President of the Philippines: Powers, Term, and Full List

Powers and Functions

The President leads the executive branch under Article VII of the 1987 Constitution.

Executive Power

Enforces laws passed by Congress and oversees the executive departments and agencies of national government.

Commander-in-Chief

Holds supreme command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including the power to call out the military to prevent or suppress lawless violence.

Appointment Power

Appoints Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, and other high-ranking officials, most subject to confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

Veto Power

Can veto bills passed by Congress, including line-item veto over appropriations, revenue, and tariff bills.

Foreign Affairs

Represents the country in international relations, negotiates treaties, and receives foreign ambassadors, subject to Senate concurrence on treaties.

Emergency Powers

May declare martial law or suspend the writ of habeas corpus for up to 60 days, subject to review by Congress and the Supreme Court.

Qualifications to Run for President

• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines
• Registered voter
• Able to read and write
• At least 40 years old on election day
• Resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately before the election

Term of Office and Succession

The President serves a single six-year term and is constitutionally barred from re-election. This is distinct from most presidential systems, which allow at least one re-election bid.

If the President dies, resigns, is permanently incapacitated, or is removed from office, the Vice President succeeds to the presidency for the remainder of the unexpired term. Four Philippine vice presidents have assumed the presidency this way without being elected to the office directly.

Executive Branch Hierarchy

How authority flows from the President down through the Cabinet to the agencies that actually implement policy.

Head of State & Government

President

Chief executive and commander-in-chief, elected directly by the public to a single six-year term.

Coordinates the Cabinet

Executive Secretary

Head of the Office of the President, sometimes informally called the "Little President." Coordinates Cabinet activity and controls access to presidential decision-making, without being a department secretary.

23 Departments

Cabinet Secretaries

Each heads one executive department, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Their official acts are legally treated as the President's own under the alter ego doctrine, unless the President disavows them.

Under Each Department

Bureaus, Agencies & GOCCs

Operational bureaus, attached agencies, and government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) sit under their parent department, carrying out day-to-day implementation of department policy.

Executive Departments and How Each Was Formed

The 23 executive departments were not created all at once. Several trace back to the 1898 Revolutionary Government and the 1899 Malolos Republic, while others were carved out or elevated to Cabinet rank as recently as 2025.

Revolutionary Government and Malolos Republic (1897 to 1899)

The oldest executive departments trace their lineage to the short-lived Revolutionary Government established by Emilio Aguinaldo on June 23, 1898, and the First Philippine Republic inaugurated at Malolos on January 23, 1899. Though that government fell to American forces by 1901, several of its original department names and functions persisted in some form through every succeeding Philippine administration.

Department of Finance

DOF · 1897

Traces to the Department of Finance created under the Revolutionary Government, later formalized in the Malolos Republic cabinet with Mariano Trias as the first Finance Secretary. The portfolio has existed continuously in some form through the American, Commonwealth, and post-independence periods.

Department of Foreign Affairs

DFA · 1898

Originated as the Department of Foreign Relations under the Revolutionary Government. Apolinario Mabini eventually held the portfolio in the Malolos cabinet, though the department's functions were effectively suspended once the First Republic fell in 1901 and were not meaningfully restored until Philippine independence in 1946.

Department of Justice

DOJ · 1897

One of the original departments established under the Revolutionary Government in 1897, with Gregorio Araneta serving as the first Justice Secretary under the Malolos Republic. The department has operated continuously in some structural form since.

Department of the Interior and Local Government

DILG · 1897

Traces to the Department of the Interior created under the Revolutionary Government. Its current combined form, merging interior affairs with local government oversight, dates to a 1987 post-EDSA reorganization rather than the original 1897 department.

Department of Agriculture

DA · 1898

Originated as part of a combined Department of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce under the Revolutionary Government. Split into a standalone agriculture-focused department through successive reorganizations across the American colonial and post-independence periods.

Department of Public Works and Highways

DPWH · 1898

Traces to public works functions established under the Revolutionary Government. Merged with and later permanently separated from transportation functions, most recently splitting from the Department of Transportation and Communications in 2016.

Department of Trade and Industry

DTI · 1898

Traces to trade and commerce functions under the Revolutionary Government, originally bundled with agriculture. Took its current combined trade-and-industry form through a 1987 post-EDSA executive reorganization.

American Colonial Period (1901 to 1935)

Departments formed under the American colonial administration were generally organized to build civil infrastructure, public health, and education systems ahead of eventual self-governance.

Department of Education

DepEd · 1901

Traces to the Department of Public Instruction, established in 1901 as one of the first departments organized under American colonial rule. Reorganized multiple times since, most recently split into its current basic-education-focused form under the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001 (RA 9155).

Department of Health

DOH · 1898

Traces to welfare and public health functions present in the Malolos-era cabinet, formally organized as a dedicated health department during the early American colonial period as the country built its first modern public health infrastructure.

Department of Labor and Employment

DOLE · 1933

Created during the late American colonial period as labor organizing grew nationally, formalized as the Department of Labor. Restructured into its current form, adding an explicit employment mandate, in the years following.

Commonwealth and Post-War Period (1935 to 1972)

The Commonwealth government, established in 1935 ahead of full independence, created several departments to professionalize national fiscal management and social services, functions later carried into the postwar Republic.

Department of Budget and Management

DBM · 1936

Originated as the Budget Commission, created in 1936 under the Commonwealth government to professionalize national budget preparation. Renamed the Ministry of Budget and Management in 1978, then reverted to department status and its current name after the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

Department of National Defense

DND · 1939

Established as the Commonwealth government built an independent national defense structure ahead of full independence in 1946, laying the groundwork for what became the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Department of Social Welfare and Development

DSWD · 1939

Traces to welfare functions formalized under the Commonwealth government. Renamed and reorganized several times since, most significantly expanding its mandate to cover disaster response and large-scale social protection programs.

Martial Law Period (1972 to 1986)

Several departments were created or substantially reorganized during the martial law years under President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., often tied to specific development priorities of that administration.

Department of Tourism

DOT · 1973

Created by presidential decree in 1973 during the martial law period, establishing tourism as a dedicated national development priority as the Marcos Sr. administration pushed infrastructure and hospitality investment.

Post-EDSA Reorganization (1987)

The Aquino government's 1987 Administrative Code and related executive orders substantially reorganized the executive branch after the fall of the Marcos Sr. administration, formalizing several departments in close to their present-day structure.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources

DENR · 1917

Traces to natural resource functions dating to the American colonial period, but took its current consolidated form under Executive Order 192 in 1987, merging environmental and natural resource functions that had been scattered across several earlier agencies.

Department of Science and Technology

DOST · 1987

Elevated to full Cabinet-level department status in 1987, succeeding the National Science and Technology Authority, which had operated with lesser institutional standing since the martial law period.

Post-1990s Expansion (1992 to 2016)

As the economy diversified and new policy areas emerged, several departments were carved out of broader agencies or elevated from coordinating-council status to full Cabinet rank.

Department of Energy

DOE · 1992

Created under the Department of Energy Act of 1992 (RA 7638), largely in response to the power supply crises of the early 1990s, absorbing functions previously handled by the Office of Energy Affairs.

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development

DHSUD · 2019

Created in 2019 to elevate housing policy to full Cabinet rank, succeeding the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, a coordinating body that had overseen housing agencies since the Marcos Sr. era without department status.

Department of Information and Communications Technology

DICT · 2016

Created in 2016, carving ICT policy functions out of what had previously been an office under the Department of Science and Technology, in response to the growing need for centralized digital infrastructure and cybersecurity policy.

Department of Transportation

DOTr · 1899

Traces its lineage to transportation functions present as far back as the Malolos era, but took its current standalone form in 2016, when the former Department of Transportation and Communications was renamed after its ICT functions were carved out to form DICT.

Most Recent Departments (2021 to 2025)

The newest departments reflect two priorities: formalizing protection for overseas Filipino workers, and elevating national economic planning to full Cabinet status.

Department of Migrant Workers

DMW · 2022

Created in 2021 and operational in 2022, consolidating overseas Filipino worker protection functions that had previously been scattered across the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and other agencies into a single Cabinet-level department.

Department of Agrarian Reform

DAR · 1971

Established as a standalone department in 1971, though its land reform mandate traces back further. Its current legal framework rests on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (RA 6657).

Department of Economy, Planning, and Development

DEPDev · 2025

The newest executive department, created by Republic Act No. 12145 in 2025 as the successor to the National Economic and Development Authority, an economic planning body that had existed since the 1935 Commonwealth government without full department status.

Formation years reflect the earliest identifiable predecessor of each department's current function, not necessarily its present legal name. Secretary names are omitted, since appointments turn over independently of this content.

Photos of the Presidents of the Philippines

All 17 presidents, most recent first. Tap a card to jump to that president's full entry in the list below.

azifind.com Government

Philippine Presidents Guide

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. · 17th President 🌐

Continued large-scale infrastructure investment and pursued a more assertive stance on West Philippine Sea territorial disputes.

Current

#	Name	Term	Party	Note
1	Emilio Aguinaldo	1899 to 1901	None (First Philippine Republic)	Led the Philippine Declaration of Independence in 1898 and established the First Philippine Republic, the first constitutional republic in Asia. Captured by American forces in 1901, ending the First Republic.
2	Manuel L. Quezon	1935 to 1944	Nacionalista	First president of the Commonwealth era. Advanced Filipino as the basis for a national language and pursued social justice legislation, including tenancy reform and a minimum wage law.
3	José P. Laurel	1943 to 1945	KALIBAPI (Japanese-sponsored Republic)	Maintained civil administration during the Japanese occupation. A respected jurist before his presidency, later elected to the Senate.
4	Sergio Osmeña	1944 to 1946	Nacionalista	Led the restoration of civil government and democratic institutions following liberation from Japanese occupation in World War II.
5	Manuel Roxas	1946 to 1948	Liberal	First president of the independent Third Republic, inaugurated on July 4, 1946. Oversaw early post-war reconstruction and the transition to full sovereignty.
6	Elpidio Quirino	1948 to 1953	Liberal	Led early post-war economic recovery efforts and negotiated foreign aid agreements while confronting the Hukbalahap rebellion.
7	Ramon Magsaysay	1953 to 1957	Nacionalista	Widely credited with ending the Hukbalahap rebellion through a combined military and land resettlement strategy. Remembered as one of the most popular Philippine presidents for his anti-corruption reforms and accessibility to ordinary citizens.
8	Carlos P. Garcia	1957 to 1961	Nacionalista	Introduced the Filipino First Policy, promoting Filipino-owned businesses and economic nationalism, alongside austerity and anti-graft measures.
9	Diosdado Macapagal	1961 to 1965	Liberal	Enacted the Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963 and moved the official observance of Independence Day to June 12, commemorating Aguinaldo's 1898 declaration.
10	Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.	1965 to 1986	Nacionalista, later KBL	Oversaw major infrastructure expansion and the Masagana 99 rice self-sufficiency program in his early terms. Declared martial law in 1972 and was removed from office by the 1986 People Power Revolution amid allegations of human rights abuses and economic mismanagement.
11	Corazon Aquino	1986 to 1992	PDP-Laban / independent	First woman president in the Philippines and in Asia. Restored democratic institutions and ratified the 1987 Constitution, while surviving several coup attempts during her term.
12	Fidel V. Ramos	1992 to 1998	Lakas-NUCD	Led significant economic liberalization and infrastructure reform, signed the 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, and hosted the APEC Leaders' Summit in 1996.
13	Joseph Estrada	1998 to 2001	LAMMP	Launched the Lingap Para sa Mahirap anti-poverty program. Removed from office in 2001 following impeachment proceedings and the EDSA II uprising over corruption allegations.
14	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	2001 to 2010	Lakas-CMD	The longest-serving president after Marcos Sr. Implemented macroeconomic reforms including expanded VAT legislation, while her term was also marked by corruption and legitimacy controversies.
15	Benigno Aquino III	2010 to 2016	Liberal	Ran on the Daang Matuwid, or Straight Path, anti-corruption platform. The Philippines received its first investment-grade credit ratings during his term.
16	Rodrigo Duterte	2016 to 2022	PDP-Laban	Launched the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program. His anti-drug campaign drew significant domestic support alongside international human rights criticism.
17	Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. Current	2022 to present	PFP	Continued large-scale infrastructure investment and pursued a more assertive stance on West Philippine Sea territorial disputes.