PLEASE REACH OUT AND HELP WAYNE..

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By the name of Wayne Any surplus funds you have please send them to judy2kuz ......for Wayne...lol

"The World Of Wonders!"

" OCEAN ADVENTURE"

Ocean Adventure is on the edge of the rain forest at Ilanin Bay in the sun-kissed Philippines.

Ocean adventure is Southeast Asia's only open-water marine park.

Animals live and play in a natural setting of clear water teeming with marine life, coral reefs, and a lovely white sand beach. Experience their whales, dolphins, sea lions, and a host of fish and sea creatures in a variety of exciting and intimate ways! you'll have a comfortable experience, rain or shine. And wow! their show is perfect for all for all ages, shows you what it takes to be a member of the Sea Lion Marine Patrol. It’s filled with lots of action, and a stronger environmental message. In between the laughter and fun, there's a lot to be learned!.

And this is Simba with trainer JD, the sharp good looking guy among of all the trainer!,haha,anyway back to the topic.Yes, all trainer were absolutely great trainers!...I salute you guys!...I had fantastic experienced way back 2007 when we got to see the show for the first time.

"Stand tricks" "Dolphin Encounter" "Surfing" "Rocket Ride!" "Brandy" "Shake Hands" "PLaying Ball" "Smiling Kai" "Coby" "Rocket Ride!" " Brandy wih the Trainers" Adventure" "Whale Bow"

@All About Cebu@

"Cebu City," "QUEEN CITY OF tHE SOUth" My hometown...

Cebu City

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

City of Cebu Dakbayan sa Sugbo Lungsod ng Cebu
Skyline of Cebu City
Seal
Nickname(s): Queen City of the South
Map of Cebu showing the location of Cebu City
Coordinates: 10°17′N 123°54′E / 10.283°N 123.9°E / 10.283; 123.9
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas (Region VII)
Province	Cebu (capital)
Districts	1st (North) and 2nd (South) districts of Cebu City
Barrios or Barangays	80
Incorporated (town)	1565
Incorporated (city)	February 24, 1937
Government
- Mayor	Tomas D.R. Osmeña (BO-PK/Lakas-CMD)
- Vice Mayor	Michael Rama (BO-PK/Lakas-CMD)
Area
- Total	291.2 km2 (112.4 sq mi)
Elevation	17.0 m (56 ft)
Population (2007)
- Total	798,809
- Density	2,743/km2 (7,104.3/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	32
Website	www.cebucity.gov.ph

The City of Cebu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbo; Filipino: Lungsod ng Cebu; Spanish: Ciudad de Cebú), is the capital city of Cebu in the Philippines, and is the second most significant metropolitan center in the Philippine Islands. The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu, and is the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. Cebu is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port, and is home to more than 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies. Cebu also holds the second largest international flights in the Philippine Islands, and is a significant center of commerce, trade, and industry in the Visayas, and Mindanao region. According to the 2007 Philippine census, the city has a population of 798,809 people.

Cebu City is the center of a metropolitan area called Metro Cebu, which includes the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay, Naga. Metro Cebu has a total population of about 2 million people. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City is only a twenty-minute drive away from Cebu City. To the northeast of the city are Mandaue City, and the town of Consolacion, to the west are Toledo City, the towns of Balamban, and Asturias, to the south are Talisay City, and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island where Lapu-Lapu City and an aquarium attraction are located.

History

A 19th-century map of Cebu City.

Before being colonized by Spain in the 16 Century, Cebu was a trading center with a pagan and Muslim population.

On April 7, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in Cebu. He was welcomed by Rajah Humabon, the native chieftain of Cebu, who together with his wife, and about 700 native islanders, were baptized by the Spaniards on April 14, 1521. Magellan, however, failed to successfully claim the Philippine Islands for the crown of Spain, having been slain in neighboring Mactan Island on April 27, 1521 in the Battle of Mactan.

On April 27, 1565, Spanish conquistadors led by Miguel López de Legazpi, together with Augustinian Friar Andrés de Urdaneta, sailing from Mexico, landed in Cebu. The Spaniards established settlements, trade flourished, and renamed the city on January 1, 1571, from San Miguel (Saint Michael) to Villa del Santissimo Nombre de Jesús (Village of the Most Holy Name of Jesus). During this six year period of exploration, and conquest by the Spaniards, Cebu City was the capital of the Spanish East Indies.

Cebu City became a charter city in 1936.

Geography

There are 80 barrios or barangays in Cebu City all in all.

North District Adlawon Agsungot Apas Bacayan Banilad Binaliw Budla-an Busay Cambinocot Capitol Site Carreta Cebu Port Center Cogon Ramos Day-as Ermita Guba Hipodromo Kalubihan Kamagayan Kamputhaw (Camputhaw) Kasambagan Lahug Lorega San Miguel Lusaran

Luz Mabini Mabolo Proper Malubog New York Pahina Central Parian Paril Pit-os Pulangbato Sambag I Sambag II San Antonio San Jose San Roque Sirao Santa Cruz Santo Niño T. Padilla Talamban Taptap Tejero Tinago Zapatera

South District Babag Basak Pardo San Nicolas Bonbon Bulacao Pardo Buot-Taup Calamba Cogon Pardo Duljo Guadalupe Inayawan Kalunasan Kinasang-an Labangon Mambaling Oprra Pahina Pamutan Pasil Pardo Proper Pung-ol Sibugay Punta Princesa Quiot Pardo San Nicolas Proper Sapangdako	Sawang Calero Sinsin Sudlon I Sudlon II Tabunan Tagba-O Tisa Toong

Cebu City has a land area of 291.2 km². Of this, 55.9 km² is classified as urban, while 235.2 km² is classified as rural. Its geographic coordinates are 10°17′0″N 123°54′0″E / 10.28333°N 123.9°E / 10.28333; 123.9. To the northeast of the city are Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion, to the west are Toledo City, the towns of Balamban, and Asturias, to the south are Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island where Lapu-Lapu City is located.

The city is politically subdivided into 80 barrios or barangays. These are grouped into two congressional districts, with 46 barrios or barangays in the northern district, and 34 barrios or barangays in the southern district.

Culture

Magellan's Cross Kiosk in the 1900s.

Cebu city is an important cultural center in the Philippine Islands. The city's most famous landmark is Magellan's Cross. This cross, now housed in a chapel, was supposedly planted by Ferdinand Magellan when he arrived in the Philippine Islands in 1521. It was encased in hollow tindalo wood in 1835 upon the order of the Augustinian Bishop Santos Gómez Marañon to prevent devotees from taking it home chip by chip. The same bishop restored the present template, or kiosk, located at the present Magellan street between City Hall, and Colegio del Santo Niño. Revered by Filipinos, the Cross of Magellan is a symbol of the beginning of Christianity in the Philippines.

A few steps away from the Magellan's Cross is the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño (Church of the Holy Child), an Augustinian church which was elevated to the rank of church in 1965 during the 400th year celebrations of Christianity in the Philippines, held in Cebu. The church, which was the first to be established in the islands. It is built of hewn stone, and features the country's oldest relic, the image of the Santo Niño de Cebu (Holy Child of Cebu).

This religious event is celebrated on the islands cultural festivities known as the Sinulog festival, held every third Sunday of January which celebrates the festival of the Santo Niño, the patron saint of Cebu. The Sinulog is a dance ritual of pre-hispanic indigenous origin. The dancer moves two steps forward and one step backward to the rhythmic sound of drums. This movement resembles somewhat the current (sulog) of the river. Thus, the Cebuanos called it Sinulog.

Procession during the Feast Day of The Santo Niño. Viva Pit Senor!

When the Spaniards arrived in Cebu, the chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, sailing under convoy with the Magellan expedition, offered, as a baptismal gift, to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon, and later named Juana, the image of the Santo Niño. The natives likewise honored the Santo Niño de Cebu in their indigenous Sinulog ritual. The Sinulog ritual was preserved but limited to honoring the Santo Niño. Once the Santo Niño church was built in the 1500s, the christian natives started performing the Sinulog ritual in front of the church, the devotees offering candles, and the native dancers shouting "Viva Pit Señor!" (Hail Mister).

In the 1980s and 2000s, the city authorities of Cebu made the Sinulog Festival part, and parcel of the religious feast of the Santo Niño de Cebú to its cultural event.

Government

The Cebu Heritage Monument in Parian.

Cebu City is a chartered city, and thus is actually independent from Cebu. Registered voters of the city cannot vote for provincial candidates unlike its nearby counterparts (Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and Talisay cities) that form part of Metro Cebu. It is the capital of the province mainly because the provincial capitol is located in it. There were proposals however during the time of Governor Lito Osmeña to create an "administrative district" that would be independent from Cebu City. This would literally mean carving out Cebu City's Barangay Capitol where the provincial capitol and other provincial offices are located. The plan however didn't push through and was even followed by other proposals like the transfer of the capital to nearby Balamban town.

Cebu City is governed mainly by city hall, composed of one mayor, one vice-mayor and sixteen councilors (eight representing the northern and eight representing the southern region). Each official is elected publicly to 3-year terms. The chief of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) also sits in the city council. The day to day administration of the city is handled by a city administrator.

Tomas Osmeña is the mayor of Cebu City. He was elected in 1988, and re-elected in the 2004 Philippine elections. Michael Rama is the vice mayor.^[1][2]

Economy

More than 80% of interisland vessels operating in the country are also based there. Recently, the entry of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms such as call centers have contributed much to the growth of the local economy. Such has made the city together with the nearby cities that form part of Metro Cebu as the country's second important economic center.

It was built by the city government through a loan and is envisioned to play a driving role in the economy especially that congestion, given the fact that most of the city's land area is mountainous, would definitely be an issue in the future.

Most businessmen have acknowledged that the city must work hard in attracting direct foreign investments

Infrastructure

The Cebu Metropolitan Area has all the necessary infrastructures sufficient enough for its pace of urbanization. The city is readily accessible by air via the Mactan-Cebu International Airport located in Lapu-Lapu City which has direct flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China, Palau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Qatar, South Korea; and other destinations. There are also direct transfer flights via the capital's Ninoy Aquino International Airport that readily connects the city to other destinations in the world. The city mostly gets its power from an interconnection grid with the Leyte Geothermal Power Plant which also powers the majority of the Visayas Islands. There are also coal-fired power plants though these have been controversial due to its impact to the environment. Another coal-fired power plant is nearing completion and is envisioned to make the city independent from the interconnection grid once completed. Distribution of electricity is provided by the Visayas Electric Company (VECO).

The city is served by a domestic and international port which are handled by the Cebu Port Authority. Much of the city's waterfront is actually occupied by the port with around 3.5 kilometers of berthing space. The domestic port readily gives access to nearby islands and provinces. The city's central location makes it as an ideal transshipment hub. It is in fact home to more than 80% of the country's interisland vessels plying domestic routes mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Telecommunication facilities, broadband and wireless internet connections are readily available and are provided by some of the country's largest telecommunication companies.

In the mid 1990s the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill was constructed to ease garbage disposal within the city. It is however nearing its lifespan although the Provincial Government is planning to build two sanitary landfills to serve both the northern and southern parts of Metro Cebu including Cebu City. In June 2005, the city fully implemented the segregation of wastes as mandated by law.

Mass transportation throughout the city, and the metropolis itself is provided by jeepneys, buses, and taxis. There were previous plans of setting up a mass railway system but it was deemed not feasible as of the moment due to the high construction cost that it will entail, and the uncertainty of making the routes profitable.

"Just(4)fuN" tsuk tsuk tsuk...........

It's time for laughing out loud!!!.....wahahaha....enjoy watchin'!...Ops! Parental guidance is recommended.... "JusT foR LauGh" I love being sexy....who cares if I wear skirt?... "WateR BeD" shower bed maybe?..lol "KiDs" sometimes we messed up, nobody's perfect. "GottChA!" make sure you cook it before it runs away!..haha... "Don't tRust A Woman!" sure this man don't trust anymore?!.. "IkeA_CommeRciaL" too hard to sleep on?...well,better than nothing,lol... "Youth" sure they knew about girl's feminity.... *Texas FaiR RiDe!!!* wanna have some riDe after this?..OO!

% ANG KINABUHI%AHAY.....

Hello mga fRienDs!, smiley blogger is now signing IN..... Pero ayaw sag smile ug ikaw rang usa kay ug naay makakita nimo maaan nia ka...hehe Okay ra basta kanang hayag kay naay momo... Gawas ug damanon ka katog ug balik.... Basta Bisaya way kapoy kapoy!..bulhot!!! Interesting ni dah!...maayo tag di mangusi mga tiguwang 70 plus?, mau pag c dodong ug c inday ako bantayan...hilak ray ako...ahehehe Bitaw, basta ayaw lang paglingkod daplin sa karsada kay... magtuo manglimos ta.....joke.... Ug di gani mo smile, kita guy mo smile..way blema nah...ahehehe.. Sugdan kuno beh?!....charrrrr.... Nah, di man na skwelahan, langob man nah!..hehe..bitaw mao jud Sakto! Sakmo?!... Way uso bampira diris ato, kikik ra!...hala lupad nah!... Nindot jud labi na naa ato gimahal sa ato kiliran...diba.. anah ra ka-simple.... Ug di mapugngan hala duklag kaha!hehe joke.. Bitaw yaw kay mabukol.... Mag-serious pud tag panagsa kay abi nalang wa tay problema.. Okay rana basta yaw lang pamaak migo,miga...ahehehe... pwede sad hinayon lang........ Cge pag peace namo diha......peace pud ta ha..... Mao jud..lahi lahi baya jud ang tao... Pero ug usa ray kandila yaw lang gamita kay magbrown-out nia...hehe So maglipaylipay jud ta mga migo ug mga miga!.... Murag lisod ni dah.......................ana lang... Yaw lang hatagig dahong laya mga parts..... Mao ba?...business diay nila, naay titulo??..hehe... Nah, dman makaayog samad..labi nas kasing-kasing... ayay!..kasakit baya..........hehe SO huwat huwat lang tag milagro friends... O, ug daghag pagkaon sa lamesa..ug wa... iro nalay pabantayon...btw joke ra....true friends are hard to find, so ampingi jud basin molayat sa bintana!....o, tua na nilayat najud!...hehe... Way labayay, ug di na magamit....eh, di ipatimbang?!!...hehe... Hapit na jud...hapit nako giduka.... Pero ug magbahag taga liog..nah kat-kat jud sa ibabaw sa lubi! Ug way load...ug way telepono..igo nalang pag-ingon.. TABANG..sa tagalog pa: Saklolo!..in ENglish: HELP! Naghuhuna diay tos mga nangutang...pait, unsaon.... Ah, manglagom mad pud mga mata ana... Okey rapud...inom stresstabs...hehe..advertise pa kadjot..shhh Nah....buak man pud atong ULO anah!...wakekeke...lingaw mo?...lingaw nalang... Lingaw lingaw tah!...ANAH LANG...........funny blogger is now signing Off...ZZZZZZZ....

***My SeLf ThOuGhTs Of fRiEnDsHiP***

Everyone are too good...until i expect nothing from them.... If I want my dreams has to come true, I mustn't oversleep. All of the things I wear, my expression is the most important. The best vitamins for making friends...B1 The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts. The heaviest thing I can't carry is a grudge.. One thing I can give and still keep...is my WORD... I lie the loudest when I lie to myself. If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished One thing I can't recycle is wasted time... Ideas won't work unless I do.. My mind is like a parachute, it functions only when it's open The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice. The pursuit of happiness is a chase of the lifetime!It is never too late to become what I might have been. Life is too short to wake up with regrets.So love the people who treat you right..Forget about the one's who don't.Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. Friends are like balloons, once you let them go, you might not get them back. Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away. Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong. Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late. I don't wanna let that happen, so I'm gonna tie to you to my heart so I never lose you my dearest fRienD...

Being A Gemini;* My Zodiac, Your Zodiac*

Gemini Characteristics and Profile

Hi I'm Judy, first let me begin by saying Gemini's are usually get a bad rap. Being a Gemini I myself, telling my zodiac sign to another person, the first thing I often hear is " Oh, you're a Gemini? You're crazy, two faced". I just respond them, " Wow! You’re pretty ignorant. You're not that into Astrology are you?.” Pretty example of being a Gemini. Nice satirical insults to put you back in your place. Gemini is a mutable, positive air sign born between (May 22- June 21). Broken down?, that means Gemini has changeable nature, optimistic, and tend to equate balance in their life with happiness, are easy going and fun.

Without further a due, here's the real deal on Gemini's. Most of what you read on sites is true. We do have dual natures. We can be going along through life one moment, happy and excited for the future, and devastated the next until our analytical minds find some way to rationalize the negative experience into a positive one. Yes, then we're happy again. If that's two faced, then the world's gone mad. We're actually very far from two faced. Gemini's will be the most loyal and giving friend you will ever meet.

Astrologically, Gemini's are ruled by the planet Mercury that is the planet of communication (Virgo's also share the same planet). Everyone Gemini meets is a potential source of inspiration and communication, which is why each friendship and relationship is held sacred and cared for, to keep that communication alive. They will go out of their way for a friend in need, and work at keeping as many close friendships as possible.

When it comes to Gemini's mind, it’s quicker than their mouth. They can think and analyze a subject at lightening fast speed, spitting out facts and figures faster than you can goggle. Being highly curious, Gemini's are knowledgeable in most fields, but typically do not become the master at one given subject. Boredom could bring a Gemini to tears and must change the pace by learning a new subject to keep their minds agile.

As for relationships, Gemini's are known as the astrological flirt. In most instances, I think that label has been given due to their constant need for communication and mental stimulation. We can fall in love and be faithful forever, as long as our partner communicates with us. When a Gemini falls in love, it's not always for looks or status. A Gemini would be most happy with a partner who stimulates their mind and challenges them intellectually than a boring individual who fits the status quo.

Gemini angry. Don't do it. It's not worth it. They can cut you with words like a knife if they've been hurt or imposed upon one too many times. Being that they are so giving, they do not like to be taken advantage of. But then again, who does? Some people keep allowing it to happen hoping it will go away. Gemini will just tell you flat out to cut it out or keep moving. Straight to the point and honest to a fault, Gemini's are a great friend and lover, but not someone to be reckoned with.

Gemini go everywhere together, hand-in-hand, symbolizing your dual nature. Our world comes in pairs: good and evil, male and female, in and out, yin and yang -- and you Gemini’s are living proof. Some might say Gemini are an entanglement of paradoxes, but the truth is that Gemini have an easy acceptance of opposites. Gemini world is one of duality. Gemini can like this and that, one thing and its opposite. It's like you see your world through a radio and Gemini can tune experiences and points of view in and out as your interests change. You Gemini’s are curious, talkative, versatile and mentally active. Your mind can bounce around from one topic to another with great ease, making Gemini the champion of cocktail party chatter and lighthearted social encounters. Others will think that Gemini are fun to be with, but your ability to change with the changing winds can also lead others to see Gemini as shallow. Gemini motto might be "A rolling stone gathers no moss." You are the eternally youthful child, no matter your chronological age. A razor-sharp wit can have you verbally dueling with the very best of opponents, who moments later are your best of friends. As you fly through life, don't forget to take time to smell the flowers. Element: Air The astrological element of air represents movement. And the most efficient movement between two points is often a thought. Air signs are thinkers. They emphasize the intellect over other functions. With active minds and a good command of language, the air signs are the natural born communicators. They can be light and breezy as the breath of spring, but their words can also carry the power of a gale force wind. The air of Gemini is always changing direction. First the winds blow one way, then another. It's a metaphor for how our mind solves a puzzle, first thinking one way and then trying a different approach. This is a restless and searching wind. Third House: Communication The Third House symbolizes all aspects of communication -- and most communication happens within our immediate environment. Therefore this is also the house of our surrounding. Traditionally, this includes the type of interactions that happen between siblings, whether or not you actually have any. It also represents quick trips and short-distance travel. Key Planet: Mercury Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, moves around the Sun faster than any other planet. He symbolizes our thoughts -- not only how we think, but how we communicate. In fact, Mercury is in charge of all language. Mercury is our active and rational mind. It is not only "just the facts" but also what we do with them. As the key planet of Gemini, Mercury is restless and changeable. It drives us to talk and to listen, but not necessarily to action. Gemini Greatest Strength: Your curiosity about a variety of interests Gemini Possible Weakness: Distracting yourself from what is most important

14-Philippine Presidents

Philippine Presidents in their biographies in the history of the Philippines. Emilio Aguinaldo
1st President of the Philippines Dictator of the Dictatorial Government[1] President of the Revolutionary Government President of the First Philippine Republic

General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role in Philippine independence during the Philippine Revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American War that resisted American occupation. He eventually pledged his allegiance to the US government. In the Philippines, Aguinaldo is considered to be the country's first and the youngest Philippine President, though his government failed to obtain any foreign recognition. In office May 24, 1899 – April 1, 1901
Prime Minister	Apolinario Mabini (1899) Pedro Paterno (1899)
Vice President	Mariano Trias
Preceded by	Newly Established
Succeeded by	Manuel L. Quezon (position abolished 1901-1935)
Born	March 22, 1869(1869-03-22) Cavite El Viejo (Kawit), Cavite
Died	February 6, 1964 (aged 94) Quezon City, Metro Manila
Political party	Magdalo faction of the Katipunan, National Socialist Party
Spouse	(1) Hilaria del Rosario-died (2) Maria Agoncillo
Occupation	Military
Religion	Roman Catholic

Early life and career

The seventh of eight children of Crispulo Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy, he was born into a Filipino family on March 22, 1869 in Cavite El Viejo (now Kawit), Cavite province. His father was gobernadorcillo (town head), and, as members of the Chinese mestizo minority, they enjoyed relative wealth and power.

As a young boy, Aguinaldo received basic education from his great-aunt and later attended the town's elementary school. In 1880, he took up his secondary course education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, which he quit on his third year to return home instead to help his widowed mother manage their farm.

At the age of 17, Emilio was elected cabeza de baranggay of Binakayan, the most progressive barrio of Cavite El Viejo. He held this position serving for his town-mates for eight years. He also engaged in inter-island shipping, travelling as far south as the Sulu Archipelago.

In 1893, the Maura Law was passed to reorganize town governments with the aim of making them more effective and autonomous, changing the designation of town head from gobernadorcillo to capitan municipal effective 1895. On January 1, 1895, Aguinaldo was elected town head, becoming the first person to hold the title of capitan municipal of Cavite El Viejo.

Family

His first marriage was in 1896 with Hilaria Del Rosario (1877-1921). They had five children (Miguel, Carmen, Emilio Jr., Maria and Cristina). His second wife was Maria Agoncillo (1882-1963).

Several of Aguinaldo's descendants became prominent political figures in their own right. A grandnephew, Cesar Virata, served as Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. Aguinaldo's granddaughter, Ameurfina Herrera, served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1979 until 1992

Philippine Revolution

In 1895, Aguinaldo joined the Katipunan, a secret organization led by Andrés Bonifacio, dedicated to the expulsion of the Spanish and independence of the Philippines through armed force. Aguinaldo used the nom de guerre Magdalo, in honor of Mary Magdalene. His local chapter of the Katipunan, headed by his cousin Baldomero Aguinaldo, was also called Magdalo.

The Katipunan revolted against the Spanish colonizers in the last week of August 1896, starting in Manila. However, Aguinaldo and other Cavite rebels initially refused to join in the offensive due to lack of arms. Their absence contributed to Bonifacio's defeat in San Juan del Monte.While Bonifacio and other rebels were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare, Aguinaldo and the Cavite rebels won major victories in set-piece battles, temporarily driving the Spanish out of their area.

Conflict between the Magdalo and another Cavite Katipunan faction, the Magdiwang, led to Bonifacio's intervention in the province. The Cavite rebels then made overtures about establishing a revolutionary government in place of the Katipunan. Though Bonifacio already considered the Katipunan to be a government, he acquiesced and presided over elections held during the Tejeros Convention in Tejeros, Cavite (deep in Aguinaldo territory) on March 22, 1897. Away from his power base, Bonifacio lost the leadership to Aguinaldo, and was elected instead to the office of Secretary of the Interior. Even this was questioned by an Aguinaldo supporter, claiming Bonifacio had not the necessary schooling for the job. Insulted, Bonifacio declared the Convention null and void, and sought to return to his power base in Morong (present-day Rizal). He and his party were intercepted by Aguinaldo's men and violence resulted which left Bonifacio seriously wounded. Bonifacio was charged, tried and found guilty of treason by a Cavite military tribunal, and sentenced to death. After some vacillation, Aguinaldo confirmed the death sentence, and Bonifacio was executed on May 10, 1897 in the mountains of Maragondon in Cavite, even as Aguinaldo and his forces were retreating in the face of Spanish assault.

Biak-na-Bato

Aguinaldo boarding USS Vicksburg following his capture in 1901.

Spanish pressure intensified, eventually forcing Aguinaldo's forces to retreat to the mountains. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo signed the treaty of Biak-na-Bato, which specified that the Spanish would give self-rule to the Philippines within 3 years if Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was exiled. On December 14, 1897, Aguinaldo was shipped to Hong Kong. Under the pact, Aguinaldo agreed to end hostilities as well in exchange for amnesty and "$800,000 (Mexican)" (Aguinaldo's description of the amount) as an indemnity. Aguinaldo took the money offered. Emilio Aguinaldo was President and Mariano Trias (Vice President). Other officials included Antonio Montenegro for Foreign Affairs, Isabelo Artacho for the Interior, Baldomero Aguinaldo for the Treasury, and Emiliano Riego de Dios for War.

However, thousands of other Katipuneros continued to fight the Revolution against Spain for a sovereign nation. Unlike Aguinaldo who came from a privileged background, the bulk of these fighters were peasants and workers who were not willing to settle for 'indemnities.'

In early 1898, war broke out between Spain and the United States. Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines in May 1898. He immediately resumed revolutionary activities against the Spaniards, now receiving verbal encouragement from emissaries of the U. S.

Philippine-American War

On the night of February 4, 1899, a Filipino was shot by an American sentry. This incident is considered the beginning of the Philippine-American War, and open fighting soon broke out between American troops and pro-independence Filipinos. Superior American firepower drove Filipino troops away from the city, and the Malolos government had to move from one place to another.

Aguinaldo led resistance to the Americans, then retreated to northern Luzon with the Americans on his trail. On June 2, 1899, a telegram from Aguinaldo was received by Gen. Antonio Luna, an arrogant but brilliant general and looming rival in the military hierarchy, ordering him to proceed to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija for a meeting at the Cabanatuan Church Convent. However, treachery was afoot, as Aguinaldo felt the need to rid himself of this new threat to power. Three days later (June 5), when Luna arrived, he learned Aguinaldo was not at the appointed place. As Gen. Luna was about to depart, he was shot, then stabbed to death by Aguinaldo's men. Luna was later buried in the churchyard, and Aguinaldo made no attempt to punish or even discipline Luna's murderers.

Less than two years later, after the famous Battle of Tirad Pass with the death of Gregorio del Pilar, one of his most trusted generals, Aguinaldo was captured in Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901 by US General Frederick Funston, with the help of Macabebe trackers (who saw Aguinaldo as a bigger problem than the Americans). The American task force gained access to Aguinaldo's camp by pretending to be captured prisoners.

Funston later noted Aguinaldo's "dignified bearing", "excellent qualities," and "humane instincts." Of course, Funston was writing this after Aguinaldo had volunteered to swear fealty to the United States, if only his life was spared. Aguinaldo pledged allegiance to America on April 1, 1901, formally ending the First Republic and recognizing the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines. Nevertheless, many others (like Miguel Malvar and Macario Sakay) continued to resist the American occupation.

Presidency of the First Republic of the Philippines

Aguinaldo appointed two premiers in his tenure. These were Apolinario Mabini and Pedro Paterno.

Aguinaldo cabinet

President Aguinaldo had two cabinets in the year 1899. Thereafter, the war situation resulted in his ruling by decree.

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Emilio Aguinaldo	1899–1901
Prime Minister	Apolinario Mabini	January 21 - May 7, 1899
	Pedro Paterno	May 7 - November 13, 1899
Minister of Finance	Mariano Trias	January 21 - May 7, 1899
	Hugo Ilagan	May 7 - November 13, 1899
Minister of the Interior	Teodoro Sandico	January 21 - May 7, 1899
	Severino de las Alas	May 7 - November 13, 1899
Minister of War	Baldomero Aguinaldo	January 21 - May 7, 1899
	Mariano Trias	May 7 - November 13, 1899
Minister of Welfare	Gracio Gonzaga	January 21 - May 7, 1899
Minister of Foreign Affairs	Apolinario Mabini	January 21 - May 7, 1899
	Felipe Buencamino	May 7 - November 13, 1899
Minister of Public Instruction	Aguedo Velarde	1899
Minister of Public Works and Communications	Maximo Paterno	1899
Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce	Leon Ma. Guerrero	May 7 - November 13, 1899

U.S. Territorial Period

Aguinaldo and Quezon during Flag Day, June 12, 1941.

During the United States occupation, Aguinaldo organized the Asociación de los Veteranos de la Revolución (Association of Veterans of the Revolution), which worked to secure pensions for its members and made arrangements for them to buy land on installment from the government.

When the American government finally allowed the Philippine flag to be displayed in 1919, Aguinaldo transformed his home in Kawit into a monument to the flag, the revolution and the declaration of Independence. His home still stands, and is known as the Aguinaldo Shrine.

Aguinaldo retired from public life for many years. In 1935, when the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in preparation for Philippine independence, he ran for president but lost by a landslide to fiery Spanish mestizo Manuel L. Quezon. The two men formally reconciled in 1941, when President Quezon moved Flag Day to June 12, to commemorate the proclamation of Philippine independence.

Aguinaldo again retired to private life, until the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in World War II. He cooperated with the Japanese, making speeches, issuing articles and infamous radio addresses in support of the Japanese — including a radio appeal to Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Corregidor to surrender in order to spare the innocence of the Filipino youth.

After the Americans retook the Philippines, Aguinaldo was arrested along with several others accused of collaboration with the Japanese. He was held in Bilibid prison for months until released by presidential amnesty. In his trial, it was eventually deemed that his collaboration with the Japanese was probably made under great duress, and he was released.

Aguinaldo lived to see the recognition of independence to the Philippines July 4, 1946, when the United States Government fully recognized Philippine independence in accordance with the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934. He was 93 when President Diosdado Macapagal officially changed the date of independence from July 4 to June 12, 1898, the date Aguinaldo believed to be the true Independence Day. During the independence parade at the Luneta, the 93-year old former president carried the flag he raised in Kawit.

Post-American era

In 1950, President Elpidio Quirino appointed Aguinaldo as a member of the Council of State, where he served a full term. He returned to retirement soon after, dedicating his time and attention to veteran soldiers' interests and welfare.

He was given Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa by the University of the Philippines in 1953.

In 1962, when the United States rejected Philippine claims for the destruction wrought by American forces in World War II, president Diosdado Macapagal changed the celebration of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12. Aguinaldo rose from his sickbed to attend the celebration of independence 64 years after he declared it.

Aguinaldo died on February 6, 1964 of coronary thrombosis at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. He was 94 years old. His remains are buried at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite. When he died, he was the last surviving non-royal head of state (self-proclaimed) to have served in the 19th century.

In 1985,Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas made a new 5-peso bill depicted with Aguinaldo and the declaration of the Philippine independence on June 12, 1898.And it issued five peso coins that we use now.

Manuel L. Quezon
2nd President of the Philippines
In office November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944
Vice President	Sergio Osmeña
Preceded by	Emilio Aguinaldo
Succeeded by	Jose P. Laurel
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Philippines's At-large district
In office November 23, 1909 – October 15, 1916
Preceded by	Pablo Ocampo
Succeeded by	Teodoro R. Yangco
Born	August 19, 1878(1878-08-19) Baler, Tayabas, Philippine Islands (now Baler, Aurora, Philippines)
Died	August 1, 1944 (aged 65) Saranac Lake, New York, United States
Political party	Coalición Nacionalista (1935-1938) Nacionalista Party 1938-1944
Spouse	Aurora Aragon Quezon
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

President Manuel L. Quezon prepares for his inaugural address.

President Quezon in the United States.

Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (August 19, 1878 in Baler, Tayabas, Philippines – August 1, 1944 in Saranac Lake, New York, United States) was the first Filipino president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines under U.S. occupation rule in the early period of the 20th century. He is also considered by most Filipinos to have been the second President, after Emilio Aguinaldo (whose administration did not receive international recognition at the time and is not considered the first Philippine president by the United States). He has the distinction of being the first Senate President elected to the presidency, the first president elected through a national election, and was also the first incumbent to secure re-election (for a partial second term, later extended, due to amendments to the 1935 Constitution). He is known as the "Father of the National Language".

Early life and career

Quezon, was born in Baler, Tayabas (now found at Aurora). His parents were Lucio Quezon and Maria Dolores Molina. While serving as aide-de-camp to Emilio Aguinaldo (he had been a Lieutenant, then a Major, in the Bataan sector during the retreat and surrender in 1901), he fought with Filipino nationalists in the Philippine-American War.

He received his primary education from his mother and school teacher in their home town) and tutors (his father from Paco, Manila, was a Sergeant in the Spanish Army), and later boarded at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he completed secondary school. After the war, he completed Law at the University of Santo Tomas and passed the bar examinations in 1903, placing fourth. He worked for a time as a clerk and surveyor, entering government service as an appointed fiscal for Mindoro and later Tayabas. He became a councilor and was elected governor of Tayabas in 1906 as an independent. In 1907, he was elected to the first Philippine Assembly, where he served as majority floor leader and chairman of the committee on appropriations. From 1909-1916, he served as one of the Philippines' two resident commissioners to the U.S. House of Representatives, lobbying for the passage of the Philippine Autonomy Act or Jones Law.

Senate presidency and independence missions

He was elected senator in 1916 and became Senate President, serving continuously until 1935 (19 years). He headed the first Independence Mission to the U.S. Congress in 1919, and brought home the Tydings-McDuffie Independence Law in 1934.

While in the United States, he personally met Napoleon Hill and was inspired to continue seeking the Independence of the Philippines.

Presidency

In 1935 Quezon won the Philippine's first national presidential election under the banner of the Nacionalista Party. He obtained nearly 68% of the vote against his two main rivals, Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay. Quezon was inaugurated in November, 1935. He is recognized as the second President of the Philippines. However, in January 2008, Congressman Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro filed a bill seeking instead to declare General Miguel Malvar as the second Philippine President, having directly succeeded Aguinaldo in 1901.^[1]

Quezon had originally been barred by the Philippine constitution from seeking re-election. However, in 1940, constitutional amendments were ratified allowing him to seek re-election for a fresh term ending in 1943. In the 1941 presidential elections, Quezon was re-elected over former Senator Juan Sumulong with nearly 82% of the vote.

In a notable humanitarian act, Quezon, in cooperation with United States High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt, facilitated the entry into the Philippines of Jewish refugees fleeing fascist regimes in Europe. Quezon was also instrumental in promoting a project to resettle the refugees in Mindanao.

Administration, cabinet, and Supreme Court appointments 1935-1941

President Quezon was given the power under the reorganization act, to appoint the first all-Filipino Supreme Court of the Philippines in 1935. From 1901 to 1935, although a Filipino was always appointed chief justice, the majority of the members of the Supreme Court were Americans. Complete Filipinization was achieved only with the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel were among Quezon's first appointees to replace the American justices. The membership in the Supreme Court increased to 11: a chief justice and ten associate justices, who sat en banc or in two divisions of five members each.

• Ramon Avanceña – 1935 (Chief Justice) – 1935-1941
• Jose Abad Santos – 1935
• Claro M. Recto 1935 – 1936
• Jose P. Laurel – 1935
• Jose Abad Santos (Chief Justice) – 1941-1942

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Manuel L. Quezon	1935–1941
Vice President	Sergio Osmeña	1935–1941
Secretary of Public Instruction	Sergio Osmeña	1935–1940
	Jorge Bocobo	1940–1941
Secretary of Public Works and Communications	Mariano Jesús Cuenco
Secretary of Justice	Jose Yulo	1935–1938
	Jose Abad Santos	1938–1941
Secretary of National Defense	Teofilo Sison	1939–1941
	Basilio Valdes	December 23, 1941
Secretary of Finance	Elpidio Quirino	1935–1936
	Antonio de las Alas	1936–1938
	Manuel Roxas	1938–1941
	Serafin Marabut	1941
Secretary of the Interior	Elpidio Quirino	1935–1938
	Rafael Alunan	1938–1940
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce	Benigno Aquino	1935–1940
	Rafael Alunan	1940–1941
Secretary of Labor	Jose Avelino	1935–1938
	Sotero Baluyut	1938–1941
Secretary to the President	Jorge B. Vargas	1935–1941
Auditor-General	Jaime Hernandez	1935–1941
Commissioner of the Budget	Serafin Marabut	1935–1941
Commissioner of Civil Service	Jose Gil	1935–1941
Resident Commissioner	Quintin Paredes	1935–1938
	Joaquin Elizalde	1938–1941

Government-in-exile

President Quezon, with some of his family members, are welcomed in Washington, D.C. by President Roosevelt

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II he evacuated to Corregidor, then the Visayas and Mindanao, and upon the invitation of the US government, was further evacuated to Australia and then to the United States, where he established the Commonwealth government in exile with headquarters in Washington, D.C.. There, he served as a member of the Pacific War Council, signed the declaration of the United Nations against the Axis Powers, and wrote his autobiography (Good Fight, 1946).

Quezon suffered from tuberculosis and spent his last years in a "cure cottage" in Saranac Lake, New York, where he died on August 1, 1944. He was initially buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His body was later carried by the USS Princeton and re-interred in Manila at the Manila North Cemetery before being moved to Quezon City within the monument at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Quezon was married to his first cousin, Aurora Aragón Quezon, and had four children: María Aurora "Baby" Quezon (1919-1949), María Zeneida "Nini" Quezon-Avancena (1921-), Luisa Corazón Paz "Nenita" Quezon (1923-1923) and Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezon, Jr. (1926-1998). His grandson, Manuel L. "Manolo" Quezon III (1970-), a prominent writer and political pundit, was named after him.

In their column on the pronunciation of names, The Literary Digest wrote "The President and his wife pronounce the name keh'-zon. The pronunciation keh-son', although widely heard in the Philippine Islands, is incorrect." (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)

War cabinet 1941-1944

The outbreak of World War II and the Japanese invasion resulted in periodic and drastic changes to the government structure. Executive Order 390, December 22, 1941 abolished the Department of the Interior and established a new line of succession. Executive Order 396, December 24, 1941 further reorganized and grouped the cabinet, with the functions of Secretary of Justice assigned to the Chief Justice of the Philippines.

OFFICE NAME TERM President Manuel L. Quezon 1941–1944 (extended, 1943) Vice President Sergio Osmeña 1941–1944 (extended, 1943) Secretary of Justice and Finance Jose Abad Santos December 24, 1941– March 26, 1942 Secretary of Justice Jose Abad Santos March 26, 1941– May, 1942 Secretary of Finance, Agriculture, and Commerce Andres Soriano March 26, 1942– July 31, 1944 Secretary of National Defense, Public Works, Communications and Labor Basilio Valdes December 24, 1941–August 1, 1944 Secretary of Public Instruction, Health, and Public Welfare Sergio Osmeña December 24, 1941– August 1, 1944 Secretary to the President Manuel Roxas December 24, 1941– May, 1942 Arturo Rotor May, 1942– August 1, 1944 Secretary to the Cabinet Manuel Nieto 1May 19, 1944 Secretary without Portfolio Andres Soriano March 2-26, 1942 Treasurer of the Philippines Andres Soriano February 19, 1942–March 26, 1942 Manuel Roxas March 26, 1942– May 8, 1942 Auditor-General Jaime Hernandez (Filipino) December 30, 1941– August 1, 1944 Resident Commissioner Joaquin Elizalde December 30, 1941– August 1, 1944 (given cabinet rank, May, 1942) Secretary of Information and Public Relations Carlos P. Romulo 1943–1944

Sources:

The Sixth Annual Report of the United States High Commission to the Philippine Island to the President and Congress of the United States, Covering the Fiscal Year July 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942 Washington D.C. October 20, 1942

Executive Orders of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Manila, Bureau of Printing 1945

Quotes

Tomb of President Manuel Quezon, inside Quezon Memorial, Quezon City.

"My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins."

"Social Justice is far more beneficial when applied as a matter of sentiment, and not of law."

“I would rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos than a country run like heaven by the Americans, because however bad a Filipino government might be, it can always be improved.”

"Pray for me so that I can return to the Philippines. I feel so weak that I'm afraid I cannot make it"

José P. Laurel
3rd President of the Philippines President of the 2nd Republic
In office October 14, 1943 – August 17, 1945
President	Manuel L. Quezon (1941-1944) Sergio Osmeña (1944-1946)
Preceded by	Jorge B. Vargas (Head of the Philippine Executive Commission)
Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court
In office February 29, 1936 – February 5, 1942
Preceded by	George A. Malcolm
Succeeded by	None[1]
Born	March 9, 1891(1891-03-09) Tanauan, Batangas
Died	November 6, 1959 (aged 68) Manila
Political party	Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (KALIBAPI)[2]
Spouse	Pacencia Hidalgo
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

José Paciano Laurel y García (March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was the president of the Japanese-Sponsored Republic of the Philippines during World War II, from 1943 to 1945.

Laurel was not subsequently officially recognized as a Philippine president until the administration of Diosdado Macapagal.

Early life

José P. Laurel was born on March 9, 1891 in the town of Tanauan, Batangas. His parents were Sotero Laurel, Sr. and Jacoba García. His father had been an official in the revolutionary government of Emilio Aguinaldo and a signatory to the 1898 Malolos Constitution.

While a teen, Laurel was indicted for attempted murder when he almost killed a rival suitor of his girlfriend. While studying and finishing law school, he argued for and received an acquittal.

Laurel received his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1915, where he studied under Dean George A. Malcolm, whom he would later succeed on the Supreme Court. He then obtained a Master of Laws degree from Escuela de Derecho in 1919. Laurel then attended Yale Law School, where he obtained a Doctorate of Law.

Political career

Laurel began his life in public service while a student, as a messenger in the Bureau of Forestry then as a clerk in the Code Committee tasked with the codification of Philippine laws. During his work for the Code Committee, he was introduced to its head, Thomas A. Street, a future Supreme Court Justice who would be a mentor to the young Laurel.^[3]

Upon his return from Yale, Laurel was appointed first as Undersecretary of the Interior Department, then promoted as Secretary of the Interior in 1922. In that post, he would frequently clash with the American Governor-General Leonard Wood, and eventually, in 1923, resign from his position together with other Cabinet members in protest of Wood's administration. His clashes with Wood solidified Laurel's nationalist credentials.

In 1925 he was elected to the Philippine Senate. He would serve for one term before losing his re-election bid in 1931 to Claro M. Recto.^[4] He retired to private practice, but by 1934, he was again elected to public office, this time as a delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention. Hailed as one of the "Seven Wise Men of the Convention", he would sponsor the provisions on the Bill of Rights.^[5] Following the ratification of the 1935 Constitution and the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Laurel was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on February 29, 1936.

Jurisprudence of Justice Laurel

Laurel's Supreme Court tenure may have been overshadowed by his presidency, yet he remains one of the most important Supreme Court justices in Philippine history. He authored several leading cases still analyzed to this day that defined the parameters of the branches of government as well as their powers.

Angara v. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil. 139 (1936), which is considered as the Philippine equivalent of Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), is Laurel's most important contribution to jurisprudence and even the rule of law in the Philippines. In affirming that the Court had jurisdiction to review the rulings of the Electoral Commission organized under the National Assembly, the Court, through Justice Laurel's opinion, firmly entrenched the power of Philippine courts to engage in judicial review of the acts of the other branches of government, and to interpret the Constitution. Held the Court, through Laurel:

"The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the nature, scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the instrumentality of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that instrument secures and guarantees to them."

Another highly influential decision penned by Laurel was Ang Tibay v. CIR, 69 Phil. 635 (1940). The Court acknowledged in that case that the substantive and procedural requirements before proceedings in administrative agencies, such as labor relations courts, were more flexible than those in judicial proceedings. At the same time, the Court still asserted that the right to due process of law must be observed, and enumerated the "cardinal primary rights" that must be respected in administrative proceedings. Since then, these "cardinal primary rights" have stood as the standard in testing due process claims in administrative cases.

Calalang v. Williams, 70 Phil. 726 (1940) was a seemingly innocuous case involving a challenge raised by a private citizen to a traffic regulation banning kalesas from Manila streets during certain afternoon hours. The Court, through Laurel, upheld the regulation as within the police power of the government. But in rejecting the claim that the regulation was violative of social justice, Laurel would respond with what would become his most famous aphorism, which is to this day widely quoted by judges and memorized by Filipino law students:

"Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy," but the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated. Social justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption by the Government of measures calculated to insure economic stability of all the competent elements of society, through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of the community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of all governments on the time-honored principle of salus populi est suprema lex. Social justice, therefore, must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of interdependence among divers and diverse units of a society and of the protection that should be equally and evenly extended to all groups as a combined force in our social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental and paramount objective of the state of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet of all persons, and of bringing about "the greatest good to the greatest number."

Japanese occupation and Presidency

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II, Laurel was instructed to remain in Manila by President Manuel L. Quezon, who fled to Corregidor and then to the United States to establish a government-in-exile. His prewar, close relationship with Japanese officials (a son had been sent to study at the Imperial Military Academy in Tokyo, and Laurel had received an honorary doctorate from Tokyo University), placed him in a good position to interact with the Japanese occupation forces.

Laurel was among the Commonwealth officials instructed by the Japanese Imperial Army to form a provisional government when they invaded and occupied the country. It was because of his being well-known to the Japanese as a critic of US rule, as well as his demonstrated willingness to serve under the Japanese Military Administration, that he held a series of high posts in 1942-1943.

Assassination attempt

On June 5, 1943, Laurel was playing golf at the Wack Wack Golf Course in Mandaluyong when he was shot around 4 times with a 45 caliber pistol.^[6] The bullets barely missed his heart and liver.^[6] He was rushed by his golfing companions, among them FEU president Nicanor Reyes, Sr., to the Philippine General Hospital where he was operated by the Chief Military Surgeon of the Japanese Military Administration and Filipino surgeons.^[6] Laurel enjoyed a speedy recovery.

Two suspects to the shooting were reportedly captured and swiftly executed by the Kempetai.^[7] Another suspect, a former boxer named Feliciano Lizardo, was presented for identification by the Japanese to Laurel at the latter's hospital bed, but Laurel then professed unclear memory.^[7] However, in his 1953 memoirs, Laurel would admit that Lizardo, by then one of the former President's bodyguards, was indeed the would-be-assassin.^[7] Still, the historian Teodoro Agoncillo in his book on the Japanese occupation, identified a captain with a guerilla unit as the shooter.^[7]

Laurel is the only Filipino president to have been shot outside of combat.

Presidential candidate and Senator

On August 15, 1945, the Japanese forces surrendered to the United States. Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered Laurel arrested for collaborating with the Japanese. In 1946 he was charged with 132 counts of treason, but was never brought to trial due to the general amnesty granted by President Manuel Roxas in 1948. Laurel ran for president against Elpidio Quirino in 1949 but lost in what was then considered as the dirtiest election in Philippine electoral history.

Laurel was elected to the Senate in 1951, under the Nacionalista Party. He was urged upon to run for President in 1953, but he declined, working instead for the successful election of Ramon Magsaysay. Magsaysay appointed Laurel head of a mission tasked with negotiating trade and other issues with United States officials, the result being known as the Laurel-Langley Agreement.

Retirement and death

Post Presidency of Mr. Laurel

Laurel considered his election to the Senate as a vindication of his reputation. He declined to run for re-election in 1957. He retired from public life, concentrating on the development of the Lyceum of the Philippines established by his family. On November 6, 1959, he died in Lourdes Hospital, Manila,^[8] of a massive heart attack and stroke.

Legacy

"Villa Pacencia" Villar mansion

Manuel Villar and Cynthia A. Villar, bought and took over, on July 12, 2008, "Villa Pacencia," the 3-story 51-year-old white-and-green Laurel mansion, now a historic site, built by Jose P. Laurel, on 6,000 square meters prime Mandaluyong lot. The mansion has 2 historical markers - the 1957 note of its first creation, and the visit of Indonesian President Sukarno, who twice slept at the mansion (in 1963 visit, and again, later, with Filipino movie star, Amelia de la Rama). Jose P. Laurel built the house on No. 515 Shaw Blvd., several years after he stepped down as President. The mansion is the biggest of the 3 residences that Laurel built (in Tanauan, and in Paco, Manila, called the Villa Peñafrancia). The Villars refurbished the mansion and formally presented it to the Laurel clan, NP leaders, inter alia, for the June 10, 2008 blessing.^[9]

Family

Laurel was married to Pacencia Hidalgo in 1911, and had nine children. Several of his children became famous politicians in their own right. His eldest son, Jose Bayani, Jr. (Pepito), became Speaker of the House of Representatives and a candidate for vice-president in 1957 (Jose Macario Laurel, the eldest son of Jose B. Laurel, was a former Batangas Representative). His younger son, Salvador Roman (Doy), was Vice-President from 1986 to 1992.

Three other of Laurel's children would become prominent in politics and business. Sotero Cosme (Teroy), named after Laurel's own father, was elected to the Senate from 1987 to 1992; Jose Sotero III (Pepe) became Ambassador to Japan; and Mariano H. Laurel became president of the Philippine Banking Corporation. The youngest son, Arsenio (Dodjie) earned fame in a wholly different field as a race car driver, but he tragically died young in a racing accident.

Sergio Osmeña
4th President of the Philippines 2nd President of the Commonwealth
In office August 1, 1944 – May 28, 1946
Preceded by	Jose P. Laurel
Succeeded by	Manuel Roxas
2nd Vice President of the Philippines 1st Vice President of the Commonwealth
In office November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944
President	Manuel L. Quezon
Born	September 9, 1878 Cebu City, Cebu
Died	October 19, 1961 (aged 83) Quezon City
Political party	Nacionalista Party
Spouse	Estefania Veloso (married 1901, died 1918) Esperanza Limjap (married 1920)
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

President Sergio Osmeña (center) and General Douglas MacArthur (right) en route to the Leyte landing beaches, circa October 20–23, 1944.

Sergio Osmeña (September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was the second President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. He was Vice President under Manuel L. Quezon, and rose to the presidency upon Quezon's death in 1944. He was a founder of Nacionalista Party.

Osmeña is the patriarch of the prominent Osmeña family, which includes his son (former Senator Sergio Osmeña, Jr.) and his grandsons (Senators Sergio Osmeña III and John Henry Osmeña), ex-Governor (Lito Osmeña and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña). His great-grandson, Tomas's son Miguel, is a student at the University of California, Los Angeles. His great great grandson, Christian Osmena, is a current Senator at the University of California, Berkeley.

Early life and career

Osmeña was born in Cebu to Juana Osmeña y Suico. Juana was only 14 years old when she gave birth to him. Owing to the circumstances of his birth, the identity of his father had been a closely guarded family secret. Though an illegitimate child — Juana never married his father — he didn't allow this aspect to affect his standing in society. The Osmeñas, a rich and prominent clan with vast business interests in Cebu, slowly warmed up to him as he established himself as a prominent figure in local society.

He took his elementary education in the University of San Carlos and graduated in 1892. Osmeña continued his education in Manila, studying in San Juan de Letran College where he first met Manuel L. Quezon, a classmate of his. He took up law at the University of Santo Tomas and was second place in the bar examination in 1903.

Osmeña served on the war staff of General Emilio Aguinaldo as a courier and journalist. In 1900, he founded the Cebu newspaper, El Nuevo Día which lasted for three years.

On April 10, 1901, he married Estefania Chiong Veloso, with whom he had six children, namely, Vicente, Edilberto, Nicasio, Milagros, Emilio, Teodoro, Jose, and Sergio, Jr. In 1920, two years after the death of his first wife, Osmeña married Esperanza Limjap, and had three more children, namely, Ramon, Rosalina, and Victor.

Political career

In 1904, the American colonial administration appointed him governor of Cebu. Two years later he was elected governor of Cebu. While governor, he ran for election to the first Philippine Assembly of 1907 and was elected Speaker of that body. Osmeña was only 29 and already the highest-ranking Filipino official.

He and another provincial politician, Manuel L. Quezon of Tayabas, set up the Nacionalista Party as a foil to the Partido Federalista of Manila-based politicians. The two would engage in a rivalry for political dominance ever since.

Osmeña was elected an assemblyman, in 1907, and remained a member of the lower house until 1922. He was the country's vice president for two consecutive terms under the Philippine Commonwealth.

He went to the US, in 1933, to secure passage of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Independence Bill which was superseded by the Tydings-McDuffie Act in March 1934.

Osmeña was elected as vice-president of the Commonwealth in 1935, with Quezon as president. He was re-elected in 1941. When the Commonwealth government relocated in the US in exile, Osmeña went with Quezon.

Presidency

Osmeña became president of the Commonwealth on Quezon's death in 1944. He returned to the Philippines the same year with General Douglas MacArthur and the liberation forces. After the war, Osmeña restored the Commonwealth government and the various executive departments. He continued the fight for Philippine independence.

For the presidential election of 1946, Osmeña refused to campaign, saying that the Filipino people knew of his record of 40 years of honest and faithful service. Nevertheless, he was defeated by Manuel Roxas, who won 54 percent of the vote and became the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.

War Cabinet 1944-45

On August 8, 1944, President Osmeña issued Executive Order 15-W reorganizing and consolidating the Executive Departments of the Commonwealth government. The reorganization of the government after it was reestablished on Philippine soil was undertaken with Executive Order No. 27, February 27, 1945.

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Sergio Osmeña	1944–1946
Secretary of Finance	Jaime Hernandez	1944–1945
Secretary of National Defense and Communications	Basilio Valdes	1944–1945
Secretary of Information and Public Relations	Carlos P. Romulo (concurrent capacity)	1944–1945
Secretary of Justice, Labor and Welfare	Mariano A. Eraña (acting capacity)	1944–1945
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce	Manuel Nieto	1944–1945
Secretary to the President	Arturo Rotor	1944–1945
Resident Commissioner	Carlos P. Romulo	1944–1945
Budget and Finance Commissioner	Ismael Mathay	1944–1945
Judge Advocate General of the Army	Mariano Eraña	1944–1945
Economic Adviser	Urbano Zafra	1944–1945
Military Adviser	Alejandro Melchor	1944–1945

Cabinet and Judicial Appointments 1945-46

Executive Order No. 27, February 27, 1945 was issued upon the restoration of civilian authority to the government of the Commonwealth, and members of the new cabinet appointed on March 8, 1945. Subsequent renaming and mergers of departments have separate listings.

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Sergio Osmeña	1944–1946
Secretary of the Interior	Tomas Confesor	1945
Secretary of Finance and Reconstruction	Jaime Hernandez	1945–1946
Secretary of Justice, Agriculture and Commerce	Delfin Jaranilla	1945
Secretary of Justice	Ramon Quisumbing	1945–1946
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce	Vicente Singson Encarnacion	1945–1946
Secretary of National Defense	Tomas Cabili	1945
Secretary of National Defense and Interior	Alfredo Montelibano Sr	1945–1946
Secretary of Health and Public Welfare	Basilio Valdes	1945
	Jose Locsin	1945–1946
Secretary of Public Instruction and Information	Francisco Benitez	1945
Secretary of Education	Francisco Benitez	1945–1946
Secretary of Public Works and Communications	Sotero Cabahug	1945–1946
Secretary of the Budget	Ismael Mathay	1944–1945
Secretary to the President	Jose S. Reyes	1945–1946
Secretary of Labor	Marcelo Aduru	1946
Resident Commissioner	Carlos P. Romulo	1945–1946

Liberation

On 1944 to 1945, under the administration of the Commonwealth president Osmeña was founded the Allied recapture for the Liberation of the Philippines was the country by hundreds of thousands of the combined United States and the Philippine Commonwealth troops including the recognized guerrilla units was fought the Japanese Imperial forces until the end of the Second World War.

Post-presidency

Gravesite of Sergio Osmeña

After his defeat in the election, Osmeña retired to his home in Cebu. He died at the age of 83 on October 19, 1961, at the Veteran's Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. He is buried in the Manila North Cemetery in Manila.

Manuel Roxas
5th President of the Philippines 3rd President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines 1st President of the 3rd Philippine Republic
In office May 28, 1946 (as Commonwealth President until July 4, 1946, as Republic President thereafter) – April 15, 1948
Preceded by	Sergio Osmeña
Succeeded by	Elpidio Quirino
Born	January 1, 1892(1892-01-01) Capiz (now Roxas City), Capiz
Died	April 15, 1948 (aged 56) Clark Air Base, Angeles, Pampanga
Political party	Nacionalista (1919–1945) Liberal Party (1945–1948)
Spouse	Trinidad de Leon
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic
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Manuel Acuña Roxas (January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. He served as president from the granting of independence in 1946 until his abrupt death in 1948. His reign as Philippine president is also the shortest; 1 year 10 months and 18 days.

Early life and career

Manuel Roxas was born on January 1, 1892 in Capiz, Capiz, a city that was renamed in his honor, to Rosario Acuña. His father, Gerardo Roxas, died before he was born. Roxas had two siblings in brother Mamerto Roxas, and sister Margarita Roxas.

Manuel Roxas studied college in University of Manila, and law at the University of the Philippines College of Law, where he was a member of the college's first ever graduating class in 1913. He placed first in the bar examinations held later that year. He was immediately drawn into politics, and began what became a lifelong career in government service as a provincial fiscal. In 1921, he was elected to the House of Representatives. The following year he was elected House Speaker.

After the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established 1935, Roxas became a member of the unicameral National Assembly, and served (1938–1941) as the Secretary of Finance in President Manuel L. Quezon's cabinet. After the amendments to the 1935 Philippine Constitution were approved in 1941, he was elected (1941) to the Philippine Senate, but was unable to serve until 1945 because of the outbreak of World War II.

Having enrolled prior to World War II as an officer in the reserves, he was made liaison officer between the Commonwealth government and the United States Army Forces in the Far East headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur. He accompanied President Quezon to Corregidor where he supervised the destruction of Philippine currency to prevent its capture by the Japanese. When Quezon left Corregidor, Roxas went to Mindanao to direct the resistance there. It was prior to Quezon's departure that he was made Executive Secretary and designated as successor to the presidency in case Quezon or Vice-President Sergio Osmeña were captured or killed. Roxas was captured (1942) by the Japanese invasion forces. After a period of imprisonment, he was brought to Manila and eventually signed the Constitution promulgated by the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic. He was made responsible for economic policy under the government of Jose P. Laurel. During this time he also served as an intelligence agent for the underground Philippine guerrilla forces. In 1944 he unsuccessfully tried to escape to Allied territory. The returning American forces arrested him as a Japanese collaborator. After the war, Gen. Douglas MacArthur cleared him and reinstated his commission as an officer of the US armed forces. This resuscitated his political career.

When the Congress of the Philippines was convened in 1945, the legislators elected in 1941 chose Roxas as Senate President. In the Philippine national elections of 1946, Roxas ran for president as the nominee of the liberal wing of the Nacionalista Party. He had the staunch support of General MacArthur. His opponent was Sergio Osmeña, who refused to campaign, saying that the Filipino people knew his reputation. However, in the April 23, 1946 election, Roxas won 54 percent of the vote, and the Liberal Party won a majority in the legislature. When the Philippines gained independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, he became the first president of the new republic.

Manuel Roxas married Trinidad R. de Leon of Bulacan. They had two (2) children - Ma. Rosario "Ruby", married to Vicente Roxas; and Gerardo "Gerry" who married Judy Araneta.

Presidency

Gravesite of Manuel Roxas

In 1948, Roxas declared amnesty for those arrested for collaborating with the Japanese during World War II, except for those who had committed violent crimes.

Manuel Roxas was married to Doña Trinidad de Leon-Roxas and had two children Ma. Rosario "Ruby" and Gerardo M. "Gerry" Roxas who became congressman and a leader of Liberal Party while Mar Roxas is the grandson. He died on April 15, 1948 at the age of 56, suffering a fatal heart attack after delivering a speech at Clark Air Base in Angeles City. He was succeeded by his vice president, Elpidio Quirino.

Elpidio Quirino
6th President of the Philippines
In office April 18, 1948 – December 30, 1953
Vice President	Fernando Lopez (1949-1953)
Preceded by	Manuel Roxas
Succeeded by	Ramon Magsaysay
3rd Vice President of the Philippines 2nd and Last Vice President of the Commonwealth 1st Vice President of the 3rd Republic
In office May 28, 1946 – April 17, 1948
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In office September 16, 1946 – April 17, 1948
Preceded by	Restored
Succeeded by	Joaquin Miguel Elizalde
Born	November 16, 1890(1890-11-16) Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Died	February 29, 1956 (aged 65) Quezon City
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	Alicia Syquia
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic
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For the province, see Quirino.

For the train station, see Quirino Avenue LRT Station.

For the grandstand, see Quirino Grandstand.

For the municipality, see Quirino, Ilocos Sur.

Elpidio Rivera Quirino (November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino politician, and the sixth President of the Philippines.

Early life and career

He was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Mariano Quirino and Gregoria Rivera, Quirino spent his early years in Aringay, La Union. He received secondary education at Vigan High School, then went to Manila where he worked as junior computer in 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 admitted to the bar later that year. He was engaged in the private practice of law until he was elected as member of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1919 to 1925, then as Senator from 1925 to 1931. He then served as Secretary of Finance and Secretary of the Interior in the Commonwealth government.

In 1934, Quirino was a member of the Philippine Independence mission to Washington D.C., headed by Manuel L. Quezon that secured the passage in the United States Congress of the Tydings-McDuffie Act. This legislation set the date for Philippine independence by 1945. Official declaration came on July 4, 1946.

During the Battle of Manila in World War II, his wife, Alicia Syquia, and three of his five children were killed as they were fleeing their home.

After the war, Quirino continued public service, becoming president pro tempore of the Senate. In 1946, he was elected first vice president of the independent Republic of the Philippines, serving under Manuel Roxas. He also served as secretary of state.

Presidency

President Quirino presenting a gift to U.S. President Harry S. Truman at the Oval Office on September 13, 1951. Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde looks on.

Quirino assumed the presidency on April 17, 1948, taking his oath of office two days after the death of Manuel Roxas. The next year, he was elected president on his own right for a four-year term as the candidate of the Liberal Party, defeating Jose P. Laurel of the Nacionalista Party.

Since Quirino was a widower, his surviving daughter Vicky would serve as the official hostess and perform the functions traditionally ascribed to the First Lady.

Quirino's administration faced a serious threat in the form of the communist HUKBALAHAP movement. Though the Huks originally had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Luzon, communists steadily gained control over the leadership, and when Quirino's negotiation with Huk commander Luis Taruc broke down in 1948, Taruc openly declared himself a Communist and called for the overthrow of the government.

His six years as president were marked by notable postwar reconstruction, general economic gains, and increased economic aid from the United States. Basic social problems, however, particularly in the rural areas, remained unsolved, and his administration was tainted by widespread graft and corruption.

On 1950, the administration of president Quirino was beginning the Korean War and over 7,450 Filipino soldiers were sent to Korea under the designation of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea or PEFTOK.

Although ill, Quirino ran for re-election in 1953, but he was overwhelmingly defeated by Ramon Magsaysay.

Post-presidency

Following his failed bid for re-election, Quirino retired to private life in Quezon City, Metro Manila. He died of a heart attack on February 29, 1956.

Relatives

TV host and fitness expert Cory Quirino is the granddaughter of Elpidio Quirino. The husband of singer Kuh Ledesma, Luisito "Louie" Gonzalez is a grandson.

Ramon Magsaysay
7th President of the Philippines 3rd President of the 3rd Republic
In office December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957
Vice President	Carlos P. García
Preceded by	Elpidio Quirino
Succeeded by	Carlos P. García
Born	August 31, 1907(1907-08-31) Iba, Zambales
Died	March 17, 1957 (aged 49) Mt. Manunggal, Balamban, Cebu
Political party	Nacionalista Party
Spouse	Luz Banzon
Occupation	Engineer
Religion	Roman Catholic
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Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay (August 31, 1907 - March 17, 1957) was the third President of the Third Republic of the Philippines from December 30, 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1957. He was elected President under the banner of the Nacionalista Party.

Biography

Ramon Magsaysay was born in Iba, Zambales on August 31, 1907 to Exequiel Magsaysay, a blacksmith, and Perfecta del Fierro, a schoolteacher. He entered the University of the Philippines in 1927. He worked as a chauffeur to support himself as he studied engineering; 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 automobile mechanic and shop superintendent. When World War II broke out, he joined the motor pool of the 31st Infantry Division of the Philippine army. When Bataan surrendered in 1942, Magsaysay escaped to the hills, organized the Western Luzon Guerrilla Forces, and was commissioned captain on April 5, 1942. For three years Capt. Magsaysay operated under Col. Merrill's famed guerrilla outfit and saw action at Sawang, San Marcelino, Zambales. Magsaysay was among those instrumental in clearing the Zambales coast of the Japanese prior to the landing of American liberation forces together with the Philippine Commonwealth troops on Jan. 29, 1945.

Congressman

On April 23, 1946, Magsaysay was elected as an Independent to the Philippine House of Representatives. In 1948, President Roxas chose Magsaysay to go to Washington as Chairman of the Committee on Guerrilla Affairs, to help to secure passage of the Rogers Bill, giving considerable benefits to Philippine veterans. In the so-called "dirty election" of 1949, he was re-elected to a second term in the House of Representatives. During both terms he was Chairman of the House National Defense Committee.

Secretary of National Defense

Defense Secretary Magsaysay in the November 1951 cover of Time Magazine.

In early August 1950 he offered President Quirino a plan to fight the Communist guerillas, using his own experiences in guerrilla warfare during World War II. After some hesitation, Quirino realized that there was no alternative and appointed Magsaysay Secretary of National Defence on August 31, 1950. He intensified the campaign against the Hukbalahap guerillas, waging one of the most successful anti-guerrilla campaigns in modern history. This success was due in part to the unconventional methods he employed and developed alongside an American adviser, General Edward Lansdale. The counterinsurgency the two deployed utilized soldiers distributing relief goods and other forms of aid to outlying, provincial communities. Where before Magsaysay the rural folk looked on the Philippine Army if not in distrust, at least with general apathy, during his term as Defense Secretary Filipinos began to respect and admire their soldiers.

In June 1952 Magsaysay made a goodwill tour to the United States and Mexico. He visited New York, Washington, D.C. (with a medical check-up at Walter Reed Hospital) and Mexico City where he spoke at the Annual Convention of Lions International.

By 1953 President Quirino thought the threat of the Huks was under control and Secretary Magsaysay was becoming too powerful. Magsaysay met with interference and obstruction from the President and his advisers, in fear they might be unseated at the next presidential election. Although Magsaysay had at that time no intention to run, he was urged from many sides and finally was convinced that the only way to continue his fight against communism, and for a government for the people, was to be elected President, ousting the corrupt administration that, in his opinion, had caused the rise of the communist guerrillas by bad administration. He resigned his post as defense secretary on February 28, 1953, and became the presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party, disputing the nomination with senator Camilo Osías at the Nacionalista national convention.

Presidency

President and Mrs. Magsaysay with Eleanor Roosevelt at the Malacañang Palace.

In the Election of 1953, Magsaysay was decisively elected president over the incumbent Elpidio Quirino. He was sworn into office wearing the Barong Tagalog, a first by a Philippine president.

As president, he was a close friend and supporter of the United States and a vocal spokesman against communism during the Cold War. He led the foundation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization also known as the Manila Pact of 1954, that aimed to defeat communist-Marxist movements in South East Asia, South Asia and the Southwestern Pacific. During his term, he made Malacañáng Palace literally a "house of the people", opening its gates to the public.

One example of his integrity followed a demonstration flight aboard a new plane belonging to the Philippines Air Force (PAF). President Magsaysay asked what the operating costs per hour were for that type of aircraft, then wrote a personal check to the PAF, covering the cost of his flight.

Death

On March 16, 1957 Magsaysay left Manila for Cebu City where he spoke at three educational institutions. That same night, at about 1 a.m., he boarded the presidential plane "Mt. Pinatubo", a C-47, heading back to Manila. In the early morning hours of March 17, his plane was reported missing. It was late in the afternoon that day that newspapers reported that the airplane had crashed on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu and that 25 of the 26 passengers and crew aboard were killed. Only newspaperman Néstor Mata survived. Vice President Carlos P. García, who was on an official visit to Australia at the time, assumed the presidency to serve out the last eight months of Magsaysay's term.

An estimated 2 million people attended Magsaysay's burial on March 22, 1957.

Carlos P. García
8th President of the Philippines 4th President of the 3rd Republic
In office March 23, 1957 (elected December 30, 1957) – December 30, 1961
President	Ramon Magsaysay
Vice President	Diosdado Macapagal
Preceded by	Ramón Magsaysay
Succeeded by	Diosdado Macapagal
5th Vice President of the Philippines 3rd Vice President of the 3rd Republic
In office December 30, 1953 – March 18, 1957
Preceded by	Fernando Lopez
Born	November 4, 1896(1896-11-04) Talibon, Bohol
Died	June 14, 1971 (aged 74) Bohol, Philippines
Political party	Nacionalista Party
Spouse	Leonila Dimataga
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic
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Carlos Polístico García (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was the 8th President of the Philippines. The Vice President of President Ramon Magsaysay, he assumed the presidency upon Magsaysay's death in a plane crash in 1957. García won the presidential elections held later that year, but was defeated for re-election in 1961 by his Vice-President, Diosdado Macapagal. His administration was known for its "Filipino First" policy, which put the interests of the Filipino people above those of foreigners and of the ruling party.

Early life and career

The lone star in the Flag of Bohol represents its native son, Carlos P. García

García was born in Taclibon, Bohol to Policronio García and Ambrosia Polístico (who were both natives of Bangued, Abra). He is featured as the lone star in the Bohol provincial flag as the only Philippine President produced by the province. Another star shall be added for every Boholano who shall also become president of the Philippines.^[2]

Garcia grew up with politics, with his father serving as a municipal mayor for four terms. He acquired his primary education in his native Talibon, then took his secondary education in Cebu Provincial High School. He briefly took law courses at Silliman University in Dumaguete City. He then studied in Philippine Law School and earned his degree in 1923. He was among the top ten in the bar examination.

Rather than practice law right away, he worked as a teacher for two years at Bohol Provincial High School. He became famous for his poetry in Bohol, where he earned the nickname "Prince of Visayan Poets" and the "Bard from Bohol".

He started his political career in 1925, scoring an impressive victory running for congressman representing the third district of Bohol. He was elected for another term, but served only until 1931 when he successfully ran for governor of Bohol. He served as provincial governor for two terms. He became a member of the congress in 1946, and was elected three times to the senate for three consecutive terms from 1941 to 1953.

Garcia was the running mate of Ramon Magsaysay in the presidential election of 1953. He was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs by President Ramon Magsaysay, for four years concurrently serving as vice-president. :>

Presidency

He assumed the presidency after Ramón Magsaysay died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957, and was elected later the same year, in the Election 1957, to a full term.

During his administration, he acted on the Bohlen–Serrano Agreement which shortened the lease of the US Bases from 99 years to 25 years and made it renewable after every five years. He also exercised the Filipino First Policy, for which he was known. This policy heavily favored Filipino businessmen over foreign investors. He was also responsible for changes in retail trade which greatly affected the Chinese businessmen in the country. He also made a program focused on thriftiness.

President Garcia's tomb at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

At the end of his second term, he ran for re–election in the Election 1961 in November 1961, but was defeated by Diosdado Macapagal, who served as Vice-President under him, but belonged to the opposing Liberal Party - in the Philippines the President and the Vice-President are elected separately.

Post-presidency

After his failed re–election bid, Garcia then retired to private life, living as a private citizen in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. On June 1, 1971, García was elected delegate of the 1971 Constitutional Convention. The convention delegates elected him as the President of the Convention. However, just days after his election, on June 14, 1971, Garcia suffered a fatal heart attack. He was succeeded as president of the Convention by his former Vice-President, Diosdado Macapagal.

García is currently interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, together with his wife Leonila, who died in 1994. Only Pesident Marcos of all the presidents of the Third Republic isn't buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Diosdado Macapagal
9th President of the Philippines 5th President of the 3rd Republic
In office December 30, 1961 – December 30, 1965
Vice President	Emmanuel Pelaez
Preceded by	Carlos P. Garcia
Succeeded by	Ferdinand Marcos
6th Vice President of the Philippines 4th Vice President of the 3rd Republic
In office December 30, 1957 – December 30, 1961
Born	September 28, 1910(1910-09-28) Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines
Died	April 21, 1997 (aged 86) Makati City, Metro Manila
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	(1) Purita dela Rosa—died (2) Evangelina Macaraeg
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic
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Diosdado Pangan Macapagal (September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino statesman who served as the 9th President of the Philippines. He was elected in 1961, defeating the re-election bid of Carlos P. Garcia. He did not win in his own re-election bid in 1965, losing to Ferdinand Marcos. He was also known by his nickname "The Incorruptible".^{[citation needed]}

His daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is the current president of the Philippines.

He is also known for changing the day of Philippine Independence, which was then July 4, 1946, to June 12, 1898.

Early Life

Macapagal was born in Lubao, Pampanga, to Urbano Macapagal and Romana Pangan. He graduated valedictorian in the Lubao Elementary School, graduated with second highest rating in the Pampanga High School. His family was poor (hence his nickname "poor boy from Lubao"), but with the help of Honorio Ventura, the Secretary of Interior at that time, he studied law and graduated in the University of Santo Tomas and pursued and earned the postgraduate degree of Doctor of Civil Law and Ph.D. in Economics in the same university.

He finished his law degree in 1936 and was the bar topnotcher when he took the bar examination in the same year with a rating of 89.95%. He worked as a lawyer for an American employer in Manila, and was assigned as a legal assistant to President Manuel L. Quezon.

During the Japanese occupation of World War II, Macapagal served as support to the anti-Japanese task force and as an intelligence liaison to the US guerillas. It was during this period that his first wife, Purita Dela Rosa died. He had two children with Purita Dela Rosa, Cielo and Arturo. Cielo later on became vice-governor of Pampanga. He later married Evangelina Macaraeg, the mother of current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In 1948 he served as second secretary to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC. At the urging of then-Pampanga governor Joe Lingad^[2], Macapagal ran in the 1949 general elections for a seat in the House of Representatives, representing the 1st District of Pampanga. He won the election and was re-elected in the 1953 general elections, serving in the 2nd and 3rd Congress. While serving in Congress, Macapagal was named as a Philippine representative to the United Nations General Assembly three times.

In the 1957 general elections, he ran for Vice President of the Philippines under the Liberal Party banner as the running-mate of Jose Yulo. While Yulo was defeated by Carlos P. Garcia of the Nacionalista Party, Macapagal was elected Vice-President, defeating the Nacionalista candidate, Jose Laurel, Jr. by over 8 percentage points. Macapagal served out his 4-year term as Vice-President as the de facto leader of the opposition, and benefited from the increasing unpopularity of the Garcia administration. In the 1961 presidential election, Macapagal ran against Garcia and defeated the incumbent president by a 55% to 45% margin.

Term as President

Seeking to stimulate economic development, Macapagal took the advice of supporters and allowed the Philippine peso to float on the free currency exchange market. His reform efforts were blocked by the Nacionalistas, who dominated the House of Representatives and the Senate at that time. Nonetheless, and was able to achieve growth and prosperity for the nation.

Among the most significant achievements of Macapagal as president were the abolition of tenancy and accompanying land reform program in the Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963. He likewise changed the date of celebration of Philippine independence from July 4 to June 12, the latter date having been the day when in 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain).

Macapagal was defeated for re-election in 1965 by Senate President Ferdinand Marcos, a former Liberal Party ally who defected to the Nacionalista party to challenge the incumbent President.

Post-presidency

In 1971, Macapagal was elected president of the constitutional convention that drafted what became the 1973 constitution.

In 1979 Macapagal formed the National Union for Liberation to oppose the Marcos regime. In his retirement, Macapagal devoted much of his time to reading and writing. He authored several books, and wrote a weekly column for the Manila Bulletin newspaper.

Diosdado Macapagal died of heart failure, pneumonia and renal complications at the Makati Medical Center on April 21, 1997. He is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The President and his family. Standing at his left is his daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the current President of the Philippines.

Gravesite of President Diosdado Macapagal at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Ferdinand E. Marcos
10th President of the Philippines 6th President of the 3rd Republic 1st President of the 4th Republic
In office December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986
Prime Minister	Cesar Virata (1981-1986)
Vice President	Fernando Lopez (1965-1973) Arturo Tolentino (1986)
Preceded by	Diosdado Macapagal
Succeeded by	Corazon C. Aquino
Prime Minister of the Philippines
In office June 12, 1978 – June 30, 1981
Member of Parliament for President/Prime Minister
In office June 12, 1978 – June 30, 1981
Born	September 11, 1912(1912-09-11)[1] Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Philippines
Died	September 28, 1989 (aged 77) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Political party	Liberal Party (1946-1965) Nacionalista Party (1965-1978) Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978-1986)
Spouse	Imelda Romualdez
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic (formerly Aglipayan)
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Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralín Marcos (September 11, 1912– September 28, 1989) was President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives (1949-1959) and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959-1965). During World War II he claimed to be the leader of Ang Maharlika, a guerrilla force in northern Luzon. In 1963 he became Senate President. As Philippine president and strongman, his greatest achievement was in the fields of infrastructure development and international diplomacy. However, his administration was marred by massive authoritative government corruption, despotism, nepotism, political repression and human rights violations. He has also led a large personality cult in the Philippines during his regime, which was often compared to Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, and Kim Il-Sung. In 1983, his government was implicated in the assassination of his primary political opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr.. The assassination caused a chain of events, including a tainted presidential election that served as the catalyst for the People Power Revolution in February 1986 that led to his removal from power and eventual exile in Hawaii. It was later alleged that he and his wife Imelda Marcos had moved billions of dollars of embezzled public funds to the United States, Switzerland and other countries as well as into fictitious corporations during his 21 years in power.

Early life

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin E. Marcos was born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Named by his parents, Mariano Marcos and Josefa Edralin, after Ferdinand VII of Spain, baptized into the Philippine Independent Church, Marcos was a champion debater, boxer, swimmer and a wrestler while in the University of the Philippines.

Marcos graduated cum laude with a law degree from the U.P. College of Law in 1939 and was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu international honor society. As a young law student of the University of the Philippines, Marcos was indicted and convicted of the murder of Julio Nalundasan, the man who twice defeated his father for a National Assembly seat. While in detention, he studied for and passed the bar examination with one of the highest scores in history. He appealed his conviction and argued his case before the Supreme Court of the Philippines. There are claims that his father, who had an important voice due to his political position, coerced the Supreme Court to acquit him of the charges. On the otherhand, it was known that Jose P. Laurel was so impressed by his defense apart from the fact that Marcos was in jail while he was reviewing for the bar exam.Marcos reportedly wrote an 800-page defense while in jail.

When the Second World War broke out, Marcos was called to arms in defense of the Philippines against the Japanese. He was a combat intelligence officer of the 21st Infantry division. He fought in the three-month Battle of Bataan in 1942, and was one of the victims of the Bataan Death March, a Japanese war crime in which thousands of prisoners of war were forcibly transported after being defeated. He was released later. Though he was captured once more and incarcerated at Fort Santiago, he escaped and joined the guerrilla movements against the Japanese. He claimed to have been one of the guerrilla leaders in Luzon and that his greatest exploit was the Battle of Bessang Pass was helped between the combine Filipino and American troops, though the veracity of his claims had been widely questioned. However, genuine photos taken right after the war showed Marcos with decorations on his chest: a Distinguished Service Cross, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Subsequent claims to other awards proved to be a point of contention among historians.

Early political career

After the end of the war and the establishment of the Republic, President Manuel Roxas appointed Marcos as special technical assistant. Later, Marcos ran for Representative of the 2nd district of Ilocos Norte under the banner of the ruling Liberal Party. During the campaign he told his constituents “Elect me a Congressman now and I pledge you an Ilocano President in 20 years.” He was elected thrice as Congressman. In 1959 he was elected to the Senate with the highest number of votes. He immediately became its Minority Floor Leader. In 1963, after a tumultuous rigodon in the Senate, he was elected its President despite being in the minority party.

President Diosdado Macapagal, who had promised not to run for reelection in 1965 to support Marcos’ candidacy for the presidency, went back on this promise, causing Marcos to resign from the Liberal Party. With the support of his wife Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, he joined the Nacionalista Party and became its standard-bearer with Senator Fernando Lopez as his running mate.

Presidency

First term (1965-1969)

“

...The Filipino, it seems, has lost his soul, his dignity, and his courage. We have come upon a phase of our history when ideals are only a veneer for greed and power, (in public and private affairs) when devotion to duty and dedication to a public trust are to be weighted at all times against private advantages and personal gain, and when loyalties can be traded. ...Our government is in the iron grip of venality, its treasury is barren, its resources are wasted, its civil service is slothful and indifferent, its armed forces demoralized and its councils sterile., We are in crisis. You know that the government treasury is empty. Only by severe self-denial will there be hope for recovery within the next year.

”

To rally the people, he vowed to fulfill the nation’s “mandate for greatness:”

This nation can be great again. This I have said over and over. It is my articles of faith, and Divine Providence has willed that you and I can now translate this faith into deeds.

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Marcos revealed his plans for economic development and good government. President Marcos wanted the immediate construction of roads, bridges and public works which includes 16,000 kilometers of feeder roads, some 30,000 lineal meters of permanent bridges, a generator with an electric power capacity of one million kilowatts (1,000,000 kW), water services to eight regions and 38 localities.

He also urged the revitalization of the Judiciary, the national defense posture and the fight against smuggling, criminality, and graft and corruption in the government.

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos with Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird on September 12, 1966.

To accomplish his goals “President Marcos mobilized the manpower and resources of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for action to complement civilian agencies in such activities as infrastructure construction; economic planning and program execution; regional and industrial site planning and development; community development and others.” The President, likewise, hired technocrats and highly educated persons to form part of the Cabinet and staff. The employment of technocrats in key positions and the mobilization of the AFP for civic actions resulted in the increasing functional integration of civilian and military elites. It was during his first term that the North Diversion Road (now, North Luzon Expressway) was constructed with the help of the AFP engineering construction battalion

Vietnam War

From October, 1965, when the administration of president Marcos was founded (during the Vietnam War), over 10,450 Filipino soldiers were sent to South Vietnam under the designation of PHLCAAG or Philippines Civil Affairs Assistance Group.

Second term (1969-1972)

Official presidential portrait of Ferdinand Marcos, it was a frequent photo to see in Filipino public places around the 1970's and 1980's.

In 1969, President Marcos was reelected for an unprecedented second term because of his impressive performance or, as his critics claimed, because of massive vote-buying and electoral frauds, which remains unfounded to this day.It is generally known that Marcos had the most infrastructure and constitutional accomplishment equivalent to all former presidents of the Philippines. During his second term he developed a personality cult in the Philippines surrounding him. Mainly he required that businesses and schools all across the Philippines to have his official presidential picture (right) or their facilities would be shut down. In addition, Marcos' propaganda messages were being placed all across the Philippines, many of them were taking the place of billboard advertisements. The personality cult lasted until his deposition in 1986. However, what was not known by the public due to lack of media coverage, Marcos played a significant role in protecting the free world. He was known as the first democrat in Asia and pledge his support to protect global liberty.

The second term proved to be a daunting challenge to the President: an economic crisis brought by external and internal forces; a restive and radicalized studentry demanding reforms in the educational system; rising tide of criminality and subversion by the re-organized Communist movement; and secessionism in the South.

Economic situation - Critics claimed that overspending in the 1969 elections led to higher inflation and the devaluation of the Philippine peso but could not be verified even to this day.Media discounts the fact that Marcos had already accumulated a lot of wealth prior to his entry to politics and has invested in precious metals prior to running for office. In addition, the Philippine economy suffered from the effects of the cold war as there were increased uprising of the "leftist" movement that created widespread chaos throughout the provinces. Further, the decision of the oil-producing Arab countries to cut back oil production, in response to Western military aid to Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict, resulted in higher fuel prices worldwide. In addition, the frequent visits of natural calamities brought havoc to infrastructures and agricultural crops and livestock. The combined external and internal economic forces led to uncontrolled increase in the prices of prime commodities.

A restive studentry– The last years of the 1960s and the first two years of the 1970s witnessed the radicalization of the country's student population. Students in various colleges and universities held massive rallies and demonstrations to express their frustrations and resentments. On January 30, 1970, demonstrators numbering about 50,000 students and laborers stormed the Malacañang Palace, burning part of the Medical building and crashing through Gate 4 with a fire truck that had been forcibly commandeered by some laborers and students. The Metropolitan Command (Metrocom) of the Philippine Constabulary (PC) repulsed them, pushing them towards Mendiola Bridge, where, hours later, after an exchange of gunfire, four persons were killed and scores from both sides injured. Tear gas grenades finally dispersed the crowd. ”. The event is known today as the First Quarter Storm.

Violent students protests did not end. In October 1970, a series of violent events occurred on numerous campuses in the Greater Manila Area, cited as “an explosion of pillboxes in at least two schools.” The University of the Philippines was not spared when 18,000 students boycotted their classes to demand academic and non-academic reforms in the State University, ending in the ‘occupation’ of the office of the President of the University by student leaders. Other schools in which scenes of violent student demonstrations occurred were San Sebastian College, the University of the East, Letran College, Mapua Institute of Technology, the University of Santo Tomas, Feati University and the Philippine College of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines). Student demonstrators even succeeded in “occupying the office of the Secretary of Justice Vicente Abad Santos for at least seven hours.” The President described the brief “communization” of the University of the Philippines and the violent demonstrations of the Left-leaning students as an “act of insurrection."

The re-emergence of the Communist movement – The re-emergence of the Communist movement and the threats it poised to the Philippine Republic may be best narrated by the Supreme Court in Lansang vs. Garcia on December 11, 1970, excerpts:

In the language of the Report on Central Luzon, submitted, on September 4, 1971, by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee of Seven – copy of which Report was filed in these cases by the petitioners herein – “The years following 1963 saw the successive emergence in the country of several mass organizations, notably the Lapiang Manggagawa (now the Socialist Party of the Philippines) among the workers; the Malayang Samahan ng Magsasaka (MASAKA) among the peasantry; the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) among the youth/students; and the Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism (MAN) among the intellectuals/professionals. The PKP has exerted all-out effort to infiltrate, influence, and utilize these organizations in promoting its radical brand of nationalism. Meanwhile, the Communist leaders in the Philippines had been split into two (2) groups, one of which- composed mainly of young radicals, constituting the Maoist faction – reorganized the Communist party of the Philippines early in 1969 and established a New People’s Army. This faction adheres to the Maoist concept of the “Protracted People’s War” or “War of National Liberation.” In the year 1969, the NPA had – according to the records of the Department of National Defense – conducted raids, resorted to kidnappings and taken part in other violent incidents numbering 230, in which it inflicted 404 casualties, and in turn, suffered 243 loses.

Martial law and the New Society

Proclamation of martial law - Chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines

Ferdinard Marcos with Secretary of State George Shultz, 1982.

General Order No. 2 – The President directed the Secretary of National Defense to arrest or cause the arrest and take into his custody the individuals named in the attached list and to hold them until otherwise so ordered by the President or by his duly designated representative, as well as to arrest or cause the arrest and take into his custody and to hold them otherwise ordered released by him or by his duly authorized representative such persons who may have committed crimes described in the Order.

General Order No.3 – The President ordered that all executive departments, bureaus, offices, agencies and instrumentalities of the National Government, government owned or controlled corporations, as well all governments of all the provinces, cities, municipalities and barrios should continue to function under their present officers and employees, until otherwise ordered by the President or by his duly designated representatives. The President further ordered that the Judiciary should continue to function in accordance with its present organization and personnel, and should try to decide in accordance with existing laws all criminal and civil cases, except certain cases enumerated in the Order.

General Order No. 4 – The President ordered that a curfew be maintained and enforced throughout the Philippines from twelve o’clock midnight until four o’clock in the morning.

General Order No. 5 – All rallies, demonstrations and other forms of group actions including strikes and picketing in vital industries such as in companies engaged in manufacture or processing as well as in production or processing of essential commodities or products for exports, and in companies engaged in banking of any kind, as well as in hospitals and in schools and colleges are prohibited.

General Order No. 6 – No person shall keep, possess or carry outside of his residence any firearm unless such person is duly authorized to keep, possess or carry any such Philippines except to those who are being sent abroad in the service of the Philippines.

1976 Amendments to the Constitution

On October 16-17, 1976 majority of barangay voters (Citizen Assemblies) approved that martial law should be continued and ratified the amendments to the Constitution proposed by President Marcos.

The 1976 Amendments were: an Interim Batasang Pambansa (IBP) substituting for the Interim National Assembly, the President would also become the Prime Minister and he would continue to exercise legislative powers until martial law should have been lifted. The Sixth Amendment authorized the President to legislate:

Whenever in the judgment of the President there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the Interim Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees, orders or letters of instructions, which shall form part of the law of the land.

The Batasang Bayan

The Interim Batasang Pambansa was not immediately convened. Instead, President Marcos created the Batasang Bayan through Presidential Decree No. 995 on September 21, 1976. The Batasang Bayan is a 128-member legislature that advised the President on important legislature measures it served as the transitory legislature until convening of the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978^[18] The Batasang Bayan was one of two temporary legislative bodies before the convening of the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984.

First national election under martial law

Noise Barrage

On April 6, 1978, supporters of the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), the opposition party headed by former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. who was still in jail and twenty other candidates contesting the Region IV-A (Metro Manila) seats, came out in protest by asking bystanders and cars to make noise in support the opposition. However on April 7, 1978, the first national election under martial law held for the 165- members to the Interim Batasang Pambansa resulted in the massive victory of the administration coalition party, the “Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa” or KBL. First Lady Imelda Marcos, KBL Chairman for NCR, won the highest number of votes in Metro Manila. Only 15 opposition candidates in other parts of the country won. Among them were: Francisco Tatad (former Secretary of Public Information to Pres. Marcos), Reuben Canoy (Mindanao Alliance), Homobono Adaza (MA), and Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. None of the members of LABAN of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. were elected. The Opposition denounced the massive vote buying and cheating in that elections. The opposition Liberal Party boycotted the elections as a futile exercise. On April 21, 1978, the election of 14 sectoral representatives (agricultural, labor, and youth) was held. On June 12, 1978, the Interim Batasang Pambansa was convened with Marcos as President-Prime Minister and Querube Makalintal as Speaker.

1980 and 1981 amendments to the Constitution

The 1973 Constitution was further amended in 1980 and 1981. In the 1980 Amendment, the retirement age of the members of the Judiciary was extended to 70 years. In the 1981 Amendments, the parliamentary system was modified: executive power was restored to the President; direct election of the President was restored; an Executive Committee composed of the Prime Minister and not more than fourteen members was created to “assist the President in the exercise of his powers and functions and in the performance of his duties as he may prescribe;” and the Prime Minister was a mere head of the Cabinet. Further, the amendments instituted electoral reforms and provided that a natural born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his citizenship may be a transferee of private land for use by him as his residence.

Lifting of martial law

After putting in force amendments to the Constitution and legislations securing his sweeping powers and with the Batasan under his control, President Marcos lifted martial law on January 17, 1981. However, the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus continued in the autonomous regions of Western Mindanao and Central Mindanao. The Opposition dubbed the lifting of martial law as a mere "face lifting" as a precondition to the visit of Pope John Paul II.

1981 presidential election and the Fourth Republic

On June 16, 1981, six months after the lifting of martial law, the first presidential election in twelve years was held. As to be expected, President Marcos ran and won a massive victory over the other candidates – Alejo Santos of the Nacionalista Party (Roy Wing) and Cebu Assemblyman Bartolome Cabangbang of the Federal Party. The major opposition parties, Unido (United Democratic Opposition, a coalition of opposition parties, headed by Salvador Laurel) and Laban, boycotted the elections.

In an almost one-sided election, President Marcos won an overwhelming 88% of the votes, the highest in Philippine electoral history. The Nacionalista candidate Alejo Santos garnered only 8.6% of the votes and Cabangbang obtained less than 3%.

On June 30, 1981, President Marcos was inaugurated in grandiose ceremonies and proclaimed the “birth of a new Republic.”, and said that he would love to be "Eternal President" of the Philippines. The new Republic lasted only for less than five years. Economic and political crises led to its demise.

The Aquino assassination

After seven years of detention, President Marcos allowed his arch-critic, former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., to leave the country. Three years later, following exile in the United States, Aquino decided to return. The First Lady tried to dissuade him but in vain. On August 21, 1983, Aquino flew back to the Philippines. He was shot dead on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport while in the custody of the Aviation Security Command (AVSECOM).

About two million people attended the funeral of the late senator from Sto. Domingo Church to Manila Memorial Park.

Meanwhile, President Marcos immediately created a fact-finding commission, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Enrique Fernando, to investigate the Aquino assassination. However, the commission lasted only in two sittings due to intense public criticism. President Marcos issued on October 14, 1983, Presidential Decree No. 1886 creating an independent board of inquiry. The board was composed of former Court of Appeals Justice Ma. Corazon J. Agrava as chairman, Amando Dizon, Luciano Salazar, Dante Santos and Ernesto Herrera.

The Agrava Fact-Finding Board convened on November 3, 1983. But, before it could start its work President Marcos charged the communists for the killing of Senator Aquino: “The decision to eliminate the former Senator, Marcos claimed, was made by none other than the general-secretary of the Philippine Communist Party, Rodolfo Salas. He was referring to his earlier claim that Aquino had befriended and subsequently betrayed his communist comrades. “ The Agrava Board conducted public hearings, and invited several persons who might shed light on the crimes, including AFP Chief of Staff Fabian Ver and First Lady Imelda R. Marcos.

After a year of thorough investigation – with 20,000 pages of testimony given by 193 witnesses, the Agrava Board submitted two reports to President Marcos – the Majority and Minority Reports. The Minority Report, submitted by Chairman Agrava alone, was submitted on October 23, 1984. It confirmed that the Aquino assassination was a military conspiracy but it cleared Gen. Ver. Many believed that President Marcos intimidated and pressured the members of the Board to persuade them not to indict Ver, Marcos’ first cousin and most trusted general. Excluding Chairman Agrava, the majority of the board submitted a separate report – the Majority Report – indicting several members of the Armed Forces including AFP Chief-of-Staff Gen. Fabian Ver, Gen. Luther Custodio and Gen. Prospero Olivas, head of AVSECOM.

Later, the 25 military personnel, including several generals and colonels, and one civilian were charged for the murder of Senator Aquino. President Marcos relieved Ver as AFP Chief and appointed his second-cousin, Gen. Fidel V. Ramos as acting AFP Chief. After a brief trial, the Sandiganbayan acquitted all the accused on December 2, 1985. Immediately after the decision, Marcos re-instated Ver. The Sandiganbayan ruling and the reinstatement of Ver were denounced by several sectors as a “mockery” of justice.

The failed impeachment attempt

On August 13, 1985, fifty-six Assemblymen signed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Marcos for graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, gross violation of his oath of office and other high crimes.

They cited the San Jose Mercury News exposé of the Marcoses’ multi-million dollar investment and property holdings in the United States. The properties allegedly amassed by the First Family were the Crown Building, Lindenmere Estate, and a number of residential apartments (in New Jersey and New York), a shopping center in New York, mansions (in London, Rome and Honolulu), the Helen Knudsen Estate in Hawaii and three condominiums in San Francisco, California.

The Assemblymen also included in the complaint the misuse and misapplication of funds “for the construction of the Film Center, where X-rated and pornographic films are exhibited, contrary to public morals and Filipino customs and traditions.”

The following day, the Committee on Justice, Human Rights and Good Government dismissed the impeachment complain for being insufficient in form and substance:

The resolution is no more than a hodge-podge of unsupported conclusions, distortion of law, exacerbated by ultra partisan considerations. It does not allege ultimate facts constituting an impeachable offense under the Constitution. In sum, the Committee finds that the complaint is not sufficient in form and substance to warrant its further consideration. It is not sufficient in form because the verification made by the affiants that the allegations in the resolution “are true and correct of our own knowledge” is transparently false. It taxes the ken of men to believe that the affiants individually could swear to the truth of allegations, relative to the transactions that allegedly transpired in foreign countries given the barrier of geography and the restrictions of their laws. More important, the resolution cannot be sufficient in substance because its careful assay shows that it is a mere charade of conclusions.

Cabinet and judicial appointments 1965-73

The Cabinet appointments of President Marcos can be divided into three periods: his first two constitutional terms (1965-1973), the New Society appointments from 1973-1978, and the change from departments to ministries from 1978 to the end of his government.

Office	Name	Term
President	Ferdinand Marcos	1965–1973
Vice-President	Emmanuel Pelaez	1965–1972
Secretary of Foreign Affairs	Carlos P. Romulo
Secretary of Finance	Eduardo Romualdez
Secretary of Justice	Juan Ponce Enrile
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources	Fernando Lopez
Secretary of Public Works and Communications	Manuel Syquio	(acting)
Secretary of Education	Onofre Corpuz
Secretary of Labor	Blas Ople
Secretary of National Defense	Ernesto Mata
Secretary of Health	Amadeo Cruz
Secretary of Commerce and Industry	Leonides Virata
Executive Secretary	Rafael M. Salas
Secretary of General Services	Salih Ututalum
Secretary of Social Welfare	Gregorio Feliciano
Administrator of the Office of Economic Coordination	Constancio Castañeda
Press Secretary	Francisco Tatad
Chairman of the National Economic Council	Marcelo Balatbat
Commissioner of the Budget	Ernesto Mata
Commissioner on National Integration	Mama Sinsuat
President, Presidential Arm on Community Development	Ernesto Maceda
Governor, Land Authority	Conrado Estrella
Presidential Anti-Crime Coordinator	Alejo Santos
Director-General, Presidential Economic Staff	Placido Mapa, Jr.
Chairman, Board of Investments	Cesar Virata
Presidential Assistant on National Minorities	Manuel Elizalde, Jr.
Commissioner of Civil Service	Abelardo Subido

Marcos had a vision of a Bagong Lipunan (New Society)—similar to Indonesian president Suharto's "New Order administration". He used the martial law years to implement this vision.

According to Marcos' book, "Notes on the New Society", it was a movement urging the poor and the privileged to work as one for the common goals of society, and to achieve the liberation of the Filipino people through self-realization. Marcos confiscated businesses owned by the oligarchy. More often than not, they were taken over by Marcos' family members and close personal friends, who used them as fronts to launder proceeds from institutionalized graft and corruption in the different national governmental agencies. In the end, some of Marcos' cronies used them as 'cash cows'. "Crony capitalism" was the term used to describe this phenomenon. This phenomenon was intended to have genuinely nationalistic motives by redistributing monopolies that were traditionally owned by Chinese and Mestizo oligarchs to Filipino businessmen. In practice, it led to graft and corruption via bribery, racketeering, and embezzlement. By waging an ideological war against the oligarchy, Marcos gained the support of the masses. Marcos also silenced the free press, making the state press the only legal one. He also seized privately owned lands and distributed them to farmers. By doing this, Marcos abolished the old oligarchy, only to create a new one in its place. Marcos, now free from day-to-day governance (which was left mostly to Enrile), also used his power to settle old scores against old rivals, such as the Lopezes, who were always opposed to the Marcos administration. Leading oppositionists such as Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr., Jose Diokno, Jovito Salonga and many others were imprisoned for months or years. This practice considerably alienated the support of the old social and economic elite and the media who criticized the Marcos administration endlessly.

The declaration of martial law was initially very well received, given the social turmoil the Philippines was experiencing. The rest of the world was surprised at how the Filipinos accepted his self-imposed dictatorship. Soon after Marcos declared martial law, one American high-ranking official described the Philippines as a country composed "of 40 million cowards and one son of a bitch", otherwise, he reasoned they should have risen against the destroyer of their freedom. Crime rates plunged dramatically after dusk curfews were implemented. The country would enjoy economic prosperity throughout the 1970s in the midst of growing dissent to his strong-willed rule towards the end of martial law. Political opponents were given the opportunity or forced to go into exile. As a result, thousands migrated to other countries, like the U.S. and Canada. Public dissent on the streets was not tolerated and leaders of such protests were promptly arrested, detained, tortured, or never heard from again. Communist leaders, as well as sympathizers, were forced to flee from the cities to the countrysides, where they multiplied. Lim Seng, a feared drug lord, was arrested and executed in Luneta in 1972. As martial law dragged on for the next nine years, human rights violations went unchecked, and graft and corruption by the military and the administration became widespread, as made manifest by the Rolex 12.

Over the years, Marcos' hand was strengthened by the support of the armed forces, whose size he tripled, to 230,000 troops, after declaring martial law in 1972. The forces included some first-rate units as well as thousands of unruly and ill-equipped personnel of the civilian home defense forces and other paramilitary organizations.

Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Chief of Staff of the Philippine Constabulary Fidel Ramos, and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Fabian Ver, were the chief administrators of martial law from 1972 to 1981, and the three remained President Marcos' closest advisers until he was ousted in 1986. Enrile and Ramos would later abandon Marcos' 'sinking ship' and seek protection behind the 1986 People Power Revolution. The Catholic hierarchy and Manila's middle class were crucial to the success of the massive crusade.

Economy

Economic performance during the Marcos's era was strong at times, but when looked at over his whole regime, it was not characterized by strong economic growth. Penn World Tables report real growth in GDP per capita averaged 3.5% from 1951 to 1965, while under the Marcos regime (1966 to 1986), annual average growth was only 1.4%. To help finance a number of economic development projects, such as infrastructure, the Marcos government engaged in borrowing money. Foreign capital was invited to invest in certain industrial projects. They were offered incentives including tax exemption privileges and the privilege of bringing out their profits in foreign currencies. One of the most important economic programs in the 1980s was the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (Movement for Livelihood and Progress). This program was started in September 1981. Its aim was to promote the economic development of the barangays by encouraging its residents to engage in their own livelihood projects. The government's efforts resulted in the increase of the nation's economic growth rate to an average of six percent to seven percent from 1970 to 1980. The rate was only less than 5% in the previous decade. The Gross National Product rose from P55 billion ($7.7 billion) in 1972 to P193 billion ($27 billion) in 1980. Tourism rose, contributing to the economy's growth. Most of these "tourists" were Filipino balikbayans (returnees) who came under the Ministry of Tourism's Balikbayan Program, launched in 1973.

Economic growth was largely financed, however, by U.S. economic aid and several loans made by the Marcos government. The country's foreign debts were less than US$1billion when Marcos assumed the presidency in 1965, and more than US$28billion when he left office in 1986. A sizable amount of these moneys went to Marcos family and friends in the form of behest loans. These loans were assumed by the government and still being serviced by taxpayers. Today, more than half of the country's revenues are outlayed for the payments on the interests of loans alone.

Another major source of economic growth was the remittances of overseas Filipino workers. Thousands of Filipino workers, unable to find jobs locally, sought and found employment in the Middle East, Singapore and Hong Kong. These overseas Filipino workers not only helped ease the country's unemployment problem but also earned much-needed foreign exchange for the Philippines.

The Philippine economy suffered a great decline after the Aquino assassination in August 1983. The wave of anti-Marcos demonstrations in the country that followed scared off tourists. The political troubles also hindered the entry of foreign investments, and foreign banks stopped granting loans to the Philippine government.

In an attempt to launch a national economic recovery program, Marcos negotiated with foreign creditors including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for a restructuring of the country's foreign debts – to give the Philippines more time to pay the loans. Marcos ordered a cut in government expenditures and used a portion of the savings to finance the Sariling Sikap (Self-Reliance), a livelihood program he established in 1984.

However, the economy experienced negative economic growth beginning in 1984 and continued to decline despite the government's recovery efforts. The recovery program's failure was caused by civil unrest, rampant graft and corruption within the government and by Marcos' lack of credibility. Marcos himself diverted large sums of government money to his party's campaign funds. The unemployment rate ballooned from 6.30% in 1972 to 12.55% in 1985.

Downfall

Corazon Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos in the February 1986 cover of Time Magazine

The Philippine Daily Inquirer's headline, February 26, 1986

During these years, his regime was marred by rampant corruption and political mismanagement by his relatives and cronies, which culminated with the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. Critics considered Marcos the quintessential kleptocrat, having looted billions of dollars from the Filipino treasury. And the large personality cult in the Philippines surrounding Marcos has led to the difficulty. Billboard advertisements were being replaced with his propaganda messages, and his official presidential picture was everywhere in stores, churches, schools, and restaurants. The media was basically biased towards him, and often criticizing Marcos was a misdemeanor.

The Philippine government today is still paying interest on more than US$28 billion in public debts incurred during his administration. It was reported that when Marcos fled, U.S. Customs agents discovered 24 suitcases of gold bricks and diamond jewelry hidden in diaper bags; in addition, certificates for gold bullion valued in the billions of dollars are allegedly among the personal properties he, his family, his cronies and business partners had surreptitiously taken with them when the Reagan administration provided them safe passage to Hawaii.

During his third term, Marcos's health deteriorated rapidly due to kidney ailments, often described as lupus erythematosus. He was absent for weeks at a time for treatment, with no one to assume command. Marcos's regime was sensitive to publicity of his condition; a palace physician who alleged that during one of these periods Marcos had undergone a kidney transplant was shortly found murdered. Many people questioned whether he still had capacity to govern, due to his grave illness and the ballooning political unrest.

With Marcos ailing, his equally powerful wife, Imelda, emerged as the government's main public figure. Marcos dismissed speculations of his ailing health—he used to be an avid golfer and fitness buff who liked showing off his physique. In light of these growing problems, the assassination of Aquino in 1983 would later prove to be the catalyst that led to his overthrow. Many Filipinos came to believe that Marcos, a shrewd political tactician, had no hand in the murder of Aquino but that he was involved in cover-up measures. However, the opposition blamed Marcos directly for the assassination while others blamed the military and his wife, Imelda. The 1985 acquittals of Ver as well as other high-ranking military officers for the crime were widely seen as a miscarriage of justice.

By 1984, his close personal ally, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, started distancing himself from the Marcos regime that he and previous American presidents had strongly supported even after Marcos declared martial law. The United States, which had provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, was crucial in buttressing Marcos' rule over the years. During the Carter administration the relation with the U.S. soured somewhat when President Jimmy Carter targeted the Philippines in his human rights campaign. In 1981 Vice President George Bush seemed to signal a different approach when in his visit to Manila he told Marcos, "We love your adherence to democratic principles and to democratic processes."

In the face of escalating public discontent and under pressure from foreign allies, Marcos called a snap presidential election for 1986, with more than a year left in his term. He selected Arturo Tolentino as his running mate. The opposition united behind Aquino's widow, Corazon and her running mate, Salvador Laurel.

The final tally of the National Movement for Free Elections, an accredited poll watcher, showed Aquino winning by almost 800,000 votes. However, the government tally showed Marcos winning by almost 1.6 million votes. This appearance of blatant fraud by Marcos led the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and the United States Senate to condemn the elections. Both Marcos and Aquino traded accusations of vote-rigging. Popular sentiment in Metro Manila sided with Aquino, leading to a massive, multisectoral congregation of protesters, and the gradual defection of the military to Aquino led by Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Acting Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos. It must be noted that prior to his defection, Enrile's arrest warrant, having been charged for graft and corruption, was about to be served. The "People Power movement" drove Marcos into exile.and installed Corazon Aquino as the new president. At the height of the revolution, Enrile revealed that his ambush was faked in order for Marcos to have a pretext for imposing martial law. However, Marcos maintained that he was the duly-elected and proclaimed President of the Philippines for a fourth term. Marcos' wife was found to have over 2500 pairs of shoes in her closet.

The Marcos family and their associates went into exile in Hawaii, USA and were later indicted for embezzlement in the United States. Marcos died in Honolulu on September 28, 1989 of kidney, heart and lung ailments. He was interred in a private mausoleum at Byodo-In Temple on the island of Oahu, visited daily by the Marcos family, political allies and friends. The late strongman's remains are currently interred inside a refrigerated crypt in Ilocos Norte, where his son, Ferdinand, Jr., and eldest daughter, Imee, have since become the local governor and representative, respectively. A Mount Rushmore-esque bust of Ferdinand Marcos, commissioned by Tourism Minister Jose Aspiras, was earlier carved into a hillside in Benguet. It was subsequently destroyed by suspects that include left-wing activists, members of a local tribe who have been displaced by its construction, and looters hunting for the Marcos legendary hidden treasure. Imelda Marcos was acquitted of embezzlement by a U.S. court in 1990, but is still facing a few hundred additional graft charges in Philippine courts in 2006. Grandnephew Mark Wayne Penaflorida is a lead health care reformer in the state of California.

In 1995 some 10,000 Filipinos won a U.S. class-action lawsuit filed against the Marcos estate. The charges were filed by victims or their surviving relatives for torture, execution and disappearances.

On June 12, 2008, the US Supreme Court (in a 7-2 ruling penned by Justice Anthony Kennedy in “Republic of the Philippines v. Mariano Pimentel”) held that: “The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is reversed, and the case is remanded with instructions to order the District Court to dismiss the inter¬pleader action.” The Court dismissed the interpleader lawsuit filed by 9,500 Filipino human rights victims (1972-1986) to recover $ 35 million, part of a $ 2 billion judgment in U.S. courts against the Marcos estate, because the Philippines is an indispensable party, protected by sovereign immunity. It claimed ownership of the funds transferred by Marcos in 1972 to Arelma S.A., which invested the money with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., in New York.

Human rights groups place the number of victims of extrajudicial killings under martial law at 1500 and Karapatan (a local human rights group's) records show 759 involuntarily disappeared (their bodies never found). While military historian Alfred McCoy in his book "Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy" and in his speech "Dark Legacy" cite 3,257 extrajudicial killings, 35,000 torture victims, and 70,000 incarcerated during the Marcos years. The newspaper "Bulatlat"(lit. to open carelessly) place the number of victims of arbitrary arrest and detention at 120,000.

Legacy

Prior to Marcos, Philippine presidents had followed the path of "traditional politics" by using their position to help along friends and allies before stepping down for the next "player." Marcos essentially destroyed this setup through military rule, which allowed him to rewrite the rules of the game so they favored the Marcoses and their allies.

His practice of using the politics of patronage in his desire to be the "lolo" or godfather of not just the people, but the judiciary, legislature and administrative branches of the government ensured his downfall, no matter how Marcos justified it according to his own philosophy of the "politics of achievement". This practice entailed bribery, racketeering, and embezzlement to gain the support of the aforementioned sectors. The 14 years of his dictatorship, according to critics, have warped the legislative, judiciary and the military.

Another allegation was that his family and cronies looted so much wealth from the country that to this day investigators have difficulty determining precisely how many billions of dollars have been salted away. The Swiss government has also returned US$684 million in allegedly ill-gotten Marcos wealth.

According to staunch Marcos critic Jovito Salonga, author of the book "Presidential Plunder: the Quest for the Marcos Ill-Gotten Wealth," monopolies in several vital industries have been created and placed under the control of Marcos cronies, such as coconut (under Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile), tobacco (under Lucio Tan), banana (under Antonio Floirendo), manufacturing (under Herminio Disini and Ricardo Silverio), and sugar (under Roberto Benedicto). The Marcos and Romualdez families became owners, directly or indirectly, of the nation's largest corporations, such as the Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT), the Philippine Airlines (PAL), Meralco (a national electric company), Fortune Tobacco, the San Miguel Corporation (Asia's largest beer and bottling company), numerous newspapers, radio and TV broadcasting companies (such as ABS-CBN, several banks, real estate properties in New York, California and Hawaii. It was no exaggeration when Imelda Marcos declared in an interview, that her family "own practically everything in the Philippines." The Aquino government also accused them of skimming off foreign aid and international assistance. This is a clear example of the aforementioned "crony capitalism" that Marcos introduced during the New Society.

His supporters claim Marcos was a good president gone bad and that he was a man of rare gifts — a brilliant lawyer, a shrewd politician and keen legal analyst with a ruthless streak and a flair for leadership. Having been in power for more than 20 years, Marcos also had the very rare opportunity to lead the Philippines toward prosperity, with massive infrastructure he put in place as well as an economy on the rise.

However, he put these talents to work by building a regime that he apparently intended to perpetuate as a dynasty. A former aide of Marcos said that "Nobody will ever know what a remarkable president he could have made. That's the saddest part". Among the many documents he left behind in the Palace, after he fled in 1986, was one appointing his wife as his successor.

Opponents state that the evidence suggests that he used the communist threat as a pretext for seizing power. However, the communist insurgency was at its peak during the late 1960s to early 1970s when it was found out that the People's Republic of China was shipping arms to support the communist cause in the Philippines after the interception of a vessel containing loads of firearms. After he was overthrown, former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile stated that certain incidents had been contrived to justify the imposition of martial law, such as Enrile's ambush.

The martial law dictatorship may have helped boost the communist insurgency's strength and numbers, but not to the point that could have led to the overthrow of the elected government. Marcos' regime was crucial in the United States' fight against communism and its influences, with Marcos himself being a staunch anti-communist. Marcos however had an ironically mild streak to his "strongman" image, and as much as possible avoided bloodshed and confrontation.

His most ardent supporters claim Marcos was serious about martial law and had genuine concern for reforming the society as evidenced by his actions during the period, up until his cronies, whom he entirely trusted, had firmly entrenched themselves in the government. By then, they say he was too ill and too dependent on them to do something about it. The same has been said about his relationship with his wife Imelda, who became the government's main public figure in light of his illness, by then wielding perhaps more power than Marcos himself.

It is important to note that many laws written by Marcos are still in force and in effect. Out of thousands of proclamations, decrees and executive orders, only a few were repealed, revoked, modified or amended.^[41] Few credit Marcos for promoting Filipino culture and nationalism. His 21 years in power with the help of U.S. massive economic aid and foreign loans enabled Marcos to build more schools, hospitals and infrastructure than any of his predecessors combined.^[42] Due to his iron rule, he was able to impose order and reduce crime by strict implementation of the law. The relative economic success that the Philippines enjoyed during the initial part of his presidency is hard to dispel. Many of Marcos' accomplishments were overlooked after the so-called "People Power Revolution", but the Marcos era definitely had accomplishments in its own right.

A journalist said that "The Marcoses were the best of us, and they were the worst of us. That's why we say we hate them so much."

Writer Manuel L. Quezon III states that "In the end, as Marcos’ health and grip on power weakened, he came to validate what is said to be the fundamental weakness of all strong man regimes: as the saying goes, nothing grows under the shade of a great tree. Marcos could not — would not — provide for a successor; and it was on the fundamental question of what should come after Marcos that his regime began to crumble, and fell... that he himself, with his virtues (and he had many: love of country, love of learning, discipline, loyalty) and his defects (confusing form with substance, ignoring how the means power is acquired is as important as how you use it, tolerance of his supporters’ mistakes, and his using armed force to compensate for some political weaknesses) are as much about our society’s strengths and weaknesses, as they were about his own. "

According to Transparency International, Marcos is the second most corrupt head of government ever, after Suharto. Even so, according to a recent survey, some Filipinos prefer Marcos' rule due to the shape of the country in administrations succeeding his. Many admire his autocratic, strong-arm rule, saying that his style of leadership is sorely missed and needed in the post-EDSA Philippines where too much democracy has ruined the body politic, with fractious standoffs in Congress, endless so-called "People Power" demonstrations, deadlocks in the Senate and movie actors as well as traditional politicians being elected into public office, as well as uneducated masses being easily manipulated to vote for famous individuals or corrupt patronage candidates. The large personality cult surrounding him following his downfall has subsided since, but yet there is now an opposite sentiment in the Philippines in which many Filipinos are now reluctant to even praise politicians no matter how well they do. A few are nostalgic for the Marcos era, where the government was well-organized and laws were strictly followed by civilians, leading to a relatively disciplined populace.

On the other hand, many despise his regime, his silencing the free press, his curtailing of civil liberties such as the right to peaceably assemble, his dictatorial control, the imprisonment, torture, murder and disappearance of thousands of his oppositionists, and his supposed shameless plunder of the nation's treasury. It is quite evident that the People Power Revolution left the Philippine society polarized. Nostalgia remains high in parts of the populace for the Marcos era due to the downward spiral the Philippines fell into after his departure. It can be said that his public image has been significantly rehabilitated after worsening political and economic problems that have hounded his successors. The irony is that these economic troubles are largely due to the country's massive debts incurred during his administration. The Marcos Era's legacy, polarizing as it is, remains deeply embedded in the Philippines today.

Writings

• Today's Revolution: Democracy (2034)
• Marcos' Notes for the Cancun Summit, 1981 (5089)
• Progress and Martial Law (1981)
• The New Philippine Republic: A Third World Approach to Democracy (1523)
• An Ideology for Filipinos (100 b.c.)
• Toward a New Partnership: The Filipino Ideology (7389)

Corazon C. Aquino
11th President of the Philippines 2nd President of the 4th Republic 1st President of the 5th Republic
In office February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992
Prime Minister	Salvador H. Laurel[1]
Vice President	Salvador H. Laurel
Preceded by	Ferdinand E. Marcos
Succeeded by	Fidel V. Ramos
Born	January 25, 1933 (1933-01-25) (age 76) Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines
Political party	United Nationalists Democratic Organizations (UNIDO)/Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN)/Liberal
Spouse	Benigno Aquino, Jr.†
Occupation	Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

María Corazón Cojuangco-Aquino (born María Corazón Sumulong Cojuangco on January 25, 1933), widely known as Cory Aquino, was the 11th President of the Philippines, serving from 1986 to 1992. She was the first female President of the Philippines and was Asia's first female President. She is a world-renowned advocate of democracy, peace, women's empowerment, and religious piety.

A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino is the widow of Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos. After her husband was assassinated upon his return from exile in the United States on August 21, 1983, Aquino, who had no prior political experience, became a focal point and unifying force of the opposition against Marcos. She was drafted to run against Marcos in the 1986 snap presidential elections. After Marcos was proclaimed the winner despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Aquino was installed as President by the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution.

Early life and education

Corazon Cojuangco was born in Tarlac, a member of one of the richest Chinese-mestizo families in the Philippines. She was born to Jose Cojuangco of Tarlac province and Demetria Sumulong of Antipolo, Rizal. Her ancestry was one-eighth Tagalog in maternal side, one-eighth Kapampangan and one-fourth Spanish in her paternal side, and half-Chinese in both maternal and paternal sides.

She is the fourth among six (6) siblings: Pedro, Josephine Reyes, Teresita Lopa, Jose Jr., and Maria Paz Teopaco. She was sent to St. Scholastica's College Manila and finished grade school as class valedictorian in 1943. In 1946, she studied high school for one year in Assumption Convent Manila. Later she was sent overseas to study in Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia (where Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco once studied), the Notre Dame Convent School in New York, and the College of Mount Saint Vincent, also in New York. Cory worked as a volunteer in the 1948 United States presidential campaign of Republican Thomas Dewey against President Harry Truman. She studied liberal arts and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts degree major in French Language and minor in Mathematics. She intended to become a math teacher and language interpreter.

Married life

Aquino returned to the Philippines to study law at the Far Eastern University, owned by the family of the late Nicanor Reyes, Sr., who had been the father-in-law of her older sister Josephine. She gave up her law studies when in 1954, she married Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., the son of a former Speaker of the National Assembly. They had five children together: a son, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, who was elected to the Philippine Senate in 2007, and four daughters, Maria Elena A. Cruz, Aurora Corazon A. Abellada, Victoria Eliza A. Dee, and actress-television host Kristina Bernadette A. Yap. Aquino had initial difficulty adjusting to provincial life when she and her husband moved to Concepcion, Tarlac in 1955, after her husband had been elected the town's mayor at the age of 22. The American-educated Aquino found herself bored in Concepcion, welcoming opportunities when she and her husband would have dinner inside the American military facility at nearby Clark Field.

A member of the Liberal Party, Aquino's husband rose to be governor of Tarlac, and was elected to the Philippine Senate in 1967. During her husband's political career, Aquino remained a housewife who helped raise the children and played hostess to her spouse's political allies who would frequent their Quezon City home. She would decline to join her husband on stage during campaign rallies, preferring instead to stand at the back of the audience in order to listen to him. Nonetheless, she was consulted upon on political matters by her husband, who valued her judgments enormously.

Benigno Aquino soon emerged as a leading critic of the government of President Ferdinand Marcos of the Nacionalista Party, and there was wide speculation that he would run in the 1973 presidential elections, Marcos then being term limited. However, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and later abolished the 1935 Constitution, allowing him to remain in office. Aquino's husband was among those arrested at the onset of martial law, later being sentenced to death. During his incarceration, Aquino drew strength from prayer, attending daily mass and saying three rosaries a day. As a measure of sacrifice, she enjoined her children from attending parties, and herself stopped from going to the beauty salon or buying new clothes, until a priest advised her and her children to instead live as normal lives as possible.

In 1978, despite her initial opposition, Aquino's imprisoned husband decided to run the 1978 Batasang Pambansa elections. Aquino campaigned in behalf of her imprisoned husband and for the first time in her life, delivered a political speech, though she willingly relinquished having to speak in public when it emerged that her six-year old daughter Kris was more than willing to speak on stage.

In 1980, upon the intervention of United States President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed Senator Aquino and his family leave for exile in the United States. The family settled in Boston, and Aquino would later call the next three years as the happiest days of her married life. He returned without his family to the Philippines on August 21, 1983, only to be assassinated at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport, which was later renamed in his honor. Aquino returned to the Philippines a few days later and led her husband's funeral rites, where more than two million people were estimated to have participated, the biggest ever in Philippine history.

1986 Presidential campaign

Aquino participated in many of the mass actions that were staged in the two years following the assassination of her husband. On the last week of November 1985, Marcos unexpectedly announced a snap presidential election to be held in February 1986. Initially, Senator Salvador Laurel of Batangas, the son of a former president, was seen as the favorite presidential candidate of the opposition, under the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations. However, business tycoon Don Joaquin "Chino" Roces was not convinced that Laurel could defeat Marcos in the polls. Roces initiated the Cory Aquino for President Movement to gather one million signatures in one week for Cory to run as president.

Aquino was reluctant at first to run for presidency, despite pleas that she was the one candidate who could unite the opposition against Marcos. She eventually was convinced following a ten-hour meditation session at a Catholic convent. Laurel did not immediately accede to calls for him to give way to Aquino, and offered her the vice-presidential slot under his UNIDO party. Aquino instead offered to give up her affiliation with her husband's political party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), which had just merged with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, and run under the UNIDO banner with Laurel sliding down to the vice-presidential slot. Laurel gave way to Aquino to run as President and ran as her running-mate under UNIDO as the main political umbrella of the opposition.

In the succeeding political campaign, Marcos charged that Aquino was being supported by communists and agreed to share power with them, to which she responded that she would not appoint one to her cabinet. Marcos also accused Aquino of playing "political football" with the United States with respect to the continued United States military presence in the Philippines at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base. Marcos also derided Aquino as "just a woman" whose place was in the bedroom.

The elections held on February 7, 1986 were marred by the intimidation and mass disenfranchisement of voters. Election day itself and the days immediately after were marred by violence, including the murder of one of Aquino's top allies, Antique governor Evelio Javier. While the official tally of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) consistently showed Marcos in the lead, the unofficial tally of the National Movement for Free Elections indicated that Aquino was leading. Despite the job walkout of 30 COMELEC computer technicians alleging election-rigging in favor of Marcos, the Batasang Pambansa, controlled by Marcos allies, ratified the official count and proclaimed Marcos the winner on February 15, 1986. The country's Catholic bishops and the United States Senate condemned the election, and Aquino called for a general strike and a boycott of business enterprises controlled by Marcos allies. She also rejected a power-sharing agreement proposed by the American diplomat Philip Habib, who had been sent as an emissary by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to help defuse the tension.

Installation as President

On 22 February 1986, the People Power Revolution was triggered after two key Marcos allies, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice-Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos called on Marcos to resign and holed up in two military camps in Quezon City. Aquino, who was in Cebu City when the revolt broke out, returned to Manila and insisted on joining the swelling crowd that had gathered outside the camps as a human barricade to protect the defectors. On the morning of 25 February 1986, at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Aquino took the presidential oath of office administered by Supreme Court Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Marcos himself was sworn into office at Malacañang Palace on that same day, but fled into exile later that night.

Presidency

President Aquino was named by Time Magazine as the 1986 Woman of the Year.

The relatively peaceful manner by which Aquino assumed the presidency through the EDSA Revolution won her widespread international acclaim as an icon of democracy. She was selected as Time Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986. She was also nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize but lost to Elie Wiesel also in 1986. In September 1986, Aquino delivered a speech before a joint session of the United States Congress which was interrupted by applause several times, and which then U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill hailed as "the finest speech I've ever heard in my 34 years in Congress."

The six-year administration of President Aquino saw the enactment of a new Philippine Constitution and several significant legal reforms, including a new agrarian reform law. While her allies maintained a majority in both houses of Congress, she faced considerable opposition from communist insurgency and right-wing soldiers who instituted several coup attempts against her government. Her government also dealt with several major natural disasters that struck the Philippines, as well as a severe power crisis that hampered the Philippine economy. It was also during her administration that the presence of United States military bases in the Philippines came to an end.

Constitutional and law reform

One month after assuming the presidency, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3, which proclaimed her government as a revolutionary government. She suspended the 1973 Constitution installed during martial law, and promulgated a provisional “Freedom Constitution” pending the enactment of a new Constitution. She likewise closed the Batasang Pambansa and reorganized the membership of the Supreme Court. In May 1986, the reorganized Supreme Court declared the Aquino government as “not merely a de facto government but in fact and law a de jure government”, whose legitimacy had been affirmed by the community of nations.

Aquino appointed 48 members of a Constitutional Commission tasked with drafting a new Constitution. The commission, which was chaired by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma completed its final draft in October 1986 The 1987 Constitution was approved in a national plebiscite in February 1987. Both the “Freedom Constitution” and the 1987 Constitution authorized President Aquino to exercise legislative power until such time a new Congress was organized. She continued to exercise such powers until the new Congress organized under the 1987 Constitution convened in July 1987. Within that period, Aquino promulgated two legal codes that set forth significant legal reforms -- the Family Code of 1987, which reformed the civil law on family relations, and the Administrative Code of 1987, which reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government.

In 1991, Aquino signed into law the Local Government Code, which further devolved national government powers to local government units. The new Code enhanced the power of local government units to enact local taxation measures, and assured them of a share of the national internal revenue.

Agrarian reform

On 22 July 1987, Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229, which outlined the President’s land reform program, and expanded land reform to sugar lands. Her agrarian reform policy was enacted into law by the 8th Congress of the Philippines, which in 1988 passed Republic Act No. 6657, also known as “The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law”. The law authorized the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the government just compensation and allowed to retain not more than five hectares of land. Corporate landowners were also allowed under the law to “voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries”, in lieu of turning over their land to the government for redistribution. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in 1989, characterizing the agrarian reform policy as “a revolutionary kind of expropriation.”

Controversies eventually centered on the landholdings of Aquino, who inherited from her parents the 6,453 hectare large Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac which was owned through the Tarlac Development Company. Opting for the stock distribution option under the agrarian reform law, Tarlac Development Company established Hacienda Luisita, Incorporated (HLI) in order to effect the distribution of stocks to the farmer-tenants of the hacienda. Ownership of the agricultural portions of the hacienda were transferred to the new corporation, which in turn distributed its shares of stocks to the farmers. The arrangement withstood until 2006, when the Department of Agrarian Reform revoked the stock distribution scheme implemented in Hacienda Luisita, and ordered instead the redistribution of a large portion of the property to the tenant-farmers. The Department had stepped into the controversy when in 2004, violence erupted over the retrenchment of workers in the Hacienda, eventually leaving seven people dead.

Military insurrections

President Aquino greets officials as she walks across the flight line to the passenger terminal at Andrews Air Force Base.

Main articles: 1986-1987 Philippine coup attempts and 1989 Philippine coup attempt

From 1986 to 1989, Aquino was confronted with a series of attempts at military interventions by some members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, aimed at the overthrow of the Aquino government. Most of these attempts were instigated by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), a group of middle-ranking officers closely linked with Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile. Soldiers loyal to former President Marcos were likewise involved in some of these attempts. The first five of the attempts were either crushed before they were put in operation, or repelled with minimal or no violence. The sixth attempt, staged on August 28, 1987, left 53 people dead and over 200 wounded, including Aquino's son, Noynoy. The seventh and final attempt, which occurred throughout the first week of January, 1989, ended with 99 dead (including 50 civilians) and 570 wounded.

The coup attempts would collectively impair the Aquino government, even though it survived, as it indicated political instability, an unruly military, and diminished the confidence of foreign investors in the Philippine economy. The 1989 coup alone resulted in combined financial losses of between 800 million to 1 billion pesos.

The November 1986 and August 1987 coup plots would also lead to significant reorganizations within the Aquino government. Given the apparent involvement of Defense Secretary Enrile in the November 1986 plot, a fact which was reaffirmed by the Davide Commission Report, Aquino fired him on November 22, 1986, and likewise announced an overall Cabinet revamp, "to give the government a chance to start all over again." The revamp would lead to the dismissal of Labor Secretary Augusto Sanchez, a perceived leftist, which was believed to be a compromise measure in light of a key rebel demand to cleanse the Cabinet of left-leaning members. Following the August 1987 coup attempt, the Aquino government was seen to have veered to the right, dismissing perceived left-leaning officials such as Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo and tacitly authorizing the establishment of armed quasi-military groups to combat the communist insurgency. It was also believed that General Fidel Ramos, who remained loyal to Aquino, emerged as the second most powerful person in government following his successful quelling of the coup. Across-the-board wage increases for soldiers were also granted.

Aquino herself would sue Philippine Star columnist Louie Beltran for libel after he wrote that the President had hid under her bed during the August 1987 coup as the siege of Malacañang began.

Natural disasters

The Aquino administration faced a series of natural disasters during its last two years in office. The 1990 Luzon earthquake left around 1,600 dead, with around a thousand of the fatalities in Baguio City. The 1991 eruption of the long-dormant Mount Pinatubo was the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century, killing around 300 people and causing widespread long-term devastation of agricultural lands in Central Luzon. The worst loss of life occurred when Tropical Storm Thelma (also known as Typhoon Uring) caused massive flooding in Ormoc City in November 1991, leaving around 6,000 dead in what was the deadliest typhoon in Philippine history.

1992 presidential campaign

In the 1992 Philippine elections, though eligible to run for a second term, Aquino backed her then Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos (after initially naming Ramon Mitra, Jr., her former Agriculture Secretary and then Speaker of the House of Representatives, as her candidate), Marcos' armed forces vice-chief of staff whose defection to the Aquino party proved crucial to the popular revolution. This decision was unpopular among many of her core supporters, including the Roman Catholic Church (Ramos is a Protestant). Ramos narrowly won with just 23.58 percent of the vote, and succeeded Aquino as president on June 30, 1992.

Post-presidency

Mrs. Aquino speaking before the 2003 Ninoy Aquino Award ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

Following the end of her term, Aquino retired to private life. When she rode away from the inauguration of her successor, she chose to go in a simple white Toyota Crown she had purchased (rather than the government-issue Mercedes), to make the point that she was once again an ordinary citizen.

Aquino leads the PinoyME Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists microfinance institutions through the provision of loans. She also oversees social welfare and scholarship assistance projects through the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation, and good governance advocacy through the EDSA People Power Commission, and the People Power People Movement.

President Aquino is likewise a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

Aquino is skilled in painting. She is fond of giving her own paintings, as gifts, to her close friends and acquaintances, including world leaders, diplomats, and corporate executives.

Political activities

Aquino has continued to speak out on political issues. In the 1998 presidential elections, she supported the candidacy of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who placed fifth.^[39] In January 2001, Aquino played an active role in the second EDSA Revolution which ousted President Joseph Estrada and installed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. In 2005, Aquino condemned President Macapagal-Arroyo for allegedly rigging the 2004 presidential elections. She has since been a visible participant in mass demonstrations against the Arroyo government and has called for the President's resignation.

In December 2008, Aquino publicly expressed some regrets for her participation in the 2001 EDSA Revolution and apologized to former President Joseph Estrada, who had been ousted following that revolt, in his presence. An Aquino spokesperson however later clarified that Aquino's remarks were taken out of context, they having been made in jest at a light-hearted affair.

In the 2007 senatorial elections, Aquino actively campaigned for her only son, Benigno III, in his successful bid for a Senate seat.

Honors

In her post-presidency, Aquino has received several awards and citations. In 1994, Aquino was cited as one of 100 Women Who Shaped World History in a reference book written by Gail Meyer Rolka and published by Bluewood Books in San Francisco, California.^[45] In 1996, she received the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding from the Fulbright Association, joining past recipients such as Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela. In August 1999, Aquino was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th century. The same magazine cited her in November 2006 as one of 65 great Asian Heroes, along with Mahatma Gandhi, Deng Xiaoping, Aung San Suu Kyi, Lee Kuan Yew, and King Bhumibol Adulyadej.^[48] In January 2008, the Europe-based A Different View selected Aquino as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy, alongside Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lech Walesa, and Vaclav Havel.

In 2002, Aquino became the first woman named to the Board of Governors of the Board of the Asian Institute of Management, a leading graduate business school and think tank in the Asia Pacific region. She served on the Board until 2006.

Health

On March 24, 2008, the Aquino family announced that the former President had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Aquino underwent chemotherapy, and in public remarks made on May 13, 2008, she announced that blood tests indicate she is responding positively to the medical treatment.

In popular culture

Aquino was portrayed by Laurice Guillen in the 1988 HBO miniseries A Dangerous Life.

Aquino was a main character in Boy Noriega's 1987 stage comedy Bongbong at Kris, about an imagined romantic coupling between the youngest son of Ferdinand Marcos and the youngest daughter of the Aquinos.

She was portrayed by Tess Villarama in the movie Ilaban Mo, Bayan Ko: The Obet Pagdanganan Story in 1997.

In 2004, Aquino was portrayed by Irma Adlawan in the miniseries Sa'yo Lamang. It was announced in 2008 that a musical play about Aquino entitled “Cory, the Musical" will be staged on November 29, 30 and December 1 at the Meralco Theater. It is to be produced by the Buhay Isang Awit Foundation, with principal sponsors Smart, PLDT and San Miguel Corp. It is written and directed by Nestor U. Torre, and features a libretto of 19 original songs composed by Senator Aquilino Pimentel's wife, Lourdes ("Bing").^[53] Miss Saigon performer Isay Alvarez will play Aquino, with Sherwyn Sozon as Ninoy Aquino, Robert Sena as Ferdinand Marcos and Pinky Marquez as Imelda Marcos."^[54][55]

Awards and Achievements

• 1986 Time Magazine Woman of the Year
• 1986 Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award
• 1986 United Nations Silver Medal
• 1986 Canadian International Prize for Freedom
• 1986 Nobel Peace Prize nominee
• 1986 International Democracy Award from the International Association of Political Consultants
• 1987 Prize For Freedom Award from Liberal International
• 1993 Special Peace Award from the Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Awards Foundation and Concerned Women of the Philippines
• 1994 One of 100 Women Who Shaped World History (by G.M. Rolka, Bluewood Books, San Francisco, CA)
• 1995 Path to Peace Award
• 1996 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding from the U.S. Department of State
• 1998 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding
• 1998 Pearl S. Buck Award
• 1999 One of Time Magazine's 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th Century
• 2001 World Citizenship Award
• 2005 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Awards
• 2005 One of the World's Elite Women Who Make a Difference by the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame
• 2006 One of Time Magazine's 65 Asian Heroes
• 2008 One of A Different View's 15 Champions of World Democracy
• EWC Asia Pacific Community Building Award
• Women's International Center International Leadership Living Legacy Award
• Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize
• United Nations Development Fund for Women Noel Award for Political Leadership

Honorary doctorates

• Doctor of International Relations, honoris causa, from:
  • Boston University
  • Eastern University
  • Fordham University
  • Waseda University in Tokyo
• Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from:
  • University of the Philippines
  • University of Santo Tomas in Manila
• Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from:
  • Ateneo de Manila University
  • College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York
  • Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines)
• Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, from:
  • San Beda College in Manila, 2000
  • Seattle University, 2002
  • Stonehill College in Massachusetts
  • University of Oregon, 1995

Fidel V. Ramos
12th President of the Philippines 2nd President of the 5th Republic
In office June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998
Vice President	Joseph Ejercito Estrada
Preceded by	Corazon C. Aquino
Succeeded by	Joseph Ejercito Estrada
Secretary of National Defense
In office January 22, 1988 – July 18, 1991
President	Corazon C. Aquino
Preceded by	Rafael Ileto
Succeeded by	Renato de Villa
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
In office 1986 – 1988
President	Ferdinand E. Marcos Corazon C. Aquino
Preceded by	Fabian Ver
Succeeded by	Renato de Villa
Born	March 18, 1928 (1928-03-18) (age 80) Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines
Political party	Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats
Spouse	Amelita Martinez
Alma mater	United States Military Academy University of Illinois U.S. Army Infantry School National Defense College Ateneo de Manila University
Occupation	Soldier, Civil Engineer, Statesman
Religion	United Methodist
Signature

Fidel Valdez Ramos (born March 18, 1928) was the 12th President of the Philippines. He succeeded Corazon Aquino and governed until 1998, when he was succeeded by Joseph Estrada. He was the first, and to date the only, non-Roman Catholic president of the Philippines.

During the authoritarian regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, Ramos was head of the Philippine Constabulary, implementing Marcos' declaration of martial law. In the 1986 People Power Revolution, Ramos defected from the government and was a key figure in the civilian demonstrations that forced Marcos into exile.

The first half of Ramos' six-year term as President was characterized by rapid economic growth and political stability in the country despite facing communist insurgencies, an Islamic separatist movement in Mindanao, and the onslaught of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Early life and education

Fidel Ramos was born on March 18, 1928 in Lingayen, Pangasinan. His father, Narciso Ramos (1900-1986), was a lawyer, crusading journalist and 5-term legislator of the House of Representatives, who eventually rose to the position of Secretary of Foreign Affairs. As such, Narciso Ramos was the Philippine signatory to the ASEAN declaration forged in Bangkok in 1967 and was one of the founding fathers of the Liberal Party. His mother, Angela Valdez-Ramos (1905-1977), was an educator, woman suffragette and daughter of the respected Valdez clan of Batac