Vice President’s Corner

Human rights lawyer Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona Robredo, has devoted her entire
professional life in the service of the most vulnerable sectors of Philippine society. As
a Public Attorney, as member of the alternative lawyers group SALIGAN, and as
Representative of the Third District of Camarines Sur, she has remained constant in
her priority attention to farmers and fisherfolk; women, particularly in oppressive
circumstances; and indigenous people.

The Vice President was initially known as the widow of the beloved Mayor of Naga
City and Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government. After the
tragic air accident that took the life of Secretary Jesse Robredo, the public quickly
recognized Atty. Robredo as her husband’s full partner in the advocacy for good
governance, ethical leadership, and citizen participation in the work of government.
In this work, she brought to bear her degree in Economics from the University of the
Philippines (1986) and her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Nueva
Caceres (1992). Passing the bar in 1997, Atty. Robredo has since sustained a
commitment to the use of legal means to assist in the self-empowerment of the
underprivileged.

Convinced to take up this advocacy as a politician, she ran and won a seat in the
Sixteenth Congress. Within three years, she successfully brought to full passage the
Extension of the Corporate Life of the Philippine Railways Corporation, the Tax
Incentives Management and Transparency Act and the Sangguniang Kabataan
Reform Act. When, on October 5, 2015, she accepted the challenge to be candidate
for Vice President, Representative Robredo launched an advocacy-driven campaign.
From one percent, her survey ratings climbed consistently. On May 30, 2016, the
Joint Houses of Congress proclaimed Leni Robredo as the 14th Vice President of
the Philippines.
Vice President Leni Robredo with daughters Aika, Tricia and Jillian.

History
THE VICE PRESIDENCY

A Brief History

After more than 350 years of subjugation, the Filipinos rose in revolt against their
Spanish colonizers in August 1896. The rebels, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, scored
initial successes but when thousands of reinforcements arrived from Spain, the tide
of battle turned against them. The Spaniards retook town after town. The plight of the
rebels was aggravated by their lack of unity and everyone realized that the situation
could only be saved if the rival factions threshed out their differences. Thus, a
convention was called in Tejeros in Imus, Cavite on March 22, 1897 to resolve the
question of leadership. The delegates agreed to establish a Republic of the
Philippines, which was then and there proclaimed. It was also agreed that the top
two officers of the Republic would be the President and the Vice President. In the
elections that ensued Emilio Aguinaldo was chosen as the President and MARIANO
TRIAS Y CLOSAS the Vice President. Trias won over Andres Bonifacio, Mariano
Alvarez and Severino de las Alas.

The advances of the Spaniards continued. Aguinaldo was compelled to abandon

Cavite and make a long trek to Biyak Na Bato at the foothills of the Sierra Madre
mountain range. Here the rebel forces established in November 1897 what is now
known as the Biyak na Bato Republic. A provisional Constitution of the Republic of
the Philippines was adopted which created a Supreme Council as the highest
authority composed of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary of War, and a
Secretary of the Treasury. Aguinaldo and Trias were again elected President and
Vice President, respectively. The Constitution was intended to be in effect for two
years, but it was overtaken by the Pact of Biyak na Bato, which was signed on
December 14, 1897. Under the terms of the pact the Revolution was put on hold;
Aguinaldo and his officers laid down their arms and went into voluntary exile in Hong
Kong.

When the Spanish-American War broke out, Aguinaldo returned to the country in
May 1898 to resume the struggle for independence. This time the Revolution had a
different ending. The entire country rose in arms from the Ilocos, to the Bicol Region,
to the Visayas and Mindanao. The Spanish government collapsed like a stack of
cards. Within a brief period, Aguinaldo had control over the outskirts of Manila and
the rest of the countryside. On May 24, 1898 Aguinaldo established a Dictatorial
Government and one month later, on June 23, 1898, he transformed it into a
Revolutionary Government. On November 29, 1898 a Constitution was adopted by
the Malolos Congress. The following January 23, 1899 a Constitutional Republic of
the Philippines was proclaimed. Not one of these governments provided for a Vice-
President.

The Aguinaldo government did not last long. On February 4,1899 war broke out
between the erstwhile allies – America and the Philippines – and the Americans
emerged victorious. For the next 30 plus years, the Philippines was governed by the
United States thru Governor Generals and Vice Governor Generals. There was no
position of Vice President.

On March 24, 1934, the United States government enacted the Tydings-McDuffie
Law. The law assured the Philippines of complete independence and called upon the
Filipinos to write their own Constitution and establish their government. Accordingly a
Constitution was crafted which adopted a presidential form of government. Ratified
by the people on May 14, 1935, the Constitution revived the position of Vice
President.

On September 17, 1935 an election under the Constitution was held. SERGIO
OSMEÑA was elected Vice President. He defeated the other contenders, Raymundo
Melliza and Norberto Nabong, by a wide margin. On November 15, 1936 Osmeña
and his presidential running mate, Manuel L. Quezon, were inaugurated.

Quezon and Osmeña were reelected in 1941, defeating presidential candidate Juan
Sumulong and his running mate Emilio Javier, a lawyer and an educator. They
started their second terms on December 30, 1941, however, the invasion of the
Philippines by the Japanese drove the Commonwealth government into exile.
Quezon and Osmeñna held on to their positions and on May 13, 1942, they
transferred the seat of the Commonwealth Government to Washington, D.C. From
there they discharged their duties. When Quezon died on August 1, 1944, at Lake
Saranak Hospital, New York, Osmeña immediately assumed the Presidency.

Meanwhile in the Philippines, the Japanese government proclaimed “Philippine

independence” on October 14, 1943 under their sponsorship and control. A new
Philippine government was set up and a new Constitution was framed, but there was
no provision for a Vice President.

On February 27, 1945, after peace was restored, the Commonwealth government
was re-established in Manila under President Osmeña. New elections were
scheduled in 1946. ELPIDIO QUIRINO run for Vice President and won over Senator
Eulogio Rodrigues and Lou Salvador, a vaudeville actor. On May 28, 1946 Quirino
and President Manuel Roxas were sworn into office. They were inducted into office
anew when Philippine independence was proclaimed on July 4, 1946.

On April 15, 1948 President Roxas succumbed to a heart attack after delivering a
speech in Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga. Two days later Quirino was sworn in
as President of the Philippines by Acting Chief Justice Ricardo Paras. Once again
the Philippines was without a Vice President.
In the 1949 elections President Quirino picked FERNANDO LOPEZ, as his running
mate. In what is often described as a scandalously fraudulent presidential election,
Quirino won over Jose P. Laurel and Jose Avelino, while Lopez defeated Justice
Manuel Briones and Vicente Francisco, an author of law books and the owner of a
law school. Quirino and Lopez were inaugurated President and Vice-President,
respectively, on December 30, 1949.

Quirino’s second term was marked by scandals that brought down his popularity.
Running for reelection in 1953 against the popular Ramon Magsaysay, everyone
except Quirino, expected him to lose. True enough he came out a poor second and
dragged his running mate, Jose Yulo, down with him. CARLOS P. GARCIA, the Vice
Presidential candidate of Magsaysay, won handily

Magsaysay enjoyed an unexcelled popularity among the masses and was conceded
to win reelection hands down in 1957. It was also widely expected that Garcia would
be replaced as Magsaysay’s running mate by a better vote getter. However, on
March 17 of that year, the aircraft Magsaysay boarded at the Cebu airport slammed
into Mt. Manungal, killing all the passengers but for a journalist. Thrust into the
presidency, Garcia ran for reelection in 1957 and won over six other candidates, but
his Vice Presidential candidate, Jose B. Laurel, Jr., lost to DIOSDADO
MACAPAGAL. Macapagal obtained 2,189,197 votes, as against 1,783,012 for
Laurel, 314, 685 for Senator Lorenzo Tañada, 375,090 for industrialist and educator
Vicente Araneta, and 10, 494 for Restituto Fresto of the Lapiang Malaya.

Macapagal, the Vice President from December 30, 1957 to December 30, 1961, was
not given a Cabinet assignment. This enabled him to barnstorm around the country
and prepare for the 1961 Presidential elections.

In 1961 Macapagal defeated Garcia for the presidency by a convincing majority. His
running mate, EMMANUEL PELAEZ, also trounced Senator Gil Puyat, the Vice-
Presidential candidate of Garcia, and Sergio Osmeña, Jr, an independent candidate
for Vice-President who run without a party organization, but still managed to come in
second. Macapagal and Pelaez were inaugurated on December 30, 1961.

During his term, Macapagal limited corruption and did his best to pass reform
legislation, but the customary grievances of the voters (high prices, smuggling, a rice
pila, and graft in some offices) had left them disenchanted. In 1965, the electorate
again voted for new occupants at the Palace. Macapagal and his running mate,
Gerardo M. Roxas lost to the team of Ferdinand E. Marcos. The new Vice-President,
FERNANDO LOPEZ, emerged victorious by a very narrow vote, garnering 3, 531,
550 votes against 3, 504, 826 for Roxas. The other candidates, Manuel P. Manahan,
Gonzalo D. Vasquez, Severo Capales and Eleodoro M. Salvador had a combined
vote of less than a quarter of a million.

Marcos and Lopez took their oaths on December 30, 1965. For Lopez it was the
second time around. The two were re-elected in 1969, but Lopez would not finish his
third term. He had a falling out with Marcos in 1971 and when the latter declared
martial law in September 1972 the Office of the Vice-President became irrelevant.
On January 17, 1973 Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1102, in which he certified
and proclaimed that a new Constitution had been ratified and had come into force
and effect. The 1973 Constitution did not provide for a Vice-President.

For the next 13 years, the country was without a Vice-President. In 1984, during the
twilight years of the Martial Law regime, the Office of the Vice-President was
restored through a Constitutional amendment that was ratified by the people. The
amendment specified that the first Vice-President shall be elected together with the
President in the elections scheduled for 1987. The elections took place earlier than
expected. Marcos was cajoled into calling for a “snap election” on February 7, 1986.
He run for reelection with Arturo M. Tolentino as his running mate. Ranged against
them were Presidential candidate Corazon Aquino and Vice-Presidential candidate
Salvador H. Laurel. Eva Estrada Kalaw and Roger Arienda also run for Vice-
President. Three days after the elections, the Batasan Pambansa was convened to
canvass the votes cast in the elections and by February 15, 1986 the results were
proclaimed. Marcos was declared the duly elected President and ARTURO M.
TOLENTINO the Vice-President.

On February 16, 1986 Tolentino took his oath as Vice-President in Malacañan before
Chief Justice Ramon Aquino. He would later write: “With my oath of office before the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I had qualified and become the full-fledged Vice-
President of the Republic of the Philippines on February 16, 1986, the first since
martial law was declared in 1972.”

Tolentino, however, would not have an opportunity to actually exercise the power
and authority of the Vice-President. The popular belief was that the elections were
rigged. Within a week after Tolentino’s oath, the Filipinos rose in indignation and
staged the so-called “people power revolution” at EDSA that brought down the
Marcos regime. On February 25, 1986 Corazon Aquino and SALVADOR H. LAUREL
took their oaths of office as President and Vice-President. President Aquino told the
cheering crowd:

“On the basis of the people’s mandate, clearly manifested on February 7, I and
Salvador H. Laurel are taking power in the name and by the will of the Filipino people
as president and vice president, respectively. It is fitting and proper that the rights
and liberties of our people, taken away at midnight, are restored here in the light of
day.”

In 1987 a new Constitution took effect. It provided for a Vice-President as the second
highest official of the land. Also, the six-year term of the incumbent Vice-President
was extended to June 30, 1992 and the first regular elections for the President and
Vice-President were set for the second Monday of May 1992.

In the May 1992 elections Fidel V. Ramos and JOSEPH E. ESTRADA emerged as
the victors. Estrada was elected Vice President over Marcelo B. Fernan, Emilio
Mario R. Osmeña, Ramon B. Magsaysay, Jr., Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., Vicente P.
Magsaysay and Eva Estrada Kalaw. Inaugurated on June 30, 1992, Estrada served
out his six year term.

In the 1998 elections Estrada became President and GLORIA MACAPAGAL-

ARROYO received the voters’ nod for the Vice-Presidency. She bested Edgardo
Angara, Oscar Orbos, Sergio Osmeña III, Francisco Tatad, Ismael Sueño, Irene
Santiago, Camilo Sabio and Reynaldo Pacheco.

Estrada had an abbreviated term. Accused of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal
of the public trust, and culpable violation of the constitution, he was impeached by
the House of Representatives and was being tried by the Senate when he was
forced out of office by mass action at EDSA. On January 20, 2001 Macapagal-
Arroyo took her oath as President of the Philippines before Chief Justice Hilario
Davide.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 9, Article VII of the Constitution which

empowers the President to nominate a Vice-President from among the Members of
the Senate and the House of Representatives, President Macapagal-Arroyo
nominated TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR. to replace her as Vice President. After
both houses of Congress, voting separately, confirmed his nomination to the second
highest position in the country Guingona took his oath as Vice-President on February
9, 2001. His term expired on June 30, 2004.

In the mid-term of his incumbency as a member of the Philippine Senate

(aftertopping the 2001 elections by garnering the record-breaking 16.1 million votes),
then Senator De Castro was invited by President Macapagal-Arroyo to be her
running-mate under the K-4 coalition. Then in the 14 May 2004 national elections,
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO and NOLI “KABAYAN” DE CASTRO emerged
victors for the positions of President and Vice President, respectively. It was the first
time since elections were held under the 1987 constitution that the winning President
and Vice President run under the same ticket. Vice President de Castro mustered 15
million votes (49.8% of the total votes cast).

Congress, sitting in joint session as the national board of canvassers proclaimed

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO and NOLI “KABAYAN” DE CASTRO as the
winning candidates on 25 June 2004. Then, on 30 June 2006, Vice President De
Castro assumed office after inaugural rights in Quirino Grandstand in Luneta, Manila
and oath-taking ceremonies held in Cebu City.

True to the President’s commitment of making Vice President De Castro a working

vice president, successively designated him various tasks as: 1.) Alternate Chairman
of the National Anti-Poverty Commission; 2.) Presidential Adviser for Overseas
Filipino Workers; 3.) Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council (HUDCC) and Ex-Officio Chairman of the five key shelter agencies (namely:
NAtional Housing Authority (NHA), Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
(HLURB), Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF of Pag-IBIG Fund), National
Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), and Socialized Housing Finance
Corporation (SHFC) as well as Ex-Officio Vice Chairman of the Home Guaranty
Corporation (HGC).

Beginning November of 2004, he was likewise tasked by President Macapagal-

Arroyo to lead the nationwide campaign to keep the supply and prices of basic
necessities and prime commodities stable during the Christmas season. Satisfied
with the Vice President’s performance, the President asked the Vice President to
continue leading this price monitoring effort in coordination with the National Price
Coordinating Council (NPCC) as well as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
and the Department of Agriculture (DA).