José Paciano Laurel y García was born on March 9, 1891 in the town of Tanauan, Batangas.

His
parents were Sotero Laurel I and Jacoba García. His father had been an official in the
revolutionary government of Emilio Aguinaldo and a signatory to the 1898 Malolos
Constitution.

While a teen, Laurel was indicted for attempted murder when he almost killed a rival suitor of
the girl he stole a kiss from with a fan knife. While studying and finishing law school, he argued
for and received an acquittal.[1]

Laurel received his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1915,
where he studied under Dean George A. Malcolm, whom he would later succeed on the Supreme
Court. He then obtained a Master of Laws degree from University of Santo Tomas in 1919.
Laurel then attended Yale Law School, where he obtained his J.S.D. degree.

Laurel began his life in public service while a student, as a messenger in the Bureau of Forestry
then as a clerk in the Code Committee tasked with the codification of Philippine laws. During his
work for the Code Committee, he was introduced to its head, Thomas A. Street, a future
Supreme Court Justice who would be a mentor to the young Laurel.[2]

Upon his return from Yale, Laurel was appointed first as Undersecretary of the Interior
Department, then promoted as Secretary of the Interior in 1922. In that post, he would frequently
clash with the American Governor-General Leonard Wood, and eventually, in 1923, resign from
his position together with other Cabinet members in protest of Wood's administration. His
clashes with Wood solidified Laurel's nationalist credentials.

Laurel was a member of the Philippine fraternity Upsilon Sigma Phi.[3]

Senator and Congressman of the Philippines[edit]

In 1925 Laurel was elected to the Philippine Senate. He would serve for one term before losing
his re-election bid in 1931 to Claro M. Recto.[4] He retired to private practice, but by 1934, he
was again elected to public office, this time as a delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention.
Hailed as one of the "Seven Wise Men of the Convention", he would sponsor the provisions on
the Bill of Rights.[4] Following the ratification of the 1935 Constitution and the establishment of
the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Laurel was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court on February 29, 1936.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court[edit]

Laurel's Supreme Court tenure may have been overshadowed by his presidency, yet he remains
one of the most important Supreme Court justices in Philippine history. He authored several
leading cases still analyzed to this day that defined the parameters of the branches of government
as well as their powers.
Angara v. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil. 139 (1936), which is considered as the Philippine
equivalent of Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), is Laurel's most important
contribution to jurisprudence and even the rule of law in the Philippines. In affirming that the
Court had jurisdiction to review the rulings of the Electoral Commission organized under the
National Assembly, the Court, through Justice Laurel's opinion, firmly entrenched the power of
Philippine courts to engage in judicial review of the acts of the other branches of government,
and to interpret the Constitution. Held the Court, through Laurel:

The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the nature,
scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the instrumentality of
the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality
nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation
assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the
Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that
instrument secures and guarantees to them.[5]

Another highly influential decision penned by Laurel was Ang Tibay v. CIR, 69 Phil. 635 (1940).
The Court acknowledged in that case that the substantive and procedural requirements before
proceedings in administrative agencies, such as labor relations courts, were more flexible than
those in judicial proceedings. At the same time, the Court still asserted that the right to due
process of law must be observed, and enumerated the "cardinal primary rights" that must be
respected in administrative proceedings. Since then, these "cardinal primary rights" have stood as
the standard in testing due process claims in administrative cases.

Calalang v. Williams, 70 Phil. 726 (1940) was a seemingly innocuous case involving a challenge
raised by a private citizen to a traffic regulation banning kalesas from Manila streets during
certain afternoon hours. The Court, through Laurel, upheld the regulation as within the police
power of the government. But in rejecting the claim that the regulation was violative of social
justice, Laurel would respond with what would become his most famous aphorism, which is to
this day widely quoted by judges and memorized by Filipino law students:

Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that
justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated. Social
justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption by the Government of
measures calculated to insure economic stability of all the competent elements of society,
through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the
members of the community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally
justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of
all governments on the time-honored principle of salus populi est suprema lex. Social justice,
therefore, must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of interdependence among divers
and diverse units of a society and of the protection that should be equally and evenly extended to
all groups as a combined force in our social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental
and paramount objective of the state of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet of all persons,
and of bringing about "the greatest good to the greatest number.[6]
Presidency[edit]

Presidential styles of
Jose P. Laurel

Reference style His Excellency[7]

Spoken style Your Excellency

Alternative style Mr. President

Main articles: Japanese occupation of the Philippines and Second Philippine Republic

Postage stamps issued by the Japanese-controlled Second Philippine Republic in

commemoration of its first anniversary. Depicted on the stamps is President Laurel

The presidency of Laurel understandably remains one of the most controversial in Philippine
history. After the war, he would be denounced by the pro-American sectors[who?] as a war
collaborator or even a traitor, although his indictment for treason was superseded by President
Roxas' Amnesty Proclamation.[8] However, despite being one of the most infamous figures in
Philippine history, he is also regarded as a Pan-Asianist who supported independence. When
asked if he was pro-American or pro-Japanese, his answer would be pro-Filipino.[citation needed]

Accession[edit]

One of the many propaganda slogans made during the Laurel administration. Tagalog for "One
Banner, One Nation, One Language".
When Japan invaded, President Manuel L. Quezon first fled to Bataan and then to the United
States to establish a government-in-exile. Quezon ordered Laurel, Vargas and other cabinet
members to stay. Laurel's prewar, close relationship with Japanese officials (a son had been sent
to study at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in Tokyo, and Laurel had received an honorary
doctorate from Tokyo University), placed him in a good position to interact with the Japanese
occupation forces.

Laurel was among the Commonwealth officials instructed by the Japanese Imperial Army to
form a provisional government when they invaded and occupied the country. He cooperated with
the Japanese, in contrast to Chief Justice Abad Santos, who was shot for refusing to cooperate.[9]
Because he was well-known to the Japanese as a critic of US rule, as well as having
demonstrated a willingness to serve under the Japanese Military Administration, he held a series
of high posts in 1942–1943. Under vigorous Japanese influence, the National Assembly selected
Laurel to serve as President in 1943.

Domestic policies[edit]

Economy[edit]

During Laurel's tenure as President, hunger was the main worry. Prices of essential commodities
rose to unprecedented heights. The government exerted every effort to increase production and
bring consumers' goods under control. However, Japanese rapacity had the better of it all. On the
other hand, guerrilla activities and Japanese retaliatory measures brought the peace and order
situation to a difficult point. Resorting to district-zoning and domiciliary searches, coupled with
arbitrary arrests, the Japanese made the mission of Laurel's administration incalculably
exasperating and perilous.[10]

Food shortage[edit]

During his presidency, the Philippines faced a crippling food shortage which demanded much of
Laurel's attention.[11] Rice and bread were still available but the sugar supply was gone.[12] Laurel
also resisted Japanese demands that the Philippines issue a formal declaration of war against the
United States. He later was forced to declare war on the USA and Great Britain as long as
Filipinos would not have to fight.

Foreign policies[edit]

Philippine-Japanese Treaty of Alliance[edit]

On October 20, 1943 the Philippine-Japanese Treaty of Alliance was signed by Claro M. Recto,
who was appointed by Laurel as his Foreign Minister, and Japanese Ambassador to Philippines
Sozyo Murata. One redeeming feature was that no conscription was envisioned.[10]

Greater East Asia Conference[edit]

Greater East Asia Conference

Shortly after the inauguration of the Second Philippine Republic, President Laurel, together with
cabinet Ministers Recto and Paredes flew to Tokyo to attend the Greater East Asia Conference
which was an international summit held in Tokyo, Japan from November 5 – 6, 1943, in which
Japan hosted the heads of state of various component members of the Greater East Asia Co-
Prosperity Sphere. The conference was also referred to as the Tokyo Conference.

The Conference addressed few issues of any substance, Eradication of Western Opium Drug
Trade and to illustrate the Empire of Japan's commitments to the Pan-Asianism ideal and to
emphasize its role as the "liberator" of Asia from Western colonialism.[13]

Martial law[edit]

Laurel declared the country under martial law in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29, dated
September 21.[14] Martial law came into effect on September 22, 1944 at 9 am.[citation needed].
Proclamation No. 30 was issued the next day, declaring the existence of a state of war between
the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom. This took effect on September
23, 1944 at 10:00 A.M.[15]

Resistance[edit]

Due to the nature of Laurel's government and its connection to Japan, much of the population
actively resisted his presidency,[16] supporting the exiled Commonwealth government;[17] as can be
expected. However, this did not mean that his government did not have forces against the anti-
Japanese resistance and the ongoing Philippine Commonwealth military.[17]

Assassination attempt[edit]

On June 5, 1943, Laurel was playing golf at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in
Mandaluyong when he was shot around four times with a .45 caliber pistol.[18] The bullets barely
missed his heart and liver.[18] He was rushed by his golfing companions, among them FEU
president Nicanor Reyes Sr., to the Philippine General Hospital where he was operated by the
Chief Military Surgeon of the Japanese Military Administration and Filipino surgeons.[18] Laurel
enjoyed a speedy recovery.

Two suspects to the shooting were reportedly captured and swiftly executed by the Kempetai.[19]
Another suspect, a former boxer named Feliciano Lizardo, was presented for identification by
the Japanese to Laurel at the latter's hospital bed, but Laurel then professed unclear memory.[19]
However, in his 1953 memoirs, Laurel would admit that Lizardo, by then one of his bodyguards
who had pledged to give his life for him, was indeed the would-be-assassin.[19] Still, the historian
Teodoro Agoncillo in his book on the Japanese occupation, identified a captain with a guerilla
unit as the shooter.[19]

Dissolution of the regime[edit]

Laurel (left) being taken into U.S. custody at Osaka Airport in 1945, along with Benigno Aquino
Sr. (center) and José Laurel III.

On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Declaration served upon Japan an ultimatum to surrender or face
utter annihilation. The Japanese government refused the offer. On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima,
with some 300,000 inhabitants, was almost totally destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped from
an American plane. Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war against Japan and invaded
Manchuria.[20] The next day, August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
The Allied Forces' message now had a telling effect: Japan unconditionally surrendered to the
Allied Powers on August 15, 1945.[10]

Since April 1945, President Laurel, together with his family and Cabinet member Camilo Osías,
Speaker Benigno Aquino Sr., Gen. Tomas Capinpin, and Ambassador Jorge B. Vargas, had been
in Japan. Evacuated from Baguio shortly after the city fell, they traveled to Aparri and thence, on
board Japanese planes, had been taken to Japan. Laurel was put in Sugamo prison then was later
transferred to Nara for house arrest. On August 17, 1945, from Nara Hotel in Nara, Japan,
President Laurel issued an Executive Proclamation which declared the dissolution of his
regime.[10]

President Laurel is the only Philippine president who served the three branches of government.
He became a senator-congressman, associate justice and a president of the second republic.

Post-presidency[edit]
1949 presidential election[edit]

On September 2, 1945, the Japanese forces formally surrendered to the United States. Gen.
Douglas MacArthur ordered Laurel arrested for collaborating with the Japanese. In 1946 he was
charged with 132 counts of treason, but he was never brought to trial due to the general amnesty
granted by President Manuel Roxas in 1948.[8] Laurel ran for president against Elpidio Quirino in
1949 but lost in what future Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo and Marvin M. Gray
considered as the dirtiest election in Philippine electoral history.[21]

Return to the senate[edit]

At Malacañan Palace, 1955. Clockwise, from top left: Senator Edmundo Cea, Former President
José P. Laurel Sr., Senator Primicias, Senate President Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr., President
Ramon F. Magsaysay, & House Speaker José B. Laurel Jr.

Laurel garnered the biggest votes and was elected to the Senate in 1951, under the Nacionalista
Party. He was urged to run for President in 1953, but declined, working instead for the successful
election of Ramon Magsaysay. Magsaysay appointed Laurel head of a mission tasked with
negotiating trade and other issues with United States officials, the result being known as the
Laurel–Langley Agreement.

Retirement and death[edit]

Laurel considered his election to the Senate as a vindication of his reputation. He declined to run
for re-election in 1957. He retired from public life, concentrating on the development of the
Lyceum of the Philippines established by his family.

During his retirement, Laurel stayed in a 1957 3-storey, 7-bedroom mansion in Mandaluyong
City, dubbed "Villa Pacencia" after Laurel's wife. The home was one of three residences
constructed by the Laurel family, the other two being in Tanauan, Batangas and in Paco, Manila
(called "Villa Peñafrancia"). In 2008, the Laurel family sold "Villa Pacencia" to Ex-Senate
President Manny Villar and his wife Cynthia.[22]

On November 6, 1959, Laurel died at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, in Manila,[23] from a
massive heart attack and a stroke. He is buried in Tanauan, Batangas.

Honors[edit]
National Honor

 : Philippine Legion of Honor, Chief Commander - (1959)

Personal life[edit]
He married Pacencia Hidalgo on April 9, 1911.[24] The couple had nine children:

 José Laurel Jr. (August 27, 1912 – March 11, 1998), member of the Philippine National
Assembly from Batangas from 1943 to 1944, Congressman from Batangas' Third District
from 1941 to 1957 and from 1961 to 1972, Speaker of the House of Representatives of
the Philippines from 1954 to 1957 and from 1967 to 1971, Assemblyman of Regular
Batasang Pambansa from 1984 to 1986, Member of the Philippine Constitutional
Commission of 1986 from June 2 to October 15, 1986 and a running-mate of Carlos P.
Garcia of the Nacionalista Party in Philippine presidential election of 1957, placed
second in the vice-presidential race against Diosdado Macapagal of Liberal Party
(Philippines)
 José Laurel III (August 27, 1914 – January 6, 2003) ambassador to Japan
 Natividad Laurel (born December 25, 1916)
 Sotero Laurel II (September 27, 1918 – September 16, 2009) Senator of the Philippines
from 1987 to 1992 became Senate President pro tempore from 1990 to 1992
 Mariano Antonio Laurel (January 17, 1922 – August 2, 1979)[25][26]
 Rosenda Pacencia Laurel (born January 9, 1925)
 Potenciana "Nita" Laurel-Yupangco (born May 19, 1926)
 Salvador Laurel (November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004) Senator of the Philippines from
1967 to 1972, Prime Minister of the Philippines from February 25 to March 25, 1986,
Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines from March 25, 1986 to February 2, 1987,
Vice President of the Philippines from February 25, 1986 to June 30, 1992 and a
presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party in Philippine presidential election of 1992
placed seventh in the presidential race against Fidel V. Ramos
 Arsenio Laurel (December 14, 1931 – November 19, 1967) He was the first two-time
winner of the Macau Grand Prix, winning it consecutively in 1962 and 1963.

Descendants[edit]

 Roberto Laurel, grandson, President of Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila and

Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite, son of Sotero Laurel (3rd son of José P.
Laurel)
 Peter Laurel, grandson, President of Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas and
Lyceum of the Philippines University-Laguna
 Carlos "Chuck" Perez Laurel, grandson
 Luis Marcos "Mark" Laurel, grandson, lawyer, son of Sotero Laurel (3rd son of José P.
Laurel)
 Jose Bayani "JB" Laurel Jr., UNIDO Party list, grandson
 José Laurel IV, grandson, representative of the 3rd District of Batangas, son of José B.
Laurel Jr.
 Arsenio Laurel+, grandson, champion race car driver and first two-time winner of the
Macau Grand Prix
 Francis Castillo-Laurel, grandson
 Antonio "Tony" Castillo-Laurel, grandson
  Jose "Joey" C. Laurel V, grandson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Philippine Ambassador to Japan
 Maria Mercedes "Ditas" Laurel-Marquez, granddaughter
 Maria Elena "Marilen" Laurel-Loinaz, granddaughter
 Christine C. Laurel, granddaughter
 Benjamin "Benjie" C. Laurel+, grandson
 Eduardo C. Laurel+, grandson
 Susanna "Susie" D. Laurel-Delgado, granddaughter
 Celine "Lynnie" D. Laurel-Castillo
 Francisco "Cocoy" D. Laurel, actor, singer and the Spain
 Iwi Laurel-Asensio, granddaughter, singer and entrepreneur
 Patty Laurel, granddaughter, TV host and former MTV VJ
 Camille Isabella I. Laurel, UNIDO Party list, great-granddaughter
 Ann Maria Margarette I. Laurel great-grand daughter
 Jose Antonio Miguel I. Laurel, great-grandson
 Franco Laurel, great-grandson, singer and actor
 Rajo Laurel, great-grandson, fashion designer
 Denise Laurel, great-granddaughter, actress and singer
 Nicole Laurel-Asensio, great-granddaughter, lead singer of General Luna band.

See also[edit]
 Laurel Incident

Notes[edit]
1. ^ G.R. No. L-7037, March 15, 1912
2. ^ American Colonial Careerist, p. 104
3. ^ Company, Fookien Times Publishing (1986). The Fookien Times Philippines Yearbook.
Fookien Times. p. 226. ISBN 9789710503506.
4. ^ a b Justices of the Supreme Court, p. 175
5. ^ "G.R. No. L-45081". lawphil.net. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
6. ^ "G.R. No. 47800 December 2, 1940 - MAXIMO CALALANG v. A. D. WILLIAMS".
chanrobles.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
7. ^ "Official Program Aquino Inaugural (Excerpts)". Archived from the original on February 12,
2015.
8. ^ a b "Proclamation No. 51, s. 1948 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the
Philippines. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
9. ^ https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/about/gov/judiciary/sc/cj/jose-abad-santos/the-execution-of-
jose-abad-santos/
10. ^ a b c d Molina, Antonio. The Philippines: Through the centuries. Manila: University of Sto.
Tomas Cooperative, 1961. Prin
11. ^ By Sword and By Fire, p. 137
12. ^ Joaquin, Nick (1990). Manila, My Manila. Vera-Reyes, Inc.
13. ^ Gordon, Andrew (2003). The Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present.
Oxford University Press. p. 211. ISBN 0-19-511060-9. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
 14. ^ "Proclamation No. 29". The Lawphil Project - Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank.
Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
15. ^ "Proclamation No. 30". The Lawphil Project - Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank.
Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
16. ^ "Philippine History". DLSU-Manila. Archived from the original on August 22, 2006. Retrieved
January 27, 2011. Japan's efforts to win Filipino loyalty found expression in the establishment
(Oct. 14, 1943) of a "Philippine Republic", with José P. Laurel, former supreme court justice, as
president. But the people suffered greatly from Japanese brutality, and the puppet government
gained little support.
17. ^ a b Halili, M.c. (2004). Philippine history. Rex Bookstore, Inc. pp. 235–241. ISBN 978-971-23-
3934-9. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
18. ^ a b c Ocampo, Ambeth (2000) [1995]. "The Irony of Tragedy". Bonifacio's Bolo (4th ed.). Pasig
City: Anvil Publishing. p. 60. ISBN 971-27-0418-1.
19. ^ a b c d Ocampo, Ambeth (2000) [1995]. "The Irony of Tragedy". Bonifacio's Bolo (4th ed.). Pasig
City: Anvil Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 971-27-0418-1.
20. ^ Molina, Antonio. The Philippines: Through the centuries. Manila: University of Santo Tomas
Cooperative, 1961. Print.
21. ^ "Elpidio Quirino". Retrieved August 9, 2009.
22. ^ Gerry Lirio (July 13, 2008). "Villars take over storied Laurel house on Shaw Blvd". Philippine
Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
23. ^ Justices of the Supreme Court, p. 176
24. ^ Register of the Jose P. Laurel Papers
25. ^ Mariano Antonio Laurel's Birth Register
26. ^ Mariano Laurel's Death Certificate

Jose P. Laurel also elected as Congressman prior to presidency. Please include in his political
experience.

References[edit]
 Laurel, Jose P. (1953). Bread and Freedom.
 Zaide, Gregorio F. (1984). Philippine History and Government. National Bookstore
Printing Press.
 Sevilla, Victor J. (1985). Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Vol. I. Quezon
City, Philippines: New Day Publishers. pp. 79–80, 174–176. ISBN 971-10-0134-9.
 Malcolm, George A. (1957). American Colonial Careerist. United States of America:
Christopher Publishing House. pp. 103–104, 96–97, 139, 249–251.
 Aluit, Alfonso (1994). By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II
February 3 – March 3, 1945. Philippines: National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
pp. 134–138. ISBN 971-8521-10-0.
 Ocampo, Ambeth (2000) [1995]. "The Irony of Tragedy". Bonifacio's Bolo (4th ed.).
Pasig City: Anvil Publishing. pp. 60–61. ISBN 971-27-0418-1.
 [1]
 President of the Philippines José Paciano Laurel's address, Greater East Asia Conference,
November 5–6, 1943
 José P. Laurel

CCLH

3rd President of the Philippines

In office

October 14, 1943 – August 17, 1945

Prime Minister Jorge B. Vargas

(Ministries involved)

Preceded by Manuel L. Quezon (as President of

government-in-exile)

Succeeded by Sergio Osmeña

Commissioner of the Interior

 In office

December 4, 1942 – October 14, 1943

Presiding Jorge B. Vargas

Officer, PEC

Preceded by Benigno Aquino Sr.

Succeeded by Quintin Paredes

Commissioner of Justice

In office

December 24, 1941 – December 4, 1942

Presiding Jorge B. Vargas

Officer, PEC

Preceded by Teofilo L. Sison

Succeeded by Teofilo L. Sison

Senator of the Philippines

In office

December 30, 1951 – December 30, 1957

34th Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court

In office

February 29, 1936 – February 5, 1942

Preceded by George Malcolm

Succeeded by Court reorganised

 Majority leader of the Senate of the Philippines

In office

1928–1931

Senate President Manuel L. Quezon

Preceded by Francisco Enage

Succeeded by Benigno S. Aquino

Senator of the Philippines from the 5th Senatorial District

In office

1925 – 1931

Served with: Manuel L. Quezon (1925–1931)

Preceded by Antero Soriano

Succeeded by Claro M. Recto

Secretary of the Interior of the Philippines

In office

1922–1923

Personal details

Born José Paciano Laurel García

March 9, 1891
 Tanauan, Batangas, Captaincy General of

the Philippines

Died November 6, 1959 (aged 68)

Manila, Philippines

Resting place Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines

Political party Nacionalista Party (before 1942; 1945–

1959)

Other political KALIBAPI 1942–1945)

affiliations

Pacencia Hidalgo
Spouse(s) (m. 1911; died 1959)

Children José B. Laurel Jr.

José S. Laurel III

Natividad Laurel-Guinto

Sotero Laurel II

Mariano Laurel

Rosenda Laurel-Avanceña

Potenciana Laurel-Yupangco

Salvador Laurel
Arsenio Laurel

Education University of the Philippines, Diliman (LLB)

University of Santo Tomas(LLM)

Yale University (SJD)

Signature
Who is President Jose P. Laurel
The Legend of the Laurel Family
It is said that many years ago, the eldest son of the Sultan of Brunei decided that court life was not for him. He was a
restless young man, a brave warrior with such a fiery temper that he was known as Gat Masungit. Smitten by a
wanderlust and yearning for exciting adventure across the seas, he took courage to beg his father to set him free of
the responsibility of having to succeed him to the throne. The old man was disappointed he saw many admirable
qualities in his son that would have made him a good leader but because he loved him dearly he released him and
reluctantly let him have his way. The young prince then prepared for his journey and took sail heading northwards.
He first came upon an island set among a cluster of other islands and settled there for a while naming the town, Batan.
But, restless as he was he could not remain in one place and so he continued to sail north exploring every bit of land
that he encountered. Finally he came upon a beautiful bay that was fringe by lush green foliage. Exploring further he
discovered a placid lake with an island in its midst. He liked what he saw and decided to settle in this new paradise
which he named Batangan.
Years after he had settled in his new kingdom he bore a son who was named Gat Leynes who in turn bore a son who
was Christianized and was named Miguel de la Cruz.
Miguel was a noble young man who inherited his ancestors’ fiery temper. He was imbued with a keen sense of justice
so that he could not tolerate the injustices heaped upon his people by the Spanish conquerors. Reaching a breaking
point he took to the hills and became a notorious outlaw who would take up the cudgels of the poor and the abused–
who would punish their tormentors as he righted their wrongs.
Endless streams of people would follow him wherever he went to ask him to help them seek justice and he was always
ready to champion them. Then as the years passed he decided to live a more peaceful life – to be with his wife and
children – away from the conflicts that had become his daily fare. But he could not leave the scene, for as long as there
were injustices the people would seek Miguel de la Cruz to save them.
One day, weary of his way of life, he pondered with his wife on how to get away from it all. His wife suggested, “Why
not ask the priest, he might be able to help.” “What?” roared the descendant of Gat Masungit. “How can a man in skirts
help me?” But his wife gently urged him to try since there seemed no other way out. So one moonless night, Miguel
silently went to see the parish priest of Taal. He poured out the tale of his violent past. The priest listened quietly but
intently. Miguel was surprised that the priest was not shocked.
After he had finished he asked the priest for a solution. The priest smiled calmly and said, “The people look for a Miguel
de la Cruz to champion their cause – but what if Miguel de la Cruz should suddenly disappear? What if he ceases to
be?” Miguel was puzzled, “How are we going to do that?” The priest continued, “Why not change your name and move
on to another place?” Miguel caught on, “What name shall I take, Padre?” he asked eagerly. The priest paused for a
while, then tapping him on the shoulder he said, “Why not Laurel? It means honor – henceforth live a life of honor,
Miguel Laurel!”
So that is how the first Laurel came to be. And that was when the legacy of honor was born.
Dr. Jose P. Laurel, A Great Man
Born of notable but humble parents in Tanauan, Batangas on March 9, 1891, Dr. Jose Paciano Laurel y Garcia grew
up in the midst of great nationalist struggles–first, the revolution against Spain; then, the war of independence against
the United States.
Four provincemates became famous for their roles in the Propaganda Movement and later as diplomats in Emilio
Aguinaldo’s First Philippine Republic– Felipe Agoncillo in Europe, Galicano Apacible in Hongkong, Sixto Lopez in
America, and Apolinario Mabini in the Philippines. His own father, Sotero Laurel, was a distinguished ilustrado, [and] a
lawyer who became delegate to the Malolos [Congress ...]. The Laurel clan in general was in the thick of the Fil-
American War where the valor and patriotism of the Batangueños were proven by their famous protracted resistance
led by General Miguel Malvar.
Jose P. Laurel’s own nationalism, in his political and professional life, no doubt developed from those early childhood
memories of heroism and sacrifice.
The Collaboration/Puppet Government Issue
The presidency of Dr. Jose P. Laurel remains to be one of the most controversial issues in Philippine history.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 8, 1941, Dr. Laurel was ordered to remain in Manila by President
Manuel L. Quezon, who fled to Corregidor and then to the United States to establish a Commonwealth government in
exile. Dr. Laurel was appointed Secretary of Justice and was replaced by Jose Abad Santos in the Supreme Court.
The Japanese Imperial Forces took over the country on January 2, 1942. Three weeks later, they created the Philippine
Executive Commission to govern the Philippines. They chose Jorge B. Vargas, former mayor of Manila and a member
of Quezon’s cabinet, to head it. They made Laurel Commissioner of Justice and later Commissioner of the Interior.
His pre-war close relationship with Japanese officials (one of his sons studied at the Imperial Military Academy in Tokyo
and Dr. Laurel received an honorary doctorate from Tokyo University), placed him in a good position to interact with
the Japanese occupation forces.
On September 25, 1943, the National Assembly made the decision to elect Dr. Laurel president and Benigno Aquino
Sr. speaker. A week later, Dr. Laurel flew to Tokyo together with Benigno Aquino Sr. and Jorge Vargas to be awarded
by the Emperor of Japan and to be informed by Premier Hideki Tojo of the guidelines of Philippine Independence.
The Japanese wanted Dr. Laurel to declare war against the United States and Great Britain. As the Allied forces led by
General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied Powers, came closer to the Philippines in the campaign to
liberate our archipelago, the Japanese became more insistent on having Dr. Laurel issue a declaration of war.
Dr. Laurel stood his ground but after the first American air raid on Manila occurred, the Japanese gave Dr. Laurel an
ultimatum, threatening to kill as many Filipinos if he did not agree. Dr. Laurel consulted Manuel Roxas and other Filipino
leaders before issuing a proclamation that the Philippine Republic was in a state of war against the United States and
Great Britain. But he made it very clear in the proclamation that the Japanese government would never conscript
Filipinos into the Japanese military.
In October 14, 1943, the Japanese-sponsored Republic was inaugurated and it became an instrument of defense and
a mighty fortress in the hands of President Laurel. He had all the Japanese guards and Japanese advisers ousted from
Malacañang and asserted his right to the custody of Manuel Roxas, saying that they must first dispose of him before
they could lay their hands on Roxas.
As the end of Japanese rule in the Philippines came near, the Japanese ordered Dr. Laurel and other Filipino high
government officials to leave Manila for Baguio with their families. They were then brought to Japan as hostages. Dr.
Laurel and other top officials of the Second Republic were in Nara when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on
August 15, 1945.
Two days later, Dr. Laurel dissolved the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic so that the government in Manila
could be recognized. On September 14, he cabled General MacArthur and told him his whereabouts. The next day,
officers were sent to arrest Dr. Laurel, ex-Speaker Aquino and Jose B. Laurel III.
On September 15, 1945, Dr. Laurel was imprisoned in Japan. He was not allowed to have any reading material except
The World in 2030 A.D., a book by the Earl of Birkenhead given to him as a gift by his son, Salvador. Deprived of writing
instruments, Dr. Laurel used this book to surreptitiously write his War Memoirs.
In Manila, Dr. Laurel, charged with collaboration, had to face the People’s Court. His trial and those of the other accused
Filipinos dragged on. When Manuel Roxas was elected president of the Third Philippine Republic, he issued a
proclamation on January 28, 1948 granting amnesty to political and economic collaborationists. Hence, Dr. Jose P.
Laurel, Claro M. Recto, Camilo Osias, Jorge B. Vargas and many others regained their freedom.
In the years after his release Dr. Laurel was still suspected of being a collaborationist. Those who disliked him, including
Americans displeased by his stand against the parity-amendment in the Philippine Constitution (granting Americans
the same economic rights as Filipinos), used the media to calumniate him.
Most likely the result of the anti-Laurel campaign as well as of massive cheating, Dr. Laurel lost when he ran for
presidency under the Nacionalista Party against Elpidio Quirino of the Liberal Party in the 1949 elections.
Dr. Laurel continued being a senator until 1957 when he retired from political life and concentrated on being an
educator.

Jose P. Laurel: Biographical Sketch

Among Filipino leaders who dominated the national stage during the first six decades of the 20th century, the one who
most deserves the title of philosopher of democracy and economic nationalism is the late Dr. Jose P. Laurel. Many
Filipinos in those eventful decades spoke and wrote of democracy as well as of economic nationalism, in the political,
academic and educational fields, with competence and sometimes brilliance, but none presented or committed to print
a whole body of ideas, beliefs, and convictions on these two great issues of the world of the 20th century better or more
comprehensively than the Sage of Tanauan whose name literally became a by-word in Philippine politics, education,
and economics in the years following the establishment of Philippine Independence.
More than any of his contemporaries, Dr. Laurel understood clearly the problem that democracy must need to face in
a Philippines that was for the first time politically sovereign since the Filipinos’ brief experience with this form of
government and political faith in 1898 to 1899. More than any of his contemporaries, Dr. Laurel also understood sharply
the role of economic and cultural nationalism in the building of a democratic society in a developing country which is
heir to all the defects and weaknesses caused by long centuries of domination by Western powers.
Who was Jose P. Laurel? Whence came his keen understanding of the many-sided problems of the Filipino nation in
the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres?
Jose Paciano Laurel–the Paciano was in honor of Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s elder brother who became a general in the
Revolution of 1896– born in Tanauan, Batangas on March 9, 1891. His father was Don Sotero Laurel and his mother
was Doña Jacoba Garcia, both of Tanauan. Don Sotero himself a revolutionary, having served as Secretary of the
Interior in the Revolutionary Cabinet of General Emilio Aguinaldo, and was a signatory of the Malolos Constitution.
Taken prisoner during the Filipino-American War, Don Sotero died while in concentration in 1902, when Jose Paciano
was only 11 years old.
Young Jose, industrious and energetic though a town pillo since his youngest years, worked part-time as a chorister
and altar boy, in order to earn some pocket money. When he was 18, and a third year student in high school, he got a
job as temporary clerk and part-time laborer in the Bureau of Forestry with a wage of 40 centavos for half a day. A year
later, he was promoted to a clerk-ship in the Code Committee. Here he met an American who was to influence his
thinking and early career–the able and noble-minded Thomas Atkins Street, who later became a member of the
Supreme Court of the Philippines.
After finishing high school in 1911, the adventurous youth assumed two heavy responsibilities. He took a wife, eloping
with a pretty Tanauan belle, Paciencia Hidalgo, and at the same time enrolled in the College of Law of the University
of the Philippines. These responsibilities did not prevent him from graduating the second in his class of 60 and from
coming out as the second notcher in the 1915 Bar Examinations.
In 1919, while holding the position of Chief of the Administration Division of the Executive Bureau, he obtained the
degree of Licenciado en Jurisprudencia from the Escuela de Derecho in Manila. In the same year he was sent as a
government pensionado to Yale University where he obtained the degree of Civil Law in 1920. He was admitted to the
Bar by the Supreme Court of the United States and the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia the same year.
Before returning to the Philippines in 1921, he traveled extensively throughout the United States and took special
courses in International Law at Oxford University in England and at the University of Paris in France. With such
academic distinctions, rare in those days among Filipinos, Dr. Laurel was upon his return appointed Chief of the
Executive Bureau. In 1922, Dr. Laurel was promoted to Undersecretary of the Interior and ten months later was made
full Secretary by Governor-General Leonard Wood. It was while serving as Secretary of the Interior that he first showed
his nationalism by upholding the dignity of the Filipino in the celebrated Conley Case and the Cabinet Crisis of 1923.
After resigning from the Cabinet, Laurel opened a law office, taught in various law schools in Manila, and began his
long career as a publicist in the course of which he was to write something like 50 books and treatises covering a wide
variety of subjects. In 1924 he was elected Senator of the Fifth District and became Majority Floor Leader. In the
Constitutional Convention of 1934 to 1935, Laurel was elected as a delegate of Batangas. He headed the committee
on the Bill of Rights and aside from that was named a member of the Committee of Seven which was given the task of
hammering into shape the final draft of the Constitution.
President Quezon later appointed Laurel to the Supreme Court and Tanauan’s distinguished lawyer soon was attracting
wide attention for his humanistic interpretation of law, his erudite dissenting opinions, and his philosophical definition
of Social Justice.
Justice Laurel was shifted by President Quezon once more; this time to the Cabinet as Secretary of Justice. He was
holding this position when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941 and the Man of Destiny from Tanauan
was hurled into the vortex of a world struggle.
Laurel, easily the most astute, circumspect, and courageous among men around President Quezon when the Pacific
War broke out and the Philippines was invaded by Japan, was left to match wits with the Japanese and to do all he
could to minimize the rigors of an enemy occupation. For Dr. Laurel’s role during the enemy occupation, he was
awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor, Degree of Commander, thus symbolizing the official attitude and evaluation
of the government itself with respect to his difficult role during the Japanese Occupation.
But even before that, Laurel had already been amply vindicated by the people themselves in three national elections,
in 1949, 1951, and 1953 when the voters of the Philippines endorsed enthusiastically the noble and courageous acts
and decisions of the Filipino leader who steered the nation safely, and with self-abnegation, during more than three
difficult years.
In 1952, Laurel together with a number of his colleagues, founded the Lyceum of the Philippines of which he was the
first president. When he decided to retire from public office in 1957 upon expiration of his term in the Senate, he devoted
his time to the Lyceum of the Philippines and the Philippine Banking Corporation which he organized in 1957. He was
concurrently president and chairman of the Board of the Lyceum of the Philippines and the Philippine Banking
Corporation when he died on November 6, 1959.
In recognition of his distinguished performance in the public service Laurel was conferred various awards and
distinctions by different sectors both here and abroad. Among these are Medallion, Knight Commander–Grand Cross
of the Knights of Rizal; Medal, Kapulungan Sa Wika, Lions International; Distinguished Service Award, Philippine
Association of School Superintendents; Tribute of Honor, Courageous Champion of Justice from the Philippine
Association of Doctors of Civil Law; Man of the Year, 1953, Philippines Free Press. Among awards and distinctions
from abroad conferred him are: Medallion, Instituto de Cultura Hispanica, Miembro de Honor; Medallion, A La Lealtad
Agrisolada, Isabela La Catolica; Medallion, King Frederic IX of Denmark; 2 Medallions, First Class Order of the Rising
Sun.
– Adapted from the article “Jose Paciano Laurel: Philosopher of Democracy and Nationalism” by Dean Jose A. Lansang
and Prof. Franklin A. Morales.

About the Death of Dr. JPL

In the afternoon of November 5, 1959, Dr. Laurel fainted at around 1:30 p.m., on this date as he had just come out of
the Philippine Banking Corporation Building at Escolta, Manila. He was then rushed to the Lourdes Hospital in
Mandaluyong where he eventually died due to cerebral hemorrhage at around 1:00 in the morning of November 6,
1959. On a Sunday, November 9, 1959, simple ceremonies marked the funeral of Dr. Jose P. Laurel at the family lot in
the cemetery of his native town of Tanauan, Batangas.