PH PRESIDENTS

• Emilio F. Aguinaldo


  First President of the Philippines, became chief of state at age 29
• Manuel L. Quezon


  Second President of the Philippines, won election in 1935 to head the commonwealth government, forced into exile in US, died in 1944
• Jose P. Laurel


  Third President of the Philippines, elected by national assembly in 1943 under Japanese occupation, also served as associate justice of the Supreme Court
• The Philippines was Japan's colony from 1942 to 1945
• Japan's objective was to develop and use the Philippines as its new market, as a haven for its surplus capital, a source of new materials and labour and a staging or control in the Asia-pacific
• Japanese Martial Law in the Philippines


  1. General Masaharu Homma issued proclamation announcing end of American occupation and imposition of martial law on January 3, 1942

  2. Restrictions imposed on Filipinos including curfew, control of media, banks, schools, churches

  3. Japanese Prime Minister General Tojo Hideki declared Japan would grant "honour of independence" to Filipinos if they cooperated on January 21, 1942
• Sergio Osmena


  Fourth President of the Philippines, elected vice president in 1935, succeeded Quezon as president in exile, returned to Philippines with General MacArthur in 1944
• Manuel A. Roxas


  Fifth President of the Philippines, inaugurated on July 4, 1946 when US granted independence, died in 1948
• Elpidio Quirino


  Sixth President of the Philippines, vice president who took over after Roxas' death, focused on regaining faith in government and restoring peace and order
• Ramon Magsaysay


  Seventh President of the Philippines, defeated Quirino in 1953 election, toured the barrios and opened up Malacanang, died in plane crash in 1957
• Carlos P. Garcia


  Eighth President of the Philippines, presided over Magsaysay's remaining term and won 1957 election, implemented austerity program and "Filipino First" policy
• Diosdado Macapagal


  Ninth President of the Philippines, defeated Garcia in 1961 election, reset Philippine Independence Day to July 12
• Ferdinand E. Marcos


  Tenth President of the Philippines, defeated Macapagal in 1965 election, declared martial law in 1972, overthrown in 1986 People Power Revolution
• Benigno S. Aquino Jr., leading opposition leader, was assassinated on August 21, 1983
• 1986 Snap Elections


  Marcos called snap election to get new mandate, opposition proposed Corazon Aquino as candidate, reports of fraud and manipulation, led to People Power Revolution
• Over 2 million people attended the People Power Revolution assembly at Luneta Grandstand, Corazon Aquino proclaimed victory
• Emilio F. Aguinaldo


  He was 29 years old when he became Chief of State, first as head of the dictatorship he thought should be established upon his return to Cavite in May 1898 from voluntary exile in Hongkong, and then a month later as President of the Revolutionary Government
• Manuel L. Quezon


  He won the elections held in September 1935 to choose the head of the Commonwealth Government. It was a government made possible by the Tydings-McDuffie Law, which Quezon secured from the U.S.
• Manuel L. Quezon had a bachelor of arts degree, studied law, and landed fourth place in the 1903 Bar examinations
• Quezon and his government (1935-1944) were forced to go into exile in the U.S. He died on August 1, 1944, in New York
• Jose P. Laurel


  He was elected by the National Assembly as President of the Republic on September 25, 1943 and inducted on October 14, 1943. He also became an associate justice of the Supreme Court
• The Philippines was Japan's colony from 1942 to 1945
• Japan's objective


  • To develop and use the Philippines as its new market, as a haven for their surplus capital, source of new materials and labor, and a staging ground for control in the Asia-Pacific
• The Japanese High Command established the Military Administration in the Philippines to manage the political, economic, and cultural affairs in the country
• Japanese Martial Law in the Philippines

  1. January 3, 1942 - General Masaharu Homma, commander-in-chief of the Japanese Imperial Forces, issued a proclamation announcing the end of American occupation and the imposition of martial law in the country

  2. Manila was always in darkness due to frequent blackouts

  3. The Japanese controlled the printing press, banks, schools, and churches

  4. They also issued a proclamation stating that for every Japanese killed, ten Filipino lives will be taken in return

  5. Curfew was imposed

  6. Restrictions imposed on Filipinos
• January 21, 1942 - Japanese Prime Minister General Tojo Hideki declared that Japan would grant the "honor of independence" to the Filipinos if they cooperated in building the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"
• The Japanese High Command tasked the Filipino officials to prepare for the granting of independence
• Sergio Osmeña


  He was elected Vice President of the Philippines in 1935 and succeeded Quezon to the Presidency in-exile. In 1907, he was elected as representative of Cebu and later became speaker of the first Philippine Assembly. In 1922, he was elected as senator
• Osmeña returned to the Philippines on October 20, 1944, together with Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In February 1945, he took the reins of government
• Manuel A. Roxas


  He was inaugurated on July 4, 1946, the day the U.S. government granted political independence to its colony. He topped the 1913 Bar examinations and was employed as private secretary to Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano. He was elected as a senator in 1941 and eventually became Senate president. Roxas was not able to complete his presidential term; he died from a heart attack at Clark Air base on April 15, 1948
• Elpidio Quirino


  Being the Vice President, he took over the Presidency after Roxas' death. Quirino was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, finished law studies at UP in 1915, and hurdled the Bar examinations in the same year. The Quirino administration (1948 - 1953) focused on two objectives: 1) to regain faith and confidence in the government; and 2) to restore peace and order. He was more successful in the second objective – breaking the back of the Hukbalahap Movement in Central Luzon
• Ramon Magsaysay


  He defeated Quirino in the 1953 presidential elections by an unprecedented margin of votes. He took up mechanical engineering at UP but ended up with a commerce degree from Jose Rizal College. He toured the barrios and opened up Malacanang to the public. Rizal Bill (by Senator Claro M. Recto) – signed as a law on August 26, 1956 by virtue of Republic Act No. 1425. Death came to Magsaysay when his plane crashed at Mt. Manunggal in Cebu in the early morning of March 17, 1957
• Carlos P. Garcia


  He presided over the eight months of Magsaysay's remaining term and went on to win the 1957 elections. He finished his law studies at the Philippine Law School in Manila. In 1953, he became Vice President to Magsaysay. He was appointed in a concurrent capacity as secretary of foreign affairs. Garcia's administration (1957 - 1961) was anchored in his austerity program. It was also noted for its Filipino First policy – an attempt to boost economic independence
• Diosdado Macapagal


  He defeated Garcia in the presidential elections of November 14, 1961. Macapagal – who styled himself as the "poor boy" from Lubao (Pampanga) – completed pre-law and Associate in Arts at UP; however, he was a law graduate of the University of Santo Tomas. He was the topnotcher of the Bar examinations in 1935. In 1958, he was elected as Vice President of the Philippines. Macapagal's administration is best remembered for resetting the date of the celebration of Philippine Independence Day – from July 4 when the U.S. turned over the reins of government in 1946 to the more correct date of June 12 when Aguinaldo declared independence in 1898
• Ferdinand E. Marcos


  He defeated Macapagal in the 1965 presidential elections. And the two-decade era of Marcos (1965 - 1986) began. He was a consistent scholar, took up Law at UP, and graduated cum laude in 1939. In 1959, he was elected to the Philippine Senate and in 1963, he became its president. Completing the presidential term in 1969, he won a reelection . In 1972, he declared martial law
• Martial law


  • The objective of martial law is the preservation of public safety and order. Martial law, in its comprehensive sense, includes all laws that have reference to and administered by the military forces of the state. The military arm does not supersede civil authority but is called upon to aid it in the execution of its vital functions
• Declaration of Martial Law

  1. The ambush of the official car of secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile provided for the implementation of the proclamation of Martial Law

  2. On September 21, 1972, President Marcos by virtue of Proclamation No. 1081, placed the entire Philippines under martial law

  3. In a nationwide radio and television broadcast, he gave two objectives in utilizing the power: 1) Save the Republic – eliminate the threat of a violent overthrow of our Republic, 2) Reform our society – reform the social, economic, and political institutions in our country

  4. Marcos abolished Congress of the Philippines, the law-making body under the 1935 Philippine Constitution
• Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., the leading opposition leader and critic of the Marcos government who returned from a three-year exile in the United States, was assassinated on August 21, 1983 and was buried on August 31, 1983
• Aquino was shot in the head and killed as he was escorted off an airplane at Manila International Airport by soldiers of the Aviation Security Command. Government claimed that Aquino was the victim of a lone communist gunman, Rolando Galman
• Marcos needed a new mandate from the people to carry out a national economic recovery program. This led to the Batasang Pambansa's enactment of a law scheduling a special presidential election on February 7, 1986