<P> Under the present Constitution of the Philippines, the President of the Philippines (Filipino: Pangulo ng Pilipinas) is both the head of state and the head of government, and serves as the commander - in - chief of the country's armed forces . The President is directly elected by qualified voters of the population to a six - year term and must be "a natural - born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election". Any person who has served as president for more than four years is barred from running for the position again . Upon an incumbent president's death, permanent disability, resignation, or removal from office, the Vice President assumes the post . </P> <P> Sixteen people have been sworn into office as president . Following the ratification of the Malolos Constitution in 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo became the inaugural president of the Malolos Republic, considered the First Philippine Republic . He held that office until 1901 when he was captured by United States forces during the Philippine--American War (1899--1902). The American colonization of the Philippines abolished the First Republic, which led an American governor - general to exercise executive power . </P> <P> In 1935 the US, pursuant to its promise of full Philippine sovereignty, established the Commonwealth of the Philippines following the ratification of the 1935 Constitution, which also restored the presidency . The first national presidential election was held, and Manuel L. Quezon (1935--44) was elected to a six - year term, with no provision for re-election, as the second Philippine president and the first Commonwealth president . In 1940, however, the Constitution was amended to allow re-election but shortened the term to four years . A change in government occurred three years later when the Second Philippine Republic was organized with the enactment of the 1943 Constitution, which Japan imposed after it occupied the Philippines in 1942 during World War II . José P. Laurel acted as puppet president of the new Japanese - sponsored government; his de facto presidency, not legally recognized until the 1960s, overlapped with that of the president of the Commonwealth, which went into exile . The Second Republic was dissolved after Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945; the Commonwealth was restored in the Philippines in the same year with Sergio Osmeña (1944--46) as president . </P>

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