World War II – Nacionalista Party
With all these policies in place, the Commonwealth government was sadly interrupted by the Japanese invasion which begun with a surprise raid at the Amercan Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 (Dce. 8, 1941 in the Philippines). This was followed by the bombing of Clark Airbase in Pampanga, Nichols Airbase in Manila and other major military establishments in the Philippines.
With the vanguard of the Japanese Imperial army rapidly advancing towards Manila, Quezon and his Cabinet, on the advise of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, were evacuated to Corregidor and eventually went into exile in the United States mainland. But before leaving, Quezon reorganized his Cabinet by designating Chief Associate Justice Jose P. Laurel as Acting Chief Justice and concurrent Justice Secretary, and Executive Secretary Jorge Vargas as Mayor of the newly-created local government unit, Greater Manila.
Laurel was to have accompanied Quezon to Corregidor, but, at the last minute, Quezon changed his mind and took along Justice Jose Abad Santos instead. Laurel, at first, refused to be left behind, reasoning that he would rather run to the hills and fight the Japanese. But Quezon was adamant, insisting that someone has to be left behind to deal with the Japanese and mitigate the harshness of the Japanese occupation. To Quezon, that man was Laurel. He then instructed Laurel and Vargas to fully cooperate with the Japanese, saying "Do what they ask you to do, except one thing- do not take oath of allegiance to Japan."
Through the sponsorship of the Japanese authorities, a unicameral assembly was created. Laurel was elected President of the National Assembly during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1943-1945.
Laurel had initially wanted to go in exile with Quezon wary that he would be seen as a collaborator, but the latter insisted he stayed on saying, "someone has to protect the people from the Japanese". Laurel took this mandate seriously as he staked his life to prevent the enemy command from conscripting the Filipino youth into the Japanese Army.
Before his presidency of the puppet government, Laurel was an achiever in many fields, as legislator, jurist, writer and administrator in the pre-war struggle for independence. Politically, he was a Nacionalista. Professionally, he rose from mere Clerk to Secretary of the Interior in 1923, at age 31. He was elected Senator of the Fifth District in 1925 and served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1934, where he was nominated Presiding Officer. In 1936 he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon in 1941.
In his service during the war, Laurel eloquently maintained that: "forced collaboration is not collaboration and voluntary collaboration as a means of national survival should not be taken as treason." After the Liberation, he was again elected Senator, a title he carried until his death in November 6, 1952.
See also
- World War II - Nacionalista Party (This post)
- Going for Independence - Nacionalista Party
- Splits and Reconciliations - Nacionalista Party
- 1907: The First Victory - Nacionalista Party
- The history of the Nacionalista Party
- Nacionalista Party - NP