1984 Philippine parliamentary election

1984 Philippine parliamentary election

May 14, 1984
197 (of the 200) seats in the Regular Batasang Pambansa 99 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Cesar Virata Jose Laurel Jr. Party KBL UNIDO Leader's seat Cavite Batangas Last election 150 seats, 71.13% new party Seats won 110 35 Seat change 40 35 Popular vote 27,237,315 20,352,815 Percentage 46.01 34.38 Swing 25.12 34.38
Prime Minister before election Cesar Virata KBL Prime Minister-designate Cesar Virata KBL

A parliamentary election was held on May 14, 1984, in the Philippines. Like past elections, charges of bribery, protests and complaints on irregularities marred the elections. Former Manila Times publisher Chino Roces and former senator and opposition leader Jose W. Diokno supported the campaign boycotting the election. The National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) helped mitigate electoral fraud during the election.

The ruling Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) retained a majority in parliament, but the opposition United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) made massive gains, winning 60 seats and reducing the KBL's majority to 114 compared to the 150 they had in 1978. This was the first Philippine election to happen after the end of the controversial martial law period from 1972 to 1981.

The opposition's success was due in most part because of the public fallout after the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. on August 21, 1983. His death exposed an increasingly incapable administration under President Ferdinand Marcos, exposing serious corruption and nepotism within, including from Marcos' wife Imelda, as well as exposing Marcos' worsening health at that time. As a result of Aquino's assassination and subsequent investigation, opposition became more widespread and united, rallying under his widow Corazon Aquino. The economy was also in crisis with severe poverty and debt dragging down growth, which was attributed to the Reagan administration's decision to distance itself from Marcos following Aquino's death, resulting in fewer investments that boosted the regime earlier before.

The gains from UNIDO, among other factors would force Marcos to call the for the 1986 snap presidential election, which would ultimately see him ousted following accusations of fraud, leading to Corazon Aquino becoming president.

Electoral system

The Batasang Pambansa has not more than 200 members, of which 183 are elected via multi-member districts via plurality block vote, similar to the Philippine Senate elections in the past. Each province or city corresponds to a parliamentary district, with the number of seats dependent on the province's or city's population, with each province guaranteed at least 1 seat..

An additional 14 members are reserved for sectoral seats. There are three sectors: agricultural labor, industrial labor, and youth, each having 1 seat each from Visayas and Mindanao, 2 seats for Luzon, and the youth sector having an additional 2 seats elected at-large. The seats are determined by electoral college within each sector, with the electoral colleges voting via first-past-the-post system.

Finally, the president may choose members of the Cabinet to be members.

Background

After the assassination of opposition leader Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1983, the opposition ran for the Regular Batasang Pambansa under the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) and the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) against the ruling Kilusang Bagong Lipunan of Ferdinand Marcos.

Results

Main article: Results of the 1984 Philippine parliamentary election

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan	27,237,315	46.01	−25.12	110	−40
	United Nationalist Democratic Organization	20,352,815	34.38	New	35	New
	Nacionalista Party	2,084,331	3.52	+3.19	2	0
	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (independent)	1,596,900	2.70	New	4	+4
	PDP–Laban	1,344,607	2.27	New	6	+6
	Partido Panaghiusa	471,551	0.80	New	1	+1
	Social Democratic Party	349,891	0.59	New	0	0
	Mindanao Alliance	202,945	0.34	−2.88	1	0
	Pusyon Bisaya	161,944	0.27	-4.30	0	−13
	United Nationalist Democratic Organization (independent)	140,539	0.24	New	0	0
	Liberal Party	127,243	0.21	New	0	0
	Pundok Sugboanon (independent)	107,745	0.18	New	0	0
	Nacionalista Party (independent)	102,776	0.17	New	0	0
	Konsensiya ng Bayan	94,592	0.16	New	0	0
	Federal Party of the Philippines	91,082	0.15	New	0	0
	Bicol Saro	83,656	0.14	-0.87	0	0
	Lapiang Manggagawa	69,007	0.12	New	0	0
	Concerned Citizens' Aggrupation	41,735	0.07	-0.59	1	+1
	Other parties	191,683	0.32	New	0	0
	Independent	4,352,328	7.35	+3.68	6	+5
	Coalitions				17	+17
Sectoral seats					14	0
Appointed seats					3	0
Total		59,204,685	100.00	–	200	+10
Registered voters/turnout		24,824,934	83.74
Source: Teehankee, COMELEC

See also

• Commission on Elections
• Politics of the Philippines
• Philippine elections
• Batasang Pambansa

External links

• The Philippine Presidency Project
• Official website of the Commission on Elections