
Lawyer And Politician
With the establishment of the Philippine Assembly in 1916, Manuel L. Quezon took in the young Elpidio as his secretary, mentoring him in the ways of local and national politics. Quirino ran and won as Congressman of Ilocos Sur. He also ran, and won thrice, as Senator. Quirino had an important role in the lobbying for the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, which became the basis for the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and the eventual independence of the Philippines. Quirino was also a member of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the Commonwealth Constitution of 1935.