Nacionalista Party


The Nacionalista Party is the oldest political party in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th century since its founding in 1907, being the ruling party from 1935 to 1946, 1953–1961 and 1965–1972.

Ideology

The Nacionalista Party was initially created as a Filipino nationalist party that supported Philippine independence until 1946 when the United States granted independence to the country. Since then, many scholarly articles that dealt with the history of political parties during the Third Republic agreed that the party has been increasingly populist, although some argued they had conservative tendencies because of their opposition to the Liberal Party and the Progressive Party. The populist ideology of the party remained to present day as described on their website.

History

The original Nacionalista Party that was founded on August 21, 1901 in Calle Gunao, Quiapo, Manila, was forgotten. In that Quiapo Assembly, the following officers of the true Nacionalista were elected, namely Santiago Álvarez and Pascual Poblete as presidents; Andres Villanueva, vice president; Macario Sakay, secretary general; Francisco Carreón, Alejandro Santiago, Domingo Moriones, Águedo del Rosario, Cenón Nicdao, Nicolás Rivera, Salustiano Santiago, Aurelio Tolentino, Pantaleón Torres, Valentín Diza, Briccio Pantas, Lope K. Santos, Pío H. Santos, Salustiano Cruz, Valentín Solís and José Palma.
The party began as the country's vehicle for independence, through the building of a modern nation-state and the advocacy of efficient self-rule, dominating the Philippine Assembly, the Philippine Legislature and the pre-war years of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. During the Japanese occupation, political parties were replaced by the KALIBAPI.
By the second half of the century, the party was one of the main political contenders for leadership in the country in competition with the Liberals and the Progressives during the decades between the devastation of World War II and the violent suppression of partisan politics of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship.
In 1978, in a throwback to the Japanese occupation, political parties were asked to merge into the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, although the Nacionalistas preferred to go into hibernation. Eventually, the party was revived during the late 1980s and early 1990s by the Laurel family, which has dominated the party since the 1950s. The Nacionalista Party is now being led by party president and former Senator Manuel Villar and had three vice presidential candidates running independently or in tandem with other political parties in the 2016 general elections. Two of the other present parties, the Liberal Party and the Nationalist People's Coalition, are breakaways from the Nacionalista Party.

Electoral performance

President

Vice president

Senate

House of Representatives

*It does not include candidates who ran as under a Liberal Party ticket along with another party.
**In coalition with PDP–Laban

Notable Nacionalistas

Past

Throughout their careers, many of the country's politicians, statesmen and leaders were in whole or in part Nacionalistas. Notable names include the following:
Senators
Most of these individuals embody solid political traditions of economic and political nationalism are pertinent today, even with the party's subsequent decline.

Current party officials

Some members of the House of Representatives and Senate include—but are not limited to—the following:
Senatorial Slate
Senatorial Slate
Senatorial Slate
Senatorial Slate

Senate

District Representatives

Controversy over dominant-minority status

In the 2010 general election, the Nacionalista and the Nationalist People's Coalition formed an alliance after it was approved by the Commission on Elections on April 12, 2010. The Nacionalistas fielded Senator Manuel Villar and running with fellow Senator Loren Legarda who is a member of the NPC. It became the dominant minority party after a resolution passed by the COMELEC. On April 21, 2010, it was blocked by the Supreme Court after a suit filed by the rival Liberal Party. On May 6, 2010, the Supreme Court nullified the merger and therefore giving the Liberal Party to be the dominant minority party. It was based on a resolution by the COMELEC giving political parties to be accredited by August 17, 2009.
The coalition was made to help the Nacionalista Party to help boost the presidential campaign of Senator Villar and have a chance to be the dominant minority party by the COMELEC which give the rights to poll watchers during the canvassing of votes. However, it is being challenged by the Liberal Party calls the said alliance a bogus alliance and they are seeking the same party status by the COMELEC. Several local races are also being challenged from both parties, therefore causing confusion in those races.