The Nationalist Citizens' Party (NCP; Lapiang Makabansa) was a Philippine

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

party established by Claro M. Recto and

Lorenzo Tañada Lorenzo Martinez "Ka Tanny" Tañada Sr. (, August 10, 1898 – May 28, 1992) was a Filipino statesman, lawyer, human and civil rights defender, and national athlete. He is often referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Politics." He s ...

in 1957. Recto became its presidential candidate for the 1957 presidential election, where he was defeated, getting 9% of the vote. Tañada was eventually elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

under the party in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. The NCP functioned as a

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

in a political climate dominated by the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

History

With

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

's death in 1957, several members of his

(NP) became dissatisfied with

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

(Magsaysay's vice president who succeeded him). These members bolted out of the NP and established the Progressive Party, while Recto and Tañada established the Nationalist Citizens' Party, with Recto resigning from the NP and merging with Tañada's Citizens' Party. The NCP, with an anti-foreign platform, participated in the 1957 elections and were defeated: Recto and Tañada came in at fourth place in the presidential and vice presidential elections, respectively (they are elected separately) with 7% of the vote, behind Garcia (NP) and

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...

(

). The nationalist undertaking was described as "an elitist undertaking, popular in the press... but largely ignored by the Filipino masses." While the NCP was never "considered sa broad democratic party," and was labeled as "businessman's nationalism," they were able to influence Garcia's administration by adopting a " Filipino First policy" which favors Philippine-made products over foreign-made ones. The cooperation between the NP and the NCP produced an appointment of Garcia of Recto to his cabinet, and an NP-NCP alliance for the 1959 Senate election, where Tañada won a Senate seat. However, Recto died in 1960, and nationalism and Garcia's Filipino First policy was branded by the Liberals as corrupt; Garcia and the NP lost the 1961 presidential and vice presidential elections to Macapagal and

Emmanuel Pelaez Emmanuel Neri Pelaez (November 30, 1915 – July 27, 2003) was a Filipino public servant and politician who served as the 6th Vice President of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. Early life and career Pelaez was born in Medina, Misamis (now pa ...

. Tañada would later be reelected to the Senate under the NCP banner in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

for the last time.

Electoral performance

Presidential and vice presidential elections

Legislative elections

References

{{reflist Defunct political parties in the Philippines Political parties established in 1957 1957 establishments in the Philippines