History

Sergio Osmeña Sr. (1935 – 1944)

The 1935 Constitution provided for an Office of the Vice President which was initially held by Sergio Osmeña who won with 87% of the vote. Elected on September 16, 1935, Sergio Osmena Sr became the first Visayan vice president under the Quezon presidency. The Quezon-Osmena tandem lead to the birth of the Philippine Commonwealth, where Osmena also served as the secretary of the Public Instruction, later named to be the Department of Education.

Osmeña served as Vice President to President Manuel L. Quezon for three terms. First from 1935 to 1941, second from 1941 to 1943, and finally from 1943 to August 1, 1944 – when his term was extended due to World War II, and he succeeded President Quezon who passed away.

Elpidio Quirino (1946 – 1948)

Former senator and Interior and Finance Secretary Elpidio Quirino was inaugurated on July 4, 1946, as the Vice President of an independent Philippines – the third Philippine Republic. Quirino served as then President Manuel Roxas’ Vice President until April 15, 1948, when he succeeded to the Presidency after Roxas’ sudden demise.

During his short stint as the Vice President, Elpidio Quirino also served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, where the Philippines was able to establish ties with foreign countries. The country also became a member of reputable international organizations including United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Fernando Lopez (1949 – 1953)

The position of Vice President would remain vacant until 1949 when the next national elections were scheduled. On November 8, 1949, Elpidio Quirino and Fernando Lopez won the Presidency and Vice Presidency, respectively.

Fernando Lopez became the vice president in 1949, where he also served as the secretary of Agriculture until 1953. He was reelected as vice president in 1969. During his term as vice president and agriculture secretary, he was dubbed as the “rice czar” for his contribution to the distribution of the Miracle Rice.

Fernando Lopez served as the third Vice President of the Philippines until 1953. He was not renominated by his party and did not run for re-election.

Carlos P. Garcia (1953 – 1957)

Senator Carlos P. Garcia was elected as the fourth Vice President of the Philippines in 1953, attaining 62% of the vote. He also served as the Secretary of Foreign affairs from 1953 to 1957. Under his term, several peace treaties and war reparations with the Japanese were created. He also continued foreign policies and spearheaded the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954.

Garcia served as Ramon Magsaysay’s Vice President until the President died in a plane crash in Cebu on March 17, 1957.Garcia took his oath as President the next day. At the time, he was away on official business and had to travel back to the Philippines immediately to assume the Presidency.

Diosdado Macapagal (1957 – 1961)

Elections were set the same year that Magsaysay was killed in a plane crash. In those elections, Garcia ran and won the Presidency but his running mate, House Speaker Jose B. Laurel, Jr., lost the election for Vice President. This was the first instance in the history of the Philippines where the top two officials of the land came from different parties.

Diosdado Macapagal became the first Philippine vice president to be elected from the president’s rival party, and he served as the leader of the opposition for his entire term. He won with 46% of the vote and became the fifth Vice President of the Philippines.

Emmanuel Pelaez (1961 – 1965)

During the 1961 elections, Diosdado Macapagal, the incumbent Vice President, went on to win the Presidency and his running mate Emmanuel Pelaez became the sixth Vice President of the Philippines. Pelaez won with a plurality of votes getting a total of 38%. He also served as the Foreign Affairs Secretary from 1961 to 1963, when he was given the power of authority to formally accept the transfer of sovereignty over North Borneo from the Sultan of Sulu.

Vice President Pelaez eventually left the Liberal Party and joined the Nationalista Party to vie for the party’s nomination for President. The party, however, nominated Senate President Ferdinand Marcos to run as President and incumbent Senator and former Vice President Fernando Lopez to run as Vice President.

Fernando Lopez (1965 – 1972)

In the elections of 1965, Marcos and Lopez came out on top against incumbent President Macapagal. Lopez won by a plurality of votes, getting 48% of the total votes cast. Lopez served as the seventh Vice President of the Philippines until the imposition of Martial Law in 1972.

At the time of Martial Law, the Philippine Legislature was closed, and the Vice Presidency was abolished. Moves to change the Constitution came to a head with the ratification of the 1973 Constitution which re-established a unicameral legislature and completely abolished the Vice Presidency. It was not until 1984 when amendments to the 1973 Constitution were approved through a referendum that the Office of the Vice President was reestablished.

Salvador Laurel (1986 – 1992)

The first election for Vice President since 1969 was set for 1987 but was done in February of 1986 when President Marcos called for a snap election. In that election, Salvador Laurel won against rival Arturo Tolentino with 51% of the vote –making him the eighth Vice President of the Philippines.

The subsequent EDSA Revolution would eventually repeal the 1973 Constitution and put in place our current constitution in 1987. It re-established the Vice Presidency and a bicameral legislature.

During his term as Vice President under the Aquino administration, Salvador Laurel also served as Foreign Affairs Secretary. He focused on a policy that aimed to get recognition from other states, which led to the United States of America providing the country with both economic and military assistance. Under his leadership, the Philippines hosted the ASEAN Summit Convention despite lingering turmoil and unrest.

Joseph Estrada (1992 – 1998)

On May 11, 1992, the first Presidential election under the 1987 Constitution was held. This election used to hold the record for the most number of candidates who ran for the Vice Presidency. Out of the seven candidates, Joseph Estrada won with 33% of the vote. Estrada served as the ninth Vice President of the Philippines until he ran for President in 1998.

Vice President Estrada also served as the Chairman of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission from 1992 to 1997. Under his leadership of the Commission, safehouses were raided by special units and the arrest of criminal warlords and kidnapping syndicates were covered by the national press. In 1993, VP Estrada was named as "Man of the Year" by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation after he consistently topped the Social Weather Station's surveys on government official’s performance.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (1998 – 2001)

The 1998 elections also saw a high number of candidates vying for the Vice Presidency. Out of the 7 candidates, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won the elections garnering 50% of the vote. Arroyo took office in 1998 along with President Joseph Estrada. Apart from becoming the Vice President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also served as the Social Welfare and Development Secretary, but later resigned in 2000 following the Executive Order No. 15 issued by President Estrada, which essentially transformed the cabinet office’s mandate and role.

She was the tenth Vice President of the Philippines and assumed the Presidency after President Estrada resigned in 2001.

Teofisto Guingona Jr. (2001 – 2004)

VP Guingona is known for his strong stance against graft and corruption and culpable violations of the Constitution. He was the first to call on President Joseph Estrada’s resignation and was also one of the leaders in opposing the Marcos regime.

With the Vice Presidency vacant in 2001, President Arroyo nominated her party mate and incumbent Senator Teofisto Guingona. His nomination was affirmed by the Congress of the Philippines, and he became the 11th Vice President of the Philippines. He served as President Arroyo’s Vice President until 2004 when he did not run for reelection. He was also the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2002, following a resignation that “stemmed from an honest difference of opinion concerning policy”.

Noli de Castro (2004 – 2010)

President Arroyo chose independent Senator Noli de Castro as her running mate in the 2004 elections. Both won the Presidency and the Vice Presidency respectively. With 50% of the vote, de Castro went on to be the 12th Vice President of the Philippines.

Vice President Noli de Castro served as the Housing and Urban Development Council Chairman during his term. This provided him with the opportunity to serve the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, National Housing Authority, Home Guaranty Corporation, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, and the Social Housing Finance Corporation.

Jejomar Binay (2010 – 2016)

De Castro served until 2010 and was succeeded by Vice President Jejomar Binay, the 13th Vice President of the Philippines. During his term, Vice President Jojo Binay also served as the Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Council and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers.

Under VP Binay, the OVP claimed to have served 56,722 Filipinos through medical, burial, and transportation assistance from July 2010 to March 2016. In addition, the office has also provided around 642,143 families with relief assistance and 124,416 children of indigenous groups with educational support. The office’s medical and dental checkup also covered 143,251 beneficiaries.

Leni Robredo (2016 – 2022)

In the 2016 elections, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte won as President while Camarines Sur Third District Representative Leni Robredo won as Vice President. Garnering 35% of the vote, Vice President Robredo became the first congresswoman to win the Vice Presidency. She was also appointed as ICAD co-chair in 2019, but only held office for 18 days due to internal conflicts that reported made it “impossible for me to perform my duties.”

Vice President Robredo went on to continue her work under the Angat Buhay and further stepped up during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, responding to public need as demanded.

Sara Duterte (2022 – present)

Daughter of then President, Rodrigo Duterte and former Davao City Mayor, Sara Duterte won as the 15th Vice President of the Philippines in the 2022 national elections. VP Duterte was also appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as secretary of the Department of Education.

History recorded not just the fate of the Vice Presidents of the Philippines, but also reminded the Office of the terminable nature of the seat. As the leaders change, so did the Office, and with it, highlighted the challenge of having no permanent address.