Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino

Struggle of Democratic Filipinos
Leader Edgardo Angara
President Miguel Romero
Chairman Edgardo Angara
Secretary-General Juan Edgardo Angara
Founded 1988
Headquarters 3-B Osmena Bldg., 1991 A. Mabini St., Malate, Manila
Ideology Fiscal conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Political position Center-right
International affiliation Centrist Democrat International
Colors Blue and Yellow
Seats in the Senate
1 / 24
Seats in the House of Representatives
2 / 292
Provincial governorships
0 / 81
Provincial vice governorships
2 / 81
Provincial board members
5 / 1,006
Website
www.edangara.com
Politics of Philippines
Political parties
Elections

The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (Struggle/Fight of Democratic Filipinos) is a political party in the Philippines founded in 1988.

There are no results available of the last elections for the House of Representatives, but according to the website of the House, the party holds 7 out of 235 seats (state of the parties, June 2005). The party is divided into two factions. The faction led by Edgardo Angara was at the 2004 elections member of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (Coalition of United Filipinos).

In the 14 May 2007 election, the party won 3 seats.[1]

History

In the mid-1980s, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, founded 1982), Lakas ng Bayan and the Lakas ng Bansa parties became members of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) coalition that supported the candidacy of Corazon Aquino and Salvador Laurel as President and Vice President respectively in the 1986 Snap Elections. By 1986, the PDP had merged with the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN, founded 1978) party of the late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., to form PDP-LABAN

In the 1987 Legislative elections, UNIDO, under the name "Lakas ng Bayan" became the dominant party in both houses of Congress, electing Representative Ramon Mitra, Jr. of Palawan as Speaker of the House of Representatives. UNIDO would be dissolved soon after. In 1988, PDP-LABAN was split into two factions: the Pimintel Wing of Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. and the Cojuangco Wing of Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, Jr.. The Cojuangco Wing and the Lakas ng Bansa party of Speaker Mitra merged in 1988 to form the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino. In the 1991 LDP National Convention, the party nominated Speaker Mitra as its nominee as President of the Philippines, while runner-up former Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos bolted the party and forms Partido Lakas ng Tao and wins the presidency in the 1992 National Elections.

In 1994, LDP formed a major coalition with Lakas-NUCD of President Ramos dubbed as the "Lakas-Laban Coalition" for the 1995 Legislative Midterm elections winning majority of all seats in both houses of Congress.

In 1997, the party supported the candidacy of then Vice President Joseph Estrada to the presidency merging with two other parties forming the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (Struggle of the Patriotic Filipino Masses).

Recent events

In the 2004 elections, the party was critically divided by two factions between its party president Senator Edgardo Angara, who supported the candidacy of party outsider actor Fernando Poe Jr. and party secretary general Makati representative Agapito Aquino who supported Senator Panfilo Lacson's candidacy to the presidency.

It was planned that the LDP would form the core of the main opposition coalition, the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP). However, members of the party disagreed on which person to support for president. Panfilo Lacson, a member of the party, advanced his candidacy for president but was not considered by Edgardo Angara, the president of the party. Angara supported Fernando Poe, Jr. Together with the party's secretary-general Agapito "Butz" Aquino, Lacson gathered the support of some members of the party and went ahead with his candidacy. The LDP was subsequently polarized between those supporting Angara and Poe, and those for Lacson and Aquino.

By then, Poe and Lacson have both filed their certificates of candidacies. According to the rules of candidacy, every presidential candidate must have a political party to back him or her. With the obvious split within the ranks of the LDP, and with no signs that the two factions would come to an agreement, the COMELEC decided to informally split the party into the Aquino and the Angara wings. Lacson then ran under the LDP - Aquino Wing, and Poe under the LDP - Angara Wing, which would later become the KNP.

During the campaign period, there had been numerous unification talks between the two factions. The opposition saw the need to become united under one banner to boost their chances of winning the presidential election against the organized political machinery of Arroyo. The plans of unification did not materialize due to the stubbornness of both Poe and Lacson. Lacson wanted Poe to concede to him and run as his vice-presidential candidate while the supporters of Poe wanted Lacson to back-out from his candidacy and instead support Poe, citing his low performance in the surveys.

Notable Members

Earlier logo with the red border.

Electoral performance

President

Election Candidate Number of votes Share of votes Outcome of election
1992 Ramon Mitra, Jr. 3,316,661 14.64% Lost
1998 Supported Joseph Estrada who won
2004 Panfilo Lacson* 3,510,080 10.88% Lost
2010 Supported Manny Villar who lost

*Butz Aquino wing only; the rest of the party supported Fernando Poe, Jr. who also lost.

Vice President

Election Candidate Number of votes Share of votes Outcome of election
1992 Marcelo Fernan 4,438,494 21.74% Lost
1998 Edgardo Angara 5,652,068 22.11% Lost
2004 Supported Loren Legarda who lost
2010 Co-nominated Loren Legarda who lost

Senate

Election Number of votes Share of votes Seats won Seats after Outcome of election
1992 124,399,291 45.0%
16 / 24
16 / 24
 Won
1995* 123,678,255 68.6%
8 / 12
18 / 24
 Won
1998 56,058,540 27.3%
4 / 12
 ** Won
2001 51,853,133 21.3%
2 / 13
5 / 24
 Lost
2004 13,253,692 5.2%
1 / 12
2 / 24
 Lost
2007 12,657,538 4.7%
1 / 12
2 / 24
 Nacionalista Party-led coalition
2010 N/A
1 / 24
 PMP-led coalition
2013 15,858,995 5.4%
1 / 12
1 / 24
 Liberal Party-led coalition

*in coalition with Lakas-NUCD-UMDP
**part of the LAMP coalition

House of Representatives

Election Number of votes for LDP Share of votes Seats Outcome of election
1992* 6,286,922 33.7%
86 / 199
 Lakas-NUCD-UMDP-led coalition
1995* 2,079,611 10.8%
17 / 204
 Lakas-NUCD-UMDP-led coalition
1998* Part of the LAMMP coalition
2001
21 / 219
 Lost
2004
15 / 237
 Lost
2007
5 / 271
 Lost
2010 162,434 0.47%
2 / 287
 Liberal Party-led coalition
2013 90,070 0.33%
2 / 292
 Split; Liberal Party-led coalition and lost

*does not include candidates who ran as under a LDP ticket along with another party.

References

  1. ↑ See Philippine general election, 2007.
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