Jose P.

Laurel
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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Laurel and the second or maternal family
name is García.

His Excellency

Jose P. Laurel

CCLH, KGCR

Jose P. Laurel in 1943

3rd President of the Philippines[a]

In office

October 14, 1943 – August 17, 1945

Serving with Manuel L. Quezon[b] (1943–1944) and Sergio
Osmeña[c] (1944–1945)

Prime Minister Jorge B. Vargas

Preceded by Manuel L. Quezon[d]

Succeeded by Sergio Osmeña[e]

Minister of the Interior

In office

December 4, 1942 – October 14, 1943

Presiding Jorge B. Vargas

Officer, PEC

Preceded by Benigno Aquino Sr.

Commissioner of Justice

In office

December 24, 1941 – December 4, 1942

Presiding Jorge B. Vargas

Officer, PEC

Preceded by Teófilo Sison

Succeeded by Teófilo Sison

Senator of the Philippines

In office

December 30, 1951 – December 30, 1957

Constituency At-large

In office

1925–1931
Serving with Manuel L. Quezon

Preceded by Antero Soriano

Succeeded by Claro M. Recto

Constituency 5th district

34th Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court

In office

February 29, 1936 – February 5, 1942

Appointed by Manuel L. Quezon

Preceded by George Malcolm

Succeeded by Court reorganized

Senate Majority Leader

In office

1928–1931

Senate President Manuel L. Quezon

Preceded by Francisco Enage

Succeeded by Benigno S. Aquino

Secretary of the Interior

In office

1922–1923

Preceded by Teodoro M. Kalaw

Succeeded by Felipe Agoncillo

Personal details
Born José Paciano Laurel y García

March 9, 1891

Tanauan, Batangas, Captaincy General of the

Philippines, Spanish Empire

Died November 6, 1959 (aged 68)

Manila, Philippines

Resting place Tanauan City Public Cemetery, Tanauan, Batangas,

Philippines

Political party Nacionalista

Other political KALIBAPI (1942–1945)

affiliations

Pacencia Hidalgo
Spouse(s)
 

(m. 1911)

Children José B. Laurel Jr.

José S. Laurel III

Natividad Laurel-Guinto

Sotero Laurel II

Mariano Laurel

Rosenda Laurel-Avanceña

Potenciana Laurel-Yupangco

Salvador Laurel

Arsenio Laurel

Education University of the Philippines Manila (LLB)

University of Santo Tomas (LLM)

 Yale University (SJD)

Signature

José Paciano Laurel y García CCLH, KGCR (Spanish: [xoˈse lauˈɾel]; March 9, 1891 –

November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician and judge, who served as the president of
the Japanese-occupied Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state during World War II,
from 1943 to 1945. Since the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal (1961–
1965), Laurel has been officially recognized by later administrations as a former
president of the Philippines.

Contents

 1Early life and career

 2Senator and Congressman of the Philippines
 3Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
 4Presidency
o 4.1Accession
o 4.2Domestic problems
 4.2.1Economy
 4.2.2Food shortage
o 4.3Foreign policies
 4.3.1Philippine-Japanese Treaty of Alliance
 4.3.2Greater East Asia Conference
 4.3.3Martial law
 4.3.4Filipinization of the Catholic Church
o 4.4Resistance
 4.4.1Assassination attempt
o 4.5Dissolution of the regime
 5Post-presidency
o 5.11949 presidential election
o 5.2Return to the Senate
o 5.3Retirement and death
 6Honors
 7Personal life
o 7.1Descendants
 8See also
 9Notes
 10References
o 10.1Sources
 11External links
Early life and career[edit]

Laurel in 1922, when he was an attorney.

José Paciano Laurel y García was born on March 9, 1891 in the town of Tanauan,
Batangas. His parents were Sotero Laurel y Remoquillo and Jacoba García y Pimentel.
His father had been an official in the revolutionary government of Emilio Aguinaldo and
a signatory to the 1899 Malolos Constitution. Just like many other presidents, he is
a Chinese mestizo descendant.[1]
While a teen, Laurel was indicted for attempted murder when he almost killed a rival
suitor of the girl he stole a kiss from with a fan knife. While studying and finishing law
school, he argued for and received an acquittal.[2]
Laurel received his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in
1915, where he studied under Dean George A. Malcolm, whom he would later succeed
on the Supreme Court. He then obtained a Master of Laws degree from University of
Santo Tomas in 1919. Laurel then attended Yale Law School, where he obtained
his J.S.D. degree.
Laurel began his life in public service while a student, as a messenger in the Bureau of
Forestry then as a clerk in the Code Committee tasked with the codification of Philippine
laws. During his work for the Code Committee, he was introduced to its head, Thomas
A. Street, a future Supreme Court Justice who would be a mentor to the young Laurel.[3]
Upon his return from Yale, Laurel was appointed first as Undersecretary of the Interior
Department, then promoted as Secretary of the Interior in 1922. In that post, he would
frequently clash with the American Governor-General Leonard Wood, and eventually, in
1923, resign from his position together with other Cabinet members in protest of Wood's
administration. His clashes with Wood solidified Laurel's nationalist credentials.
Laurel was a member of the Philippine fraternity Upsilon Sigma Phi.[4]
Senator and Congressman of the Philippines [edit]
In 1925, Laurel was elected to the Philippine Senate. Serving from the 5th district, he
would serve for one term before losing his re-election bid in 1931 to Claro M. Recto.
[5]
 He retired to private practice, but by 1934, he was again elected to public office, this
time as a delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention. Hailed as one of the "Seven
Wise Men of the Convention", he would sponsor the provisions on the Bill of Rights.
[5]
 Following the ratification of the 1935 Constitution and the establishment of
the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Laurel was appointed Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court on February 29, 1936.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court[edit]

Laurel's Supreme Court tenure may have been overshadowed by his presidency, yet he
remains one of the most important Supreme Court justices in Philippine history. He
authored several leading cases still analyzed to this day that defined the parameters of
the branches of government as well as their powers.
Angara v. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil. 139 (1936), which is considered as the
Philippine equivalent of Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), is Laurel's
most important contribution to jurisprudence and even the rule of law in the Philippines.
In affirming that the Court had jurisdiction to review the rulings of the Electoral
Commission organized under the National Assembly, the Court, through Justice
Laurel's opinion, firmly entrenched the power of Philippine courts to engage in judicial
review of the acts of the other branches of government, and to interpret the Constitution.
Held the Court, through Laurel:
The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the
nature, scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the
instrumentality of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to
allocate constitutional boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other
departments; it does not in reality nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only
asserts the solemn and sacred obligation assigned to it by the Constitution to determine
conflicting claims of authority under the Constitution and to establish for the parties in an
actual controversy the rights which that instrument secures and guarantees to them. [6]
Another highly influential decision penned by Laurel was Ang Tibay v. CIR, 69 Phil. 635
(1940). The Court acknowledged in that case that the substantive and procedural
requirements before proceedings in administrative agencies, such as labor relations
courts, were more flexible than those in judicial proceedings. At the same time, the
Court still asserted that the right to due process of law must be observed, and
enumerated the "cardinal primary rights" that must be respected in administrative
proceedings. Since then, these "cardinal primary rights" have stood as the standard in
testing due process claims in administrative cases.
Calalang v. Williams, 70 Phil. 726 (1940) was a seemingly innocuous case involving a
challenge raised by a private citizen to a traffic regulation
banning kalesas from Manila streets during certain afternoon hours. The Court, through
Laurel, upheld the regulation as within the police power of the government. But in
rejecting the claim that the regulation was violative of social justice, Laurel would
respond with what would become his most famous aphorism, which is to this day widely
quoted by judges and memorized by Filipino law students:
Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so
that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be
approximated. Social justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the
adoption by the Government of measures calculated to insure economic stability of all
the competent elements of society, through the maintenance of a proper economic and
social equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of the community, constitutionally,
through the adoption of measures legally justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the
exercise of powers underlying the existence of all governments on the time-honored
principle of salus populi est suprema lex. Social justice, therefore, must be founded on
the recognition of the necessity of interdependence among divers and 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 quiet of all
persons, and of bringing about "the greatest good to the greatest number. [7]

Presidency[edit]

Former Supreme Court Justice Jose P. Laurel takes his oath of office as the 3rd president of the
Philippines and 1st president of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic.

Presidential styles of
Jose P. Laurel

Reference style His Excellency[8]

Spoken style Your Excellency

Alternative style Mr. President

Main articles: Japanese occupation of the Philippines and Second Philippine Republic

The presidency of Laurel understandably remains one of the most controversial in
Philippine history. After the war, he would be denounced by the pro-American
sectors[who?] as a war collaborator or even a traitor, although his indictment for treason
was superseded by President Roxas' Amnesty Proclamation.[9] However, despite being
one of the most infamous figures in Philippine history, he is also regarded as a Pan-
Asianist who supported independence. When asked if he was pro-American or pro-
Japanese, his answer would be pro-Filipino.[citation needed]
Accession[edit]

One of the many propaganda slogans made during the Laurel administration. Tagalog for "One Banner, One
Nation, One Language".

When Japan invaded, President Manuel L. Quezon first fled to Bataan and then to the

United States to establish a government-in-exile. Quezon ordered Laurel, Vargas and
other cabinet members to stay. Laurel's prewar, close relationship with Japanese
officials (a son had been sent to study at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in
Tokyo, and Laurel had received an honorary doctorate from Tokyo University), placed
him in a good position to interact with the Japanese occupation forces.
Laurel was among the Commonwealth officials instructed by the Japanese Imperial
Army to form a provisional government when they invaded and occupied the country.
He cooperated with the Japanese, in contrast to Chief Justice Abad Santos, who was
shot for refusing to cooperate.[10] Because he was well known to the Japanese as a critic
of US rule, as well as having demonstrated a willingness to serve under the Japanese
Military Administration, he held a series of high posts in 1942–1943. Under vigorous
Japanese influence, the National Assembly selected Laurel to serve as president in
1943.
Domestic problems[edit]
Economy[edit]
During Laurel's tenure as president, hunger was the main worry. Prices of essential
commodities rose to unprecedented heights. The government exerted every effort to
increase production and bring consumers' goods under control. However, Japanese
rapacity had the better of it all. On the other hand, guerrilla activities and Japanese
retaliatory measures brought the peace and order situation to a difficult point. Resorting
to district-zoning and domiciliary searches, coupled with arbitrary arrests, the Japanese
made the mission of Laurel's administration incalculably exasperating and perilous. [11]
Food shortage[edit]
During his presidency, the Philippines faced a crippling food shortage which demanded
much of Laurel's attention.[12] Rice and bread were still available but the sugar supply
was gone.[13] Laurel also resisted Japanese demands that the Philippines issue a formal
declaration of war against the United States. He later was forced to declare war on the
US and Great Britain as long as Filipinos would not have to fight.
Foreign policies[edit]
Philippine-Japanese Treaty of Alliance [edit]
On October 20, 1943, the Philippine-Japanese Treaty of Alliance was signed by Claro
M. Recto, who was appointed by Laurel as his Foreign Minister, and Japanese
Ambassador to Philippines Sozyo Murata. One redeeming feature was that no
conscription was envisioned.[11]
Greater East Asia Conference[edit]

Greater East Asia Conference

Shortly after the inauguration of the Second Philippine Republic, President Laurel,
together with cabinet Ministers Recto and Paredes flew to Tokyo to attend the Greater
East Asia Conference which was an international summit held in Tokyo, Japan from
November 5 – 6, 1943, in which Japan hosted the heads of state of various component
members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The conference was also
referred to as the Tokyo Conference.
The Conference addressed few issues of any substance, Eradication of Western Opium
Drug Trade and to illustrate the Empire of Japan's commitments to the Pan-
Asianism ideal and to emphasize its role as the "liberator" of Asia from
Western colonialism.[14]
Martial law[edit]
Laurel declared the country under martial law in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29,
dated September 21.[15] Martial law came into effect on September 22, 1944 at 9 am.[citation
needed]
 Proclamation No. 30 was issued the next day, declaring the existence of a state of
war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom. This took
effect on September 23, 1944 at 10:00 A.M. [16]
Filipinization of the Catholic Church[edit]
On the day of his inauguration, Laurel sought to gain recognition for the new republic
from the Holy See. Correspondence between the diplomats of the Vatican and Japan
told that the Holy See did not wish to recognize any new states for the duration of the
War. Despite this, Laurel still sought to appeal to the Pope about instating Filipinos into
the Church hierarchy.[17]
As the Head of the Republic of Philippines,' I take liberty of voicing to Your Holiness the
desire and sentiments of eighteen million Filipinos, the majority of whom are ardent
Catholics, with respect to the matter which vitally affects the administration of the
Catholic Church in Philippines, and which may have far reaching effects on their
religious faith. I refer to Filipinization of the Catholic hierarchy and clergy in Philippines.
Your Holiness will remember that the movement for Filipinization of the clergy furnished
one of the prime motivations of our revolution against Spain; that with overthrow of
Spanish sovereignty only 250 out of 17,000 Spanish friars assigned to Philippines in
1898 were retained; that pursuant to the policy announced by the Holy See, Spanish
bishops were replaced by American Catholic bishops; that during the American regime
more missionaries of different nationalities came to the country; and that at present we
have five Bishops and two Apostolic Prefects of foreign nationalities, while in certain
provinces, such as Surigao, Agusan, Antique, Misamis Oriental, Mindoro, Bukidnon,
Davao, Cotabato, Palawan and Mountain Province, parishes are still under the charge
of foreign friars and missionaries. Now that the independence of Philippines has been
finally achieved, the Republic of Philippines, though it fundamentally recognizes the
separation of Church and State, can no longer remain indifferent to a long-felt need to
Filipinize the local Catholic hierarchy and clergy.
In advocating this reform, the Filipino people are not moved by any spirit of animosity or
hostility against any race or nationality, but they are inspired solely by the desire to win
a just recognition for the Filipino race in their own country and to secure a vindication of
capacity of Filipinos to manage their own affairs, temporal or spiritual. The projected
measure can be achieved without in the least prejudicing interests, or sacrificing the
creed or doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Without in any way presuming to
invade an ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Philippines, it is my honest belief that the spread
of Catholicism among our non-Christian brethren and consequently increase of its
followers in this country. This, in my opinion, is in consonance with the desire of His
Holiness Pope Pius XI when he said:
«From the fact that the Roman Pontiff has entrusted to you and to your helpers a task of
preaching Christian religion to pagan nations, you ought not to conclude that the role of
native clergy is solely that of assisting missionaries in minor matters and in some sort of
completing their work».
What is the object of these holy missions, we ask, except that the Church of Christ may
be instituted and established in those boundless regions? And from what shall the
Church be built up today among heathens, except from those elements out of which it
was built up among us that is unless it is composed of people, clergy and religious men
and women recruited from their own country? Why should native clergy be prevented
from cultivating their country which is their own native soil that is, from governing their
own people? In propagation of Faith, a Filipino priest, by reason of his birth and temper,
his sentiments and interests, is in far better position to carry on his mission than a
stranger. As a matter of fact, he would know better than any foreigner the best method
of approach to his own people and thus he would often have access where an alien
priest could never gain an entrance. Moreover foreign missionaries, on account of their
imperfect knowledge of Filipino language, are frequently prevented from expressing
themselves fully and having themselves clearly understood, as a result of which, force
and efficacy of their teachings are greatly weakened. It will also be a source of genuine
satisfaction and lasting inspiration for Filipino people to see a Filipino at the head of the
Catholic Church in Philippines, a Filipino priest in every parish and a Filipino missionary
in every remote corner of the country. Certainly, it will foster development of national
clergy of superior stamp and it will serve as an ideal incentive for Filipino clergy to work
to the highest degree of perfection and the same time to encourage vocations to
religious and sacerdotal life.
In view of foregoing considerations, I beg to convey and reiterate the desire and request
of my people that it is, as it has always been, their cherished hope that after more than
four centuries of Catholicism in Philippines, Your Holiness will see the wisdom of
principle invoked and grant their petition for complete Filipinization of Catholic hierarchy
and clergy in their own country.

— Jose P. Laurel, President of the Philippines to Pope Pius XII

Resistance[edit]

Postage stamps issued by the Japanese-controlled Second Philippine Republic in commemoration of its first
anniversary. Depicted on the stamps is President Laurel

Due to the nature of Laurel's government and its connection to Japan, much of the
population actively resisted his presidency,[18] supporting the exiled Commonwealth
government;[19] as can be expected. However, this did not mean that his government did
not have forces against the anti-Japanese resistance and the ongoing Philippine
Commonwealth military.[19]
Assassination attempt[edit]
On June 5, 1943, Laurel was playing golf at the Wack Wack Golf and Country
Club in Mandaluyong, Rizal when he was shot around four times with a .45 caliber
pistol.[20] The bullets barely missed his heart and liver. [20] He was rushed by his golfing
companions, among them FEU president Nicanor Reyes Sr., to the Philippine General
Hospital where he was operated by the Chief Military Surgeon of the Japanese Military
Administration and Filipino surgeons.[20] Laurel enjoyed a speedy recovery.
Two suspects to the shooting were reportedly captured and swiftly executed by
the Kempetai.[21] Another suspect, a former boxer named Feliciano Lizardo, was
presented for identification by the Japanese to Laurel at the latter's hospital bed, but
Laurel then professed unclear memory.[21] However, in his 1953 memoirs, Laurel would
admit that Lizardo, by then one of his bodyguards who had pledged to give his life for
him, was indeed the would-be-assassin.[21] Still, the historian Teodoro Agoncillo in his
book on the Japanese occupation, identified a captain with a guerilla unit as the
shooter.[21]
Dissolution of the regime[edit]

Laurel (left) being taken into U.S. custody at Osaka Airport in 1945, along with Benigno Aquino Sr. (center)
and José Laurel III.

On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Declaration served upon Japan an ultimatum to

surrender or face utter annihilation. The Japanese government refused the offer. On
August 6, 1945, Hiroshima, with some 300,000 inhabitants, was almost totally destroyed
by an atomic bomb dropped from an American plane. Two days later, the Soviet Union
declared war against Japan and invaded Manchuria. [22] The next day, August 9, 1945, a
second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The Allied Forces' message now had a
telling effect: Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Powers on August 15,
1945.[11]
Since April 1945, President Laurel, together with his family and Cabinet member Camilo
Osías, Speaker Benigno Aquino Sr., Gen. Tomas Capinpin, and Ambassador Jorge B.
Vargas, had been in Japan. Evacuated from Baguio shortly after the city fell, they
traveled to Aparri and thence, on board Japanese planes, had been taken to Japan.
Laurel was put in Sugamo Prison then was later transferred to Nara for house arrest.
On August 17, 1945, from Nara Hotel in Nara, Japan, President Laurel issued an
Executive Proclamation which declared the dissolution of his regime. [11]
President Laurel is the only Philippine president who served the three branches of
government. He became a senator-congressman, associate justice and a president of
the second republic.

Post-presidency[edit]
1949 presidential election[edit]
On September 2, 1945, the Japanese forces formally surrendered to the United
States. Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered Laurel arrested for collaborating with the
Japanese. In 1946, he was charged with 132 counts of treason, but he was never
brought to trial due to the general amnesty granted by President Manuel Roxas in 1948.
[9]
 Laurel ran for president against Elpidio Quirino in 1949 but lost in what future Foreign
Affairs Secretary Carlos P. Romulo and Marvin M. Gray considered as the dirtiest
election in Philippine electoral history. [23]
Return to the Senate[edit]

At Malacañang Palace, 1955. Clockwise, from top left: Senator Edmundo Cea, Former President Jose P.
Laurel Sr., Senator Cipriano Primicias, Senate President Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr., President Ramon F.
Magsaysay, & House Speaker Jose B. Laurel, Jr.

Laurel garnered the votes of more than 2 million and was elected to the Senate in 1951,
under the Nacionalista Party. He was urged to run for president in 1953, but declined,
working instead for the successful election of Ramon Magsaysay. Magsaysay appointed
Laurel head of a mission tasked with negotiating trade and other issues with United
States officials, the result being known as the Laurel–Langley Agreement.
Retirement and death[edit]
Laurel considered his election to the Senate as a vindication of his reputation. He
declined to run for re-election in 1957. He retired from public life, concentrating on the
development of the Lyceum of the Philippines established by his family.
During his retirement, Laurel stayed in a 1957 3-story, 7-bedroom mansion
in Mandaluyong, dubbed "Villa Pacencia" after Laurel's wife. The home was one of
three residences constructed by the Laurel family, the other two being in Tanauan,
Batangas and in Paco, Manila (called "Villa Peñafrancia"). In 2008, the Laurel family
sold "Villa Pacencia" to then-Senate President Manny Villar and his wife Cynthia.[24]
On November 6, 1959, Laurel died at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Santa
Mesa, Manila,[25] from a massive heart attack and a stroke. He is buried at the Tanauan
City Public Cemetery in Tanauan, Batangas. [26]

Honors[edit]
National Honor

 : Philippine Legion of Honor, Chief Commander - (1959)

 : Knights of Rizal, Knight Grand Cross

Personal life[edit]
He married Pacencia Hidalgo on April 9, 1911.[27] The couple had nine children:
 José Laurel Jr. (August 27, 1912 – March 11, 1998), member of the Philippine National
Assembly from Batangas from 1943 to 1944, Congressman from Batangas's third
district from 1941 to 1957 and from 1961 to 1972, Speaker of the House of Representatives
of the Philippines from 1954 to 1957 and from 1967 to 1971, Assemblyman of Regular
Batasang Pambansa from 1984 to 1986, Member of the Philippine Constitutional
Commission of 1986 from June 2 to October 15, 1986 and a running-mate of Carlos P.
Garcia of the Nacionalista Party in Philippine presidential election of 1957, placed second in
the vice-presidential race against Diosdado Macapagal of Liberal Party (Philippines)
 José Laurel III (August 27, 1914 – January 6, 2003) ambassador to Japan
 Natividad Laure- Guinto (born December 25, 1916)
 Sotero Laurel II (September 27, 1918 – September 16, 2009) Senator of the
Philippines from 1987 to 1992 became Senate President pro tempore from 1990 to 1992
 Mariano Antonio Laurel (January 17, 1922 – August 2, 1979)[28][29]
 Rosenda Pacencia Laurel-Avanceña (born January 9, 1925)
 Potenciana "Nita" Laurel-Yupangco (born May 19, 1926)
 Salvador Laurel (November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004) Senator of the Philippines from
1967 to 1972, Prime Minister of the Philippines from February 25 to March 25,
1986, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines from March 25, 1986 to February 2,
1987, Vice President of the Philippines from February 25, 1986 to June 30, 1992 and a
presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party in Philippine presidential election of 1992
placed seventh in the presidential race against Fidel V. Ramos
 Arsenio Laurel (December 14, 1931 – November 19, 1967) He was the first two-time winner
of the Macau Grand Prix, winning it consecutively in 1962 and 1963.
Descendants[edit]
 Roberto Laurel, grandson, President of Lyceum of the Philippines University-
Manila and Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite, son of Sotero Laurel (3rd son of
José P. Laurel)
 Peter Laurel, grandson, President of Lyceum of the Philippines University-
Batangas and Lyceum of the Philippines University-Laguna
 Carlos "Chuck" Perez Laurel, grandson
 Luis Marcos "Mark" Laurel, grandson, lawyer, son of Sotero Laurel (3rd son of José P.
Laurel)
 Jose Bayani "JB" Laurel Jr., UNIDO Party list, grandson
 José Laurel IV, grandson, representative of the 3rd district of Batangas, son of Jose Laurel
Jr.
 Francis Castillo-Laurel, grandson
 Antonio "Tony" Castillo-Laurel, grandson
 Jose "Joey" C. Laurel V, grandson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Philippine Ambassador to Japan, governor of Batangas
 Mercedes "Ditas" Laurel-Marquez, granddaughter
 Maria Elena "Marilen" Laurel-Loinaz, granddaughter
 Christine C. Laurel, granddaughter
 Benjamin "Benjie" C. Laurel+, grandson
 Eduardo C. Laurel+, grandson
 Susanna "Susie" D. Laurel-Delgado, granddaughter
 Celine "Lynnie" D. Laurel-Castillo
 Victor "Cocoy" D. Laurel, actor and singer
 Iwi Laurel-Asensio, granddaughter, singer and entrepreneur
 Patty Laurel, granddaughter, TV host and former MTV VJ
 Camille Isabella I. Laurel, UNIDO Party list, great-granddaughter
 Ann Maria Margarette I. Laurel great-grand daughter
 Jose Antonio Miguel I. Laurel, great-grandson
 Franco Laurel, great-grandson, singer and actor
 Rajo Laurel, great-grandson, fashion designer
 Denise Laurel, great-granddaughter, actress and singer
 Nicole Laurel Asensio, great-granddaughter, lead singer of General Luna band.

See also[edit]

 Laurel incident

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Retroactively recognized a legitimate President of the Philippines.

2. ^ Manuel L. Quezon served as president of the government in exile
3. ^ Sergio Osmeña served as president of the government in exile
4. ^ As per the official chronological list of Presidents by the cotemporary Philippine government.
5. ^ Osmena became the sole President of the Philippines upon Laurel's dissolution of the Second
Philippine Republic. The Commonwealth government became the sole governing entity of the
Philippines.