Quezon’s ‘Gamble’: PH sheltering Jewish refugees recalled

Original poker cards owned by former President Manuel Quezon are on display at the Quezon Memorial Shrine in Quezon City as part of an exhibit revisiting his decision to shelter Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe before the breakout of World War II.

The exhibit, titled “Ai360: Gamble of Compassion,” opened on Oct. 29 and features Quezon’s original autographed playing cards to symbolize the political and diplomatic risks behind his humanitarian policy.

READ: Wartime haven for Jews in Marikina remembered

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Organized by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the exhibit highlights Quezon’s “Open Door” policy, which allowed more than 1,300 European Jews to seek refuge in the Philippines during the Commonwealth period.

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Respecting rights, dignity

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in a statement on Friday, said the policy helped shape the country’s approach to protecting refugees and other people displaced by persecution and conflict.

Foreign Assistant Secretary for Middle East and African Affairs Indhira Bañares said the Philippines had welcomed refugees even before joining the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981.

“Filipino diplomats will continue to champion a world that respects the rights and dignity of every individual, regardless of nationality or legal status, guided by the conviction that our common humanity transcends borders,” Bañares said during the exhibit’s opening.

Quezon’s efforts to shelter Jewish refugees have since received international recognition.

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The second Philippine president, who died in 1944 at age 65, was posthumously awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation Medal in 2015 for his role in providing sanctuary to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.

The DFA said the Philippines has continued its refugee protection efforts through international commitments, including its endorsement of the Global Compact on Refugees in 2018 and the Complementary Pathways Program, which offers selected refugee youth opportunities to pursue higher education in the country.

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The exhibit is among the NHCP’s projects marking 2026 as the Year of Philippine Diplomatic History and Diaspora, with assistance from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

It is open to the public free of charge from Tuesday to Sunday at the Quezon Memorial Shrine. INQ