Manuel Roxas y Acuña (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from May 28, 1946, to July 4, 1946, and became the first president of the independent Third Philippine Republic after the United States ceded its sovereignty over the Philippines. Early life and career Roxas was born on January 1, 1892, in Capiz, Capiz (present-day Roxas City) to Gerardo Roxas y Arroyo and Rosario Acuña y Villaruz. He was a posthumous child, as his father died after being mortally wounded by the Spanish Guardia Civil the year before. He and his older brother, Mamerto, were raised by their mother and her father, Don Eleuterio Acuña. His other siblings from his father included Leopoldo and Margarita, while he also had half-siblings, Consuelo, Leopoldo, Ines, and Evaristo Picazo after his mother remarried. Roxas received his early education in the public schools of Capiz and attended St. Joseph's College in Hong Kong at age 12, but due to homesickness, he went back to Capiz. He eventually transferred to Manila High School, graduating with honors in 1909. Roxas began his law studies at a private law school established by George A. Malcolm, the first dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law. On his second year, he enrolled at University of the Philippines, where he was elected president of his class and the student council. In 1913, Roxas obtained his law degree, graduated class valedictorian, and subsequently topped the bar examinations with a grade of 92% that same year. He then became professor of law at the Philippine Law School and National University. He served as secretary to Judge Cayetano Arellano of the Supreme Court. Political career In 1917, Roxas became a member of the municipal council of Capiz, serving until 1919. He then became the youngest provincial governor of Capiz, and served in that capacity from 1919 to 1922. Roxas was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in 1922, and for twelve consecutive years was Speaker of the House. He served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1934, secretary of finance, chairman of the National Economic Council, chairman of the National Development Company, and served in