Aksyon Demokratiko ( ) or simply Aksyon is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

founded by

Raul Roco Raul Sagarbarria Roco (October 26, 1941 – August 5, 2005) was a political figure in the Philippines. He was the standard-bearer of ''Aksyon Demokratiko'', which he founded in 1997 as a vehicle for his presidential bids in 1998 and 2004. He was ...

. It was recognized as a national political party in 1998 by the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(COMELEC) and is considered to be one of the major parties in the Philippines. Former

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Mayor

Isko Moreno Francisco Moreno Domagoso (born October 24, 1974), popularly known by his stage name Isko Moreno or Isko Moreno Domagoso (), is a Filipino politician and actor who previously served as the 27th mayor of Manila from 2019 to 2022. Before heading ...

currently acts as president of the party.

History

Aksyon participated in national and local elections since its founding (1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019) where it had moderate successes. In 2010, the party signed a coalition agreement with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in order to jointly field then Senator

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

for president. For the

2016 Philippine general election A general election in the Philippines took place on May 9, 2016, for executive and legislative branches for all levels of government – national, provincial, and local, except for the barangay officials. At the top of the ballot was the elect ...

, the party fielded national and local candidates throughout the Philippines including lawyer Lorna Kapunan and TIEZA

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

Mark Lapid Mark Tadeo Lapid (born February 16, 1980) is an actor and politician in the Philippines. He is a former Governor of Pampanga (2004–2007). President Gloria Arroyo appointed him as general manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority in 2008. Fr ...

. It was aligned with the candidacy of

Grace Poe Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares (baptized September 3, 1968) is a Filipino politician, businesswoman, educator, and philanthropist serving as a senator since 2013. She was the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Class ...

The party's standard bearer for the 2019 senatorial elections was former Solicitor General

Florin Hilbay Florin "Pilo" Ternal Hilbay (born March 19, 1974) is a Filipino lawyer who served as the Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines, Solicitor General of the Philippines from 2014 to 2016, serving the Philippine agent in the international ...

. Prominent local government candidates of the party during the 2019 elections included

Vico Sotto Victor Ma. Regis "Vico" Nubla Sotto (; born June 17, 1989) is a Filipino politician serving as the incumbent mayor of Pasig. Sotto first entered politics when he ran for a seat on the Pasig City Council in 2016. He won the election as an indep ...

and

Roman Romulo Roman Tecson Romulo (born February 28, 1967) is a Filipino politician and lawyer. He served as a member of House of Representatives representing the Lone District of Pasig for four consecutive terms from 2007 to 2016 and from 2019 to present. H ...

, who ran as mayor and representative of

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the ...

respectively, and Marielle del Rosario ran as representative of

Navotas Navotas, officially the City of Navotas ( fil, Lungsod ng Navotas), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 247,543 people. It is known as the ...

. In 2021, Aksyon named then

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, who just joined the party from the

National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to: * National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003) * National Unity Party (Albania) * National United Party (Armenia), defunct * Natio ...

, as its new party president ahead of the

2022 Philippine presidential election The 2022 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on May 9, 2022, as part of the 2022 general election. This was the 17th direct presidential election and 16th vice presidential election in the Philippines since 1935, ...

. New notable party members that would follow included 2019 senatorial candidate

Samira Gutoc Samira Ali Gutoc (born 19 December 1974) is a Filipina civic leader, journalist, environmentalist, women's rights advocate and politician. She served as a member of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao a ...

, Caloocan 2nd district representative Edgar Erice and former Vice President

Noli de Castro Manuel Leuterio de Castro Jr. (; born July 6, 1949), professionally known as Noli de Castro, is a Filipino journalist, news anchor and politician who served as the 12th vice president of the Philippines from 2004 until 2010, under President G ...

. In November 2022, months after the 2022 elections, Executive Vice-President Vico Sotto resigned from the party.

Ideology

''Magbago!'' (Change!) ''Makialam!'' (Participate!) ''Sulong sa Bagong Pilipinas!'' (Forward to a New Philippines!) are the party's slogans. Aksyon is rooted in

's ''The Agenda of Hope'': honest government; opportunity for all, special privileges for none; peace, productivity and prosperity; education and environment for sustainable development. Aksyon believes that there should be regional solutions to regional problems. Aksyon organizes itself based on the principles of local autonomy. It believes and pushes for the empowerment of the Filipino masses. The party advocates a 'bottom-up' approach in tackling the issues of the country. Aksyon recognizes the importance of the participation of youth in government and therefore actively pushes for the empowerment of the youth.

Electoral performance

Presidential and vice presidential elections

Legislative elections

Current party officials

Sonia Roco Sonia Malasarte Roco (born 20 July 1944) is the widow of Filipino senator and Presidential candidate Raul Roco. She ran for the Senate in the 2007 Philippine Midterm Elections under her late husband's party, Aksyon Demokratiko, which is allied wi ...

, Party Co-founder, Chair Emeritus * Ernest Ramel (former Aksyon Demokratiko's Secretary General), Party Chairman and National Executive Board Member * Francisco Moreno Domagoso (former

Manila City Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

Mayor), Party President and National Executive Board Member * Andres Lacson (Former

Concepcion, Tarlac Concepcion, officially the Municipality of Concepcion ( pam, Balen ning Concepcion; fil, Bayan ng Concepcion), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 169,953 peop ...

Mayor), Vice Chairperson and National Executive Board Member * Leon Flores III (former National Youth Commission Chairperson), Secretary-General and National Executive Board Member *

Honey Lacuna Maria Sheilah Honrado Lacuna–Pangan (born May 6, 1965), publicly known as Honey Lacuna, is a Filipino physician and politician who is currently serving as the Mayor of Manila since 2022. Early life Lacuna-Pangan was born to Danilo "Danny" La ...

(current Manila City Mayor), Vice-President for Internal Affairs and National Executive Board Member * Atty. Bobbit Roco, Vice-President for External Affairs and National Executive Board Member * May Lim, Vice-President for Women Affairs * Jayson San Juan, Deputy Secretary-General * Michael Roy Cuerpo, Treasurer and National Executive Board Member * Atty. Normandy Baldovino, Jr, General Counsel and National Executive Board Member *

, National Executive Board Member *Antonio Aquino, National Executive Board Member *Frein Jarane P. Castañeda (former

Mariveles, Bataan Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles ( tl, Bayan ng Mariveles), is a first class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people. History Founded as a ''p ...

Councilor), National Executive Board Member *Danilo De Guzman (current

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

City Councilor), National Executive Board Member *Ernesto C. Isip Jr. (current Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member *Richard C. Ibay (former Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member *Anthony P. Sanchez, National Executive Board Member *Jose Cabochan, National Executive Board Member *Sainthia Joy A. Sorilla (current

New Lucena, Iloilo New Lucena, officially the Municipality of New Lucena ( hil, Banwa sang New Lucena, tgl, Bayan ng New Lucena), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,314 peo ...

Councilor), National Executive Board Member *Atty. Joel R. Chua (current Representative from Manila), National Executive Board Member *Atty. Marlon M. Lacson (former Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member *Manuel M. Zarcal (former Manila City Councilor), National Executive Board Member

References

{{Philippine political parties 1997 establishments in the Philippines Centrist parties in the Philippines Political parties established in 1997 Progressive parties