The firsts

 First Muslim senator: Hadji Butu Abdul Baqui, representing the 12th senatorial
district of Mindanao and Sulu from 1916 to 1919, and from 1922 to 1931. In
the Senate, he pushed for more appropriations for the construction of schools,
hospitals, roads, and bridges in Mindanao and Sulu.

 First woman senator: Geronima Tomelden-Pecson, who served from 1947 to

1953. She headed the Senate Committees of Education, Health, Public
Welfare, and the Joint Congressional Committee on Education. She was
known for her work on laws on education, such as the Free and Compulsory
Education Act and the Vocational Education Act.

 First Filipina senator to be re-elected: Eva Estrada Kalaw, who chaired the
Senate committee on games, amusements and tourism, and national
minorities. She was senator from 1965 to 1972.

 First Senate President: Manuel L. Quezon, who went on to become the first
president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. He was the second
Philippine president after Emilio Aguinaldo.

 First actor to become senator: Rogelio de la Rosa, a popular matinee idol and
multi-awarded actor. De la Rosa entered politics with a successful bid for the
Senate in 1957.

Age and longevity

 Oldest living former senator: Helena Zoila Benitez was 102 years
old when she died in 2016. She served from 1967 to 1972.
 Oldest while in office: Juan Ponce Enrile was 92 years old when his
term ended in 2016.
 Longest-serving senator: Lorenzo Tañada served for 4 terms from 1947
to 1971, for a total of 24 years.
 Youngest senators elected: Due to incomplete historical records and
insufficient biographical profiles of some senators, it is difficult as of this
writing to determine the youngest Filipino senator ever elected.

Nonetheless, based on available information, here are some senators who were
below 35 years old at the time of their election. Three of them were from the very first
batch of senators elected in 1916:

How many senators eventually became president?

Of the Philippines’ 16 presidents so far, 10 were former senators:

 1. Manuel L. Quezon, 2nd President and first president of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
2. Jose P. Laurel, 3rd president, during the Japanese occupation of Manila
3. Sergio Osmeña, 4th president
4. Manuel Roxas, 5th president
5. Elpidio Quirino, 6th president
6. Carlos P. Garcia, 8th president
7. Ferdinand E. Marcos, 10th president
8. Joseph Ejercito Estrada, 13th president
9. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 14th president
10. Benigno Aquino III, 15th president
n