Filipinos are once again will be given the chance to vote for who they think has the potential to be the next leader. While most of us are busy to dig on the credentials of the candidates let's look into the election history of the Philippines and let it take us back from the very first election to the most remarkable presidential election that our country had.
It's already in the history that the first Philippine president that was elected was Manuel L. Quezon bearing the flag of the Nacionalista Party. The election was held September 15, 1935. And this was during the transitional government called the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1949 was the year when the Filipinos were able to elect President Elpidio Quirino as a newly independent republic. We used to hold elections every four years, during every second Tuesday of November and inauguration was every December 30th. Nacionalistas and the Liberals are the only political parties during this time where the two-party system of the Third Republic came from.
This was changed after President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and ruled by decree. A new constitution was ratified in 1973 stating the abolishment of the office of the vice president and that the members of the National Assembly (Batasang Pambansa) will have no term limits and that the president may serve indefinitely.
Constitutional amendment happened 1981 which gives six year term office for an elected president which amidst protests won by Marcos. It was 1984 when the office of the vice president was reinstated by another amendment where the vote for the president is also a vote for the vice president, and was later on changed and gave vice president candidate a separate vote.
1986 was when Marcos called for an early “snap” election, 1987 was supposed to be the next election. And again Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino was declared winners. And that was when Philippines made a history when the People Power Revolution happened that removed Marcos from his position and declared the then runner-up Corazon Aquino as the President.
Year 1987 when a new constitution was ratified, it was identical with the 1973 constitution as far as the presidential election is concerned. It marked every second Monday of May of the election year as the election day and June 30 of the same calendar year as the Inauguration date, and it was 1992 elections when the new constitution was first applied giving Fidel Ramos the position as the newly elected president then. And elections are held every six years thereafter.
1992 was when the multi-party system happened during the Fifth Republic. Fidel Ramos (1992 elections) bears the lowest percentage of votes in history which is 23℅, far from the 40℅ that Joseph Estrada (1998 elections) was able to achieve and 42℅ for Benigno Aquino III (2010 elections) and was both considered as landslide winners. While Gloria Arroyo (2004 elections) and Fernando Poe Jr. made a history by having the closest margin of votes. Before the 2004 elections, Gloria Arroyo replaced the position of the then president Joseph Estrada after the 2001 People’s Revolution. No ruling party ever won the presidential elections since 1986.
Emilio Aguinaldo (1898 elected by Malolos Congress), Jose P. Laurel (1943 elected by the National Assembly under the Japanese Empire) and Ferdinand Marcos (1973 elected by the National Assembly following the new constitution) are the Presidents that was appointed by the National Assembly which we call now the Batasang Pambansa which was composed by the twenty four senators. Contrary to the other presidents that the Filipino voters took them to the position.
ElleMenThoughts:
Looking back from the election history, based on the collected facts Filipinos went through some ratifications in constitution which gave presidential elections major changes especially on the number of years that the elected president will serve his/her term.
Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law was for the Filipino majority the worst among all the government that the Philippines ever had, but some believed otherwise. Freedom of speech suppressed, human rights victims increased are some of the factors that democracy hungered Filipinos despised this law.
Filipinos seemed to learn how to stand on their ground and finally was able to unconsciously find a way for their freedom and made the historical EDSA People Power Revolution. And the power of the people being together as one seemed to work the second time during Joseph Estrada’s term when his government faced the Jose Pidal controversy and was impeached from his position.
People may have different standards and choices in terms of how a leader should be but during critical times, showed unity and fought as one.
It's already in the history that the first Philippine president that was elected was Manuel L. Quezon bearing the flag of the Nacionalista Party. The election was held September 15, 1935. And this was during the transitional government called the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1949 was the year when the Filipinos were able to elect President Elpidio Quirino as a newly independent republic. We used to hold elections every four years, during every second Tuesday of November and inauguration was every December 30th. Nacionalistas and the Liberals are the only political parties during this time where the two-party system of the Third Republic came from.
This was changed after President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and ruled by decree. A new constitution was ratified in 1973 stating the abolishment of the office of the vice president and that the members of the National Assembly (Batasang Pambansa) will have no term limits and that the president may serve indefinitely.
Constitutional amendment happened 1981 which gives six year term office for an elected president which amidst protests won by Marcos. It was 1984 when the office of the vice president was reinstated by another amendment where the vote for the president is also a vote for the vice president, and was later on changed and gave vice president candidate a separate vote.
1986 was when Marcos called for an early “snap” election, 1987 was supposed to be the next election. And again Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino was declared winners. And that was when Philippines made a history when the People Power Revolution happened that removed Marcos from his position and declared the then runner-up Corazon Aquino as the President.
Year 1987 when a new constitution was ratified, it was identical with the 1973 constitution as far as the presidential election is concerned. It marked every second Monday of May of the election year as the election day and June 30 of the same calendar year as the Inauguration date, and it was 1992 elections when the new constitution was first applied giving Fidel Ramos the position as the newly elected president then. And elections are held every six years thereafter.
1992 was when the multi-party system happened during the Fifth Republic. Fidel Ramos (1992 elections) bears the lowest percentage of votes in history which is 23℅, far from the 40℅ that Joseph Estrada (1998 elections) was able to achieve and 42℅ for Benigno Aquino III (2010 elections) and was both considered as landslide winners. While Gloria Arroyo (2004 elections) and Fernando Poe Jr. made a history by having the closest margin of votes. Before the 2004 elections, Gloria Arroyo replaced the position of the then president Joseph Estrada after the 2001 People’s Revolution. No ruling party ever won the presidential elections since 1986.
Emilio Aguinaldo (1898 elected by Malolos Congress), Jose P. Laurel (1943 elected by the National Assembly under the Japanese Empire) and Ferdinand Marcos (1973 elected by the National Assembly following the new constitution) are the Presidents that was appointed by the National Assembly which we call now the Batasang Pambansa which was composed by the twenty four senators. Contrary to the other presidents that the Filipino voters took them to the position.
ElleMenThoughts:
Looking back from the election history, based on the collected facts Filipinos went through some ratifications in constitution which gave presidential elections major changes especially on the number of years that the elected president will serve his/her term.
Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law was for the Filipino majority the worst among all the government that the Philippines ever had, but some believed otherwise. Freedom of speech suppressed, human rights victims increased are some of the factors that democracy hungered Filipinos despised this law.
Filipinos seemed to learn how to stand on their ground and finally was able to unconsciously find a way for their freedom and made the historical EDSA People Power Revolution. And the power of the people being together as one seemed to work the second time during Joseph Estrada’s term when his government faced the Jose Pidal controversy and was impeached from his position.
People may have different standards and choices in terms of how a leader should be but during critical times, showed unity and fought as one.
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