First Lady or Gentleman of the Philippines

First Lady or Gentleman of the Philippines ; Unang Ginang o Ginoó ng Pilipinas
	Incumbent; None[note 1]
Style	His/Her Excellency
Residence	Malacañang Palace
Inaugural holder	Hilaria del Rosario-Aguinaldo[note 2]
Formation	23 January 1899

First Lady or First Gentleman of the Philippines (Filipino: Unang Ginang o Unang Ginoó ng Pilipinas) is the unofficial, customary title of 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 isn't usually the case, especially for presidents without a living spouse at the time of their tenure.

The current president Rodrigo Duterte has no designated first lady despite having Cielito Avanceña as his common-law wife. No other family member or any other individual has been designated as the current incumbent's first lady.

Terminology

The consort of the Philippine president is, as in other countries, conventionally styled in English as the "First Lady" (Filipino: Unang Ginang). As Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office as the second female president, the masculine form "First Gentleman" (abbreviated FG; Filipino: Unang Ginoó) was used for her husband, Miguel Arroyo.

Role

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. 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 Governor of Metro Manila and as Minister of Human Settlements by her husband Ferdinand Marcos during his 21-year rule. She is also the first first lady to enter the world of Philippine politics by winning a seat in the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978.

In 2001, physician Luisa Estrada became the first former first lady to win a seat in Senate.

List

OO	First Lady or Gentleman	Relation to President	Government	In Role
1	Hilaria Aguinaldo	first wife of Emilio Aguinaldo (husband, officially recognized as the first President)	First Philippine Republic (1899–1901)	January 23, 1899–April 1, 1901
2	Aurora Quezon	wife of Manuel L. Quezon	Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946)	November 15, 1935–August 1, 1944
3	Pacencia Laurel	wife of José P. Laurel	Second Philippine Republic (1943–1945)	October 14, 1943–August 14, 1945
4	Esperanza Osmeña	wife of Sergio Osmeña	Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946)	August 1, 1944–May 28, 1946
5	Trinidad Roxas	wife of Manuel Roxas	Third Philippine Republic (1946–1972)	May 28, 1946–April 15, 1948
6	Victoria Quirino	daughter of widower Elpidio Quirino		April 15, 1948–December 30, 1953
7	Luz Magsaysay	wife of Ramon Magsaysay		December 30, 1953–March 17, 1957
8	Leonila Garcia	wife of Carlos P. Garcia		March 17, 1957–December 30, 1961
9	Eva Macapagal	wife of Diosdado Macapagal		December 30, 1961–December 30, 1965
10	Imelda Marcos	wife of Ferdinand E. Marcos		December 30, 1965–February 25, 1986
			Philippines under Martial Law (1972–1981)
			Fourth Philippine Republic (1981–1987)
Vacant; Corazon C. Aquino was a widow. Her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated in 1983.			Fourth Philippine Republic (1981–1987)	February 25, 1986–June 30, 1992
			Fifth Philippine Republic (1987–present)	February 25, 1986–June 30, 1992
11	Amelita Ramos	wife of Fidel Ramos		June 30, 1992–June 30, 1998
12	Loi Ejercito	wife of Joseph Ejercito Estrada		June 30, 1998–January 20, 2001
13	Jose Miguel Arroyo	husband of Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo		January 20, 2001–June 30, 2010
Vacant; Benigno S. Aquino III was unmarried				June 30, 2010–June 30, 2016
Vacant; Rodrigo Duterte's marriage was annulled[note 1]				June 30, 2016–present

Non-spouses who held the distinction

Sara Duterte, the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, was initially to become his First Lady. She later declined the offer.[2]

On few occasions, individuals who are not spouses of the incumbent president has perform tasks reserved for the First Lady or First Gentleman effectively rendering them as the de facto holder of the position in selected occasions; most often they are a direct relative of the President. To date, only Elpidio Quirino, Corazon Aquino, and Benigno Aquino III had no first lady or first gentleman.[3] In the case of Quirino, his first lady was not his wife but his daughter since he was a widower.

Victoria Quirino-Gonzalez was the first lady for her father, Elpidio Quirino. However Victoria is regarded as the first to be named with the role "First Lady". The spouses of the presidents, from Emilio Aguinaldo to Manuel Roxas, were not given the title during their respective husbands' terms.[1]

Corazón Aquino was married to Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., whose assassination on 21 August 1983 was a key factor in her 1986 rise to the presidency. Her eldest daughter, María Elena "Ballsy" Aquino-Cruz, served as her mother's proxy in some social functions and accompanied her on state visits. In a similar fashion to Victoria Quirino-Delgado, Aquino-Cruz was informally styled "First Lady"; her brother, Benigno III (later President) was meanwhile considered First Gentleman.

During the 2015 APEC summit hosted in Manila, Benigno Aquino III's sister, Kris Aquino served as de facto first lady for the occasion. Their other sisters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, Pinky Aquino-Abelleda, and Viel Aquino-Dee, also assisted the president in performing his duties.[4][5][6][7] In the absence of a first lady for Aquino, the palace hired professionals to fulfill the roles usually reserved for the first lady or first gentleman, such as organizing state dinners.[3]

Prior to his inauguration, incumbent president Rodrigo Duterte officially designated his daughter Sara as First Lady despite having Cielito Avanceña as his common-law wife. He was previously married to Elizabeth Zimmerman;[8] their marriage was annulled in 2000. Avanceña has started to participate as consort of President Duterte during the official visit of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and as hostess during the 30th ASEAN Summit.

However, then-mayor-elect Duterte declined the offer.[2][9] Following the filing of newly-elected Davao City mayor Sara Duterte of a 10-day leave of absence until June 22, there were speculations that she would assume the post of First Lady, but she neither denied or confirmed the speculation.[10][11] Former Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Rafael Alunan has suggested Vice President Leni Robredo to serve as de facto first lady.[12]

Portrait	First Lady	Relation to President	Government	Term of President
Portrait	First Lady	Relation to President	Government	Start	End
	Victoria Quirino–Gonzalez	Daughter of widower Elpidio Quirino	Third Philippine Republic (1946–1972)	April 17, 1948	December 30, 1953
	Ballsy Aquino–Cruz	Daughter of widow Corazon Aquino	Fifth Philippine Republic (1986–present)	February 25, 1986	June 30, 1992
	Kris Aquino	Sister of unmarried Benigno Aquino III		June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016

Birth

Birth order	First Lady or First Gentleman	Birthdate	Birth name	Century	Order of office	Birthplace
1	Hilaria Aguinaldo	17 Feb 1877	Hilaria del Rosario y Reyes	19th	1	Imus, Cavite
2	Aurora Quezon	19 Feb 1888	Aurora Antonia Aragón y Molina		2	Baler, Aurora
3	Pacencia Laurel	30 Apr 1889	Pacencia Hidalgo y Valencia		3
4	Esperanza Osmeña	18 Dec 1894	Esperanza Limjap y Escolar		4	San Miguel, Manila
5	Trinidad Roxas	4 Oct 1899	Trinidad Roura de León		5	San Miguel, Bulacan
6	Leonila Garcia	25 Jun 1906	Leonila dela Serna Dimataga	20th	8	Opon, Cebu
7	Luz Magsaysay	17 Jul 1914	Luz Rosauro Banzon		7	Balanga, Bataan
8	Eva Macapagal	1 Nov 1915	Evangelina dela Cruz Macaraeg		9	Binalonan, Pangasinan
9	Amelita Ramos	29 Dec 1927	Amelita Jara Martinez		12	Manila
10	Imelda Marcos	2 Jul 1929	Imelda Remedios Romuáldez y Trinidad		10	Manila
11	Loi Ejercito	2 Jun 1930	Luisa Fernandez Pimentel		13	Iba, Zambales
12	Victoria Quirino	17 May 1931	Victoria Syquia Quirino		6	Manila
13	Jose Miguel Arroyo	27 Jun 1945	Jose Miguel Tuazon Arroyo		14	Negros Occidental
14	Ballsy Aquino-Cruz	18 Aug 1955	Maria Elena Cojuangco Aquino		11	Manila
15	Kris Aquino	14 Feb 1971	Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino		15	Quezon City

Death

OD	OO	First Lady	Date of Death	Century	Cause of Death	Age	Place of Death	Place of Burial
1	1	Hilaria Aguinaldo	6 Mar 1921	20th	Pulmonary tuberculosis	44 years, 17 days	Cavite el Viejo, Cavite
2	2	Aurora Quezon	28 Apr 1949		Assassination	61 years, 68 days	Quezon City, Philippines	Quezon Memorial Circle
3	3	Pacencia Laurel	1 Jan 1960			65 years, 14 days
4	4	Esperanza Osmeña	4 Apr 1978		Heart failure	83 years, 107 days	Makati City, Philippines	Manila North Cemetery
5	8	Leonila Garcia	17 May 1994			87 years, 304 days	Quezon City, Philippines
6	5	Trinidad Roxas	20 Jun 1995			95 years, 259 days	Quezon City, Philippines	Unknown
7	8	Eva Macapagal	16 May 1999			83 years, 196 days	Manila,
8	7	Luz Magsaysay	17 Aug 2004	21st		90 years, 53 days	Quezon City, Philippines
9	6	Victoria Quirino	29 Nov 2006	21st		75 years, 195 days	Quezon City, Philippines

Age

Rank	First Lady or Gentleman	Life Dates	Age
1	Trinidad Roxas	4 Oct 1899–20 Jun 1995	95 years, 259 days
2	Amelita Ramos	29 Dec 1926–Living	94 years, 35 days
3	Imelda Marcos	2 Jul 1929–Living	91 years, 215 days
4	Loi Ejercito	2 Jun 1930–Living	90 years, 245 days
5	Luz Magsaysay	25 Jun 1914–17 Aug 2004	90 years, 53 days
6	Leonila Garcia	17 Jul 1906–17 May 1994	87 years, 304 days
7	Eva Macapagal	1 Nov 1915–16 May 1999	83 years, 196 days
8	Esperanza Osmeña	18 Dec 1894–4 Apr 1978	83 years, 107 days
9	Jose Miguel Arroyo	27 Jun 1945–Living	75 years, 220 days
10	Victoria Quirino	18 May 1931–29 Nov 2006	75 years, 195 days
11	Pacencia Laurel	30 Apr 1889–1 Jan 1960	70 years, 246 days
12	Ballsy Aquino-Cruz	18 Aug 1955–Living	65 years, 168 days
13	Aurora Quezon	18 Feb 1889–28 Apr 1949	61 years, 68 days
14	Kris Aquino	14 Feb 1971–Living	49 years, 354 days
15	Hilaria Aguinaldo	17 Feb 1877–6 Mar 1921	44 years, 17 days

[13]

Living former first ladies and first gentlemen

As of February 2021, there are three living former first ladies and one living first gentleman. The most recent first lady to die was Victoria Quirino (1948–1953), daughter of Elpidio Quirino on November 29, 2006

Spouse	Date of birth	Age
Amelita Ramos	29 December 1926	94 years, 35 days
Imelda Marcos	2 July 1929	91 years, 215 days
Loi Ejercito	2 June 1930	90 years, 245 days
Jose Miguel Arroyo	27 June 1945	75 years, 220 days
Ballsy Aquino-Cruz (de facto)	18 August 1955	65 years, 168 days
Kris Aquino (de facto)	14 February 1971	49 years, 354 days