Overview: Laurel’s Life

JOSÉ PACIANO LAUREL Y GARCÍA

(March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959)

José Paciano Laurel was born on March 9, 1891 in the town of Tanauan, Batangas. His parents were Sotero
Laurel, Sr. and Jacoba García. His father had been an official in the revolutionary government of Emilio
Aguinaldo and a signatory to the 1898 Malolos Constitution. He was taken prisoner during the Filipino-
American War and died in captivity in 1902 when Jose was only 11 years old.

This led the young Laurel to work as an altar boy and chorister, later taking on a job as a part-time laborer
at the Bureau of Forestry when he turned 18, for the money he needed to continue his studies. He later
became a clerk for the Code Committee, where he met Thomas Atkins Street, a future member of the
Philippine Supreme Court and who served as his mentor. After graduating from the Manila High School
(now Araullo High School) in 1911, he eloped with Paciencia Hidalgo, and enrolled at the University of the
Philippines College of Law, where he later earned his doctorate in Philosophy.

He ranked second in his class of 60 and also came out second in the 1915 Bar Examinations. 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. Laurel later obtained a
Licenciado en Jurisprudencia degree from the Escuela de Derecho in Manila while serving as Chief of the
Executive Bureau's Administration Division. He then obtained a Master of Laws degree from University of
Santo Tomas in 1919. Laurel then attended Yale Law School, where he obtained a Doctorate of Law, as a
government pensionado in 1919, earning a degree in civil law a year later.
He also took special courses in international law at Oxford University in England and the University of Paris
in France, before returning to the Philippines in 1921. Was the president of the Republic of the Philippines,
a Japanese-sponsored administration during World War II, from 1943 to 1945.

Since the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal (1961–1965), Laurel had been recognized as a
legitimate president of the Philippines. After retiring from politics, Laurel focused on managing the
Lyceum of the Philippines, which he founded on 7 July 1952. During that time, he also served as the
president of the Philippine Banking Corporation.

Laurel had nine children with wife Paciencia, several of which would also enter politics.

He died on 6 November 1959 of a massive heart attack and stroke.

 Lesson 2
Los Cincos

In the late 1900s, the Philippines was still under the domination of the Spaniards. A man named Sotero R.
Laurel who was a prominent lawyer from Batangas wanted liberty from the oppressors. Together with
Macelo H. del Pilar, he became a member of the so called Los Cincos, a nacionalista group. This group
wanted freedom of the Islands. This has also inspired Bonifacio’s KKK that only had three members as its
nucleus.

Hearing about Laurel, Emilio Aguinaldo sought his assistance as his Secretary of Interior. Aguinaldo’s Army,
as well as other Filipino groups, was winning against the Spaniards. Due to this defeat, the Spaniards
decided to sell the Philippines to the Americans. During this time, Aguinaldo’s army sent emissaries to
Japan to gather military ammunitions and arms but the ship carrying these ammunitions sank due to a
storm. Stories spread that it was intentionally sank.

The Americans were good in their military tactics and they were heavy I ammunitions that the Filipinos
adopted guerrilla tactics by avoiding frontal battles. Gen Franklin J. Bell started assigning Filipinos certain
designation for their residence where supplies were scarce. Filipinos cannot leave the area without a pass,
otherwise they are considered enemies. Filipino leaders who also refuse to support Americans were jailed.
Eventually, Filipinos found defeat. With this, Emilio Aguinaldo sought fortress to the mountains in Isabela
leaving Sotero behind. Del Pilar also went abroad abandoning the old Laurel.

Laurel was caught and brought to an internment camp where he died due to dysentery, leaving his wife
Jacoba and their five children. One of them was the ten or eleven-year-old Jose. Sotero was buried at the
Municipal cemetery in Tanauan.

Lesson 3
Jose P. Laurel’s Childhood

Jose Paciano Laurel lost his father when he was about ten or eleven years old and was raised by his mother
in Tanauan, Batangas. The Laurels were close with the Rizals of Calamba thus, Jose was also named
Paciano after Jose Rizal’s older brother. Jacoba taught her children ABCs but school bored the young Jose.
Jacoba engaged Jose on tutoring but instead of studying Jose would just play either the guitar or violin.
He spent three years on fifth grade; one teacher even said “this boy won’t amount to anything. Kick my
grave if he does.”

When he was younger he also wanted an anting anting that he would spend nights at the cemetery. Ut
was said that one must wait wrestle with a café to fully own the anting anting but Jose never got one. One
morning, he was found by the cemetery keeper lying on a tomb, foot tied to a cross with wound on his
head. He never explained what happened to him but he thought that maybe one of his friends hit him
leaving him unconscious.
When Jose was also about six or seven he slipped down the deep well in their backyard. Fortunately, their
cook saw him and yelled bringing his father and their driver to rescue him.

Lesson 4
High School Life

Jose P. Laurel was 15 when he decided that he wanted to be serious with his studies. This was said to be
the effect of a necklace with a crucifix pendant his mother gave him. He told his mom that he wanted to
study high school in San Juan de Letran, his father’s alma mater. He got good grades, 90 in History, 100 in
Algebra as well as 99 Latin but failure in one subject caused for his non-admittance to the same school in
his second year.

Upon reflecting, Jose taught that maybe his weekend trips to Tanauan to play banduria as a member of
the Tanauan Orchestra caused for his failure, thus he decided to stop playing and to just concentrate on
studies. He transferred to Manila South High School in his sophomore year. While studying he worked as
a church acolyte. Realizing that he needed more money, he decided to work as an English Teacher in La
Regeneracion High School where he was paid thirty pesos monthly.

During those times, JPL was so thrift that he would usually walk from school to his home every day. He
would wear out his school shoes which he would patch up with cardboard. He was also known for his
khaki pants and white shirt that he would always wear to school, thus his classmates nicknamed him
Scout.

He also worked as clerk in the Bureau of Forestry arranging specimens for 40 cents per half day. ###