Majority and plurality Philippine presidents

By majority president, it means that the winner got more than 50% of the total votes cast. Other winners who garnered less than one-half are deemed minority presidents. All the presidents after Marcos were plurality presidents: FVR, Erap, GMA, PNoy, and even Duterte. Corazon C. Aquino did not win, she lost in the elections and was installed by revolution.

With due respect, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was not elected by the people. He was installed by the controversial Tejeros Convention, which Ka Andres Bonifacio protested, and for that reason, was murdered by the winners. The only majority presidents are Manuel L. Quezon in 1935, Quezon again in 1941, Roxas in 1946, Quirino in 1949, Magsaysay in 1953, Diosdado Macapagal in 1961, Ferdinand Marcos in 1965, as well as Marcos again in 1969. President Carlos P. Garcia was a plurality president when he won in 1957 because there were three candidates. When there are more than two aspirants, it is impossible for the winner to get a majority.

In the Tejeros Convention, held on March 22, 1897, there were only 256 electors, if we may use the term in the US Electoral College. The Magdalo faction's General Aguinaldo won with 146 votes, over Magdiwang's Bonifacio with 80 votes and Mariano Trias, a Caviteño, put up by the dirty trapos of Cavite, to divide the Magdiwang faction, who got 30 votes. In 1957, Carlos P. Garcia, with 41.28%, won over Jose Yulo with 27.62% and Manuel Manahan with 20.90%.

Cory Aquino lost in the 1986 polls with only 46.10% against Marcos' 53.62%. EDSA installed her. FVR won with a minute 23.58% over Miriam's 19.72%, Danding's 18.17%, Mitra's 14.64%, Imelda's 10.32% and Salonga's 10.16%.

Erap got only 39.86% over Jose de Venecia's 15.87%. GMA got only 39.99% over Fernando Poe's 36.51%, Lacson's 10.88%, and Roco's 6.45%. PNoy got only 42.08% over Erap's 26.25%. Duterte got only 39.01% over Roxas' 23.45% and Grace Poe's 21.3%.

The majority presidents included Quezon who got 67.99% over Aguinaldo's 17.53% in 1935. Then in 1941, Quezon got 81.78 over Juan Sumulong (grandfather of Cory Aquino) who got 18.22%. In 1946, Manuel Roxas got 53.93% over Sergio Osmeña Sr.'s 45.72%. In 1949, Elpidio Quirino garnered 50.93% over Jose P. Laurel's 37.22%. In 1953, Ramon Magsaysay got 68.90% over Quirino's 31.08%. In 1961, Diosdado Macapagal won with 55.05% over Garcia's 44.95%. In 1965, Marcos won with 51.94% over Macapagal's 42.88%.

In 1969, Marcos with 61.47% won over Sergio Osmeña Jr.'s 38.51%. Marcos claimed that he was reelected by referendum in 1973 by a controversial 90.67%, repeated in 1977 with a claimed 89.27%. He also won in a farce election in 1981 over his own dummy candidate, Alejo Santos, with an incredible 80.02%. Marcos was a master political strategist and many Filipinos believed in his brilliance and his masterful tricks, tactics, and strategies.

It was Marcos who destroyed the two-party system. He was the one to blame for the multiple-party system, which is not sustainable and is quite messy and chaotic. In 2022, the trajectory is pointing toward the victory of another minority president, one who shall be proclaimed by a small plurality. That's Philippine democracy for you.