Philippine general election, 1943

The Manila Waterworks Building (near the Manila City Hall) was where The National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic convened on September 25, 1943.

The Philippine Executive Commission or PEC was established on January of 1942 with Jorge B. Vargas as its first Chairman. The PEC was created as the temporary care-taker government of the Greater Manila area and eventually of the whole Philippines during the Japanese occupation of the country during World War II.

The PEC formally abolished all political parties on December 8, 1942 by virtue of Proclamation No. 109 creating the "Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas" (Association for the Services of the New Philippines) or better known then as the "KALIBAPI."

The "KALIBAPI" was established to aim at the mental education, moral regeneration, physical invigoration, and economic rehabilitation of the Philippines under the guidance of the Japanese Military Administration. It was tasked to foster strong cooperation with the Japanese as part of the Order Great East Asia that promotes the lifting of the "great Oriental race." The "Kalibapi" was appointed as a strong right arm of the Japanese occupational forces of the Philippines. On May 6, 1943, Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo during a visit to the Philippines pledged to establish the Republic of the Philippines. This pledge of Tojo prompted the "Kalibapi", to call for a convention on June 19, 1943 and twenty of its members were elected to form the Preparatory Commission for Independence. The commission tasked to draft a constitution for the Philippine Republic and elected head was Jose P. Laurel.

The Preparatory Commission presented its draft Constitution on September 4, 1943 and three days later, the "KALIBAPI" general assembly ratified the draft Constitution. On September 20, 1943, the "KALIBAPI's" representative groups in the country's provinces and cities "elected" from among themselves fifty four (54) members of the newly-made Japanese-sponsored Philippine National Assembly, the legislature of the country, with fifty four (54) governors and city mayors as ex-officio members through KALIBAPI Conventions throughout the country.