Jose P. Laurel

“ Love of freedom has always been the dominating impulse which has given the historical evolution of the Filipino race a meaning and a purpose. In war and in peace, the Filipinos have ceaselessly fought and labored for their freedom ever since they were brought under foreign yoke, first under Spain for three hundred years or more and later under America for the last forty years. Their incessant and arduous quest for liberation has been hallowed by the blood and suffering of countless Filipino heroes and martyrs. ”

“ The Filipino people value their independence as the blessed fruit of the sacrifices of their heroic forefathers and brothers who fought and died in far-flung battlefields, from Mactan to Bataan, in their persistent struggle for freedom. ”

“ As a consequence of the Greater East Asia War, the great Nipponese Empire, true to its altruistic mission in waging that war, has enabled the Filipino people to realize at last their dream of freedom by allowing them to form a Preparatory Commission for Philippine Independence, to adopt a Constitution for an independent Philippines, and to take all other requisite steps for the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines. ”