BESTLINK COLLEGE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Readings In Philippine History

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH STUDY

IN
QUEZON MEMORIAL SHRINE

LEADER: CAMACHO, JOYLENE

VICE PRES: DOMINGO, NICK BRYAN
MEMBERS: BONGGAL, ABEGAIL
ESPIEL, SHAINATE
EVANGELISTA, JHUN ALBERT
DIGMAN, JHONREY
LAURIO, NICK ANGELO
RECTO, CARLO
GALLARDO, PATRICK
PAYABYAB, MARK ANDREW
MORANDANTE, REJEAN
RAMOS, CAROLINE
TECIO, JESSA

LAVINIA M. COBAR
The Quezon Memorial Circle is a national park and a
national shrine located in Quezon City, which became
the capital of the Philippines from 1948 to 1976. The
park is located inside a large traffic circle in the shape
of an ellipse and bounded by the Elliptical Road. Its
main feature is a tall mausoleum containing the remains
of Manuel L. Quezon, the second official President of
the Philippines and the first of an internationally
recognized independent Philippines, and his wife, First Lady Aurora Quezon. This location will
be the street alignment for the approved MRT-7 named Quezon Memorial MRT Station and the
station will be underground. “Circle” as locals call it, has been undergoing significant changes in
order to lure in more tourists both local and foreign. Due to these beautification efforts of the local
government the number of visitors is continuously increasing.

HISTORY

The site was originally intended as the grounds of the

National Capitol to be built in Quezon City to house the
Congress of the Philippines. The location was also part
2of a larger National Government Center located
around Elliptical Road and the Quezon City Quadrangle
(made up of the North, South, East, and West Triangles). The NGC was meant to house the three
branches of the Philippine government (legislative, executive, and judicial). While the cornerstone
for the structure was laid on November 15, 1940, only the foundations were in place when
construction was interrupted by the beginning of the Second World War in the Philippines. After
World War II, President Sergio Osmeña issued an executive order stipulating the creation of a
Quezon Memorial Committee to raise funds by public subscription to erect a memorial to his
predecessor, President Manuel L. Quezon. After a national contest was held for the purpose of
designing the Quezon Memorial Project, a winning entry by Filipino architect Federico S. Ilustre
was selected. Aside from the monument itself, a complex of three buildings, including a
presidential library, a museum, and a theater, were also planned to be erected.
 The monument would consist of three vertical pylons
(representing the three main geographic divisions of the
country: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao), 66 meters
(217 ft) tall (Quezon's age when he died), surmounted by
three mourning angels holding sampaguita (the national
flower) wreaths sculpted by the Italian sculptor Monti.

The three pylons would in turn circumscribe a drum-

like two-story structure containing a gallery from
which visitors could look down at Quezon's
catafalque, modeled after Napoleon Bonaparte's in
the Invalides. The gallery and the catafalque below
are lit by an oculus, in turn reminiscent of Grant's
Tomb.

Construction and Completion

Construction of the Quezon Memorial was begun in 1952 but proceeded slowly, in part due to the
cost of importing Carrara marble, brought in blocks and then carved and shaped on-site. There
were also problems associated with the theft of the marble blocks and the management of memorial
funds. The monument was finally completed in 1978, the centennial of Quezon's birth. His remains
were reinterred in the memorial on August 19, 1979. It was during that time that by virtue of a
presidential decree, President Ferdinand E. Marcos mandated the site as a National Shrine. The
National Historical Institute manages, and has authority, over the monument itself, while the
Quezon City government administers the park.
 Manuel Luis Quezon was born on 19 August 1878 in
Baler, Tayabas (present-day Aurora). He completed his
studies at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and pursued
a law degree at the Universidad de Sto. Tomas. During
the war against the United States, he served as aide-de-
camp to General Emilio Aguinaldo. After the war, he
became a prominent lawyer and was elected to different
local and national government positions: Governor of
Tayabas (1906); National Assembly Representative
(1907), Resident Commissioner to Washington D.C.
(1909), where he secured the passage of the Jones Law;
and Senate President (1916). He led the First Philippine
Independence Mission to the United States in 1918,
which culminated in the enactment of the Tydings-McDuffie Law in 24 March 1934 and the
establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth. Quezon was elected Commonwealth president on
17 September 1935. The nation-in-the-making however, soon faced a monumental challenge: the
invasion and occupation by Japan. Quezon’s presidency after his re-election in 1941 was
interrupted by war. While in exile in the United States from 1942-1944, Quezon tirelessly called
upon the Filipino people to remain steadfast in their struggle for freedom. Sadly, Quezon
succumbed to tuberculosis on 1 August 1944 in Saranac Lake, New York State.

The tomb of President Manuel L.

Quezon at the base of the Quezon
Memorial Shrine at the center of
the Quezon Memorial Circle.
Anybody who has driven around
or been in the vicinity of the
Quezon Memorial Circle is
familiar with the monument at its
center. It is a towering structure
that serves as a beacon reminding
passers by that beneath it is where the remains of one of the most important Filipino political
leaders of the 20th century lie. If the shrine stands as a motionless landmark and offers little clue
to who President Manuel L. Quezon was, the rooms at its base will bring him to life. The Museo
Ni Manuel Quezon is a multi-gallery album that houses items spanning Quezon's lifetime and even
beyond from when he was a boy in Baler town until he assumed the role of the country's most
powerful man, and from his last days to what inspired the construction of the 66-foot tribute and
the formation of a city that bears his name. "Iniisip lang natin lagi na ama siya ng wikang
pambansa, pero he's more than that," museum curator Janice Tambo tells ABS-CBN News.
"Talagang may firm commitment siya sa social justice natin, binigyan ng pagpapahalaga ng
national defense, then iyong railroad system inayos din niya. Nagkaroon tayo ng social
equality sa pamamagitan ng pagboto ng mga kababaihan at pwede na silang mahalal. "So
marami tayong na-accomplish noong time niya." The Museo was built in 1979, and in 2015 a
project to modernize it was completed. There are interactive elements now, the exhibits more
systematized, and the language used to tell Quezon's story comes in Tagalog and English. Besides
artifacts and photographs, timelines are all over the museum walls recounting not only Quezon's
history but also providing context to his life by putting it side by side with a nation transitioning
from American rule then being thrown into the fire that is the Second World War. "I want our
people to know that the Philippines is their country, that it is the only country that God has
given them, that they must keep it for themselves and their children, that they must live for
it and if necessary die for it," Quezon said in one wall-posted quote. The galleries are ordered
chronologically: it begins with Quezon's youth, fast-forwards to his early years as a public servant,
then goes into his time as president of the Philippine Commonwealth and during the Japanese
occupation. The last gallery is an exhibit on his legacy, part of which explains how the Quezon
Memorial Shrine came into existence. The items on display range from the expected (clothes,
kitchenware, plaques, school certificates and wartime effects) to the not-so-much. There is
Quezon's sword collection that includes katana swords, as is his golf bag, which is stored in a room
replicating the presidential office. There is a worn-out record, which looks like an overused
cymbal, that was given to Quezon by KZRH radio station on his 63rd birthday; in the same glass
case, an issue of TIME magazine with the president on the cover. A gold in-laid chest where a
copy of the 1935 Constitution was stored is on display, too, as is the hospital bed that Quezon used
when he was at Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor. Doña Aurora, Quezon's wife, has a section devoted
to her. A replica of her room contains a bed, her dresses and a sewing machine. Tambo says it's
misguided to think of her as just a presidential spouse. "Supportive si Doña Aurora kay
Pangulong Quezon sa mga advocacy niya. Habang ginagawa ni Quezon iyong duties niya as
president, si Doña Aurora naging honorary president ng Red Cross, Girl Scouts of the
Philippines, so may mga civic organizations siyang na-create na hanggang ngayon active pa
rin," Tambo says. "Marami siyang ginawa to serve the country." Not all items on display are
meant to place visitors in a time machine. The fifth gallery on Quezon's legacy ties his impactful
yet oft-overlooked contributions — and the volatile times in which they were advanced — to the
present day. His political contemporaries — both in the US and fellow Filipinos — held Quezon
in high regard. Their shared hope is that people's idea of him goes beyond the name of a bustling
metropolis and the edifice at the heart of it. "Death forever closed his lips and stayed his pen,"
General Douglas McArthur said, "but the immortal spirit which sustains his soul remains
forever a dominant influence upon the destiny of the republic for which he gave so much."
Carlos P. Romulo, former president of the UN General Assembly who was an important figure in
the Philippines' campaign to be independent of the US, said Quezon "remains my hero, the finest
type of leader I shall ever know." "He will always be, to me and our people, the embodiment
of unalloyed patriotism."

People enjoy recreational activities in the area surrounding the Museo ni Manuel Quezon at the
Quezon Memorial Circle. The moon in the background passes atop the Quezon shrine at the
Quezon Memorial Circle. Children pass beside the sculptures that adorn the exterior of the Museo
ni Manuel Quezon. Children play on the stairs leading up to stone sculptures depicting events in
Philippine history at the Quezon Memorial Shrine. A Commonwealth dry seal greets visitors at
the Museo ni Manuel Quezon. Office furniture used by President Manuel L. Quezon housed inside
his eponymous museum at the Quezon Memorial Circle. Different katana swords given to
President Manuel L. Quezon as gifts after the Second World War are displayed at the Museo ni
Manuel Quezon. A representation of the room of Doña Aurora Quezon, the president’s wife,
houses the First Lady’s clothes and some personal effects are housed at the Museo ni Manuel
Quezon. A visitor looks at the actual hospital bed used by President Manuel L. Quezon when he
was at Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor, which is displayed at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon. Visitors
at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon view the gold in-laid chest used as the repository of the 1935
Constitution. A guest at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon views the gold in-laid chest used as the
repository of the 1935 Constitution. Intricate details of the gold in-laid chest used as the repository
of the 1935 Constitution. Visitors at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon read a brief explanation of how
the Commonwealth government of the former president opened its doors to receive Jewish
refugees who fled the Holocaust. An obelisk plaque on display at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon at
the Quezon Memorial Circle dedicated to the former president as Philippine representative to the
US Congress. President Manuel L. Quezon on the cover of TIME Magazine, which is on display
at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon at the Quezon Memorial Circle. Potpouri bowls were popular
during the 1930s at the Manuel L. Quezon Museum at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. A
telegram Morse code buzzer displayed at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon at the Quezon Memorial
Circle. A military coat worn by Carlos P. Romulo, president of the UN General Assembly in 1949
to 1950, is part of the Second World War exhibit of the Museo ni Manuel Quezon. A military
satchel bag with President Manuel Roxas’ name inscribed on it is part of the Second World War
exhibit of the Museo ni Manuel Quezon. Commemorative coins donated by former Quezon City
Mayor Feliciano Belmonte on display at the Museo ni Manuel Quezon. Commemorative coins
donated by former Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte on display at the Museo ni Manuel
Quezon. The tomb of President Manuel L. Quezon. People sit outside the Museo ni Manuel
Quezon, which is open to the public Tuesdays to Sunday. There is no entrance fee, but donations
are encouraged. The Museo ni Manuel Quezon is located at the foot of the Quezon Memorial
Shrine.
This are the reason why conduct this documentation :

Our group conduct research not only because our teacher has done it, because we can find
and to answer our questions about what contribute Manuel L. Quezon to our country. And for us
to knows what Manuel L. Quezon life.

The importance of Quezon memorial shrine is dedicated to the unrivalled legacy of the first
president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Manuel L. Quezon.

We conduct this study to know what happened to Manuel L. Quezon life and gather
information to expand our knowledge about our history. To prove what else or what kind of
contribution's he has done to our country.

The reason behind this to know the exact information why Manuel l Quezon has become
more significant after the incident before he died. And the important of our Surveillance is to know
what exact time, year and why the memorial circle made for. To find out about truths regarding
human behavior societies and economy.

And lastly, to find out why in the Quezon City Memorial Circle in Manuel L. Quezon was buried.

REFERENCES:

http://quezoncitymcircle.blogspot.com/2016/02/history-of-quezon-memorial-circle.html?m=1

https://www.vigattintourism.com/tourism/articles/Quezon-Memorial-Circle-A-Famous-
Historical-Park-in-Quezon-City

http://nhcp.gov.ph/museums/quezon-memorial-
shrine/?fbclid=IwAR1K9PUWhCwDh3gdLmJ3H-uPZdBQsfDnHDo4yuChONX1SJ-
Xd8HLpZbubp0

https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/08/31/17/quezon-museum-life-of-a-president-and-a-nation-in-
its-tumultuous-
infancy?fbclid=IwAR1Irsxh26YynWRuCM6fARBoSDAeznX8oUBkyYXYKw7qqBJWzybTH-
_tS_o