Born: March 22, 1869

Died: February 6, 1964

Revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo was born on March 22, 1869, in Kawit,
Cavite, Philippines. In 1898, he achieved independence of the Philippines
from Spain and was elected the first president of the new republic under the
Malolos Congress. He also led the Philippine-American War against U.S.
resistance to Philippine independence. Aguinaldo died of a heart attack on
February 6, 1964, in Quezon City, Philippines.

Contributions and Achievements:

first (and only) president of the First Republic (Malolo Republic)

signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, creating a truce between the Spanish
and Philippine revolutionaries
known as the President of the Revolutionary Government
led the Philippines in the Spanish-Philippine War and the AmericanPhilippine War

youngest president, taking office at age 28

longest-lived president, passing away at 94

Born: September 9, 1878

Died: October 19, 1961

Sergio Osmea (1878-1961) was the second president of the Philippine

Commonwealth and a distinguished statesman. He led the country in its
initial stage of political maturation by his honest and selfless devotion to
public service.
Sergio Osmea was born in Cebu on the island of Cebu on Sept. 9, 1878. He
entered the San Carlos Seminary in Cebu in 1889 and then earned his
bachelor's degree from San Juan de Letran College. His schooling was
interrupted by the 1896 revolution and the Filipino-American War. During the
revolution he edited the militantly nationalistic periodical El Nuevo Dia. After
the revolutionary struggles he continued his studies until he passed the bar
examination on Feb. 20, 1903.
On March 5, 1906, Osmea was elected provincial governor of Cebu at the
age of 28. Although he had little political experience, he succeeded in solving
the grave problems of public order and community cooperation

Contributions and Achievements:

became president at 65, making him the oldest person to hold office

first Visayan to become president

joined with U.S. Gen. Douglas McArthur in Leyte on October 20, 1944
to begin restoration of Philippine freedom after Japanese occupation

Philippine National Bank was rehabilitated and the country joined the
International Monetary Fund during his presidency

Bell Trade Act was approved by the U.S. Congress during his presidency

appears on the 50-peso bill

Born: August 31, 1907

Died: March 17, 1957

Born in the Philippines on August 31, 1907, Ramon Magsaysay was the
seventh president of the Philippines (195357), best known for successfully
defeating the communist-led Hukbalahap (Huk) movement in his country and
his popular appeal. He died in his country in 1957. Ramon Magsaysay was
born Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay in Iba, a city in the Philippines, on August
31, 1907. After attending the University of the Philippines, Magsaysay
transferred to the Institute of Commerce at Jos Rizal College (1928-1932),
where he received a bachelor's degree in commerce. At the start of World
War II, Magsaysay joined the motor pool of the 31st Infantry Division of the
Philippine army. He was promoted to captain, and was involved in clearing
the Zambales coast of the Japanese before to the landing of American forces
there.
Contributions and Achievements:

Hukbalahap movement quelled during his presidency

chairman of the Committee on Guerrilla Affairs

first president sworn into office wearing Barong Tagalog during

inauguration

presidency referred to as the Philippines' "Golden Years" for its lack of

corruption

Philippines was ranked second in Asias clean and well-governed

countries during his presidency

established National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration

(NARRA) among other agrarian reforms

Born: November 4, 1896

Died: June 14, 1971
Carlos Polestico Garcia, (born Nov. 4, 1896, Talibon, Phil.died June 14,
1971, Quezon City), fourth president of the Republic of the Philippines. After
graduating from law school in 1923, he became, successively, a
schoolteacher, representative in the Philippine Congress, governor of his
province (Bohol), and then (194153) senator. 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 (195357).
He became president of the Philippines in March 1957, upon the death of
Pres. Ramon Magsaysay, and was elected to a full four-year term the same
year. He maintained the strong traditional ties with the United States and

sought closer relations with non-Communist Asian countries. In the election

of November 1961 he was defeated by Vice Pres. Diosdado Macapagal. A
lawyer, poet, and teacher, Carlos P. Garcia also served as a guerrilla leader
during the Pacific War. Born in Bohol, Garcia serviced as vice president under
Ramon Magsaysay and as secretary of Foreign Affairs for four years. He
became president when Magsaysay died in 1957.
Contributions and Achievements:

known for Filipino First Policy, which favored Filipino businesses over
foreign investors

established the Austerity Program focusing on Filipino trade and

commerce

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

Born: September 28, 1910

Died: April 21, 1997

Diosdado Macapagal, (born Sept. 28, 1910, Lubao, Phil.died April 21,
1997, Makati, Phil.), reformist president of the Philippines from 1961 to
1965.

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 he 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 to 1961 Macapagal was a member of the Liberal Party and vice
president under Nacionalista president Carlos Garcia. In the 1961 elections,
however, he ran against Garcia, forging a coalition of the Liberal and
Progressive parties and making a crusade against political corruption a
principal element of his platform. He was elected by a wide margin. While
president, Macapagal worked to suppress graft and corruption and to
stimulate the Philippine economy. He placed the peso on the free currencyexchange market, encouraged exports, passed the countrys first land-reform
legislation, and sought to curb income tax evasion, particularly by the
wealthiest families, which cost the treasury millions of pesos yearly. His
reforms, however, were crippled by a House of Representatives and Senate
dominated by the Nacionalistas, and he was defeated in the 1965
presidential elections by Ferdinand Marcos. In 1972 he chaired the
convention that drafted the 1973 constitution, but in 1981 he questioned the
validity of its ratification. In 1979 he organized the National Union for
Liberation as an opposition party to the Marcos regime.

Born in Lubao, Pampanga, Diosdado Macapagal was a lawyer and professor.

His daughter Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the 14th, and second female,
president of the Philippines.
Contributions and Achievements:

established the first Land Reform Law, allowing for the purchase of
private farmland to be distributed in inexpensive, small lots to the
landless

placed the Philippine peso on the currency exchange market

declared June 12, 1898 to be Philippines Independence Day

signed the Minimum Wage Law

created the Philippine Veterans Bank

Born: September 11, 1917

Died: September 28, 1989
A lawyer, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives (1949-1959)
and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959-1965), Ferdinand Marcos
became the president of the Philippines in 1966, a post he held until 1986,
when his people rose against his dictatorial rule and he fled. Ferdinand
Marcos went to school in Manila and later attended law school at the
University of the Philippines. His father, Mariano Marcos, was a Filipino
politician, and on September 20, 1935, the day after Julio Nalundasan
defeated Mariano Marcos for a seat in the National Assembly (for the second
time), Nalundasan was shot and killed in his home. Ferdinand, Mariano and
Ferdinands brother and brother-in-law were tried for the assassination, and
Ferdinand and his brother-in-law were found guilty of the murder. Ferdinand
argued their case on appeal to the Philippine Supreme Court and won
acquittal a year later. Remarkably, while Marcos was preparing his case, he
was studying for the bar exam and became a trial lawyer in Manila
subsequent to the acquittal. Born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Ferdinand Edralin
Marcos was a lawyer and Senate President for three years. He was president
for 21 years. He ruled under martial law and his dictatorship was known for
its corruption and brutality. Marcos was removed from office after the People
Power Revolution.
Contributions and Achievements:

first president to win a second term

declared Martial Law on Sept. 22, 1972

increased the size of Philippine military and armed forces

by 1980 the Philippine GNP was four times greater than 1972

by 1986 the Philippines was one of the most indebted countries in Asia

built more schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, and other infrastructure

than all former presidents combined

the only president whose remains are interred inside a refrigerated

crypt

Born: January 25, 1933

Died: August 1, 2009

Maria Corazon Aquino was born January 25, 1933, in Tarlac, Philippines. Her
husband had been an opponent of Ferdinand Marcos and was assassinated
upon returning from exile. When Marcos unexpectedly called for elections in
1986, Corazon Aquino became the unified opposition's presidential
candidate. She took office after Marcos fled the country, and served as
president, with mixed results, until 1992. Maria Corazon Sumulong
Cojuangco was born January 25, 1933, in the Tarlac Province to a wealthy
political and banking family. She attended school in Manila until the age of
13, then finished her education in the United States, first in Philadelphia and
later in New York City. She graduated from the College of Mount St. Vincent in
New York in 1953, with a bachelor's degree in both French and mathematics.
Upon returning to the Philippines, she enrolled in law school in Manila, where
she met Benigno Aquino, Jr., an ambitious young journalist who also came
from a family with considerable wealth. The couple married in 1954, and
would go on to have five children together: one son and four daughters.
Benigno soon abandoned a career in journalism for politics. With Corazon at
his side, he quickly established himself as one of the country's brightest
young leaders. Over the span of just two decades, he was elected mayor,
then governor and, finally, senator. Along the way, he challenged the rule of
the country's president, Ferdinand Marcos. Elected to the presidency in 1965,

Marcos' administration was marred by corruption, human rights violations

and political repression. In 1972 Marcos declared martial law, effectively
stripping his citizens of their democratic rights and arresting key opposition
leaders, including Benigno Aquino, who spent seven years in jail before being
permitted to relocate with his family to the United States in 1980. Corazon
Aquino stood by her husband's side, playing the role of the supportive wife.
During his time in prison, Aquino served as the bridge between Benigno and
the outside world, keeping his profile alive and passing his notes on to the
press.

Contributions and Achievements:

first woman to be president of the Philippines or any Asian country

restored democracy

abolished the 1973 Marcos Constitution and ushered in the new

Constitution of the Philippines

reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government

signed the Family Code of 1987, a major civil law reform, and 1191
Local Government Code, which reorganized the structure of the
executive branch of government

initiated charitable and social activities helping the poor and the needy

named Woman of the Year in 1986 by Time magazine

on the new 500-peso bill together with her husband Benigno Aquino

Received honors and awards including:

100 Women Who Shaped World History

20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th Century

65 Great Asian Heroes

J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding

Born: March 18, 1928

Fidel Valdez Ramos (born 1928) was inaugurated president of the Philippines
in June 1992. He had the mandate to continue the democratic reforms
gained by the country during Corazon Aquino's peaceful people-power
revolution of 1986. The eighth president of the postwar Philippine Republic,
Fidel Valdez Ramos was known as a hero of the 1986 people-power
revolution, the bloodless coup that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Corazon Aquino, the widow of Marcos' assassinated archenemy, was installed
in the presidency at that time. People power was Ramos' idea of how to fight
the weapons of the Marcos regime when the dictator, losing confidence in
Constabulary Chief Fidel Ramos and his defense minister, Juan Ponce Enrile,
set out to destroy them. Ramos asked Jaime Cardinal Sin to send people to
protect their fortress, the Constabulary Camp at EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos
Avenue). Cardinal Sin appealed to the people by radio, and millions of people
surrounded. President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1997. As head of the
Constabulary under President Marcos, he was instrumental in helping to
design and implement martial law. Together with General Ponce Enrile and
the RAM, he defected from the government in 1986 and joined the Peoples
Power revolution that ousted Marcos from power. His presidency is
remembered for better integrating the national economy in the global
scheme.
Contributions and Achievements:

oversaw Philippine economic growth

presided over celebrations of Philippine Independence Centennial in
1998

received British Knighthood from the United Kingdom by Queen

Elizabeth II (Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St.
George)

hosted the fourth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leader's Summit

in the Philippines in 1996

Philippine Stock Exchange became an international favorite during his

presidency

death penalty reinstated while he was in office

signed peace agreement with the rebel Moro National Liberation Front

Born: April 19, 1937

Joseph Estrada was born on April 19, 1937, in Manila, Philippines. Over the
course of his prolific film career, he has acted the lead role in more than 80
films and produced over 70. In 1992, he ran for vice president and won. In
1998 he became president of the Philippines. In 2001 he was arrested and
imprisoned for six years. He ran for re-election in 2010, but lost to Benigno
Aquino III. Joseph Estrada was born Joseph Marcelo Ejercito in the Tondo
district of Manila, Philippines, on April 19, 1937. He was one of 10 children.
Estradas father, Emilio Ejercito, was a government engineer. His mother was
named Maria Marcelo. Josephs parents were wealthy landowners. When
Joseph was still very young, his family moved to San Juan, which has since
become a part of metropolitan Manila. Estrada received his primary
education at a local Jesuit school called Ateneo de Manila University. After
graduating from Ateneo de Manila, he enrolled in engineering courses at the
Mapa Institute of Technology. To his parents grave disappointment, Estrada
dropped out after three years. He was the only one of his siblings not to
receive a college diploma. Known as Erap, Joseph Estrada was the first

president who had been a famous film actor. His presidency was
controversial. During his years in office economic growth was slow and he
faced impeachment proceedings. He was ousted from the presidency in
2001. He was later convicted of stealing from the government but was
pardoned. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2010.
Contributions and Achievements:

during his presidency Moro Islamic Liberation Front headquarters and

camps were captured

joined other leaders and politicians to try to amend the 1987

Constitution

cited as one of the Three Outstanding Senators in 1989

among the Magnificent 12 who voted to terminate the agreement
that allows for U.S. control of Clark Airbase and Subic Naval Base

Born: April 5, 1947

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, (born April 5, 1947, San Juan,
Philippines), Filipinopolitician who was president of the Philippines (200110).
Arroyos father, Diosdado P. Macapagal, was president of the Philippines from
1961 to 1965. Arroyo studied economics at Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C., where she began a lasting friendship with classmate and
future U.S. president Bill Clinton. After returning to the Philippines and
graduating magna cum laude from Assumption College in Manila in 1968,

Arroyo earned a masters degree in economics (1978) from Ateneo de Manila

University and a doctorate in economics (1986) from the University of the
Philippines in Quezon City.
Arroyo was a university professor when Pres. Corazon Aquino appointed her
undersecretary of trade and industry in 1986. She won a seat in the Senate
in 1992 and was reelected in 1995 by a record 16 million votes. She was
elected vice president in 1998, garnering more votes than the winner of the
presidency,Joseph Estrada, who named Arroyo secretary of social welfare and
development. In 2000, however, a corruption scandal enveloped Estrada,
and on October 12 Arroyo resigned from the cabinet post to rally opposition
against him. Angry protesters drove Estrada from the presidential residence
on January 20, 2001, and Arroyo assumed power.
Arroyo brought an unprecedented academic and administrative background
to the Philippines presidency, but her tenure was plagued by political unrest.
Just months after she took office, some 20,000 supporters of Estrada
stormed the gates of the presidential palace. Several people were killed, and
Arroyo declared a state of rebellion that lasted five days. In 2003
disaffected soldiers seized a Manila apartment building and demanded
Arroyos resignation; the attempted coup was suppressed peacefully.
Promising to reduce corruption and improve the economy, Arroyo was
reelected president in 2004. However, accusations that she rigged the
election emerged the following year and resulted in a failed attempt at
impeachment. In 2006 Arroyo declared a countrywide state of emergency
after a military coup was blocked; the state of emergency was lifted after
about one week. Terrorism was also a concern for Arroyos
administration. Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that sought a separate Islamic
state in the southern Philippines, was responsible for a number of attacks,
including the 2004 bombing of a ferry that killed more than 100 people.
In late 2009, after members of a politically powerful clan in Mindanao were
implicated in the massacre of a political opponent and his entourage there,
Arroyo briefly declared martial law in the region. She also renounced ties

with the clan, which until then had been a political ally. Constitutionally
barred from seeking another six-year presidential term, she ran for and won
a seat in the House of Representatives in the May 2010 presidential and
parliamentary elections. Arroyo subsequently was investigated for various
alleged crimes, and in 2011 the government barred her from leaving the
country to seek medical treatment. In November she was arrested on
charges of having committed electoral fraud during the 2007 Senate
election. She pleaded not guilty to those charges in February 2012. However,
the following month, new allegations were brought that stated that she and
her husband had accepted bribes from a Chinese telecommunications
company in 2007. She was released from custody on bail in July 2012. Later
that year Arroyo was arrested for allegedly misusing state lottery funds while
president.

Contributions and Achievements:

second female president of the country

first and only female vice-president of the Philippines so far

first president to take oath outside Luzon

former Economics professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, where

current president Benigno Aquino III was one of her students

ex-classmate of former U.S. President Bill Clinton at Georgetown

Universitys Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she maintained
Deans list status

oversaw higher economic growth than the past three presidents before
her

peso became the best-performing currency of the year in Asia in 2007

eVAT Law was implemented under her term

currently on the 200-peso bill

Born: February 8, 1960

Benigno Aquino III, in full Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, also
called Noynoy (born Feb. 8, 1960, Manila, Philippines), Filipino politician who
served as president of the Philippines (2010 ) and was the scion of a famed
political family.
He was the son of Corazon Aquino, who served as president of the Philippines
(198692), and political leader Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr.themselves the
children of politically connected families. The elder Benigno, an opposition
figure to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos who was imprisoned when the younger
Benigno was a child, was released and allowed to go to the United States in
1980. The following year the younger Benigno, after graduating from Ateneo
de Manila University with a bachelors degree in economics, followed his
family to Boston. His father returned to the Philippines in 1983 intending to
challenge Marcos for the presidency but was assassinated immediately on
arrival. The family nevertheless returned to the country soon afterward, and
there the young Aquino worked for companies including Philippine Business
for Social Progress and Nike Philippines.
He became vice president of his familys Best Security Agency Corporation in
1986, the same year that his mother was named president of the Philippines
after her opposition party successfully charged incumbent President Marcos
with voting fraud. Aquino left the company in 1993 to work for another
family-owned business, a sugar refinery. Finally, in 1998, he made the move
to politics as a member of the Liberal Party, serving the constitutional

maximum of three consecutive terms as a representative of the 2nd district

of Tarlac province. During this time he also served as deputy speaker of the
House of Representatives (200406), but he resigned from the post in
advance of joining other Liberal Party leaders in making a call for the
resignation of Pres.Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (200110), who was accused of
corrupt dealings including the rigging of the 2004 presidential election. From
2006 Aquino served as vice-chairman of the Liberal Party, and in 2007, at the
end of his final term in the House of Representatives, he made a successful
bid for a Senate seat.
In September 2009 Aquino announced his candidacy in the 2010 presidential
race. His mother, to many a symbol of democratic rule in the Philippines, had
died the previous month, an event that heightened Aquinos profile and
served as a catalyst for his seeking higher office. Though his opponents for
the presidency included such seasoned politicians as Joseph Estrada, who
had previously served as president of the Philippines (19982001), Aquino
was considered the front-runner from the time that he entered the race. In
the elections held on May 10, Aquino won the presidency by a wide margin.

Contributions and Achievements:

created the no "wang-wang" (street siren) policy

appointed statesman Jesse Robredo to serve as secretary of Interior
and Local Government in 2010, where Robredo served until his death in
2012
initiated K-12 education in the Philippines

renamed the Office of the Press Secretary to Presidential

Communications Operations Office and appointed new officers

suspended allowances and bonuses to Government Owed and

Controlled Corporation and Government Financial Institution board
members

oversaw 7.1% growth of the Philippine economy in 2012

15 PRESIDENTS
OF THE
PHILIPPINES
PANGAN MICIELLE NUELJANE T.