Lakas ng Bayan was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 formed by Senator

Senate of the Philippines

The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...

 Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.

Benigno Aquino, Jr.

Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines...

 for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections

Philippine parliamentary election, 1978

A general election was held in the Philippines on April 7, 1978 for the election of the 166 regional representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa...

. The party had 21 candidates for the Metro Manila

Metro Manila

Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...

 area, all of whom lost due to widespread election fraud. The party's acronym, "LABAN", is a Filipino

Filipino language

This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...

 word meaning "fight".

After Aquino's exile to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the party was managed by the brother of Aquino's wife, Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, Jr.

Jose Cojuangco, Jr.

Jose Sumulong Cojuangco, Jr. , more popularly known as Peping Cojuangco, is a former Philippine Congressman and the current president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.-Personal life:...

By 1984, the party had formed a coalition with the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino of Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.

Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.

Aquilino "Nene" Quilinging Pimentel, Jr. is a Filipino politician who served as the President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2000-2001.-Delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention:...

, himself a LABAN party member. By 1986, the two parties were completely merged to form the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan party or PDP-LABAN

The name "Lakas ng Bayan" would eventually be reused in the 1987 Philippine legislative elections

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...

, as the name of a coaltion led by the United Nationalist Democratic Organization party of President

President of the Philippines

The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...

 Corazon C. 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 Vice President

Vice President of the Philippines

-Description:The Vice-President is the first in the Philippine line of succession, assuming the Presidency upon the death, resignation, or removal by impeachment and subsequent conviction of the incumbent. The position was abolished by Martial Law in 1972, and was not included in the original text...

 Salvador H. Laurel

Salvador Laurel

Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel , also known as Doy Laurel, was Vice President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under Corazon Aquino. Before that, he briefly served as Aquino's first Prime Minister from February 25 to March 25 of 1986...

.

Noise barrage

On April 6, 1978, supporters of the party came out in protest by asking bystanders and cars to make noise in support the opposition. However on April 7, 1978, the first national election under martial law held for the 165- members to the Interim Batasang Pambansa

Interim Batasang Pambansa

The Interim Batasang Pambansa or the First Batasan was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984...

 resulted in the massive victory of the administration coalition party, 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...

 ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa” or KBL. Only 15 opposition candidates in other parts of the country won. None of the members of LABAN were elected. The opposition denounced the massive vote buying and cheating in that elections. On June 12, 1978, the Interim Batasang Pambansa

Interim Batasang Pambansa

The Interim Batasang Pambansa or the First Batasan was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984...

 was convened with Marcos as President-Prime Minister and Querube Makalintal

Querube Makalintal

Querube C. Makalintal was the Chief Justice of the Philippines from Oct. 31, 1973 until December 22, 1975 and Speaker of the Interim Batasang Pambansa from June 12, 1978 to June 30, 1984.-Career:...

 as Speaker.

Some of the Opposition members ended up in exile or were driven underground fighting against the Marcos dictatorship. Alex Boncayao became a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army, whose after his death a group carrying his name (the Alex Boncayao Brigade) became one of the groups trying to destabilize using urban guerrilla warfare against the Marcos and the Aquino regimes.

Candidates - 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa

Region IV-A (Metro Manila) Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. Benigno Aquino, Jr. Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines...
Jerry Barican
Alex Boncayao
Feli Cabigao
Juan David
Jaime "Jimmy" Ferrer
Neptali "Nep" A. Gonzales Neptali Gonzales Neptali A. Gonzales, Sr. was the President of the Philippine Senate from 1992 to 1993, 1995 to 1996, and 1998.-Early Life and Career:...
Teofisto "Tito" T. Guingona, Jr. Teofisto Guingona, Jr. Teofisto Tayko Guingona, Jr. was the Vice President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2004 during the first term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.-Early Life and Career:...
Trinidad "Trining" Herrera
Priming de Leon
Chito Lucero
Ernesto "Ernie" M. Maceda
Tony Martinez
Ramon "Monching" V. Mitra, Jr. Ramon Mitra, Jr. Ramon "Monching" Villarosa Mitra, Jr. , was a prominent Filipino statesman, diplomat, and a renown pro-democracy activist of the Philippines....
Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. Aquilino "Nene" Quilinging Pimentel, Jr. is a Filipino politician who served as the President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2000-2001.-Delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention:...
Charito Planas
Napoleon "Nap" Rama
Alejandro "Anding" R. Roces Alejandro Roces Alejandro Reyes Roces was a Filipino author, essayist, dramatist and a National Artist of the Philippines for literature...
Francisco "Soc" A. Rodrigo Francisco Soc Rodrigo Francisco Soc Rodrigo was a Senator of the Third Congress , Fourth Congress , Fifth Congress , and Sixth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines...
Ernesto Rondon
Emmanuel "Noli" Santos