Top 10 Best Philippine Presidents

The Top Ten
1 Ferdinand Marcos (10th President) Ferdinand Marcos served as the 10th President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He declared Martial Law in 1972, which marked the start of a dictatorship that lasted until his ouster through the People Power Revolution in 1986.

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) Ramon Magsaysay was the 7th President of the Philippines, serving from 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1957. He is remembered for his efforts in fighting corruption and advocating for land reform.

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.

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 Aquino III served as the 15th President of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. His administration focused on anti-corruption measures and improving the Philippine economy.

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 Duterte was the 16th President of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. His administration was known for its controversial "War on Drugs" and his pivot toward stronger relations with China and Russia.

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 or strategized these projects, but implementing or 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) Manuel L. Quezon was the 2nd President of the Philippines, serving from 1935 to 1944. He is credited with establishing the Commonwealth of the Philippines and advocating for Filipino self-governance under American rule.

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) Sergio Osmeña was the 4th President of the Philippines, serving from 1944 to 1946. He took office after the death of Manuel Quezon and led the country through the end of World War II.

He established our independence from the USA economically.

7 Manuel Roxas (5th President) Manuel Roxas served as the 5th President of the Philippines from 1946 to 1948, becoming the first president of the independent Third Republic. His administration focused on post-war recovery and rebuilding the nation's economy.

Manuel Roxas is the best president.

8 Fidel V. Ramos (12th President) Fidel V. Ramos was the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He is credited with stabilizing the country's economy and promoting political and economic reforms.

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) Diosdado Macapagal was the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965. He is best known for moving the country's Independence Day from July 4 to June 12 and initiating land reform policies.

He was well-focused when it came to agriculture. His program really helped farmers. Being less fortunate, 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) Jose P. Laurel served as the 3rd President of the Philippines from 1943 to 1945 during the Japanese occupation. His presidency was marked by the complexities of collaborating with the Japanese-installed government.

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) Corazon Aquino served as the 11th President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the first female president in the country's history and is known for restoring democratic institutions after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship.

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]) Andres Bonifacio is considered an unofficial first president by some due to his leadership in the Philippine revolution against Spain. He founded the Katipunan, an organization that aimed to gain independence for the Philippines.

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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.

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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 served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. Her administration faced multiple challenges, including allegations of corruption and electoral fraud.

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 and positive thinkers out of the things they show or 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) Carlos P. Garcia was the 8th President of the Philippines, serving from 1957 to 1961. His administration is known for promoting the "Filipino First Policy," prioritizing Filipino businesses in the national economy.

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 Aguinaldo was the first President of the Philippines, serving from 1899 to 1901. He led the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule and declared Philippine independence in 1898.

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) Joseph Estrada served as the 13th President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001. His presidency was cut short by a popular uprising following corruption allegations, leading to his resignation.

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) Elpidio Quirino was the 6th President of the Philippines, serving from 1948 to 1953. He worked on post-war reconstruction and economic development but faced criticism for alleged corruption.

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 Bongbong Marcos (17th President) Bongbong Marcos, the 17th President of the Philippines, took office in 2022. He is the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos and campaigned on a platform of national unity and economic revival.

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]) Miguel Malvar is considered by some as an unofficial second or third president of the Philippines due to his leadership during the Philippine-American War. He assumed command of the revolutionary forces after the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo.
20 Macario Sakay (2nd President [Unofficial]) Macario Sakay is regarded as an unofficial second president for his leadership in the resistance against American rule. He declared himself president of the Tagalog Republic during the Philippine-American War.
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