Under the
1987 Constitution of the Philippines
The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...
, the
president of the Philippines ( fil, pangulo ng Pilipinas) is both the
head of state and the
head of government, and serves as the
commander-in-chief of the
country's armed forces.
The president is
directly elected
Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...
by qualified voters to a six-year term and must be "a
natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the
election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election". Any person who has served as president for more than six years is barred from eligibility. Upon resignation, or removal from office, the
vice president assumes the post.
History
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
became the inaugural president of the Philippines under the Malolos Republic, considered the
First Philippine Republic.
He held that office until 1901 when he was captured by United States forces during the
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
(1899–1902).
The American
colonization of the Philippines abolished the First Republic,
which led to an American
governor-general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
exercising executive power.
In 1935, the
United States, pursuant to its promise of full
Philippine sovereignty,
established the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
following the ratification of the
1935 Constitution, which also restored the presidency. The
first national presidential election was held, and
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...
(1935–44) was elected to a six-year term, with no provision for re-election,
as the second Philippine president and the first Commonwealth president. In 1940, however, the Constitution was amended to allow re-election but shortened the term to four years.
A change in government occurred three years later when the
Second Philippine Republic was organized with the enactment of the
1943 Constitution, which
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
imposed after it
occupied the Philippines in 1942 during
World WarII.
José P. Laurel
José Paciano Laurel y García (; March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the president of the Japanese-occupied Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state during World War II, from 1943 ...
acted as
puppet president of the new Japanese-sponsored government;
his ''
de facto'' presidency,
not legally recognized until the 1960s,
overlapped with that of the president of the Commonwealth, which went
into exile. The Second Republic was dissolved after
Japan surrendered to the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
in 1945; the Commonwealth was restored in the Philippines in the same year with
Sergio Osmeña (1944–46) as president.
Manuel Roxas (1946–1948) followed Osmeña when he won the
first post-war election in 1946. He became the first president of the independent Philippines when the Commonwealth ended on
July4 of that year. The
Third Republic was ushered in and would cover the administrations of the next five presidents, the last of which was
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
(1965–86),
who performed a
self-coup by imposing
martial law in 1972.
The
dictatorship of Marcos saw the birth of the
New Society ( fil, Bagong Lipunan) and the
Fourth Republic. His tenure lasted until 1986 when he was deposed in the
People Power Revolution. The current constitution came into effect in 1987, marking the beginning of the
Fifth Republic.
Of the individuals elected as president, three died in office: two of natural causes (Manuel L. Quezon
and Manuel Roxas
) and one in a
plane crash (
Ramon Magsaysay, 1953–57
). The longest-serving president is Ferdinand Marcos with in office; he is the only president to have served more than two terms. The shortest is Sergio Osmeña, who spent in office.
Two women have held the office:
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
(1986–92), who ascended to the presidency upon the successful
People Power Revolution of 1986, and
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–10), who, as vice president, ascended to the presidency upon Estrada's resignation and was elected to a full six-year term in 2004.
Presidents
Timeline
Unofficial presidents
Andrés Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino Freemason and revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution", and considered one of the national heroes of the Philippines ...
is considered by some historians to be the first president of the Philippines. He was the third Supreme President (Spanish: ''Presidente Supremo'';
Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
: ''Kataastaasang Pangulo'') of the ''
Katipunan'' secret society. Its Supreme Council, led by the Supreme President, coordinated provincial and district councils. When the ''Katipunan'' went into open revolt in August 1896 (the
Cry of Balintawak
The Cry of Pugad Lawin ( tgl, Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin, es, Grito de Pugad Lawin) was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire.
In late August 1896, members of the ''Katipunan'' led by Andrés Bonifacio revolted s ...
), Bonifacio transformed it into a revolutionary government with him as president. While the term ''Katipunan'' remained, Bonifacio's government was also known as the
Tagalog Republic (Tagalog: ''Republika ng Katagalugan''; Spanish: ''Republica Tagala''). (Although the word ''
Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
'' refers to a specific ethnicity, Bonifacio used it to denote all indigenous people in the Philippines in place of ''
Filipino'' which had colonial origins.)
[* .][* .]
Some historians contend that including Bonifacio as a past president would imply that
Macario Sakay and
Miguel Malvar y Carpio
Miguel Malvar y Carpio (September 27, 1865 – October 13, 1911) was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forc ...
should also be included.
Miguel Malvar y Carpio
Miguel Malvar y Carpio (September 27, 1865 – October 13, 1911) was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forc ...
continued
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
's leadership of the
First Philippine Republic after the latter's capture until his own capture in 1902.
Macario Sakay revived the Tagalog Republic in 1902 as a continuation of Bonifacio's Katipunan. They are both considered by some scholars as "unofficial presidents". Along with Bonifacio, Malvar and Sakay are not recognized as presidents by the Philippine government.
manilatimes.net, Lawmaker: History wrong on Gen. Malvar
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
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.
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...
delegated his presidential duties to José Abad Santos, the then Chief Justice, when the former fled the Philippines amidst Japanese occupation of the islands to establish a government-in-exile. He is believed to have in effect become the acting president of the Philippine Commonwealth though no legal document has been retrieved detailing the official transfer of the title of President to Abad Santos.
List
Timeline
Notes
''Subnotes''
''Other notes''
References
Works cited
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*
*
*
*
External links
Presidential Website
Office of the President of the Philippines
Presidential Museum and Library
at worldstatesmen.org+
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippines, List of presidents of the
Lists of national presidents
Presidents
Unofficial Presidents of the Philippines