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First ladies and gentlemen of the Philippines

The first ladyorfirst gentleman of the Philippines (Filipino: Unang Ginang o Unang Ginoó ng Pilipinas) is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Philippines.

The title is traditionally held by the consort of the president of the Philippines, and as such is used to interchangeably refer to the spouse of the incumbent; however, this is rarely the case, especially for presidents without a living spouse at the time of their tenure. The position, which is customary in nature and dignity, merits no official remuneration from the state.

Liza Araneta Marcos is the current first lady of the Philippines, as wife of the 17th and current president of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos.

Terminology[edit]

The host of the Malacañang Palace, who is usually the consort of the president, has been referred to in English as the "first lady" (Filipino: Unang Ginang). As Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took office as the first female president who is not a widow, the masculine form "first gentleman" (abbreviated FG; Filipino: Unang Ginoó) was used for her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo.^[2]

Role[edit]

The position of first lady or first gentleman is not an elected position, carries no official duties, and has no personal remuneration. Nonetheless, the title holder participates in humanitarian and charitable work on behalf of the president, often in line with his or her policies and programmes. Furthermore, many of the holders of this post have taken an active role in campaigning for the president, or have participated in public life through some other manner.

Imelda Marcos was given a formal job as GovernorofMetro Manila and as Minister of Human Settlements by her husband Ferdinand Marcos during his 21-year rule. She is also the first incumbent first lady to enter politics by winning a seat in the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978.

Two former first ladies later won seats in Congress after their husbands' tenures in office. In 1995, Marcos herself became the first former first lady to win a seat in the House of Representatives. In 2001, Loi Ejercito became the first former first lady to win a seat in the Senate.

List[edit]

Pres No.	Portrait	First Lady / First Gentleman	In role	Age at tenure start	President (Spouse, unless noted)
1		Hilaria Aguinaldo February 17, 1877 – March 6, 1921 (aged 44)	January 23, 1899 – March 23, 1901	121 years, 340 days	Aguinaldo m. January 1, 1896
2		Aurora Quezon February 19, 1888 – April 28, 1949 (aged 61)	November 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944	47 years, 269 days	Quezon m. December 17, 1918
3		Pacencia Laurel April 30, 1889 – January 1, 1963 (aged 73)	October 14, 1943 – August 17, 1945	54 years, 167 days	Laurel m. April 9, 1911
4		Esperanza Osmeña December 18, 1894 – April 4, 1978 (aged 83)	August 1, 1944 – May 28, 1946	49 years, 227 days	Osmeña m. January 10, 1920
5		Trinidad Roxas October 4, 1900 – June 20, 1995 (aged 94)	May 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948	45 years, 236 days	Roxas m. April 14, 1921
6		Victoria Quirino May 18, 1931 – November 29, 2006 (aged 75)	April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953	16 years, 335 days	Quirino Daughter [note 2]
7		Luz Magsaysay June 25, 1914 – August 17, 2004 (aged 90)	December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957	39 years, 188 days	Magsaysay m. June 16, 1933
8		Leonila Garcia July 17, 1906 – May 17, 1994 (aged 87)	March 18, 1957 – December 30, 1961	50 years, 244 days	Garcia m. May 24, 1933
9		Eva Macapagal November 1, 1915 – May 16, 1999 (aged 83)	December 30, 1961 – December 30, 1965	46 years, 59 days	Macapagal m. May 5, 1946
10		Imelda Marcos Born (1929-07-02) July 2, 1929 (age 95)	December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986	36 years, 181 days	Marcos m. April 17, 1954
11	Vacant				C. Aquino Widow[note 3]
12		Amelita Ramos Born (1926-12-29) December 29, 1926 (age 97)	June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998	62 years, 184 days	Ramos m. October 21, 1954
13		Loi Ejercito Born (1930-06-02) June 2, 1930 (age 94)	June 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001	68 years, 28 days	Estrada m. December 6, 1959
14		Jose Miguel Arroyo Born (1945-06-27) June 27, 1945 (age 79)	January 20, 2001 – June 30, 2010	55 years, 207 days	Arroyo m. August 2, 1968
15	Vacant				B. Aquino III Bachelor[note 4]
16					Duterte None designated[note 5]
17		Liza Marcos[3] (1959-08-21) August 21, 1959 (age 64)	June 30, 2022	62 years, 313 days	Marcos Jr. m. April 17, 1993

Non-spouses who held the distinction[edit]

On a few occasions, individuals who are not spouses of the incumbent president have temporarily performed tasks reserved for the first lady or first gentleman, effectively rendering them as the de facto holder of the position; most often they are a direct relative of the president. To date, only Elpidio Quirino, Corazon Aquino, and Benigno Aquino III had no spouse to assume the title of First Lady or First Gentleman.^[4] Rodrigo Duterte did not appoint a first lady despite having Honeylet Avanceña as his common-law wife. In the case of Quirino, his daughter received the title as he was a widower upon his accession.

Victoria Quirino-Gonzalez was the first lady for her father, Elpidio Quirino. She was made the official host of the Malacañang Palace.^[5] However Victoria is regarded as the first to be named with the role of first lady. The spouses of previous presidents, from Emilio AguinaldotoManuel Roxas, were not given the title during their respective husbands' terms.^[1]

Presidencies with no regular first lady or gentlemen[edit]

Benigno Aquino III[edit]

Benigno Aquino III never married, so the palace hired professionals to manage tasks and duties customarily reserved for the first lady, such as organizing state dinners.^[4]

On some occasions, he charged one or more of his sisters with entertaining local and foreign dignitaries.^[6] During the 2015 APEC summit hosted in Pasay, his youngest sister, Kris Aquino served as temporary first lady for the event. Their other sisters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, Pinky Aquino-Abelleda, and Viel Aquino-Dee, also assisted him in his various duties.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Rodrigo Duterte[edit]

Prior to his inauguration, incumbent Rodrigo Duterte declared his eldest daughter Sara would be the first lady despite having Honeylet Avanceña as his common-law wife. He was previously married to Elizabeth Zimmerman;^[12] their marriage was annulled in 2000.

However, Sara Duterte was already mayor-elect of Davao City, and declined the offer.^[13][14] Following her filing of a 10-day leave of absence until June 22, there were speculations that she did so to assume the role of first lady, but she neither denied or confirmed speculations.^[15][16] Former Department of the Interior and Local Government secretary Rafael Alunan suggested that Vice-President Leni Robredo serve as de facto first lady^[17] but this never materialised.

Avanceña nevertheless would fulfill roles usually conducted by the first lady such as during the official visit of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, and the 30th ASEAN Summit in 2017.^[18]

See also[edit]

• President of the Philippines
• List of presidents of the Philippines
• List of ancient Philippine consorts
• Malacañang Palace
• First lady

Notes[edit]

References[edit]