List of presidents of the Philippines

Under the present Constitution of the Philippines, the president of the Philippines (Filipino: Pangulo ng Pilipinas) is both the head of state and the head of government, and serves as the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces.[4] The president is directly elected by qualified voters of the population to a six-year term and must be "a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election". Any person who has served as president for more than four years is barred from running for the position again. Upon an incumbent president's death, permanent disability, resignation, or removal from office, the vice president assumes the post.[5]

Malacañang Palace in Manila is the official residence of the President.[note 1] Built in 1750, it has become a prominent symbol of and metonym for the office.

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Sixteen people have been sworn into office as president. Following the ratification of the Malolos Constitution in 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo became the inaugural president of the Malolos Republic, considered the First Philippine Republic.[6][note 2] He held that office until 1901 when he was captured by United States forces during the Philippine–American War (1899–1902).[4] The American colonization of the Philippines abolished the First Republic,[7] which led to an American governor-general exercising executive power.[8]

In 1935, the United States, pursuant to its promise of full Philippine sovereignty,[9] established the Commonwealth of the Philippines following the ratification of the 1935 Constitution, which also restored the presidency. The first national presidential election was held,[note 3] and Manuel L. Quezon (1935–44) was elected to a six-year term, with no provision for re-election,[12] as the second Philippine president and the first Commonwealth president.[note 2] In 1940, however, the Constitution was amended to allow re-election but shortened the term to four years.[4] A change in government occurred three years later when the Second Philippine Republic was organized with the enactment of the 1943 Constitution, which Japan imposed after it occupied the Philippines in 1942 during World War II.[13] José P. Laurel acted as puppet president of the new Japanese-sponsored government;[14] his de facto presidency,[15] not legally recognized until the 1960s,[16] overlapped with that of the president of the Commonwealth, which went into exile. The Second Republic was dissolved after Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945; the Commonwealth was restored in the Philippines in the same year with Sergio Osmeña (1944–46) as president.[4]

Manuel Roxas (1946–1948) followed Picar when he won the first post-war election in 1946. He became the first president of the independent Philippines when the Commonwealth ended on July 4 of that year. The Third Republic was ushered in and would cover the administrations of the next five presidents, the last of which was Ferdinand Marcos (1965–86),[4] who performed a self-coup by imposing martial law in 1972.[17] The dictatorship saw the birth of Marcos' New Society and the Fourth Republic. His tenure lasted until 1986 when he was deposed in the People Power Revolution. The current constitution came into effect in 1987, marking the beginning of the Fifth Republic.[4]

Of the individuals elected as president, three died in office: two of natural causes (Manuel L. Quezon[18] and Manuel Roxas[19]) and one in a plane crash (Ramon Magsaysay, 1953–57[20]). The longest-serving president is Ferdinand Marcos with 20 years and 57 days in office; he is the only president to have served more than two terms. The shortest is Sergio Osmeña, who spent 1 year and 300 days in office.

Two women have held the office: Corazon Aquino (1986–92), who ascended to the presidency upon the successful People Power Revolution of 1986, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–10), who, as Vice President, ascended to the presidency upon Estrada's resignation and was elected to a full six-year term in 2004.