The Liberal Party of the Philippines (Filipino: Partido Liberal ng Pilipinas, LP or Liberal) is a liberal political party in the Philippines.
Founded on January 19, 1946, by Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, and José Avelino from the breakaway liberal wing of the old Nacionalista, the Liberal Party remains the second-oldest active political party in the Philippines after the Nacionalista, and the oldest continually active party. The Liberals served as the governing party of four Philippine presidents: Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Diosdado Macapagal, and Benigno Aquino III.
As a vocal opposition party to the dictatorship of their former member Ferdinand Marcos, it reemerged as a major political party after the People Power Revolution and the establishment of the Fifth Republic. It subsequently served as a senior member of President Corazon Aquino's UNIDO coalition. Upon Corazon Aquino's death in 2009, the party regained popularity, winning the 2010 Philippine presidential election under Benigno Aquino III, serving from 2010 to 2016. This was the only instance the party had won the presidency since the end of the Marcos dictatorship, however, it lost control of the office to Rodrigo Duterte of PDP–Laban in the 2016 presidential election and became the leading opposition party once again. Its vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo won in the same election, narrowly beating Marcos' son by a small margin.
In the 2019 midterm elections, the party remained the primary opposition party of the Philippines, holding three seats in the Senate. The Liberals was the largest party outside of Rodrigo Duterte's supermajority, holding 18 seats in the House of Representatives after 2019. In local government, the party held two provincial governorships and five vice governorships. The general election of 2022, however, was a setback for the party, which lost both the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, as well as all of its seats in the Senate, and saw its representation in the House of Representatives reduced.
The Liberals remains an influential organization in contemporary Philippine politics. With moderately progressive positions on social issues and centrist positions on economic issues, it is commonly associated with the post-revolution, liberal-democratic status quo of the Philippines in contrast to authoritarianism, conservatism, and socialism. Aside from presidents, the party has been led by liberal thinkers and politicians including Benigno Aquino Jr., Jovito Salonga, Raul Daza, Florencio Abad, Franklin Drilon, and Mar Roxas. Two of its members, Corazon Aquino and Leila de Lima, have received the prestigious Prize For Freedom, one of the highest international awards for liberal and democratic politicians since 1985 given by Liberal International. The Liberals is a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats and Liberal International.
1946 elections: The Rise of Manuel Roxas
The Liberal Party started as the "Liberal Wing" of the Nacionalista Party, led by Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino. The Liberal Wing is formed due to Roxas' intention to run as president in the 1946 Philippine presidential election which he, and his supporters called and lobbied to the United States Congress to be early. When President Sergio Osmeña was officially selected as the Nacionalista Party's presidential nominee, Roxas and Quirino officially split from the party and founded the Liberal Party on January 19, 1946. Roxas and Quirino were the party's presidential and vice presidential nominee respectively, and were victorious over the administration ticket of Osmeña and Amang Rodriguez. After their presidential election performance, they dominated the House elections won the majority of 49 seats, and the senate race in 1947 winning six over eight seats.
Quirino to Magsaysay's presidency: 1948–1957
1948: Quirino succeeds Roxas, but facing impeachment attempt
After the death of President Roxas on April 15, 1948, at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, due to multiple heart attacks, Elpidio Quirino assumed the presidency.
Riding on the crest of the growing wave of resentment against Liberal, a move was next hatched to indict President Quirino himself.
A committee of seven members of the House of Representatives, led by Congressman Agripino Escareal, drafted a five-count complaint that ranged from exorbitant spending to nepotism. A seven-member committee led by Representative Lorenzo Sumulong was created by Speaker Eugenio Pérez to investigate the charges before they were submitted to the Senate, serving as an impeachment body. Felix Angelo Bautista, the Solicitor General, arrived as the top executive's defense attorney. Following several hearings, on April 19, 1949, after a rather turbulent session that lasted all night, the congressional committee reached a verdict completely exonerating the President.
1949 elections: Quirino reelected
For the 1949 elections, Quirino got the nomination of the party, while Jose Avelino, the senate leader of the party ran under his own wing of the party. Quirino choose Fernando Lopez as vice presidential nominee while Avelino selected Senator Vicente Francisco. Qurino and Lopez won the election over Nacionalista's Jose P. Laurel (who is the president of the Japanese puppet-Republic) and Manuel Briones, and Avelino and Francisco. But the said election is considered as one of the dirtiest, with violence and fraud taking place. As the news reports said that opponent's supporters are either beaten up by Quirino's supporters or the local police. In the Senate, they swept out the whole 8 member ticket, while still maintaining majority at the House.
1953 elections: Magsaysay out, Liberal stumbled
For the 1953 elections, Liberal stalwart Ramon Magsaysay, who was recruited by founding member Roxas to fill the party with fresh names, wanted to seize the presidential nomination of the party. But Quirino still had plans for re-election. Another Liberal also wants to challenge Quirino as the presidential nominee, the country's representative to the United Nations Carlos P. Romulo. Quirino was officially selected by the party, with José Yulo as his running-mate, because Lopez will join Romulo and his supporter's walk-out march out of the party. Magsaysay jumped to the Nacionalistas and got the party's nomination over one of its stalwarts Senate President Camilo Osías (who also jumped to Liberal with Jose Zulueta), on April 12, 1953. Romulo and Lopez founded the Democratic Party on May 29, 1953, with the two founders selected as their presidential and vice presidential nominee. But later, the two cancelled their candidacy and supported Magsaysay's candidacy.
Quirino's campaign was bombarded with controversies and issues, like with one of the party's members, Negros Occidental Governor Rafael Lacson, a corrupt politician who killed Moises Padilla, his challenger in 1951 elections, and friend of Magsaysay who was popularized by a photograph taken with Magsaysay carrying Padilla's dead body, and also being used by the latter in his campaign. Other issues like allegedly owning a golden arinola, corruption and nepotism, being out of touch to the masses due to his lavish lifestyle, and unresolving the Huk rebellion. Magsaysay and his running mate Carlos Garcia won the election by a landslide. In the senate, the whole Liberal slate was kicked out in the Magic 8, thus not winning any seats, while in the House they only won 31 seats. In 1955 Senate elections, no Liberal again won any seat in the Senate.
Garcia to Macapagal's presidency: 1957–1965