Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Macapagal
President	Carlos P. Garcia
Vice President(s)	Emmanuel Pelaez
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	(1) Purita dela Rosa—died (2) Evangelina Macaraeg
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature	Diosdado Macapagal's signature

For the airport, see Diosdado Macapagal International Airport

For the boulevard in Metro Manila, see Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal (September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino statesman who served as the 9th President of the Philippines. He was elected in 1961, defeating the re-election bid of Carlos P. Garcia. He did not win in his own re-election bid in 1965, losing to Ferdinand Marcos. He was also known by his nickname "The Incorruptible".

His daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is the current president of the Philippines.

Early life and career

Macapagal was born in Lubao, Pampanga to Urbano Macapagal and Romana Pangan. He graduated valedictorian in the Lubao Elementary School, graduated with second highest rating in the Pampanga High School. His family was poor (hence his nickname "poor boy from Lubao"), but with the help of Honorio Ventura, the Secretary of Interior at that time, he studied law and graduated in the University of Santo Tomas and pursued and earned the postgraduate degree of Doctor of Civil Law and Ph.D. in Economics in the same university.

He finished his law degree in 1936 and was the bar topnotcher when he took the bar examination in the same year with a rating of 89.95%. He worked as a lawyer for an American employer in Manila, and was assigned as a legal assistant to President Manuel L. Quezon.

During the Japanese occupation of World War II, Macapagal served as support to the anti-Japanese task force and as an intelligence liaison to the US guerillas. It was during this period that his first wife died of malnutrition. He later married Evangelina Macaraeg, the mother of current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In 1948 he served as second secretary to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC. In 1950 he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served until 1956. During that time, he was the Philippine representative to the United Nations General Assembly three times.

In 1957, as a member of the Liberal Party, he became vice president under President Carlos Garcia of the Nacionalista Party.

Presidency

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal stands out as one of the great, respected, highly esteemed and loved presidents of the Philippines. During his time, the Philippines enjoyed prosperity and was the second most developed country in the Asian region, next only to Japan and ahead of the new tigers of Asia like Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, etc. He is affectionately known as the Champion of the Common Man because of his many achievements in improving the plight of the masses and of the poor. His sterling character and unquestionable integrity (known as the Incorruptible) is a rare model for present and future generations of Filipinos. He has proven that one can rise up over poverty, having been truly the first poor man to become president of the country. Macapagal was elected president in 1961 by a coalition of liberals and progressives, defeating the re-election bid of Carlos P. Garcia. He focused on fighting graft and corruption in the government. Seeking to stimulate economic development, he took the advice of supporters and allowed the Philippine peso to float on the free currency exchange market. His reform efforts were blocked by the Nacionalistas, who dominated the House of Representatives and the Senate at that time. Nonetheless, and was able to achieve growth and prosperity for the nation.

Most significant achievements of Macapagal as president were the abolition of tenancy and accompanying land reform program in the Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963 which underscored his endeavor to fight mass poverty; the change of Philippine independence day from July 4 to June 12 (the date in 1898 that Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain) which symbolized his foreign policy of promoting and achieving true independence from foreign domination; he made deliberate and integrated actuations as if he were the President of a mature and advanced democracy like integrity and honesty, scorn for cheating or terrorizing in elections, sticking to his political party, declining support from sectors deleterious to democracy like a powerful church group whose preferred support he did not accept when he ran for Vice President in 1957 and for reelection in 1965, and other acts of principle to advance the maturization of Philippine democracy.

Post-presidency

In 1971, Macapagal was elected president of the constitutional convention that drafted what became the 1973 constitution.

In 1979 Macapagal formed the National Union for Liberation to oppose the Marcos regime. In his retirement, Macapagal devoted much of his time to reading and writing. He authored several books, and wrote a weekly column for the Manila Bulletin newspaper.

Diosdado Macapagal died of heart failure, pneumonia and renal complications at the Makati Medical Center on April 21, 1997. He is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Notes

See also

• Gen. Alfredo M. Santos - First Four-star General, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1962-1965)

External links

• The Philippine Presidency Project
• Diosdado Macapagal tribute

References

• Zaide, Gregorio F. (1984). Philippine History and Government. National Bookstore Printing Press. 

Preceded by Carlos P. Garcia	Vice President of the Philippines 1957–1961	Succeeded by Emmanuel Pelaez
Preceded by Carlos P. Garcia	President of the Philippines 1961–1965	Succeeded by Ferdinand Marcos

•  • [ e] Presidents of the Philippines
Aguinaldo • Quezon • Osmea • Laurel • Roxas • Quirino • Magsaysay • Garcia • Macapagal • Marcos • Aquino • Ramos • Estrada • Arroyo

•  • [ e] Vice Presidents of the Philippines
Tras • Osmea • Quirino • Lopez • Garcia • Macapagal • Pelaez • Lopez • Tolentino • Laurel • Estrada • Arroyo • Guingona, Jr. • De Castro, Jr.