Philippine Presidents - Biography, Achievements,

Contributions and Issues

General Emilio Aguinaldo (January 23, 1899 – April 1, 1901)

Born: 22 March 1869, Kawit

Died: 6 February 1964, Quezon City

Full name: Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy

Presidential term: 23 January 1899 – 23 March 1901

Spouse: Maria Agoncillo (m. 1930–1963), Hilaria del Rosario de Aguinaldo ( 1896–1921)

Controversially dubbed by some as the Philippine president who sold the

Philippines independence, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's symbolic face can be found in the old

5-peso bill which is no longer used in the Philippines.

You can find him in the 5-peso coin where an emblem of the Philippine flag during

which the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day is celebrated can also be seen.
He is also known for being the first president of the Philippines under the First Republic

known in Philippine history back then as the Malolos Republic.

Contributions Achievements:

 first president of the first republic of the Philippines (R.P.)

 youngest general of the Hukbong Sandatahan in his time and also the country’s

youngest president at age 28

 the longest living president who died at an old age of 94 years old

 leaders of Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan

 Pact of Biak na Bato signatory

ISSUES

The following are 10 reasons Emilio Aguinaldo is not that well loved.

1. He is a traitor. While in Katipunan, he was the parasite that slowly ate the integrity of

the organization by making few treachery attempts: ranging from declaring his own

government inside Katipunan itself to not aiding Bonifacio’s half in the battle.

(wikipedia.org)

2. He killed Andres Bonifacio. You know, Andres? – Rizal’s rival for the title of Philippine

National Hero, leader of Katipunan and the main reason for start of the Philippine

Revolution. Well, your dear general ordered his death. (‘Philippines, A Unique Nation’ by

Sonia M. Zaide)

3. He is an embodiment of discrimination. The fact that Daniel discriminated Bonifacio

while Aguinaldo was there doing nothing, well that’s corruption and discrimination. And
yeah, Aguinaldo is Tirona’s leader. (‘History of Filipino People In English’ by Teodoro

Andal Agoncillo)

4. He’s the reason why Katipunan was broken in half. He’s the reason why the Magdalo

and Magdiwang were born. These two run under the banner “Katipunan” but no, they are

two separate groups. (‘Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People’ by Milagros

Guerrero)

5. He might be the root for the political war in the Philippines. Despite being his leader, he

“outmaneuvered” Andres to effectively overthrow him and become the leader of both of

Katipunan factions, and therefore the whole Katipunan. (‘History of Filipino People In

English’ by Teodoro Andal Agoncillo)

6. He sold the Philippines to the Spanish for $800,000. He agreed for a self-exile to Hong

Kong and for the dissolving of his government to Fernando Primo de Rivera in the famous

Pact of Biak-na-Bato. This is in exchange for an insanely huge $800,000 bribe.

(‘Philippines, A Unique Nation’ by Sonia M. Zaide)

7. He led the Americans to colonize the Philippines. His return to Philippines through

Admiral Dewey’s help gave the Spanish reasons to sell the Philippines to the Americans.

This gave the Americans a foothold and leverage to start the flames of their colonization.

(‘The Story of the Philippines’ by Murat Halstead)

8. He incited the conflict between the Philippines and America. His ruling by decree grew

out the conflict with the Americans in military situation. (wikipedia.org)

9. He put lives of four (4) innocent men in danger. Without the Americans’ knowledge, he

smuggled four innocent foreign reporters to investigate the murder by Pvt. Greyson and

therefore officially putting them in the middle of American-Filipino conflict.

(wikipedia.org)

10. He surrendered the Philippines to the Japanese. He cooperated with the Japanese by

making speeches in favor of the Japanese. In one speech, he asked General Douglas

MacArthur to surrender to the Japanese. (‘Cousins of Color’ by William Schroder)

Despite all of these snake-attitudes that Aguinaldo has staged, let’s not forget that

he’s still one of the brave generals in the history of the Philippines; he even made the

Spanish generals shake on their knees at one time. But we cannot take out the fact that the

political cold war happening in the present time was first showcased by our dear general.

Therefore, yeah, he’s done a lot of great things for the Philippines but still, he is, for me, a

snake and a coward.

 Manuel L. Quezon (November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944)

Born: 19 August 1878, Baler

Died: 1 August 1944, Saranac Lake, New York, United States

Full name: Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina

Nationality: Philippine

Spouse: Aurora Quezon (m. 1918–1944)

Children: Luisa Corazón Paz Quezón,

María Zeneida "Nini" Quezón-Avancena
María Aurora "Baby" Quezón
Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezón, Jr.

As the “Father of National Language” (Ama ng Wikang Pambansa in Tagalog),

Manuel Luis Quezon is Philippine president known to have died of a common man's

disease, tuberculosis in his last few days in Saranac Lake, New York according to a wiki

biography.
 You can find an interesting and unique memorabilia of his life-sized wax statue

inside the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, a place named after his own and called

Q.C. Rotonda. With many firsts under his biography according to wikipedia, below is a

list.

Contributions and Achievements:

 first Senate president elected as one of the Philippine Presidents in his time

 won as the first president through a (nation-wide) national election

 first president under the Commonwealth

 created the National Council of Education

 initiated women’s rights in the Philippines during the Commonwealth

regime

 made Tagalog / Filipino as the national language of the Philippines, hence

he is called "Ama ng Pambansang Wika"

 he is in the current twenty-peso bill

 to his legacy, his name was made as the remembering name of Quezon

Boulevard, Quezon Avenue, Quezon province, Quezon City, Quezon

Bridge and MLQU and MLQHS respectively in Manila

 his remains still lie at the Rotonda monument in Quezon Memorial Circle
 15 Mesmerizing Facts About President Manuel Quezon
By FilipiKnow

Other than the national heroes, perhaps no other figure in Philippine history

receives as much reverence as Manuel Quezon. Loved by his supporters, criticized yet

begrudgingly admired by his rivals, Quezon undoubtedly stands as a Filipino leader of the

highest caliber.

What better way then, as tribute to the first president of the Philippine

Commonwealth, than to know more about his life and all (he was human after all). Read

on and get to know the man whose name would be forever etched in the annals of Philippine

history (along with countless streets and buildings).

15. He was a bright but lazy student.

14. He adopted someone’s name into his own.
13. He made his wife cry with a prank.
12. He was a gifted pianist.
11. He was a brilliant lawyer.
10. He initially refused to learn English.
9. He almost fought two duels…twice.
8. He was a talented card player.
7. He made his own clothes.
6. He was an incorrigible playboy.
5. He paid MacArthur $500,000.
4. He tried to secure a neutrality pact with the Japanese.
3. He was a people’s president.
2. He was a bureaucrat’s worst nightmare.
1. He was a bonafide statesman.
 Did you know?

Manuel Quezon also played a major role in saving more than a thousand Jews.

Even if his rivals criticized him, he does not care at all. And because of his skills,

knowledge and his love for our country, those who criticized him also admire him. He

made many contributions that helps every Filipino in different ways. He approved

Tagalog/Filipino as the national language of the Philippines. And because of that, we

understand each other. We can easily express ourselves through our Mother Tongue.And

we cannot easily forget Manuel Quezon because his name would be forever etched in the

annals of Philippine history (along with countless streets and buildings).

"I would rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos than a county run like heaven by

the Americans, because however a bad Filipino government might be, we can always

change it."

- Manuel L. Quezon