The Democrata Party, also known as ''Partido Democrata Nacional'' () was a political party in early 20th century
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, when the Philippines was an insular territory of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. It functioned as an
opposition party against the ruling
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party ( Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ...
.
History
The Democrata Party came from the remnants of the
Progresista Party
The Progresista Party (Progressive Party, ''Partido Progresista'' in Tagalog and Spanish) was a conservative political party in the Philippines during the early 20th century. Formed in 1900 as the Federalist Party (Partido Federalista), the party o ...
, which had been defeated by the Nacionalistas.
Juan Sumulong
Juan Marquez Sumulong Sr. (born Juan Sumulong y Marquez; December 27, 1875 – January 9, 1942) was a Filipino former revolutionary, journalist, lawyer, educator and politician from the province of Rizal. He was the president of the opposition ...
founded the Democrata party in 1917, espousing "''absolute and immediate independence''".
In the
1922 election, the Nacionalistas were split into two camps: Senate President
Manuel L. Quezon pushed for collective leadership, calling Speaker
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was vice president under Manuel L. Quezon. Upon Quezon's sudd ...
's leadership style as "''unipersonal''", a charge Osmeña denied.
Thus, Quezon and his allies were the "Colectivistas", while Osmeña and his allies were the "Unipersonalistas". Osmeña decided to run for the Senate, directly challenging Quezon's authority. This led to the Nacionalistas losing their majority in the House of Representatives. The Democratas, who had the balance of power, approached Osmeña for having their own senators vote for him as Senate President; in response to the Unipersonalistas voting for the Democrata's
Claro M. Recto
Claro Mayo Recto Jr. (born Claro Recto y Mayo; February 8, 1890 – October 2, 1960) was a Filipino politician, jurist, and poet. He is remembered for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political thoug ...
as Speaker. Osmeña refused, however, and reconciled with Quezon, thus merging the two nationalist camps into the ''Partido Nacionalista Consolidato'' (Consolidated Nationalist Party).
Ironically, by 1933, Quezon and Osmeña were again at odds, this time on the issue of the
Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act
The Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act passed to authors Congress Butler B. Hare, Senator Harry B. Hawes and Senator Bronson M. Cutting. (ch. 11, , enacted January 17, 1933) The Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act was the first US law passed setting a process and ...
. The Democratas allied with Quezon and his allies, known as the "''Antis''", against Osmeña and his allies, who were for the law (the "''Pros''". The Antis won, replacing the previous Act with the
Tydings–McDuffie Act
The Tydings–McDuffie Act, officially the Philippine Independence Act (), is an Act of Congress that established the process for the Philippines, then an American territory, to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. ...
, whose provisions which Sumulong had pushed for earlier as a Progresista.
By the time of the 1935 election, the Democratas were subsumed into the Antis, and later, they reunited with the Nacionalista Party. In the turn of events, another movement, the ''Fuente Popular'' (Popular Front) functioned as the opposition to the Nacionalistas moving forward.
Electoral performance
Senate
House of Representatives
References
{{Reflist
1917 establishments in the Philippines
Defunct political parties in the Philippines