Party's History
The political leaders forming UNIDO such as prominent anti-Marcos leaders like Former Senator and Batangas Assemblyman Salvador Laurel, former president Diosdado Macapagal, Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco, Senator Gerardo Roxas, Manila Assemblyman Lito Atienza, Antique Governor Evelio Javier, Mandaluyong Assemblyman Neptali Gonzales, Pampanga Governor Joe Lingad, Senator John Osmena, Senator Dominador Aytona, Senator and renowned nationalist statesman Lorenzo Tanada, Senator Eva Estrada Kalaw, Senator Rene Espina, Senator Mamintal Tamano, Senator Domocao Alonto and nephew Abul Kharyl, Assemblyman Raul Gonzales, Assemblyman Homobono Adaza, former Philippine Collegian editor-in-chief and leftist-bent journalist Abe Sarmiento, and all significant personalities that contributed to the fall of the Marcos dictatorship.
The political groups allied with UNIDO were the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-LABAN) represented by Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Bansang Nagkakaisa sa Diwa at Layunin (BANDILA) led by Agapito Aquino, the younger brother of Ninoy Aquino and one of the founders of August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM).
UNIDO gained momentum in the last week of November 1985, when President Ferdinand Marcos called for a presidential election due to mounted political pressures. At first, UNIDO supported Senator Salvador Laurel of Batangas as its standard bearer, but business tycoon Chino Roces was not convinced that Laurel or Jovito Salonga could defeat Marcos in the polls. Roces argued that Corazon Aquino, the widow of assassinated Senator Aquino, should be the candidate for president. Roces initiated the Cory Aquino for President Movement (CAPM) to gather one million signatures in one week to urge Aquino to run as president, convincing Aquino to do so. Aquino was made the presidential bet of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan party. However, Laurel did not give way to Aquino for the opposition's nomination as President until he was convinced by Cardinal Jaime Sin to run as her running-mate. Aquino had previously approached Laurel with a deal, wherein Aquino would give up her allegiance to the PDP-LABAN party and run as president under the UNIDO banner, with Laurel running for Vice President, effectively uniting the opposition groups against Marcos. Laurel had also previously offered Aquino the Vice Presidential nomination for UNIDO. In any case, Aquino ran for president under the UNIDO banner, with PDP-LABAN endorsing UNIDO coalition.
The campaign was made in the month of January 1986, for the February elections. Although she was officially reported to have lost the election to Marcos, the elections were widely believed to be fraudulent. Both Marcos and Aquino claimed to have won, and held rival inaugurations on February 25, but Marcos then fled in the face of huge popular demonstrations and the refusal of the military to intervene against them.
UNIDO was dissolved after the 1987 Legislative and General elections, when new parties were formed and parties went to their own separate ways. Among the parties formed from UNIDO, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino became the dominant party of the Philippines until 1992.
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