The recent New Year coincided with the 132 nd birth anniversary of President Manuel Acuña Roxas.
From the humble streets of Capiz (now Roxas City), “Manoling”—as he was fondly called—rose to
become the president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the third Philippine Republic.
In 1913, Manoling topped the bar exam after obtaining his law degree from the University of the
Philippines (UP).
As diplomat Marcial Lichauco would put it, Manoling held important positions in the government than
any other Filipino had ever held before him.
Prior to being the country’s President, Manoling also served as the governor of the Province of Capiz and
as a speaker of the House of Representatives for 12 consecutive years.
Manoling was a member of the Constitutional Convention; secretary of finance, chairman of the
National Economic Council, brigadier general in the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE);
and president of the Senate.
Manoling briefly served as the third and the last president of the Commonwealth from May 28, 1946 to
July 4, 1946.
Manoling then served as the first President of the independent Third Philippine Republic until he
succumbed to a heart attack on April 15, 1948 at Clark Air Base in Pampanga.
Manoling was born on January 1, 1892 to Gerardo Roxas and Rosario Acuña-Roxas. He was a younger
sibling to Mamerto Roxas. He was married to Trinidad de Leon in 1921 and had two children.
Indeed, Manoling was a “soldier, statesman, a patriot, a friend of the common man, champion of
democracy, architect and builder of the nation.”
Every 15th of April of every year, Capiz commemorates his death anniversary. This coincides with the
annual celebration of the Capiztahan.
At present, the president’s ancestral house still stands along Rizal Street in Roxas City.
A monument of him also stands at the Roxas City Plaza, which was erected in his honor while some of
their family heirlooms and memorabilia are housed at Ang Panublion Museum.
A 1940 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 used by President Manuel Roxas is also currently displayed at the
Presidential Car Museum (Museo ng Pampangulong Sasakyan) in Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon
City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
