Aksyon_Demokratiko
Aksyon Demokratiko
Political party in the Philippines
Aksyon Demokratiko (lit. 'Democratic Action' IPA: [akˈʃɔn dɛmɔkratɪkɔ]) or simply Aksyon is a political party in the Philippines founded by Raul Roco. It was recognized as a national political party in 1998 by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and is considered to be one of the major parties in the Philippines.[2] Former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno currently acts as president of the party.
Aksyon Demokratiko | |
|---|---|
| President | Isko Moreno[1] |
| Chairman | Ernesto Ramel Jr. |
| Secretary-General | Leon Flores III |
| Founder | Raul Roco |
| Founded | 1997 (1997) |
| Split from | LDP |
| Headquarters | 3rd Floor, 62 Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City |
| Newspaper | Aksyon |
| Youth wing | Aksyon Kabataan |
| Ideology | Progressivism[2] Liberal democracy[2] |
| Political position | Centre[3] to centre-left[2] |
| National affiliation | PPC (2001) Alyansa ng Pag-Asa (2004) Genuine Opposition (2007) PGP (2016) Otso Diretso (2019) |
| Seats in the Senate | 0 / 24
|
| Seats in the House of Representatives | 1 / 316
|
| Provincial governorships | 0 / 81
|
| Provincial vice governorships | 3 / 81
|
| Provincial board members | 17 / 1,023
|
Aksyon participated in national and local elections since its founding (1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019) where it had moderate successes.
2010 Liberal Party coalition, and the 2016 and 2019 elections
In 2010, the party signed a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party in order to jointly field then Senator Benigno Aquino III for president.
For the 2016 Philippine general election, the party fielded national and local candidates throughout the Philippines including lawyer Lorna Kapunan and TIEZA COO Mark Lapid. It was aligned with the candidacy of Grace Poe.[4]
The party's standard bearer for the 2019 senatorial elections was former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay.[5] Prominent local government candidates of the party during the 2019 elections included Vico Sotto and Roman Romulo, who ran as mayor and representative of Pasig respectively, and Marielle del Rosario ran as representative of Navotas.[6]
2022 elections and Isko Moreno presidential run
In 2021, Aksyon named then Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, who just joined the party from the National Unity Party, as its new party president ahead of the 2022 Philippine presidential election.[1] New notable party members that would follow included 2019 senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc, Caloocan 2nd district representative Edgar Erice[7][8] and former Vice President Noli de Castro.[9]
A number of party members expressed disappointment with Aksyon's choices during the 2022 election campaign.[10][11] In October 2021, former Aksyon Demokratiko senatorial candidate Florin Hilbay resigned from Aksyon Demokratiko "out of ethical considerations," because he chose to support the candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo instead of that of Domagoso, adding that "We can't afford another narcissistic, gas lighting troll for a president" but without specifically mentioning Domagoso by name. On April 2, 2022, former Aksyon executive director Erdie de los Santos also resigned to support Robredo, rather than Domagoso.[11] Olongapo City Councilor Kaye Ann Legaspi, Aksyon's former vice president for youth affairs, led a faction of about a hundred party members expressing disappointment over Domagoso's tactics and saying that he was "damaging" the values that the party's founder Raul Roco had represented.[10][11]
In June 2022, immediately after the 2022 elections, Executive Vice-President Vico Sotto resigned from the party, saying he believed "recent events have made it apparent that the party is now headed towards a different direction." However, Sotto did not announce the fact of his resignation until five months later, in November 2022.[12]
Magbago! (Change!) Makialam! (Participate!) Sulong sa Bagong Pilipinas! (Forward to a New Philippines!) are the party's slogans. Aksyon is rooted in Raul Roco's The Agenda of Hope: honest government; opportunity for all, special privileges for none; peace, productivity and prosperity; education and environment for sustainable development.[13]
Aksyon believes that there should be regional solutions to regional problems. Aksyon organizes itself based on the principles of local autonomy. It believes and pushes for the empowerment of the Filipino masses. The party advocates a 'bottom-up' approach in tackling the issues of the country. Aksyon recognizes the importance of the participation of youth in government and therefore actively pushes for the empowerment of the youth.[citation needed]
Presidential and vice presidential elections
| Year | Presidential election | Vice presidential election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote share | Result | Candidate | Vote share | Result | |
| 1998 | Raul Roco | 13.38% |
Joseph Estrada (LAMMP/PMP) |
Irene Santiago | 0.94% |
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Lakas–CMD) |
| 2004 | Raul Roco | 6.45% |
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Lakas–CMD) |
Herminio Aquino | 3.24% |
Noli de Castro (Independent) |
| 2010 | None | Benigno Aquino III (Liberal) | None | Jejomar Binay (PDP–Laban) | ||
| 2016 | None | Rodrigo Duterte (PDP–Laban) |
None | Leni Robredo (Liberal) | ||
| 2022 | Isko Moreno | 3.57% |
Bongbong Marcos (Partido Federal) |
Willie Ong | 3.57% |
Sara Z. Duterte (Lakas–CMD) |
Legislative elections
| Congress of the Philippines | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Representatives | Senate | |||||
| Year | Seats won | Result | Year | Seats won | Ticket | Result |
| 1998 | 1 / 258 |
Lakas plurality | 1998 | Not participating |
LAMMP win 7/12 seats | |
| 2001 | 2 / 256 |
Lakas plurality | 2001 | 1 / 13 |
People Power Coalition | People Power Coalition win 8/13 seats |
| 2004 | 2 / 261 |
Lakas plurality | 2004 | 0 / 12 |
Alyansa ng Pag-asa | K4 win 7/12 seats |
| 2007 | Not participating |
Lakas plurality | 2007 | 0 / 12 |
Genuine Opposition | Genuine Opposition win 8/12 seats |
| 2010 | 0 / 286 |
Lakas plurality | 2010 | Not participating |
Liberal Party win 4/12 seats | |
| 2013 | 0 / 292 |
Liberal Party plurality | 2013 | Not participating |
Team PNoy win 9/12 seats | |
| 2016 | 1 / 297 |
Liberal Party plurality | 2016 | 0 / 12 |
Split ticket | Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid win 7/12 seats |
| 2019 | 1 / 304 |
PDP–Laban plurality | 2019 | 0 / 12 |
Otso Diretso | Hugpong ng Pagbabago win 9/12 seats |
| 2022 | 3 / 304 |
PDP–Laban plurality | 2022 | 0 / 12 |
Team Bilis Kilos | UniTeam win 6/12 seats |
- Sonia Roco, Party Co-founder, Chair Emeritus
- Ernest Ramel (former Aksyon Demokratiko's Secretary General), Party Chairman and National Executive Board Member
- Francisco Moreno Domagoso (former Manila City Mayor), Party President[14] and National Executive Board Member
- Andres Lacson (Former Concepcion, Tarlac Mayor), Vice Chairperson and National Executive Board Member
- Leon Flores III (former National Youth Commission Chairperson), Secretary-General and National Executive Board Member
- Honey Lacuna (current Manila City Mayor), Vice-President for Internal Affairs and National Executive Board Member
- Atty. Bobbit Roco, Vice-President for External Affairs and National Executive Board Member
- May Lim, Vice-President for Women Affairs
- Jayson San Juan, Deputy Secretary-General
- Michael Roy Cuerpo, Treasurer and National Executive Board Member
- Atty. Normandy Baldovino, Jr, General Counsel and National Executive Board Member
- Samira Gutoc, National Executive Board Member[7]
- Antonio Aquino, National Executive Board Member
- Frein Jarane P. Castañeda (former Mariveles, Bataan Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Danilo De Guzman (current Mandaluyong City Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Ernesto C. Isip Jr. (current Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Richard C. Ibay (former Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Anthony P. Sanchez, National Executive Board Member
- Jose Cabochan, National Executive Board Member
- Sainthia Joy A. Sorilla (current New Lucena, Iloilo Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Atty. Joel R. Chua (current Representative from Manila), National Executive Board Member
- Atty. Marlon M. Lacson (former Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Manuel M. Zarcal (former Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member
- Ranada, Pia (August 12, 2021). "Isko Moreno elected Aksyon Demokratiko president". Rappler.
- Macaraeg, Pauline (January 27, 2019). "Who to Vote For? Get To Know the Political Parties in the Philippines". Esquire. Philippines. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- "Aksyon Demokratiko is centrist". Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 10, 2021.
- "Kapunan's Aksyon party 'adopts' Grace Poe". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 23, 2015.
- "Aksyon Demokratiko adopts opposition senatorial bets, Lito Lapid". January 21, 2019.
- Lalu, Gabriel Pabico. "Aksyon Demokratiko endorses 9 senatorial bets". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- Mercado, Neil Arwin (August 13, 2021). "Former Senate candidate Samira Gutoc joins Aksyon Demokratiko". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- Ranada, Pia (September 20, 2021). "Caloocan's Edgar Erice leaves LP, joins Isko Moreno's Aksyon". Rappler. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- Mendoza, John Eric (October 7, 2021). "Noli de Castro takes oath as Aksyon Demokratiko member". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- Luna, Franco. "Ex-Aksyon Demokratiko members 'disappointed' in Isko Moreno after press conference". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- Yalao, Khriscielle (November 2, 2022). "Mayor Vico resigns from Aksyon Demokratiko". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
- "Raul Roco's Aksyon Demokratiko endorses Grace Poe". Rappler. April 21, 2016.
- "Aksyon Demokratiko elects Isko Moreno as new party president ahead of Eleksyon 2022". GMA News. August 12, 2021.