Election Trivia: Children of Former Presidents who Launched Their Own Presidential Bid

In the history of Philippine elections, four children of former presidents launched their own bid for the presidency.

Among the four who vied for presidency, two of them won: Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2004) and Benigno S. Aquino III (2010); while two lost: Senator Sergio Osmeña Jr. (1969) and Vice President Salvador H. Laurel (1992).

The first presidential child to become president was Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal.

Arroyo ascended to presidency in 2001 when her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, was ousted through the Second EDSA Revolution (EDSA II).

Facing recurrent challenges to her legitimacy as President, Macapagal-Arroyo had the chance to win the presidency in her own right during the 2004 elections, amid allegations of vote-rigging and electoral fraud.

Succeeding Macapagal-Arroyo in 2010 was President Benigno Aquino III, son of former President Corazon Aquino.

Responding to the great clamor of many people upon his mother’s death, Aquino announced he would be a candidate in the 2010 presidential election with an anti-corruption platform.

Aquino was elected by a landslide and is currently serving as the 15th President of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Sergio Osmeña Jr., the son and namesake of the late president, also ventured for presidency in the elections of 1961 but was on the losing side.

Wracked by internal conflicts and party intramural, Osmeña lost to President Ferdinand Marcos by almost two million votes.

Lastly, Salvador Laurel ran for president in the elections of 1992 as the head of the Nacionalista Party. He was the fifth son of the President of the Second Republic, Jose P. Laurel.

Laurel contested with six other candidates but lost to Corazon Aquino’s favored successor, Fidel V. Ramos. (PNA) RMA/FMC