The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Philippines

This page contains a list of the greatest Filipino Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 45 of which were born in Philippines. This makes Philippines the birth place of the 65th most number of Politicians behind Venezuela, and Lebanon.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Filipino Politicians of all time. This list of famous Filipino Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Filipino Politicians.

1. Rodrigo Duterte (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 76.81, Rodrigo Duterte is the most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 94 different languages on wikipedia.

Rodrigo Roa Duterte (English: , Tagalog: [ɾodˈɾiː.ɣo ˈɾoː.ɐ dʊˈtɛːɾ.tɛ] ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (formerly PDP–Laban), the ruling political party in the Philippines during his presidency. Duterte is the first president of the Philippines to be from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assume office, beginning his term at age 71. Born in Maasin, Leyte (now in Southern Leyte), Duterte moved to Davao as a child where his father, Vicente Duterte, served as provincial governor. He studied political science at the Lyceum of the Philippines University, graduating in 1968, before obtaining a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972. He then worked as a lawyer and was a prosecutor for Davao City, before becoming vice mayor and, subsequently, mayor of the city in the wake of the 1986 People Power Revolution. Duterte won seven terms and served as mayor of Davao for over 22 years, during which the once crime-ridden city became peaceful and investor-friendly. Duterte's 2016 presidential campaign led to his election victory. During his presidency, his domestic policy focused on combating the illegal drug trade by initiating the controversial war on drugs, fighting crime and corruption, and intensified efforts against terrorism and communist insurgency. He launched a massive infrastructure plan, initiated liberal economic reforms, streamlined government processes, and proposed a shift to a federal system of government which was ultimately unsuccessful. He also oversaw the controversial burial of Ferdinand Marcos, the 2017 Battle of Marawi, and the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He declared the intention to pursue an "independent foreign policy", and strengthened relations with China and Russia. He initially announced his candidacy for vice president in the 2022 election; in October 2021, he said he was retiring from politics. The next month, he filed his candidacy for senator but withdrew it on December 14. Duterte's political positions have been described as populist, as well as nationalist. His political success has been aided by his vocal support for the extrajudicial killing of drug users and other criminals. His career has sparked numerous protests and attracted controversy, particularly over human rights issues and his controversial comments. Duterte has repeatedly confirmed to have personally killed criminal suspects during his term as mayor of Davao. Extrajudicial killings that were allegedly committed by the Davao Death Squad between 1998 and 2016 during Duterte's mayoralty have also been scrutinized by human-rights groups and the Office of the Ombudsman. The victims were mainly alleged drug users, alleged petty criminals, and street children. The International Criminal Court opened a preliminary investigation into Duterte's drug war in 2018, prompting Duterte to withdraw the Philippines from the body in response. He is the only president in the history of the Philippines not to declare his assets and liabilities. Duterte's popularity and domestic approval rating remained relatively high throughout his presidency and by the end of his term, he was the most popular post-People Power Revolution president.

2. Bongbong Marcos (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 70.21, Bongbong Marcos is the 2nd most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages.

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (UK: , US: , Tagalog: [ˈmaɾkɔs]; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He is the second child and only son of 10th president, kleptocrat and dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos. In 1980, Marcos became Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte, running unopposed with the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party of his father, who was ruling the Philippines under martial law at the time. He then became Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1983, holding that office until his family was ousted from power by the People Power Revolution and fled into exile in Hawaii in February 1986. After the death of his father in 1989, President Corazon Aquino eventually allowed his family to return to the Philippines to face various charges. Marcos and his mother, Imelda, are currently facing arrest in the United States for defying a court order to pay US$353 million (₱17,385,250,000 in 2024) in restitution to human rights abuse victims during his father's dictatorship. Marcos was elected as Representative of Ilocos Norte's 2nd congressional district from 1992 to 1995. He was elected Governor of Ilocos Norte again in 1998. After nine years, he returned to his previous position as Representative from 2007 to 2010, then became senator under the Nacionalista Party from 2010 to 2016. Marcos unsuccessfully ran for vice president in the 2016 election, losing to Camarines Sur representative Leni Robredo by a difference of 263,473 votes; in response, Marcos filed an electoral protest at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal but his petition was unanimously dismissed after the pilot recount resulted in Robredo widening her lead by 15,093 additional votes. Marcos ran for President of the Philippines in the 2022 election under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, which he won by a landslide with nearly 59% of the vote. His win was the largest since 1981, when his father won 88% of the votes due to a boycott by the opposition who protested the prior election. Marcos's presidential campaign received criticism from fact-checkers and disinformation scholars, who found his campaign to be driven by historical negationism aimed at revamping the Marcos brand and smearing his rivals. His campaign has also been accused of whitewashing the human rights abuses and plunder, estimated at 5 to 13 billion dollars, that took place during his father's presidency. The Washington Post has noted how the historical distortionism of the Marcoses has been underway since the 2000s, while The New York Times cited his convictions of tax fraud, including his refusal to pay his family's estate taxes, and misrepresentation of his education at the University of Oxford. In 2024, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

3. Corazon Aquino (1933 - 2009)

With an HPI of 69.45, Corazon Aquino is the 3rd most famous Filipino Politician. Her biography has been translated into 96 different languages.

Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (Tagalog: [kɔɾaˈsɔn kɔˈhwaŋkɔ aˈkino]; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the eleventh President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution, which ended the two-decade rule of President Ferdinand Marcos and led to the establishment of the current democratic Fifth Philippine Republic. Corazon Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was one of the most prominent critics of President Marcos. After the assassination of her husband on August 21, 1983, she emerged as leader of the opposition against the president. In late 1985, Marcos called for a snap election, and Aquino ran for president with former Senator Salvador Laurel as her running mate for vice president. After the election held on February 7, 1986, the Batasang Pambansa proclaimed Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino as the winners, which prompted allegations of electoral fraud and Aquino's call for massive civil disobedience actions. Subsequently, the People Power Revolution, a non-violent mass demonstration movement, took place from February 22 to 25. The People Power Revolution, along with defections from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and support from the Philippine Catholic Church, ousted Marcos and secured Aquino's accession to the presidency on February 25, 1986. Prior to her election as president, Aquino had not held any elected office. She was the first female president of the Philippines. As president, Aquino oversaw the drafting of the 1987 Constitution, which limited the powers of the presidency and re-established the bicameral Congress, removing the previous dictatorial government structure. Her economic policies focused on forging good economic standing amongst the international community as well as disestablishing Marcos-era crony capitalist monopolies, emphasizing the free market and responsible economy. Her administration pursued peace talks to resolve the Moro conflict, and the result of these talks was creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Aquino was criticized for the Mendiola Massacre, which resulted in the shooting deaths of at least 12 peaceful protesters by Philippine state security forces. The Philippines faced various natural calamities in the latter part of Aquino's administration, such as the 1990 Luzon earthquake, 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption and Tropical Storm Thelma. Several coup attempts were made against her government. She was succeeded as president by Fidel V. Ramos and returned to civilian life in 1992. Aquino was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2008 and died on August 1, 2009. Her son Benigno Aquino III served as president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. After her death, monuments were built and public landmarks were named in honor of Corazon Aquino all around the Philippines. Aquino was regarded as the Mother of Democracy.

4. Ferdinand Marcos (1917 - 1989)

With an HPI of 66.96, Ferdinand Marcos is the 4th most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 127 different languages.

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator and kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. Marcos ruled the country under martial law from 1972 to 1981, and with vastly expanded powers under the 1973 Constitution until he was deposed by a nonviolent revolution in 1986. Marcos described his rule's philosophy as "constitutional authoritarianism": 414 under his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement). One of the most controversial figures in Filipino history, Marcos's regime was infamous for its corruption, extravagance, and brutality. Marcos gained political success by claiming to have been the "most decorated war hero in the Philippines", but many of his claims have been found to be false, with United States Army documents describing his wartime claims as "fraudulent" and "absurd". After World War II, he became a lawyer, and then served in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the Philippine Senate from 1959 to 1965. He was elected president of the Philippines in 1965 and presided over an economy that grew during the beginning of his 20-year rule but would end in the loss of livelihood and extreme poverty for almost half the Philippine population, together with a crushing debt crisis. He pursued an aggressive program of infrastructure development funded by foreign debt, making him popular during his first term, although it triggered an inflationary crisis which led to social unrest in his second term. Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law on September 23, 1972, shortly before the end of his second term. Martial law was ratified in 1973 through a fraudulent referendum.: 191 The constitution was revised, media outlets were silenced, and violence and oppression were used against the political opposition, Muslims, suspected communists, and ordinary citizens. After being elected for a third term in the 1981 presidential election and referendum, Marcos's popularity suffered greatly, due to the economic collapse that began in early 1983 and the public outrage over the assassination of opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. later that year. This discontent, the resulting resurgence of the opposition in the 1984 parliamentary election, and the discovery of documents exposing his financial accounts and false war records led Marcos to call the snap election of 1986. Allegations of mass electoral fraud, political turmoil, and human rights abuses led to the People Power Revolution of February 1986, which removed him from power. To avoid what could have been a military confrontation in Manila between pro- and anti-Marcos troops, Marcos was advised by US president Ronald Reagan through Senator Paul Laxalt to "cut and cut cleanly". Marcos then fled with his family to Hawaii. He was succeeded as president by Aquino's widow, Corazon "Cory" Aquino. According to source documents provided by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the Marcos family stole US$5 billion–$10 billion from the Central Bank of the Philippines. The PCGG also maintained that the Marcos family enjoyed a decadent lifestyle, taking away billions of dollars from the Philippines between 1965 and 1986. His wife, Imelda Marcos, made infamous in her own right by the excesses that characterized her and her husband's "conjugal dictatorship", is the source of the term Imeldific. Two of their children, Imee and Bongbong, are active in Philippine politics, with Bongbong having been elected president in the 2022 presidential election. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos held the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever theft from a government for decades, although Guinness took the record down from their website while it underwent periodic review a few weeks before the 2022 election.

5. Lapu-Lapu (1491 - 1542)

With an HPI of 65.87, Lapu-Lapu is the 5th most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Lapulapu (fl. 1521) or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan, an island now part of the Philippines. Lapulapu is known for the 1521 Battle of Mactan, where he and his men defeated Spanish forces led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his native allies Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula. Magellan's death in battle ended his voyage of circumnavigation and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564. Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because of his resistance to Spanish colonization. Monuments of Lapulapu have been built all over the Philippines to honor Lapulapu's bravery against the Spaniards. The Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image as part of their official seals. Besides being a rival of Rajah Humabon of neighboring Cebu, very little is reliably known about the life of Lapulapu. The only existing primary source mentioning him by name is the account of Antonio Pigafetta, and according to historian Resil B. Mojares, no European who left a primary record of Magellan's voyage/vessel "knew what he looked like, heard him speak (his recorded words of defiance and pride are all indirect), or mentioned that he was present in the battle of Mactan that made him famous." His name, origins, religion, and fate are still a matter of controversy.

6. Diosdado Macapagal (1910 - 1997)

With an HPI of 62.74, Diosdado Macapagal is the 6th most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (Tagalog: [djosˈdado makapaˈɡal]; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970. He was the father of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who followed his path as President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. Known as "the poor boy from Lubao," he was a native of Lubao, Pampanga. Macapagal graduated from the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, both in Manila, after which he worked as a lawyer for the government. He first won the election in 1949 to the House of Representatives, representing the 1st district in his home province of Pampanga. In 1957, he became vice president under the rule of President Carlos P. Garcia, whom he later defeated in the 1961 election. As president, Macapagal worked to suppress graft and corruption and to stimulate the growth of the Philippine economy. He introduced the country's first land reform law, placed the peso on the free currency exchange market, and liberalized foreign exchange and import controls. Many of his reforms, however, were crippled by a Congress dominated by the rival Nacionalista Party. He is also known for shifting the country's observance of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, commemorating the day President Emilio Aguinaldo unilaterally declared the independence of the First Philippine Republic from the Spanish Empire in 1898. He stood for re-election in 1965 and was defeated by Ferdinand Marcos. Under Marcos, Macapagal was elected president of the 1970 constitutional convention that would later draft what became the 1973 Constitution, though the manner in which the charter was ratified and modified led him to later question its legitimacy. He died of heart failure, pneumonia, and renal complications, in 1997, at the age of 86. Macapagal was also a poet in the Spanish language, though his poetic oeuvre was eclipsed by his political biography.

7. Emilio Aguinaldo (1869 - 1964)

With an HPI of 62.72, Emilio Aguinaldo is the 7th most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 63 different languages.

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (Spanish: [eˈmiljo aɣiˈnaldoj ˈfami]: March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and became the first president of the Philippines and of an Asian constitutional republic. He led the Philippine forces first against Spain in the Philippine Revolution (1896–1898), then in the Spanish–American War (1898), and finally against the United States during the Philippine–American War (1899–1901). Though he was not recognized as president outside of the revolutionary Philippines, he is regarded in the Philippines as having been the country's first president during the period of the First Philippine Republic. Aguinaldo is known as a national hero in the Philippines. However, he is also known to be somewhat controversial in the country due to his alleged involvement in the deaths of the revolutionary leader Andrés Bonifacio and general Antonio Luna, and for his collaboration with the Japanese Empire during their occupation of the Philippines in World War II.

8. Benigno Aquino Jr. (1932 - 1983)

With an HPI of 61.63, Benigno Aquino Jr. is the 8th most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (, locally [bɛˌniːɡ.no ʔɐˈxiː.no]; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aquino, who became the 11th president of the Philippines after his assassination, and father of Benigno Aquino III, who became the 15th president of the Philippines. Aquino, together with Gerardo Roxas and Jovito Salonga, helped form the leadership of the opposition toward then President Ferdinand Marcos. He was the significant leader who together with the intellectual leader Sen. Jose W. Diokno led the overall opposition. Early in his Senate career, Aquino vigorously attempted to investigate the Jabidah massacre in March 1968. Shortly after the imposition of martial law in 1972, Aquino was arrested along with other members of the opposition. He was incarcerated for seven years. He has been described as Marcos' "most famous political prisoner". He founded his own party, Lakas ng Bayan and ran in the 1978 Philippine parliamentary election, but all the party's candidates lost in the election. In 1980, he was permitted by Marcos and his wife Imelda to travel to the United States for medical treatment following a heart attack. During the early 1980s, he became one of the most notable critics of the Marcos regime, and enjoyed popularity across the US due to the numerous rallies he attended at the time. As the situation in the Philippines worsened, Aquino decided to return to face Marcos and restore democracy in the country, despite numerous threats against him. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, upon returning from his self-imposed exile. His death revitalized opposition to Marcos; it also catapulted his widow, Corazon, into the political limelight and prompted her to successfully run for a six-year term as president as a member of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) party in the 1986 snap election. Among other public structures, Manila International Airport has since been renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor, and the anniversary of his death is a national holiday. Aquino has also been listed as a Motu Proprio human rights violations victim of the Martial Law era.

9. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 58.09, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the 9th most famous Filipino Politician. Her biography has been translated into 81 different languages.

Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (Tagalog: [ˈɡloɾja makapaˈɡal ʔaˈɾojo]; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president since Ferdinand Marcos. Before her presidency, she was the 10th vice president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Estrada, becoming the first female vice president. She was also a senator from 1992 to 1998. After her presidency, she was elected as the representative of Pampanga's 2nd district in 2010 and continues to serve in this role. She also served as the speaker of the House from 2018 to 2019, and as deputy speaker from 2016 to 2017 and 2022 to 2023. Alongside former president Sergio Osmeña, she is one of only two Filipinos to hold at least three of the four highest offices: vice president, president, and house speaker. Arroyo is the first president to succeed the presidency as the child of a previous president; her father was Diosdado Macapagal, the country's ninth president from 1961 to 1965. She studied economics at Georgetown University in the United States, where she became friends with her classmate and future U.S. president Bill Clinton. She then became a professor of economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, where her eventual successor, President Benigno Aquino III, was one of her students. She entered government in 1987 as assistant secretary and undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry under President Corazon Aquino, Benigno's mother. After Estrada was accused of corruption, Arroyo resigned from her cabinet position as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and joined the opposition against the president. Estrada was ousted by the Second EDSA Revolution in 2001, and Arroyo was sworn in as president by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. on January 20. The Oakwood mutiny occurred in 2003 during her administration. She was elected to a full six-year term in the controversial 2004 presidential election and was sworn in on June 30, 2004. A long-time opponent of the death penalty, she abolished capital punishment in 2006 after commuting the death sentences of over 1,200 prisoners. On November 18, 2011, Arroyo was arrested and held at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on charges of electoral sabotage but released on bail in July 2012. These charges were later dropped for lack of evidence. She was rearrested in October 2012 on charges of misuse of $8.8 million in state lottery funds. She was given hospital arrest due to life-threatening health conditions. During the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the Supreme Court acquitted her by a vote of 11–4. Also, the Supreme Court declared the Department of Justice's 'hold departure orders' unconstitutional. Arroyo's lawyers stated afterward that she no longer needed her medical paraphernalia. Arroyo is a member of the Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language and supported the teaching of Spanish in the country's education system during her presidency.

10. Manuel L. Quezon (1878 - 1944)

With an HPI of 57.75, Manuel L. Quezon is the 10th most famous Filipino Politician. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (UK: , US: , Tagalog: [maˈnwel luˈis ˈkɛson], Spanish: [maˈnwel ˈlwis ˈkeson]; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his death in 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the entire Philippines and is considered the second president of the Philippines after Emilio Aguinaldo (1899–1901), whom Quezon defeated in the 1935 presidential election. He is often regarded as the greatest President of The Philippines, and the quintessential Filipino statesman. Known as "The Father of The National Language", and "The Father of the modern Republic of The Philippines". He was also known as "One of the Finest Statesmen in the world" during his time. During his presidency, Quezon tackled the problem of landless peasants. Other major decisions included the reorganization of the islands' military defense, approval of a recommendation for government reorganization, the promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, dealing with the foreign stranglehold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform, and opposing graft and corruption within the government. He established a government in exile in the U.S. with the outbreak of World War II and the threat of Japanese invasion. Scholars have described Quezon's leadership as a "de facto dictatorship" and described him as "the first Filipino politician to integrate all levels of politics into a synergy of power" after removing his term limits as president and turning the Senate into an extension of the executive through constitutional amendments. In 2015, the Board of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation bestowed a posthumous Wallenberg Medal on Quezon and the people of the Philippines for reaching out to victims of the Holocaust from 1937 to 1941. President Benigno Aquino III and then-94-year-old Maria Zenaida Quezon-Avanceña, the daughter of the former president, were informed of this recognition.

People

Pantheon has 46 people classified as Filipino politicians born between 1491 and 1978. Of these 46, 14 (30.43%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Filipino politicians include Rodrigo Duterte, Bongbong Marcos, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The most famous deceased Filipino politicians include Corazon Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos, and Lapu-Lapu. As of April 2024, 1 new Filipino politicians have been added to Pantheon including Jose W. Diokno.