Since the country was scheduled to gain its independence on 4 July 1946, the one elected would become the first president of an independent Philippines. Since Sergio Osmena was a Visayas, the Nationalists chose Eulogio B. "Amang" Rodriguez, a Tagalog, to be his running mate as vice president. Roxas, a Visayas, chose Elpidio Quirino, an Ilocano, for his vice presidential candidate. The conventional wisdom was that north and south should be represented in the electoral tickets.