The Laban sign is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

hand gesture made by extending the thumb horizontally and the index finger pointing up, leaving the other fingers closed to create the letter L, which stands for ''laban'' (

for "fight"). It is sometimes mistaken for the mildly offensive Western " loser" and " raised gun" gestures, to which it is unrelated. The term "LABAN" is an abbreviation of

Lakas ng Bayan Lakas ng Bayan ( en, Power of the People), abbreviated as Laban, was a political party in the Philippines formed by Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidates for t ...

("People's Power"), a former

political coalition This is a list of political groups by country. A political group also known as a political alliance, coalition or bloc, is cooperation by members of different political parties on a common agenda of some kind. This usually involves formal agreem ...

organised by opposition Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The gesture was popular in 1983 during Senator Aquino's funeral, and the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

that his assassination had precipitated. The Laban sign branding was bestowed on Ninoy's widow, Cory Aquino, along with the color yellow by

Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

practitioner Reli German. In 2009, the Laban sign was again widely seen during the funeral of Cory Aquino, and the subsequent presidential campaign of their son, President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

, before the

2010 Philippine elections Elections for all positions in the Philippines above the barangay (except for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional level) were held on May 10, 2010. The elected president is Benigno Aquino III, the 15th President of the Philippines, s ...

. In 2021, upon announcing the presidential bid of

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; born Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona; April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She was the wife of the late Jesse ...

for the upcoming 2022 elections, the gesture was associated to her

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

References

{{Gestures Hand gestures People Power Revolution