Philippine History Trivia Questions and Answers

Here are question and answers related to Philippines history.

Question: Who was the first president of the Philippines?

Answer: Emilio Aguinaldo

Question: In what year did the Philippines declare independence from Spain?

Answer: 1898

Question: Who is considered the national hero of the Philippines?

Answer: Jose Rizal

Question: What was the name of the ship Ferdinand Magellan commanded when he reached the Philippines?

Answer: Victoria (Although he died in the Philippines, only one of his ships made it back to Spain)

Question: Which country colonized the Philippines for over 300 years?

Answer: Spain

Question: What is the name of the revolutionary society founded by Andres Bonifacio?

Answer: Katipunan

Question: Who was the first Filipina to win the Miss Universe title?

Answer: Gloria Diaz

Question: What is the name of the palace that serves as the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines?

Answer: Malacañang Palace

Question: Which battle is known as the site of Ferdinand Magellan’s death?

Answer: Battle of Mactan

Question: Who was the leader of the Filipino forces that defeated the Spaniards in the Battle of Mactan?

Answer: Lapu-Lapu

Question: What was the name given to the first teachers from the United States to arrive in the Philippines?

Answer: Thomasites

Question: Which Philippine president declared martial law in 1972?

Answer: Ferdinand Marcos

Question: Who was the first female president of the Philippines?

Answer: Corazon Aquino

Question: What is the longest river in the Philippines?

Answer: Cagayan River

Question: What is the name of the famous rice terraces in the Philippines?

Answer: Banaue Rice Terraces

Additional Questions

Question: What was the pre-colonial term for the community unit, often consisting of 30 to 100 families?

Answer: Barangay

Question: Who were the noble class in pre-colonial Tagalog society?

Answer: Maginoo

Question: What ancient script was widely used in the Philippines before the arrival of the Spanish?

Answer: Baybayin

Question: What was the term for the warrior class in pre-colonial Tagalog society?

Answer: Maharlika

Question: Which early kingdom, centered in Tondo, Manila, was known for its trade relations with China?

Answer: Kingdom of Tondo

Question: What pre-colonial Visayan epic tells the story of ten Bornean datus escaping a tyrannical ruler?

Answer: Maragtas (considered by some historians as folklore rather than historical fact)

Question: What was the primary source of livelihood for many coastal pre-colonial communities?

Answer: Fishing and maritime trade

Question: What term referred to the datu’s council of elders?

Answer: Atubang sa Datu

Question: Which pre-colonial leader was known as Rajah Sulayman’s uncle and ruled Tondo?

Answer: Lakandula

Question: What artifact, dated 900 AD, contains the earliest known written record found in the Philippines?

Answer: Laguna Copperplate Inscription

Question: Who was the first Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines?

Answer: Miguel Lopez de Legazpi

Question: In what year did Miguel Lopez de Legazpi establish the city of Manila as the capital?

Answer: 1571

Question: What was the system of forced labor imposed by the Spanish colonial government?

Answer: Polo y servicios

Question: What was the name of the trade route between Manila and Acapulco, Mexico?

Answer: Galleon Trade

Question: Which religious order was the first to arrive in the Philippines with Legazpi?

Answer: Augustinians

Question: What treaty ceded the Philippines from Spain to the United States?

Answer: Treaty of Paris (1898)

Question: Who led the longest revolt against Spanish rule in Philippine history, lasting 85 years in Bohol?

Answer: Francisco Dagohoy

Question: What term referred to people of pure Spanish descent born in the Philippines?

Answer: Insulares (or Filipinos, originally)

Question: What term referred to people of pure Spanish descent born in Spain?

Answer: Peninsulares

Question: What term referred to people of mixed Filipino and foreign (usually Spanish or Chinese) ancestry?

Answer: Mestizo

Question: What was the “Real Compañía de Filipinas” established in 1785 intended to promote?

Answer: Direct trade between the Philippines and Spain

Question: Who was the Spanish governor-general known for his liberal reforms in 1869-1871?

Answer: Carlos Maria de la Torre

Question: What event in 1872 led to the execution of priests Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora?

Answer: Cavite Mutiny

Question: What collective name is given to the priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora?

Answer: Gomburza

Question: What was the name of the Spanish colonial tax imposed on Filipinos, often paid in kind?

Answer: Tributo

Question: Which Filipino painter won a gold medal at the 1884 Madrid Exposition for his painting “Spoliarium”?

Answer: Juan Luna

Question: What movement, primarily based in Spain, advocated for reforms in the Philippines under Spanish rule?

Answer: Propaganda Movement

Question: What was the name of the official newspaper of the Propaganda Movement?

Answer: La Solidaridad

Question: Besides Rizal, who were the other two main figures of the Triumvirate of the Propaganda Movement?

Answer: Marcelo H. del Pilar and Graciano Lopez Jaena

Question: What was Jose Rizal’s first novel, published in 1887?

Answer: Noli Me Tangere

Question: What was the sequel to Noli Me Tangere, published in 1891?

Answer: El Filibusterismo

Question: Where was Jose Rizal exiled before his execution?

Answer: Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte

Question: On what date was Jose Rizal executed?

Answer: December 30, 1896

Question: What organization did Jose Rizal found upon his return to the Philippines in 1892?

Answer: La Liga Filipina

Question: Who was known as the “Brains of the Katipunan”?

Answer: Emilio Jacinto

Question: What was the Kartilya ng Katipunan?

Answer: The guidebook/code of conduct for Katipunan members

Question: What event marked the beginning of the Philippine Revolution, involving the tearing of cedulas?

Answer: Cry of Pugad Lawin (or Cry of Balintawak)

Question: Who was the Filipina revolutionary known as the “Visayan Joan of Arc”?

Answer: Teresa Magbanua

Question: Who was the wife of Andres Bonifacio and keeper of Katipunan documents, known as “Lakambini”?

Answer: Gregoria de Jesus

Question: What convention led to a split between the Magdalo and Magdiwang factions of the Katipunan and Aguinaldo’s election?

Answer: Tejeros Convention

Question: Where did Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio meet their demise?

Answer: Mount Buntis (or Mount Nagpatong), Maragondon, Cavite

Question: What pact led to a temporary truce between Filipino revolutionaries and the Spanish?

Answer: Pact of Biak-na-Bato

Question: Where did Emilio Aguinaldo go into exile as part of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato?

Answer: Hong Kong

Question: Who composed the music for the Philippine National Anthem, originally titled “Marcha Nacional Filipina”?

Answer: Julian Felipe

Question: Who wrote the Spanish lyrics (“Filipinas”) for the Philippine National Anthem?

Answer: Jose Palma

Question: Who sewed the first Philippine flag?

Answer: Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad

Question: Where was the Philippine flag first officially unfurled?

Answer: Kawit, Cavite (at Aguinaldo’s ancestral home)

Question: What significant event happened on June 12, 1898?

Answer: Declaration of Philippine Independence from Spain

Question: Who read the Act of the Declaration of Independence?

Answer: Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista

Question: What was the name of the revolutionary government established in Malolos, Bulacan?

Answer: Malolos Republic (or First Philippine Republic)

Question: Who was the President of the Malolos Congress and drafted the Malolos Constitution?

Answer: Felipe G. Calderon (drafted the constitution); Pedro Paterno (President of Congress)

Question: Who was considered the “Brains of the Revolution” and Aguinaldo’s chief adviser?

Answer: Apolinario Mabini

Question: Which Spanish Governor-General signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato?

Answer: Fernando Primo de Rivera

Question: What religious folk movement, often resisting Spanish authority, venerated Rizal as a divine figure?

Answer: Rizalista movements

Question: Who was the “Tandang Sora” of the revolution, known for aiding Katipuneros?

Answer: Melchora Aquino

Question: What incident triggered the start of the Philippine-American War in February 1899?

Answer: Shooting of a Filipino soldier by an American soldier on San Juan Bridge

Question: Who was the Filipino general known for his brilliant guerrilla tactics during the Philippine-American War?

Answer: Miguel Malvar (often considered the last general to surrender) or Antonio Luna (before his death)

Question: Who was the Filipino general who led the successful attack against American forces in the Battle of Balangiga, Samar?

Answer: Vicente Lukban (overall command in Samar); Eugenio Daza (local commander)

Question: What infamous event involved American soldiers taking church bells as war booty from Balangiga?

Answer: Balangiga Massacre aftermath / Taking of the Balangiga Bells

Question: Who was the young Filipino general known as the “Boy General,” who died at the Battle of Tirad Pass?

Answer: Gregorio del Pilar

Question: What battle was fought to delay the American pursuit of Emilio Aguinaldo?

Answer: Battle of Tirad Pass

Question: Where was Emilio Aguinaldo captured by American forces in 1901?

Answer: Palanan, Isabela

Question: Who betrayed Aguinaldo’s location to the Americans?

Answer: Macabebe Scouts (Filipinos loyal to the US) led the capture mission.

Question: Who was the first American Civil Governor of the Philippines?

Answer: William Howard Taft

Question: What act established the Philippine Assembly, the first national legislative body?

Answer: Philippine Bill of 1902 (Cooper Act)

Question: When was the Philippine Assembly inaugurated?

Answer: 1907

Question: Who was the first Speaker of the Philippine Assembly?

Answer: Sergio Osmeña

Question: What act promised Philippine independence as soon as a stable government could be established?

Answer: Jones Law (Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916)

Question: What commission, headed by William Howard Taft, established civil government in the Philippines?

Answer: Taft Commission (Second Philippine Commission)

Question: What government body replaced the military government and exercised legislative and executive powers under the American regime before the Jones Law?

Answer: Philippine Commission

Question: What political party dominated Philippine politics during much of the American colonial period?

Answer: Nacionalista Party

Question: Who was the prominent Filipino politician who served as President of the Senate during the Commonwealth?

Answer: Manuel L. Quezon

Question: What act established a ten-year transition period towards Philippine independence?

Answer: Tydings-McDuffie Act (Philippine Independence Act of 1934)

Question: What was the official name of the government during the ten-year transition period?

Answer: Commonwealth of the Philippines

Question: Who was elected as the first President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines?

Answer: Manuel L. Quezon

Question: Who was the Vice President under Manuel L. Quezon during the Commonwealth?

Answer: Sergio Osmeña

Question: What city was planned and developed to become the new capital of the Philippines during the Commonwealth era?

Answer: Quezon City

Question: What law provided for the establishment of free public elementary education in the Philippines under the American regime?

Answer: Gabaldon Act of 1907

Question: Who was the American general in command of US forces in the Philippines at the start of World War II?

Answer: Douglas MacArthur

Question: What term refers to the policy of attracting Filipino elites into the colonial administration?

Answer: Policy of Attraction

Question: What early armed resistance group against American rule was led by Macario Sakay?

Answer: Tagalog Republic (Republika ng Katagalugan)

Question: What position did Manuel L. Quezon hold before becoming Commonwealth President, advocating for independence in the US?

Answer: Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives

Question: What was the first major Filipino student-led protest during the American period against racist remarks by an American official?

Answer: 1931 Student Strike at the University of the Philippines

Question: What institution was established in 1908 as the national university?

Answer: University of the Philippines (UP)

Question: What was the “Pensionado” program?

Answer: A program sending Filipino students to study in the United States.

Question: When did Japanese forces attack the Philippines after Pearl Harbor?

Answer: December 8, 1941

Question: Where did Filipino and American forces make their last stand in Bataan?

Answer: Mount Samat / Corregidor Island

Question: What infamous forced march of Filipino and American POWs occurred after the fall of Bataan?

Answer: Bataan Death March

Question: Where did the Bataan Death March begin?

Answer: Mariveles, Bataan (and Bagac, Bataan)

Question: Where did the Bataan Death March end?

Answer: Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac

Question: What island fortress, known as “The Rock,” was the last stronghold to fall to the Japanese in May 1942?

Answer: Corregidor

Question: Who famously pledged “I shall return” upon leaving the Philippines during the Japanese invasion?

Answer: General Douglas MacArthur

Question: What was the name of the Japanese-sponsored republic established during the occupation?

Answer: Second Philippine Republic

Question: Who served as the President of the Second Philippine Republic?

Answer: Jose P. Laurel

Question: What does HUKBALAHAP stand for?

Answer: Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (People’s Army Against the Japanese)

Question: Who was a key leader of the HUKBALAHAP guerrilla movement?

Answer: Luis Taruc

Question: Where did General MacArthur fulfill his promise to return, landing with Allied forces in October 1944?

Answer: Palo, Leyte

Question: What major naval battle, one of the largest in history, occurred near the Philippines in 1944?

Answer: Battle of Leyte Gulf

Question: What tragic event involved the widespread destruction of Manila and loss of civilian life in 1945?

Answer: Battle of Manila

Question: Who succeeded Manuel L. Quezon as Commonwealth President after his death in exile?

Answer: Sergio Osmeña

Question: What term was used for Filipinos who collaborated with the Japanese during the occupation?

Answer: Collaborators / Makapili

Question: What were women forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army called?

Answer: Comfort Women

Question: What date marks the Fall of Bataan?

Answer: April 9, 1942 (now Araw ng Kagitingan)

Question: What date marks the Fall of Corregidor?

Answer: May 6, 1942

Question: What emergency currency was issued by local authorities during the Japanese occupation?

Answer: Guerilla currency / Emergency circulating notes

Question: On what date did the Philippines gain full independence from the United States, establishing the Third Republic?

Answer: July 4, 1946

Question: Who was the first president of the independent Third Philippine Republic?

Answer: Manuel Roxas

Question: Who succeeded Manuel Roxas upon his death in 1948?

Answer: Elpidio Quirino

Question: Which president was known as the “Man of the Masses” and died in a plane crash in 1957?

Answer: Ramon Magsaysay

Question: Where did Ramon Magsaysay’s fatal plane crash occur?

Answer: Mount Manunggal, Cebu

Question: Who succeeded Ramon Magsaysay after his death?

Answer: Carlos P. Garcia

Question: What policy was Carlos P. Garcia known for, prioritizing Filipino businesses?

Answer: Filipino First Policy

Question: Who defeated Carlos P. Garcia in the 1961 presidential election?

Answer: Diosdado Macapagal

Question: Which president changed the celebration of Philippine Independence Day from July 4 to June 12?

Answer: Diosdado Macapagal

Question: What comprehensive law initiated land reform in the Philippines under President Macapagal?

Answer: Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963

Question: Who defeated Diosdado Macapagal in the 1965 presidential election?

Answer: Ferdinand Marcos

Question: What was the name of Ferdinand Marcos’ wife, known for her influence and projects?

Answer: Imelda Marcos

Question: What controversial structure was built rapidly for an international film festival under Imelda Marcos’s patronage?

Answer: Manila Film Center

Question: What year did Ferdinand Marcos first declare Martial Law?

Answer: 1972 (Proclamation No. 1081)

Question: What event was cited as the primary justification for declaring Martial Law?

Answer: The ambush of Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile (later revealed by Enrile himself to be staged) / Growing communist insurgency and civil unrest.

Question: What term refers to the period of authoritarian rule under Ferdinand Marcos?

Answer: Martial Law Era / Marcos Dictatorship

Question: What constitutional convention drafted a new constitution under Marcos in 1973?

Answer: 1971 Constitutional Convention (ConCon)

Question: Who was Ferdinand Marcos’s main political rival, assassinated upon his return from exile in 1983?

Answer: Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

Question: Where was Ninoy Aquino assassinated?

Answer: Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport – NAIA) tarmac

Question: What event, triggered by Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, eventually led to Marcos’s ouster?

Answer: People Power Revolution (EDSA Revolution)

Question: In what year did the People Power Revolution take place?

Answer: 1986

Question: Who were the two key military figures who broke away from Marcos, triggering the People Power Revolution?

Answer: Juan Ponce Enrile (Defense Minister) and Fidel V. Ramos (Vice Chief of Staff)

Question: Who became president after the People Power Revolution?

Answer: Corazon Aquino

Question: What constitution was ratified under Corazon Aquino’s administration?

Answer: 1987 Constitution

Question: What natural disaster devastated Central Luzon in 1991?

Answer: Eruption of Mount Pinatubo

Question: Who succeeded Corazon Aquino as president in 1992?

Answer: Fidel V. Ramos

Question: What was Fidel V. Ramos’s key economic program?

Answer: Philippines 2000

Question: Which former movie actor became president in 1998?

Answer: Joseph Estrada

Question: What popular name was given to the uprising that led to Joseph Estrada’s ouster in 2001?

Answer: EDSA II (or Second People Power Revolution)

Question: Who succeeded Joseph Estrada as president?

Answer: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Question: What controversy hounded Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency regarding the 2004 elections?

Answer: “Hello Garci” scandal

Question: Who won the presidential election in 2010, running on an anti-corruption platform?

Answer: Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III

Question: What maritime dispute involving China became prominent during Benigno Aquino III’s term?

Answer: Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal) / West Philippine Sea dispute

Question: Who won the presidential election in 2016?

Answer: Rodrigo Duterte

Question: What major campaign was central to Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency?

Answer: War on Drugs

Question: What city in Mindanao experienced a major siege by ISIS-affiliated militants in 2017?

Answer: Marawi City

Question: What law established an autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, replacing the ARMM?

Answer: Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL)

Question: Who won the presidential election in 2022?

Answer: Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Question: Who is the current Vice President of the Philippines (as of April 2025)?

Answer: Sara Duterte

Question: What is the name of the legislative body of the Philippines?

Answer: Congress of the Philippines (Senate and House of Representatives)

Question: What is the highest court in the Philippines?

Answer: Supreme Court of the Philippines

Question: What agreement provided for US military bases in the Philippines after independence?

Answer: Military Bases Agreement (MBA) of 1947

Question: When did the Philippine Senate vote to reject the renewal of the US bases treaty?

Answer: 1991

Question: What agreement allows for US troops to conduct joint exercises in the Philippines?

Answer: Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)

Question: What group was responsible for the Rizal Day Bombings in 2000?

Answer: Jemaah Islamiyah / Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rogue elements (Responsibility claimed/attributed variably)

Question: What is considered the national dance of the Philippines, involving bamboo poles?

Answer: Tinikling

Question: What is the Tagalog term for the spirit of communal unity and cooperation?

Answer: Bayanihan

Question: Who wrote the famous Filipino patriotic poem “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa”?

Answer: Andres Bonifacio

Question: Who is known as the “Father of Filipino Grammar” and led the development of the national language?

Answer: Lope K. Santos

Question: What is the traditional Filipino value of “debt of gratitude”?

Answer: Utang na loob

Question: What iconic Filipino vehicle is known for its colorful decorations and originated from US military jeeps?

Answer: Jeepney

Question: Who was the first Filipino Catholic saint?

Answer: San Lorenzo Ruiz

Question: Who is the second Filipino Catholic saint?

Answer: San Pedro Calungsod

Question: What pre-colonial artifact is a burial jar depicting two figures sailing into the afterlife, found in Palawan?

Answer: Manunggul Jar

Question: What is the name of the indigenous people primarily inhabiting the Cordillera region?

Answer: Igorot (a collective term for several groups like Ifugao, Kankanaey, etc.)

Question: What is the name of the indigenous people primarily inhabiting Mindoro?

Answer: Mangyan

Question: What is the name of the indigenous seafaring people primarily found in the Sulu Archipelago?

Answer: Badjao (or Sama-Bajau)

Question: Which Filipino boxer is the only eight-division world champion in history?

Answer: Manny Pacquiao

Question: What volcano, famous for its near-perfect cone shape, is located in Albay?

Answer: Mayon Volcano

Question: What underground river in Palawan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature?

Answer: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River

Question: What historical walled city is located within the modern city of Manila?

Answer: Intramuros

Question: What is the oldest existing university in Asia, founded in Manila in 1611?

Answer: University of Santo Tomas (UST)

Question: What baroque church in Ilocos Norte is famous for its massive buttresses and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Answer: Paoay Church (San Agustin Church of Paoay)

Question: What event commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, sometimes involving actual crucifixions in the Philippines?

Answer: Holy Week (Senakulo or Passion Play)

Question: What is the Filipino term for Christmas Eve dinner?

Answer: Noche Buena

Question: What is the traditional nine-day series of dawn masses leading up to Christmas Day?

Answer: Simbang Gabi

Question: Who painted the “Making of the Philippine Flag”?

Answer: Fernando Amorsolo

Question: Who is often called the “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art”?

Answer: Fernando Amorsolo

Question: Who wrote the influential essay “What is an Filipino?”

Answer: Nick Joaquin

Question: What Filipino martial art is known for its stick fighting?

Answer: Arnis (also known as Eskrima or Kali)

Question: What historical landmark in Manila served as a major Spanish fortress and prison?

Answer: Fort Santiago

Question: What is the name of the US naval base formerly located in Subic Bay?

Answer: U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay

Question: What is the name of the US air base formerly located in Pampanga?

Answer: Clark Air Base

Question: What is the term for the traditional Filipino formal shirt for men, often made of piña or jusi?

Answer: Barong Tagalog

Question: What is the traditional Filipino formal dress for women?

Answer: Baro’t Saya (or Maria Clara gown for a more elaborate version)

Question: Who directed the acclaimed Filipino film “Himala” (Miracle)?

Answer: Ishmael Bernal

Question: Who was the first Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court?

Answer: Cayetano Arellano

Question: What was the first major labor federation established in the Philippines in 1902?

Answer: Union Obrera Democratica Filipina (UODF)

Question: Who founded the Union Obrera Democratica Filipina?

Answer: Isabelo de los Reyes

Question: What religious movement, founded by Isabelo de los Reyes and Gregorio Aglipay, broke away from the Catholic Church?

Answer: Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan Church)

Question: Who was the first Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente?

Answer: Gregorio Aglipay

Question: What was the name given to the Filipino veterans of the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War?

Answer: Veteranos

Question: What historical house in Kawit, Cavite, was the site of the independence declaration?

Answer: Aguinaldo Shrine

Question: What is the oldest city established by the Spaniards in the Philippines?

Answer: Cebu City

Question: What was the name of the legislative body under the Jones Law, composed of the Senate and House of Representatives?

Answer: Philippine Legislature

Question: What revolt in Ilocos was led by a couple against Spanish abuses in the 18th century?

Answer: Silang Revolt (led by Diego and Gabriela Silang)

Question: Who continued the revolt after Diego Silang’s assassination?

Answer: Gabriela Silang

Question: What is the popular Filipino soup dish often considered the national dish?

Answer: Sinigang (or Adobo, debate exists)

Question: What constitutional body is responsible for investigating and prosecuting government corruption?

Answer: Office of the Ombudsman

Question: What historical site in Manila was the execution ground for Gomburza and Rizal?

Answer: Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park or Luneta)

Question: What early Visayan ruler of Cebu made a blood compact with Legazpi?

Answer: Rajah Tupas

Question: What was the name of the galleon that completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth?

Answer: Victoria

Question: What Moro leader fiercely resisted Spanish colonization in Mindanao?

Answer: Sultan Kudarat

Question: What peace agreement was signed in 2014 between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)?

Answer: Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB)

Question: What is the term for the large landed estates that were a feature of the Spanish colonial economy?

Answer: Haciendas