1978 Philippine parliamentary election

Last updated

1978 Philippine parliamentary election
Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg
  1969 April 7 and 27, 1978 1984  

179 (of the 189) seats in the Interim Batasang Pambansa
90 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Ferdinand Marcos (cropped).jpg Ninoy Aquino 3.jpg Scphil999jf (cropped).JPG
Leader Ferdinand Marcos Benigno Aquino Jr. Hilario Davide Jr.
Party KBL LABAN Pusyon Bisaya
Leader's seatnone Region IV-A (lost) Region VII
Last electionnew partynew partynew party
Seats won150013
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 150Steady2.svgIncrease2.svg 13
Popular vote147,885,49321,541,6009,495,416
Percentage71.1310.364.57

Prime Minister-designate

Ferdinand Marcos
KBL

A parliamentary election was held in the Philippines on April 7, 1978, for the election of the 165 regional representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa (the nation's first parliament). The leading opposition party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), ran twenty-one candidates for the Metro Manila area. Their leading candidate was the jailed opposition leader Ninoy Aquino. Marcos regime's party known as the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), which was led by the then-First Lady Imelda Marcos. Ninoy was allowed to run by his fellow partymates under the Liberal Party, who boycotted the election and was not allowed to campaign, and so his family campaigned for him. The night before the election on April 6, 1978, a noise barrage was organized by the supporters of (LABAN) which occurred up to dawn.

Contents

These elections were followed by the sectoral election on April 27, which elected additional 14 representatives. Another 10 representatives were appointed, bringing up the total number of representatives to 189.

Background

The Philippines had been under martial law since 1972, with incumbent president Ferdinand Marcos ruling by decree. Prior to this, the Constitution of the Philippines was being drafted by the Constitutional Convention, whose delegates were elected in 1970. The Constitutional Convention approved the final draft of the constitution, which consisted of the abolition of the Philippine Congress and its replacement with an interim National Assembly consisting of the President, the Vice-President, the President of the Constitutional Convention, and members of the Senate and the House of Representatives in November 1972 and was later ratified on January 17, 1973, through so-called "citizens' assemblies". The Constitution was amended twice, on July 27–28, 1973 and February 27–28, 1975. The Constitution was amended once again on October 16–17, 1976 with the passage of "Amendment No. 6", which changed the name of the Interim National Assembly into the "Interim Batasang Pambansa", more commonly as the "Batasan".

Electoral system

The Batasang Pambansa has not more than 200 members, of which there are 190 seats for this election, of which 166 are elected via multi-member districts via plurality block vote, similar to the Philippine Senate elections in the past. Each region corresponds to a parliamentary district, with the number of seats dependent on the region's population.

An additional 14 members are reserved for sectoral seats. There are three sectors: agricultural labor, industrial labor, and youth, each having 1 seat each from Visayas and Mindanao, 2 seats for Luzon, and the youth sector having an additional 2 seats elected at-large. The seats are determined by electoral college within each sector, with the electoral colleges voting via first-past-the-post system.

Finally, the president may choose members of the Cabinet to be members.

Campaign

Lakas ng Bayan

In 1978, former Senators Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga opted for the opposition Liberal Party boycott the elections. Having initially agreed to the boycott due to "the government already [having] the forces in its command and the entire machinery of politics which [they] do not have", former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. later changed his mind and opted to take part in the elections to have the chance to "talk to the people," having been imprisoned for almost six (6) years. [1]

Aquino was then able to field twenty other candidates for the seats in Region IV-A (Metro Manila) under a big tent political party, dubbed Lakas ng Bayan ("People's Power"). The party's acronym was "LABAN" ("fight" in Tagalog).

On March 10, 1978, he was entitled to one television interview on GTV's Face the Nation (hosted by Ronnie Nathanielsz) in his prison at Fort Bonifacio, and proved to a startled and impressed populace that imprisonment had neither dulled his rapier-like tongue nor dampened his fighting spirit. [2] According to Aquino, he wanted to give the people a vehicle to express their frustration or their anger "if there is any," while recognizing that should all twenty-one opposition candidates win, as they are a still minority in the Batasan, "the only job in this particular combat now is fiscalization... Mr. Marcos will profound the thesis of government, we will supply the antithesis so that in the clash of ideas, the people will have the synthesis." [1]

On April 6, 1978, the eve of elections, supporters of the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) came out in protest by asking bystanders and cars to make noise in support the opposition. [3]

Kilusang Bagong Lipunan

President Marcos created the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement) as his political vehicle for the elections.

Results

District elections

1978 Philippine House of Representatives elections results.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan 147,885,49371.13137
Lakas ng Bayan 21,541,60010.360
Pusyon Bisaya 9,495,4164.5713
Bagong Lipunan-Kilusan ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal7,981,0603.8414
Mindanao Alliance 6,685,2243.221
Bicol Saro 2,105,5991.010
Young Philippines1,471,3810.710
Concerned Citizens' Aggrupation1,374,5490.660
Nacionalista Party 688,1300.330
Emancipated Scientists392,8190.190
Partido ng Bagong Pilipino140,3650.070
Democratic Party112,1400.050
Philippine Labor Party94,2870.050
Confederation of Ilocano Associations81,5940.040
Consumers Party69,2160.030
Citizens Union Progress Party44,8930.020
Youth Democratic Movement40,5710.020
Sovereign Citizens Party18,8140.010
Partido Sambayanang Pilipino15,0500.010
Lapiang Bagong Silang11,4570.010
Bagong Anyo ng Buhay11,1900.010
Independent7,633,8513.671
Sectoral seats 14
Appointed seats10
Total207,894,699100.00190
Registered voters/turnout21,464,21385.52
Source: Nohlen, Grotz, Hartmann, Graham and Santos [4] and Teehankee [5]
Vote share
KBL
71.13%
LABAN
10.36%
PB
4.57%
BLKNNL
3.84%
MA
3.22%
Others
6.88%
District seats
KBL
82.53%
LABAN
0.00%
PB
7.83%
BLKNNL
8.43%
MA
0.60%
Others
0.60%

Sectoral election

A separate election was held for the 14 members of the Batasang Pambansa's sectoral representatives.

This was via electoral college, with youth, industrial labor and agricultural labor as the three sectors. Each sector shall elect among themselves an electoral council, the members coming from provinces and cities. Each electoral council elected two members from Luzon, and a member each from Visayas and Mindanao, with two additional seats from the youth sector elected at-large, for a total of 14 seats. [6]

Allegations of fraud

Marcos said that fraud was committed by "both sides" during the elections, but not on a scale that would have affected the results. [7] Jovito Salonga disagreed with the assessment and said that he did not observe people celebrating KBL’s victory because they felt "like they’ve been cheated." [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninoy Aquino</span> Filipino politician (1932–1983)

Benigno "Ninoy" SimeonAquino Jr., was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aquino, who became the 11th president of the Philippines after his assassination, and father of Benigno Aquino III, who became the 15th president of the Philippines. Aquino, together with Gerardo Roxas and Jovito Salonga, helped form the leadership of the opposition toward then President Ferdinand Marcos. He was the significant leader who together with the intellectual leader Sen. Jose W. Diokno led the overall opposition.

The 1992 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 24th election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 11, 1992. This was the first general election under the 1987 Philippine Constitution. An estimated 80,000 candidates ran for 17,000 posts, from the presidency all the way down to municipal councilors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilusang Bagong Lipunan</span> Political party in the Philippines

The New Society Movement, formerly named the New Society Movement of United Nationalists, Liberals, et cetera, is a right-wing political party in the Philippines. It was first formed in 1978 as an umbrella coalition of parties supporting then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos for the Interim Batasang Pambansa and was his political vehicle during his 20-year regime. It was reorganized as a political party in 1986, and is the furthest to the right of the political spectrum among active parties after Marcos' ouster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partido Demokratiko Pilipino</span> Political party in the Philippines

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino is a populist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) from 1983 to 2024 as a result of a merger with Lakas ng Bayan (Laban). It was part of the country's ruling party coalition from 1986 to 1992 under the administration of Corazon Aquino and the country's ruling party from 2016 to 2022 under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Philippine presidential election and referendum</span>

The 1981 Philippine presidential election and national referendum was held on June 16, 1981. President Ferdinand E. Marcos of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) defeated retired general and World War II veteran Alejo Santos of the Nacionalista Party in a landslide victory. Most opposition parties boycotted the election as a sign of protest over the 1978 election for the Interim Batasang Pambansa, which they condemned as fraudulent. At the same time, a national referendum was held on the question in holding elections for barangay elections in 1982.

A parliamentary election was held on May 14, 1984, in the Philippines. Like past elections, charges of bribery, protests and complaints on irregularities marred the elections. Former Manila Times publisher Chino Roces and former senator and opposition leader Jose W. Diokno supported the campaign boycotting the election. The National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) helped mitigate electoral fraud during the election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninoy Aquino Day</span> National holiday in the Philippines

Ninoy Aquino Day is a national non-working holiday in the Philippines observed annually on August 21 commemorating the assassination of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., the husband of Corazon Aquino, who later became the eleventh Philippine President. His assassination led to the downfall of the tenth president, dictator, and kleptocrat Ferdinand Marcos, which ultimately resulted in the People Power Revolution on February 25, 1986. Since 2004, a commemoration ceremony is traditionally held that was attended by presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Fidel V. Ramos and Benigno Aquino III.

The 1987 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 23rd election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 11, 1987. The Philippine Senate was re-instituted following the approval of a new constitution in 1987 restoring the bicameral Congress of the Philippines; earlier, a constitution was approved in 1973 that created a unicameral Batasang Pambansa (parliament) that replaced the bicameral Congress. The last Senate election prior to this was the 1971 election.

Lakas ng Bayan, abbreviated as Laban, was an electoral alliance, later a political party, in the Philippines formed by Senator Ninoy Aquino for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidates for the Metro Manila area, all of whom lost, including Ninoy. The party's acronym (Laban) is a Filipino word meaning "fight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Lopez</span> Filipino politician (1935-2017)

Gemiliano "Mel" Lopez Jr. was a Filipino politician who served as the 18th Mayor of Manila from 1988 to 1992 and as OIC - Mayor of Manila from 1986 to 1987 and an assemblyman of the Batasang Pambansa of the Philippines from 1984 to 1986. He was also a former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission from 1993 to 1996 and the Philippine National Oil Corporation from 2010 until his death in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laban sign</span> Filipino hand gesture

The Laban sign is a Filipino hand gesture made by extending the thumb horizontally and the index finger pointing up, leaving the other fingers closed to create the letter L, which stands for laban. It is sometimes mistaken for the mildly offensive Western "loser" and "raised gun" gestures, to which it is unrelated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Philippine general election</span> Election held in the Philippines in 1992

Presidential and vice presidential elections, legislative elections and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 11, 1992. An estimated 80,000 candidates ran for 17,000 posts from the presidency down to municipal councillors in the first general election under the 1987 Constitution. Even though she was permitted by the Constitution to run for a second term, President Corazon Aquino did not stand for re-election.

Elections for the House of Representatives in the Philippines were held on May 11, 1987. This was the first legislative election since 1984, the first House of Representatives elections since 1969, and the first election since the People Power Revolution that overthrew president Ferdinand Marcos and brought Corazon Aquino to power after alleged election fraud by the former during the 1986 presidential election against the latter.

Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on May 11, 1992. Held on the same day as the presidential election since incumbent president Corazon Aquino did not contest the election, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) served as the de facto administration party; just as all House of Representative elections, the perceived party of the president won majority of the seats in the House of Representatives. However, Fidel V. Ramos of Lakas-NUCD won the presidential election; this caused most of the newly elected congressmen to abandon the LDP for Lakas-NUCD.

Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on May 8, 1995. Being the first midterm election since 1938, the party of the incumbent president, Fidel V. Ramos's Lakas-NUCD-UMDP, won a plurality of the seats in the House of Representatives.

1978 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1978.

Vicente Tirona Paterno was a Filipino businessman and politician. He served as Minister of Industry from 1974 to 1979 and of Minister of Public Highways from 1979 to 1980, during the Ferdinand Marcos' government. He also served as a member of the Interim Batasang Pambansa from 1978 to 1984 and later as Senator from 1987 to 1992.

Natalio Bacus Bacalso was a Filipino writer, newspaperman, radio broadcaster, filmmaker, Constitutional Convention delegate in 1971 representing Cebu's 2nd district, and opposition assemblyman to the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978. The Natalio Bacalso Avenue is named after him. On June 13, 2019, The Freeman recognized him as one of the Top 100 Cebuanos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napoleon Rama</span> Filipino Visayan lawyer, journalist, and writer

Napoleon "Nap" Genson Rama, PLH was a Filipino Visayan lawyer, journalist, and writer in English and Spanish from Cebu, Philippines. He was the Vice President of the 1971 Constitutional Convention and the Floor Leader of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. In 2011, he was awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor, the country's highest recognition, with the rank of Grand Commander on the 25th anniversary of the EDSA 1 Revolution by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

References

  1. 1 2 "NINOY AQUINO's "FACE THE NATION" FULL INTERVIEW! (3/10/1978)"
  2. Juico, Philip Ella. "How things have turned upside down". BusinessWorld.
  3. "Martial Law in the Philippines: The first election".
  4. Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos (November 15, 2001).
    Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific
    . ISBN   9780199249596.
  5. Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph.
  6. "Presidential Decree No. 1296, s. 1978 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Miguel Paolo, Reyes (November 27, 2020). "The Marcoses: A history of rejecting election defeats". VERA Files. Retrieved September 22, 2022.

Further reading