This is a list of women senators of the Philippines. It is a guide to identify the

women in the Philippines The role of women in the Philippines ( fil, Kababaihan sa Pilipinas) is explained based on the context of Culture of the Philippines, Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who dir ...

who has served as senators in the

Senate of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives ...

, as distinct from the existing whole list of Philippine senators. Since 1947, there have been 23 Filipino women senators in

Philippine history Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...

. In the ongoing 19th Congress, there are 7 incumbent female senators.

History

Lady Senators 3rd Regular Session 17th Congress of the Senate 2018

The first female senator elected in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

was

Geronima Pecson Geronima Josefa Tomelden Pecson (December 19, 1896 – July 31, 1989) was an educator, suffragette, and social worker who became the first woman senator of the Philippines in 1947 and the first woman member of the Executive Board of the United Na ...

, who reaped the third largest number of votes during the Philippine senatorial elections of 1947. During her senatorial term, Pecson headed the Senate Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Health and Public Welfare, and the Joint Congressional Committee on Education. Eva Estrada-Kalaw was the first woman to be re-elected as senator.

Nikki Coseteng Anna Dominique "Nikki" Marquez-Lim Coseteng (born December 18, 1952) is a Filipina politician who served as a senator from 1992 to 2001, and as representative of Quezon City's 3rd district from 1987 to 1992. Early life Coseteng was born on Dec ...

was the youngest senator during the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and 10th Congress. She was first elected in 1992 and then re-elected in 1995.

Loren Legarda Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipina politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippine ...

is the first Filipino woman senator to top the Senate race twice in 1998 and 2007. She also became the first Filipino woman to become Majority Floor Leader of the Senate. She was also the youngest senator during the 11th Congress.

Pia Cayetano Pilar Juliana Schramm Cayetano KGCR (born March 22, 1966), known as Pia Cayetano, is a Filipina politician and lawyer serving as a Senator since 2019, a position she previously held from 2004 to 2016. She was also the Representative of Tagu ...

is the youngest woman elected senator in Philippine history at the age of 38. She was elected in 2004, then re-elected in 2010. She returned to the Senate in 2019. Loi Ejercito Estrada became the first First Spouse (to Joseph Ejercito Estrada) to be elected in the Senate. She served from 2001 to 2007 after her husband's removal from the presidency in 2001.

Leticia Ramos-Shahani Leticia Valdez Ramos-Shahani (September 30, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was a Filipina senator, diplomat, and writer. She was the younger sister of Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th president of the Philippines. Early life She was born on September 30 ...

became the first Filipino woman to become

President pro tempore of the Senate A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

in 1993.

Santanina Rasul Santanina Tillah Rasul (born Santanina Centi Tillah, September 14, 1930) is a Filipina politician and the first Muslim woman member of the Senate of the Philippines. Education In 1952, Rasul earned a BA in Political Science ''cum laude'' from ...

is the first Filipina Muslim senator.

Tecla San Andres Ziga Tecla San Andres Ziga (1906–1992) was a female senator in the Philippines notable for being the first woman in the country to top the bar examination for law-degree graduates. Biography Early years She was born 23 August 1906, in Nueva Cace ...

was the first woman in the Philippines to top the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

s for law degree graduates. She was elected as a senator in 1963.

Miriam Defensor Santiago Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago ('' née'' Defensor; June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016) was a Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executi ...

was the first Filipino and first Asian from a developing country to be elected as a judge of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

(ICC) on December 12, 2011. She later resigned the post due to chronic fatigue syndrome, which turned out to be lung cancer.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

was the first female senator who was elected as Vice President (1998–2001) and later installed to the presidency (2001–2010).

Risa Hontiveros Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel (; born February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist who has been serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representa ...

is the Philippines' first socialist woman senator, representing the

Akbayan The Akbayan Citizens' Action Party, better known as Akbayan (), is a democratic socialist and progressive political party in the Philippines. Akbayan is noted as a leading member of the progressive movement in the Philippines, having been forme ...

party.

Female senators

:'' denotes incumbent senator''

Timeline of female senators

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:150 left:20 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1945 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1945 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:red value:red id:Ind value:gray(0.7) id:Lakas value:rgb(0.69,0.88,0.9) id:LDP value:rgb(0,0,0.8) id:Lib value:rgb(0.94,0.9,0.55) id:Nac value:rgb(0.6,0.98,0.6) id:NPC value:rgb(0.29,0.63,0.17) id:PDP-L value:rgb(1,0.84,0) id:PMP value:rgb(1,0.65,0) id:PRP value:rgb(0.94,0.5,0.5) id:UNA value:rgb(1,0.3,0) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Sens bar:Ramos bar:Rasul barset:Sens2 bar:Legarda bar:Ejercito bar:Madrigal barset:Sens3 PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Sens from:1947 till:1953 color:Lib text:"

(1947–1953)" from:1955 till:1961 color:Nac text:" Pacita Madrigal-Warns (1955–1961)" from:1961 till:1967 color:Lib text:"

Maria Kalaw Katigbak Maria Villanueva Katigbak ( Kalaw; February 14, 1912 – December 10, 1992) was a Filipina politician, journalist and beauty queen. She served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1961 to 1967 during the Fifth Congress. Early life and educatio ...

(1961–1967)" from:1963 till:1969 color:Lib text:"

(1963–1969)" from:1965 till:1972 color:Nac text:"

Eva Estrada Kalaw Eva Kalaw ( Evangelina Reynada Estrada; June 16, 1920 – May 25, 2017) was a Filipina politician who served as a senator in the Senate of the Philippines from 1965 to 1972 during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. She was one of the key opp ...

(1965–1972)" from:1967 till:1972 color:Nac text:" Magnolia Antonino (1967–1972)" from:1967 till:1972 color:Nac text:"

Helena Benitez Helena Zoila Tirona Benitez (June 27, 1914 – July 14, 2016) was a Filipina academic and administrator of the Philippine Women's University. Biography Benitez was born in Manila to Conrado Benitez, a ''pensionado'' to the United States and a me ...

(1967–1972)" bar:Ramos from:1987 till:1992 color:LDP from:1992 till:1998 color:Lakas text:"

(1987–1998)" bar:Rasul from:1987 till:1992 color:Lib from:1992 till:1995 color:Lakas text:"

Nina Rasul Santanina Tillah Rasul (born Santanina Centi Tillah, September 14, 1930) is a Filipina politician and the first Muslim woman member of the Senate of the Philippines. Education In 1952, Rasul earned a BA in Political Science ''cum laude'' from ...

(1987–1995)" barset:Sens2 from:1992 till:2001 color:NPC text:"

(1992–2001)" from:1992 till:1998 color:LDP text:"

(1992–1998)" from:1995 till:2001 color:PRP text:"

(1995–2001)" from:1998 till:2004 color:LDP text:"

Teresa Aquino-Oreta Maria Teresa Aquino-Oreta (born Maria Teresa Aquino Aquino; June 28, 1944 – May 14, 2020), better known as Tessie Aquino-Oreta, was a Filipina politician. She was the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture in th ...

(1998–2004)" bar:Legarda from:1998 till:2004 color:Lakas from:2004 till:2004 color:Ind text:"

(1998–2004)" bar:Ejercito from:2001 till:2004 color:Ind from:2004 till:2007 color:PMP text:"

Loi Ejercito Luisa Pimentel Ejército (; born June 2, 1930), commonly known as Dra. Loi Ejército, is a Filipino politician and physician who last served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2001 to 2007. She is the wife of former Philippine President Josep ...

(2001–2007)" bar:Madrigal from:2004 till:2007 color:LDP from:2007 till:2009 color:PDP-L from:2009 till:2010 color:Ind text:"

Jamby Madrigal Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal-Valade (born Maria Ana Consuelo Abad Santos Madrigal; April 26, 1958), better known as Jamby Madrigal, is a Filipina politician and businesswoman. She was elected as a senator in the 2004 elections. After only one ...

(2004–2010)" barset:Sens3 from:2004 till:2016 color:Nac text:"

(2004–2016)" from:2004 till:2016 color:PRP text:"

(2nd term) (2004–2016)" from:2007 till:2019 color:NPC text:"

(2nd term) (2007–2019)" from:2013 till:2025 color:UNA text:"

Nancy Binay Maria Lourdes "Nancy" Sombillo Binay-Angeles (born May 12, 1973) is a Filipina politician serving as a Senator since 2013. She is the daughter of former Vice President Jejomar Binay. Without any prior experience in government, Binay placed a bi ...

(2013–present)" from:2013 till:2025 color:Ind text:"

Grace Poe Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares (baptized September 3, 1968) is a Filipino politician, businesswoman, educator, and philanthropist serving as a senator since 2013. She was the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Clas ...

(2013–present)" from:2013 till:2025 color:Nac text:"

Cynthia Villar Cynthia Aguilar Villar (, born Cynthia Ampaya Aguilar on July 29, 1950) is a Filipina politician currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the Lone District of Las Piñas from 2001 t ...

(2013–present)" from:2016 till:2022 color:Lib text:" Leila de Lima (2016–2022)" from:2016 till:2025 color:red text:"

(2016–present)" from:2019 till:2025 color:Nac text:"

(2nd term) (2019–present)" from:2019 till:2025 color:Nac text:"

Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipina politician and former actress serving as a Senator since 2019. She is the daughter of Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos and the o ...

(2019–present)" from:2022 till:2025 color:NPC text:"

(3rd term) (2022–present)" barset:skip

Per Congress

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Female senators of the Philippines Members of the Senate of the Philippines *List Political history of the Philippines

Senators Senators female