Jose P. Laurel

• Puppet government


  One endowed with the outward symbols of authority but in which another power exercises direction and control
• Japan-sponsored Second Republic
• The Philippines Before the Second World War was a Colony / territory of the United States
• The Philippines had a Commonwealth of the Philippines or Philippine Commonwealth or Commonwealth (1935-1945)
• The Tydings-McDuffie Act -the US statute that provided for Philippine Independence to take effect on July 4, 1946, after 10 year transitional period of Commonwealth Government
• The Commonwealth was inaugurated on November 15, 1935
• Manuel L. Quezon was the President
• Sergio Osmeña was the Vice President
• Events on December 8, 1941


  1. President Manuel L. Quezon was informed of the Imperial Japanese Forces' attack on Pearl Harbor at 3am

  2. Japanese aircraft attacked Davao at 6:20am

  3. Baguio, Tuguegarao and Tarlac were simultaneously attacked at 8:30am

  4. Japanese army bombed airfields in Zambales, Clark Field Pampanga, and Fort McKinley
• Japanese planes repeatedly bombed Nichols Field and the Cavite Navy Yard

  
• On December 18, 1941, the Philippine flag was reversed to indicate a state of war
• Events in late December 1941


  1. The Japanese invasion of the Philippines began on December 8

  2. On December 24, the USAFFE high command and the War Cabinet of the Commonwealth withdrew to Corregidor

  3. On December 26, Manila was declared an Open City

  4. The Japanese occupied Manila on January 2, 1942 and the siege of Bataan and Corregidor began
• In January 1942, Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo announced that Japan would grant the Philippines "the honor of independence" if the Philippines cooperated sincerely with the Japanese
• Jose Paciano Laurel y Garcia


  Served as president of the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation during World War II

  Born on January 9, 1891 in Tanauan, Batangas

  Died on November 6, 1959
• Pres. Manuel Quezon and Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered Laurel to remain and do his best to soften the blow of the Japanese occupation
• Laurel received an honorary law degree from Tokyo University
• There is a connection between Presidents Laurel and Marcos - Laurel acquitted Marcos in a 1940 court case
• Events in 1942-1943


  1. The Japanese created the Philippine Executive Commission with Jorge B. Vargas as the head to govern the Philippines

  2. Laurel was appointed as the Commissioner of Justice and later Commissioner of the Interior

  3. In 1943, Tojo visited Manila and declared that Japan would grant the Philippines independence

  4. Japan created a Preparatory Commission for Philippine Independence (PCPI) and Laurel was named president
• Laurel became the target of guerilla fighters/assassination attempts
• In 1943, Laurel was unanimously elected as President of the Second Republic of the Philippines, which was approved by the Japanese
• Laurel denied the Japanese request to declare war against the US, as Filipinos would not accede to the declaration and he was not popular enough to win the people over
• On October 14, 1943, the Philippines was granted independence by the Japanese
• The Japanese military took over most pre-war government-owned and controlled corporations, crippling the economy
• Laurel attempted to introduce solutions to the people's problems, but the Japanese prioritized their own needs
• Laurel did not declare war against the USA but declared a passive "state of war" and announced that there would be no Filipino military conscription
• Laurel and his cabinet were forced to evacuate to Baguio, and later to Japan
• Laurel officially dissolved the republic upon the Japanese surrender to the Allied forces on August 17, 1945
• After the war, Laurel was arrested and charged with 132 treason, but was later pardoned through a general amnesty granted by President Manuel A. Roxas in 1948
• Laurel ran for president in 1949 but lost to Elpidio Quirino, and was elected to the Senate in 1951 and was urged to ran again in 1953 but he declined and work for Ramon Magsaysay
• Laurel retired from public life in 1957 and concentrated on the development of the Lyceum of the Philippines
• Is Laurel a Puppet President?

  The answer cannot be a simple yes or no, as while the government was founded under the control of Japan, there were evident efforts by leaders like Laurel to subvert their control
• On September 20, 1935, Marcos Sr. Father`s political rival Julio Nalundasan was shot to death
• Marcos was accused as gunman on January 11, 1940
• Marcos successfully defended himself in Supreme Court of Justice on October 22, 1940
• January 2, 1942, The Japanese Imperial Forces took over the Philippines
• KALIBAPI or Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas - Semi-political organization created by Japanese to replace all political parties
• Reason why Japan approved to Jose P. Laurel

  1. He served as a Lawyer to Japanese before War
  2. His son studied in the Japanese Military Academy
  3. He has an Honorary Degree from the University of Tokyo
• The Guerilla Movements gained the people`s sympathy and criminal elements posing as guerillas took advantage to the crisis
• He refused to turn over Japanese Military Police Manuel Roxas and Major Jesus Vargas, he then repeatedly protest to the abuses of Japanese
• MAKAPILI or Kalipunang Makabayan ng mga PIlipino - An extra-government pro-japanese armed organization that was used para ipang kalulo ang mga kapwa Pilipino sa mga mananakop