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1984 Philippine parliamentary election

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1984 Philippine parliamentary election

← 1978 May 14, 1984 1987 →

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 Decrease 40 Increase 35
Popular vote 27,237,315 20,352,815
Percentage 46.01 34.38
Swing Decrease 25.12 Increase 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

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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

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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

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PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan27,237,31546.01−25.12110−40
United Nationalist Democratic Organization20,352,81534.38New35New
Nacionalista Party2,084,3313.52+3.1920
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (independent)1,596,9002.70New4+4
PDP–Laban1,344,6072.27New6+6
Partido Panaghiusa471,5510.80New1+1
Social Democratic Party of the Philippines349,8910.59New00
Mindanao Alliance202,9450.34−2.8810
Pusyon Bisaya161,9440.27-4.300−13
United Nationalist Democratic Organization (independent)140,5390.24New00
Liberal Party127,2430.21New00
Pundok Sugboanon (independent)107,7450.18New00
Nacionalista Party (independent)102,7760.17New00
Konsensiya ng Bayan94,5920.16New00
Federal Party of the Philippines91,0820.15New00
Bicol Saro83,6560.14-0.8700
Lapiang Manggagawa69,0070.12New00
Concerned Citizens' Aggrupation41,7350.07-0.591+1
Other parties191,6830.32New00
Independent4,352,3287.35+3.686+5
Coalitions17+17
Sectoral seats140
Appointed seats30
Total59,204,685100.00200+10
Registered voters/turnout24,824,93483.74
Source: Teehankee,[1] COMELEC[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph.
  2. ^ "NLP Digital Collection CE01.monographs.1986.NLPMO2014apr13532". nlpdl.nlp.gov.ph. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
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