Elpidio Quirino - Sixth President

Second President of the Third Republic

Elpidio Rivera Quirino (November 16, 1890 � February 29, 1956) was a Filipino politician, and the sixth President of the Philippines.

He was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Mariano Quirino and Gregoria Rivera, Quirino spent his early years in Aringay, La Union.

Quirino assumed the presidency on April 17, 1948, taking his oath of office two days after the death of Manuel Roxas. The next year, he was elected president on his own right for a four-year term as the candidate of the Liberal Party, defeating Jose P. Laurel of the Nacionalista Party.

Quirino's administration faced a serious threat in the form of the communist Hukbalahap movement. Though the Huks originally had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Luzon, communists steadily gained control over the leadership, and when Quirino's negotiation with Huk commander Luis Taruc broke down in 1948, Taruc openly declared himself a Communist and called for the overthrow of the government. His six years as president were marked by notable postwar reconstruction, general economic gains, and increased economic aid from the United States. Basic social problems, however, particularly in the rural areas, remained unsolved, and his administration was tainted by widespread graft and corruption. On 1950, the administration of president Quirino was beginning the Korean War and over 7,450 Filipino soldiers was sended to Korea under the designation of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea or PEFTOK. Although ill, Quirino ran for re-election in 1953, but he was overwhelmingly defeated by Ramon Magsaysay.

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