Philippine Presidents Trivia

                The current Philippine president Benigno Simeon Cojuangco III was sworn into office last June 30, 2010 at Quirino Grandstand, Luneta Park, Manila at exactly 12 noon. He is the first and only bachelor president of the country. Here are some more pieces of trivia IN NUMBERS you ought to know about the current president, Pnoy as he is fondly called, and the rest of the Philippine presidents.
           The Constitution is clear and specific; the title of the chief executive is “President of the Philippines,” and takes his oath of office as such, although in certain cases involving formal diplomatic usage, “President of the Republic of the Philippines” is used for diplomatic documents. The honorific title for the President of the Philippines is “His/Your Excellency,” but the proper form of address is “Mr. President.”
         At 42.08% Aquino’s percentage of the votes is the highest plurality since the restoration of democracy , and under the 1987 Constitution. The biggest first-term landslide was Magsaysay in 1953 (68.9%), followed by Quezon in 1935. The biggest second term landslide was Quezon in 1941 (81.78%) followed by Marcos in 1969 (61.5%).


Some relevant numbers:
1 He is the first unmarried president in the history of the country

He is the first president with no children.
The first deputy speaker of the House to later become president.

He is the first marksman to become president since Ferdinand Marcos (who belonged to the U.P. rifle team).

He will be the first president since 1992 inaugurated into office without having been vice-president first.

He is the first president since Diosdado Macapagal to be elected as the candidate of the Liberal Party; also the first president since Macapagal not to have changed political parties (three presidents had no political party membership/positions: Aguinaldo, Laurel, Cory Aquino).

Aquino is the first post-Edsa president to exceed Garcia’s 1957 plurality. Majority Presidents: Quezon (68% in 1935 and 81.78% in 1941), Roxas (54% in 1946), Quirino (51% in 1949), Magsaysay (68.9% in 1953), Macapagal (55% in 1961), Marcos (54.76% in 1965, 61.5% in 1969), Aquino (approx. 51%). Plurality Presidents: Garcia (41.3%) was the only president elected by plurality prior to 1972. The lowest plurality ever was Fidel V. Ramos in 1992 (23.6%), Estrada at 39.6% in 1998 was the first post-Edsa president to nearly match Garcia’s 1957 plurality.

He is the first to use the suffix III (there have been no Juniors or the Thirds elected president previously).

He is the first president to have a February birthday. Two presidents were born in January: Roxas (Jan. 1), Cory Aquino (Jan. 25); three in March: Laurel (Mar. 9), Ramos (Mar. 18), Aguinaldo (Mar. 22); two in April: Arroyo (April 5), Estrada (April 19); two in August: Quezon (Aug. 19), Magsaysay (Aug. 31); three in September: Osmena (Sept. 9), Marcos (Sept. 11), Macapagal (Sept. 29); two in November: Garcia (Nov. 4), Quirino (Nov. 16)

The President of the Philippines uses license plate No. 1.


2 The second child of a former president to become president in his own right (he succeeds the first presidential child to become president).

The second president from Tarlac.

He is only the second president (Aguinaldo was the only non-drinker previously) who does not drink.

He is the second president to be sworn in by a Filipino associate justice of the Supreme Court ( his mother was the first), but the fourth president sworn in by an associate justice of a Supreme Court (Quezon in 1943 for the indefinite extension of his term, and Osmena who succeeded into office in 1944, were sworn in by U.S. Associate Justices Felix Frankfurter and Robert H. Jackson, respectively, in Washington D.C.).

He is the second president to have studied at the Ateneo de Manila, but the first to have graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Two presidents only partially resided in Malacanan Palace: Laurel, and Estrada (who stayed in the Guest House).

Two presidents were elected by the legislature and not in a national election: Aguinaldo and Laurel.

Two presidents were re-elected to second terms: Quezon and Marcos.

Two presidents were brought to power by People Power bloodless revolts: Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (our two female presidents).


3 Benigno S. Aquino III is the third president with no spouse: Quirino was a widower, Corazon Aquino, a widow. Unlike Quirino and Corazon Aquino, who had children, Aquino III has none.
Aquino at 50 is the third youngest elected president (Magsaysay remains the youngest every nationally-elected to the presidency), and the fourth-youngest president after Aguinaldo, Magsaysay and Marcos.

He is the youngest of the presidents who became chief executive in their 50s (age at inauguration/succession: Aguinaldo, 29: Quezon, 57; Laurel, 51; Osmena, 67; Roxas, 54; Quirino, 57; Magsaysay, 46; Garcia, 60; Macapagal, 51; Marcos, 48 ; Aquino, 53; Ramos, 64; Estrada, 61; Arroyo, 54).

The third to use his second given name as his middle initial (as Quezon and Laurel did)/

The third to engage in shooting as a sport (Quezon and Marcos engaged in hunting).

He will be the third president who will only hold office in, but not be a resident of, Malacanan Palace, following Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos.

He was the third generation of Aquino’s to serve in the Senate: his grandfather and father were also senators.


4 He will be the fourth president not sworn in by a chief justice: Aguinaldo was first. Quezon, when his term extended in exile in 1943, renewed his oath of office before Justice Felix Frankfurter. Osmena, who succeeded to the presidency in exile, was sworn in by Justice Hugo Jackson (thus, two presidents have been sworn in by foreign justices, both because they headed governments-in-exile). Corazon Aquino was sworn in by Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Eleven presidents were sworn in by a chief justice: Quezon (1935, 1941), Laurel, ROxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal, Marcos, Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo.

Four presidents were not inaugurated either on December 30 or June 30: Aguinaldo (January 23, 1899), Quezon (November 15, 1935 and November 15, 1941), Laurel (October 13, 1943), Roxas (May 28, 1946)

Four vice-presidents who succeeded to the presidency also took their oaths on dates different from the traditional inaugural date: Osmena (August 1, 1944); Quirino (April 17, 1948), Garcia (March 18, 1957), Arroyo (January, 2001).

Most number of times a president has taken the oath of office: four, for Marcos (1965, 1969, the 1981 and 1986 “inaugurals”; followed by three, for Quezon 91935 in Manila, 1941 in Corregidor, 1943 in Washington D.C., also before three different individuals); Quirino (1948 in Malacanan, 1949); Garcia (1957, twice: upon succession in March Malacanan and election in December); Arroyo (2001 in Quezon City, 2004 in Cebu).


5 Aquino comes from a family of five siblings.
At age 50, is going to be the 15th President of the Philippines. He becomes president at the same age at which father, Benigno S. Aquino Jr., died.

Officially, his fourteen predecessors will be: Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel, Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand E. Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph E. Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

He will be the 5th President of the 5th Republic. The present republic was established with the ratification of the 1987 Constitution. The previous republic are the First (Malolos, 1899-1901); Second (The Japanese Occupation, 1943 – 1945); the Third (from independence in 1946 to 1972); the Fourth (the “New Republic” proclaimed in 1981).

Aguinaldo was the lone President of the First Republic; Quezon was the first President of the Commonwealth and Roxas the last; Laurel was lone President of the Second Republic; Roxas was the first President of Third Republic and Marcos, the last; Marcos was the first President of the Fourth Republic but proclaimed a revolutionary government. The Fifth Republic came into being with the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, and Corazon Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, and Arroyo have been the presidents of the Fifth Republic.

He was elected on 05/10/10.

He received over 15 million votes; his winning margin was over 5 million.

He will be the fifth president to take his oath of office on June 30: Marcos, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo being the others. Starting with Quezon’s second inaugural in 1941 until Marcos’ second inaugural in 1969 (with the exception of the special election called in 1946) presidents were inaugurated on Rizal Day, December 30 and June 30. Six presidents Quezon (1941), Quirino (1949), Magsaysay, Garcia (1957), Macapagal, Marcos (1965, 1969) had inaugurals on December 30.

Aquino is also the fifth public smoker to be presidents: Quezon, Roxas, Garcia, Estrada were/are all smokers.


6 He is the sixth president to have been elected to a single six-year term (Quezon in 1935 [term subsequently extended by constitutional amendment], Aquino in 1986, Ramos in 1992, Estrada in 1998, Arroyo in 2004). He will be only the second President to serve an exact 6 year term (only President Ramos has so far, served an exact 6 year term; President Quezon’s original term was modified to permit re-election for an additional two years; President Corazon Aquino’s term was extended by a few months to synchronize her term with that of new officials elected under the 1987 Constitution; President Estrada’s term was shortened by Edsa Dos; President Arroyo served the remainder of her predecessor’s term and an additional six years. Under the 1935 Constitution, only Diosdado Macapagal served an exact four year term).


7 Aquino will be the seventh president to be inaugurated at the Quirino Grandstand. Six presidents were inaugurated at the Quirino Grandstand: Quirino (1949), Magsaysay (1953), Garcia (1957), Macapagal (1961), Marcos (1965, etc.), Ramos (1992).

He will be the seventh to use a middle initial after Manuel L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel, Carlos P. Garcia, Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino (who used her maiden name as her middle initial), and Fidel V. Ramos. (Aguinaldo, Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Macapagal did not use middle initials at all; Estrada uses a special name combining his real family name, Ejercito, with his screen name; Arroyo prefers to use the hyphenated Macapagal-Arroyo). Presidents Aguinaldo, Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay and Macapagal did not use middle initials. The initials of President-elect Aquino are BSA III, following the practice of his father and grandfather, he uses his second given name as his middle initial, the same practice followed by Presidents Quezon and Laurel.


8 If you include the pipe/cigar smoking of Laurel, Ramos and Macapagal and his daughter Arroyo who were/are occasional (social) smokers, Aquino III is the eight president who smokes.


9 Juancho Dulay Barreto on Twitter also pointed out BSA III was proclaimed president-elect on June 9, 2010. That’s exactly 9 months after his declaration of candidacy on 09/09/09.

He is the ninth to have been proclaimed president-elect by the legislature: the first was Manuel L. Quezon, followed by Manuel Roxas, Ramon Magsaysay, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand E. Marcos, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (eight if you don’t count Arroyo’s proclamation on the basis of the Quirino and Garcia precedents). While Congress certified the election of Elpidio Quirino and Carlos P. Garcia, they had succeeded into office previously, and were already serving as president when elected to a full term: thus, were not referred to as presidents-elect. Aguinaldo and Laurel were not elected president in a national election; they were made president by a vote of the national assembly and thus never president-elect. Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency by means of the People Power Revolution and was not proclaimed by the Batasan Pambansa.

The ninth president to have served as a congressman.

Nine presidents lived in Malacanan Palace: Quezon, Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal, Marcos, Arroyo. Three presidents (Quirino and Garcia upon succession, Marcos in 1986) have taken oaths of office there. Four presidents have had to flee because of war or revolution: Quezon, Laurel, Marcos and Estrada.


10 The tenth senator to become a president.

He will be the tenth president to be inaugurated in Manila: the nine previously who were inaugurated in Manila: Quezon in 1935, Laurel in 1943, Roxas in 1946, Quirino in 1949, Magsaysay in 1953, Garcia in 1957, Macapagal in 1961, Marcos in 1965 etc., Ramos in 1992.

Aquino III, who used the Aquino family bible his mother used, will be the ninth president to swear on a bible and the second to use the same bible: Garcia, Macapagal, Marcos, Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo followed suit. Aguinaldo, Quezon, Laurel, Osmena, Roxas and Quirino (belonging to generations closer to the revolutionary era, did not take their oaths on a bible). Magsaysay and Marcos took their oath on two bibles each in 1953 and 1965.