History of Pa Polo aficionados also came to Pasay as they formed the Manila Polo Club in 1909 through the efforts of Governor General Cameron William Forbes who donated the vast track of land which included the present site of the Cuneta Astrodome. When a big fire burnt the Manila Polo Club, it was transferred to its present home in Forbes Park in Makati. During this era of American influence, a highly notable Filipino lived in Pasay— Philippine Commonwealth President Don Manuel Luis Quezon Antonio y Molina. President Quezon was an educated man who despite his favored circumstances joined the revolution against Spain, under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. He also fought the Americans but, seeing Aguinaldo in captivity, made him accept his defeat. Despite his anger with the United States, he later met some good Americans who proved that they were not like the Spaniards. He recalibrated his life, continued his studies, joined politics, and later emerged as the country’s first commonwealth president who implemented impressive policies, including making Tagalog as the basis of the Philippine’s national language.
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In 1909, Manuel L. Quezon, the rising politician, became a Resident Commissioner that made him a member of the U.S. Congress but without voting privilege. He served for eight years.
In 1913, upon the lobbying of Quezon in the United States, Congressman Francis Burton Harrison of New York became Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. Governor General F.B. Harrison turned out to be the most benevolent of all men sent to the Philippine Islands. Eventually, Filipinos were given the majority in the upper Chamber of the Philippine Congress.
In 1916, the U.S. Congress passed the Jones Act that eventually gave the country an autonomous government and the Philippine legislature, the Senate and House of Representatives, all composed of Filipinos. Quezon returned home to Pasay with the Jones Act as his trophy. He ran for the first truly national election in the same year and won as Senator and eventually became Senate President while Sergio Osmena became Speaker of the House. In 1918, Quezon built a home on a 3,750 square lot on No. 235 Robert Street in Pasay where he lived with his wife Aurora Aragon and their four children.
The Story of Pasay
(FROM TOP TO BOTTOM) 1. The vast grounds of the original Manila Polo Club in Pasay; President Quezon’s residence at No. 235 Robert Street Photos courtesy of Eugenio Lopez Museum; Malibay Barrio School in 1907. Photo courtesy of Pasay City PIO