The Progresista Party ( Filipino and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Partido Progresista''; ) was a political party in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during the early 20th century. Formed in 1900 as the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

(Partido Federalista), the party originally had the Philippines becoming a

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

as one of its original platforms, which was later rescinded.

Origins as the Partido Federalista

After the defeat of the Filipinos by the Americans on the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

(then known as the Philippine Insurrection), the Americans assessed the situation; the

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passed the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 creating the

Philippine Assembly The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly ...

. While the assembly had nationalists who wanted independence from the United States, most delegates pursued statehood within the U.S. These delegates, led by

Pedro Paterno Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera Ignacio (February 27, 1857 – April 26, 1911), 993 pages was a Filipino politician. He was also a poet and a novelist. His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato ...

, formed the Partido Federalista (

or the Federalistas) on December 23, 1900. On that meeting, the party platform of the recognition of U.S. sovereignty, establishment of peace and eventual statehood, elected

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera Trinidad Hermenegildo José María Juan Francisco Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho (13 April 1857 – 26 March 1925) was a Filipino physician, historian and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the First ...

as the first party president. The party dominated

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

politics and derived most of its power from that city The Federalistas, who were favored by the Americans such as governor-general

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

, dominated the assembly until 1905 when internal divisions and the new

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

began to dominate the assembly. Prior to that, the Federalistas expanded their influence in the provinces, winning elections in 1902 and

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

. As long as Taft was the governor-general, the Federalistas enjoyed personal patronage from him. His departure in 1903 marked the beginning of the Federalistas' end. While Taft's departure was a big blow, the declining of importance of appointive government posts and the increasing importance of officials who are elected sapped the party's strength in the provinces.

Renaming to the Partido Progresista

With declining political fortunes, the Federalistas rescinded the statehood platform in 1905. The other political group in the Assembly, those who supported independence (split between the Independistas and the Union Nacionalista), began increasing their ranks, and that the Federalistas attempted to merge with the Union Nacionalistas in December 1906. This made the Federalistas ideologically closer with the Nacionalistas, with Juan Sumulong maintaining close contact with the "conservative" Union Nacionalista leader Rafael Palma. Cullinane (1989), p. 295 In January 1907, the leaders of the party met in

and decided to change the name from "Partido Federalista" to "Partido Nacional Progresista" (Nationalist Progressive Party), as the word "Federal" had become insignificant with the dropping of the statehood platform. The Progresistas embarked on a campaign to win seats at the 1907 elections, although with all but two seats coming from the provinces, the party had a difficult time recruiting followers and candidates. The reception at Progresista political rallies were from lukewarm to hostile, with people heckling "Hang them, kill them". Mojares (2006), p. 151 The Progresista campaign for

's two assembly seats focused on getting more Americans to register – and vote – for them. In the provinces, the Progresistas had a hard time getting candidates, but the

were split into different factions, not on ideological but on personal grounds. Ultimately, the Assembly was won by the Nacionalistas, and the Progresistas became marginalized.

Dissolution

The party managed to win fewer seats in the succeeding elections, eventually being dissolved in the early 1920s. In 1914,

Teodoro Sandiko Teodoro Sandiko y Santa Ana (March 31, 1860 – October 19, 1939) was a Filipino lawyer and former senator of the Philippines. Sandiko played important roles in Philippine history when he held various posts in the Aguinaldo cabinet. After the ...

and other disgruntled Progresistas formed the Partido Democrata Nacional or the Democrata Party (Democrat Nationalist Party) as the leading opposition against the Nacionalistas. Pefianco (2005)

Electoral performance

Senate

Philippine Assembly

Sources

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References

{{reflist Conservative parties in the Philippines Political parties established in 1900 Defunct political parties in the Philippines 1900 establishments in the Philippines Right-wing politics in the Philippines