Aurora Quezon - Postwar Activity

Postwar Activity

When Mrs. Quezón returned to the Philippines she was voted a pension of 1,000 pesos a month by the Philippine Congress. She returned the check, explaining: "I feel that on account of ... countless war widows and orphans ... I should waive collection of a pension . . . I cannot, in good conscience, receive ... Government assistance when so many of my less fortunate sisters and their children are not yet taken care of. . . I know I would not be keeping faith with the memory of my beloved husband. . . ." This act, it was said, "demonstrated why thousands of Filipinos regard her as a combination queen-mother and patron saint". Quezón was offered a slot in the Liberal Party senatorial slate for the 1946 elections, which she declined. She however endorsed the presidential candidacy of Manuel Roxas, who defeated her husband's vice-president and successor, Sergio Osmeña, to win the presidency.

In 1947, with the active support of Quezón, the Philippine National Red Cross was established as an independent Red Cross organization. She became the first Chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross, holding the position until her death. She also was named as honorary vice-president of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society.

She continued to be involved in civic work, such as the efforts to rebuild the Antipolo Church. She received honorary doctorates from the University of Santo Tomas, and from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She was likewise bestowed the Ozanam Award from the Ateneo de Manila University, and the Pro Ecclessia et Pontifice Cross from Pope Pius XII.