Top 10 Best Philippine Presidents

The Top Ten
1 Ferdinand Marcos (10th President)

Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippine Strongman, presided over a time when our economy, although no longer the second richest in Asia, was very progressive due to numerous infrastructural developments in the Philippines.

It was deemed necessary for him to declare martial law to prevent the Philippines from becoming communist and to instill discipline among Filipinos.

In 1986, the Philippines' downfall began. It became impoverished, thanks to a housewife with no political experience assuming the role of Filipino president. Now, Benigno Aquino is the president of the Philippines, and we must wait to see his competence.

Marcos should be recognized as the greatest president in Philippine history.

2 Ramon Magsaysay (7th President)

A war hero. During his time, it was the Philippines' Golden years. Trade and Industry flourished. His regime was the cleanest and was almost corruption-free. There was no favoritism, and no one was above the law during his time. There was peace and order. He was an expert in counter-insurgency. Also, he was successful against the rebels. He gave land to the landless.

The legit greatest president of the Philippines, not the Marcos one. Filipinos loyal to either Marcos or Aquino can't accept this.

He is one honest, hardworking, and selfless leader. He solved a lot of problems that our country faced. He is like a father to us. He allowed people to enter the Malacañang Palace just to hear their concerns and problems. He is the Champion of the Masses. If only he were still alive, our country would be better. Besides, he implemented a lot of laws like the Magna Carta and others (Republic Acts).

3 Benigno Aquino III (15th President) Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III (born February 8, 1960) is a Filipino politician who served as the 15th President of the Philippines from 2010 until 2016.

Without a doubt, one of the top five best. He has done more for honesty and integrity in public service, performance relative to resources, challenges, and time in office, and overall leadership effectiveness. His legacies include honest governance, economic recovery after the failed Arroyo administration and plunder, leading and healing the nation after great natural (Yolanda) and man-made tragedies (Zamboanga siege), rebuilding a credible armed forces, and landmark initiatives in bringing inclusive and lasting peace to Mindanao. His overall structural legacies in good governance are notable.

4 Rodrigo Duterte (16th President) Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte, also known by the nickname Digong, is a Filipino lawyer and politician of Visayan descent who served as President of The Philippines from 2016 until 2022.

He may not speak as presidentially compared to other presidents, however, you can tell the sincerity of his intentions in every nerve of his veins and not just in motherly talks. In his short term as President, we can see the transformation of the Philippines. It may be bloody in his war on drugs, as others claim, but it is his willpower to cleanse the drug problem that is effective, even if it caused collateral damages.

He's the President who FINISHED the big infrastructure projects that other presidents didn't accomplish. Others may have planned/strategized these projects, but implementing/finishing them is another thing. He DID it!

Oligarchs cannot put their hands on Duterte for they know that he is not beholden to them. PAL, Mighty Corp, Maynilad, etc. it was only Duterte who squeezed them to pay the government.

For me, he may not be the best, but he is definitely better than any of them.

5 Manuel L. Quezon (2nd President)

A true nationalist who loves the Philippines. There's a reason why they call the American occupation 40 years in Hollywood. It's because of him and Sergio, two of the most prolific politicians in Philippine history.

He was the only Filipino (though not in blood) who made an effort to promote his own language.

He was the Hero of the Jewish Refugees during the age of World War II. A Father of the Philippine National Language.

6 Sergio Osmeña (4th President)

He established our independence from the USA economically.

7 Manuel Roxas (5th President)

Manuel Roxas is the best president.

8 Fidel V. Ramos (12th President)

Let me remind you that it was under his leadership that we became one of Asia's Tiger Economies. Plus, he was the first-ever president who was able to have a surplus budget. Not the best, but certainly a good one, in my opinion.

He was better than his successor. He had an extensive post-presidency.

9 Diosdado Macapagal (9th President)

He was well-focused when it came to agriculture. His program really helped farmers. Being a less fortunate person, he studied hard, and who would guess that a less fortunate person could become the president of a country.

He was reform-minded. He focused on agriculture.

10 Jose P. Laurel (3rd President)

The best president in his time! He made an agreement with the Japanese to avoid further bloodshed. The Japanese were supposed to liberate us from U.S. colonialism. But those cowards (U.S.A) dropped the nuke on civilians, which is inhumane and evil.

The Contenders
11 Corazon Aquino (11th President) Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Aquino, popularly known as Cory Aquino, was a Filipina politician who was the 11th President of the Philippines, the first woman to hold that office and the first female president in Asia.

Her greatest legacy is completing the unfinished struggle for the return of freedom and democracy to our nation, and ending the rapacious plunder and economic disaster brought by Marcos, his cronies, and corrupt generals. Cory took great personal risks and demonstrated even greater courage to fight and quell 21 coup attempts and military power grabs by Enrile, Honasan, and their cronies. Posterity and our nation will forever be indebted to her for leading us back to constitutional democracy and bequeathing to Ramos the foundation and promise of a robust democratic society.

12 Andres Bonifacio (1st President [Unofficial])

Setting our country free from Spain is more than any reforms and programs of our presidents because he had the will to abolish forced labor, torture, sufferings, and colonial rule, etc., but was killed by Aguinaldo and his men. Aguinaldo deserves to be the vice president.

Andres Bonifacio had a government (Katipunan) even before the Tejeros Convention. The reason he lost in the Tejeros Convention was that it was held in Cavite, where Aguinaldo lives. Inspired by Rizal, he then inspired many other Filipinos to start an uprising and start the 1896 Philippine Revolution.

13 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (14th President) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 until 2010, as the 10th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and as member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga since 2010. She was the country's... read more

She averaged a 4.5% quarterly growth, which was greater than that of three of her predecessors. The Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace with a 7% real GDP growth and was one of the few economies in the world to avoid contraction during the 2008 Financial Crisis that crippled the US and most of Europe. Arroyo's handling of the economy earned praise from other world leaders, putting the country back in shape despite persistent poverty, a high population growth rate, and uneven income distribution.

The media needed a scapegoat and needed to point their camera of blame at her. What she's done for the country was very much downplayed, and the controversies were blown out of proportion. The media just makes negative thinkers/positive thinkers out of the things they show/repeatedly say to people. They owe something to the Aquinos, that much is true. And GMA has snubbed their pettiness, so she got bad coverage throughout her term.

14 Carlos P. Garcia (8th President)

A patriot with real love for Filipino culture, he was dubbed the Prince of Visayan Poetry. A bar exam topnotcher, he chose to use his brilliance to teach the youth by becoming a high school teacher in Bohol. He climbed his way to the presidency and was not from a political clan.

Oh, what could have been? It seemed like Garcia had a vision for a more domestically sufficient country. A far cry from the current state of the republic.

The first-ever President who thought of Filipinos' well-being first... Thus, the "Filipino-First" policy.

15 Emilio Aguinaldo (1st President) Emilio F. Aguinaldo (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, politician, and a military leader who is officially recognized as the first and the youngest President of the Philippines and first president of a constitutional republic in Asia. He led Philippine forces first against... read more

He was a young patriot who helped build our so-called Philippine Republic, gave us the identity of a "Filipino," not as an Indio. He designed the flag, proposed our national anthem, and led our army. He and his compatriots fought during the revolution, which resulted in many victories in major battles, leaving us a legacy that cannot be broken. Despite his outstanding contributions to the nation, he was called a traitor by others, including historians who envied his accomplishments. Always in a cycle, he was blamed for the deaths of Bonifacio and Luna, who had never been eager enough to learn and understand his story and struggles during those chaotic times. He sacrificed his wealth, youth, time, talents, sweat, and blood, even his name, so that our generations and the next may be able to enjoy ourselves on our own land owned by our race.

16 Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada (13th President)

He was supposed to overhaul the peace and order of the country, mostly in Mindanao.

He did well in his three years in office. He was also good as Mayor of Manila from 2013 to 2019.

He conducted an all-out war and captured most of the camps of rebel Muslims, including Abubakar.

17 Elpidio Quirino (6th President)

For me, he's the best president the Philippines has ever had, next to Bonifacio (If only Aguinaldo hadn't killed him).

He is the best President fit for those times of rebuilding a war-torn country.

18 Bong Bong Marcos (17th President)

He is the son of the Philippine president/dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He improved the military rank of the Philippines from 52 to 32. He has taken the first step towards Federalism and saved the alliance with the USA.

It was about time for the students to return to school so that they could do face-to-face classes. He's not bad, but neutral, since what I don't like about him is that he traveled around the world.

19 Miguel Malvar (2nd/3rd President [Unofficial])
20 Macario Sakay (2nd President [Unofficial])
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