The tomb of President Emilio Aguinaldo

There are famous, poignant and even obscure epitaphs to honor the dead but none more striking than the stark inscriptions on the tombs of past Philippine presidents whose places of burial remind us of the simple lives they led - from revolutionary President Emilio Aguinaldo’s tomb at the backyard of his house in Kawit, Cavite to the humble niche of President Jose P. Laurel in a public cemetery in Tanauan, Batangas. These great leaders steered the country from colonization to independence and in so doing carved their places in history. Here, we join the nation and their families in honoring and remembering them.

Emilio Aguinaldo

President Emilio Famy Aguinaldo (1869-1964) is the country’s first and youngest president. Aguinaldo died on February 6, 1964 of coronary thrombosis at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. He was 94 years old. His remains are buried at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite.

Manuel Luis Quezon

President Manuel Luis Molina Quezon (1878-1944) suffered from tuberculosis and spent his last years in a “cure cottage” in Saranac Lake, New York, where he died on August 1, 1944. He was initially buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His body was re-interred at the Manila North Cemetery before being moved to the Quezon Memorial Circle.

Jose P. Laurel

On November 6, 1959, President Jose Paciano Garcia Laurel (1891 – 1959) died at the Lourdes Hospital in Manila from a massive heart attack and a stroke. He is buried at the Public Cemetery of Tanauan City in Tanauan, Batangas.

Sergio Osmeña Sr.

President Sergio Osmeña, Sr. (1878 -1961) died of liver failure  at the age of 83 on October 19, 1961 at the Veteran’s Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. He is buried at the North Cemetery in Manila.

Manuel Roxas

President Manuel Acuña Roxas (1892 – 1948) did not finish his term because he died of myocardial infarction. On the night of April 15, 1948, Roxas died at Clark Field, Pampanga after delivering a speech before the U.S. Thirteenth Air Force. He was buried at the Manila North Cemetery. 

Ramon Magsaysay

President Ramon Del Fierro Magsaysay (1907 – 1957). In the early morning hours of March 17, 1957, President Magsaysay's plane "Mt. Pinatubo," a C-47,  crashed on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu killing 25 of the 26 passengers and crew onboard. President Magsaysay was buried at the North Cemetery in Manila.

Elpidio Quirino

President Elpidio Rivera Quirino (1890 – 1956) died of a heart attack on February 29, 1956. He is buried at the Manila South Cemetery.

Carlos Garcia

President Carlos Polistico Garcia (1896 – 1971) suffered a fatal heart attack on June 14, 1971 days after he was elected as president of the 1971 Constitutional Convention. He was interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Diosdado Macapagal

President Diosdado Pangan Macapagal (1910 – 1997) died of heart failure, pneumonia and renal complications at the Makati Medical Center on April 21, 1997. He is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Ferdinand Marcos

President Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos (1917 – 1989) died in Honolulu on September 28, 1989 of kidney, heart and lung ailments. He was interred in a private mausoleum at Byodo-In Temple on the island of Oahu, visited daily by the Marcos family, political allies and friends. The late strongman’s remains are currently interred inside a refrigerated crypt in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Corazon Aquino

President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (1933 – 2009) was laid to rest beside her husband, the late Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr. on August 5, 2009 at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City after a year-long battle with colon cancer. Aquino died of cardio-respiratory arrest which are complications of colon cancer at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009, 3:18 a.m., at the Makati Medical Center.