José Paciano Laurel y García was born on March 9, 1891 in the town of Tanauan, Batangas.

His
parents were Sotero Laurel I and Jacoba García. His father had been an official in the
revolutionary government of Emilio Aguinaldo and a signatory to the 1899 Malolos
Constitution.

Laurel was the third President of the Philippines. As a concrete step towards Japanese-sponsored
independence, the Japanese mandated that a Preparatory Commission for Philippine
Independence (PCPI) be created. Laurel was named president of the body, which was tasked
with drafting the constitution for the republic to be. The Japanese had their own ideas on how the
constitution was to be framed, and they made no secret of it.

The presidency of Laurel understandably remains one of the most controversial in Philippine
history. After the war, he would be denounced by the pro-American sectors as a war collaborator
or even a traitor, although his indictment for treason was superseded by President Roxas'
Amnesty Proclamation. However, despite being one of the most infamous figures in Philippine
history, he is also regarded as a Pan-Asianist who supported independence. When asked if he
was pro-American or pro-Japanese, his answer would be pro-Filipino.