TIMELINE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY
● 1380 - Muslim Arabs arrived at the Sulu
Archipelago.
● 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan "discovers" the
islands and names them: Archipelago of San
Lazaro.
● 1542 - Spanish expedition commandeered by
Ruy Lopez de Villalobos claims the islands for
Spain; names them "Philippines" after Prince
Philip, later King Philip II of Spain; the
Philippines becomes part of Spanish Empire.
● 1872 - Gomburza (Fathers Mariano Gomez,
Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora) were
executed by the Spaniards.
● 1892 - Jose Rizal founded the civic
organization La Liga Filipina.
● 1896 - Katipuneros tear their cedulas & shout
in contempt of the Spaniards in what is called the
Cry of Pugadlawin.
● 1897 - General Emilio Aguinaldo establishes
the a new republic at Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan.
● 1886 - José Rizal publishes anti-Spanish
novel, Noli Me Tangere (The Lost Eden); and
seers up independence sentiment.
● 1896 - Spanish execute Rizal for instigating
insurrection; public outrage spawns rebellion.
● 1898 - American warship Maine was blown up
in Havana harbour, triggers the the Spanish-
American war, the battle of Manila Bay ensues.
● 1898 - Emilio Aguinaldo assembled the
Malolos Congress in Bulacan, then declares
independence in Kawit, Cavite
● 1899 - Treaty of Paris ends Spanish-American
War, cedes Philippines to U.S. after payment to
Spain by U.S. of $ 20 million. Emilio Aguinaldo
declares independence then leads a guerrilla
war against U.S.
● 1901 - U.S. captures Aguinaldo; William
Howard Taft arrives as first U.S. governor of
Philippines.
● 1902 - Insurrection ends; Taft improves
economic conditions, settles disputes over
church ownership of land, establishes
"Pensionado" program, allowing Filipinos to
study in U.S., which helped modernize and
westernize the country.
● 1916 - U.S. congress passes the Jones Law
establishing elected Filipino legislature with
house and senate.
● 1934 - U.S. congress approves the Tydings-
McDuffie Law promising Philippine
independence by 1946; transition to
independence begins.
● 1935 - Filipino people approve constitution
creating the Philippine Commonwealth with
Manuel Quezon y Molina as president.
● 1941 - Japanese invades the Philippines, and
defeats Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Bataan and
Corregidor; Quezon establishes government in
exile in the U.S.
● 1944 - Quezon dies in exile; Vice President
Sergio Osmeña assumes the presidency;
MacArthur returns to the Philippines and lands in
Leyte with little resistance.
● 1945 - Gen. MacArthur liberates Manila and
President Osmeña establishes government.
● 1946 - The U.S. gave the Philippines
independence and Manuel Roxas y Acuña is
elected as the first president of the new republic.
● 1965 - Ferdinand E. Marcos is elected by a big
majority as president.
● 1972 - Martial Law was declared by President
Marcos. This period is marked with human rights
abuses and corruption.
● 1981 - Marcos lifts Martial Law.
● 1983 - Opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy"
Aquino returns from exile and is assassinated on
arrival at Manila International Airport; Aquino's
widow Corazon leads the "People Power" protest
movement.
● 1986 - Marcos was officially declared winner in
a presidential election beating Corazon Aquino
amid charges of fraud; demonstrations erupt;
Marcos flees to Hawaii; Aquino is declared
president and forms a new government.
● 1992 - Endorsed by Aquino, her Secretary of
Defense Gen. Fidel Ramos wins presidential
election. U.S. Philippine congress rejects a new
treaty with the U.S. and Subic Bay naval base
and Clark Air Field returns to Philippine
government, ending American military presence
in the Philippines.
● 1996 - The government of Ramos agrees to
greater autonomy for southern island of
Mindanao. Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) ends the guerrilla war with the
government.
● 1997 - Asian financial crisis grips Asia and the
Philippines escapes the crisis despite series of
currency devaluations.
● 1998 - Former movie actor Joseph Estrada is
elected president.
● 2000 - On charges of corruption, the lower
house impeach Estrada.
● 2001 - Estrada was forced to step down due to
public outrage over corruption allegations. Vice
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumes the
presidency.
● 2004 - Presidential election takes place.
Arroyo's closest rival (a dear friend of Ex-
President Estrada) is film actor Fernando Poe,
Jr. Arroyo narrowly defeats Poe, taking 39.5% of
the vote to Poe's 36.6%.
● 2005 - A taped conversation between
President Arroyo & an election official surfaced
during the 2004 elections implying she
influenced the official election results. Calls for
her resignation and demonstrations followed
soon after. In September 2005, Congress voted
down the filing of an impeachment against
Arroyo.
● 2007 - Former President Joseph Estrada is
convicted of plunder, the first ever in the history
of the Philippines.
● 2010 - First automated national elections in the
Philippines.
● 2010 - Benigno "Noynoy" Simeon Cojuangco
Aquino III wins the Presidential elections and
sworn in at Manila's Rizal Park on June 30,
2010.
● 2016 - Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte, the former
Mayor of Davao City assumes the Presidency.
He is the first president to come from Mindanao.
Administration of Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016–
present)
Rodrigo Duterte, current President of the
Philippines.
Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP–
Laban won the 2016 presidential election,
garnering 39.01% or 16,601,997 of the total
votes, becoming the first Mindanaoan to become
president. On the other hand, Camarines Sur 3rd
District representative Leni Robredo won with
the second narrowest margin in history, against
Senator Bongbong Marcos.[220] On 30 May, the
Congress had proclaimed Rodrigo Duterte,
despite his absence, as president-elect and Leni
Robredo as vice president-elect.[221] On July
12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration
ruled in favor of the Philippines in its case
against China's claims in the South China
Sea.[222] Duterte's presidency began following
his inauguration on June 30, 2016 at the Rizal
Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in
Manila, which was attended by more than 627
guests.[223] On August 1, 2016, the Duterte
administration launched a 24-hour complaint
office accessible to the public through a
nationwide hotline, 8888, and changed the
nationwide emergency telephone number from
117 to 911.[224][225] After winning the
Presidency, Duterte launched an intensified anti-
drug campaign to fulfill a campaign promise of
wiping out criminality in six months.[226] By
March 2017, the death toll for the Philippine Drug
War passed 8,000 people, with 2,679 killed in
legitimate police operations and the rest the
government claims to be homicide
cases.[227][228][229] On November 8, 2016, the
Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled in favor
of the burial of the late president Ferdinand
Marcos in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, the
country's official cemetery for heroes, provoking
protests from thousands of millennials, Marcos-
regime human rights victims, and relatives of
people who were tortured, killed, or were still
missing due to martial rule. The burial of the late
president was a campaign promise of President
Rodrigo Duterte, who was supported by voters in
Ilocos Norte, the home province of Marcos.[230]
In November 18, 2016, the remains of Ferdinand
Marcos was secretly buried by the Philippine
National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines,
and the family and friends of Ferdinand Marcos,
despite the Supreme Court order being non-
executory due to protocol. Later in the afternoon,
the event was made public.[231] On May 23,
2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed
Proclamation No. 216 declaring a 60-day martial
law in Mindanao following clashes between
government forces and the Maute group in
Marawi.
Here’s the Complete Line-up of Pres. Rody
Duterte’s Cabinet:
Cabinet Secretary – Leoncio “Jun” Evasco
Executive Secretary – Salvador Medialdea
Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary – Martin Andanar
Presidential Spokesperson – Ernesto Abella
National Security Adviser – Hermogenes
Esperon Jr.
Secretary of Agrarian Reform – Rafael V.
Mariano
Secretary of Agriculture – Emmanuel “Manny”
Piñol
Secretary of Budget and Management –
Benjamin Diokno
Secretary of Education – Leonor Briones
Secretary of Energy – Alfonso Cusi
Secretary of Environment and Natural
Resources – Regina “Gina” Lopez
Secretary of Finance – Carlos “Sonny”
Dominguez III
Secretary of Foreign Affairs – Perfecto R. Yasay,
Jr.
Secretary of Health – Paulyn Jean Rosell Ubial
Secretary of Information and Communications
Technology – Rodolfo Salalima
Secretary of the Interior and Local Government –
Ismael Sueño
Secretary of Justice – Vitaliano Aguirre II
Secretary of Labor and Employment – Silvestre
“Bebot” Bello III
Secretary of National Defense – Delfin
Lorenzana
Secretary of Public Works and Highways – Mark
Villar
Secretary of Science and Technology –
Fortunato de la Peña
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development –
Judy Taguiwalo
Secretary of Tourism – Wanda Corazon Teo
Secretary of Trade and Industry – Ramon Lopez
Secretary of Transportation and
Communications – Arthur Tugade
Presidential Assistant for the Visayas – Michael
Diño
Special Assistant to the President/Presidential
Management Staff chief – Christopher “Bong” Go
FIRST REPUBLIC (Revolutionary
government/The Philippines was still under
Spanish rule)
(1899-1901) President: Emilio F. Aguinaldo
(1897?) Vice-President: Mariano C. Trias
(elected VP during the Tejeros assembly)
COMMONWEALTH PERIOD (American Period)
(1935-1944) President Manuel L. Quezon (Died
in exile in the U.S.)
(1936-1944) Vice-President: Sergio S. Osmeña,
Sr.
(1944-1946) President: Sergio S. Osmeña, Sr.
(Assumed the presidency upon the death of
Quezon while the Philippine Commonwealth
government is in exile in the U.S.)
SECOND REPUBLIC (Japanese Occupation)
(1943-1945) President: Jose P. Laurel
(1943-1945) Vice-Presidents: Benigno Aquino,
Sr. and Ramon Avancena
THIRD REPUBLIC
(1946-1948) President: Manuel L. Roxas (Died
of a heart attack)
(1946-1948) Vice-President: Elpidio R. Quirino
(1948-1953) President: Elpidio R. Quirino
(Assumed the remaining term & re-elected)
(1949-1953) Vice-President: Fernando H. Lopez
(1953-1957) President: Ramon F. Magsaysay
(Magsaysay died in an airplane crash on March
16, 1957 on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu)
(1953-1957) Vice-President: Carlos P. Garcia
(1957-1961) President: Carlos P. Garcia
(Assumed the remaining term and re-elected)
(1957-1961) Vice-President: Diosdado P.
Macapagal
(1961-1965) President: Diosdado P. Macapagal
(1961-1965) Vice-President: Emmanuel N.
Pelaez
(1965-1972) President: Ferdinand E. Marcos
(the first to win 2 presidential terms)
(1965-1972) Vice-President: Fernando H. Lopez
FOURTH REPUBLIC (Martial Law, "The New
Republic" & Parliamentary Government)
(1972-1986) President: Ferdinand E. Marcos
(unseated by the People Power Revolution)
(Marcos died in exile in Hawaii on September 28,
1989 of Lupus complications)
(1981-1986) Prime Minister Cesar E. A. Virata
(1986) Vice-President: Arturo M. Tolentino
(proclaimed but did not serve due to the revolt)
FIFTH REPUBLIC (Under the new "People
Power" Constitution)
(1986-1992) President: Corazon Cojuangco-
Aquino
(1986-1992) Vice-President: Salvador H. Laurel
(1992-1998) President Fidel V. Ramos
(1992-1998) Vice-President: Joseph Ejercito
Estrada
(1998-2001) President: Joseph Ejercito Estrada
(Deposed by "People Power")
(1998-2001) Vice-President: Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo
(2001-2010) President: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
(Assumed Estrada's remaining term & re-
elected)
(2001-2004) Vice-President: Teofisto T.
Guingona (1st term of Arroyo)
(2004-2010) Vice-President: Manuel "Noli"
Leuterio de Castro (2nd term of Arroyo)
(2010-2016) President: Benigno Simeon
"Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III
(2010-2016) Vice-President: Jejomar "Jojo"
Cabauatan Binay
(2016-Present) President: Rodrigo "Rody" Roa
Duterte a.k.a. Digong
(2016-Present) Vice-President: Maria Leonor
"Leni" Santo Tomas Gerona-Robredo
TOP OFFICES OF THE PHILIPPINE
GOVERNMENT
The Office of the President
The Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines
The House of Representatives
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS
Civil Service Commission
Commission on Audit (COA)
Commission on Elections (COMELEC)
DEPARTMENTS
Department of Agriculture (DA),
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR),
Department of Budget and Management (DBM),
Department of Education (DepEd),
Department of Energy (DOE),
Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR),
Department of Finance (DOF)
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ,
Department of Health (DOH) ,
Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG)
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ,
Department of National Defense (DND) ,
Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH)
Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
,
Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD)
Department of Tourism (DOT) ,
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) ,
Department of Transportation and
Communication (DOTC)
MILITARY
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ,
Philippine Air Force (PAF) ,
Philippine Army (PA) ,
Philippine Navy (PN) ,
OTHER AGENCIES
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),
Career Executive Service Board (CESB) ,
Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP)
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) ,
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS),
Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) ,
National Computer Center (NCC) ,
National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA),
National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA)
National Food Authority (NFA) ,
National Mapping and Resource Information
Authority (NAMRIA),
National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) ,
National Statistics Office (NSO) ,
National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC) ,
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA)
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth),
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Security System (SSS) ,
National Labor Resource Commission (NLRC)
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)