Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
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On the morning of December 8, 1941, the Japanese invaded the Philippines. The invasion began with landings at Batan Island, about 125 miles north of Luzon island,[2][3] and followed the bombing of the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor a few hours earlier. President Manuel L. Quezon was in Baguio recuperating from a recurrence of an old illness, and immediately traveled by road the 160 miles to Manila to take charge of the Filipino resistance. In meetings following his arrival, U.S. General MacArthur informed him that he would be transferring his headquarters to Corregidor island, and requested the President to join him. President Quezon initially objected, but agreed when his Cabinet endorsed MacArthur's suggestion by unanimous decision. On December 24, the President relocated there, accompanied by his family, Vice President Osmeña, Chief Justice Santos, Major General Basilio Valdes, who had been designated Secretary of National Defense, and some members of the Executive Staff. President Quezon and Vice President Osmeña began their second term on Corregidor on Rizal Day, December 30, 1941.[4][5]
As invading Japanese forces advanced, all United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) military personnel were removed from the major urban areas. Manila was officially declared an open city on December 26. By then, USAFFE forces had withdrawn to the Bataan peninsula and were under siege there. By the middle of February the lack of food on Corregidor had become acute, and it was decided that the President could be of more help by going to the unoccupied provinces to organize some plan of bringing in food for the soldiers at Bataan and Corregidor and to keep up the morale of the civilian population.
The Emergency Powers Act
On December 16, 1941, President Quezon approved Commonwealth Act No. 671, which had been passed by the Philippine Legislature. This act declared a state of total emergency and invested the President with extraordinary powers in order to meet the emergency. Generally, the act authorized the President, during the existence of the emergency, to promulgate such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to carry out the national policy. These powers included authority to transfer the seat of the Government or component parts of the government.[6]
Evacuation from Corregidor
At dusk on February 20, the American submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) slipped through mine fields, was boarded by President Quezon and his party, and transported them to Iloilo, which had not yet been occupied by Japanese forces.[5] The following night, they boarded the ship Princess of Negros, which transported them to Dumaguete.[7][8] General MacArthur and his party, meanwhile, had been evacuated from Corregidor by PT boat to Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao (see Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines).
Evacuation from the Philippines
MacArthur had sent some of the boats which had evacuated his party back to the southern tip of Negros Island to pick up President Quezon's party.[9] Major Soriano, President Quezon's aide, met boat PT-41 and redirected it to Dumaguete, where it embarked President Quezon's party and transported them to Oroquieta in what was then the province of Misamis.[7] From there, they traveled to the Del Monte plantation in Mindanao, where they remained overnight and were picked up the following day at Del Monte Airfield by two B-17 aircraft that transported them to Batchelor Airfield, 40 miles from Darwin in Northern Australia There, they transferred to Douglas DC-5 aircraft for transport to Alice Springs. There, they were reunited with the party of Vice President Osmeña that had been transported in a separate aircraft.[7] The parties flew together to Adelaide, spent the night there, and took an overnight train to Melbourne.[7]
President Quezon felt that he should be in Washington. The U.S. government agreed and, in the spring of 1942, the SS President Coolidge, which had been pressed into service to evacuate U.S. citizens from parts of Asia after the Japanese attacks and converted into a troopship, transported Quezon and his party to the U.S. escorted by the cruiser USS St. Louis, departing Melbourne on April 20 and arriving in San Francisco on May 8.[10]
Quezon and party were met in San Francisco, and military aides were assigned to escort the party on a special train which had been assigned to transport them to Washington D.C. The train arrived in Washington on May 13, and was met by President Franklin D. Roosevelt along with his wife, Eleanor and members of his Cabinet. Quezon and his family were transported by motorcade to the White House. They spent the night at the White House and were guests of honor the following day at a luncheon hosted by the Roosevelts to formally welcome the exiled Philippine Government to the United States, underscoring its legitimacy.[11]
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