Prime Minister of the Philippines

Head of government of the Philippines from 1978 to 1986

The prime minister of the Philippines was the official designation of the head of the government (whereas the president of the Philippines was the head of state) of the Philippines from 1978 until the People Power Revolution in 1986. During martial law and the fourth republic, the prime minister served as the head the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A limited version of this office, officially known as the President of the Council of Government, existed temporarily in 1899 during the First Philippine Republic. Salvador Laurel served as the last prime minister of the Philippines and later served as the vice president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992.

The 1899 Constitution of the Philippines created the office of the Council of Government (lang es) which was composed of the President of the Council (lang es) and seven secretaries. The president of the revolutionary government led by Emilio Aguinaldo, appointed his advisor Apolinario Mabini as the first President of the Council of Government through a decree issued January 2, 1899. Mabini also became the finance minister of the Republic. The President of the Council was de facto equivalent to a prime minister. On December 10, 1898, the ongoing war between United States and Spain was concluded with Spain giving up all rights to Cuba and surrendering the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. Two days later, Aguinaldo ordered his lawyer Felipe Agoncillo to contest the Philippine status as an independent nation and no longer a Spanish colony since the declaration of independence on June 12, 1898. The United States did not recognize Philippine sovereignty. This led to serious conflict when the insurgent Philippine Republic was formally established on January 23, 1899 at Malolos. By January 30, Aguinaldo had again dispatched Agoncillo, this time to the United States Senate, to lobby them to reconsider their plans and instead formally recognize Filipino independence. In the next few months, Mabini was pressured by political problems such as negotiating to end the hostilities between Filipinos and American forces left in the Philippines after the war. After the failure to reach successful agreements with the U. S. army to secure a cease fire, the first shot of the Philippine–American War erupted on February 4, 1899. The revolutionary government was forced to vacate Malolos and transfer the seat of administration from place to place. Mabini, who was pressured then from his political adversaries and failure to stop the increasing guerilla insurgency during the war, left the post and surrendered to United States on May 7, 1899. One of the political adversaries who forced Mabini to leave office was Pedro A. Paterno, president of the Congress of the Republic since September 15, 1898. He opposed Mabini's offensive plan to counter United States attacks during the war, so he proposed peace plans with the Americans to Aguinaldo, such that the Philippines would be a protectorate of the United States with full autonomy. This was opposed by Mabini, however, Paterno and his allies convinced Aguinaldo to dissolve the Mabini cabinet. The next day, May 8, Aguinaldo appointed Paterno as the President of the Council of Government. One of his first moves during his term was to draft a copy of "Autonomy Plan" to the Schurman Commission which asks for peace settlement with the US government. This also states that the Filipinos are ready to drop the idea of independence and accept US sovereignty over the archipelago. Meanwhile, the takeover by Paterno of the revolutionary government and his actions towards the Schurman Commission infuriated General Antonio Luna, the commanding officer of the Philippine Army. He ordered to arrest Paterno and other members of the Cabinet, however, he was unsuccessful to send Paterno to jail. On June 5, Luna was assassinated in Nueva Ecija, one of the alleged reasons for his murder was due to this conflict with Paterno. During the war, the seat of Aguinaldo changed from place to place northwards as the Americans grew aggressive. On November 13, 1899, Paterno was captured by US forces in Benguet, thus ending his term as the President of the Council. From 1899 to 1901, Philippines was headed by American military governors. When Aguinaldo was captured by Gen. Frederick Funston on March 23, 1901 at Palanan, Isabela, the country was headed then by civil governors until the formal establishment of self autonomous Commonwealth on November 15, 1935. The 1935 Constitution that describes the operation of the Commonwealth does not have the provision of reviving the office of the President of the Council of the Government or creating any related position. This was continued until the Third Republic.

In 1976, President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decrees 991 and 1033 calling for a constitutional referendum, set on October 16, 1976. The voters were asked whether they wanted to lift the ongoing martial law since 1972; the majority approved its continuation. In addition, drafted and ratified was the Sixth Amendment to the 1973 Constitution, which fused legislative and executive powers in the office of President. One of its provisions at the time of ratification was that the President shall obtain the title of Prime Minister, thus re creating the office after 1899. On April 7, 1978, the first election for the Batasang Pambansa, was held since the abolition of the bicameral Congress under the 1973 Constitution. 150 out of 165 elected positions of the parliament were dominated by Marcos' ruling party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement). By June 12, the IBP was inaugurated which also confirmed Marcos' position as the Prime Minister of the Philippines. previously represented the country to World Bank's Council of Governors. Until the 1986 People Power Revolution, Virata held this position. It was conjectured that Marcos bestowed his Prime Ministerial post to Virata because of the latter's distance from mainstream politics. Other than being Marcos' finance minister, Virata was not a political threat.

Upon her accession in late February 1986, Corazon Aquino appointed her Vice President and running mate Salvador Laurel to succeed Virata under her revolutionary government. However, the premiership was later abolished in March 1986 with the release of Proclamation No. 3, or the "Freedom Constitution". The subsequent and currently enforced 1987 Constitution has no provisions for such a position, as the President is now both head of government and head of state.

No. (Number) Portrait NamePartyTerm ElectionLegislaturePresident 1 Apolinario MabiniIndependent January 2, 1899–May 7, 18991898Malolos CongressEmilio Aguinaldo 2 Pedro Paterno Independent May 8, 1899–November 13, 1899 colspan="9" colspan="9" 3 Ferdinand Marcos KBL June 12, 1978–June 30, 19811978Interim Batasang PambansaFerdinand Marcos4Cesar VirataKBLJuly 28, 1981–February 25, 19861984Regular Batasang Pambansa 5 Salvador Laurel UNIDO February 25, 1986–March 25, 1986 Corazon Aquino colspan="9" colspan="9"