Topic summary
Philippine Commonwealth
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Commonwealth of the Philippines.
World War II
GeneralDouglas MacArthur's army landed on Leyte on October 20, 1944, as did the Philippine Commonwealth troops who arrived in other amphibious landings. The Philippine Constabulary was placed on active service with the Philippine Commonwealth Army and re-established from October 28, 1944, to June 30, 1946, during the Allied liberation and the post–World War II era. Fighting continued in remote corners of the Philippines until Japan's official surrender in August 1945, which was signed on September 2 in Tokyo Bay. Estimates of Filipino war dead reached one million, and Manila was extensively damaged when Japanese marines refused to vacate the city despite orders from the Japanese High Command. After the war in the Philippines, the Commonwealth was restored, and a one-year transitional period began in preparation for independence. Elections followed in April 1946, with Manuel Roxas winning as the first President of the independent Republic of the Philippines and Elpidio Quirino winning as vice-president.