Liberal Party (Philippines)

Liberal PartyPartido Liberal ng Pilipinas
President	Francis Pangilinan
Chairman	Leni Robredo
Secretary-General	Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte
Founder	Manuel Roxas Elpidio Quirino
Founded	January 19, 1946; 75 years ago (1946-01-19)
Split from	Nacionalista Party
Think tank	Center for Liberalism and Democracy[1]
Youth wing	Liberal Youth (LY)
Ideology	Liberalism[2][3] Social liberalism[4]
Political position	Center[5] to center-left[2][6]
National affiliation	Otso Diretso
International affiliation	Liberal International Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
Colors	Yellow, red, blue
Slogan	Bago. Bukas. Liberal.
Seats in the Senate	3 / 24
Seats in the House of Representatives	17 / 304
Provincial governorships	2 / 81
Provincial vice governorships	5 / 81
Provincial board members	54 / 1,023
Website
liberal.ph
Politics of Philippines Political parties Elections

The Liberal Party of the Philippines (Filipino: Partido Liberal ng Pilipinas), abbreviated as the LP, is a liberal political party in the Philippines.^[7]

Founded on January 19, 1946 by Senate President Manuel Roxas, Senate President Pro-Tempore Elpidio Quirino, and former 9th Senatorial District Senator José Avelino from the breakaway liberal wing of the old Nacionalista Party, the Liberal Party remains the second-oldest active political party in the Philippines after the Nacionalistas, and the oldest continually-active party. The Liberals served as the governing party of four Philippine presidents: Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Diosdado Macapagal, and Benigno Aquino III. As a vocal opposition party against the military backed regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the party reemerged as a major political party after Marcos's overthrow in the People Power Revolution and the establishment of the Fifth Republic. It subsequently served as a senior member of President Corazón Aquino's UNIDO coalition. Upon Corazón Aquino's death in 2009, the party regained popularity, winning the 2010 Philippine presidential election under Benigno Aquino III. The Liberal Party returned to government, serving from 2010 to 2016. The party lost control of the presidency to Rodrigo Duterte of PDP–Laban in the 2016 presidential election and became the leading opposition party; however its vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo won, narrowly beating Nacionalista candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr.^[8]

The Liberal Party is currently the political party of the Vice President of the Philippines. As of the 2019 midterm elections, the party is still the primary opposition party of the Philippines, holding three seats in the Senate. The Liberals are the largest party outside of military backed Rodrigo Duterte's supermajority, holding 18 seats in the House of Representatives. In local government, the party holds two provincial governorships and five vice governorships.

The Liberal Party remains an influential organization in contemporary Philippine politics. A center-left party on social issues and centrist on economic issues, it is commonly associated with the post-revolution, liberal-democratic status quo of the Philippines in contrast to authoritarianism, neoconservatism, and Socialism. Aside from presidents, the party has been led by liberal thinkers and progressive politicians including Benigno Aquino Jr., Jovito Salonga, Raul Daza, Florencio B. Abad Jr., Franklin Drilon, and Mar Roxas. Two of its members, Corazón Aquino and Leila de Lima, have received the prestigious Prize for Freedom, the highest international award for liberal and democratic politicians since 1985.^{[importance?]} The Liberal Party is a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats and the Liberal International.

History

The Liberal Party logo during the term of President Noynoy Aquino from 2010 to 2016.

1946–1972: Third Republic

The Liberal Party was founded on January 19, 1946 by Manuel Roxas,^[9][2] the first President of the Third Philippine Republic.^[9] It was formed by Roxas from what was once the "Liberal Wing" of the Nacionalista Party.^[9] Two more Presidents of the Philippines elected into office came from the LP: Elpidio Quirino and Diosdado Macapagal.^[10][11] Two other presidents came from the ranks of the LP, as former members of the party who later joined the Nacionalistas: Ramon Magsaysay and the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.^[12]

1972–1986: Marcos's Martial law era

During the authoritarian days leading to his declaration of martial law, Marcos would find his old party as a potent roadblock to his quest for one-man rule. Led by Ninoy Aquino, Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, the LP would hound President Marcos on issues like human rights and the curtailment of freedoms. Not even Marcos' declaration of martial law silenced the LP, and the party continued to fight the dictatorship despite the costs. Many of its leaders and members would be prosecuted and even killed during this time.^[2][9]

1986–2010: Post-EDSA Revolution

The LP was instrumental in ending more than half a century of US military presence in the Philippines with its campaign in the Philippine Senate of 1991 to reject a new RP-US Bases Treaty. This ironically cost the party dearly, losing for it the elections of 1992. In 2000, it stood against the corruption of the Joseph Estrada government, actively supporting the Resign-Impeach-Oust initiatives that led to People Power II.^[2][9]

In 2006, the Philippines' ruling political party, Lakas–CMD, with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo serving as its supremo, was influential in "hijacking" the Liberal Party by way of overthrowing the party presidency of Sen. Franklin Drilon at a rump party meeting at the Manila Hotel. With the marching orders and blessing of Lakas, LP members sympathetic to the Arroyo government used the meeting on March 2 to install Manila Mayor Lito Atienza as the party president, thus triggering an LP leadership struggle and party schism.^{[unbalanced opinion?]} Days later, the Supreme Court proclaimed Drilon the true president of the party, leaving the Atienza wing expelled.^[2][9]

2010–2016: The Democratic Benigno Aquino III administration

The Liberal Party regained influence in 2010 when it nominated as its next presidential candidate then-Senator Benigno Aquino III,^[9] the son of former President Corazon Aquino, after the latter's death that subsequently showed a massive outpouring of sympathy for the Aquino family. Even though the party had earlier nominated Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas II to be its presidential candidate for the 2010 Philippine general election, Roxas gave way to Aquino and instead ran for vice president. During the fierce campaign battle that followed, the party was able to field new members breaking away from the then-ruling party Lakas–Kampi–CMD to become the largest minority party in Congress.^[2][9][6]

2016–present: Opposition under military backed Duterte rule

In 2016 presidential elections, Liberal Party nominated Mar Roxas, former DOTC and DILG secretary and Leni Robredo, a Representative from Naga City and widow of former DILG secretary Jessie Robredo. The latter won and the former lost.^{[clarification needed]} Most of their members either switched allegiance to PDP–Laban, joined a supermajority alliance but retained LP membership (with some defected later),^{[incomprehensible][13][14][15]} joined minority, or created an opposition bloc called "Magnificent 7".

As early as February 2017, the leaders of the Liberal Party chose to focus on rebuilding the party by inviting sectoral membership of non-politicians.^[16] The party has been inducting new members who are non-politicians since then, some of whom applied online through the party's website, Liberal.ph.^[17][18][19] Before the scheduled 2019 general elections, the LP formed the Oposisyon Koalisyon (Opposition Coalition or OK), an electoral coalition led by the party that also comprises members of the Magdalo Party-List, Akbayan Citizens Action Party, and Aksyon Demokratiko along with independent candidates.^[20][21][22] The coalition hopes to drive a new political culture based on political leaders practicing "makinig, matuto, kumilos" (listen, learn, take action), each candidate emphasizing the need for government to listen to its citizens.^[23] As part of the Liberal Party's efforts to instill this new political culture, it launched Project Makinig in October 2018, a modern, nationwide listening campaign using technology and driven by volunteers.^{[24][non-primary source needed]}

Ideology

The party currently adopts liberalism as its main ideology. According to its values charter, the self-described values of the party are "freedom, justice and solidarity (bayanihan)."^{[25][26][non-primary source needed]}

Historically, the party's ideology during its early years was noted by some political observers to be similar to or indistinguishable from the Nacionalista Party,^[27][28] until the dictatorial term of Ferdinand Marcos, where it became more liberal.^[29]

Current party officials

• Chairman Emeritus: Former President Benigno Aquino III (2016–present)
• President: Senator Francis Pangilinan
• Chairperson: Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo (2016–present)^[30]
• Vice Chair: Senator Franklin Drilon (2017–present)^[30]
• Vice President for Internal Affairs: Former Representative Teddy Baguilat (Lone District of Ifugao) (2017–present)^[31]
• Vice President for External Affairs: Former Representative Lorenzo Tañada III (Quezon) (2017–present)^[31]
• Secretary-General: Representative Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte (Quezon City) (2016–present)
• Treasurer: Representative Josephine Ramirez-Sato (Occidental Mindoro) (2017–present)^[30]

Presidents

Term in Office	Name
January 19, 1946 – April 15, 1948	Manuel Roxas[9]
January 19, 1946 – May 8, 1949	José Avelino
April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1950	Elpidio Quirino
December 30, 1950 – December 30, 1957	Eugenio Pérez
December 30, 1957 – December 30, 1965	Diosdado Macapagal
May 1964 – May 10, 1969	Cornelio T. Villareal
May 10, 1969 – April 19, 1982	Gerardo Roxas
April 20, 1982 – June 1, 1993	Jovito Salonga
June 2, 1993 – October 17, 1994	Wigberto Tañada
October 18, 1994 – September 19, 1999	Raul A. Daza
September 20, 1999 – August 9, 2004	Florencio Abad
August 10, 2004 - November 5, 2007	Franklin Drilon
November 6, 2007 – September 30, 2012	Mar Roxas
October 1, 2012 – August 7, 2016	Joseph Emilio Abaya
August 8, 2016 – present	Francis Pangilinan

Electoral performance

President

Election	Candidate	Number of votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election
1946	Manuel Roxas	1,333,392	54.94%	Won
1949	Elpidio Quirino (Quirino wing)	1,803,808	50.93%	Won
1949	José Avelino (Avelino wing)	419,890	11.85%	Lost
1953	Elpidio Quirino	1,313,991	31.08%	Lost
1957	José Yulo	1,386,829	27.62%	Lost
1961	Diosdado Macapagal	3,554,840	55.00%	Won
1965	Diosdado Macapagal	3,187,752	42.88%	Lost
1969	Sergio Osmeña Jr.	3,143,122	38.51%	Lost
1981	N/A	N/A	N/A	Boycotted
1986	N/A	N/A	N/A	Supported Corazon Aquino who became president
1992	Jovito Salonga	2,302,123	10.16%	Lost
1998	Alfredo Lim	2,344,362	8.71%	Lost
2004	N/A	N/A	N/A	Supported Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who won
2010	Benigno Aquino III	15,208,678	42.08%	Won
2016	Mar Roxas	9,978,175	23.45%	Lost

Vice president

Election	Candidate	Number of votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election
1946	Elpidio Quirino	1,161,725	52.36%	Won
1949	Fernando Lopez (Quirino wing)	1,341,284	52.19%	Won
1949	Vicente J. Francisco (Avelino wing)	44,510	1.73%	Lost
1953	José Yulo	1,483,802	37.10%	Lost
1957	Diosdado Macapagal	2,189,197	46.55%	Won
1961	Emmanuel Pelaez	2,394,400	37.57%	Won
1965	Gerardo Roxas	3,504,826	48.12%	Lost
1969	Genaro Magsaysay	2,968,526	37.54%	Lost
1986	Eva Estrada-Kalaw (Kalaw wing)	662,185	3.31%	Lost; main wing supported Salvador Laurel who became vice president
1992	N/A	N/A	N/A	Supported Aquilino Pimentel Jr. who lost
1998	Sergio Osmeña III	2,351,462	9.20%	Lost
2004	N/A	N/A	N/A	Supported Noli de Castro who won
2010	Mar Roxas	13,918,490	39.58%	Lost
2016	Leni Robredo	14,418,817	35.11%	Won

Senate

Election	Number of votes	Share of votes	Seats won	Seats after	Outcome of election
1946	8,626,965	47.7%	8 / 16	9 / 24	Coalition
1947	12,241,929	54.5%	7 / 8	15 / 24	Won
1949	12,782,449	52.5%	7 / 8	18 / 24	Won
1951	8,764,190	39.9%	0 / 9	12 / 24	Won
1953	8,861,244	36.0%	0 / 8	7 / 24	Lost
1955	7,395,988	28.9%	0 / 9	0 / 24	Lost
1957	8,934,218	31.8%	2 / 8	2 / 24	Lost
1959	10,850,799	31.7%	2 / 8	4 / 24	Lost
1961	14,988,931	37.9%	4 / 8	8 / 24	Lost
1963	22,794,310	49.8%	4 / 8	10 / 24	Won
1965	23,158,197	46.9%	2 / 8	10 / 24	Lost
1967	18,127,926	37.1%	1 / 8	7 / 24	Lost
1969	21,060,474	39.1%	2 / 8	5 / 24	Lost
1971	33,469,677	57.4%	5 / 8	8 / 24	Lost
1987	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Won under the LABAN coalition
1992*	19,158,013	6.9%	1 / 24	1 / 24	Lost
1995	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Did not participate
1998	5,429,123	2.6%	0 / 12	0 / 24	Lost
2001	19,131,732	7.9%	1 / 13	1 / 24	Independent-led coalition
2004	30,008,158	12.0%	2 / 12	4 / 24	Liberal Party-led coalition
2007	28,843,415	10.7%	2 / 12	4 / 24	Nacionalista Party-led coalition
2010	78,227,817	26.34%	3 / 12	4 / 24	PMP-led coalition
2013	33,369,204	11.32%	1 / 12	4 / 24	Liberal Party-led coalition
2016	100,512,795	31.30%	5 / 12	6 / 24	Split; PDP–Laban-led coalition, lost[32]
2019	43,273,583	11.97%	0 / 12	3 / 24	Lost

*in coalition with PDP–Laban as Koalisyong Pambansa.

House of Representatives

Election	Number of votes	Share of votes	Seats	Outcome of election
1946	1,129,971	47.06%	49 / 98	Won
1949	1,834,173	53.00%	66 / 100	Won; majority government
1953	1,624,571	39.81%	59 / 102	Won; majority government
1957	1,453,527	30.16%	19 / 102	Lost
1961	2,167,641	33.71%	29 / 104	Lost
1965	3,721,460	51.32%	61 / 104	Won; majority government
1969	2,641,786	41.76%	18 / 110	Lost
1978	N/A	N/A	N/A	Boycotted; most members ran under the LABAN that lost
1984	N/A	N/A	N/A	Boycotted; most members ran under the LABAN that lost
1987*	2,101,575	10.5%	16 / 200	Lakas ng Bansa-led coalition
1992**	1,644,568	8.8%	11 / 199	Lakas-NUCD-UMDP-led coalition
1995*	358,245	1.9%	5 / 204	Lakas-NUCD-UMDP-led coalition
1998*	1,773,124	7.3%	15 / 221	Lost
2001			19 / 219	Lakas-NUCD-UMDP-led coalition
2004			29 / 237	Lakas–CMD-led coalition
2007			23 / 271	Lakas–CMD-led coalition
2010	6,802,227	19.93%	47 / 287	Liberal Party-led coalition
2013	10,557,265	38.27%	111 / 292	Liberal Party-led coalition
2016	15,552,401	41.72%	115 / 297	Split; PDP–Laban-led coalition, lost
2019	2,321,759	5.78%	18 / 304	Lost

*does not include candidates who ran as under a Liberal Party ticket along with another party.
**in coalition with PDP–Laban

Notable members

Philippine presidents

• Manuel Roxas (5th President of the Philippines; one of the co-founders)
• Elpidio Quirino (6th President of the Philippines)
• Diosdado Macapagal (9th President of the Philippines)
• Ferdinand Marcos (10th President of the Philippines) – Marcos won in 1965 as the candidate of the Liberal Party's rival Nacionalista Party, the party to which Marcos defected after failing to get the LP nomination.
• Joseph Estrada (13th President of the Philippines) – left the party in 1991 to prepare for his supposed presidential run. He became vice president in 1992.
• Benigno Aquino III (15th President of the Philippines)
• Rodrigo Duterte (16th President of the Philippines) – A former party chair in Davao City from 2009, Duterte left the party in 2015. He won the presidency in 2016 under the PDP-Laban ticket.^{[citation needed]}

Others

• Gerardo Roxas Sr. (Senator; Liberal Party leader during the Marcos dictatorship)
• Macario Peralta Jr. (World War II Hero, Philippine Army General, Senator of the Philippines, Secretary of National Defense)
• Cesar Climaco (Mayor of Zamboanga City, vocal critic and opponent of Martial Law)
• Benigno Aquino Jr. (Senator of the Philippines)
• Eva Estrada-Kalaw (Senator of the Philippines)
• Eddie Ilarde (Senator of the Philippines)
• Ramon Mitra Jr. (16th Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives)
• Narciso Ramos (Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs; one of the co-founders)
• Ramon Bagatsing (longest-serving Mayor of Manila, Plaza Miranda bombing survivor)
• Emmanuel Pelaez (Vice-President of the Philippines, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Philippine Ambassador to the United States of America, Senator of the Philippines)
• Rashid Lucman (former Representative of Lanao del Sur, Exposed the Jabidah massacre and other Marcos abuses in Congress)
• Jovito Salonga (former Senate President of the Philippines, survived the Plaza Miranda bombing)
• Manuel Roxas II (former Interior and Local Government Secretary and Transportation Secretary)
• Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (former Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives)
• Jesse Robredo (former Mayor of Naga City & former Interior and Local Government Secretary)
• Leni Robredo (14th Vice President of the Philippines, former Representative of Camarines Sur, Wife of former DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo & Party Chairman in Naga City)^[33]
• Herbert Bautista (former Mayor of Quezon City)
• Alfredo Lim (former Senator & Mayor of Manila)
• Rafael Nantes (former Governor of Quezon Province & Former Treasurer of the Liberal Party)
• Evelyn Fuentebella (Mayor of Sagñay, Camarines Sur)
• Cornelio Villareal (Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Former Representative of the 2nd District of Capiz)
• Jaime Fresnedi (Mayor of Muntinlupa)
• Sergio H. Loyola (Representative of the 3rd District of Manila)
• Romulo Peña Jr. (former Mayor and Representative of the 1st District of Makati)

Coalition

• Aksyon Demokratiko
• Akbayan Citizens' Action Party – Party-list^[32]

References

1. http://cld.ph/
2. Dayley, Robert (2016). Southeast Asia In The New International Era. ISBN 9780813350110. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
3. Hutchcroft, P. (2016). Mindanao: The Long Journey to Peace and Prosperity Mandaluyong, Philippines: Anvil Publishing, Inc. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
4. Values Charter – Liberal Party of the Philippines
5. Timberman, David G. (September 16, 2016). A Changeless Land: Continuity and Change in Philippine Politics. Routledge. p. 237. ISBN 9781315487151. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
6. "Aquino backs interior minister Roxas to be next president". The Straits Times. August 1, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
7. "Frequently Asked Questions on joining Partido Liberal – Liberal Party of the Philippines". Liberal Party of the Philippines. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
8. "Duterte, Robredo win in final, official tally". Jovan Cerda. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
9. "'Melted?' Liberal Party meets for 71st anniversary". Rappler. January 21, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
10. Molina, Antonio. The Philippines: Through the centuries. Manila: University of Sto. Tomas Cooperative, 1961. Print.
11. "Common Man's President". Time. November 24, 1961. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
12. "Ramon Magsaysay." Microsoft Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
13. "Key LP members jump ship to PDP–Laban". GMA News. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
14. "More LP lawmakers, local officials jump ship to admin party". CNN Philippines. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
15. Avendaño, Christine O. "LP disowns Agusan del Sur execs who jumped ship to PDP–Laban". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
16. "LP rebuilding to focus on non-politicians: Robredo". ABS-CBN News. February 9, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
17. "Robredo swears in new Liberal Party members in Negros Occidental". Rappler. June 15, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
18. "New blood: Liberal Party welcomes 'non-politicians' into fold". Rappler. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
19. "Robredo administers oath to 67 new LP members from Negros Occidental". SunStar. June 15, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
20. "Forecasting the 2019 campaign". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
21. "Strengthen human rights awareness of Filipinos, say opposition bets". Rappler. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
22. "Benigno Aquino III, Leni Robredo endorse opposition Senate 12". The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
23. "Opposition is 'alive': VP Robredo launches Senate ticket". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
24. "FILIPINOS CROSS DIFFERENCES IN GENUINE SHARING OF STORIES THROUGH PROJECT MAKINIG". liberal.ph. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
25. "LP Statement Archives – Liberal Party of the Philippines". Liberal Party of the Philippines. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
26. "Frequently Asked Questions on joining Partido Liberal – Liberal Party of the Philippines". Liberal Party of the Philippines. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
27. "The decline of Philippine political parties". BusinessWorld. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
28. Daniel B., Schimer (1987). The Philippines Reader: A History of Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Dictatorship and Resistance. South End Press. pp. 150. ISBN 9780896082755.
29. "What Is Liberalism, and Why Is It Such a Dirty Word?". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
30. "Liberal Party holds 1st official meeting post-2016 elections". Rappler. August 10, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
31. "LP appoints Baguilat, Tañada to key party posts". Liberal Party of the Philippines. August 16, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
32. "It's final: LP completes 12-person Senate slate". Rappler. October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
33. "LOOK: Leni Robredo takes oath of office as Vice President of the Philippines". CNN Philippines. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Liberal Party on Facebook
• Liberal Party on Twitter