Popular Front | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Vicente Sotto |
| Founders | Juan Sumulong |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Dissolved | 1950 |
| Preceded by | Democrata Party |
ThePopular Front (Spanish:Frente Popular)[1] is a defunct political party founded in 1934 to oppose the then-dominantNacionalista Party.[2]
After the1934 elections, Popular Front was established by mainly poorly organized minorities (including someDemocrata Party members), and was reorganized in 1937 to be an official opposition party. Popular Front hardly lacked leadership, and it lacked a program, even though one of its founders,Juan Sumulong, a former senator, with the membership of former president and generalEmilio Aguinaldo andPhilippine Independent Church head bishopGregorio Aglipay. In 43 provincial governors, only 2 Popular Front members won.[2]
However, in November 1941, left-wing and right-wing factions arose in the party ranks, as Sumulong led the right-wing faction whilePedro Abad Santos was the leader of the hard-left. Abad Santos challenged each other's right to enroll under the Popular Front banner. Abad Santos accused Sumulong's faction members as members of the Democrata Nacional or Democrata party, or being its identical twin, and being nationalists but "tools of the capitalists," with the contrast of Abad Santos' Marxist stance. While Sumulong, blasted Abad Santos for spreading Communist ideas, and stated that Communists and their believers should not identify themeseleves as member of the Popular Front. The elections commission settled the dispute, by recognizing the both factions, with Sumulong and Abad Santos as legitimate leaders of the party.[2]
Both Sumulong, and Abad Santos have their ownpresidential ambition in 1941. Sumulong choose Emilio Javier as running mate, while Abad Santos picked Aglipay's wife as his running mate. Later Abad Santos withdrawn. But the two factions were defeated by incumbentsManuel L. Quezon (president) andSergio Osmeña (vice president).[3] In the return ofsenate chamber in 1941, no one won in the slate, and in thelower house, only 2 seat got.[4] ButVicente Sotto, a Cebuano senator, who also lost in 1941, became senator in1946 while in the party.[5]
In response to the peasant violence inPampanga, in 1941, GovernorSotero Baluyut with support from the Quezon administration, made efforts to undermine the influence of Popular Front mayors in the province along with the removal of some of its party members in power. These were made due to concerns of socialist backing.[6]: 57
| Year | Presidential election | Vice presidential election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Vote share | Result | Candidate | Votes | Vote share | Result | |
| 1941 | Juan Sumulong[n 1] | 298,608 | 17.85% | Manuel Quezon (Nacionalista) | Emilio Javier[n 2] | 124,035 | 7.74% | Sergio Osmeña (Nacionalista) |
| Senate elections | Senate Seats won | Result | President | House Seats won | Result | House elections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 0 / 24 | Lost | Manuel Quezon | 2 / 98 | Lost | 1941 |
| 1946 | 1 / 24 | Lost | Manuel Roxas | 1 / 98 | Lost | 1946 |
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