# Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino

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.

## History
### Early years and formation

In September 1988, Peping Cojuangco, a stalwart of PDP–Laban, recruited national and local politicians allied with former President Ferdinand Marcos and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) into the party. As a result, PDP–Laban was split into two factions: the Pimentel wing led by Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and the Cojuangco wing. The latter faction merged with Lakas ng Bansa led by House Speaker Ramon Mitra Jr. on September 16, 1988 to form Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.

### 1992 elections

The first LDP National Convention was held on November 30, 1991. Speaker Ramon Mitra won the nomination for president in 1992, defeating former National Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos. Despite winning the national nomination, Mitra only garnered 8 votes in Peping Cojuangco's home province of Tarlac, compared to 53 votes earned by Ramos. Ramos also won his home province of Pangasinan, earning 76 votes to Mitra's 41, and in provinces within Western Mindanao. Ramos and Mitra tied in Ilocos Region and ARMM.
1991 LDP National Convention :
| Candidate | | |
| Name | Ramon Mitra Jr. | Fidel V. Ramos |
| Votes | 2,062 | 1,613 |
| Regions won | (7) NCR, I, IV, V, VI, XI, XII | (4) III, XIII, IX, X |
After losing the nomination to Mitra, Ramos bolted the LDP and formed Lakas–NUCD in January 1992 as his vehicle for the presidential race. Ultimately, Ramos narrowly won the election. Ramos was backed by President Corazon Aquino while Mitra, who placed fourth, had the support of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Sin. Despite losing the presidency, the LDP scored victories in both houses of Congress, winning 16 seats in the Senate and 86 seats in the House of Representatives.

### 1995–2003

In 1994, LDP formed a major coalition with Lakas called the "Lakas–Laban Coalition" for the 1995 Philippine general election. The coalition won a majority of seats in both houses of Congress.
In 1997, Raul Roco and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, two of LDP's Senate stalwarts, resigned from the party and formed their own political organizations. Roco formed Aksyon Demokratiko while Arroyo organized Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino for their presidential bids in 1998. Arroyo, however, was convinced by Jaime Cardinal Sin to discontinue her presidential plans and run for vice president as the running-mate of Lakas presidential standard-bearer Jose de Venecia Jr.
The LDP, now led by Edgardo Angara, formed a coalition with PDP–Laban, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and the Nationalist People's Coalition to form Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino. LAMMP served as the vehicle of Vice President Joseph Estrada for his presidential bid, with Angara as his running mate. Estrada won, but Angara was decisively defeated by Arroyo.
After Estrada's ouster during the Second EDSA Revolution in 2001, the LDP formed a coalition with Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago's People's Reform Party, mainly composed of pro-Estrada supporters and loyalists, to form Puwersa ng Masa for the 2001 Philippine Senate election. Puwersa welcomed new members for its Senate slate, chief among them former Philippine National Police Chief Panfilo Lacson. Puwersa managed to win 5 out of 13 Senate seats, including LDP's Angara and Lacson.

### 2004 elections: Angara wing vs Aquino wing

In the 2004 elections, LDP was critically divided into two factions: the Angara wing led by Senator Edgardo Angara that supported the presidential bid of actor Fernando Poe Jr., and the Aquino wing led by Makati representative Agapito Aquino that supported the presidential campaign of Senator Panfilo Lacson.
The initial plan was that LDP would form the core of the main opposition coalition, Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino. However, some LDP members disagreed on which candidate to support for president. Lacson advanced his candidacy, which was not recognized by party president Angara who supported Poe. Together with LDP 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 and Lacson-Aquino factions. By then, Poe and Lacson both filed their certificates of candidacy for president. With no signs that the two feudimg factions would come to an agreement, the Commission on Elections decided to informally split LDP into the Aquino and Angara wings. Lacson ran under the Aquino wing, while Poe under the Angara wing which formed the main core of KNP. Aquino blasted Angara for his passion for control that had spawned internal divisions within the LDP. Angara's control caused LDP stalwarts such as former Senate President Neptali Gonzales, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and former senator Heherson Alvarez among others, to leave LDP.
There are no results available for the 2004 Philippine House of Representatives elections, but according to the House website, LDP won 7 out of 235 seats.

### 2007–2013

For the 2007 elections, LDP reunited with Lakas, the party's 1995 electoral partner, for TEAM Unity. With President Arroyo's unpopularity, only two candidates from TEAM Unity won Senate seats. For the House elections, LDP won only three seats.
In 2010, due to the new automated elections law, LDP applied in COMELEC for official re-acknowledgment. For the presidential and vice-presidential elections, LDP supported the Nacionalista–NPC ticket of Angara's Senate colleagues Manny Villar and Loren Legarda. Villar lost to Liberal Party's Benigno Aquino III, while Legarda trailed in the vice presidential race which was won by PDP–Laban's Jejomar Binay.
LDP partnered with the ruling Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, NPC and Akbayan for Team PNoy, the administration coalition for the 2013 Philippine general election. The party fielded Angara's son Sonny who won a Senate seat, placing sixth.

### 2016 and 2019

In early 2016, party president Angara initially expressed LDP's intention to support the independent presidential campaign of Grace Poe for 2016. However, LDP ultimately supported the presidential bid of Rodrigo Duterte, the standard-bearer of PDP–Laban.
On September 24, 2018, Sonny Angara was elected as LDP president at an organizational meeting and fellowship dinner held at the Manila Golf and Country Club. LDP joined the Hugpong ng Pagbabago of President Duterte's daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and Angara was tapped as part of HNP's senatorial slate for the 2019 Philippine Senate election. Angara won his second term, placing sixth with over 18 million votes.

### 2022 elections

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 Philippine presidential election. Duterte eventually ran for vice president, running with presidential candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos under the Uniteam ticket.

## Party officials

* Chairman: Sonny Angara

## Current members

* Rommel Angara

## Notable members
### President

* 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–CMD

### Senate
#### Senate Presidents

* 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

#### Former senators

* 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
* Teofisto Guingona Jr. – former vice president
* Panfilo Lacson
* Alberto Romulo
* Ernesto Herrera

### House of Representatives

* Ramon Mitra Jr. – former House Speaker, co-founder and 1992 presidential nominee
* Peping Cojuangco – former congressman and co-founder
* Oscar Orbos
* Maria Clara Lobregat
* Celso Lobregat
* Jose Calingasan – former ambassador

## Electoral performance
### Presidential and vice presidential elections

| Year | Presidential election | Presidential election | Presidential election | Vice presidential election | Vice presidential election | Vice presidential election |
| Year | Candidate | Vote share | Result | Candidate | Vote share | Result |
| 1992 | Ramon Mitra Jr. | 14.64% | Fidel Ramos (Lakas–NUCD) | Marcelo Fernan | 21.74% | Joseph Estrada (NPC) |
| 1998 | None | None | Joseph Estrada (PMP) | Edgardo Angara | 22.11% | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Lakas–CMD) |
| 2004 | Panfilo Lacson | 10.88% | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Lakas–CMD) | None | None | Noli de Castro (Independent) |
| 2010 | None | None | Benigno Aquino III (Liberal) | None | None | Jejomar Binay (PDP–Laban) |
| 2016 | None | None | Rodrigo Duterte (PDP–Laban) | None | None | Leni Robredo (Liberal) |
| 2022 | None | None | Bongbong Marcos (PFP) | None | None | Sara Z. Duterte (Lakas–CMD) |

### Legislative elections

| Year | House Seats won | Result | President | Year | Senate Seats won | Ticket | Result |
| 1992 | 86 / 200 | LDP plurality | Fidel Ramos | 1992 | 16 / 24 | Single party ticket | LDP win 16/24 seats |
| 1995 | 42 / 204 | Lakas / LDP majority | Fidel Ramos | 1995 | 4 / 12 | Lakas-Laban Coalition | Lakas-Laban Coalition win 9/12 seats |
| 1998 | 55 / 258 | Lakas plurality | Joseph Estrada | 1998 | 4 / 12 | LAMMP | LAMMP win 7/12 seats |
| 2001 | 21 / 256 | Lakas plurality | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2001 | 2 / 13 | Puwersa ng Masa | People Power Coalition win 8/13 seats |
| 2004 | 15 / 261 | Lakas plurality | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2004 | 1 / 12 | Split ticket | K4 win 7/12 seats |
| 2007 | 5 / 270 | Lakas plurality | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2007 | 1 / 12 | TEAM Unity | Genuine Opposition win 8/12 seats |
| 2010 | 2 / 286 | Lakas plurality | Noynoy Aquino | 2010 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Liberal Party win 4/12 seats |
| 2013 | 2 / 292 | Liberal Party plurality | Noynoy Aquino | 2013 | 1 / 12 | Team PNoy | Team PNoy win 9/12 seats |
| 2016 | 2 / 297 | Liberal Party plurality | Rodrigo Duterte | 2016 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid win 7/12 seats |
| 2019 | 2 / 304 | PDP–Laban plurality | Rodrigo Duterte | 2019 | 1 / 12 | Hugpong ng Pagbabago | Hugpong ng Pagbabago win 9/12 seats |
| 2022 | 1 / 316 | PDP–Laban plurality | Bongbong Marcos | 2022 | Did not participate | Did not participate | UniTeam win 6/12 seats |
| 2025 | | | Bongbong Marcos | 2025 | | | |