Grand Alliance for Democracy
Encyclopedia
The Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD) was a political coalition
during the 1987 Philippine legislative election
. The coalition opposed the policies of incumbent president Corazon Aquino
and her Lakas ng Bayan
(LABAN; People's Power) coalition, while severing ties with ousted president Ferdinand Marcos
. The coalition consisted mostly of defectors from the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan
(New Society Movement), Marcos' political party, the Nacionalista Party
and the United Nationalist Democratic Organization, the coalition that supported Aquino during the 1986 presidential election
.
In the Senate election, LABAN won 22 of the 24 seats, with only San Juan
mayor Joseph Estrada
winning a seat outright for GAD; former Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile
, one of the leaders of the People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos, was eventually declared the winner of the last Senate seat, bringing the winning GAD candidates to two. Estrada later defected to the Liberal Party
, one of the parties making up LABAN, making Enrile the sole member of the minority bloc in the Senate.
Candidates running under the GAD name won two seats in the House of Representatives elections
, although its member parties such as the Nacionalistas and the KBL won 4 and 11 seats, respectively. Candidates running under GAD-affiliated parties also won seats.
GAD broke up after the elections, with Estrada becoming the running mate of Marcos associate Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.
of the Nationalist People's Coalition
in the 1992 presidential election
. Estrada won as vice president in 1992, making him the titular head of the opposition. He would later beat Enrile and nine others in the 1998 presidential election
. At the aftermath of the 2001 EDSA Revolution
that ousted Estrada, Enrile ran under Estrada's Puwersa ng Masa
(Force of the Masses) coalition in the 2001 Senate election, which he lost. He ran again under the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino
(Coalition of the United Filipinos) in the 2004 and won. In the 2010 presidential election
, Estrada was allowed to run for president but was defeated; Enrile, however, defended his seat in the 2010 Senate election
, where Francisco Tatad
, one of the 1987 Senate candidates, ran and lost under the GAD banner.
Political coalition
A political coalition or political alliance is an agreement for cooperation between different political parties on common political agenda, often for purposes of contesting an election to mutually benefit by collectively clearing election thresholds or otherwise benefiting from characteristics of...
during the 1987 Philippine legislative election
Philippine legislative election, 1987
The election for the Members of the Senate was held in the Philippines on 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...
. The coalition opposed the policies of incumbent president Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
and her Lakas ng Bayan
Lakas ng Bayan
Lakas ng Bayan was a political party in the Philippines formed by Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidates for the Metro Manila area, all of whom lost due to widespread election fraud...
(LABAN; People's Power) coalition, while severing ties with ousted president Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
. The coalition consisted mostly of defectors from the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan
The Kilusang Bagong Lipunan , formerly the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa, , is a political party in the Philippines...
(New Society Movement), Marcos' political party, the Nacionalista Party
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party is the oldest political party in the Philippines today and was responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th century since its founding in 1907...
and the United Nationalist Democratic Organization, the coalition that supported Aquino during the 1986 presidential election
Philippine presidential election, 1986
The Presidential and Vice-Presidential snap elections were held on February 7, 1986 in the Philippines.-Background:President Ferdinand E...
.
In the Senate election, LABAN won 22 of the 24 seats, with only San Juan
San Juan, Metro Manila
The City of San Juan or simply San Juan is a city in Metro Manila in the Philippines. Before the creation of Metro Manila, it was part of Rizal Province. Currently the smallest city in the region and the country in terms of area, San Juan is one of the smallest among the cities and municipalities...
mayor Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
winning a seat outright for GAD; former Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Ponce Enrile is a Filipino politician. As a protege of President Ferdinand Marcos, he served as Justice Secretary and then Defense Secretary under the Marcos regime. He later became one of the leaders of the 1986 People Power Movement that drove Marcos from power...
, one of the leaders of the People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos, was eventually declared the winner of the last Senate seat, bringing the winning GAD candidates to two. Estrada later defected to the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Philippines)
The Liberal Party of the Philippines is a liberal party in the Philippines, founded by then senators Senate President Manuel Roxas, Senate President Pro-Tempore Elpidio Quirino, and former 9th Senatorial District Senator Jose Avelino, on November 24, 1945 by a breakaway Liberal group from the...
, one of the parties making up LABAN, making Enrile the sole member of the minority bloc in the Senate.
Candidates running under the GAD name won two seats in the House of Representatives elections
Philippine House of Representatives elections, 1987
Elections for members of 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...
, although its member parties such as the Nacionalistas and the KBL won 4 and 11 seats, respectively. Candidates running under GAD-affiliated parties also won seats.
GAD broke up after the elections, with Estrada becoming the running mate of Marcos associate Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.
Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.
Eduardo Murphy Cojuangco, Jr. , also known as Danding Cojuangco, is the chairman of San Miguel Corporation, the largest food and beverage corporation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, former Philippine ambassador, and former governor of Tarlac. In 2005, his personal wealth was estimated at...
of the Nationalist People's Coalition
Nationalist People's Coalition
The Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC is a political party in the Philippines.-History:The Party was founded in 1991 after some members of the Nacionalista Party led by then Rizal Governor Isidro Rodriguez bolted from the Nacionalista Party after some disagreements with Nacionalista party...
in the 1992 presidential election
Philippine presidential election, 1992
Presidential elections, legislative elections and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 11, 1992. This was the first general elections under the 1987 Philippine Constitution. An estimated 80,000 candidates ran for 17,000 posts from the presidency down to municipal councilors...
. Estrada won as vice president in 1992, making him the titular head of the opposition. He would later beat Enrile and nine others in the 1998 presidential election
Philippine presidential election, 1998
Presidential elections, legislative elections and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 11, 1998. In the presidential election, Vice President Joseph Estrada won a six-year term as President by a landslide victory. In the vice-presidential race, Senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won a...
. At the aftermath of the 2001 EDSA Revolution
2001 EDSA Revolution
The EDSA Revolution of 2001, also called by the local media as EDSA II or the Second People Power Revolution, is the common name of the four-day revolution that peacefully overthrew Philippine President Joseph Estrada from January 17–20, 2001...
that ousted Estrada, Enrile ran under Estrada's Puwersa ng Masa
Puwersa ng Masa
Puwersa ng Masa was the Philippine opposition's coalition party in the May 14, 2001 midterm Legislative elections. The coalition was created after the EDSA Revolution of 2001 that ousted Joseph Estrada from the presidency on January 20. The coalition was led by former First Lady Luisa Estrada who...
(Force of the Masses) coalition in the 2001 Senate election, which he lost. He ran again under the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino
Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino
The Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino or United Opposition or KNP, was the coalition of the dominant opposition in the Philippines during the 2004 general elections...
(Coalition of the United Filipinos) in the 2004 and won. In the 2010 presidential election
Philippine presidential election, 2010
-Timeline:The COMELEC-mandated election period for this election was from January 10 to June 9, 2010.-2008:*August 26 - Then Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando announces bid for presidency....
, Estrada was allowed to run for president but was defeated; Enrile, however, defended his seat in the 2010 Senate election
Philippine Senate election, 2010
Election to the Senate of the Philippines was held on Monday, May 10, 2010. This is to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. Together with those elected in 2007, they will comprise the 15th Congress. The senators elected in 2007 will serve until June 30, 2013, while the senators elected in this...
, where Francisco Tatad
Francisco Tatad
Francisco “Kit” Tatad is a political figure in the Philippines.-Journalist:Tatad practiced journalism as a wire service reporter for the Agence France-Presse...
, one of the 1987 Senate candidates, ran and lost under the GAD banner.
See also
- Nationalist People's CoalitionNationalist People's CoalitionThe Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC is a political party in the Philippines.-History:The Party was founded in 1991 after some members of the Nacionalista Party led by then Rizal Governor Isidro Rodriguez bolted from the Nacionalista Party after some disagreements with Nacionalista party...
, the political party that led the opposition coalition during the 1995 electionsPhilippine general election, 1995The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 8, 1995. Filipinos protected the ballot boxes with their lives and campaigned against traditional politicians who used bribery, flying voters, violence, election rigging, stealing of ballot boxes and etc...
. - Laban ng Makabayang Masang PilipinoLaban ng Makabayang Masang PilipinoLaban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino was the umbrella political coalition party of the opposition during the 1998 Philippine Presidential Elections that led to the presidency of then Vice President Joseph Estrada...
, the opposition coalition during the 1998 electionsPhilippine general election, 1998The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 11, 1998. The two main competing coalitions in the senatorial election were the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP and the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino -led coalition composed of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino , Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino , the...
. - Puwersa ng MasaPuwersa ng MasaPuwersa ng Masa was the Philippine opposition's coalition party in the May 14, 2001 midterm Legislative elections. The coalition was created after the EDSA Revolution of 2001 that ousted Joseph Estrada from the presidency on January 20. The coalition was led by former First Lady Luisa Estrada who...
, the opposition coalition during the 2001 electionsPhilippine general election, 2001The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 14, 2001. Independent candidate Noli de Castro, a former television anchor of TV Patrol of ABS-CBN was announced as the topnotcher...
. - Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang PilipinoKoalisyon ng Nagkakaisang PilipinoThe Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino or United Opposition or KNP, was the coalition of the dominant opposition in the Philippines during the 2004 general elections...
, the opposition coalition during the 2004 electionsPhilippine general election, 2004The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 10, 2004. The major coalitions that participated are the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan composed of parties that support the candidacy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino ,...
. - Genuine OppositionGenuine OppositionGenuine Opposition is the umbrella political coalition of the parties' senatorial line-up for the 2007 Philippine midterm elections, which is in opposition to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo...
, the opposition coalition during the 2007 electionsPhilippine general election, 2007Legislative and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 14, 2007. Positions contested included half the seats in the Senate, which are elected for six-year terms, and all the seats in the House of Representatives, who were elected for three-year terms...
.