Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino

The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP; lit. 'Fight of Democratic Filipinos') is a liberal political party in the Philippines.

There are no results available for the 2004 election for the House of Representatives, but according to the website of the House, the party held 7 out of 235 seats. The party is divided into two factions. The faction led by Edgardo Angara contested in the 2004 elections as a member party of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (Coalition of United Filipinos).

In the 2007 national elections, the party won three seats in the House of Representatives.

History
In the mid-1980s, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) and Lakas ng Bansa parties coalesced under the United Nationalist Democratic Organization that supported the candidacy of Corazon Aquino and Salvador Laurel for president and vice president, respectively in the 1986 snap election. In January 1986, PDP had merged with LABAN, founded in 1978 by assassinated opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. to form the PDP–Laban.

In the 1987 legislative elections, UNIDO became the dominant party in both houses of Congress under the name Lakas ng Bayan. Palawan representative Ramon Mitra Jr. was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives. UNIDO would be dissolved soon after.

In mid-1988, PDP–Laban was split into two factions: the Pimentel wing led by Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and the Cojuangco wing of Jose Cojuangco Jr. On September 16, 1988, the Cojuangco wing merged with the Lakas ng Bansa to form the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).

In the 1991 LDP National Convention, the party nominated Speaker Mitra as its nominee for president in the 1992 national elections. The convention runner-up, former National Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos, bolted the LDP and formed Lakas–NUCD in January 1992 as his vehicle for the 1992 presidential race. Ramos won the election.

In 1994, LDP formed a major coalition with Lakas called the "Lakas-Laban Coalition" for the 1995 legislative elections. The coalition won a majority of seats in both houses of Congress. In 1998, the LDP supported the presidential candidacy of then Vice President Joseph Estrada. The party coalesced with two other parties to form the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP).

2004 elections
In the 2004 presidential election, the LDP was critically divided into two factions: the Angara wing of LDP president Senator Edgardo Angara that supported the candidacy of actor Fernando Poe Jr., and the Aquino wing of secretary-general Makati representative Agapito Aquino that supported the presidential bid of Senator Panfilo Lacson.

The initial plan was that LDP would form the core of the main opposition coalition, the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP). However, some party members disagreed on which candidate to support for president. Panfilo Lacson advanced his candidacy, but his bid was not considered by party president Edgardo Angara who supported Fernando Poe Jr. Together with party secretary-general Butz Aquino, Lacson gathered the support of a few LDP members and went ahead with his bid.

The LDP was subsequently polarized between the Angara-Poe wing and the Lacson-Aquino faction.

By then, Poe and Lacson both filed their certificates of candidacy. With no signs that the LDP two factions would come to an agreement, the Commission on Elections decided to informally split the party into the Aquino and the Angara factions. Lacson ran under the Aquino wing, while Poe under the Angara wing which would form the main core of the KNP.

Party officials

 * Chairman: Sonny Angara

Current members

 * Rommel Angara
 * Sonny Angara

Notable members

 * Ramon Mitra Jr. – former House Speaker
 * Fidel V. Ramos – former president
 * Peping Cojuangco – former congressman
 * Neptali Gonzales – former Senate President
 * Edgardo Angara – former Senate President
 * Jamby Madrigal – former senator
 * Blas Ople – former senator
 * Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – former president
 * Tito Sotto – former senator
 * Ramon Revilla Sr. – former senator
 * Raul Roco – former senator
 * Tessie Aquino-Oreta – former senator
 * Rodolfo Biazon – former senator
 * Heherson Alvarez – former senator and congressman
 * Leticia Ramos-Shahani – former senator
 * Butz Aquino – former senator
 * Francisco Tatad – former senator
 * Joey Lina– former senator
 * Orlando Mercado – former senator
 * Freddie Webb - former senator and congressman
 * Teofisto Guingona Jr. – former vicepresident and senator
 * Panfilo Lacson – former senator
 * Marcelo Fernan – former Senate President and Chief Justice
 * Oscar Orbos – former congressman
 * Maria Clara Lobregat – former congresswoman
 * Celso Lobregat – former congressman
 * Jose E. Calingasan – former congressman and ambassador
 * Alberto Romulo – former senator
 * Ernesto Herrera – former senator