Ashennette Jewel P.

Rotazo September 13, 2023

BSTM 1-C Mrs. Cherri Castro Sorrida

Readings in Philippine History

List of the President of the Philippines

Emilio Aguinaldo (1899 – 1901)

Emilio Aguinaldo was the first president of the Philippines, who led his country during
the Philippine and Spanish-American Revolutions. After claiming independence from
Spain in 1898, the Philippines was increasing limited autonomy. The result is from his
lead in a brief war with the United States.
Manuel L. Quezon (1935-1944)
Filipino statesman, leader of the independence movement, and first president of the
Philippine Commonwealth established under U.S. tutelage in 1935 , and is considered to
have been the second president of the Philippines and he implemented various reforms
and reorganizations during his presidency.

Jose P. Laurel (1943 – 1945)

Jose P. Laurel is the third president of the President. He was outspoken in his
criticism of the U.S. agenda in the Philippines and his participation in formulating the
Bill of Rights for the Philippine Constitution. He is also an advocate for women’s
rights.

Sergio Osmeña Sr. (1944 – 1946)

Filipino statesman, founder of the Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista) and
president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946.The Philippines became a member of
the IMF during his presidency.

Manuel A. Roxas (1946 – 1948)

Manuel Roxas served as the country’s fifth president, the third (and final) president
during the Commonwealth era, and the first leader of the Third Republic of the
Philippines. On May 28, 1946, he took office in a ceremony held at the National
Museum building. He only served in that capacity for one year, ten months, and
eighteen days.

Elpidio R. Quirino (1948 – 1953)

Elpidio Rivera Quirino was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th
president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered
politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur from 1919 to 1925. Quirino is
acclaimed as the “Father of Philippine Industrialization.
 Ramon Magsaysay Sr. (1953 – 1957)
Ramon Magsaysay, the president of the Philippines, maintains close ties with the
United States and negotiates the Laurel Pact, a trade pact between the two nations that
aims to meet the broad economic interests of the Philippines. Significant land reforms,
including vast irrigation projects and the bolstering of power plants, were also
implemented by him. Trade, industry, and the Philippines’ sports and culture all
blossomed during his reign. He was posthumously referred to as the "Champion of the
Masses" and "Defender of Democracy"
Carlos P. Garcia (1957 – 1961)
Carlos P. Garcia is a native of Bohol who worked as a guerrilla leader during the Pacific
War and held positions as a lecturer, poet, and lawyer. Under Ramon Magsaysay, Garcia
was secretary of state for four years and vice president. Magsaysay’s death in a plane crash
in 1957 resulted in his presidential election. He became famous for his poetry in Bohol,
where he earned the nickname "Prince of Visayan Poets" and the "Bard from Bohol."

Diosdado P. Macapagal (December 30, 1961 – December 30, 1965)

Diosdado P. Macapagal was a brilliant economist who passed the first Land Reform Law,
permitting the purchase of private farmland and its distribution to the landless in low-
cost, small lots. He encouraged exports and put the peso on the open market for currency
exchange.

Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965 – 1986)

When Ferdinand E. Marcos was in power, his family was famous for their lavish
lifestyle, sparing no expense on expensive artworks and having many overseas
properties. But Ferdinand E. Marcos also imposed martial law throughout the
Philippines in 1972, leading to a wave of popular anger, sparking the People Power
Revolution that broke out in 1986, overthrowing the government of the Philippines.

Corazon C. Aquino (1986 – 1992)

Corazon C. Aquino is seen as a symbol of political bravery when she led the so-called
“people power” uprising to overthrow the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. She was
affectionately known by the Filipino people as Cory and is remembered by many as a
small woman in a yellow shirt who led the people’s protests to overthrow the
dictatorship.

Fidel V. Ramos (1992 – 1998)

Fidel V. Ramos was hailed as the most successful leader because he steered the
Philippines’ economy toward expansion. To combat the nation’s rising population, he
encouraged family-planning measures.
From second lieutenant to the armed forces commander-in-chief, he was the only
military officer to attain the rank of five-star general or admiral under law.
 Joseph E. Estrada (1998 – 2001)
Joseph E. Estrada won an overwhelming victory in the 1998 Philippine Presidential
election, becoming one of the presidents with the highest support from voters with an
approval rating of over 60%. However, in November 2000, Mr. Estrada was
impeached by the National Assembly for corruption and was ousted on January 20,
2001, in a bloodless coup with the backing of the country’s military.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001 – 2010)

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the 14th President of the Philippine island nation and the
second female head of state here, after President Corazon Aquino.
Ms. Arroyo, during her first term, struggled to consolidate her power. She had to work
very hard to find ways to improve the image of a government that was always seen as
scandalous and corrupt.

Benigno Aquino III(2010 – 2016)

During Mr. Aquino’s presidency, the Philippines has grown the fastest since the 1970s. His
administration has also been fiercely anti-corruption, narrowing the budget deficit and
helping the Philippines win investment capital from major credit institutions. However,
Aquino’s biggest foreign policy impression was his lawsuit against China to the Arbitral
Tribunal over the South China Sea after the two countries’ ships clashed at Scarborough
Shoal in April 2012.
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 – 2022)
Former President Duterte focused on infrastructure investment, increasing
competitiveness, and creating a growth engine for the country’s economy. Not
stopping there, Mr. Duterte facilitated private economic development, focusing on
the growth of businesses, especially small and medium enterprises. The Philippine
president also took advantage of foreign economic cooperation, in which China is the
most important partner.

Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (2022 – Present)

In remarks on June 20, Mr. Marcos Jr emphasized the need to prevent shortages and
increase food prices, saying this would be one of his top priorities.
With geopolitical risks rising, the call for “unification,” conveyed during the new
president’s campaign, will be tested in real-world scenarios, especially on political and
important issues such as territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
LIFE OF SENATOR
MIRIAM DEFENSOR-
SANTIAGO
"THE IRON LADY OF ASIA" AND THE
"DRAGON LADY"

Miriam Defensor-Santiago is well-known in Philippine

politics for her intelligence, courage, and memorable quotes.
While she ran twice for president and never won, she
remained a consistent and active figure in politics who made
a lasting mark on the Filipino people’s hearts and minds. She
passed away in September 2016 from lung cancer, months
after a second bid for the Philippine presidency.
Defensor-Santiago was born in 1945, the eldest of seven
children of a local judge and college dean in Iloilo City,
Philippines. Her parents’ occupations were a precursor to
what Santiago would become later on in her accomplished
life. From an early age, her parents instilled the value of
education. She later said that she and her siblings were raised
to be “very bright people and it’s a great disappointment to all
our ancestors if we did not live up to the family standards.”
After finishing high school and college as valedictorian in
Iloilo City, she continued her stellar educational performance
at the University of the Philippines College of Law in Manila.
She continued showcasing her intelligence and wit by
winning debates and oratorical contests. Defensor-Santiago
was also the first female editor of the college newspaper. More than just a powerhouse politician, Defensor-
Upon completing her law degree, she pursued her Masters of Santiago was also a wife, mother, and grandmother.
Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science from the University of Her biggest personal heartbreak came when one of her
Michigan, which is considered one of the best law schools in two sons took his own life in 2003. While she never got
the United States. Defensor-Santiago also finished a Master over his death, she continued her work in politics and
of Arts in Religious Studies at the Maryhill School of law. In 2012, she became the first Filipino and Asian
Theology. Aside from this, she also studied at Oxford and judge of the International Criminal Court. She also
Harvard law schools. Her impressive educational background continued her work as a senator and in 2016, ran again
served as further evidence of her brilliant mind. She made the for the presidency.
most of her education when she entered the world of Defensor-Santiago was indeed a female icon for the 21st
Philippine politics. century, earning the nickname the “Iron Lady of Asia,”
From lawyer to judge to Senator, Defensor-Santiago worked even when most Asian women were happy to be behind
in all three branches of the Philippine government – judicial, the scenes. Her intellect, accomplishments, and
executive, and legislative. She served as a judge at the Quezon outspokenness make her an extraordinary role model to
City Regional Trial Court, an immigration commissioner and the youth, who continue to look up to her today.
cabinet member, and a three-term senator. She was a popular Defensor-Santiago’s incredible ability to rise above
mainstay in Philippine politics, especially when she spoke personal tragedy and continue working as a public
openly about corruption, injustice, and inefficiencies she saw servant to serve others is also vital to this great woman’s
around her. legacy.