Some of these facts are simply amazing and interesting. Some are incredibly unbelievable and fascinating while some are surprisingly intriguing and fascinating.
Here are some interesting facts about the presidents of the Philippines.
1.) Bill Clinton
, former US President, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were classmates at Georgetown University in the United States.
, former US President, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were classmates at Georgetown University in the United States.2.) Ramon Magsaysay was the principal
wedding sponsor of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos as well as Benigno and Corazon Aquino.
wedding sponsor of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos as well as Benigno and Corazon Aquino.3.) The only Philippine President to have died of accident
was Ramon Magsaysay. All the rest died of diseases
.
was Ramon Magsaysay. All the rest died of diseases.4.) In the 1939 bar examination, a unique incident in the history
of the bar examination happened when Ferdinand Marcos topped the examination with almost perfect score of 98.01%.
of the bar examination happened when Ferdinand Marcos topped the examination with almost perfect score of 98.01%. 5.) To put an end to controversies that Marcos cheated on the said exam despite the fact that he underwent oral examination
, the result of which is impressive and after some deliberation on his grade, the Supreme Court judges decide to prune down his grade to 92.35%.
, the result of which is impressive and after some deliberation on his grade, the Supreme Court judges decide to prune down his grade to 92.35%.6.) The last 5 Philippine Presidents were not lawyers
(C. Aquino, F. Ramos, J. Estrada, G. Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III)
(C. Aquino, F. Ramos, J. Estrada, G. Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III)7.) The longest serving President was Ferdinand Marcos who served for 7,362 days or more than 20 years and on the other hand, the shortest serving President was Sergio Osmeña who served only for 665 days or less than 2 years.
8.) Father and daughter
who became Philippine Presidents were Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
who became Philippine Presidents were Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.9.) Mother and son
who became Presidents of the Philippines are Corazon Aquino and Benigno Aquino III.
who became Presidents of the Philippines are Corazon Aquino and Benigno Aquino III.10.) Philippine Presidents who were reelected were Manuel Quezon in 1941 and Ferdinand Marcos in 1969, 1981 and 1986.
11.) The tallest Philippine president was Ramon Magsaysay with a height
of almost 6 ft and the shortest is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with a height of 4’11”.
of almost 6 ft and the shortest is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with a height of 4’11”.12.) Of the 15 Philippine presidents 8 were lawyers, 7 were soldiers
, 4 were teachers, 2 are economists 2 were businessmen, 2 were engineers and one is an actor.
, 4 were teachers, 2 are economists 2 were businessmen, 2 were engineers and one is an actor.13.) Of the 15 presidents of the Philippines, 12 were from Luzon, 3 from Visayas
(Osmeña, Roxas and Garcia). Mindanao has not yet produced a president.
(Osmeña, Roxas and Garcia). Mindanao has not yet produced a president.14.) Of the 15 presidents, 5 were Ilocanos, 4 were Tagalogs, 4 are Pampangueño and 2 were Visayan.
15.) The heaviest Philippine President is Joseph Estrada. Just take a look at his body built.
16.) Philippine Presidents who were elected while serving the remaining term of a predecessor were Elpidio Quirino in 1949, Carlos Garcia in 1957 and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001.
17.) Two of the 15 Philippine Presidents were not degree holder
or college graduate. They are Emilio Aguinaldo and Joseph Estrada.
or college graduate. They are Emilio Aguinaldo and Joseph Estrada.18.) Noynoy Aquino is the third-youngest person to be elected Philippine President. The youngest was Ramon Magsaysay followed by Ferdinand Marcos.
19.) Aquino is the fourth-youngest president after Emilio Aguinaldo, Ramon Magsaysay and Ferdinand Marcos.
20.) Benigno Aquino III is the first president to be a bachelor
, being unmarried and having no children.
, being unmarried and having no children. 21.) Noynoy Aquino is the 2nd Philippine president not to drink alcoholic beverages
; the first president not to drink alcohol was Emilio Aguinaldo.
; the first president not to drink alcohol was Emilio Aguinaldo.
22.) Benigno Aquino III is the 8th Philippine President to be a smoker. He smoke up to 3 packs a day.
23.) Benigno Aquino III is the first Ateneo de Manila University graduate to become Philippine President.
24.) In Addition, Aquino is the 3rd president to use his second given name, Simeon, as his middle initial, as Manuel L. Quezon and Jose P. Laurel did.
25.) Shooting and billiards
are Aquino’s favorite pastimes but could no longer engage with these. He relaxes by playing computer games.
are Aquino’s favorite pastimes but could no longer engage with these. He relaxes by playing computer games.26.) During the presidential campaign of 2010 May Elections, Aquino promised to quit smoking if he wins the election. However, he decided later he would not quit smoking, preferring to do it at the "appropriate" time.
27.) The first Philippine President, Emilio Aguinaldo, is a third year high school
dropped out of Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
dropped out of Colegio de San Juan de Letran.28.) Emilio Aguinaldo is the youngest Philippine president at the age of 29. He is also the longest-lived president having survived to age 94.
29.) Emilio Aguinaldo’s first wife, Hilaria Del Rosario, died of leprosy. He married her on January 1, 1896, the very same day he joined the Katipunan.
30.) Cesar Virata, Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986 during the Marcos regime, is a grandnephew of Emilio Aguinaldo.
31.) Emilio Aguinaldo was elected town head in 1895, the first person to hold the title of capitan municipal of Cavite El Viejo which is formerly known as gobernadorcillo.
32.) Emilio Aguinaldo ran for president in the 1935 Philippine presidential election but lost by a landslide
to Manuel Quezon.
to Manuel Quezon.33.) Emilio Aguinaldo collaborated with the Japanese during the Japanese occupation. He made speeches, radio addresses and issued articles in support of the Japanese.
34.) When the Philippines obtained freedom from the Japanese, Emilio Aguinaldo was arrested and jailed for collaborating with the Japanese but was released through presidential amnesty.
35.) Emilio Aguinaldo is of Chinese ancestry; his father is a Chinese-Tagalog meztizo.
36.) Manuel Quezon is a Spanish meztizo who became the first Senate president to be elected to the presidency.
37.) Manuel Quezon is the first president elected through a national election and the first incumbent to secure re-election.
38.) Manuel Quezon died of tuberculosis
in Saranac Lake, New York in the United States.
in Saranac Lake, New York in the United States.39.) Manuel Quezon passed the bar examinations in 1903 achieving a fourth place.
40.) Manuel Quezon served as Senate president for 19 years from 1916 to 1935.
41.) Manuel Quezon’s wife, Aurora Aragon, was his first cousin. Aurora is officially the first wife of a president to be called “First Lady”.
42.) Two of Quezon’s most notable quotes are; "My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins." And "I would rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos than a country run like heaven by the Americans, because however a bad Filipino government might be, we can always change it."
43.) The height of the Quezon Memorial shrine is 65 meters which is equivalent to Manuel Quezon’s age when he died.
44.) Sergio Osmeña rose to the presidency upon Quezon's death in 1944, being the oldest Philippine president to hold office at age 65.
45.) Sergio Osmeña took up law at the University of Santo Tomas and was 2nd place in the bar examination in 1903.
46.) Sergio Osmeña and Manuel Quezon were classmates at Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
47.) Osmeña, a Chinese-meztiso descent, is an illegitimate child. He was born to Juana Osmeña y Suico, who was reportedly only 14 years of age when she gave birth to him.
48.) When Jose Laurel was a teenager, he was indicted for attempted murder when he almost killed a rival suitor of his girlfriend. He argued for and received an acquittal while studying and finishing law school
.
.49.) Jose Laurel was shot 4 times in 1943 by Philippine guerillas while he was playing golf at Wack-Wack Golf Club but he quickly recovered. He is the only Philippine president to have been shot outside of combat.
50.) Jose Laurel declared Martial Law in the country in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29, dated September 21. Martial Law came into effect on September 22, 1944 at 9am.
51.) Jose Laurel was 2nd placer in the 1915 Bar Exams. He graduated from the University of the Philippines or UP.
52.) Salvador “Doy” Laurel, the Philippine Vice President from 1986 to 1992 is the son of Jose P. Laurel.
53.) Manuel Roxas term as Philippine president is the shortest, lasting 1 year 10 months and 18 days.
54.) At UP, Manuel Roxas was elected president of both his class and the Student Council and graduated class valedictorian in 1913.
55.) Roxas is the first ever bar topnotcher of the Philippines. He topped the first bar examinations with a grade of 92%.
56.) Elpidio Quirino’s wife, Alicia Syquia, and 3 of their 5 children were killed while fleeing their home during the Battle of Manila in World War II
.
.
57.) The popular tri-media health and fitness guru, Cory Quirino, is a granddaughter of Elpidio Quirino.
58.) Elpidio Quirino, a graduate of the University of the Philippines was 2nd placer in the 1915 Bar Examinations.
59.) Ramon Magsaysay’s father was a blacksmith while his mother was a school teacher. He worked as a chauffer to support his schooling.
60.) Ramon Magsaysay was the first elected president that did not come from the Senate since Quezon.
61.) Ramon Magsaysay was the first Philippine President to wear the Barong Tagalog
when he was sworn into office.
when he was sworn into office.62.) During Ramon Magsaysay’s term, he made Malacañang Palace literally a "house of the people" by opening its gates to the public.
63.) The Philippines was ranked 2nd in Asia's clean and well-governed countries during Magsaysay’s regime.
64.) Magsaysay is one of the most loved Philippine Presidents; an estimated 5 million people attended his burial on March 31, 1957. He is considered by the people the "Idol of the Masses".
65.) Magsaysay is the youngest Philippine President to die. He died at the age of 49.
66.) Carlos P. Garcia is known for his "Filipino First" policy, which put the interests of the Filipino people above those of foreigners and of the ruling party.
67.) Garcia earned his degree in law in 1923 and was among the top ten in the bar examination.
68.) Carlos García was the first Philippine President to have his remains lie in-state at the Manila Cathedral. He is also the first Philippine President to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
69.) Diosdado Macapagal’s father was a poet while his mother was a school teacher. He is a descendant of Lakan Dula.
70.) Diosdado Macapagal is a boyhood friend of the popular matinee idol of the 20th century, Rogelio Dela Rosa. His first wife is a sister of Rogelio.
71.) Macapagal earned his law degree in 1936 and was admitted to the bar, topping the 1936 bar examination with a score of 89.95%.
72.) The first wife of Macapagal, Purita Dela Rosa, died of malnutrition
due to the deprivations of the war.
due to the deprivations of the war.73.) Diosdado Macapagal loved to be called the "Poor boy from Lubao" but ironically, he had little popularity among the masses.
74.) During the administration of Macapagal, the productivity of the farmers declined drastically due to failed implementation of land reform program.
75.) Ferdinand Marcos, while imprisoned in 1939 because of his murder case against Julio Nalundasan, graduated “cum laude” but if he had not been put in jail for 27 days, he would have graduated “magna cum laude”.
76.) Ferdinand Marcos was the topnotcher in the senatorial elections in 1959 and was Senate President from 1959-1965.
77.) The Presidential Election of 1969 is one of the most colorful and presidential elections because 12 candidates ran for president. Marcos was reelected for a second term becoming the first Filipino president to win a second term.
78.) One of the best times where Philippine economy reached its peak was during the 1970s where it was robust with budgetary and trade surpluses. The GNP or Gross national Product of the Philippines during this period rose from P55 billion in 1972 to P193 billion in 1980. One of the major factors is the rose of Tourism.
79.) Ferdinand Marcos built more schools, hospitals and infrastructure than any of his predecessors combined.
80.) Marcos was able to impose order and reduce crime by strict implementation of the law and economic success
of the Philippines during the initial part of his presidency is hard to dispel.
of the Philippines during the initial part of his presidency is hard to dispel. 81.) Numerous accomplishments of Ferdinand Marcos were overlooked after the so-called "People Power Revolution".
82.) Corazon Aquino was the first woman President of the Philippines and was the country’s president during one of its darkest and lowest era.
83.) According to the official results of the COMELEC, the real winners for the 1986 Snap Elections were Ferdinand Marcos and Arturo Tolentino for President and VP of the Philippines, respectively. However, according to NAMFREL, a watchdog of COMELEC, Aquino and his running-mate Salvador Laurel won the elections.
84.) The longest hours of brown-outs/power shortage all over the archipelago were experienced during the Aquino regime.
85.) Several military coup d’etats were staged during Aquino’s administration to oust her from office due to her failure to upgrade the living condition of the Filipino people and to uplift the economic situation of the Philippines.
86.) At present, Fidel Ramos is the first and only non-Catholic President of the Philippines. Ramos is a member of the Protestant United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
87.) Ramos is also the only Filipino to receive an honorary British Knighthood from the United Kingdom, the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George or GCMG. This was bestowed to him by Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 for services to politics and government.
88.) Fidel Ramos’ father was a politician and statesman
while his mother was a school teacher. Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th Philippine President, is a 2nd degree cousin of Ferdinand Marcos.
while his mother was a school teacher. Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th Philippine President, is a 2nd degree cousin of Ferdinand Marcos.89.) Fidel Ramos won the seven-way race on May 11, 1992 narrowly defeating the popular Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago but despite winning, Ramos garnered only 23.58% of the vote, the lowest plurality in the Philippines’ history.
90.) Fidel Ramos was the oldest person to become elected President of the Philippines at the age of 64. Ramos is also the first Protestant President of the country.
91.) In addition, he is the only Filipino officer in history to have held every rank in the Philippine military from 2nd Lieutenant to Commander-in-Chief.
92.) Take note that Osmeña became the oldest Philippine President to assume the Philippine Presidency at the age of 65 upon the death of Manuel Quezon. However, he was not elected by the people.
93.) As history recorded it, Fidel Ramos was known as the “most-traveled President of the Philippines” compared to his predecessors with numerous foreign trips abroad.
94.) Joseph Estrada was the only Philippine President to have allegedly resigned from office.
95.) Joseph Estrada was the first mayor to computerize assessment of the Real Estate Tax in the Municipal Assessor’s Office.
96.) Joseph Estrada as a senator was one of the so-called “Magnificent 12” who voted to terminate the RP-US Military Bases Agreement leading to the withdrawal of American servicemen from the Clark Air Base in Pampanga and the Subic Naval Base in Zambales.
97.) The Free Press cited him as one of the Three Outstanding Senators of the Year in 1989. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa by the Bicol University in April 1997, and the University
of Pangasinan in 1990.
of Pangasinan in 1990.98.) Estrada’s most famous lines were “One hundred years after Kawit, fifty years after independence, 12 years after EDSA, and 7 years after the rejection of foreign bases, it is now the turn of the masses to experience liberation. We stand in the shadow of those who fought to make us free- free from foreign domination, free from domestic tyranny, free from superpower dictation, free from economic backwardness.
99.) Joseph Estrada is the first president to be a movie celebrity. He is also the first mustached president. Estrada is married to the first lady-turned-senator Luisa Pimentel. Joseph and Luisa had 3 children.
100.) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was a former professor of economics at Ateneo De Manila University and the current Philippine President – Benigno S. Aquino III was one of her students.
101.) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the 2nd woman President of the country and the 2nd Philippine president—after Jose P. Laurel to pursue a lower office after their presidency.
102.) Historically, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the first and only to date female Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines.
103.) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s rating in the first quarter of 2003 made her the only Philippine President to achieve a negative net satisfaction rating in SWS opinion polling.
104.) Forbes magazine
included Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as one of the 100 Most Powerful Woman in the World from 2004-2009. She was ranked 4th in the 2005 list.
included Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as one of the 100 Most Powerful Woman in the World from 2004-2009. She was ranked 4th in the 2005 list.105.) The president with the most children is Sergio Osmeña with 10 followed by Jose Laurel with 9 and the president with the least number of children is Carlos Garcia with only one child.
106.) Philippine Presidents who married twice were Emilio Aguinaldo, Sergio Osmeña and Diosdado Macapagal.
107.) Three Philippine Presidents were born on the month of March (Aguinaldo, Laurel and Ramos), three in September (Osmeña, Macapagal and Marcos), two in January (Roxas and Cory Aquino), two in April (Erap and Arroyo), two in August (Quezon and Magsayasay), two in November (Quirino and Garcia) and one in February (Noynoy Aquino).
108.) No Philippine President was born on the months of May, June, July, October and December.
109.) Only two presidents were buried at the “Libingan ng mga Bayani” – Garcia and Macapagal.
110.) Three presidents were buried at Manila North Cemetery (Osmeña, Roxas and Magsaysay), three on their hometown (Aguinaldo, Laurel and Marcos), one in Manila South Cemetery (Quirino), one in Quezon Memorial Circle (Quezon) and one in Manila Memorial Park (C. Aquino).
111.) Philippine Presidents that went to Ateneo de Manila University were Aquino III, Macapagal-Arroyo, Ramos and Estrada (HS).
112.) Presidents that graduated in the University of the Philippines were Laurel, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Macapagal, Marcos, Macapagal Arroyo and Ramos (HS).
113.) Philippine Presidents that attended Colegio de San Juan de Letran were Quezon, Osmeña and Aguinaldo (HS).
114.) Presidents that studied at the University of Santo Tomas were Quezon, Laurel, Osmeña and Macapagal.
115.) Presidents who enrolled in MAPUA Institute of Technology were Ramos and Estrada.
116.) Philippine Presidents who studied abroad were Jose Laurel in Yale University (US), Fidel Ramos in the United States Military Academy and University of Illinois and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at Georgetown University 
(US),
(US), 117.) Other Philippine Presidents who studied abroad were Corazon Aquino at the College of Saint Vincent in New York (US) and Manuel Roxas at St. Joseph Academy (HS) in Hong Kong.
118.) Magsaysay also studied at Jose Rizal University; Roxas at the University of Manila; Macapagal at Philippine Law School; and Ramos also attended Silliman University.
119.) Osmeña also went to the University of San Carlos while Macapagal Arroyo also graduated at Assumption College.
120.) President Carlos Garcia graduated at Silliman University and also studied at Philippine College of Criminology.
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Being a president has a great power but requires great responsibility. The fact is no matter what you do for them, eventually, they will hate you. Your article quite interesting also helps me more about them.
ReplyDeleteSteve Mark M. Miranda
Contributor, http://ourhappyschool.com