When the Quezon Memorial Park was inaugurated in 1978, at the 100th Birth Anniversary of President Manuel Luis Molina Quezón (1878-1944), part of the festivities was the opening of the Museo ni Manuel Quezón at the base of the memorial. Opened on the 18th of August, the museum featured memorabilia donated by the Quezón family, and in the center is the body of the president, which was transferred from the Manila North Cemetery on the 19th of August, 1978.
Years later, the Presidential Museum was renovated by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and CityNeon (est. 1997) and was reopened on the 19th of August 2015, featuring an audio-visual rooms that presents a short documentary on the life of Pres. Quezón and the creation of the museum, interactive displays, and a hologram of Quezón delivering his inaugural speech as president of the new Philippine Commonwealth government.
The tour of the Museo ni Manuel Quezón starts with the watching of the short documentary on the life of the president, then moves on to an infographic timeline of Pres. Quezón’s life and accomplishments.
There is a replica of Pres. Quezón’s room in the Malinta Tunnel in the fortress island of Corregidor, where Pres. Quezón moved his cabinet and their families on the 24th of December 1941, onboard the SS Mayon. Before that, Quezón declared Manila an “Open City” in the middle of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. At the Malinta Tunnel, Quezón and Sergio Osmeña Sr. (1878-1961) took their oaths as the president and vice-president of the Philippine Commonwealth government on the 30th of December. Pres. Quezón and his cabinet would stay holed up in Corregidor until their escape on the 20th of February 1942. They boarded the USS Sargo-class SS-193 Swordfish submarine to Mindanao, then Australia, before finally arriving in America on the 12th of March 1942. Corregidor would later fall to the Japanese forces on the 6th of May 1942.
Aside from the infographics and videos, there are many personal items that belonged to Pres. Quezón, and here are some interesting artifacts:
Manuel Quezón first took his Bachelor of the Arts at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, before completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Santo Tomás (UST) in 1894. After graduating, Quezón immediately took his law studies at the UST from 1894 to 1898, but stopped to join the Philippine Revolution, where he rose to the rank of major and worked as the aide-de-camp of President Emilio Famy Aguinaldo (1869-1964), during the Philippine American War (1899-1902). After the war, Quezón would complete his law degree from 1902 to 1903, and ranked as 4th in the 1903 bar examinations.
As a soldier, Quezón was familiar with different weapons, and these were some of the firearms in his collection: a 1895 Winchester caliber 405 center fire hunting rifle (serial number 79418), a 1913-1914 Parker Brothers double barrel 16 gauge shotgun (serial number 167904), a 1937 Fábrica Nacional de Armas México 30 caliber Medoza Model C automatic rifle (serial number 2664), and a 1938 Fábrica Nacional de Armas México 30 caliber model 1934 carbine (serial number 22196).
Another interesting weapon is the Moro Lantaka (native cannon), which Pres. Quezón had picked up from his many visits to the island of Mindanao.
Chief-of-StaffAside from guns, Quezón also collected many hats, including several “salakot” or native hats, which he would often wear during his sorties in the provinces.
There is a 1916 obelisk plaque of the Freemason Nilad Lodge 144 honoring Quezón for his work as the Resident Commissioner in Washington, D. C. from 1909 to 1916. The plaque was awarded to Quezón on the 23rd September, just a few days before he would win the 5th District senatorial seat on the 3rd of October 1916. As Resident Commissioner, Quezón would pressure Congressman William Atkinson Jones (1849-1918) to write and enact the 39 Statute 545 (Public Law 64-240) of 1916, which would pave the way for Philippine Independence. Pres. Quezón was a member of the Freemasons, and was initiated into the fraternal order on the 17th of March 1908, and passed his rites on the 23rd of May of the same year. Quezón was a member of the Sinukuan Lodge No 272, and became the president of the Grand Assembly on the 5th of July 1915. In 1917, Quezón was crucial to creation of the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands, through the unification of the Gran Oriente Español, the Regional Grand Lodge of the Philippines, and the American Scottish Rite Grand Lodge; which in turn would lead to his election as the first Filipino Grand Master of the unified freemasons in the Philippines.
There is a Sterling Silver Ink-well given to Quezón as a birthday gift on the 19th of August 1917, by Teodoro Rafael Yangco (1861-1939), who was Quezón’s replacement as the Resident Commissioner to the US Congress in Washington.
Quezón was born in the Province of Tayabas (now Quezon Province), and served as a town fiscal in 1903, governor in 1906, and representative in the National Assembly in 1907. And upon becoming the Senate President in 1916, the Quezón held highest political position by a Filipino during the American Occupation of the Philippines. So on the 1st of January 1918, Governor Maximo Rodriguez and the Las Mas Alta Gloria de la Provincia de Tayabas y Legitimo Orgullo de la Raza Filipina (The Highest Glory of the Province of Tayabas and Legitimate Pride of the Philippine Race), honor their native son with a plaque of honor.
There are two Silver Vases given to Pres. Quezón by the Los Senadores (The Senators) and the Functionarios Y Empleados de Senado (Officials and Employees of the Senate), on 1st of January 1924. These silver vases were symbols of both groups appreciation for Quezón as the Senate President, as his unification and leadership of the Nacionalista Party in 1922 and his conviction during the “Cabinet Crisis” of 1923. This Cabinet Crisis occurred when Quezón and many government officials resigned from their State Council posts, after U.S. Governor-General Leonard Hagar Wood (1860-1927) began vetoing 16 bills passed by the Philippine legislature.
There are also a Calendar Holder and a Senate Ink Dish that were given to Quezón on 1st January 1925. Aside from being perks as the Senate President, these gifts signified the appreciation of Quezón in leading the Independence Mission to Washington DC, in 1924.
The is a 1935 Commonwealth Dry Seal and a 1936 Birth of the Commonwealth Calendar, which celebrates the next major step to Philippine Independence. On the 24th of March 1934, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) signed the Philippine Independence Act (Pubic Law 73–127, 48 Statute 456) of US Senator Millard Evelyn Tydings (1890-1961) and US Congressman John McDuffie (1883-1950), which gave birth to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines that would see the 10 year transitional process of independence of the Philippine from 1935 to 1945.
There is the 1935 Spanish damascening gold in-laid Philippine Constitution Repository created by José Vicente “Mantxón” Iriondo y Ezaguirre (1893-1973) and Tomás Guisasola y Guisasola, the students of the famed Spanish sculptor and metalworker Plácido Maria Martin Zuloaga (1834-1910) of Eibar, Spain; and sold by Beristain of Barcelona, Spain. After the enactment of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, this was followed by a constitutional convention, where the Philippine Constitution was drafted, and signed by Pres. Roosevelt on the 23rd of March 1935. Two months later, Filipinos went to the polls in a constitutional plebiscite on the 14th of May 1935 that would set the foundation of the new Philippine Commonwealth Government. And on the 16th of September 1935, a national election was held and saw Manuel Quezón as the 2nd President of the Philippines, with Vice-President Sergio Osmeña Sr. (1878-1961) and Speaker of the National Assembly Gil Miranda Montilla (1876-1946).
There is a copy of the Quezon Institute Plaque created by the sons of Crispulo de Guzman-Mendoza Zamora (1871-1922), in 1938. In 1927, Quezón moved to the Hacienda Magdalena (now New Manila) to be close to the Santol Sanitarium for the treatment of his tuberculosis. As senate president, Quezón drafted a law that would see the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes raise funds for the Philippine Anti-Tuberculosis Society and the eventual construction on the new hospital, that would be named the Quezon Institute. In 1936, First Lady Doña Aurora Antonia Molina Aragón Quezón (1888-1949) and Filipina feminist and president of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs Sofia Reyes de Veyra (1876-1953) led the cornerstone laying rites for the new hospital, which designed and completed by future National Artist, Arch. Juan Felipe Nakpil (1899-1986).
The is also a song sheet entitled “!Mabuhay, Presidente Quezón Mabuhay¡” (Long Live, President Quezón, Long Live), which was composed in the Ilocano language by Gil delos Santos Raval (1880-1949) and Laoag postmaster Proceso Coloma, between 1938 and 1941. The song was commissioned by Ilocos Norte Governor Roque Blanco Ablan Sr. (1906-1943) and Laoag Mayor Agripino Palting Santos (1897-1952). The song was translated to English by fiscal and future-congressman Pedro Albano (born 1907).
There is also the Philippine Flag that was draped over Quezón’s casket after his death in 1944. Quezón succumbed to tuberculosis on the 1st of August 144, at Saranac Lake, New York. His body was put on display at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington; before he was temporarily interred at 1898 USS Maine Mast Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, also in Washington DC. Pres. Quezón’s casket was laid beside the remains of the Polish Prime Minister, Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), who was also temporarily interred at the Maine Memorial. The memorial was dedicated to the men who died in the USS Maine, which would trigger the 1898 Spanish-American war, and the eventual American occupation of the Philippines.
At the center of the Museo ni Manuel Quezon is the crypt of the president. After World War II, Quezón’s remains were returned to the Philippines on the 27th of July 1946, and buried at the North Cemetery in Manila. His body was transferred to the Quezon Memorial, on the 19th of August 1978, on the 100th Anniversary of Quezón’s birth.
At a niche above the Quezon Mausoleum is a statue of Pres. Quezón in his famous stance, while delivering his fiery speech as the newly inducted president of the Philippine Commonwealth. The sculpture was created by National Artist Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (1890 -1976) in 1976, for the 1978 inauguration of the Quezon Memorial Park, and it was originally located outside the memorial. The whole Quezon Mausoleum is lit by a oculus skylight, with three carabao head (water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis carabanesis) framing the oculus. The Carabao Oculus was most likely sculpted by Francesco Riccardo Clementi Monti (1888-1958), who had created the three muses at the top of the memorial.
On the 28th of April 2005 the 26th year anniversary of her assassination, the remains of Doña Aurora Antonia Molina Aragón Quezón (1888-1949), Quezón’s wife, were transferred from the Manila North Cemetery to the Quezon Memorial Shrine, to be placed beside her husband.
Aside from memorabilia that belonged top Pres. Quezón, his family, and the inauguration of the Quezon Memorial Shrine, there are also some artifacts that belonged to people who were close to the president. Among these are the military caps and uniform of General Carlos Peña Rómulo (1899-1985), who served as an aide to General Douglas Hardy MacArthur (1880-1964) as well as Quezón’s Secretary or Information and Public Relations. Rómulo would also serve as a Resident Commissioner to the US Congress, President of the University of the Philippines, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Education, and President of the United Nations General Assembly. Rómulo was also awarded the Quezon Service Cross, Philippine Legion of Honor, and National Artist for Literature.
Another set of memorabilia are the World War II bags used by Brigadier General and future President Manuel Acuña Roxas (1892-1948). Roxas was already the Secretary of Finance, a senator and secretary to Pres. Quezón, when the war broke out. At the start of the war, Roxas first served as the liaison officer between Philippines armed forces and American General Douglas MacArthur. After the fall of Corregidor in 1942, Roxas joined the guerrilla resistance, but he was captured by Japanese forces and imprisoned in Bukidnon, Mindanao. After the war, Roxas won the 1946 elections, to become the last President of the Philippine Commonwealth, and saw the country’s independence on the 4th of July 1946.
Aside from memorabilia and infographics, there is the “Tanggapan ng Pangulong Quezón” that is a replica of Pres. Quezón’s Presidential office. The room has Quezón’s actual desk and chairs from his office, as well as a display of the president’s golf clubs, hats, awards, briefcases, playing cards, and two sculptures of Quezón.
The next room is the “Galeria ni Doña Aurora Quezón”, which is a replica of Doña Aurora’s bed room. This showroom displays Doña Aurora’s bed and sewing machine, her formal “terno” gowns, memorabilia of her travels abroad, hats, jewelry, several photographs, a painter of Doña Aurora and Pres. Quezón, and two sculptures by Isabelo L. Tampinco (1850-1933) and Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo (1942-2016).
There much more to discover at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon, as there are other artifacts and artworks that I have not yet mentioned. These will be explored in the following articles, including the symbols of the Freemasons used in some of the artifacts found in the museum.
About the Artists of the Museo ni Manuel Quezon:
Isabelo L. Tampinco (1850-1933) was a classicist sculptor who was practicing before art was taught in the formal setting of tertiary educational institutions. A Chinese-mestizo who was born in Binondo, his family has traced their roots to the former ruler of Manila, Datu Lakadula. He was trained at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura; and he was also classmates with the José Rizal, at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. Tampinco was the favored artist of the Jesuits during the late 19th century, as he was commissioned to carve the religious icons and decorative motifs of the San Ignacio Church of Intramuros, from 1892 to 1899. He has also created works for the Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Church and the Santo Domingo Church. His works have represented the Philippines in various international events; such as Exposicion Universal de Barcelona (1888), Exposición Regional de Filipinas (1895), and the St. Louis Exposition (1904). He was also awarded the Mérito Civil from Governor-General Domingo Moriones, close to the end of the Spanish occupation (1521-1898).
Crispulo de Guzman-Mendoza Zamora (1871-1922) was considered the best engraver during the American occupation of the Philippines. Born in Sampaloc, Manila, Zamora started as a silversmith and learned his craft from his father, Mauricio. Zamora would continue his art education with private lessons from Jose Flores, then he would continue his formal studies at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura, and trained under Lorenzo de Icaza Rocha (1837-1898) and Melecio Magbanua Figueroa (1842-1903) from 1890 to 1893. Zamora would take further studies under Felix Lorenzo Martinez (1859-1917), at the Escuela Practica y Professional de Artes Oficios de Manila. After graduating, Zamora would first work with his brothers under their father in Quiapo, before making a name for himself after his father’s passing. Aside from creating religious pieces such as the chanter of the Manila Cathedral and the crown of the icon of the Virgin of Naga, Zamora is also noted for designing medals and military ornaments for the U.S. Army, the Philippine Constabulary, and different units of the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Zamora is also recognized for creating plaques with the images of noted public figures, such as the American presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, the King of Spain Alfonso XIII, and the Emperor of Japan Yoshihito. After his death, Zamora’s business was taken over by his wife Pelagia Gotianquin Mendoza-Zamora (1867-1939) and sons Vicente and Clemente.
Francesco Riccardo Clementi Monti (1888-1958) was an Italian sculptor who resided in the Philippines from 1930 to 1958. He was the son of Alexander Monti, who hailed from a long line of masons and sculptors in Cremona, Italy. Francesco would be distinguished as the only one of his clan to train formally in the arts, as he would enroll at the Institute of Ponzone for Decorative Arts and Technology and the Royal Academy of Breza in Milan. Upon completing his studies, Monti would return Cremona, and launch a very successful career creating many public sculptures for the city, where he developed his Art Deco style. His work slowed down with World War I (1914-1918), as Monti jointed the Italian military. After the war, he returned to sculpting, and he was honored, in 1924, with the title of Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy, for his artistic endeavors. In 1928, Monti design was selected as the grand prize winner for the Caduti Austrio-Ungheresi Monument design competition in Cremona, for a memorial for 33 Austro-Hungarian soldiers killed in Cremona in World War I. Sadly, the judges would later reverse the decision, and award the prize to another sculpture, due to political wrangling of the fascist politicians in power. This greatly dismayed Monti, and he decided to leave Cremona. He moved across Europe, and later went to New York City, where he met the Filipino Architect Juan Arrellano, who invited him to visit the Philippines. Monti would later shuffle between Italy, Hong Kong, and the Philippines; until he finally settled in Manila in 1932. Monti would collaborate with Arch. Arellano and sculptor Guillermo Tolentino in many projects, before being incarcerated by the Japanese in World War II (1938-1945). After the war, Monti received many commissions for the sculptural work in the rehabilitation of the structures damaged by the war, as well as new infrastructure developments throughout the country. Monti’s works can be seen on the Manila Metropolitan Theater in Manila, Philippine Military Academy in Baguio, the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, and the Don Bosco Technical School in Mandaluyong City. In 1948, Monti started teaching at the UST School of Fine Arts, and help develop their sculpture program. Among his distinguished students were Ang Kiukok, Leonardo Hidalgo, Ting Ping Lay, and Virginia Ty-Navarro. Monti worked with many Filipino architects and artists, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), in 1948. He died in 1958, and was buried in his adoptive land, the Philippines.
Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (1890 -1976) is a classical sculptor who was named National Artist for the Visual Arts in 1973. Tolentino took his art studies at the U.P. School of Fine Arts, and later at the Ecole de Beux Arts. In 1926, he started teaching at the U.P. School of Fine Arts, and he would later be given the position of director. Tolentino sculpted the University of the Philippines’ most recognizable emblem, the “U.P. Oblation”, as well as the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City. He was also awarded the UNESCO Cultural Award in Sculpture in 1959, Araw ng Maynila Award in Sculpture in 1963, Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1967, President’s Medal of Merit in 1973, and the Diwa ng Lahi Award in 1972, before given the highest honor as National Artist.
Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo (1942-2016) is a noted sculptor, who had defined the second wave of modernist sculpture in the Philippines. Castrillo graduated from the UST Fine Arts program, and first started at first as an illustrator for publishing before embarking into a career in public sculpture. In the course of time, Castrillo has represented the Philippines in many exhibitions abroad, and has also been commissioned to create monuments all over the country and overseas. He received the TOYM Award for sculpture (Ten Outstanding Young Men) in 1970, the 13 Artists Award by the CCP in 1970, Outstanding Makati Resident in 1971, Outstanding Sta. Ana Resident in 1974, Outstanding Son of Biñan Award in 1980 from the Maduro Club, Outstanding Son of Laguna Award in 1980 from the Laguna Lion’s Club, Adopted Son of Cebu in 1996, the Far Eastern University Green and Gold Artist Award in 1998, and the Most Outstanding Citizen Award of Quezon City.
Lakbay ng Lakan 
Thank you for your painstaking research! There used to be a pinya cloth placemat on display with an embroidered scene – very beautifully done. Is it still there?
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I am not sure
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