BRIDGING THE GAP
Vignette on the great Manoling of Capiz
Manuel "Manoling" Roxas was born in the town of Capiz (now Roxas City), Capiz in 1892. He and his elder brother, Mamerto, were the sons of Gerardo Roxas and Rosario Acuña. Rosario was one of the twelve siblings of the prominent Acuña family of Capiz (Meyer, 2003).
Manuel, or Manoling to his family and friends, had his elementary education in the local public school in Capiz. He was recorded as having attended Dr. Peter Lerrigo's Bible study group for young Filipino boys. Dr. Lerrigo was an American missionary who, together with his wife, started the Baptist Mission work in Capiz in August 1903.
Upon graduation from elementary schooling, Manoling went to Hongkong to study for a year and then returned to Manila where he graduated from high school in 1913. After this, he went on to law school there and topped the bar examination when he took it.
From 1913 to 1916, Manoling was a professor at the Philippine Law School in Manila. In 1917, he returned home to Capiz and was immediately elected to the municipal council. By 1919, he was catapulted into the post of provincial governor of his province and served in that capacity for two years.
At the Manila Carnival in 1921, he met Trinidad de Leon of Bulacan who became his wife in 1923. He had two children with Trinidad: Gerardo and Rosario, also known as Ruby. Trinidad prided herself in the fact that she was the only Filipina with three generations of senators in the family: father, husband and son (Meyer, 2003).
Manoling's rise to national prominence in the political arena was nothing but meteoric. From governor, he became a representative, Speaker of the House, member of the advisory Council of State in the administration of Gov. Gen. Francis Harrison, petitioner in Washington for early Philippine independence and for a suitable organic law to embody its features (Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act), key framer of the 1935 Constitution, a senator, secretary of Finance, and the Chairman of the National Economic Council.
Manoling was supportive of the Baptist Mission work in Capiz, especially the medical mission and nurses' training school work. He always visited Capiz whenever he found the opportunity, despite his busy schedules in Manila. He advocated immediate independence for the country, as did all Filipino nationalists, including Senate President Manuel Quezon, the pre-eminent Filipino politician. Manoling was at the forefront of the Filipinos articulating their stand for immediate self-rule. As Speaker of the House of Representatives, he made himself heard. He was re-elected in such a position for another term in 1928.
Because of the heated debate on the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, which Manoling and Serging (Sergio Osmeña) secured from the U.S. Congress, the Filipino political leaders were split into the Pros and the Antis. The Pros, who were in favor of passing the bill, were naturally headed by Osmeña and Roxas (OsRox). Quezon, on the other hand, led the Antis. Because of the controversy, Manoling was ousted by Quezon from the speakership in July 1933 and was replaced by Quintin Paredes. In the end, the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act was junked in favor of the Tydings-McDuffie Act taken by Quezon from Washington. This was the bill that became the Philippine Independence Law.
In the September 1935 elections for the Commonwealth officials, Manoling joined the coalition ticket with Quezon and Osmeña in tandem. Although Manoling and Quezon were not really in good terms, Quezon invited him to join the group for political expediency and for which he accepted. For a while, he remained as member of the Philippine Legislature but, eventually, he accepted the offer of president Quezon for him to serve as Secretary of Finance and, later, as Chairman of the National Economic Council in 1938.
Manoling lived through the tortuous years of the Japanese occupation. After the war, he founded the Liberal Party in May 1946, he won the presidential election over the Nacionalista candidate, Sergio Osmeña. Facing numerous and difficult problems brought by the Second World War and the newly granted Philippine independence from the U.S., Manoling chartered the country's course through the initial challenging years of the Republic. He died prematurely of a heart attack on April 15, 1948 after delivering a speech at Clark Field, Angeles, Pampanga.