First Spouse of the Philippines

First Lady of the Philippines
Incumbent Kristina Bernadette C. Aquino (de facto)^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] since 30 June 2010
Residence	Malacañan Palace
Inaugural holder	Hilaria del Rosario-Aguinaldo
Formation	23 January 1899

The First Lady / Gentleman of the Philippines (Filipino: Unang Ginang / Ginoó ng Pilipinas) is the unofficial, customary title of the host/ess of Malacañan Palace, the residence of the head of state of the Philippines. The title is traditionally occupied by the consort of the President of the Philippines, and as such is sometimes exclusively used for a spouse of the incumbent.

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 male form First Gentleman (abbreviated FG; Filipino: Unang Ginoó) was used for her husband, Miguel Arroyo.

This is perhaps one reason for the use of gender-neutral title of First Spouse, although of note also is that many indigenous nouns lack grammatical gender in many Philippine languages, compared to thousands of gendered loanwords from Spanish or English. The terms "husband" and "wife" are thus covered by genderless words for "spouse" (e.g. the Tagalog asawa, kabiyák).

Role

The position of First Spouse 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 First Spouses 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 during their 21-year stay in the Palace. 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.

The wife or husband of the Vice President of the Philippines is sometimes referred to as the Second Spouse of the Philippines; actual usage of this title, however, is rare.

List

#	First Lady/Gentleman	Relation to President	Government	Start	End
1	Hilaria Aguinaldo (1877-1921)	first wife of Emilio Aguinaldo (officially recognised as the first President)	First Philippine Republic (1899–1901)	January 23, 1899	April 1, 1901
2	Aurora Quezon (1888-1949)	wife of Manuel L. Quezon	Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946)	November 15, 1935	August 1, 1944
3	Pacencia Laurel (1889-1960)	wife of José P. Laurel	Second Philippine Republic (1943–1945)	October 14, 1943	August 14, 1945
4	Esperanza Osmeña (1896-1978)	wife of Sergio S. Osmeña	Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946)	August 1, 1944	May 28, 1946
5	Trinidad Roxas (1900-1995)	wife of Manuel A. Roxas	Third Philippine Republic (1946–1972)	May 28, 1946	April 15, 1948
6	Victoria Quirino-Gonzalez (1931-2006)	daughter of widower Elpidio Quirino		April 17, 1948	December 30, 1953
7	Luz Magsaysay (1915-2004)	wife of Ramón F. Magsaysay		December 30, 1953	March 17, 1957
8	Leonila Garcia (1906-1994)	wife of Carlos P. García		March 23, 1957	December 30, 1961
9	Eva Macapagal (1915-1999)	wife of Diosdado P. Macapagal		December 30, 1961	December 30, 1965
10	Imelda Marcos (1929-)	wife of Ferdinand E. Marcos		December 30, 1965	February 25, 1986
			Philippines under Martial Law (1972–1981)
			Fourth Philippine Republic (1981–1987)
-	Ballsy Aquino-Cruz (1955-)	daughter of widower Corazon Aquino (de facto)	Fifth Philippine Republic (1987–present)	February 25, 1986	June 30, 1992
11	Amelita Ramos (1927-)	wife of Fidel V. Ramos		June 30, 1992	June 30, 1998
12	Loi Estrada (1930-)	wife of Joseph Ejército Estrada		June 30, 1998	January 20, 2001
13	Jose Miguel Arroyo (1946-)	husband of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo		January 20, 2001	June 30, 2010
-	Kris Aquino (1971-)	sister of bachelor Benigno Aquino III (de facto only when required by protocol for selected functions)		June 30, 2010	Incumbent

Notes

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 de facto First Gentleman.
² The unwed Benigno Aquino III often has his youngest sister, television personality and actress Kris Aquino, perform tasks reserved for the First Spouse. She occasionally shares these various duties with their other sisters (including Aquino-Cruz, above). His relationships while in office to date were Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad , his personal stylist Liz Uy, and television presenter/DJ Grace Lee.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.