List of presidents of the Philippines facts for kids

Malacañang Palace in Manila is the official home of the president. It was built in 1750 and is now a famous symbol of the president's office.

The President of the Philippines is a very important leader! They are both the head of state (the main representative of the country) and the head of government (the one who runs the country). They are also the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces. People in the Philippines vote directly for their president. A president serves for six years and cannot be re-elected. To become president, a person must be a natural-born Filipino citizen, at least 40 years old, able to read and write, and have lived in the Philippines for at least ten years before the election. If a president leaves office, the vice president takes over.

A Look at Philippine Presidents: History and Eras
Who Are the Presidents of the Philippines?
- Timeline of Presidents
Unofficial Presidents: Other Leaders in History
- List of Unofficial Presidents
- Timeline of Unofficial Presidents
Presidents: Age and Lifespan
See also

A Look at Philippine Presidents: History and Eras

The story of the Philippine presidency began with Emilio Aguinaldo. He became the first president of the First Philippine Republic in 1899. However, his time as president ended in 1901 when American forces captured him during the Philippine–American War. After this, the United States took control, and an American governor-general led the country.

In 1935, the United States promised to give the Philippines full independence. This led to the creation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The presidency was brought back, and Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the first president of the Commonwealth. He served a six-year term. Later, the rules changed to allow presidents to be re-elected, but for shorter four-year terms.

During World War II, Japan occupied the Philippines in 1942. They set up a new government called the Second Philippine Republic, and José P. Laurel became its president. This government was not fully recognized by everyone. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the Commonwealth government returned with Sergio Osmeña as president.

After the war, Manuel Roxas won the election in 1946. He became the first president of the truly independent Philippines when the Commonwealth ended on July 4, 1946. This marked the start of the Third Republic.

The Third Republic continued until Ferdinand Marcos became president in 1965. He declared Martial law in 1972, which changed the government significantly. His time in office, known as the Fourth Republic, lasted until 1986 when he was removed from power by the People Power Revolution. The current constitution was put in place in 1987, starting the Fifth Republic.

Three presidents have passed away while in office: Manuel L. Quezon and Manuel Roxas died from natural causes, and Ramon Magsaysay died in a plane crash.
Ferdinand Marcos served the longest, for over 20 years. He is the only president to serve more than two terms.
Sergio Osmeña had the shortest time in office.
Two women have been president: Corazon Aquino, who became president after the People Power Revolution in 1986, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who took over as vice president and was later elected for a full term.

Who Are the Presidents of the Philippines?

No.	Name (Lifespan)		Term	Election	Vice president	Era
1	Emilio Aguinaldo (1869–1964)	None	January 23, 1899 – April 19, 1901 (2 years, 86 days)	1899	None	First Republic
None				–	None	U.S. Military Government
None				–	None	U.S. Insular Government
2	Manuel L. Quezon (1878–1944)	Nacionalista	November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944 (8 years, 260 days)	1935	Sergio Osmeña (Nacionalista)	Commonwealth
2	Manuel L. Quezon (1878–1944)	Nacionalista	November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944 (8 years, 260 days)	1941	Sergio Osmeña (Nacionalista)	Commonwealth
3	Jose P. Laurel (1891–1959)	KALIBAPI	October 14, 1943 – August 17, 1945 (1 year, 307 days)	1943	None	Second Republic
4	Sergio Osmeña (1878–1961)	Nacionalista	August 1, 1944 – May 28, 1946 (1 year, 300 days)	1941	Vacant	Commonwealth
5	Manuel Roxas (1892–1948)	Liberal	May 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948 (1 year, 323 days)	1946	Elpidio Quirino (Liberal)	Commonwealth
5	Manuel Roxas (1892–1948)	Liberal	May 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948 (1 year, 323 days)		Elpidio Quirino (Liberal)	Third Republic
6	Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	Liberal	April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953 (5 years, 257 days)		Vacant
6	Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	Liberal	April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953 (5 years, 257 days)	1949	Fernando Lopez (Liberal)
7	Ramon Magsaysay (1907–1957)	Nacionalista	December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957 (3 years, 77 days)	1953	Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista)
8	Carlos P. Garcia (1896–1971)	Nacionalista	March 18, 1957 – December 30, 1961 (4 years, 287 days)	1953	None
8	Carlos P. Garcia (1896–1971)	Nacionalista	March 18, 1957 – December 30, 1961 (4 years, 287 days)	1957	Diosdado Macapagal (Liberal)
9	Diosdado Macapagal (1910–1997)	Liberal	December 30, 1961 – December 30, 1965 (4 years)	1961	Emmanuel Pelaez (Liberal, later Nacionalista)
10	Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989)	Nacionalista (until 1978)	December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986 (20 years, 57 days)	1965	Fernando Lopez (Nacionalista)
				1969
						Martial Law
					None
				1973
				1977
		KBL (from 1978)		1977
				1981		Fourth Republic
				1981	Vacant	Fourth Republic
11	Corazon Aquino (1933–2009)	UNIDO (until 1988)	February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992 (6 years, 126 days)	1986	Salvador Laurel (UNIDO, later Nacionalista)	Provisional Government
		UNIDO (until 1988)				Fifth Republic
		Independent (from 1988)
12	Fidel V. Ramos (1928–2022)	Lakas–NUCD	June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998 (6 years)	1992	Joseph Estrada (NPC, later LAMMP)
13	Joseph Estrada (born 1937)	LAMMP	June 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001 (2 years, 204 days)	1998	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Lakas–NUCD)
14	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (born 1947)	Lakas–CMD	January 20, 2001 – June 30, 2010 (9 years, 161 days)		Vacant
					Teofisto Guingona Jr. (Lakas–NUCD, later independent)
				2004	Noli de Castro (independent)
15	Benigno Aquino III (1960–2021)	Liberal	June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016 (6 years)	2010	Jejomar Binay (PDP–Laban, later UNA)
16	Rodrigo Duterte (born 1945)	PDP–Laban	June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022 (6 years)	2016	Leni Robredo (Liberal)
17	Bongbong Marcos (born 1957)	PFP	June 30, 2022 – present (2 years, 359 days)	2022	Sara Duterte (Lakas–CMD/HNP)

Timeline of Presidents

Unofficial Presidents: Other Leaders in History

Some historians believe that Andrés Bonifacio should be considered the first president of the Philippines. He was the leader of the Katipunan secret society. When the Katipunan started a revolt in 1896, Bonifacio turned it into a revolutionary government, with himself as president. This government was also known as the Tagalog Republic.

Some scholars also suggest including Macario Sakay and Miguel Malvar y Carpio as "unofficial presidents." Miguel Malvar continued leading the First Philippine Republic after Emilio Aguinaldo was captured. Macario Sakay revived the Tagalog Republic later. However, the Philippine government officially recognizes Emilio Aguinaldo as the first president based on his time leading the Malolos Republic.

José Abad Santos, who was the Chief Justice, took over some presidential duties when Manuel L. Quezon left the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. He acted as president for a short time, though no official document confirms this.

List of Unofficial Presidents

Portrait	Name Lifespan	Party		Term		Vice President	Government
Portrait	Name Lifespan	Party		Took office	Left office	Vice President	Government
	Andrés Bonifacio (1863–1897)		None	August 24, 1896	March 22, 1897 or May 10, 1897	None	Sovereign Tagalog Nation
	Emilio Aguinaldo (1869–1964)		None	March 22, 1897	November 1, 1897	Mariano Trias	Tejeros revolutionary government
				November 2, 1897	December 14, 1897		Republic of Biak-na-Bato
				May 24, 1898	June 23, 1898		Dictatorial Government
				June 23, 1898	January 23, 1899		Revolutionary Government
	Francisco Makabulos (1871–1922)		None	April 17, 1898	May 19, 1898	None	Central Executive Committee
	Miguel Malvar (1865–1911)		None	April 19, 1901	April 16, 1902	None	First Republic
	Macario Sakay (1870–1907)		Katipunan (holdout/revival)	May 6, 1902	July 14, 1906	Francisco Carreón	Tagalog Republic
	José Abad Santos (1886–1942)		Independent	March 17, 1942	May 2, 1942	None	Commonwealth
	Jorge B. Vargas (1890–1980)		KALIBAPI Association for Service to the New Philippines	January 23, 1942	October 14, 1943	None	Philippine Executive Commission
	Arturo Tolentino (1910–2004)		Kilusang Bagong Lipunan New Society Movement	July 6, 1986	July 8, 1986	None	Fourth Republic

Timeline of Unofficial Presidents

Presidents: Age and Lifespan

This table shows how old each president was when they started and ended their term, and how long they lived.

No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan
No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Died	Age
1	Emilio Aguinaldo	March 22, 1869	29 years, 10 months, 1 day January 23, 1899	32 years, 22 days March 23, 1901	Died due to Cardiovascular Diesease	February 6, 1964	94 years
2	Manuel Quezon	August 19, 1878	57 years, 2 months, 27 days February 15, 1935	65 years, 11 months, 13 days August 1, 1944	Died due to Tuberculosis	August 1, 1944	65 years
3	Jose P. Laurel	March 9, 1891	52 years, 7 months, 5 days October 14, 1943	54 years, 5 months, 8 days August 17, 1945	Died due to Myocardial Infarction	November 6, 1959	68 years
4	Sergio Osmeña	September 9, 1878	65 years, 10 months, 23 days August 1, 1944	67 years, 8 months, 19 days May 28, 1946	Died due to unknown disease	October 19, 1961	83 years
5	Manuel Roxas	January 1, 1892	54 years, 4 months, 27 days May 28, 1946	56 years, 3 months, 14 days April 15, 1948	Died due to Myocardial Infarction	April 15, 1948	56 years
6	Elpidio Quirino	November 16, 1890	57 years, 5 months, 1 day April 17, 1948	63 years, 1 month, 14 days December 30, 1953	Died due to Myocardial Infarction	February 29, 1956	65 years
7	Ramon Magsaysay	August 31, 1907	46 years, 3 months, 29 days December 30, 1953	49 years old, 6 months, 14 days March 17, 1957	Died in an aircraft	March 17, 1957	49 years
8	Carlos P. Garcia	November 4, 1896	60 years, 5 months, 14 days March 18, 1957	65 years, 1 months, 26 days December 30, 1961	Died due to Heart Attack	June 14, 1971	74 years
9	Diosdado Macapagal	September 28, 1910	51 years, 3 months, 2 days December 30, 1961	55 years, 3 months, 2 days December 30, 1965	Died due to Pneumonia	April 21, 1997	86 years
10	Ferdinand E. Marcos	September 11, 1917	48 years, 3 months, 19 days December 30, 1965	68 years, 5 months, 14 days February 25, 1986	Died due to Kidney Failure	September 28, 1989	72 years
11	Corazon Aquino	January 25, 1933	53 years, 1 month February 25, 1986	59 years, 5 months, 5 days June 30, 1992	Died due to Colorectal Cancer	August 1, 2009	76 years
12	Fidel V. Ramos	March 18, 1928	64 years old, 3 months, 12 days June 30, 1992	70 years old, 3 months, 12 days June 30, 1998	Died due to Covid-19	July 31, 2022	94 years
13	Joseph Estrada	April 19, 1937	61 years, 2 months, 11 days June 30, 1998	63 years, 9 months, 1 day January 20, 2001	(Living)	(Living)	88 years, 66 days
14	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	April 5, 1947	53 years, 9 months, 15 days January 20, 2001	63 years, 2 months, 25 days June 30, 2010	(Living)	(Living)	78 years, 80 days
15	Benigno Aquino III	February 8, 1960	50 years, 4 months, 22 days June 30, 2010	56 years, 4 months, 22 days June 30, 2016	Died due to Diabetic Nephropathy	June 24, 2021	61 years
16	Rodrigo Duterte	March 28, 1945	71 years, 3 months, 2 days June 30, 2016	77 years, 3 months, 2 days June 30, 2022	(Living)	(Living)	80 years, 88 days
17	Bongbong Marcos	September 13, 1957	64 years, 9 months, 3 days June 30, 2022	(Incumbent)	(Incumbent)	(Living)	67 years, 284 days