TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES

938 Aurora Blvd. Cubao, Quezon City

THE 15 PRESIDENTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

Assignment in Philippine History

Submitted By:
Gerardo L. Lo

EC21FB1

Submitted To:
Dr. Ernesto Pamo

July 25, 2014

EMILIO F. AGUINALDO
Complete name: Emilio Famy Aguinaldo
Term of Office: March 22, 1897 April 1, 1901
Born: March 22, 1869
Died: February 6, 1964 Veterans Memorial Hospital,
Quezon City
Birthplace: Kawit, Cavite
Resting place: Aguinaldo Shrine
General Emilio F. Aguinaldo (March 22, 1869 - February
6, 1964). He was 29 years old when he became Chief of State, first as head of the dictatorship he
thought should be established upon his return to Cavite in May 1898 from voluntary exile in
Hongkong, and then a month later as President of the Revolutionary Government that Apolinario
Mabini had persuaded him should instead be instituted.
Aguinaldos presidential term formally began in 1898 and ended on April 1, 1901, when
he took an oath of allegiance to the United States a week after his capture in Palanan, Isabela.
His term also featured the setting up of the Malolos Republic, which has its own Congress,
Constitution, and national and local officialdom -- proving Filipinos also had the capacity to
build. Aguinaldo is best remembered for the proclamation of Philippine Independence on June
12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite.
Emilio Aguinaldo (Born- March 22, 1869, died- February 6, 1964)
(President of the First Philippine Republic Term: 1898- 1901) is a Filipino leader who fought
first against Spain and later against the United States for the Independence of the Philippines.

Born of Chinese and Filipino parentage, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, whom providence had
placed as the supreme leader of his people at the critical period in their history. He was born in
Kawit, Cavite, on March 22, 1869. He was the seventh among eight children of the spouses
Carlos Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy.
He took up his secondary course at the Letran de Manila where he finished only three years
of high school. His favorite subject was geography. He did not finish the secondary course
education.
At the age of 17, Emilio was elected as cabeza de barangay of Binakayan, the most
progressive barrio of Kawit, Cavite. He served for his town-mates for eight years. He also
engaged in inter-island shipping, travelling as far as Visayas and even Jolo, Philippines. On
January 1, 1895, he was elected capitan municipal of Kawit the first to bear that title in
accordance with the Mauro Law. At that time a capitan municipal received no salary except 3%
of taxes he could collect. In August 1896 he was the local leader of the Katipunan, a
revolutionary society that fought bitterly and successfully against Spanish. In December 1897 he

signed an agreement called the Pact of Biac-na-Bato with the Spanish governor-general. He
agreed to leave the Philippines and to remain permanently in exile on condition of a substantial
financial award from Spain coupled with the promise of liberal reforms. While in Hong Kong
and Singapore he made arrangement with representative of the American consulates and of
Commodore George Dewey to return to the Philippines to assist the United States in the war
against Spain.
Aguinaldo return to the Philippines on May 19, 1898 and announced renewal of the
struggle with Spain. Upon the advice of Apolinario Mabini to Aguinaldo he should change the
form of dictatorship to president of revolutionary government. The Filipinos, who declared their
independence of Spain on June 12, 1898, proclaimed a provisional republic, of which Aguinaldo
was to became president, and in September a revolutionary assembly met and ratified Filipino
independence. However, the Philippines along with Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded by Spain
to the United States by the Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898.
Relation between the Americans and the Filipinos were unfriendly and grew steadily
worse. On January 23, 1899, the Malolos constitution by virtue of which the Philippines was a
republic and which he had been approved by the assembly and by Aguinaldo was proclaimed.
Aguinaldo, who had been president of the provisional government, was elected president.
Aguinaldo formally established the first Philippine republic. He also designated diplomats
who were assigned in the major world capitals to seek recognition of Philippine independence.
In 1935 when the commonwealth government of the Philippines was established in
preparation for independence, Aguinaldo ran for president but was decisively beaten. He
returned to private life until the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941. The Japanese used
Aguinaldo as an anti-American tool. They caused him to make speeches, to sign articles, and to
address a radio appeal to General Douglas McArthur on Corregidor to surrender in order to spare
the flower of Filipino youth.
When the Americans returned, Aguinaldo was arrested and together with the others accused
of collaboration with the Japanese was held for several months in Bilibid Prison until released by
presidential amnesty. As a token vindication of his honor, he was appointed by president Elpidio
Quirino as a member of the Council of State in 1950. In the latter years of his life, he devoted his
major attention to veterans affairs, the promotion of nationalism and democracy in the
Philippines, and the improvement of relation between the Philippines and the United States.
Aguinaldo resumed his life of retirement. In June 12, 1963, on the occasion of the
celebration of Philippine independence, Aguinaldo veiled his historic mansion in Kawit, together
with all the relics contained therein, to the Philippine government.
On February 6, 1964, he died at the age of 95 years old.

MANUEL LUIS M. QUEZON

Complete name: Manuel Luis Molina Quezon

Term of Office: August 29, 1916 November 15, 1935
Born: August 19, 1878
Died: August 1, 1944 Saranac Lake, New York
Birthplace: Baler , Aurora
Resting place: Quezon City Memorial Circle

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.
Manuel L. Quezon (Born- August 19, 1878, died- August 1, 1944)( First President of the
Commonwealth Term: November 15, 1935- August 1, 1944) is a Filipino statesman, leader of the
independence movement, and first president of the Philippine Commonwealth established under
United States tutelage in 1935.

Born in the small town of Baler province of Tayabas on August 19, 1878. His parents are Lucio
Quezon and Maria Dolores Molina, school teacher and small landholder of Tagalog descent on
the part of southern Luzon. Manuel spent the early years of his childhood in his hometown
among the common people. His first teacher was his mother. He enrolled at the San Juan de
Letran college, one of the leading institutions of learning in the capital city. Quezon years at San
Juan de Letran as a self-supporting student brought out of his latent potentialities. He finished
Bachelor of Arts degree at the age of sixteen.
He cut short his law studies at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1899 to participate in
the struggle for independence against the United States, led by Emilio Aguinaldo. After
Aguinaldo surrendered in 1901, however, Quezon returned to the University, obtained his degree
(1903), landed fourth place in the 1903 Bar examinations, and practiced law for a year.
Convinced that the only way to independence was through cooperation with the United States, he
ran for governor of Tayabas province in 1905. Once elected, he served for two years before being
elected as representatives in 1907 to the newly established Philippine Assembly.
In 1909, Quezon was appointed resident commissioner for the Philippines,, entitled to speak, but
not vote in the U.S. House of Representative; during his years in Washington D.C., he fought
vigorously for a speedy grant of independence by the Unites States. Quezon played a major role
in obtaining Congress passage in 1916 of the Jones Act, which pledged independence for the
Philippines without giving a specific date when it would take effect. The act gave the Philippines
greater autonomy and provided for the creation of a bicameral national legislature modeled after
the U.S. Congress. Quezon resigned as a commissioner and returned to Manila to be elected to
the newly formed Philippines senate in 1916; he subsequently served as its president until 1935.
In 1922 he gained control of the Nacionalista party, which had previously been led by his rival
Sergio Osmea.
Quezon fought for passage of the Tydings McDuffie Act (1934) which provided for full
independence for the Philippines ten years after the creation of a constitution and the
establishment of a commonwealth government that would be the forerunner of an independence
republic. Quezon was elected president of the newly formulated commonwealth on November
15, 1935. As president he reorganized the island military defense (aided by General Douglas
McArthur as his special adviser). Tackled the huge problem of landless peasants in the
countryside who still worked as tenants on large estates, promote the settlement and development
of the large southern island of Mindanao, and fought graft and corruption in the government. A
new national capital, later known as Quezon City, was build in the suburb of Manila.
Quezon was reelected president in 1941. After Japan invaded and occupied the Philippines in
1942, he went to the United States, where he formed a government in exile, served as a member
of the Pacific war council, signed the declaration of the United Nations against the fascist nation,
and wrote his autobiography, "The Good Fight" (1946). Quezon died of tuberculosis before full
Philippine independence was established. He died quietly in Saranac Lake, USA on August 1,
1944 at the age of sixty six.

Married to Doa Aurora Aragon Quezon, now deceased. Of their three children, two are alive,
they are; Zenaida Quezon Avancea and Manuel Quezon Jr.
Manuel L. Quezon best remembered as the "Father of Philippine Language" (Ama ng Wikang
Filipino).

JOSE P. LAUREL
Complete name: Jose Paciano Garcia Laurel
Term of Office: October 14, 1943 August 17, 1945
Born: March 9, 1891
Died: November 6, 1959 Tanauan, Batangas
Birthplace: Tanauan City, Batangas
Resting place: Tanauan City

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.
Jose P. Laurel (Born- March 9, 1891, died- November 6, 1959)( President of the Japanese
Sponsored Republic Term: October 14, 1943- August 15, 1945)
Become the President of the Philippines during the Japanese occupation of World War II.
Born in Tanawan, Batangas on March 9, 1891. His parents are Sotero Laurel and Jacoba Garcia.
After receiving law degrees from the University of the Philippines (1915) and from Yale
University (1920), he was elected to the Philippines Senate in 1925 and appointed associate
justice of the Supreme Court in 1936.

After the Pearl Harbor attack. Laurel remained in Manila after President Manuel Quezon
escaped first to Bataan and then to the United States. He offered his services to the Japanese; and
because of his criticism of U.S. rule of the Philippines, he held a series of high posts in 1942-43,
climaxing in his selection as President in 1943. Twice in that year he was shot by Philippine
guerrillas but recovered, after the incident Laurel still held his post to served the Filipino people.
It adds his eagerness and willingness to be of service to his countrymen.
Laurel administration did not last long because when the Japanese occupation near to collapse,
Yamashita, a Japanese leader ordered his troops to bring Laurel out from the Philippines, he was
brought to Japan.
In August 15, 1945, Japanese surrendered to Americans. General McArthur order Lt. Col. Turner
to arrest Laurel and company for a case of "Collaboration". They finally arrested in the City of
Nara, Japan and temporary jailed at Sugano Prison near Tokyo, Japan. In July 1946 he was
charged with 132 counts of treason, but was never brought to trial; he shared in the general
amnesty in April 1948.
As the Nationalist Party's nominee for the presidency of the Philippines in 1949, he was
narrowly defeated by the incumbent president, Elpidio Quirino, nominee of the Liberal Party.
Elected to the Senate in 1951, Laurel helped to persuade Ramon Magsaysay, then secretary of
defense, to desert the Liberals and join the Nationalist. When Magsaysay became president,
Laurel headed an economic mission that in 1955 negotiated an agreement to improve economic
relations with the United States. He retired from public life in 1957.
Married to Mrs. Pacencia Hidalgo, of their nine children, most of them are alive and active in
politics like, former vice president Salvador P. Laurel, former senator Sotero Laurel and exspeaker Jose Laurel Jr.

SERGIO S. OSMEA
Complete name: Sergio Suico Osmea
Term of Office: August 1, 1944 May 28, 1946
Born: September 9, 1878
Died: October 19, 1961 Veterans Memorial Hospital,
Quezon City
Birthplace: Cebu City
Resting place: Manila North Cemetery

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.

Sergio S. Osmea
(Born- September 9, 1878, died- October 19, 1961)
Second president of the Commonwealth
(Term: August 1, 1944- May 27, 1946)
Filipino statesman, founder of the Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista) and president of the

Philippines from 1944 to 1946.

He was born in Cebu, on September 9, 1878. Son of Juana Osmea Y. Suico. His birth place was
a medium sized house of wood with tin can roofing. He was brought up in a wholesome
atmosphere. He was enrolled by his mother in a private school of Miguel Logarta, a local
lawyer-educator, not long before the latter discovered how intellectually gifted his young pupil
was, later he entered the Seminary College of San Carlos for his secondary course. In 1892, he
finished his studies in San Carlos. To pursue his studies he come to Manila and studied at Letran,
he first met Manuel L. Quezon, one of his classmates. He took up law at the University of Santo
Tomas, although his studies was interrupted by the war conflict between Spain and America, he
and the rest of his classmates were allowed by the Supreme Court to take the examinations in
that year of 1903, he got an average of 95.66% second placer in the bar examination.
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. Upon the return of governor
Climaco from the United States, in 1904 the United States colonial administration appointed him
governor of the province of Cebu and fiscal (district attorney) for the province of Cebu and
Negros Oriental. Two years later he was elected delegate to the Philippine National Assembly
and founded the Nationalist Party, which come to dominate Philippine political life.
Osmea remained leader of the Naitonalists until 1921, when he was succeeded by Manuel L.
Quezon, who had joined him in a coalition. Made speaker of the House of Representative in
1916, he served until his election to the Senate in 1923. In 1933 he went to Washington D.C. to
secure passage of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting independence bill, but Quezon differed with Osmea
over the bill's provision to retain U.S. military bases after independence. The bill, vetoed by the
Philippine Assembly, was superseded by the Tydings McDuffie Act of March 1934, making the
Philippines a commonwealth with a large measured of independence. The following years
Osmea became vice president, with Quezon as president. He remained vice president during the
Japanese occupation when the government was in exile in Washington D.C. On the death of
Quezon in August 1944, Osmea became president. He serve as president until the elections of
April 1946, when he was defeated by Manuel Roxas, who became the first president of the
independent republic of the Philippines.
Osmea thereafter retired to his hometown in Cebu, where he spent the remaining of his life,
until he died on October 19, 1961 at the age of 83, with his death the nation lost a towering

Molave of the race.

First wife Doa Estefania Veloso. Most of their eight children are now deceased. One of those
alive is Mrs. Paloming Osmea Charnley, retired in Cebu City. For his second wife, Doa
Esperanza Limjap, are Rosie Osmea Valencia is involved in Manila Society. Ramon and Victor
live in Cebu.

MANUEL A. ROXAS
Complete name: Manuel Acua Roxas
Term of Office: May 28, 1946 April 15, 1948
Born: January 1, 1892
Died: April 15, 1948 Clark Air Base, Pampanga
Birthplace: Capiz
Resting place: Manila North Cemetery

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.

Manuel A. Roxas (Born- January 1, 1892, died- April 15, 1948)( Last President of the
Commonwealth Term: May 28, 1946- July 4, 1946) (First President of the 3rd Republic of the

Philippines Term: July 4, 1946- April 15, 1948)

Political leader and first president of the independence republic of the Philippines.
The silver tongued genius- for a genius indeed, was born on January 1, 1892, in Capiz (renamed
Roxas City (1949), in his honor).

His parents were Gerardo Roxas Sr. and Rosario Acuna. After graduating his early education in
the public school of Capiz. He went to Hong Kong to study for sometime, later he transferred to
Manila High School to finish his secondary course. He took up law at University of the
Philippines and graduated in 1913.

In 1913 to 1916, after his bar exam whom he got 1st placer, he then became professor at the
Philippine Law School and National University. Upon learning the excellent records of Roxas
former chief justice Cayetano S. Arellano, offered him to be his secretary of the Supreme Court.
Roxas began his political career in 1917 as a member of the municipal council of his hometown
Capiz in Panay Island. He was governor of the province of Capiz in 1919-1921 and was then
elected to the Philippine House of Representative, subsequently serving as Speaker of the House
and a member of the Council of State. In 1923 he and Manuel Quezon, the president of the
senate, resigned in protest from the Council of State when the U.S. governor-general (Leonard
Wood), began vetoing bills passed by the Philippine legislature. In 1932 Roxas and Sergio
Osmea, the Nacionalista Party leader, led the Philippine independence mission to Washington
D.C., where they influenced the passage of teh Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act. Roxas was later
opposed by Quezon, who held that the act compromised future Philippine independence; the
Nacionalista Party was split between them on this issue. In 1934, however, Roxas was a member
of the convention that drew up a constitution under the revised Philippine Independence and
Commonwealth Act (Tydings McDuffie Act). Roxas also served as Secretary of Finance in the
Commonwealth government (1938-1940).
During World War II Roxas served in the pro-Japanese government of Jose Laurel by acquiring
supplies of rice for the Japanese Army. Although a court was established after the war to try
collaborators, Roxas was defended by his friend General Douglas McArthur. Roxas was elected
president of the commonwealth in 1946 as the nominee of the liberal wing of the Nacionalista
Party (which became the Liberal Party), and when independence was declared on July 4 he
became the first president of the new republic.
Although Roxas was successful in getting rehabilitation funds from the United States after
independence, he was forced to concede military bases (23 of which were leased for 99 years),
trade restriction for the Philippine citizens, and special privileges for U.S. property owner and
investor. His administration was marred by graft and corruption; moreover, the abuses of the
provincial military police contributed to the rise of the left-wing Hukbalahap (Huk) movement in

the countryside. His heavy-handed attempts to crush the Huks led to widespread peasant
disaffection.
Roxas did not stay long in office because of heart attack upon a speech in an occassion in the
Clark Air Base in April 15, 1948 and was succeeded by his vice president Elpidio Quirino.
Manuel Roxas bereaved wife Doa Trinidad de Leon and children Ruby and Gerardo Roxas who
became congressman, senator, and a leader of Liberal Party.
He died at the age of 44.
Married to Doa Trinidad de Leon Roxas. Who is very active in the Philippine society. Their two
children Ruby, who is active and involved in functions commemorating the memory of her late
father and former senator Gerry Roxas, their only son, died several years ago.

ELPIDIO R. QUIRINO
Complete name: Elpidio Rivera Quirino
Term of Office: April 17, 1948 December 30, 1953
Born: November 16, 1890
Died: February 29, 1956 Novaliches, Quezon City
Birthplace: Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Resting place: Manila South Cemetery

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.

Elpidio R. Quirino
(Born- November 16, 1890, died- February 28, 1956)
Second President, Third Republic of the Philippines
(Term: April 17, 1948- November 10, 1953)

Political leader and second president of the Independence Republic of the Philippines.
He was born on November 16, 1890 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

After obtaining a law degree from the University of the Philippines in 1915, Quirino practiced
law until he was elected as member of Philippine House of Representative in 1919-25 and as
senator in 1925-1931. In 1934 he was a member of the Philippine Independence mission to
Washington D.C., headed by Manuel Quezon, which secured the passage in Congress of the
Tydings-McDuffie Act, setting the date for Philippine independence as July 4, 1946. He was also
elected to the convention that drafted a constitution for the new Philippine Commonwealth.
Subsequently he served as secretary of finance and secretary of the interior in the
Commonwealth government.
After World War II, Quirino serve as secretary of state and vice president under the first
president of the independence Philippines, Manuel Roxas. When Roxas died on April 15, 1948,
Quirino suceeded to the presidency. The following years, he was elected president for a fouryear term on the Liberal Party ticket, defeating the Nacionalista candidiate.
President Quirino's administration faced a serious threat in the form of the Communist led
Hukbalahap (Huk) movement. Though the Huks originally had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla
army in Luzon, the Communists steadily gained control over the leadership, and when Quirino's
negotiation with Huk commander Luis Taruc broke down in 1948, Taruc openly declared himself
a Communist and called for the overthrow of the government. By 1950 the Huks had gained
control over a considerable portion of national defense to suppress the insurrection.
Quirino's six years as president were marked by notable postwar reconstruction, general
economic gains, and increased economic aid from the United States. Basic social problems,
however, particularly in the rural areas, remained unsolved; Quirino's administration was tainted
by widespread graft and corruption. The 1949 election, which he had won, were among the most

dishonest in the country's history. Magsaysay, who had been largely successful in eliminating the
threat of the Huk insurgents, broke with Quirino on the issue of corruption, campaigning for
clean elections and defeating Quirino as the Nacionalista candidate in the presidential election of
1953. Subsequently, Quirino retired to private life, in his new country home in Novaliches where
he died of heart attack on February 28, 1956. His bereaved wife Alicia Syguia and children
Tomas, Victoria and victims of Massacre of World War II: Armando, Norma and Fe. His wife
Alicia also died during World War II and already dead when Quirino become president. Of their
children only Victoria is alive and re-married to Paco Delgado.
Quirino died at the age of 66.

RAMON F. MAGSAYSAY

Complete name: Ramon Del Fierro Magsaysay

Term of Office: December 30, 1953 March 17, 1957
Born: August 31, 1907
Died: March 17, 1957 Mount Manunggal, Asturias, Cebu
Birthplace: Iba, Zambales
Resting place: Manila North Cemetery

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.

Ramon F. Magsaysay (Born- August 31, 1907, died- March 17, 1957)(Third President of the
Third Republic of the Philippines Term: December 30, 1953- March 17, 1957)

Best known for successfully defeating the communist led Hukbalahap (Huk) Movement. Idol of
the masses, champion of democracy, and freedom fighter.
He was born in the capital of Iba, Zambales on August 31, 1907. His parents are Exequel
Magsaysay and Perfecta Del Fiero.
Magsaysay finished his elementary at the Castillejos, However his secondary course at the
Zambales Academy both in his hometown Zambales.
Though most Philippine political leaders were of Spanish descent, Magsaysay was of Malay
stock, like most of the common people. He took up mechanical engineering at University of the
Philippines but ended up with a commerce degree from Jose Rizal College in Manila in 1933
and became general manager of a Try-Tran transportation company before starting as a
mechanic. After serving as a guerrilla leader on Luzon during World War II, he was appointed
military governor of his home province, Zambales, by MacArthur, when the United States
recaptured the Philippines. He served two terms (1946-50) as a Liberal Party congressman for
Zambales, his first experience in politics.
President Elpidio Quirino appointed Magsaysay secretary of defense to deal with the threat of
the Huks, whose leader, Luis Taruc, in February 1950 established a People's Liberation Army
and called for the overthrow of the government. Magsaysay then carried out until 1953 one of
the most successful anti-guerrilla campaigns in modern history. Realizing that the Huks could
not survive without popular support, he strove to win the trust of the peasants by offering land
and tools to those who came over to the government side and by insisting that army units treat
the people with respect. Reforming the army, he dismissed corrupt and incompetent officers and
emphasized mobility and flexibility in combat operations against the guerrillas. By 1953, Huks
were no longer a serious threat, but Magsaysay's radical measures had made many enemies for
him within the government, compelling him to resign on February 28, when he charge the
Quirino administration with corruption and incompetence.
Although Magsaysay was a Liberal, the Nacionalista Party successfully backed him for the
presidency against Quirino in the 1953 elections, winning the support of Carlos P. Garcia, who
had organized a third party. Magsaysay promised reform in every segment of Philippine life, but

he was frustrated in his efforts by a conservative congress that represented the interest of the
wealthy. Despite initial support of Congress in July 1955.
Magsaysay was unable to pass effective land reform legislation; government indifference to the
plight of the peasants then undid most of his good work in gaining the support of the people
against the Huks. Neverthless, he remained extremely popular and had a well deserve reputation
for incorruptibility.
In foreign policy, Magsaysay remained a close friend and supporter of the United States and a
vocal spokesman against communism during the Cold War. He made the Philippines a member
of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, which was established in Manila on September 8,
1954. Before the expiration of his term as president, Magsaysay was killed when his airplane
crashed at Mount Pinatubo in the early morning of March 17, 1957, he was succeeded by the
vice president, Carlos P. Garcia. The nation was shocked upon learning of Magsaysay sudden
death, most of the Filipino people mourned because the nation lost a well loved leader, who in
his lifetime become a legendary figure in Philippine politics.
He left his bereaved wife Luz Banzon, children Teresita, Milagros Magsaysay Valenzuela and
Ramon Magsaysay Jr., a proclaim winner in May 8, 1995 Senatorial election.
Magsaysay died at the age of 50 years old.

CARLOS P. GARCIA

Complete name: Carlos Polestico Garcia

Term of Office: March 17, 1957 December 30, 1961
Born: November 4, 1896
Died: June 14, 1971 Quezon City
Birthplace: Talibon, Bohol
Resting place: Libingan ng mga Bayani

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.
Carlos P. Garcia
(Born- November 4, 1896, died- June 14, 1971)
Fourth President of the Third Republic of the Philippines
(Term: March 18, 1957- December 30, 1961)

Famous for his austerity program and policy. He was born in Talibon, Bohol, on November 4,
1896. His parents are Policronio Garcia and Ambrosia Polistico.
After graduating from Philippine Law School in Manila in 1923, he was among the top ten in the
bar examination. He became successively, a school teacher, representative in the Philippine
Congress, governor of his province (Bohol), and then senator (1941-1953).
Garcia was the one who commissioned the Philippine rehabilitation at war damage claims in
1945 in the United States. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II,
Garcia was active in the resistance movement. He was elected vice president on the ticket of the
Nacionalista Party in 1953 and was also minister of foreign affairs (1953-1957). He became
president of the Philippines in March 1957 for eight months, upon the death of president Ramon
Magsaysay, and was elected to a full four-year term the same year (The noisiest and the most
expensive in Philippine history). He maintained the strong tradition ties with the United States
and sought closer relation with non-communist Asian countries. In the election of November
1961 he was defeated by the vice president Diosdado Macapagal.
He left his bereaved wife, Leonila Dimataga and the only daughter Linda Garcia Campus.
He died on June 14, 1971 at the age of seventy five (75).

DIOSDADO P. MACAPAGAL
Complete name: Diosdado Pangan Macapagal
Term of Office: December 30, 1961 December 30, 1965
Born: September 28, 1910
Died: April 21, 1997 Makati City
Birthplace: Lubao, Pampanga
Resting place: Libingan ng mga Bayani

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.
Diosdado P. Macapagal
(Born- September 28, 1910)
Fifth President of the Third Republic of the Philippines
(Term: December 30, 1961- December 30, 1965)

Filipino reformist president of the Republic of the Philippines.

Best known as the "Champion of the Common Man."
He was born in Barrio San Nicolas, Lubao, Pampanga, on September 28, 1910. His parents are
Urbano Macapagal and Romana Pangan, their family was a middle class and a law abiding
citizen, Macapagal pursue his studies in order to reach his goal in the future.
Nevertheless, Macapagal finish his elementary at the Lubao Elementary School, he received an
honor of being the valedictorian and in 1929 in the Pampanga High School for his secondary
course, he is the salutatorian.
He entered Philippine Law School to get his law degree.In this law school he become wellknown as the best orator and debater. After two years he transferred to the University of Sto.
Tomas.
After receiving his law degree, Macapagal was admitted to the bar in 1936. During World War
II, he practiced law in Manila and aided the anti-Japanese resistance. After the war he worked in
a law firm and in 1948 served as second secretary to the Philippine Embassy in Washington,
D.C. The following year was elected to a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives,
serving until 1956. During this time he was Philippine representative to the United Nations
General Assembly three times. From 1957 to1961, Macapagal was a member of the Liberal
Party and vice president under Nacionalista President Carlos P. Garcia. In the 1961 elections,
however he ran against former president Carlos P. Garcia forging a coalition of the Liberal and
progressive parties and making a crusade against corruption a principal element of his platform.
He was elected by a wide margin.
While president, Diosdado Macapagal worked to suppress graft and corruption and to stimulate
the Philippine economy. He placed the Peso in the free currency-exchange market, encouraged
wealthiest families, which cost the treasury millions of pesos yearly. His reforms, however, were

crippled by a House Representatives and Senate dominated by the Nacionalistas, and he was
defeated in the 1965 elections by Ferdinand E. Marcos.
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.
In 1972 he chaired the convention that drafted the 1973 constitution only to question in 1981 the
validity of its ratification. In 1979 he organized the National Union for Liberation as an
opposition party to the Marcos regime. He had two children from first wife Purita dela Rosa
(deceased); Maria Cielo and Arturo. For his second wife Doa Evangeline Macaraeg Macapagal,
their children are Maria Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a winner in the 1995 senatorial race and
Diosdado Macapagal Jr. who served the government under Corazon's administration.
As of this writing (February 1996) Macapagal is still alive and a regular writer/columnist in a
leading newspaper. In his retirement, although he still heartily and devoted a good part of his
time to reading and writing.
The good president always remembered those past days serving his country with love and honor
with peace in his heart.

FERDINAND E. MARCOS
Complete name: Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos
Term of Office: December 30, 1965 February 25, 1986
Born: September 11, 1917
Died: September 28, 1989 Honolulu,Hawaii
Birthplace: Sarrat, Ilocos Norte
Resting place: Marcos Museum and Mausoleum

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.
Ferdinand E. Marcos
(Born- September 11, 1917, Died- September 28, 1989)
Sixth President of the Third Republic of the Philippines
(Term: December 30, 1965- February 25, 1986)

Philippine lawyer and politician who, as head of the States from 1966 to 1986.
He was born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte on September 11, 1917. His parents are; Don Mariano
Marcos and Doa Josefa Edralin. His father is a politician, while his mother is a teacher in their
hometown.

Marcos attended school at the age of five years old in Sarrat Central School, later he transferred
to Manila. According to his scholastic records, Marcos always got an honor from his elementary
and secondary course. He is best in oratory speeches as well as in debate and declamatory
speeches.
Marcos attended school in Manila and studied law in the late 1930s at the University of the
Philippines, in Quezon City. Tried for the assassination in 1933 of a political opponent of his
politician father, Marcos was found guilty in November 1939. But he argued his case on appeal
to the Philippine Supreme Court, acquittal a year later. He become a trial lawyer in Manila.
During World War II he served as an officer with the Philippine Armed Forces. Captured by the
Japanese, he survived the Death March from Bataan to Central Luzon and then escaped. Marcos
subsequent claims to being an important leader in the Filipino guerrilla resistance movement
were a central factor in his later political success, but U.S. government archives revealed that he
actually played little or no part in anti-Japanese activities during 1942-45.
From 1946 to 1947 Marcos was a technical assistant to Manuel Roxas, the first president of the
independent Philippine Republic. He was a member of House of Representatives (1949-1959)
and of the Senate (1959-1965). Serving as Senate President (1963-1965). In 1965, Marcos, who

was a prominent member of the Liberal Party founded by Roxas, broke with it after failing to get
his party's nomination for president. He then ran as the Nationalist Party candidate for president
against the Liberal president, Diosdado Macapagal. The campaign was expensive and bitter.
Marcos won and was inaugurated as president. On December 30, 1969, Marcos was reelected,
the first he had made progress in agriculture, industry, and education. Yet his administration was
troubled by increasing student demonstrations and violent urban-guerilla activities.
On September 21, 1972, Marcos imposed martial law. Holding that communist and subversive
forces precipitated the crisis, he acted swiftly; opposition politicians were jailed and the armed
forces became an arm of the regime. Opposed by political leaders- notably Benigno Aquino Jr.,
who was jailed and held in detention for almost eight years, Marcos was also criticized by
church leaders and others. In the provinces Maoist communists (New Peoples Army) and
Muslim separatist undertook guerrilla activities intended to bring down the central government.
Under Martial Law the president assumed extraordinary powers, including the suspension of the
Writ of Habeas Corpus. Marcos announce the end of Martial Law in January 17, 1981 but still
ruled in an authoritarian fashion thereafter under various constitutional formats. He won election
to the newly created post of president against only token opposition in June 1981.
Marcos wife from 1954 was Imelda Romualdez Marcos, a former beauty queen. Imelda became
a powerful figure in her own right after her husband instituted martial law in 1972. She was
frequently criticized for her appointment of relatives to lucrative government and industrial
position while she held the post of Governor of Metropolitan Manila (1975-1986) and Minister
of Human Settlements and Ecology (1979-1986).

Marcos later years in power were marred by rampant government corruption, economic
inequalities between the rich and the poor, and the steady growth of a communist guerrilla
insurgency active in the rural areas of the Philippines innumerable islands.

By 1983 Marcos health was beginning to fall, and opposition to his rule was growing. Hoping to
present an alternative to both Marcos and the increasingly powerful New Peoples Army. Benigno
Aquino Jr. return to Manila on August 21, 1983, only to be shot dead as he stepped off the plane.
The assassination was probably the work of the government and touch off massive antigovernment protest. An independent commission appointed by Marcos concluded in 1984 that
high military officers were responsible for Aquino's assassination. To reassert his mandate,
Marcos called for presidential election to be held in 1986. But a formidable political opponent
soon emerged in Aquino's widow, Corazon C. Aquino, who became the presidential candidate of
the opposition. It was widely asserted that Marcos managed to defeat Aquino and retain the
presidency in the election of February 7, 1986, only through massive voting fraud on the part of

his supporters. Marcos held to his presidency as the Philippine military split between supporters
of his and of Aquino's legitimate right to the presidency. A tense stand off (EDSA Revolution,
People's Power) that ensued between the two sides ended only when Marcos fled the country on
February 25, 1986 at United States urging, and went into exile in Hawaii, USA.
Evidence subsequently emerged that during his year in power, Marcos, his family, and his close
associates had looted the Philippines economy of billions of dollars through embezzlements and
other corrupt practices. Marcos and his wife were subsequently indicted by the U.S. government
on racketeering charges. After a trial a year later, Imelda won acquittal by the board of jury.
Imelda return to the Philippines to face the charges against her and her family.
Marcos died on September 28, 1989 at Waikiki, Hawaii. His bereaved wife, Imelda R. Marcos
and children Imee Marcos Manotoc, Irene Marcos Araneta and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos
Jr., a former congressman of Ilocos Sur and a senatorial candidate in May 8, 1995 election. He
serve as congressman under Ramos administration.
Ferdinand Marcos died at the age of seventy two (72).

CORAZON C. AQUINO
Complete name: Maria Corazon Sumulong CojuangcoAquino
Term of Office: February 25, 1986 June 30, 1992
Born: January 25, 1933
Died: August 1, 2009
Birthplace: Panique, Tarlac
Resting place: Manila Memorial Park

Corazon C. Aquino (January 25, 1933). President from

1986 to 1992, she is associated with the EDSA Revolt.

No one could have imagined that Cory Aquino would become a president of the
Philippines. Although she was born to the landed class in Tarlac, her background was so
disparate from the patterns that cut presidential figures. In 1946, her family left for the U.S. and
she enrolled at Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia. She finished her junior and senior years at
Notre Dame College in New York. In 1949, she entered Mount Saint Vincent College also in
New York where she finished a Bachelor of Arts course, major in French .
In 1953, she returned to the Philippines to take up law at the Far Eastern University. But,
the following year, she met and married Benigno Ninoy Aquino. Subsequently, she became
content to live in her husbands shadow and took the role of wife and mother to her five children.
However, Ninoys assassination in 1983 swept aside this role and catapulted her to the top
position of the country after the tumultuous events which followed the EDSA revolution in
February 1986.
She refused to run for reelection in the 1992 presidential elections; but instead endorsed
and worked very hard for her chosen candidate Fidel V. Ramos.
Corazon C. Aquino
(Born- January 25, 1933, Died- August 1, 2009)
Seventh and First Woman President of the Republic of the Philippines
(Term: February 25, 1986- June 30, 1992)

Political leader and president from (1986 to 1992) of the Philippines. In 1983 she succeeded her
murdered husband, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.(A popular critic of the Marcos administration),
as leader of the opposition to President Ferdinand Marcos. No one could have imagined that
Cory Aquino would become a president of the Philippines.

Corazon "Cory" Aquino, the first woman to become president of the Philippines, was born in
Tarlac on January 25, 1933. Her parents are Don Jose Cojuangco and Doa Demetria Sumulong.
Cory was the sixth among the eight children of the Sumulong. Corazon Aquino's children are
Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza, Noynoy and Kris Aquino, her youngest
child is a TV and movie personality.
Corazon Cojuangco was born into a wealthy, politically prominent family based in Tarlac
province, north of Manila. In 1946, her family left for the U.S. and she enrolled at Ravenhill
Academy in Philadelphia. She finished her junior and senior years at Notre Dame College in
New York. She entered Mount Saint Vincent College in New York City in 1949 where she
finished a Bachelor of Arts, major in French. In 1953, she returned to the Philippines to take up
law at the Far Eastern University, but then abandoned further studies in 1955 to marry Benigno
Aquino, who was then a promising young politician. Cory remained in the background during
her husband's subsequent career, rearing their five children at home and later in exile. Her

husband was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines in August 1983.
When Ferdinand Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential election in February 1986,
Corazon Aquino become the unified opposition's candidate for the presidency. Though she was
officially reported to have lost the election to Marcos, Aquino and her supporters challenged the
results, charging widespread voting fraud. High officials in the Philippines military soon
publicly renounced Marcos continued rule and proclaimed Aquino the Philippines rightful
president. On February 25, 1986, both Aquino and Marcos were inaugurated as president by
their respective supporters but that same day Marcos fled the country.
In March 1986 she proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafter appointed a
commission to write a new constitution. The resulting document was ratified by a landslide
popular vote in February 1987. In spite of her continuous popular support, Aquino faced an
ongoing outcry over economic injustice, a problem that was only exacerbated by continuing
warfare between the communist insurgency and a military whose loyalties to Aquino were
uncertain. In general, her economic policies were criticized for being mixed or faltering in the
face of mass poverty.
Aquino children are Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza, Noynoy and Kris
Aquino. Her youngest child is a TV & movie personality.

FIDEL V. RAMOS
Complete name: Fidel Valdez Ramos
Term of Office: June 30, 1992 June 30, 1998
Born: March 18, 1928
Birthplace: Lingayen, Pangasinan

Fidel V. Ramos ((March 18, 1928). He was the military

hero of the February 1986 Philippine People Power Revolution
and victor of the first multiparty presidential elections in 1992,
thus becoming the 12th President of the Republic of the
Philippines.
Ramos was born on March 18, 1928, and grew up in
Lingayen, Pangasinan. His father - Narciso Ramos - was a lawyer,
a crusading journalist, a five-term legislator of the House of
Representatives, and later, secretary of foreign affairs.
The Ramos administration has anchored its governance on
the philosophy of People Empowerment as the engine to
operationalize economic growth, social equity, and national
solidarity. It is focusing on a five-point program: peace and stability; economic growth and
sustainable development; energy and power generation; environmental protection; and a
streamline democracy.
The six-year term of Ramos (1992 - 1998) is looked upon with much hope and optimism
not only because of his clear vision of the future but also because of his hands-on leadership
style in meeting the challenges faced by the country. Because of his leadership, the Philippines is
expected to attain full political stability, sustained economic development and social justice by
the turn of the 21st century.
Fidel V. Ramos
(Born- March 18, 1928)
8th President of the Republic of the Philippines
(Term- June 30, 1992-June 30, 1998)

As head of the State his administration centerpiece program is the Philippines 2000; which aim
to uplift the Philippines as a newly industrialized country by the year 2000.
Fidel V. Ramos was born in Lingayen, Pangasinan on February 8, 1928. His parents are Narciso
Ramos (A lawyer, a crusading journalist, a legislator and later, secretary of foreign affairs) and
Angela Valdez Ramos. Fidel V. Ramos have two sisters, Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani and
Gloria Ramos de Rodda, a diplomat.

Become a Valedictorian of his graduating class at the Lingayen Elementary School in Maniboc,
Lingayan, Pangasinan, he was the consistent valedictorian of his class, through his elementary
grades and through his high school at the University of the Philippines.
In the year 1950, Fidel V. Ramos graduated in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New
York, a well know military school in the U.S.A. He also acquired his master in Civil Engineering
course at the University of Illinois in the year 1951. Another course in associate Infantry
Company Officers at Fort Benning at Fort Bragg. In the year 1960 he was the topnotcher of all
the 21 graduated for the "Special Forces/Pay Operations/Airborne." Aside from those courses, he
took up Command and General Staff at Fort Santiago year 1965, where he became the
topnotcher of all 48 graduating students.
During the administration of President Marcos, Fidel V. Ramos became the Presidential assistant
of military tactics. (1968-1969); Assistant to the head of State of the Civil Defense July 1, 1969Nov. 6, 1970. Head of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
Deputy Chief of Staff for Home Defense Activities (1971-1981).
Moreover, he become a delegate of the Philippines to other countries such as: Delegation for the
third conference of the Association fo Southeast Asian Nations, held at Malaysia (1969) and the
Ministerial conference of Southeast Asian Nations held at Kuala Lumpur (Nov. 1971).
According to his record, FVR receives award, medal and honor for his achievements in Korea
and Vietnam. Known for his disciplinarian method in his troop but has a good faith in his heart.
In his administration the good President look forward the dream for the Philippines as an
industrialized country towards the year 2000. He also emphasizes for the rebels who are willing
to surrender, to achieved the real peace and order in the country.
The Ramos Administration intensify to complete the Program such as; school buildings, roads
and bridges, country wide development, country's infrastructure program for Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao and inviting foreign investors to put up business in the country to help the Filipino
People.
Ramos married Amelita Martinez on October 21, 1953. They had five children.

JOSEPH M. EJERCITO-ESTRADA

Complete name: Jose Marcelo Ejercito-Estrada

Term of Office: June 30, 1998 January 20, 2001

Born: April 19, 1937

Birthplace: Tondo, Manila

Joseph Ejercito Estrada

(Born- April 19, 1937)
9th President of the Third Republic of the Philippines
(Term- June 30, 1998-January 20, 2001)

Joseph Ejercito Estrada was born on April 19, 1937 in Tondo, Manila. He is the eight of the ten
children of Emilio Ejercito and Maria Marcelo. His family later moved to San Juan, Rizal (now
part of Metro Manila) where he grew up.
Estrada studied at Ateneo de Manila University. He took up engineering at the Mapua Institute of
Technology, on his second year he moved to the Polytechnic College of the Philippines in Sta.
Mesa, Manila. Before he could finish engineering he quit school and decided to try the movies.
Displeased with his decision to drop out of college, his parents forbade him to use his family
name, which forced him to adopt "Estrada" as a screen name and "Erap" ("pare" or friend spelled
backward) as a nickname.
During his movie career, he played the lead role in more than hundred movies and produced
more then 70 films. In 1974, he founded the Movie Workers Welfare Fund (MOWELFUND)
that provides movie industry workers with financial and professional assistance. He was the first
FAMAS Hall of Fame awardee for Best Actor (1981) and also became a Hall of Fame awardee
as a Producer(1983).

Estrada entered politics when he ran for mayor of San Juan in 1968. He was only proclaimed
mayor in 1969, after he won an electoral protest against Dr. Braulio Sto. Domingo. As mayor
(1969-1986), Estrada was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in Public
Administration (1972). He was also named Most Outstanding Mayor and Foremost Nationalist
(1972), and most outstanding Metro Manila Mayor (1972). He won a seat in the Senate in 1987.
At the Senate, he chaired a Committee on Cultural Minorities and Rural Development and co-

chaired the committees on Health, Natural Resources and Ecology, and Urban Planning. On
September 16, 1991, he voted for the rejection of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and
Security, which ended the stay of the United States military bases in the Philippines.
He was elected Vice President in 1992. He was appointed chairman of the Presidential AntiCrime Commission (PACC).
He was elected President of the Philippines in 1998 but the EDSA II Revolution cut his 6-year
term short on January 20, 2001.
He is married to Luisa Pimentel, with whom he has three children.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
Complete name: Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Term of Office: January 20, 2001 June 30, 2010
Born: April 5, 1947

Birthplace: San Juan, Rizal

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

(Born- April 5, 1947)
Tenth President of the Republic of the Philippines
(Term- January 20, 2001- June 30, 2010)

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or GMA was born on April 5, 1947. His parents were former
President Diosdado Macapagal and Dra. Eva Macaraeg. She grew up in Iligan City.
GMA finished high school as Valedictorian at the Assumption College. She studied at the
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. but she stopped during her third year, when she got
married to Jose Miguel Tuazon Arroyo.
She finished her course in Commerce at Assumption College, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
She took her Masters Degree in Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and her
Doctorate Degree at the University of the Philippines. She worked as an assistant secretary to
President Cory Aquino in 1986, and was later appointed as Undersecretary of the Department of
Trade and Industry.

GMA was elected Senator in 1992, and was re-elected in 1995. In 1998, She was elected vicepresident of the Philippines, with Joseph Estrada as President. She was appointed as Secretary of
Social Welfare and Development, but gave up the position in October 2000 when there was a
public clamor for the resignation of President Estrada. when some of the top officials of
government and Armed Forces of the Philippines withdrew their support for President Estrada
who was forced to leave Malacaang on January 21, 2001. GMA was sworn in as the new

President. She chose Senator Teofisto Guingona as Vice-President.

Estrada criticized the legitimacy of GMA's presidency, however it was affirmed by the Supreme
Court. She served the unfinished term of Estrada. In 2004, she ran for President and won against
the popular actor, Fernando Poe Jr.
In November 2009, Macapagal-Arroyo formally declared her intention to run for
Congresswoman in the 2nd district of Pampanga. She is the 2nd Philippine President after Jose
P. Laurel to pursue a lower office in the government after his presidency. Her term as President
was finished on June 30, 2010.
Gloria Makapagal-Arroyo married Jose Miguel Tuazon Arroyo in 1968. They have three
children Mikey, Luli and Dato.

BENIGNO SIMEON COJUANCO AQUINO III

Complete name: Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III
Term of Office: June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2016
Born: February 8, 1960
Birthplace: Manila , Philippines

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III

(Born- February 8, 1960)
11th President of the Republic of the Philippines
(Term- June 30, 2010- )

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III was born on February 8, 1960. His parents
were former Sentor Benigno Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon C. Aquino.
Aquino finished his elementary, high school and college education at the Ateneo de MAnila
where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1981. After college, his family left the
Philippines to live in the United State of America, because his father, who was then detained for
charges of rebellion by the government of President Ferdinand Marcos, was permitted to seek
treatment in the United States. Aquino and his family returned to the Philippines in 1983, after
his father was assassinated at Manila International Airport. In 1986, his mother became president
after the historic "People Power Revolution".
In 1983, after his return to the Philippines, Aquino worked in private corporations until 1993.
From 1993 to 1998, Aquino worked for the Central Azucarera de Tarlac.
In 1998 Aquino ran for Congressman and served as representative of the 2nd District of Tarlac
until 2007. As Congressman, he passed laws enhancing the effectiveness of public offices and
improving the rights of workers and consumers. In May 2007, Noynoy was elected Senator.
When his mother died in 2009, there where calls for him to run for President of the Philippines.
To convince him, a million signatures were gathered by Edgardo Roces.

On May 10, 2010, Aquino won the Presidential elections. He took his oath of office on June 30,
2010.
Some of the laws that he immediately signed were the banning of the use of siren or "wangwang"
in the streets for no serious reason, and the voiding of "midnight appointments" in government
positions. He also established the "Truth Commission" to investigate graft and corruption, and
abuses of the government of Pres. Gloria Arroyo.

Aquino is the third president to use his second given name, Simeon, as his middle initial, as
Manuel L. Quezon and Jose P. Laurel. He is one of the younger elected presidents after Emilio
Aguinaldo (29 years old when elected), Ramon Magsaysay
(46 years old when elected) and Ferdinand Marcos (48 years old when elected). He is the third
president who only holds office but does not reside in Malacaang Palace, following Corazon
Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos. He is the first president to make Bahay Pangarap his official
residence. He is the first elected president who does not have a wife and children.

SOURCES:
http://nobert-bermosa.blogspot.com/2011/06/15-presidents-of-republicof.html
http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/
http://park.org/Philippines/government/presidents.htm
http://www.charleskeng.com/president.htm