List of Presidents of the Philippines

For pre-colonial leaders of the Philippines, see Datu. For colonial chief executives prior to the ratification of the 1935 Constitution, see Governor-General of the Philippines.
Malacañang Palace, in the City of Manila, the official residence of the President.

The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of the Philippines. According to the Philippine government, the office has been held by politicians who were inaugurated as President of the Philippines, following the ratification of the Malolos Constitution that explicitly declared the existence of the Philippines.

Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of revolutionary forces first against Spanish rule and then against the United States of America, became president of the short-lived Malolos Republic in 1899. He was captured by American troops in 1901, ending his presidency. The republic never received international recognition. The Philippine government considers Aguinaldo to be the country's first president.[1]

During the American colonial period (1898–1946), the President of the United States was head of state and the American Governor-General of the Philippines was the chief executive of the Insular Government. As part of a ten-year plan to transition to full Philippine sovereignty, the Philippine Commonwealth was established in 1935 and the governor-general was replaced by the elected President of the Commonwealth. Manuel L. Quezon was the first President of the Commonwealth and is considered the second Philippine president.

During the Second World War, the Philippines had three Presidents - one de facto and two de jure – with two concurrently heading rival governments either under Allied or Axis influence.[2] Presidents Manuel L. Quezon and his successor, Sergio Osmeña served under the American-controlled Commonwealth of the Philippines and its subsequent government-in-exile, respectively. President José P. Laurel was a puppet ruler of the Second Republic – a client state of the Empire of Japan, which asserted that the Philippines was independent.

Before 1898, during the Spanish colonial period (1521–1898), the King of Spain was the sovereign and the Governor-General of the Philippines was chief executive of the Philippine government, known as the Spanish East Indies.

Legend

The colors in the following indicate the political party or coalition of each President on Election Day or upon their accession:

List of Presidents

Presidents of the Philippines[3]
President
(Birth–Death) 		Took office Left office Party Vice President Term Era
1 Emilio Aguinaldo
(1869–1964)
 January 23, 1899[L 1] rowspan=1| March 23, 1901[L 2] None; formerly the Magdalo faction of the Katipunan[L 3] None[L 4] — First Republic
(Malolos Republic)
Defunct; executive power exercised by the Governor General of the Philippines under the American colonial Insular Government until November 15, 1935. Insular Government
2 Manuel L. Quezon
(1878–1944)
 November 15, 1935 August 1, 1944[L 5] Nacionalista Sergio Osmeña 1 American Commonwealth
2
3 José P. Laurel
(1891–1959)
 October 14, 1943 August 17, 1945[L 6] KALIBAPI[L 7]
(Caretaker government under Japanese occupation)		 None[L 8] — Second Republic
4 Sergio Osmeña
(1878–1961)
 August 1, 1944 May 28, 1946 Nacionalista Vacant 2 American Commonwealth
(Restored)
5 Manuel Roxas
(1892–1948)
 May 28, 1946 April 15, 1948[L 9] Liberal Elpidio Quirino 3
Third Republic
6 Elpidio Quirino
(1890–1956)
April 17, 1948 December 30, 1953 Liberal Vacant
Fernando Lopez 4
7 Ramon Magsaysay
(1907–1957)
 December 30, 1953 March 17, 1957[L 10] Nacionalista Carlos P. Garcia 5
8 Carlos P. Garcia
(1896–1971)
 March 18, 1957 December 30, 1961 Nacionalista Vacant
Diosdado Macapagal 6
9 Diosdado Macapagal
(1910–1997)
 December 30, 1961 December 30, 1965 Liberal Emmanuel Pelaez 7
10 Ferdinand Marcos
(1917–1989)
 December 30, 1965 February 25, 1986[L 11] Nacionalista Fernando Lopez 8
9
10 KBL Vacant Second Dictatorship
"The New Society"
10 Fourth Republic
Arturo Tolentino 11
11 Corazon Aquino
(1933–2009)
 February 25, 1986[L 12] June 30, 1992 PDP-LABAN / UNIDO Salvador Laurel
Fifth Republic
12 Fidel V. Ramos
(1928– )
 June 30, 1992 June 30, 1998 Lakas Joseph Estrada 12
13 Joseph Estrada
(1937– )
 June 30, 1998 January 20, 2001[L 13] LAMP Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo 13
14 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
(1947– )
 January 20, 2001 June 30, 2010 Lakas / KAMPI Vacant
Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
Noli de Castro 14
Lakas-Kampi
15 Benigno Aquino III
(1960– )
 June 30, 2010 Incumbent
(Term expires June 30, 2016)		 Liberal Jejomar Binay 15

Notes


  1. ↑ Term began with the formal establishment of the Malolos Republic, considered the First Philippine Republic.[4]
  2. ↑ Term ended when Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. forces at Palanan, Isabela.[4]
  3. ↑ Founded by Andrés Bonifacio and others on July 7, 1892; converted into a revolutionary government by Bonifacio on August 24, 1986; as a government, officially replaced by the Tejeros revolutionary government on March 22, 1897 - though some sectors refused cooperation; as an organization, officially abolished by Emilio Aguinaldo on July 15, 1898
  4. ↑ Mariano Trias was the vice president of Aguinaldo during the 1897 Tejeros Convention.
  5. ↑ Died due to tuberculosis at Saranac Lake, New York.
  6. ↑ Term ended with his dissolving the Philippine Republic in the wake of the surrender of Japanese forces to the Americans at World War II. His presidency is not considered by the Republic of the Philippines to have been legitimate.[3] The Commonwealth government continued its existence as a government-in-exile in Australia and the United States during the Japanese occupation and later the second republic.[5]
  7. ↑ Originally a Nacionalista, but was elected by the National Assembly under Japanese control. All parties were merged under Japanese auspices to form KALIBAPI, to which all officials belonged.
  8. ↑ The 1943 Constitution did not provide for a Vice President.
  9. ↑ Died due to a heart attack at Clark Air Base.
  10. ↑ Died on a plane crash at Mount Manunggal, Cebu.
  11. ↑ Deposed in the 1986 People Power Revolution.
  12. ↑ Assumed presidency by claiming victory in the disputed 1986 snap election.
  13. ↑ Deposed after the Supreme Court declared Estrada as resigned, and the office of the presidency as vacant as a result, after the 2001 EDSA Revolution.

Timeline

Statistics

The 1935 constitution provided that no person shall serve as President for more than eight consecutive years.[6] The 1973 constitution did not place restrictions on presidential re-election.[7] The 1987 constitution provided that the President shall not be eligible for any re-election, and that no person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.[8] President Arroyo succeeded to the presidency on January 20, 2001 and, after having served as President for less than four years and having been elected to the office of President in the May, 2004 elections, was sworn into a full six-year term on June 30, 2004.

Unofficial Presidents of the Philippines

Historians and other figures have identified the following people as having held the presidency of a government intended to represent the Philippines, but their terms of office are not counted by the Philippine government (or by some historians, as in the case of Jose P. Laurel) as part of the presidential succession.

Emilio Aguinaldo is officially recognized as the first President of the Philippines, but this is based on his term of office during the Malolos Republic, later known as the First Philippine Republic. Prior to this Aguinaldo had held the presidency of several revolutionary governments which are not counted in the succession of Philippine republics.

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). The encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars: a political, social, and military history. ABC-CLIO. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-85109-951-1..
  2. ↑ Quezon III, Manuel (February 2, 2001). "For trivia freaks". Today.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Philippine Presidents". Presidential Museum and Library. Republic of the Philippines.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Emilio Aguinaldo". Official Gazette of the Philippine Government. March 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ Agoncillo, Teodoro A; Guerrero, Milagros (1970). History of the Filipino People. Malaya Books. p. 415. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  6. ↑ Article VII, 1935 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Chan Robles Law Library.
  7. ↑ Article VII, 1973 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines., Chan Robles Law Library.
  8. ↑ Article VII, 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines., Chan Robles Law Library.

External links