He served briefly as the third and last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from May 28, , to July 4, , and became the first President of the Independent Third Philippine Republic after the United States ceded its sovereignty over the Philippines. He was a posthumous child , as his father died after being mortally wounded by the Spanish Guardia Civil the year before.
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 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 , Roxas became a member of the municipal council of Capiz , serving until Roxas was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in , and for twelve consecutive years was Speaker of the House. He served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of , secretary of finance , chairman of the National Economic Council, chairman of the National Development Company, and served in many other government corporations and agencies.
Roxas became one of the leaders of the Nacionalista Party , which was dominated by the hacendado class who owned the vast hacienda estates that made up most of the cultivated land in the Philippines. With the Great Depression , the Philippines started to be seen as a liability in the United States as demands were made to end Filipino immigration to the United States and end the tariff free importation of Filipino agriculture into the American market as many American farmers complained they could not compete with Filipino farmers.
