Presidents of the Philippines

Elpidio Rivera Quirino (November 16, 1890 - February 29, 1956) was a Filipino politician of ethnic Ilocano descent who served as the sixth President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. Elpidio Quirino was a native of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur to Don Mariano Quebral Quirino of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur and Doña Gregoria Mendoza Rivera of Agoo, La Union. He was baptized on November 19, 1890. He spent his early years in Aringay, La Union. He studied and graduated from his elementary education to his native Caoayan, where he became a barrio teacher. He received his secondary education at Vigan High School and then he went to Manila where he worked as junior computer technician at the Bureau of Lands and as property clerk in the Manila police department. He graduated from Manila High School in 1911 and also passed the civil service examination, first-grade. Quirino attended the University of the Philippines. In 1915, he earned his law degree from the university's College of Law, and was ...

Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. was the seventh President of the Republic of the Philippines.He serves as President from December 30, 1953 until his death in an aircraft disaster. Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay was born in Iba, Zambales on August 31, 1907 to Exequiel Magsaysay y de los Santos (April 18, 1874 in San Marcelino, Zambales – January 24, 1968 in Manila), a blacksmith, and Perfecta del Fierro y Quimson (April 18, 1887 in Castillejos, Zambales – May 5, 1980 in Manila), a school teacher. He spent his grade school life somewhere in Castillejos and his high school life at Zambales Academy in San Narciso, Zambales. After high school, Magsaysay entered the University of the Philippines in 1927, where he enrolled in a pre-medical course. He worked as a chauffeur to support himself as he studied engineering; and later, he transferred to the Institute of Commerce at Jose Rizal College (1928-1932), where he received a baccalaureate in commerce. He then worked as an automobile mecha...

Carlos P. Garcia (November 4, 1986-June 14, 1971) was the eight President of the Philippines. He was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, organized guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader. Garcia was born in Talibon, Bohol on November 4, 1896, to Policronio Garcia and Ambrosia Polestico, who were both natives of Bangued, Abra. Garcia grew up with politics, with his father serving as a municipal mayor for four terms. He acquired his primary education in his native town Talibon, then took his secondary education in Cebu Provincial High School, both on top of his class. He pursued his college education at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, and later studied at the Philippine Law School, the College of Law of National University, where he earned his law degree in 1923 and later, he received his Honorary degree, Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa from National University in 1961. He was among the top ten in t...

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice-President, serving from 1957 to 1961. Diosdado Macapagal was born on September 28, 1910, in Lubao, Pampanga, the third of four children in a poor family. His father, Urbano Macapagal, was a poet who wrote in the local Pampangan language, and his mother, Romana Pangan Macapagal, was a schoolteacher who taught catechism. He is a distant descendant of Don Juan Macapagal, a prince of Tondo, who was a great-grandson of the last reigning Lakan of the Kingdom of Tondo, Lakan Dula. The family earned extra income by raising pigs and accommodating boarders in their home. Due to his roots in poverty, Macapagal would later become affectionately known as the "Poor boy from Lubao".  Macapagal excelled in his studies at local public schools, graduating valedictorian at Lubao Elementary School, and salutatorian at Pampanga High School. He finished his pre-law cou...

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino lawyer, politician, World War II veteran and kleptocrat who was President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled as a dictator under martial law from 1972 until 1981. Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was born on September 11, 1917, in the town of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, to Mariano Marcos and Josefa Edralin. He was later baptized into the Philippine Independent Church, but was first baptized in the Roman Catholic Church at the age of three. In December 1938, Ferdinand Marcos was prosecuted for the murder of Julio Nalundasan. He was not the only accused from the Marcos clan; also accused was his father, Mariano, his brother, Pio, and his brother-in-law Quirino Lizardo. Nalundasan, one of the elder Marcos' political rivals, had been shot and killed in his house in Batac on September 21, 1935 -- the day after he had defeated Mariano Marcos a second time for a seat in the National Assembly. According to two witnesses, th...

Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Aquino, popularly known as Cory Aquino, was a Filipina politician who was the 11th President of the Philippines, the first woman to hold that office and the first female president in Asia. 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: Maria Elena ("Ballsy"; born 1954), Aurora Corazon ("Pinky"; bor...

Fidel Valdez Ramos, popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who serves as the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. Ramos is remembered for steadfastly promoting the principles of people empowerment and global competitiveness. He quickly led the nation out of darkness in 1993, putting an end to the power crisis that crippled Filipino homes and industries for two years. He pursued, focused and converged programs to fight poverty in accordance with the will of the Filipino people expressed by 229 structural/reform laws enacted by Congress during his term. During his administration, Ramos began implementing economic reforms intended to open up the once-closed national economy, encourage private enterprise, invite more foreign and domestic investment, and reduce widespread corruption. Ramos was also known as the most-traveled Philippine President compared to his predecessors with numerous foreign trips abroad, generating about US$20 billi...

Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada is a Filipino politician who served as the 13th President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 and as the 9th Vice President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. Former Senator and President Estrada was born on April 19, 1937 in Tondo, Manila to Emilio Ejercito and Maria Marcelo. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila University and at the Mapua Institute of Technology. He holds Doctor of Humanities from the University of Pangasinan. He became a movie actor in his early twenties and established himself as a living legend in local filmdom. He is married to Luisa Pimentel Estrada. His children are Jinggoy, Jacqueline and Jude (with Luisa), Teresitaand Joel Eduardo (with Peachy Osorio), Joseph Victor (with Guia Gomez), and Jerica Ejercito (with Laarni Enriquez). He first entered politics in 1967 when he was elected Mayor of the Municipality of San Juan and served up to 1986. He was recognized as Outstanding Mayor and Foremost Natio...

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a Filipina politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 until 2010, as the 10th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, as the incumbent deputy speaker of the 17th Congress and a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga since 2010. She was the country's second female president (after Corazon Aquino), and the daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal. Arroyo is also the first duly elected female Vice President of the Philippines. She was born as Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal to politician Diosdado Macapagal and his wife, Evangelina Macaraeg Macapagal. She is the sister of Dr. Diosdado "Boboy" Macapagal, Jr. and Cielo Macapagal Salgado. She spent the first years of her life in Lubao, Pampanga, with her two older siblings from her father's first marriage. At the age of four, she chose to live with her maternal grandmother in Iligan City. In 1961, wh...

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III is a Filipino politician who served as the 15th President of the Philippines from 2010 until 2016. Aquino is a fourth-generation politician and is the chairman of the Liberal Party from 2010 to 2016. Noynoy was born on February 8, 1960. He is the third of the of five children of Benigno Aquino, Jr., who was then Vice Governor of Tarlac province, and Corazon Aquino. He has three sisters, Maria Elena ("Ballsy"), Aurora Corazon ("Pinky"), Victoria Eliza ("Viel"), and Kristina Bernadette ("Kris"). Aquino studied in Ateneo de Manila University for his elementary, high school, and college education, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. After college, he joined his family in Boston in exile. In 1983, shortly after the murder of his father, Noynoy had a short tenure as a member of the Philippine Business for Social Progress. From 1985 to 1986, he w...

Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte, also known as Digong, is a Filipino politician and jurist who is the 16th and current President of the Philippines, and Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for 2017. He is the first Mindanaoan to hold the office, and the fourth of Visayan descent. At 71 years old, Duterte is the oldest person to assume the Philippine presidency, superseding Sergio Osmeña and Fidel Ramos, respectively. Duterte's maternal grandfather was a Chinese immigrant from Xiamen, Fujian. His father was Vicente G. Duterte (1911–1968), a Cebuano lawyer; and his mother Soledad Duterte (1916–2012), was a school teacher from Cabadbaran, Agusan and a civic leader of Maranao descent. Duterte's father was acting mayor of Danao, Cebu and subsequently the provincial governor of (the then-undivided) Davao province. Duterte has siblings named Eleanor Duterte; Benjamin "Bong" Duterte, a one-term city councilor of Davao between 1992 and 199...