Politics of the Philippines
Government Constitution of the Philippines Charter Change Laws Legal codes Taxation
Executive President of the Philippines Bongbong Marcos (PFP) Vice President of the Philippines Sara Duterte (HNP) Cabinet (lists) Executive departments Local government
Legislature Congress of the Philippines 19th Congress Senate President Migz Zubiri (Independent) House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez (Lakas) Districts Party-list representation Bangsamoro Parliament Provincial boards City councils Municipal councils Barangay councils
Judiciary Supreme Court of the Philippines Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo Court of Appeals Court of Tax Appeals Sandiganbayan Ombudsman Regional Trial Courts Barangay justice
Constitutional commissions Civil Service Commission Chairperson Karlo Nograles Commission on Audit Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba Commission on Elections Chairperson George Garcia
Elections General 2016 2019 2022 Barangay 2013 2018 2023 Referendums
Political parties Akbayan Aksyon Lakas LDP Liberal Nacionalista NPC NUP PFP Reporma PDP–Laban UNA
Administrative divisions Capital Regions Autonomous regions Provinces Cities Municipalities Barangays Poblacions Sitios Puroks
Related topics Foreign relations Human rights
Philippines portal Other countries

This list of presidential elections in the Philippines includes election results of both presidential and vice presidential elections since 1899 with the candidates' political party and their corresponding percentage.

The offices of the president and vice president are elected separately; hence a voter may split their vote. The candidate with the highest number of votes wins the position.

There had been 17 direct presidential elections in history: 1897, 1935, 1941, 1946, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1981, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2016 and 2022. When referring to "presidential elections", these 17 are usually the ones being referred to. All of these also included vice presidential elections, except for 1981.

There had also been two indirect elections: 1899 and 1943. Both were elected by the legislature (The Malolos Congress in 1899 and the National Assembly in 1943), and both resulted in unanimous and uncontested votes.

There had been two presidential referendums, in July 1973 and 1977. All in all, there had been 21 presidential ballots in Philippine history.

Since 1992, the elections have been held on the second Monday of May and every six years thereafter. The next presidential and vice presidential elections are in May 2028.

History

During the Philippine Revolution, several leadership elections for the Katipunan were later on described as precursors of presidential elections. One example of this is the Tejeros Convention of 1897, where Emilio Aguinaldo successfully removed erstwhile Katipunan leader Andres Bonifacio. From that point on, it was Aguinaldo who would lead the revolution, declare independence from Spain, and convened the Malolos Congress. The Malolos Congress elected Aguinaldo as president on January 1, 1899, passed a constitution on January 22, and Aguinaldo and the First Republic was inaugurated on January 23, 1899. The First Republic existed until Aguinaldo's capture by the Americans on March 23, 1901.

The first presidential election by popular vote was on September 15, 1935, after the ratification of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines; Manuel Quezon of the Nacionalista Party emerged as the victor, defeating previous president Emilio Aguinaldo (Aguinaldo was elected president by the Malolos Congress). As a commonwealth then of the United States, the constitution decreed that the president shall have one term of six years without reelection. In 1940, it was amended to allow one reelection, but with the term shortened to four years; this setup was first used in the second election in 1941 with Quezon being reelected.

However, World War II intervened and thus suspended the elections of 1945. The Empire of Japan set up the Second Philippine Republic that elected José P. Laurel as president by the National Assembly in 1943. After the Japanese were defeated, Congress rescheduled the much-delayed election in 1946. Manuel Roxas of the newly formed Liberal Party won the election a few weeks prior to the granting of independence by the United States. In 1949, the first election for the newly independent republic was held with President Elpidio Quirino winning; Quirino succeeded Roxas, who died while in office. Thereafter, elections were held every four years every second Tuesday of November of the election year, with the winning president and vice president inaugurated on December 30 succeeding the election. The alternation between the Nacionalistas and the Liberals characterized an apparent two-party system of the Third Republic.

In the operation of the 1935 constitution, there were nine presidential elections; excluding the first election where there were no incumbents, the incumbent was beaten four times (1946, 1953, 1961, 1965), the incumbent won upon ascending to the presidency from a vacancy twice (1949, 1957), and two incumbents won a second term after being elected to a first term as president (1941, 1969).

In 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and ruled by decree. At this time, a new constitution was ratified in 1973 in which the office of the vice president being abolished. and that the president shall be elected by the National Assembly amongst themselves, although once elected, the president will cease to be a member of the National Assembly and any political party (similar to the British Speaker of the House of Commons). With the members of the National Assembly having no term limits, the president may serve indefinitely. Before parliament was elected referendums in 1973 and 1977 affirmed that Marcos will stay as president and prime minister even after parliament has been organized.

In 1981, via constitutional amendment, the president is again elected via popular vote, with a term of office of six years starting at the thirtieth of June of the year of the election. In the succeeding election on June 16, 1981 (third Monday of June); Marcos was again elected, with much of the opposition boycotting the election. In addition, the amendment also renamed the National Assembly into its Filipino translation as "Batasang Pambansa." In 1984, another amendment reinstated the office of the vice president. The election of the vice president is similar to the United States presidential election, in which a vote for the president is also a vote for the vice president, although this was later changed to a separate vote for each position. Marcos' Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement or KBL) won every presidential election of the Fourth Republic until 1986.

In 1986, Marcos called for an early or "snap" election (the next scheduled election was in 1987) and was, including his running mate Arturo Tolentino, declared the winners. The People Power Revolution erupted that drove Marcos out of power, and Corazon Aquino, the runner-up, assumed the presidency. A new constitution was ratified in 1987 that was essentially identical with the provisions of the amended 1973 constitution as long as the election of the president and vice president is concerned, with the presidential election occurring at the second Monday of May and the inauguration every June 30 of the election year. The 1992 election was the first election under the new constitution and elections are held every six years thereafter. Fidel V. Ramos won the 1992 election with just 23% of the vote, the lowest plurality in history; it also ushered in the multi-party system of the Fifth Republic. Thereafter, no winner has won via a majority, although each has had an increasing percentage of votes with every succeeding election. Joseph Estrada won in 1998 in what was described as landslide, getting just under 40% of the votes, while second place Jose de Venecia getting 16%. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who succeeded Estrada at the outcome of the 2001 EDSA Revolution, was the first sitting president to run, and defeated Fernando Poe, Jr. in the closest margin in history. Benigno Aquino III won in 2010 with 42% of the vote in what was also called as a landslide, defeating Estrada who had 26% of the vote, and seven others. Rodrigo Duterte won with just under 40% of the vote, but with a 14% margin of victory from second-placer Mar Roxas in 2016. In the 2022 election, under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Bongbong Marcos won by a landslide and received nearly 59% of the votes, becoming the first to be elected by a majority since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1986.

In the operation of the 1987 constitution, incumbents who have in office for more than four years are barred to defend their seats, but all but one (1992) candidate endorsed by the incumbent lost, and one defended the seat after ascending to the presidency (2004).

Results summary

• Boldface: Incumbent
• Italics: Nominee of the ruling party, or supported by the incumbent
• Only candidates from third parties whose votes surpassed the margin between the winner and the best loser are included.

Incumbent president running for re-election

Based on the 1935 constitution, from 1935 to 1940, the incumbent president is eligible for one six-year term and cannot be reelected.

In 1940, a plebiscite approved an amendment that set a four-year term for a president, and that a president can be re-elected, but cannot serve for more than an amount of time that is worth two full terms (eight years).

In 1973, a plebiscite adopted a new constitution that abolished term limits, and set up a six-year term for the president.

In 1987, a plebiscite approved a new constitution that set a six-year term with no reelection for the incumbent. A vice president who became president cannot be elected as president if that person served as president for more than four years. As the incumbent president at that time was elected under the 1973 constitution, she was allowed to run anew but chose not to.

Every president who is eligible to run for president ran again, except in 1992 where Corazon Aquino did not run.

Vice presidents who became president upon vacancy of the latter office ran four times, and won as presidents in their own right in 1949, 1957 and 2004, and lost In 1946.

Incumbent vice president running for president

In 1946, 1949 and 1957, no vice president was in office due to the erstwhile officeholder becoming president upon death of the president, and that there was no constitutional mechanism to fill up the office upon vacancy.

In 1981, the constitution had by then abolished the office of the vice president. It was reinstated upon a plebiscite in 1984, and the vice presidency was first elected in 1986.

Five vice presidents ran for the presidency after their vice presidential term ended. Two of them won, in 1961, beating the incumbent president, and in 1998. Three of them, in 1992, 2016, and 2022 lost. Two vice presidents ran for another office after their vice presidential term ended; both won: in 1953, the vice president ran and won for senator, finishing first, and in 1965 where the vice president ran for a seat in the House of Representatives. Two vice presidents defended the seat, with both succeeding in 1941 and 1969. Two vice presidents did not pursue other office after their vice presidential term ended.

Regional trends

Regional corridors

Political strategists have divided the country into several "corridors" that replicate or combine administrative regions, which in turn are mostly based from the main ethnic groups. In 1992, prior to the 1992 election, Luis Villafuerte outlined several "corridors" throughout the country, from north to south:^[1]

Corridor		Region/Province	Voters as of 2016	%	Map
	Solid North	Ilocos Region (minus Pangasinan), Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region	4,072,629	7.49%
	Lingayen-Lucena corridor	Pangasinan (part of Ilocos Region), Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Calabarzon	21,634,173	39.80%
	Bicol corridor	Bicol Region	3,121,662	5.74%
	Panay corridor	Western Visayas	2,578,661	4.74%
	Negros corridor	Negros Island	2,449,204	4.51%
	Cebu-Bohol corridor	Central Visayas	3,590,044	6.60%
	Samar-Leyte corridor	Eastern Visayas	2,698,880	4.97%
	Northern Mindanao corridor	Northern Mindanao and Caraga	4,088,424	7.52%
	Zamboanga corridor	Zamboanga Peninsula	1,931,795	3.56%
	Davao corridor	Davao Region	2,659,704	4.89%
	Cotabato corridor	Soccsksargen and Maguindanao (part of ARMM)	2,720,435	5.00%
	Not mentioned by Villafuerte	Mimaropa and the rest of ARMM	2,818,233	5.18%

Results by popular vote margin

Results per election

1899

1899 Philippine presidential election

1 January 1899

Nominee Emilio Aguinaldo Party Nonpartisan Percentage 100.00%

President before election Emilio Aguinaldo Magdalo (as Alliance) Elected President Emilio Aguinaldo Nonpartisan

Emilio Aguinaldo was unanimously elected and voted president by the Malolos Congress on January 1, 1899. He was inaugurated on January 23, along with the First Philippine Republic.

1973 martial law referendum

Main article: 1973 Philippine martial law referendum

By 1972, President Marcos declared martial law. A year later, a plebiscite approved a new constitution that allowed the president to stay in power beyond 1973 as allowed by the previous (1935) constitution. A few months after that, another referendum asked voters if they wanted Marcos to stay in power beyond 1973:

Do you want President Marcos to continue beyond 1973 and finish the reforms he has initiated under the martial law?

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	17,653,200	90.67
No	1,856,744	9.33
Total votes	19,908,760	100.00

Results per province/city

References