Ilocos Sur: An Illustrated History

Elpidio Rivera Quirino A native of Vigan, Elpidio Quirino was the son of Mariano Quirino, a former sergeant of the Spanish army and warden of the Vigan provincial jail, and Gregoria Mendoza Rivera of Agoo, La Union.

In his early years, Quirino attended the Aringay Elementary School in La Union. He obtained his high school education from La Union High School and Ilocos High School.

He enrolled at the College of Law of the University of the Philippines and graduated in 1915, passing the bar the same year.

Quirino became the private secretary of Manuel Quezon who was then Senate President. Later, he accompanied Quezon to the United States when the latter met with President Woodrow Wilson and offered the services of the Filipino militia in the war against Germany.

In 1919, Quirino became a representative of the first district of Ilocos Sur. In 1925, he was elected to the Senate and was the chairperson of the Special Joint Committee on Taxation.

He accompanied Quezon to the United States in 1933 to secure the passage of an independence bill, the Tydings-McDuffie Law, which the Philippine Legislature approved on May 1, 1934. In the same year, Quirino became a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, representing Ilocos Sur. When the Commonwealth government was inaugurated in 1935, Quezon appointed Quirino as Secretary of Interior and Finance. Quirino resigned from the position later to run for a seat in the National Assembly.

Elected senator on November 11, 1941, Quirino was unable to assume the position because of the outbreak of World War II. His active support for the guerilla movement led to his incarceration in Fort Santiago.

Upon the inauguration of the Philippine Republic in 1946 with Manuel Roxas as president, Quirino was elected as his vice president. President Roxas initially gave the secretary of finance portfolio to Quirino, who was later appointed secretary of foreign affairs.

With the death of President Roxas on April 15, 1948, Quirino became president, serving the late president’s unexpired term. He was elected President of the Philippines 216 Ilocos Sur: An Illustrated History