Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP; lit. 'Fight of Democratic Filipinos') 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.
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History
Early years
In 1987, Tarlac 1st district Representative Peping Cojuangco, the brother of President Corazon Aquino and a stalwart of PDP–Laban, started recruiting national and local politicians allied with deposed president Ferdinand Marcos and his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan into the party. As a result, PDP–Laban was split into two factions: the Pimentel wing led by Senator Nene Pimentel, the original PDP founder, and the Cojuangco wing. The latter faction merged with Lakas ng Bansa led by House Speaker Ramon Mitra Jr. with presidential brother-in-law Paul Aquino to form Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino on September 16, 1988. President Aquino addressed the inaugural LDP convention at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay. LDP's party structure and membership were modeled from KBL, but its primary mission was to support the Aquino administration.
Ramos administration
The first LDP National Convention was held on November 30, 1991 for the 1992 presidential election. Mitra won the presidential nomination, defeating Marcos' cousin and former National Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos. Despite winning the national delegate vote, Mitra garnered only eight votes in Cojuangco's home province of Tarlac, compared to 53 votes for Ramos. Ramos also won in his home province of Pangasinan, earning 76 votes to Mitra's 41, and in provinces within Western Mindanao. Ramos and Mitra tied in the Ilocos Region and ARMM.
After losing the nomination to Mitra, Ramos bolted the LDP and formed Lakas–NUCD in January 1992 as vehicle for his presidential bid. Ultimately, Ramos narrowly won the election, while Mitra placed fourth. Ramos was backed by President Corazon Aquino, while Mitra had the support of Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin. Despite losing the presidency, the LDP scored victories in both houses of Congress, winning 16 seats in the Senate (with actors and LDP stalwarts Tito Sotto and Ramon Revilla Sr. as topnotchers), and 86 seats in the House of Representatives. Afterwards, House LDP members formed a coalition bloc called Rainbow Coalition with former partymate and Lakas co-founder Jose de Venecia Jr., resulting in de Venecia's election as House Speaker, succeeding Mitra.
In 1994, the LDP formed a major coalition with Lakas–NUCD, called the Lakas–Laban Coalition, for the 1995 general election. Despite winning a majority of seats in both houses of Congress, the coalition split days after the election when some LDP candidates such as Senator Rodolfo Biazon accused fellow LDP senatorial nominees Mitra and Juan Ponce Enrile of electoral fraud.
For the 1998 presidential election, senators Raul Roco and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—LDP stalwarts and topnotchers in the 1995 Senate election—bolted the LDP in the fourth quarter of 1997 to establish new political organizations for their presidential ambitions; Roco formed Aksyon Demokratiko, while Arroyo organized Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino. Party founder Peping Cojuangco left the LDP due to internal disagreements, joining Arroyo in the formation of KAMPI and supporting her candidacy. Arroyo, however, was convinced by Cardinal Sin to discontinue her presidential bid and instead run for vice president as de Venecia's running mate under Lakas–NUCD–UMDP.
Estrada administration
With Mitra's departure from politics following his 1995 senatorial defeat, the LDP started to be taken over by his close ally, Senator Edgardo Angara, who himself wanted to pursue a presidential run. However, Angara eventually decided to back Vice President Joseph Estrada, who was a consistent frontrunner for the presidential race. The LDP formed a coalition with PDP–Laban, Estrada's Partido ng Masang Pilipino, and the Nationalist People's Coalition, led by businessman Danding Cojuangco, to form Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino. LAMMP served as Estrada's vehicle for his presidential bid, with Angara as his running mate. Estrada won by a landslide margin over de Venecia, but Angara was decisively defeated by Arroyo. For the senatorial race, four LAMMP candidates won seats, while in the House elections, no LDP candidate stood independently from LAMMP. After his defeat, Angara was appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President Estrada in 1999.
During Estrada's impeachment trial in January 2001, LDP-allied senators were divided in the voting for examining pieces of evidence against President Estrada. Senator Biazon voted in favor of opening the historic second envelope which was supposed to contain incriminating evidence against Estrada, aligning with the opposition senator-judges. On the other hand, senators Blas Ople, Tessie Aquino-Oreta and Tito Sotto voted against the motion, which was defeated by a vote of 10–11. The failure to disclose the envelope prompted the Second EDSA Revolution in January 2001.
Arroyo administration
After Estrada's ouster, the LDP formed a coalition with the PMP, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago's People's Reform Party and other pro-Estrada groups and figures to form Puwersa ng Masa, the opposition bloc for the 2001 Senate election. Puwersa welcomed neophyte LDP members into its senatorial slate, among them former Philippine National Police Chief Panfilo Lacson. Puwersa managed to win five out of 13 contested Senate seats, including LDP's Angara and Lacson.
In 2002, Biazon stated that he would not join the administration of President Arroyo, although she offered him some positions such as Secretary of Public Works and Highways and a secretaryship for a potential Department of Housing. Ople, who was earlier identified with the pro-Estrada bloc, accepted Arroyo's offer to serve as Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
In 2003, the LDP prepared a list of potential senatorial candidates for the 2004 Senate election. The slate included Biazon and Oreta, as well as former senators Enrile, Santiago and Francisco Tatad. Also projected to be included were congressmen Carlos Padilla and Ted Failon who were expected to become the House voice of the slate, while Camarines Sur Governor Luis Villafuerte would be the local voice. Former Senate president Pimentel, who notably voted in favor of opening the second envelope in the aborted trial, was also seen as a valuable member should he join the LDP slate. North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol, who was from Lakas, and Ilocos Norte Representative Imee Marcos of KBL were also projected to be recruited by the LDP. The LDP also met with the NPC to form a coalition for that election cycle.
In the 2004 presidential election, the LDP was critically divided into two factions: the majority wing led by Angara, and the Aquino wing led by Makati Representative Butz Aquino. The internal rift started when the Angara wing partnered with PDP–Laban and PMP to form the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino to support the presidential bid of actor Fernando Poe Jr., a close friend of Estrada. Lacson criticized the move and gathered the support of the party's Aquino wing for his presidential campaign. Lacson's campaign was not recognized by party president Angara, insisting on campaigning for Poe.
Due to the intense factionalism affecting the party, Biazon left the LDP along with his son Ruffy and Congressman Abraham Mitra, son of party founder Mitra. They later joined the Liberal Party, which was a member party of the administration ticket called the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan. Biazon initially joined Aksyon, which had Senator Roco as its presidential nominee, before becoming a Liberal.
Second Aquino administration
In 2010, due to the new automated election law, the LDP applied for official re-acknowledgment before the COMELEC. For the presidential and vice presidential elections, the LDP supported the Nacionalista–NPC ticket of Senate colleagues Manny Villar and Loren Legarda. Villar lost to Liberal Party standard-bearer Senator Benigno Aquino III, while Legarda placed third in the vice presidential race won by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay of PDP–Laban.
The LDP partnered with the ruling LP, NP, NPC and Akbayan for Team PNoy, the administration coalition for the 2013 general election. The party fielded Angara's son Sonny, who won a Senate seat, placing sixth.
Duterte administration
In early 2016, party president Angara initially expressed the LDP's intention to support the presidential campaign of independent Senator Grace Poe for 2016. However, the LDP ultimately supported the presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the standard-bearer of PDP–Laban.
On September 24, 2018, Senator Sonny Angara was elected LDP party president at an organizational meeting and fellowship dinner held at the Manila Golf and Country Club, succeeding his father. That same year, the LDP joined the Hugpong ng Pagbabago of presidential daughter and Davao City mayor Sara Duterte. Angara was tapped as part of HNP's senatorial slate for the 2019 Senate election. Angara won a second term, placing sixth with over 18 million votes.
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 presidential election. Duterte eventually filed for vice president under Lakas–CMD, running alongside presidential candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos under the UniTeam ticket.
Second Marcos administration
With Sonny Angara's appointment as Secretary of Education by President Marcos in 2024, the LDP did not have a single Senate seat for the first time. However, in the Angara clan's home province of Aurora, LDP candidates for governor and vice governor snapped victory, winning seats at the provincial board including one for Angara's brother Patrick.
Party officials
Chairman: Sonny Angara
Current members
Rommel Angara
Isidro Galban, governor of Aurora
Mariano Martinez, mayor of San Remigio, Cebu
Alfie Corominas, vice mayor of San Remigio, Cebu
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
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
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
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
Peping Cojuangco – former congressman and co-founder
Oscar Orbos
Maria Clara Lobregat
Celso Lobregat
Jose Calingasan – former ambassador