Laban Ng Demokratikong Pilipino

Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP; ) is a political party in the Philippines founded by Ramon Mitra Jr. and Peping Cojuangco. LDP was more commonly referred to as Laban during its early years.

History

Early years and formation

In September 1988, Peping Cojuangco, a stalwart of PDP–Laban, recruited national and local politicians allied with former President Ferdinand Marcos and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) into the party. As a result, PDP–Laban was split into two factions: the Pimentel wing led by Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and the Cojuangco wing. The latter faction merged with Lakas ng Bansa led by House Speaker Ramon Mitra Jr. on September 16, 1988 to form Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.

1992 elections

The first LDP National Convention was held on November 30, 1991. Speaker Ramon Mitra won the nomination for president in 1992, defeating former National Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos. Despite winning the national nomination, Mitra only garnered 8 votes in Peping Cojuangco's home province of Tarlac, compared to 53 votes earned by Ramos. Ramos also won his home province of Pangasinan, earning 76 votes to Mitra's 41, and in provinces within Western Mindanao. Ramos and Mitra tied in Ilocos Region and ARMM.

After losing the nomination to Mitra, Ramos bolted the LDP and formed Lakas–NUCD in January 1992 as his vehicle for the presidential race. Ultimately, Ramos narrowly won the election. Ramos was backed by President Corazon Aquino while Mitra, who placed fourth, had the support of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Sin. Despite losing the presidency, the LDP scored victories in both houses of Congress, winning 16 seats in the Senate (which top-notched by actors Tito Sotto (1st place), and Ramon Revilla Sr. at 2nd), and 86 seats in the House of Representatives. House LDP members formed a coalition bloc with their former party mate and Lakas co-founder Jose de Venecia Jr. to form Rainbow Coalition, which elected de Venecia as Speaker of the House.

1994–2000

In 1994, LDP formed a major coalition with Lakas called the "Lakas–Laban Coalition" for the 1995 Philippine general election. The coalition won a majority of seats in both houses of Congress. But the coalition split months after the election.

In 1997, Raul Roco and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, two of LDP's Senate stalwarts, resigned from the party and formed their own political organizations. Roco formed Aksyon Demokratiko while Arroyo organized Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino for their presidential bids in 1998. Arroyo, however, was convinced by Jaime Cardinal Sin to discontinue her presidential plans and run for vice president as the running-mate of Lakas presidential standard-bearer Jose de Venecia Jr.

The LDP, now led by Edgardo Angara, formed a coalition with PDP–Laban, Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) to form Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino. LAMMP served as the vehicle of Vice President Joseph Estrada for his presidential bid, with Angara as his running mate. Estrada won, but Angara was decisively defeated by Arroyo. In the Senate, 4 out of 8 candidates (who are all in the LAMMP banner) won seats, while in the House, no LDP candidate stand independently from LAMMP. In 1999, Angara was appointed in the cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture.

2001–2003

LDP members in the Senate are divided in voting for examining the envelope of evidence against President Estrada. Unlike Rodolfo Biazon who voted in favor of opening it, joining opposition politicians and former members Revilla and Roco, Blas Ople, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, and Sotto voted against it. With the votes against examining 11–10, it prompted to Second EDSA Revolution in January 2001.

After Estrada's ouster, LDP formed a coalition with PMP, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago's People's Reform Party, and mainly composed of pro-Estrada supporters and loyalists, to form Puwersa ng Masa for the 2001 Philippine Senate election. Puwersa welcomed new members for its Senate slate, among them former Philippine National Police Chief Panfilo Lacson. Puwersa managed to win 5 out of 13 Senate seats, including LDP's Angara and Lacson.

In 2002, Biazon stated that he will not join the Arroyo administration, even though he was offered by some positions such as Secretary of Department of Public Works and Highways, and a potentially created Housing Department. But Ople accepted Arroyo's offer to be the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

In 2003, in order for preparing the 2004 Senate election, LDP prepared a list of potential senatorial slate members naming: Biazon, Oreta (both from LDP), former Senators Juan Ponce Enrile (Independent), Defensor-Santiago (PRP) and Francisco Tatad. Also projected, Congressmen Caloy Padilla and Independent Ted Failon which they think would be the House voice of the slate, while Camarines Sur Governor Luis Villafuerte would be the LGU voice. Former Senate President Nene Pimentel of the PDP–Laban (who notably voted YES to opening evidence against President Estrada) seen by the LDP as a valuable member if he joined the party slate. North Cotabato Governor Manny Piñol of Lakas, and Ilocos Norte Congresswoman Imee Marcos of KBL are also projected to be recruited by the LDP.

The LDP also met with NPC to form a coalition for the next election.

2004 elections: Angara wing vs Aquino wing

In the 2004 presidential elections, LDP was critically divided into two factions: the Angara wing led by Senator Edgardo Angara, and the Aquino wing led by Makati representative Agapito "Butz" Aquino. It was started when the Angara wing partnered with PDP–Laban, and PMP (now Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) to form a coalition will be later known as Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP). KNP will be the coalition that supported the presidential bid of actor Fernando Poe Jr., a friend of Estrada. Lacson criticized the move and gathered the support of the Aquino wing for his presidential campaign. Lacson's campaign was not recognized by party president Angara, and insisted on campaigning Poe.

Due to the factionalism happening in the party, one of its Senate stalwarts Biazon, left the party with his son Congressman Ruffy, and Congressman Abraham Mitra, son of LDP founder Ramon Mitra. The three later joined Liberal, which is member of the administration ticket. Rodolfo Biazon joined Raul Roco's Aksyon before joining Liberal.

The LDP was subsequently polarized between the Angara-Poe and Lacson-Aquino factions. By then, Poe and Lacson both filed their certificates of candidacy for president. With no signs that the two feudimg factions would come to an agreement, the Commission on Elections decided to informally split LDP into the Aquino and Angara wings. Lacson ran under the Aquino wing, while Poe under the Angara wing which formed the main core of KNP. Aquino blasted Angara for his passion for control that had spawned internal divisions within the LDP. Angara's control caused LDP stalwarts such as former Senate President Neptali Gonzales, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and former senator Heherson Alvarez among others, to leave LDP.

There are no results available for the 2004 Philippine House of Representatives elections, but according to the House website, LDP won 7 out of 235 seats. In the Senate elections, only 1 LDP member won a Senate seat, named former DSWD undersecretary Jamby Madrigal, who is the party's sole senatorial candidate in KNP/Angara wing. Caloy Padilla, who is the lone senatorial candidate of Lacson, lost.

2007–2013

For the 2007 elections, LDP reunited with Lakas, the party's 1995 electoral partner, for TEAM Unity, the Arroyo administration's coalition. Sotto and Oreta left LDP to join the NPC, because they originally want to side with the opposition. With President Arroyo's unpopularity, party leader Angara is one of the only two candidates from TEAM Unity won Senate seats. For the House elections, LDP won only three seats.

In 2010, due to the new automated elections law, LDP applied in COMELEC for official re-acknowledgment. For the presidential and vice-presidential elections, LDP supported the Nacionalista–NPC ticket of Angara's Senate colleagues Manny Villar and Loren Legarda. Villar lost to Liberal Party's Benigno Aquino III, while Legarda trailed in the vice presidential race which was won by PDP–Laban's Jejomar Binay.

LDP partnered with the ruling Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, NPC and Akbayan for Team PNoy, the administration coalition for the 2013 Philippine general election. The party fielded Angara's son Sonny who won a Senate seat, placing sixth.

2016 and 2019

In early 2016, party president Angara initially expressed LDP's intention to support the independent presidential campaign of Grace Poe for 2016. However, LDP ultimately supported the presidential bid of Rodrigo Duterte, the standard-bearer of PDP–Laban.

On September 24, 2018, Sonny Angara was elected as LDP president at an organizational meeting and fellowship dinner held at the Manila Golf and Country Club. LDP joined the Hugpong ng Pagbabago of President Duterte's daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and Angara was tapped as part of HNP's senatorial slate for the 2019 Philippine Senate election. Angara won his second term, placing sixth with over 18 million votes.

2022 elections

In 2021, Sonny Angara eyed a national alliance with HNP, as Sara Duterte was poised to run for president due to her strong performance in pre-election surveys. Angara expressed his intention to be Duterte's running mate for the 2022 Philippine presidential election. Duterte eventually ran for vice president, running with presidential candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos under the Uniteam ticket.

2024

With the appointment of Sonny Angara as Secretary of Education in 2024, LDP did not have any seats in the Senate for the first time.

Party officials

*Chairman: Sonny Angara

Current members

* Rommel Angara

Notable members

Presidents

* Fidel V. Ramos – 12th president of the Philippines, failed to gather nomination and won under Lakas
* Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – 14th president of the Philippines, bolted LDP to form KAMPI but later joined Lakas

Vice President

* Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – 10th Vice President
* Teofisto Guingona Jr. – 11th Vice president as Lakas member

Senate

Senate Presidents

* Neptali Gonzales – former Senate President
*Edgardo Angara – former Senate President and 1998 vice presidential nominee
* Marcelo Fernan – former Senate President, Chief Justice and 1992 vice presidential nominee

Former senators

*Jamby Madrigal
*Blas Ople
*Tito Sotto
* Ramon Revilla Sr.
* Raul Roco
*Tessie Aquino-Oreta
* Rodolfo Biazon
* Heherson Alvarez
*Leticia Ramos-Shahani
*Butz Aquino
*Francisco Tatad
* Joey Lina
*Orly Mercado
*Freddie Webb – former congressman
*Panfilo Lacson
*Alberto Romulo
* Ernesto Herrera

House of Representatives

House speakers

* Ramon Mitra Jr. – former House Speaker, co-founder and 1992 presidential nominee
* Jose de Venecia – former House Speaker, bolted LDP with Ramos to be co-founder of Lakas

Representatives/Congressmen

* Peping Cojuangco – former congressman and co-founder
* Oscar Orbos
* Maria Clara Lobregat
* Celso Lobregat
* Jose Calingasan – former ambassador

Electoral performance

Presidential and vice presidential elections

Legislative elections

Notes

See also

* Lakas ng Bansa, one of its predecessor party founded by Ramon Mitra
* Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, one of its predecessor, then known as PDP–Laban
* Lakas–NUCD, a breakaway party founded by Fidel Ramos in 1991
* Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino, a breakaway party founded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 1997
* Aksyon Demokratiko, a breakaway party founded by Raul Roco in 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laban Ng Demokratikong Pilipino
Centrist parties in the Philippines
Conservative liberal parties
Liberal parties in the Philippines
Political parties established in 1988
1988 establishments in the Philippines