PHILIPPINE PRESIDENTS

Manuel L. Quezon (August 19, 1878 - August 1, 1944). He won the elections held in September 1935 to
choose the head of the Commonwealth Government. It was a government made possible by the Tydings-
McDuffie Law, which Quezon secured from the U.S.
Quezon had emerged as the acknowledged leader of Philippine politics and possessed the kind of background
and experience that appealed to Filipinos. He had a bachelor of arts degree, studied law, and landed fourth
place in the 1903 Bar examinations. He served in the revolution, fighting in Tarlac, Pampanga, and Bataan,
and ended up with the rank of major. He was appointed provincial fiscal of Mindoro and Tayabas, his home
province. He was elected governor of Tayabas in 1905 and in 1907, first assemblyman from the province to
the First Philippine National Assembly. In 1909, he was appointed resident commissioner to the U.S. and
when he finished his term after eight years, he returned to the Philippines to become President of the
Philippine Senate, created by the Jones Law. He was also top man of the ruling Nacionalista Party.
Quezons term (1935 - 1944), though chiefly known for making Pilipino the national language, tried to solve
nagging problems inherited from the Spanish and American administrations. He directed his main efforts to
bring about political stability, build up national defense against the threat of Japanese militarism, and
strengthen an economy that was extremely dependent upon the U.S. He was also remembered for taking
executive and legislative actions to implement his social justice program aimed at the underprivileged.
The Commonwealth Government was interrupted by the Japanese invasion of 1941. Quezon and his
government were forced to go into exile in the U.S. He died on August 1, 1944, in New York.
Jose P. Laurel (March 9, 1891 - November 5, 1959). He was elected by the National Assembly as President
of the Republic on September 25, 1943 and inducted on October 14, 1943. This unicameral assembly was
created through the sponsorship of the Japanese authorities.
Laurels controversial Presidency during the Japanese Occupation (1943 - 1945) overshadowed his
achievements as legislator, jurist, writer, and administrator in the pre-war struggle for independence. As an
elected senator and later delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he distinguished himself for his advocacy
of womens suffrage and his sponsorship of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. He also became an
associate justice of the Supreme Court.
Sergio Osmena (September 9, 1878 - October 19, 1961). He was elected Vice President of the Philippines in
1935 and succeeded Quezon to the Presidency in-exile.
Osmena was a notable figure in the struggle for independence. A lawyer, he espoused the cause of
independence through peaceful means as editor of the Cebu newspaper El Nuevo Dia (New Day), which he
founded in 1900. He served as fiscal of Cebu and Negros Oriental. He was appointed governor of Cebu in
1904 and elected to the same post in 1906. In 1907, he was elected as representative of Cebu and later
became speaker of the first Philippine Assembly. In 1922, he was elected as senator. He headed important
government missions to the U. S.
Osmena returned to the Philippines on October 20, 1944, together with Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In
February 1945, he took the reins of government.
Manuel A. Roxas (January 1, 1892 - April 15, 1948). He was popularly known as the First President of the
Third Republic. He won the elections by a slim margin. He was inaugurated on July 4, 1946, the day the
U.S. government granted political independence to its colony.
Roxas was born in Capiz (now Roxas City), studied law at UP and graduated with honors in 1913. He topped
the Bar examinations in the same year, was employed as private secretary to Chief Justice Cayetano
Arellano, and taught law in 1915-1916.
His political career started when he was appointed as a member of the Capiz municipal council. In 1919, he
was elected as governor of Capiz. He was elected as congressman in 1922, and in 1935, he was chosen as a
delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was elected as a senator in 1941 and eventually became Senate
president.
The short-lived Roxas administration (1946 - 1948) embarked on a course that resulted in what were
considered as his greatest achievements, namely: the ratification of the Bell Trade Act; the inclusion of the
Parity Amendment in the Constitution; and the signing of the 1947 Military Bases Agreement.
Roxas was not able to complete his presidential term; he died from a heart attack at Clark Air base on April
15, 1948.
Elpidio Quirino (November 16, 1890 - February 28, 1956). Being the Vice President, he took over the
Presidency after Roxas death. And, he managed to retain the position after winning over Laurel in the
infamous fraud-tainted 1949 elections.
Quirino was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, finished law studies at UP in 1915, and hurdled the Bar examinations
in the same year. His political career started with his election as a representative of Ilocos Sur in 1919, then
as a senator in 1925, and again reelected in 1931. President Quezon appointed him as secretary of finance
and then secretary of the interior in the Commonwealth Government. As Roxas Vice President, he served
concurrently first as secretary of finance and later as secretary of foreign affairs.
The Quirino administration (1948 - 1953) focused on two objectives: 1) to regain faith and confidence in the
government; and 2) to restore peace and order. He was more successful in the second objective breaking
the back of the Hukbalahap Movement in Central Luzon. In addition, he was credited with sponsoring the
growth of industrial ventures, expanding irrigation, improving the road system, and setting up the Central
Bank and rural banking. It was also during his term that the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty was approved on
August 30, 1951.
Ramon Magsaysay (August 31, 1907 - March 17, 1957). He was largely famous for his success in the peace
campaign. He defeated Quirino in the 1953 presidential elections by an unprecedented margin of votes.
Popularly known as the guy, Magsaysay was born in Iba, Zambales. He took up mechanical engineering at
UP but ended up with a commerce degree from Jose Rizal College. He took a job as a mechanic in the bus
company Try-Tran and rose to become its branch manager. He attained fame as an able guerilla leader in
World War II and was subsequently named by MacArthur as military governor of Zambales during the
liberation. He was elected twice as a congressman after the war. He was instrumental in having the U.S.
Congress pass the G.I. Bill of Rights, which accorded benefits to the Filipino war veterans. But his national
prominence resulted from being appointed defense secretary in the Quirino administration, successfully
fighting the Huks, and for being the friend of the common tao.
Many regard Magsaysay as the President whose heart truly bled for the common man. He toured the barrios,
opened up Malacanang to the public, solicited and acted upon their complaints, built artesian wells and roads.
He had Congress pass the Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954, providing greater protection to tenants.
Death came to Magsaysay when his plane crashed at Mount Pinatubo in the early morning of March 17,
1957.
Carlos P. Garcia (November 4, 1896 - June 1, 1971). He presided over the eight months of Magsaysays
remaining term and went on to win the 1957 elections, the noisiest and the most expensive in Philippine
history.
Garcia hailed from Talibon, Bohol. He finished his law studies at the Philippine Law School in Manila. He
passed the Bar examinations and was among the top ten.
His election as Bohol representative to the National Assemblly in 1952 marked his entry into Philippine
politics and public service one of the longest ever. He was again reelected as a representative. In 1931, he
started the first of this three terms as governor of Bohol. In 1941, he was elected as a senator, but it was only
in 1945 that he took office because of World War II. He was again reelected as a senator and in 1953, he
became Vice President to Magsaysay. He was appointed in a concurrent capacity as secretary of foreign
affairs.
Garcias administration (1957 - 1961) was anchored in his austerity program. It was also noted for its
Filipino First policy an attempt to boost economic independence.
Diosdado Macapagal (September 28, 1910). He defeated Garcia in the presidential elections of November
14, 1961.
Mapacagal who styled himself as the poor boy from Lubao (Pampanga) completed pre-law and
Associate in Arts at UP; however, he was a law graduate of the University of Santo Tomas. He was the
topnotcher of the Bar examinations in 1935. He then entered into a private law practice, teaching law at the
side. In 1946, he was appointed Chief of the Legal Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and was
eventually sent to the Philippine Embassy in Washington as Second Secretary.
In 1949, he was elected as the congressman of the first district of Pampanga and reelected in 1953. In 1958,
he was elected as Vice President of the Philippines.
Macapagals administration (1961 - 1965) is best remembered for resetting the date of the celebration of
Philippine Independence Day from July 4 when the U.S. turned over the reins of government in 1946 to the
more correct date of June 12 when Aguinaldo declared independence in 1898. This single act overshadowed
the other distinguishing features of his administration, namely: the promotion of the stability of the
Philippine currency; the initiation of a socioeconomic program aimed at the betterment of the poor; efforts to
combat misdeeds in government, and the launching of his version of agrarian reform.
Ferdinand E. Marcos (September 11, 1917 - September 28, 1989). He defeated Macapagal in the 1965
presidential elections. And the two-decade era of Marcos (1965 - 1986) began.
Marcos was born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. He was a consistent scholar, took up Law at UP, and graduated cum
laude in 1939. At 19, he was charged with the murder of a political enemy of his father. Thrown in jail, he
reviewed for the nearing Bar examinations and topped it. Defeated at a lower court, he argued his own case
in an appeal before the Supreme Court and won an acquittal. He joined the guerilla forces at the outbreak of
war.
Marcos entered politics with an eye to eventually capturing the presidency. In his maiden campaign in 1949,
he said: Elect me your congressman now and Ill give you an Ilokano President in 20 years. He won that
election and was returned thrice to Congress as Ilocos Nortes congressman. In 1959, he was elected to the
Philippine Senate and in 1963, he became its president. Completing the presidential term in 1969, he won a
reelection . In 1972, he declared martial law. The rest is history.
Manuel L. Quezon
Notable facts about Manuel Luis Quezon is that, he is known as the Father of National Language (Ama ng Wikang
Pambansa) and he died in Saranac Lake, New York due to tuberculosis. Ive seen his life-sized wax statue inside the
Quezon Memorial Circle, it was well crafted.
Contributions and Achievements of Manuel L. Quezon:
first Senate president elected as President of the Philippines
first president elected through a national election
first president under the Commonwealth
he created National Council of Education
he initiated womens suffrage in the Philippines during the Commonwealth
he made Tagalog / Filipino as the national language of the Philippines
he appears on the twenty-peso bill
a province, a city, a bridge and a university in Manila were named after him
his body lies within the special monument on Quezon Memorial Circle
Jose P. Laurel (October 14, 1943 August 17, 1945)
Laurel was the third to sit at the office during Japanese occupation of World War II. He was the only Filipino
president to have been shot outside of combat.
Contributions and Achievements of Jose P. Laurel:
he was considered as the legitimate president of the Philippines
he organized KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas).
he declared Martial Law in 1944
he and his family developed the establishment of Lyceum of the Philippines
Sergio Osmea (August 1, 1944 May 28, 1946)
Sergio Osmea was the second president of the Commonwealth; he succeeded Quezon after his death.
Contributions and Achievements of Sergio Osmena:
he was 65 when he became president making him the oldest president to hold office
he was the first Visayan to become president
he joined US Gen. Douglas McArthur in Leyte on October 20, 1944 starting the freedom of the Philippines
from the Japanese during World War II
during his time, the Philippine National Bank has been rehabilitated and the country joined the International
Monetary Fund
on his time, the Bell Trade Act was approved by the US Congress
Sergio Osmena appears on the 50 peso bill
Manuel Roxas (May 28, 1946 April 15, 1948)
Roxas was the fifth president of the Philippines overall but he was considered as the third and last president under
the Commonwealth and the first of the Third Republic of the Philippines. He only sat in the office for 1 year, 10
months and 18 days.
Contributions and Achievements of Manuel A. Roxas:
was inaugurated as the new and first president of the new Republic because the Philippines was finally free
after the WW II
in his time, the country has started reconstruction from war damage and the Philippines started breathing
without foreign rule
under his term, the Philippine Rehabilitation Act and Philippine Trade Act laws were accepted by the
congress
he is in the 100 peso bill
Elpidio Quirino (April 17, 1948 December 30, 1953)
He was the vice president at Roxas time. He became president when the latter died in 1948.
Contributions and Achievements of Elpidio Quirino:
under his term Hukbalahap movement was active
he created Social Security Commission
he also created Integrity Board to monitor graft and corruption
in 1948, Quezon City was the capital of the Philippines
peso and dollar exchange rate at his time was 1 US = P2
Ramon Magsaysay (December 30, 1953 March 17, 1957)
He was born in Iba, Zambales, was a military governor, and engineer. He died on a plane crash on Dec. 1957,
boarding the presidential plane named Mt. Pinatubo
Contributions and Achievements of Ramon Magsaysay:
was a chairman of the Committee on Guerilla Affairs
was the first president sworn into office wearing Barong Tagalog in his inauguration
his presidency was referred as the Philippines Golden Years for it was the cleanest and zero-corruption
the Philippines was ranked 2
nd
in Asias clean and well-governed countries
he established National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) among his agrarian
reforms.
Carlos P. Garcia (March 18, 1957 December 30, 1961)
Another lawyer, Carlos P. Garcia was a poet, teacher, and guerilla leader too. Born from Bohol, he was the vice
president of Magsaysay and secretary of Foreign Affairs for 4 years. He became president when Magsaysay died in
1957.
Contributions and Achievements of Carlos P. Garcia
he was known for Filipino First Policy
he established the Austerity Program focusing on Filipino trade and commerce
was known as the Prince of Visayan Poets and the bard from Bohol
cultural arts was revived during his term
was the first president to have his remains buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Diosdado Macapagal (December 30, 1961 December 30, 1965)
He was born in Lubao, Pampanga, Diosdado Macapagal is the father of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the 14
th
and
second woman president of the Philippines. He was a lawyer and a professor, too.
Contributions and Achievements of Diosdado Macapagal:
he established the first Land Reform Law
he placed the Philippines currency peso, on the currency exchange market
he made June 12 1898 as the Philippines Independence Day
he signed the Minimum Wage Law
he signed the creation of the Philippine Veterans Bank
Ferdinand Marcos (December 30, 1965 February 25, 1986)
Born from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was a lawyer and Senate President for 3 years. He was
president for 21 years and only quit office after the People Power Revolution. His wife, Imelda Marcos became
quite popular in the world too. His term was the most controversial and messy one because of Martial Law and
People Power although Marcos has contributed a lot of nice things in the Philippines. He was one of the best and
brightest presidents even though their family was rumored to have embezzled public funds to Switzerland and
other wealthy countries.
Contributions and Achievements of Ferdinand Marcos:
he was the first president to win a second term
he declared Martial Law on Sept. 22, 1972
he increased the size of Philippine military and armed forces
in 1980, GNP was 4 times greater than 1972
in 1986, the Philippines was one of the most indebted countries in Asia
he built more schools, roads, bridges, hospitals and infrastructures than all former presidents did combined