Philippines

Famous Filipino People: Filipino Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

The Philippines is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities with outstanding individuals who made a difference with their remarkable achievements. Below you will find some brief stories of remarkable Filipino people with one thing in common: they are not easy to stereotype.

:: List of Famous People from Philippines ::

José Rizal
José Rizal was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered a national hero of the Philippines, and the anniversary of Rizal’s death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal’s 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

Epifanio de los Santos
Epifanio de los Santos was a prominent Filipino historian, literary critic, artist, scholar, civil servant and patriot. He was appointed Director of the Philippine Library and Museum by Governor General Leonard Wood in 1925. He was considered one of the best Filipino writers in Spanish of his time and regarded as a literary genius. Epifanio de los Santos was the first Filipino to become a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Language, Spanish Royal Academy of Literature and Spanish Royal Academy of History in Madrid.

Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Aquino III is the 15th and current President of the Philippines since June 2010. Aquino is a fourth-generation politician: his great-grandfather, Servillano “Mianong” Aquino, served as a delegate to the Malolos Congress; his grandfather, Benigno Aquino, Sr., held several legislative positions from 1919 to 1944; and his parents were President Corazon Aquinoand Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. Aquino is a member of the Liberal Party. In the Liberal Party, Aquino held various positions such as Secretary General and Vice President for Luzon. Aquino is currently the Chairman of the Liberal Party.

Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos was the tenth President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives (1949–1959) and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959–1965). He was Senate President from 1963-1965. As Philippine president and strongman, his greatest achievement was in the fields of infrastructure development and international diplomacy. However, his administration was marred by massive authoritarian corruption, despotism, nepotism, political repression, and human rights violations. In 1983, his government was implicated in the assassination of his primary political opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr. The implication caused a chain of events, including a tainted presidential election that served as the catalyst for the People Power Revolution in February 1986 that led to his removal from power and eventual exile in Hawaii. It was later alleged that he and his wife Imelda Marcos had moved billions of dollars of embezzled public funds to the United States, Switzerland,and other countries, as well as into alleged corporations during his 20 years in power.

Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Benigno Aquino, Jr. was a Philippine Senator, Governor of Tarlac, and an opposition leader against President Ferdinand Marcos. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (later renamed in his honor) upon returning home from exile in the United States. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino, to the limelight and subsequently to the presidency, replacing the 20-year Marcos presidency. In 2004, the anniversary of his death was proclaimed as a national holiday now known as Ninoy Aquino Day.

Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines. She is considered an icon of democracy, and was titled by TIME Magazine in 1986 as its ‘Woman of the Year’.

Henry Sy
Henry Sy is a Chinese Filipino businessman and the founder of SM Group and chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largest retailer and shopping mall operator in the Philippines. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. Acknowledged as the country’s “Retail King,” he has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set up in Quiapo in 1946, to become Asia’s biggest shopping mall operator with over 30 malls throughout the Philippines.

Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the only president to have resigned from office – under allegations of corruption which spawned an impeachment trial at the Senate – and was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency. Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in an acting career spanning 33 years. He leveraged his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for seventeen years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice President of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is an eight-division world champion, the first boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions. He is also the first boxer in history to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.[5]He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000’s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA “Fighter of the Year”, winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga. She was the country’s second female president (after Corazon Aquino), and the daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal.

Charice Pempengco
Charice Pempengco, often known just as Charice, is a Filipina recording artist who rose to popularity through YouTube. Dubbed by Oprah Winfrey as the Most Talented Girl in the World, she is the first and only Asian singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart. Crossing over to television acting, she has appeared on the second season of the hit TV series Glee as Sunshine Corazon.

Lea Salonga-Chien
Lea Salonga is a Filipino singer and actress. She is best known for her musical role Kim in Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World Awards. She was the first Asian to play Éponine as well as the first Asian to play Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and was the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin (1992) and Fa Mulan from Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004).