Akbayan Citizens' Action Party

Akbayan Citizens' Action Party
Leader	Percival Cendaña
President	Ronaldo Llamas
Secretary-General	Conrad Castillo
Founded	1998
Headquarters	36-b Madasalin, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City
Youth wing	Akbayan! Youth
Ideology	Democratic socialism, socialist feminism, participatory socialism, participatory democracy
Political position	Left
National affiliation	Liberal Party
International affiliation	Socialist International (Consultative)
Official colors	Red, Green, Purple
Seats in the House of Representatives	2 / 287
Website
www.akbayan.org.ph
Politics of Philippines Political parties Elections

The Akbayan Citizens' Action Party or AKBAYAN is a registered national political party representing marginalized sectors in the Philippines. Akbayan first participated in the partylist elections in the House of Representatives in the 1998 National Elections (when the first party-list election was held) and won one seat. The first representative was Hon. Loretta Ann P. Rosales, a staunch human rights activist and election reform advocate.

In the 2001 party-list elections, the party was able to garner two seats in the 12th Congress with 377,852 votes. Rosales and Hon. Mario Aguja were the representatives from 2001 to 2004. In the 2004 National Elections, the party had 852,473 votes, winning 3 seats in congress. Rosales, Aguja and Hon. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros-Baraquel became the party's representatives to the 13th Congress.

After only having 466,019 votes in the recent 2007 party-list election, one seat was given to Akbayan with Baraquel serving for a second term in the 14th Congress. Walden Bello soon joined Hontiveros in Congress when the Supreme Court decided on the correct computation for party-list seats.

For the 15th Congress, Akbayan garnered more than one million votes in the 2010 party-list election. Rep. Walden Bello and Atty. Kaka Bag-ao will represent the party in the House of Representatives for 2010-2013.

Also in the 2010 elections, Akbayan took a leap through the senatorial bid of Risa Hontiveros and supported for the first time a presidential candidate, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. Hontiveros got 9 million votes and ranked 13th, a record high for a progressive candidate.

History

After twenty years of dictatorship under the Marcos regime, formal democracy in the Philippines was restored in 1986 through a broad "people power" movement. This democracy, however, proved to favor only the political and economic elite of the country. The moving force behind the anti-dictatorship struggle – concerned citizens and progressive groups – has been relegated to the periphery of decision-making and policy implementation. In response, social movements, trade union groups, and political organizations have emerged to challenge state policies through lobbying and pressure politics.

Despite the dynamism of Philippine movements, formal institutions of democracy remained in the hands of the few and the wealthy. It was within this context that the idea of building an alternative, a citizens' political party, first emerged. Social movement groups wanted to be part of the formal processes of government. Akbayan was thus conceived as an effort to institutionalize people power and thereby deepen Philippine democracy.

Consultations on the party-building project began in 1994. Throughout the country, pro-democracy groups were enjoined to help shape the party concept and strategy. Aspirations of various sectors – labor, peasants, youth, women, gays and lesbians, professionals, overseas Filipino workers, urban poor – were discussed and consolidated into a program of governance, while ad hoc structures were formed in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Four years later, in January 1998, Akbayan was formally established through its Founding National Congress. In May of the same year, the new party tested its strength by participating in the local and party-list elections and won seats in the House of Representatives, and several local government units.

To date, Akbayan is the most vigorous and determined effort from the Philippine progressive community to break the hold of traditional politicians and political parties on Philippine politics.

Organizational structure

Akbayan's organizational structure is guided by the principle of internal democracy. 30% of all leadership positions at every level are reserved for women. The basic unit is the Chapter, organized at the barangay, workplace or school level with a minimum of twelve (12) members. A minimum of six (6) Chapters comprise a Section, which is organized at the municipal, city or sitio level. A minimum of three (3) Sections comprise a Division, which is organized at the provincial, highly-urbanized city or legislative district level. A minimum of three (3) Divisions comprise an Assembly, which is organized at the regional level. A National Congress is the highest governing and policy-making body and convenes every three years. A National Political Council is the second-highest governing body, consisting of delegates elected by the Party's island groupings: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. An Executive Committee is tasked with implementing Congress and Council decisions. National Committees to assist the Executive Committee are: Finance, Education, Legislative, International, Public Information, Women, Policies and Issues. A National Secretariat manages day-to-day affairs.

Electoral performance

Election	Votes	%	Seats
1998	N/A	N/A	1
2001	377,852	2.50%	1
2004	852,473	6.70%	3
2007	466,112	2.92%	2
2010	1,058,691	3.50%	2

Representatives to Congress

Period	1st Representative	2nd Representative	3rd Representative
11th Congress 1998–2001	Loretta Ann P. Rosales
12th Congress 2001–2004		Mario Aguja
13th Congress 2004–2007			Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel
14th Congress 2007–2010	Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel	Walden Bello
15th Congress 2010–2013	Walden Bello	Kaka Bag-ao

External links

• Official Website of Akbayan! Citizen's Action Party
• We Dare!