The prime minister of the Philippines (Filipino: punong ministro ng Pilipinas) was the official designation of the head of the government (whereas the president of the Philippines was the head of state) of the Philippines from 1978 until the People Power Revolution in 1986. During martial law and the fourth republic, the prime minister served as the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A limited version of this office, officially known as the president of the Council of Government, existed temporarily in 1899 during the First Philippine Republic.

Salvador Laurel concurrently served as the last prime minister and the first post-martial law vice president of the Philippines from February 25 to March 25, 1986, after which he continued to serve solely as vice president until 1992.

The 1899 Constitution of the Philippines created the office of the Council of Government (Spanish: Consejo de Gobierno) which was composed of seven secretaries with one president of the Council (Spanish: presidente del Consejo de Gobierno). The president of the revolutionary government led by Emilio Aguinaldo, appointed his advisor and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Apolinario Mabini as the first president of the Council of Government through a decree issued January 2, 1899. Mabini also became the foreign minister of the republic. The president of the Council was de facto equivalent to a prime minister.

On December 10, 1898, the ongoing war between United States and Spain was concluded with Spain giving up all rights to Cuba and surrendering the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. Two days later, Aguinaldo ordered his lawyer Felipe Agoncillo to contest the Philippine status as an independent nation and no longer a Spanish colony since the declaration of independence on June 12, 1898. The United States did not recognize Philippine sovereignty. This led to serious conflict with the Philippine Republic established on January 23, 1899 at Malolos. By January 30, Aguinaldo had again dispatched Agoncillo, this time to the United States Senate, to lobby them to reconsider their plans and instead formally recognize Filipino independence.

In the next few months, Mabini was pressured by political problems such as negotiating to end the hostilities between Filipinos and American forces left in the Philippines after the war. After the failure to reach successful agreements with the U.S. army to secure a cease fire, the first shot of the Philippine–American War erupted on February 4, 1899. The government was forced to vacate Malolos and transfer the seat of administration from place to place. Mabini, who was pressured then from his political adversaries and failure to achieve peace, resigned on May 7, 1899.

One of the political adversaries who pressured Mabini into leaving office was Pedro Paterno, president of the Congress of the Republic since September 15, 1898. He opposed Mabini's offensive plan to counter United States attacks during the war, so he proposed peace plans with the Americans to Aguinaldo, such that the Philippines would be a protectorate of the United States with full autonomy. This was opposed by Mabini. The tension led Aguinaldo to consider dissolving the Mabini cabinet, which Mabini agreed to.

The next day, May 8, Aguinaldo appointed Paterno as the president of the Council of Government. One of his first moves during his term was to draft a copy of "Autonomy Plan" to the Schurman Commission which asks for peace settlement with the U.S. government. This also states that the Filipinos are ready to drop the idea of independence and accept U.S. sovereignty over the archipelago.

Meanwhile, the takeover by Paterno of the revolutionary government and his actions towards the Schurman Commission infuriated General Antonio Luna, the commanding officer of the Philippine Army. He ordered he arrest Paterno and other members of the Cabinet, but this was not carried out. Due to his actions, Paterno was forced to write a manifesto on June 2, 1899, stating a formal declaration of war against the United States. On June 5, Luna was assassinated in Nueva Ecija, one of the alleged reasons for his murder was due to this conflict with Paterno.