Philippine presidential election, 1946

Philippine presidential election, 1946

April 23, 1946

Nominee Manuel Roxas Sergio Osmeña Party Nacionalista (Liberal wing) Nacionalista Running mate Elpidio Quirino Eulogio Rodriguez Popular vote 1,333,392 1,129,996 Percentage 53.94% 45.71%

President before election Sergio Osmeña Nacionalista Elected President Manuel Roxas Nacionalista (Liberal wing)

The Elections for the President, Vice-President, Members of the Senate, Members of the House of Representatives and Local Positions held on 23 April 1946 (pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 725).

Background

Soon after the reconstitution of the Commonwealth Government in 1945 Senators Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino and their allies called for the holding on an early national election to choose the president and vice president of the Philippines and members of the Congress. In December, 1945 the House Insular Affairs Committee of the United States Congress approved the joint resolution setting the election date at not later than April 30, 1946.

Prompted by this congressional action, President Sergio Osmeña called the Philippine Congress to a three-day special session. Congress enacted Commonwealth Act No. 725, setting the election on April 23, 1946, and was approved by President Osmeña on January 5, 1946.

Candidates

Three parties presented their respective candidates for the different national elective positions. These were the Nacionalista Party, Conservative (Osmeña) Wing, the Liberal Wing of the Nacionalista Party, and the Partido Modernista. The Nacionalistas had Osmeña and Senator Eulogio Rodriguez as their candidates for president and vice president, respectively. The Modernistas chose Hilario Camino Moncado and Luis Salvador for the same positions. On the other hand, the standard bearers of the Liberals were Senators Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino.

On January 3, 1946, President Osmeña announced his candidacy for President. On January 22, 1946, Eulogio Rodriguez was nominated as Osmeña's running mate for Vice President, in a convention held at Ciro's Club in Manila. According to the Manila Chronicle:

The convention opened at 10:15 in the morning when the acting secretary of the party, Vicente Farmoso, called the confab to order.

Congressman Jose C. Romero, who delivered the keynote speech accused Senate President Manuel Roxas and his followers of fanning the flames of discontent among the people, of capitalizing on the people's hardship, and of minimizing the accomplishment of the [Osmeña] Administration. These men with the Messiah complex have been the bane of the country and of the world. This is the mentality that produces Hitlers and Mussolinis, and in their desire to climb to power they even want to destroy the party which placed them where they are today.

Senator Carlos P. Garcia, who delivered the nomination speech for President Sergio Osmeña, made a long recital of Osmeña's achievements, his virtues as public official and as private citizen.

Entering the convention hall at about 7:30 p.m, President Osmeña, accompanied by the committee on notification, was greeted with rounds of cheer and applause as he ascended the platform. President Osmeña delivered his speech which was a general outline of his future plans once elected. He emphasized that as far as his party is concerned, independence is a close issue. It is definitely coming on July 4, 1946^[1]

On January 19, 1946, Senator Roxas announced his candidacy for President in a convention held in Santa Ana Cabaret in Manila. According to Manila Chronicle:

...more than three thousand (by conservative estimate there were only 1,000 plus) delegates, party members and hero worshipers jammed into suburban, well known Santa Ana Cabaret (biggest in the world) to acclaim ex-katipunero and Bagong Katipunan organizer Manuel Acuña Roxas as the guidon bearer of the Nacionalista Party's Liberal Wing.

The delegates, who came from all over the Islands, met in formal convention from 10:50 am and did not break up till about 5:30 pm.

They elected 1. Mariano J. Cuenco, professional Osmeñaphobe, as temporary chairman; 2. Jose Avelino and ex-pharmacist Antonio Zacarias permanent chairman and secretary, respectively; 3. nominated forty-four candidates for senators; 4. heard the generalissimo himself deliver an oratorical masterpiece consisting of 50 per cent attacks against the (Osmeña) Administration, 50 per cent promises, pledges. Rabid Roxasites greeted the Roxas acceptance speech with hysterical applause.^[2]

President Osmeña tried to prevent the split in the Nacionalista Party by offering Senator Roxas the position of Philippine Regent Commissioner to the United States but the latter turned down the offer.

As a result of the split among the members of the Nacionalista Party, owing to marked differenced of opinion on certain vital issues of which no settlement had been reached, a new political organization was born and named the Liberal Wing of the Nacionalista Party, which would later become the Liberal Party.

Results

The election was generally peaceful and orderly except in some places where passions ran high, especially in the province of Pampanga. According to the "controversial" decision of the Electoral Tribunal of the House of Representatives on Meliton Soliman vs. Luis Taruc, Pampanga was under the terroristic clutches and control of the Hukbalahaps. So terrorized were the people of Arayat, at one time, 200 persons abandoned their homes, their work, and their food, all their belongings in a mass evacuation to the poblacion due to fear and terror.

A total of 2,218,847 voters went to the polls to elect their President and Vice President who was to be the Commonwealth's last and the Republic's first. Interestingly enough, President Osmena chose not to actively campaign, saying the Filipinos were aware of his record of 40 years of loyal service to the country.

Four days after election day, the Liberal candidates were proclaimed victors. Roxas registered a majority of votes in 34 provinces and nine cities: Abra, Agusan, Albay, Antique, Bataan, Batanes, Batangas, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Cavite, Cotabato, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Laguna, La Union, Leyte, Marinduque, Mindoro, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Pangasinan, Rizal, Romblon, Samar, Sorsogon, Sulu, Surigao, Tayabas, Zambales, Manila, Quezon City, Bacolod City (Negros Occidental), Iloilo City (Iloilo), Baguio City (Mountain Province), Zamboanga City (Zamboanga), Tagaytay City (Cavite), Cavite City (Cavite) and San Pablo City (Laguna)

Likewise, the Liberal Party won nine out of 16 contested senatorial seats.

In the House of Representatives, the Liberals achieved a majority with 50 seats won while the Nacionalistas and the Democratic Alliance were only victorious in 33 and six seats, respectively.

President

Final Official Congressional Canvass

 Summary of the April 23, 1946 Philippine presidential election results

Candidates		Parties	Votes	%
	Manuel Roxas	Liberal wing of the Nacionalista Party (Liberal wing of the Nationalist Party)	1,333,392	53.94%
	Sergio Osmeña	Nacionalista Party (Nationalist Party)	1,129,996	45.71%
	Hilario Moncado	Modernist Party	8,538	0.35%
Total			2,471,926	100%
Valid votes			2,471,926	85.3%
Invalid votes			125,342	4.3%
Votes cast			2,596,880	89.6%
Registered voters			2,898,604

Presidential Canvass (by Province)

Province	Moncado (Partido Modernista)	Osmeña Nacionalista Party (Conservative Wing)	Roxas Nacionalista Party (Liberal Party)
Abra	18	3,813	6,750
Agusan (now Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur	26	9,219	9,357
Albay	13	24,344	25,940
Antique	19	12,952	18,271
Bataan	4	8,309	9,468
Batanes	20	705	1,326
Batangas
Bohol	308	40,258	30,592
Bukidnon	150	92,451	3,011
Bulacan	38	38,549	39,799
Cagayan	365	25,605	15,514
Camarines Norte	4	5,482	10,471
Camarines Sur	21	24,214	33,267
Capiz (including Aklan^2	14	18,161	41,844
Catanduanes	4	8,698	5,477
Cavite^3	19	11,196	38,111
Cebu^4	792	98,700	53,848
Cotabato ^5	66	16,490	17,826
Davao ^6	1,536	19,229	11,896
Ilocos Norte	243	12,097	25,464
Ilocos Sur	34	16,530	30,322
Iloilo	25	43,522	79,136
Isabela	437	9,220	17,431
Laguna	26	22,246	36,527
Lanao ^7	991	37,101	17,212
La Union	157	14,844	22,444

^2 Aklan only became a province on November 8, 1956, by virtue of Republic Act No. 1414.

^3 Including the cities of Tagaytay and Cavite.

^4 Including Cebu City. In Cebu City, Sergio Osmeña got 15,569 votes while Roxas only got 8,759 votes.

^5 The present-day provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and Sultan Kudarat were part of the then province of Cotabato.

^6 The then province of Lanao was divided in 1959 into two provinces: Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

Vice-President

Final Official Congressional Canvass

 Summary of the April 23, 1946 Philippine vice presidential election results

Candidate	Party		Results
			Votes	%
Elpidio Quirino		Nacionalista (Liberal wing)	1,161,725	52.36%
Eulogio Rodriguez		Nacionalista	1,051,243	47.38%
Luis Salvador		Modernist	5,879	0.26%
Valid votes			2,218,847	85.4%
Invalid votes			378,033	14.6%
Votes cast			2,596,880	95.2%
Registered voters			2,898,604	100.0%

Vice Presidential Canvass (by Province)

Province	Quirino Nacionalista Party (Liberal Party)	Rodriguez Nacionalista Party (Conservative Wing)	Salvador Partido Modernista
Abra	6,894	3,092	7
Agusan	8,540	8,131	11
Albay	23,445	21,696	12
Antique	16,749	12,026	55
Bataan	6,424	8,245	17
Batanes	1,466	221	6
Batangas	32,185	22,195	111
Bohol	26,290	34,296	167
Bukidnon	2,899	2,138	99
Bulacan	29,277	38,881	50
Cagayan	21,826	17,226	238
Camarines Norte	10,013	4,894	4
Camarines Sur	31,282	23,052	24
Capiz	36,845	17,494	11
Catanduanes	5,164	8,645	4
Cavite	22,688	17,882	28
Cebu	50,495	92,253	524
Cotabato	17,366	11,718	68
Davao	12,015	17,629	1,090
Ilocos Norte	26,727	9,672	109
Ilocos Sur	36,158	9,460	12
Iloilo	68,520	40,343	42
Isabela	19,800	5,786	208
Laguna	17,724	30,552	26
Lanao	12,638	26,787	594
La Union	29,126	6,860	104
Leyte	55,873	43,776	139
Manila	67,228	43,197	139
Marinduque	6,405	4,181	27
Masbate	8,378	10,006	32
Mindoro	12,370	7,423	7
Misamis Occidental	8,835	15,046	334
Misamis Oriental	12,245	10,172	132
Mountain Province (including Baguio City)	11,340	6,530	221
Negros Occidental	56,527	47,011	63
Negros Oriental	11,869	23,000	63
Nueva Ecija	27,949	38,690	46
Nueva Vizcaya	7,095	3,486	21
Palawan	6,291	4,691	7
Pampanga	9,291	64,556	119
Pangasinan	84,775	56,806	45
Tayabas	39,338	15,966	35
Rizal	35,512	54,896	50
Romblon	7,482	3,060	24
Samar	34,920	124,586	140
Sorsogon	19,445	15,980	10
Sulu	5,953	7,640	5
Surigao	13,800	11,768	56
Tarlac	17,523	22,813	50
Zambales	15,370	4,298	39
Zamboanga	13,317	18,426	433
Culion Leper Colony	100	329	1

See also

• Commission on Elections
• Politics of the Philippines
• Philippine elections
• President of the Philippines
• 1st Congress of the Philippines

References

1. Celso G. Cabrera. "Rodriguez is Nominated as Osmeña's Running-Mate," Manila Chronicle, January 22, 1946, p. 2
2. "Conventions Climax Hectic Week," Manila Chronicle This week, January 27, 1946, p. 3

External links

• The Philippine Presidency Project
• Official website of the Commission on Elections