The Philippine presidential line of succession defines who becomes or acts as president upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and subsequent disqualification) of a sitting president or a president-elect.
Current order
The current presidential line of succession to the office of the president of the Philippines is specified by the 1987 Constitution. The line of presidential succession follows the order of: vice president, president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives. In case of death, permanent disability, or inability of these officials, Congress shall, by law, provide for the manner of selection of the person who is to act as president until a president or vice president shall have qualified and the line of succession will change of who those new national officials are.
Contrary to popular belief, the presidential line of succession does not include the chief justice.
Current line of succession
No. Position Incumbent Party 1 Vice President of the Philippines Sara Duterte HNP 2 President of the Senate of the Philippines Sherwin Gatchalian NPC 3 Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Bojie Dy PFP
Constitutional provisions Historical provisions 1973–1984
Under the 1973 constitution, the Executive Committee led by the Prime Minister of the Philippines was to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the President, if the president-elect had died, failed to qualify, or if a President had not been chosen. If the Batasang Pambansa, the national legislature, withdraws confidence in the Prime Minister, its Speaker would have presided over the Executive Committee. In the absence of an Executive Committee, the Speaker would be acting President until a new President was elected or qualified. If the presidency was vacated with more than 18 months left in the term of the previous President, the Batasang Pambansa was obliged to organize a special election, with the elected President to serve the unexpired term of their predecessor.
The Executive Committee was created under the said constitution, which should have at most 14 members and at least half of which should be Assemblymen. The Executive Committee was an advisory body assisting the President in fulfilling their executive function.
There was uncertainty regarding the presidential line of succession in the later years of Ferdinand Marcos’ rule towards the mid-1980s. It is implied the member deemed the best performing would succeed Marcos, whose health was already deteriorating. Economic failure also called for clarity on the matter, so in 1983 Marcos himself announced the sitting Prime Minister would succeed him. Among those considered as candidates to succeed Marcos were Prime Minister Cesar Virata, who was Chairman of the Executive Committee, and First Lady Imelda Marcos who was also a committee member. A member of the Committee, former Vice-President Emmanuel Pelaez, lobbied for a constitutional amendment which would allow Prime Minister Virata to be acting president in the event Marcos vacated the presidency, while Assemblyman Arturo Tolentino campaigned for the restoration of the post of Vice- President.
1984–1987 Another plebiscite was held in 1984 which restored the position of vice president, as well as restoring the holder of the position as the first in line in the presidential succession. A vice president should have been elected in a scheduled national elections in 1987, which was never held because President Marcos announced snap elections in 1985. The ratified provisions of the 1984 plebiscite also obliged the speaker of the Batasang Pambansa to act as acting president should the presidency be vacated prior to the scheduled 1987 elections. Corazon Aquino was installed as president when President Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in the People Power Revolution of 1986.
Current provisions The following are the provisions for the Philippine presidential line of succession of the current Constitution of the Philippines adopted in 1987.
Prior to the start of the term If a president was elected but failed to qualify, the vice president who was elected will act as president until the president qualifies If there was no president elected, the vice president who was elected will act as president until a president is elected and qualifies If at the beginning of the term of the president, the president-elect dies or has become permanently disabled, the vice president who was elected becomes president If neither a president nor a vice president had been chosen or had qualified, or if both had died or had become permanently disabled, the president of the Senate or, in case of their inability, the speaker of the House of Representatives, will act as president until a president or a vice president is chosen and qualifies.
During the term If the president dies, becomes permanently disabled, is removed from office, or resigns, the vice president becomes the president and serves the unexpired term If both the president and the vice president die, become permanently disabled, are removed from office, or resign, the president of the Senate or, in case of their inability, the speaker of the House of Representatives, will act as president until a president or vice president is elected and qualifies If the acting president dies, becomes permanently disabled, is removed from office, or resigns, Congress shall, by law, provide who shall serve as president. They shall serve until the president or the vice president shall have been elected and qualified, and be subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the acting president
Succession in practice
On August 1, 1944, following the death of President Manuel L. Quezon due to tuberculosis, Vice President Sergio Osmeña took his oath of office and became the second president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, then a government-in-exile in the United States. As the war in the Pacific Theatre continued, he returned to the Philippines two months later with General Douglas MacArthur and began the campaign to liberate the country. After the war, he restored the Commonwealth government and the various executive departments. Osmeña, who assumed the presidency at age 65, lost to Manuel Roxas in his bid for a full four-year term in his own right in the 1946 presidential election. On April 17, 1948, Vice President Elpidio Quirino assumed the presidency, taking his oath of office two days after the death of Manuel Roxas. His first official act as the president was the proclamation of a state of mourning throughout the country for Roxas' death. Since Quirino was a widower, his surviving daughter Victoria Quirino served as the official hostess and performed the functions traditionally ascribed to the first lady. Quirino won the 1949 presidential election and secured a four-year term in his own right. On March 17, 1957, Vice President Carlos P. Garcia was heading the Philippine delegation to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization conference, then being held at Canberra, Australia. Vice President Garcia hastily traveled back to Manila when he was informed of the death of President Ramon Magsaysay in a plane crash in Cebu. Upon his arrival, he immediately returned to Malacañang Palace to assume the duties of President. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Paras was at hand to administer the oath of office and Garcia became the 8th president of the Philippines. President Garcia's first actions dealt with the declaration of a period of mourning for the whole nation and the burial of his late predecessor. Garcia was elected to a full four-year term in the 1957 presidential election, which was held a few months after Magsaysay's death. On January 20, 2001, Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took her oath of office as the 14th president of the Philippines before Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. following the ouster of President Joseph Estrada. She had earlier resigned her cabinet position as Secretary of Social Welfare and Development and joined the growing opposition to the president, who faced impeachment. Estrada was forced from office by the EDSA Revolution of 2001. She was elected to a full six-year term in the 2004 presidential election and was sworn in on June 30, 2004. Following her presidency, she was elected to the House of Representatives, making her the second Philippine president after Jose P. Laurel to pursue a lower office after their presidency.
SuccessorParty President Reason Date of succession Nacionalista Manuel L. Quezon Death , days into Quezon's presidency. Liberal Manuel Roxas Death , into Roxas's presidency. Nacionalista Ramon Magsaysay Death , into Magsaysay's presidency. Lakas-NUCD Joseph Estrada Resignation , into Estrada's presidency.
Historical lines of succession 1935 and 1943 Constitutions
PeriodFirst in linePresidentNovember 15, 1935 – August 1, 1944Sergio OsmeñaNacionalistaManuel L. QuezonNacionalistaOctober 14, 1943 – August 17, 1945Claro M. RectoKALIBAPIJose P. LaurelKALIBAPIAugust 1, 1944 – May 28, 1946 colspan="3" Sergio OsmeñaNacionalistaMay 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948Elpidio QuirinoLiberalManuel RoxasLiberalApril 17, 1948 – December 30, 1949 colspan="3" rowspan="3" Elpidio QuirinoLiberalDecember 30, 1949 – December 30, 1953Fernando LopezLiberalDemocraticDecember 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957Carlos P. GarciaNacionalistaRamon MagsaysayNacionalistaMarch 18 – December 30, 1957 colspan="3" rowspan="2" Carlos P. GarciaNacionalistaDecember 30, 1957 – December 30, 1961Diosdado MacapagalLiberalDecember 30, 1961 – December 30, 1965Emmanuel PelaezLiberal rowspan="2" Diosdado MacapagalLiberalNacionalistaDecember 30, 1965 – January 17, 1973Fernando LopezNacionalistaFerdinand MarcosNacionalista
1973 Constitution
PeriodFirst in lineSecond in lineThird in lineFourth in linePresidentJanuary 17, 1973 – June 30, 1981 colspan="12" rowspan="2" Ferdinand MarcosNacionalista rowspan="6" KBLJune 30, 1981 – February 1, 1984Cesar VirataKBL colspan="9" February 1 – June 30, 1984Querube MakalintalKBL colspan="9" June 30 – July 23, 1984 colspan="12" July 23, 1984 – December 3, 1985 rowspan="2"Nicanor YñiguezKBL colspan="9" December 3, 1985 – March 25, 1986Cesar VirataKBLJose RoñoKBLMacacuna DimaporoKBL
Freedom Constitution and 1987 Constitution