PNoy leads tribute as President Quezon awarded for saving 1,200 Jews

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday led the commemoration of the 137th birth anniversary of former President Manuel L. Quezon.

Aquino led the wreath-laying ceremony at the Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) this morning and witnessed the turn-over of the posthumous Raoul Wallenberg Medal to Quezon's daughter, Zenaida Quezon Avancena.

The honor was bestowed upon Quezon for the "decisive and courageous role" he played in the absorption of about 1,200 European Jewish refugees into the country from 1937 to 1941, saving them from the Nazi.

Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Effie Ben-Matityau, who presented the medal, lauded Quezon for his "moral conviction."

Quezon's grandson, Press Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III, delivered a response and stressed the importance of people's right to asylum in a democracy.

After the awarding ceremony, Aquino banged a gavel to commemorate Quezon's act of opening the Senate sessions from 1916 until he became president in 1935.

Aquino then led the opening of the newly renovated Manuel Quezon Museum housed at the QMC shrine. The president toured the museum and was accompanied by Quezon's family and National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chair Maria Serena Diokno.

The event was attended by members of the Cabinet and Diplomatic Corps, officials and employees of the national and local government units, sectoral representatives, Quezon's family, representatives of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and other invited guests.