It is impossible to write the history of the Philippines without Jose P. Laurel Sr., who served the country in various capacities – as Secretary of the Interior, Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, and, finally, as President of the Philippines in 1942-45.

President Laurel was Secretary of the Interior during the administration of Governor General Leonard Wood when he resigned in protest against Wood’s administration of the country. His resignation led to the Cabinet Crisis of 1923. This crisis signalled to the American colonial authorities that they had to respect Filipino internal affairs.

Elected delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention, President Laurel served the convention with distinction. He was one of the “Seven Wise Men’’ of the convention. He sponsored the Bill of Rights provisions of the 1935 Constitution.

While serving as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, President Laurel penned the decision on the famous Nalundasan case (October 22, 1940). Justice Laurel granted Ferdinand E. Marcos acquittal after finding the prosecution's case contradictory.

On December 2, 1940, President Laurel penned the decision on the Calalang v. Williams case. His definition of “social justice’’ became the standard definition in legal circles, quoted often by justices of the United States Supreme Court. “Social justice,’’ President Laurel wrote, “must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of interdependence among diverse units of a society and of the protection that should be equally and evenly extended to all groups as a combined force in our social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental and paramount objective of the State of promoting the health, comfort, and the quiet of all persons, and of bringing about the greatest good to the greatest number.’’

It was while serving as President of the Philippines during the enemy occupation that President Laurel etched his name in the annals of the country. He stressed the “Philippines for the Filipino’’ policy. “Nobody can profess to love the Filipino,’’ he repeatedly stated, “more than the Filipino people themselves.’’ A strong, united, and truly independent nation with economic security and strong moral foundation was President Laurel’s vision for the Philippines.

President Jose P. Laurel Sr. was born on March 9, 1891 and died on November 6, 1959. Nobility of character and loyalty to his land of birth were hallmarks of President Laurel. May the Filipino youth emulate this exemplary Filipino.