Diosdado Pangan Macapagal (September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 6th Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He is sometimes referred to as the Poor Boy from Lubao, Champion of the Common Man and The Incorruptible. His daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo served as president of the Philippines from 2001-2010.
Macapagal graduated from the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, after which he worked as a lawyer for the government. He first won election in 1949 to the House of Representatives, representing a district in his home province of Pampanga. In 1957 he became vice president in the administration of President Carlos P. Garcia, and in 1961 he defeated Garcia's re-election bid for the presidency.
As President, Macapagal worked to suppress graft and corruption and to stimulate the Philippine economy. He introduced the country's first land reform law, placed the peso on the free currency exchange market, and liberalized foreign exchange and import controls. Many of his reforms, however, were crippled by a Congress dominated by the rival Nacionalista Party. He is also known for shifting the country's independence day from July 4 to June 12, commemorating the day Filipino patriots declared independence from Spain in 1898. His re-election bid was defeated in 1965 by Ferdinand Marcos, whose subsequent authoritarian rule lasted 20 years.
Diosdado Macapagal is a descendant of Don Juan Macapagal (a prince of Tondo) who was a great-grandson of the last reigning Rajah of Selurong, Rajah Lakandula.
Early life
Education
Diosdado Macapagal was born on September 28, 1910 in Lubao, Pampanga, the second of four children in a poor family.[2] His father, Urbano Macapagal, was a poet who wrote in the local dialect, and his mother, Romana Pangan Macapagal, was a schoolteacher who taught catechism.[3] The family earned extra income by raising pigs and accommodating boarders in their home.[3] Due to his roots in poverty, Macapagal would later become affectionately known as the "Poor boy from Lubao".[4]
Macapagal excelled in his studies at local public schools, graduating valedictorian at Lubao Elementary School, and salutatorian at Pampanga High School.[5] He finished his pre-law course at the University of the Philippines, then enrolled at Philippine Law School in 1932, studying on a scholarship and supporting himself with a part-time job as an accountant.[3][5] While in law school, he gained prominence as an orator and debater.[5] However, he was forced to quit schooling after two years due to poor health and a lack of money.[3]
Returning to Pampanga, he joined boyhood friend Rogelio de la Rosa in producing and starring in Tagalog operettas patterned after classic Spanish zarzuelas.[3] It was during this period that he married his friend's sister, Purita de la Rosa.[3] He had two children with De la Rosa, Cielo and Arturo.[4]
Macapagal raised enough money to continue his studies at the University of Santo Tomas.[3] He also gained the assistance of philanthropist Honorio Ventura, the Secretary of the Interior at the time, who financed his education.[6] After receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1936, he was admitted to the bar, topping the 1936 bar examination with a score of 89.95%.[5] He later returned to his alma mater to take up graduate studies and earn a Master of Laws degree in 1941, a Doctor of Civil Law degree in 1947, and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1957.[5]