Early life

Education

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was born on September 28, 1910 in Lubao, Pampanga, the second of four children in a poor family. 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. The family earned extra income by raising pigs and accommodating boarders in their home. Due to his roots in poverty, Macapagal would later become affectionately known as the "Poor boy from Lubao".

Macapagal excelled in his studies at local public schools, graduating valedictorian at Lubao Elementary School, and salutatorian at Pampanga High School. His 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. While in law school, he gained prominence as an orator and debater. However, he was forced to quit schooling after two years due to poor health and a lack of money.

Returning to Pampanga, he joined boyhood friend Rogelio de la Rosa in producing and starring in Tagalog operettas patterned after classic Spanish zarzuelas. It was during this period that he married his friend's sister, Purita de la Rosa. He had two children with De la Rosa, Cielo and Arturo.

Macapagal raised enough money to continue his studies at the University of Santo Tomas^. He also gained the assistance of philanthropist Honorio Ventura, the Secretary of the Interior at the time, who financed his education. 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%. 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.

House of Representatives

On the urging of local political leaders of Pampanga province, President Quirino recalled Macapagal from his position in Washington to run for a seat in the House of Representatives representing the 1st District of Pampanga. The district's incumbent Representative, Amado Yuzon, was a friend of Macapagal, but was opposed by the administration due to his support by communist groups. After a campaign which Macapagal described as cordial and free of personal attacks, he won a landslide victory in the 1949 election. He also won re-election in the 1953 election, and served as Representative in the 2nd and 3rd Congress.

At the start of legislative sessions in 1950, the members of the House of Representatives elected Macapagal as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and he was given several important foreign assignments. He was a Philippine delegate to the United Nations General Assembly multiple times, notably distinguishing himself in debates over Communist aggression with Andrei Vishinsky and Jacob Malik of the Soviet Union. He took part in negotiations for the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty, the Laurel-Langley Agreement, and the Japanese Peace Treaty. He also authored the Foreign Service Act, which reorganized and strengthened the Philippine foreign service.

As a Representative, Macapagal authored and sponsored several laws of socio-economic importance, particularly aimed at benefiting the rural areas and the poor. Among legislation Macapagal promoted was the Minimum Wage Law, Rural Health Law, Rural Bank Law, the Law on Barrio Councils, the Barrio Industrialization Law, and a law nationalizing the rice and corn industries. He was consistently selected by the Congressional Press Club as one of the Ten Outstanding Congressmen during his tenure.In his second term, he was named Most Outstanding lawmaker of the Philippine 3rd Congress.

Vice Presidency

In the 1957 general election, the Liberal Party drafted Representative Macapagal to run for Vice President of the Philippines as the running-mate of Jose Yulo, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. Macapagal's nomination was particularly boosted by Liberal Party President Eugenio Perez, who insisted that the party's vice presidential nominee have a clean record of integrity and honesty. While Yulo was defeated by Carlos P. Garcia of the Nacionalista Party, Macapagal was elected Vice President in an upset victory, defeating the Nacionalista candidate, Jose Laurel, Jr., by over 8 percentage points. A month after the election, he was also chosen as the head of the Liberal Party.

As the first ever Philippine vice president to be elected from a rival party of the president, Macapagal served out his four-year vice presidential term as a leader of the opposition. The ruling party refused to give him a Cabinet position in the Garcia administration, which was a break from tradition.He was only offered a position in the Cabinet on the condition that he switch allegiance to the ruling Nationalista Party, but he declined the offer and instead played the role of critic to the administration's policies and performance. This allowed him to capitalize on the increasing unpopularity of the Garcia administration. Assigned to performing only ceremonial duties as vice president, he spent his time making frequent trips to the countryside to acquaint himself with voters and to promote the image of the Liberal Party.

Presidency

Diosdado Macapagal (right) in 1962.

In the 1961 presidential election, Macapagal ran against Garcia's re-election bid, promising an end to corruption and appealing to the electorate as a common man from humble beginnings. He defeated the incumbent president with a 55% to 45% margin. His inauguration as president took place on December 30, 1961.

1965 presidential campaign

Towards the end of his term, Macapagal decided to seek re-election to continue seeking reforms which he claimed were stifled by a "dominant and uncooperative opposition" in Congress. With Senate President Ferdinand Marcos, a fellow member of the Liberal Party, unable to win his party's nomination due to Macapagal's re-election bid, Marcos switched allegiance to the rival Nacionalista Party to oppose Macapagal.

Among the issues raised against the incumbent administration were graft and corruption, rise in consumer goods, and persisting peace and order issues. Macapagal was defeated by Marcos in the November 1965 polls.

Post-presidency

Grave of Diosdado Macapagal at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Macapagal announced his retirement from politics following his 1965 loss to Marcos. In 1971, he was elected president of the constitutional convention that drafted what became the 1973 constitution. The manner in which the charter was ratified and later modified led him to later question its legitimacy. In 1979, he formed the National Union for Liberation as a political party to oppose the Marcos regime.

Following the restoration of democracy in 1986, Macapagal took on the role of elder statesman, and was a member of the Philippine Council of State. He also served as honorary chairman of the National Centennial Commission, and chairman of the board of CAP Life, among others.

In his retirement, Macapagal devoted much of his time to reading and writing. He published his presidential memoir, authored several books about government and economics, and wrote a weekly column for the Manila Bulletin newspaper.

Diosdado Macapagal 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.