. By 1916, he was elected to the Philippine Senate
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
and as that chamber's President
President of the Senate of the Philippines
The President of the Senate of the Philippines, or more popularly known as the Senate President, is the presiding officer and the highest ranking-official of the Senate of the Philippines. He/she is elected by the entire body to be their leader...
. Aurora often visited Manuel in Manila. In December, 1918, they were married in Hong Kong. They had four children: María Aurora or "Baby" (1919–1949); María Zeneida or "Nini" (b. 1921); Luisa Corazón Paz (1924–1924); and Manuel Lucio, Jr. or "Nonong" (1926–1998). Luisa would die in infancy.
The marriage lasted until President Quezón's death in 1944. It withstood despite Manuel's reputation as a libertine; the author Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow is an American journalist and historian.After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in Asia during World War II, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1947; in 1947 and 1948 he attended the Sorbonne, and from 1948 to 1949 the Institut d'Études Politiques de...
described Mrs. Quezón as finding "solace in prayer and the Philippine law against divorce". Still, Aurora has also been described as "a devoted wife and a strict but understanding mother". Manuel Quezon himself publicly extolled his wife as "my friend, companion and partner".
Political wife and First Lady
Within the first seventeen years of the marriage, Manuel Quezón emerged as a dominant figure in Philippine politics. His career reached its apex in 1935, when he was elected President of the Commonwealth of the PhilippinesCommonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...
. During her husband's political life, Aurora Quezón stayed in the background, involving herself with women's organizations such as the National Federation of Women's Clubs, of which she was the honorary chairperson.
Time Magazine described Quezón as "dignified and portly". The Quezons were the first presidential couple to reside in Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace
The Malacañan Palace, commonly known simply as Malacañang, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines. Located at 1000 J. P. Laurel Street, San Miguel, Manila, the house was built in 1750 in Spanish Colonial style. It has been the residence of every...
, but she spent as little time as possible there, preferring to stay in a "nipa house" in Malacañang Park or in her farm, Kaleidan, in Arayat, Pampanga
Arayat, Pampanga
Arayat is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 118,312 people in 18,571 households. Mount Arayat is located within this municipality.-Barangays:...
. She nevertheless was an active First Lady, engaging herself in the campaign to give Filipino women the right of suffrage, which was achieved in 1937. She was particularly involved in managing the family's Arayat farm to demonstrate how social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
could be applied to landlord-tenant relationships in an agrarian setting. Quezón was involved in the Girl Scouts of the Philippines
Girl Scouts of the Philippines
The Girl Scouts of the Philippines is the national Guiding association for girls and young women of the Philippines. Its mission is "to help girls and young women realize the ideals of womanhood and prepare themselves for their responsibilities in the home, and to the nation, and the world...
and the Associación de Damas Filipinas, a noted orphanage in Manila. She was also the honorary president of another orphanage, the White Cross, located in San Juan.
President Quezón was re-elected in November 1941, but his presidency was immediately beset with crisis when Japan invaded the Philippines in the following month. Aurora accompanied her husband to Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
in December, 1941, where the President was sworn in by Chief Justice José Abad Santos
José Abad Santos
In 1919, Abad Santos would become instrumental in laying the legal groundwork as well as drafting the by-laws and constitution of the Philippine Women's University, the country's and Asia's first private non-sectarian institution for higher learning for women...
for his second term on December 30, 1941. For the next two months, the Quezón family remained in Corregidor where, despite the difficult living conditions, Quezón was said to have maintained her poise and kept up with a daily mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. In February 1942, they began their long journey via Australia to escape the Japanese, finally reaching the United States in June 1942.
While in exile, Quezón devoted her time to the care of her ailing husband, who died in Saranac, New York
Saranac, New York
Saranac is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The town is on the western border of the county, west of the City of Plattsburgh and is within the Adirondack Park. The population was 4,007 at the 2010 census. The town is named for the Saranac River that flows past the town.- History...
from tuberculosis on August 1, 1944. She then moved to California to await their return to the Philippines. She and her daughters volunteered as nurses for the Red Cross.
Postwar activity
When Mrs. Quezón returned to the Philippines she was voted a pension of 1,000 pesos a month by the Philippine CongressCongress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines is the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines. It is a bicameral body consisting of the Senate , and the House of Representatives although commonly in the Philippines the term congress refers to the latter.The Senate is composed of 24 senators half...
. She returned the check, explaining: "I feel that on account of ... countless war widows and orphans ... I should waive collection of a pension . . . I cannot, in good conscience, receive ... Government assistance when so many of my less fortunate sisters and their children are not yet taken care of. . . I know [if I accepted] I would not be keeping faith with the memory of my beloved husband. . . ." This act, it was said, "demonstrated why thousands of Filipinos regard her as a combination queen-mother and patron saint". Quezón was offered a slot in the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Philippines)
The Liberal Party of the Philippines is a liberal party in the Philippines, founded by then senators Senate President Manuel Roxas, Senate President Pro-Tempore Elpidio Quirino, and former 9th Senatorial District Senator Jose Avelino, on November 24, 1945 by a breakaway Liberal group from the...
senatorial slate for the 1946 elections
Philippine general election, 1946
The Elections for the members of the Senate held on April 23, 1946 .-Background:Soon after the reconstitution of the Commonwealth Government in 1945 Senators Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino and their allies called for the holding on an early national election to choose the president and vice...
, which she declined. She however endorsed the presidential candidacy of Manuel Roxas
Manuel Roxas
Manuel Acuña Roxas was the first president of the independent Third Republic of the Philippines and fifth president overall. He served as president from the granting of independence in 1946 until his abrupt death in 1948...
, who defeated her husband's vice-president and successor, Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña y Suico was a Filipino politician who served as the 4th President of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was Vice President under Manuel L. Quezon, and rose to the presidency upon Quezon's death in 1944, being the oldest Philippine president to hold office at age 65...
, to win the presidency.
In 1947, with the active support of Quezón, the Philippine National Red Cross
Philippine National Red Cross
Born officially in 1947, Philippine Red Cross , a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, has roots that trace back to the revolutionary days...
was established as an independent Red Cross organization. She became the first Chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross, holding the position until her death. She also was named as honorary vice-president of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society.
She continued to be involved in civic work, such as the efforts to rebuild the Antipolo Church. She received honorary doctorates from the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
, and from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
at Ann Arbor. She was likewise bestowed the Ozanam Award from the Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
, and the Pro Ecclessia et Pontifice Cross from Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
.
Assassination
On the morning of April 28, 1949, Quezón left her home to travel to her husband's hometown of Baler to open the Quezon Memorial Hospital. She had been cautioned about this trip beforehand due to the frequent insurgency activities in Central LuzonCentral Luzon
Central Luzon , also known as Region III , is an administrative division or region of the Republic of the Philippines, primarily serve to organize the 7 provinces of the vast central plain of the island of Luzon , for administrative convenience...
of the Hukbalahap
Hukbalahap
The Hukbalahap , was the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines , formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese Empire's occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It fought a second war from 1946 to 1954 against the pro-Western leaders of their newly independent country...
, the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines. She shrugged off the threat, remarking on the morning of the trip, "[Hukbalahap Supremo] Taruc
Luis Taruc
Luis Taruc was a Filipino political figure and communist insurgent. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap rebel group between 1942 and 1954. His involvement with the movement came after his initiation to the problems of agrarian Filipinos when he was a student in the early 1930s...
knows my white hair and he will not hurt me." Nonetheless, a convoy of thirteen vehicles, including two military jeeps full of armed soldiers, accompanied Quezón. Together with Quezon in her Buick sedan was her daughter "Baby", then a law student at the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
, her son-in-law Felipe "Philip" Buencamino, Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
mayor Ponciano Bernardo
Ponciano Bernardo
Ponciano A. Bernardo was a Filipino engineer and politician who served as mayor of Quezon City, holding the position from 1947 until his death in 1949. It was during his tenure that Quezon City was designated as the capital city of the Philippines - List of mayors of Quezon City.-Profile:Ponciano...
, and retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...
Major General Rafael Jalandoni.
They traveled along the Baler-Bongabon Road connecting Baler with Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...
, which Quezón herself inaugurated in 1940. At Quezón's request, her vehicle led the caravan, and it soon sped away from the military jeep immediately behind it. As Quezón's vehicle traversed the mountain road, it was blocked by a group of armed men. The men ignored the protestations from General Jalandoni and Mayor Bernardo that Quezón was in the vehicle, and machine-gunfire erupted from the side of the road and from the mountain slopes. It was later estimated that between 100 to 200 armed men had participated in the attack. Mrs. Quezón, her daughter, and Bernardo were killed instantly, while her son-in-law was mortally wounded. The soldiers in the convoy arrived immediately at the scene and exchanged fire with the assailants, who were able to seize the valuables of the victims before fleeing the scene. In all, twelve members of the Quezon party and ten of the assailants were killed.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harry Truman was shocked and simply declared, "It was awful." A nine-day national mourning period was declared, and President Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino was a Filipino politician, and the sixth President of the Philippines.A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur from 1919 to 1925. He was then elected as senator from 1925–1931...
openly wept during the funeral. Quezón was buried at Manila North Cemetery
Manila North Cemetery
The Manila North Cemetery , which measures 54 hectares, is considered the biggest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila. Beside it are two other important cemeteries, namely the La Loma Cemetery and the Manila Chinese Cemetery...
. The mourners included her two surviving children, Manuel, Jr., and Nini, who herself was widowed by the massacre. While no Philippine President has ever been assassinated, Aurora Quezón is one of three presidential spouses who have been murdered. The other two were Alicia Syquia-Quirino and Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines...
It was widely believed that the Hukbalahap
Hukbalahap
The Hukbalahap , was the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines , formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese Empire's occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It fought a second war from 1946 to 1954 against the pro-Western leaders of their newly independent country...
was responsible for the killings. In preparation of the attack, the ambuscaders had blockaded the road and rounded up passengers from passing vehicles, and one of those passengers claimed seeing a former employee of his who had joined the Huk as among the armed men. While General Jalandoni, who survived the attack, tagged the Huks as responsible, the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary laid blame instead on bandits. President Quirino blamed the Huks and responded by calling for "a people's war on the dissidents".
Luis Taruc
Luis Taruc
Luis Taruc was a Filipino political figure and communist insurgent. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap rebel group between 1942 and 1954. His involvement with the movement came after his initiation to the problems of agrarian Filipinos when he was a student in the early 1930s...
, Supremo of the Hukbalahap, denied that his group was responsible for the crime, though he also claimed that the Huk were conducting an investigation of their own if one of the group had breached ranks and participated in the killing. Nonetheless, after Taruc's surrender in 1954, he was formally charged
Information (formal criminal charge)
Information is a formal criminal charge made without a grand jury indictment by a prosecutor in a document called an information.The term is used in Canada and various other common law jurisdictions, including a number of U.S...
for the murder of Quezón and her party; these charges would be dropped before they could be heard on trial. Throughout the 1950s, several other captured Huk members would be charged for participation in the assassination, with five of them being sentenced to death by a Cabanatuan City
Cabanatuan City
The City of Cabanatuan is a first class, urban city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. It is considered the commercial, industrial and educational hub of the province. According to the latest census, it has a population of 259,267 people in 45,424 households which makes it the largest...
trial court.
On April 28, 2005, exactly fifty-six years after her death, the remains of Quezón were transferred from North Cemetery for interment in a black crypt beside her husband's sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
at the Quezon Memorial
Quezon Memorial Circle
The Quezon Memorial Circle is a national park and shrine located in Quezon City, former capital of the Philippines . The park is an ellipse bounded by the Elliptical Road. Its main feature is a mausoleum containing the remains of Manuel L...
in Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
. The re-interment rites were attended by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
and the Quezóns' sole surviving child, Zenaida Quezón-Avanceña.
Legacy
The Manila Provincial Road in that traverses Quezon City to Manila was renamed to Aurora Boulevard in her honor in 1951, and in the same year, Elpidio QuirinoElpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino was a Filipino politician, and the sixth President of the Philippines.A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur from 1919 to 1925. He was then elected as senator from 1925–1931...
created the Aurora sub-province, comprising Baler and surrounding areas in the adjacent Quezon Province. In 1978, Aurora
Aurora province
Aurora is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Baler and borders, clockwise from the south, the provinces of Quezon, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela. To the east of Aurora is the Philippine Sea.Before 1979, Aurora was part of...
became a separate province. Manuel and Aurora Quezón are the only spouses to have respective provinces in the Philippines named after them.
The Concerned Women of the Philippines have named the Aurora Aragon Quezón Peace Awards after Mrs. Quezón.