The Democratic Alliance was a leftist party in the Philippines created on July 15, 1945, primarily composed of members of the National Peasants Union of the

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight into a rebellion ...

, the Committee of Labor Organizations of the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is desi ...

, the Filipino Blue Eagle Guerrillas, and other organizations. The party supported and endorsed the bid of incumbent president

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 ...

and the

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 ...

during the 1946 presidential elections against

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 1 ...

and the Nacionalista's liberal wing (now the Liberal Party) due to the latter's sympathetic attitude towards Filipino collaborators of the Japanese during World War II and close affiliation with "vested-interest landlord groups" (Simbulan, 2005). With the success of the Roxas bid for presidency, six candidates from the Democratic Alliance who were elected in the 1946 Philippine House elections were prevented from taking office on allegations of fraud and violent campaign tactics during the election. These were

Luis Taruc Luis Mangalus Taruc (; June 21, 1913 – May 4, 2005) was a Filipino political figure and rebel during the agrarian unrest of the 1930s until the end of the Cold War. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap group (from ''Hukbong Bayan Laban s ...

(

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarl ...

, 2nd district), Amado Yuzon (

, 1st district), Dr. Jesus Lava, José Cando (

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province ...

, 1st district), Constancio Padilla (

, 2nd district), and Alejandro Simpauco (

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. I ...

, 2nd district). Their absence from Congress helped President Roxas ensure the passage of the parity rights amendment in the

1935 Constitution of the Philippines Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart be ...

required under the

Bell Trade Act The Bell Trade Act of 1946, also known as the Philippine Trade Act, was an act passed by the United States Congress specifying policy governing trade between the Philippines and the United States following independence of the Philippines from the ...

of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

. The Bell Trade Act, also known as the Philippine Trade Act, required that the rights to Philippine natural resources that Philippine citizens and corporations enjoyed be equally extended to citizens and corporations of the United States. The constitutional amendment, known as the ''Parity Amendment'', was ratified in a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption o ...

on May 11, 1947. Five of the six Democratic Alliance candidates were allowed to take their seats later, after the amendment was approved. Following these congressional decisions, many in the Democratic Alliance felt the government biased towards US foreign policy, and resumed the Huk Rebellion.

Electoral performance

Presidential and vice presidential elections

Legislative elections

References

External links

The Huk Rebellion

Defunct political parties in the Philippines Left-wing parties in the Philippines United fronts {{Philippines-party-stub