Quezon is a 2025 Philippine biographical film co-written, edited, composed, and directed by Jerrold Tarog. The film portrays the political rise of the former Philippines' President Manuel L. Quezon, played by Jericho Rosales. It is the third and final installment in TBA Studios's Bayaniverse trilogy. Additional cast members include Karylle as Aurora Quezon, Mon Confiado as Emilio Aguinaldo, Iain Glen as Leonard Wood, and Arron Villaflor as Joven Hernando, a fictional journalist present in previous Bayaniverse films.
Quezon is produced by TBA Studios with assistance from the Film Development Council of the Philippines. A film featuring Quezon was announced as a conclusion to Bayaniverse in 2018, and was planned for a 2022 release in 2019. Planned as a political thriller, the production team eventually developed the film as a dark comedy. Filming began on March 2025 and concluded in June 2025. The film was released in the Philippines on October 15, 2025, and internationally in October and November 2025. Quezon generally received positive reception on its cast performances, cinematography, and approach on portraying Quezon and historical events. The film received mixed responses from the Philippine Department of Education and members of the Quezon family.
Plot
In 1901, Major Manuel Quezon meets Captain Eduardo Rusca and journalist Joven Hernando on his way to surrender to the Americans. Quezon gives a coin to Joven as a reminder that "principle is most important" and promises to make the Quezon name famous. The two become friends; Quezon enters politics and uses his patronage to provide Joven with his own newspaper, Alerta.
Quezon's political stardom rises during the American period, as he establishes himself as a leader of the Nacionalista Party and a populist Senate president who is seeking to achieve independence for the Philippines, while discreetly receiving support from the Americans and the elite. At the same time, he has a love-hate relationship with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sergio Osmeña, and grooms a young legislator, Manuel Roxas, to undermine Osmeña for the upcoming elections. When Leonard Wood becomes Governor-General and complains to Washington, D.C. about the corruption of Filipino leaders and the Philippines' unpreparedness for independence, Quezon leads his colleagues in a prolonged political standoff against Wood. Quezon seeks the support of Emilio Aguinaldo, now the head of the Association of Veterans of the Revolution, in denouncing Wood, but seethes when Aguinaldo sympathizes with Wood instead.
Quezon tries to charm Wood in a drinking session, but is instead blackmailed by Wood into desisting from further agitation for independence by presenting an archive of his previous legal cases, including rape and bigamy. Wood later dies in office, and a jealous Quezon scuttles an agreement made by Osmeña and Roxas with the Americans for Philippine independence, the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act. He then secures his own deal, the Tydings–McDuffie Act, albeit containing similar terms. This allows him to run for president of the upcoming Commonwealth election. He convinces a reluctant Osmeña to become his running mate by promising him the presidency after one term. At the same time, he insults Aguinaldo for supporting Wood, leading Aguinaldo to contest the election against Quezon.
Quezon commissions Joven and his daughter Nadia to make hagiographical films of him, unaware that Joven and Nadia are also making unflattering versions of them. Joven also publishes an exposé from Pedro Janolino revealing Aguinaldo's responsibility for the assassination of Antonio Luna. As Quezon proceeds to confiscate Aguinaldo's farmstead and withdraw his pension, Aguinaldo and his running mate, Raymundo Melliza, learn that Quezon abandoned his first wife, Ana Ricardo, during the war before marrying Aurora Aragón. Melliza invites Ana to an event in Bataan attended by Aguinaldo, Gregorio Aglipay, and Quezon. This enrages Quezon, but Aguinaldo loses his nerve and fails to expose Quezon. Meanwhile, Joven goes to a campaign sortie by Aguinaldo in Malolos, only to see Janolino sabotaging the event by staging a funeral-themed protest. Melliza angrily points out to Joven that Janolino is Quezon's sergeant-at-arms in the Senate. Disillusioned, Joven writes an article in Alerta denouncing Quezon as a deceitful and corrupt politician, resulting in the newspaper's closure.
After Quezon wins the election and is inaugurated as President, Joven confronts him about Alerta'''s closure. Quezon denies involvement, and the two debate over truth and compromise before Joven returns the coin Quezon once gave him. Joven, Nadia, and Rusca watch the critical Quezon films at the Hernando' cinema, but are interrupted by Quezon, whose secretary, Manuel Nieto, has been spying on the Hernando family. Joven chastises Quezon for his corrupt ways and lust for power, but Quezon reminds him of how his patronage gave Hernando's family their livelihood. Joven ends his association with Quezon, who hands back the coin Joven gave him.
Despite his promise to Osmeña, Quezon arranges for a constitutional amendment allowing his reelection in 1941. As tuberculosis further weakens him and World War II breaks out, he is inaugurated in Corregidor. As he is wheeled back inside the Malinta Tunnel, he lashes out at Osmeña, knowing that the latter will live to see an independent Philippines while he will not, exclaiming, "I am the Filipino people, I am the Philippines!"
An epilogue reveals that Osmeña succeeded to the presidency after Quezon’s death, but lost his reelection bid to Roxas, who became the first president of the post-Commonwealth Third Republic, while Aguinaldo outlived Quezon, Osmeña, and Roxas. A radio set plays "Mambo Magsaysay" in the mid-credits scene.
Cast Jericho Rosales as Manuel L. Quezon Benjamin Alves as young Manuel L. Quezon Karylle as Aurora Quezon Joross Gamboa as Eduardo Rusca Ketchup Eusebio as Pedro Janolino Romnick Sarmenta as Sergio Osmeña JC Santos as Manuel A. Roxas Jake Macapagal as Manuel M. Nieto Mon Confiado as Emilio F. Aguinaldo Bodjie Pascua as Raymundo Melliza Iain Glen as Leonard Wood Sue Prado as Ana Ricardo Arron Villaflor as Joven Hernando Cris Villanueva as older Joven Hernando Therese Malvar as Nadia Hernando Nico Locco as Sergeant Johnston Angeli Bayani as Maria Agoncillo
ProductionQuezon is directed by Jerrold Tarog, who is also its composer, and is produced by TBA Studios' president Daphne O. Chiu-Soon. The film's scriptwriters are Tarog and Rody Vera. Pong Ignacio served as the cinematographer. Quezon is the latest addition to Bayaniverse, a cinematic series of historical films which includes Heneral Luna and Goyo: The Boy General. It is a standalone film.
Development and pre-production It was reported in 2018 that the sequel to Goyo would be about President Manuel L. Quezon, with Benjamin Alves and TJ Trinidad set to reprise their roles as younger and older versions of Quezon respectively. However, Tarog's work on the sequel was postponed after Star Cinema hired him in 2018 to direct Darna. While Tarog focused on filming for Darna, producer EA Rocha stated in 2019 that pre-production work on the potential Quezon film would continue. The film was planned to undergo pre-production work in 2021, with its scriptwriting planned after the production of Darna, and set for a 2022 release.
In 2021, Tarog teased the potential script co-written with Rody Vera on Twitter (X), and stated that it was still to be submitted for approval. The project would later receive a "large budget production fund" support from the Film Development Council of the Philippines as a part of its CreatePHFilms Funding Program Cycle 1 of 2024. Amazon Prime Video would have funded the film's production, but Quezon lost its source for production funds when Prime Video shut down original film production in Southeast Asia in 2024. In January 2025, TBA Studios confirmed that the filming of Quezon would commence in March of the same year.Quezon was initially planned as a political thriller, but eventually became a dark comedy after a further research. Tarog also found comedy and satire to be the most appropriate genres for the film. The film has four segments that narrate Quezon's political career. The four segments feature Quezon's conflicts against fictional journalist Joven Hernando, who appears in prior Bayaniverse films Goyo and Heneral Luna, Sergio Osmeña, Leonard Wood, and Emilio Aguinaldo. The film begins with a disclaimer that it is written with artistic license to communicate specific themes.
Mon Confiado announced his role as Aguinaldo on January 31, 2025, by posting a picture of the cast's read-through. On February 18, TBA Studios announced that Jericho Rosales would portray the role of Quezon, as Trinidad backed out due to prior commitments. On February 19, it was announced that Aaron Villaflor would portray as Joven Hernando. On March 16, TBA Studios confirmed that Iain Glen has been cast in the film and would portray the role of governor-general Leonard Wood.
Filming In a social media post, TBA Studios announced the start of their filming for Quezon on March 18, 2025. The production shot several scenes in Manila, such as a theater in Santa Catalina College and at the National Museum of Fine Arts, which was the historic site of Quezon's presidential inauguration. Quezon was also filmed in San Juan, Batangas. The depiction of Quezon's election as senate president was arranged similar to a game of chess; 64 desks and chairs were made for the scene, and filming took place in an event venue in Las Piñas in place for Ayuntamiento de Manila. The characters' movements across the venue in the sequence also mimic the Immortal Game. The final scene of Quezon being wheeled into Malinta Tunnel was shot in the Centennial Tunnel in La Union. Filming concluded on June 11, 2025.
Release On July 4, 2025, TBA Studios released a poster for the film and announced that it would be released in the Philippines cinemas on October 15, 2025, and in international theaters afterward. The official trailer was released on August 19, 2025. TBA Studios announced that students and teachers are eligible for a discounted viewing fee of in all Philippine cinemas that show Quezon. The film was released internationally in October and November 2025 in Guam, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, and other countries.
Ahead of its general release, a red carpet premier was held for Quezon at SM North EDSA in Quezon City on October 12, 2025. In an interview, producer Daphne Chiu-Soon mentioned that Quezon was deliberately not planned for a Metro Manila Film Festival premier, as the film would "[share] the theater with eight or 10 other entries with very limited screens".
Philippine publishing company Anvil Publishing hosted the Manila International Book Fair in which a book was released that detailed the film's production. A study guide written by historian Alvin Campomanes was also published online.
The film had its international film festival debut at the 45th Hawaiʻi International Film Festival on October 26, 2025. The film was presented in limelight at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam for its European premiere in February 2026.
Philippine government's response On October 14, 2025, the Philippines' Department of Education released a memorandum to show their support for the film. It promoted the film to junior and senior high school students, and teachers to encourage the film's integration into classroom discussions as it's "designed to strengthen historical awareness, civic education, and appreciation of the arts among Filipino learners by providing creative, curriculum-aligned tools that make history both relevant and accessible," and it also offers a "compelling portrait of history while providing timely reflections on governance, leadership, and national identity".
Reception