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List of vice presidents of the Philippines facts for kids

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Seal of the Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines
The official seal of the Vice President of the Philippines

The vice president of the Philippines is the second most important leader in the government of the Philippines. The people directly choose the vice president in an election. They serve for six years. The vice president can also be a member of the President's team (called the Cabinet) without needing special approval. If something happens to the President, the vice president is the first person to take over.

The current vice president is Sara Duterte. She started her job on June 30, 2022.

How the Vice President's Role Began

The idea of having a vice president started with the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. This important document said that people would vote directly for their vice president.

During the time when the Philippines was under American rule (the Commonwealth of the Philippines), there were vice presidents. However, there was no vice president during the Second Philippine Republic, which was a government controlled by Japan during World War II.

Later, from 1972 to 1981, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, the job of vice president was removed. The vice president at that time, Fernando Lopez, lost his position. Even though the 1973 Constitution first didn't include a vice president, changes were made later to bring the role back.

After the 1986 Philippine presidential election, Marcos and Arturo Tolentino were announced as winners. However, the People Power Revolution in 1986 ended Marcos's rule. The 1973 Constitution was also cancelled. In 2013, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines decided that Arturo Tolentino is not officially counted as a vice president.

The 1987 Constitution was then created. It clearly states: "There shall be a vice-president who shall have the same qualifications and term of office and be elected with, and in the same manner, as the president."

Filling a Vacancy in the Vice President's Office

Before the 1987 Constitution, if the vice president's job became empty before the next election, there was no way to choose a new one. But after 1987, if the vice president's position becomes empty, the President can suggest someone from the Congress. Both parts of Congress then vote separately to approve the person.

In 2001, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became president after the Supreme Court of the Philippines decided that President Joseph Estrada had resigned. A few days later, she chose Teofisto Guingona to be the vice president. Guingona is the only person who became vice president without being elected by the people first.

Vice Presidents Who Became President

Three vice presidents have become president because the president they served under passed away:

Fernando Lopez served the longest as vice president, for almost 11 years in total. Elpidio Quirino served the shortest time, for about 1 year and 11 months.

Official Vice Presidents of the Philippines

Timeline of Vice Presidents

Sara Duterte Leni Robredo Jejomar Binay Noli de Castro Teofisto Guingona Jr. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Joseph Estrada Salvador Laurel Fernando Lopez Emmanuel Pelaez Diosdado Macapagal Carlos P. Garcia Elpidio Quirino Sergio Osmeña


Unofficial Vice Presidents

Some historians and others have identified people who held the vice presidency in governments that aimed to represent the Philippines. However, the Philippine government does not officially count their terms as part of the presidential line.

For example, whether Mariano Trías should be on the list is debated. He was chosen as vice president at the Tejeros Convention and again for the short-lived Republic of Biak-na-Bato. This republic ended after a peace agreement was signed, and Emilio Aguinaldo went into exile. When Aguinaldo returned and the revolution continued in 1898, and when the First Philippine Republic was formed in 1899, these governments did not have a vice president.

Portrait Name
(Lifespan)
Term Party Election President Era
Mariano Trias portrait.jpg Mariano Trías
(1868–1914)
March 22, 1897

January 23, 1899
(1 year, 307 days)
None 1897 Emilio Aguinaldo
(Nonpartisan)
Tejeros Convention
Republic of Biak-na-Bato
Francisco Carreón.jpg Francisco Carreón
(1868–1939/1941)
May 6, 1902

July 14, 1906
(3 years, 296 days)
None Macario Sakay
(Katipunan)
Tagalog Republic
Ramon Avancena.jpg Ramón Avanceña
(1872–1957)
October 14, 1943

January 15, 1944
(93 days)
KALIBAPI Jose P. Laurel
(KALIBAPI)
Second Republic
Benigno Simeón Aquino Sr.jpg Benigno Aquino Sr.
(1894–1947)
January 15, 1944

August 17, 1945
(1 year, 272 days)
KALIBAPI
Ramon Avancena.jpg Ramón Avanceña
(1872–1957)
December 30, 1948

December 30, 1949
(1 year, 0 days)
Liberal Elpidio Quirino
(Liberal)
Third Republic

Vice Presidents Who Later Became President

Vice president President served under Year(s) served Notes
Sergio Osmeña Manuel L. Quezon 1935–1944 Osmeña became president after Quezon passed away.
Elpidio Quirino Manuel Roxas 1946–1948 Quirino became president after Roxas passed away. He then ran and won a full term in 1949.
Carlos P. Garcia Ramon Magsaysay 1953–1957 Garcia became president after Magsaysay passed away. He then ran and won a full term in 1957.
Diosdado Macapagal Carlos P. Garcia 1957–1961 Macapagal won against Garcia in the 1961 election.
Joseph Estrada Fidel V. Ramos 1992–1998 Estrada ran for and won a full term as president in 1998.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Joseph Estrada 1998–2001 Arroyo became president after Estrada resigned during the Second EDSA Revolution. She then ran and won a full term in 2004.

See also

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