Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats (), abbreviated as Lakas–CMD and popularly known as Lakas, was a political party in the Philippines. Its ideology and that of its successor is heavily influenced by Christian and Islamic democracy. The party's influence on Philippine society is very strong, especially after the People Power Revolution, which has led the country to elect two presidents from the party, namely Fidel V. Ramos, a United Methodist, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a Roman Catholic.
In May 2009, Lakas–CMD merged with Arroyo's Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino, thereby being known as Lakas Kampi CMD, a completely new entity. In May 2012, Lakas Kampi CMD renamed itself again as Lakas–CMD after the separation of KAMPI.
History
Early days and Ramos administration
In late 1985, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (founded in February 1982), Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), and Lakas ng Bansa parties united to form the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) coalition. The alliance supported the candidacies of Corazon C. Aquino and former Member of the Interim Batasang Pambansa Salvador H. Laurel for president and vice president, respectively, in the February 7, 1986, snap election.
By 1986, the PDP had formally merged with LABAN, the party founded in 1978 by Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., Corazon Aquino's husband, to form the PDP–Laban.
In the May 1987 legislative elections, UNIDO, under the name "Lakas ng Bayan", became the dominant party in both Houses of Congress, electing Representative Ramon Mitra, Jr. of Palawan as Speaker of the House of Representatives. UNIDO would be dissolved soon after.
In mid-1988, PDP–Laban was split into two factions: the Pimentel Wing of Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. of Misamis Oriental and the Cojuangco Wing of Tarlac Representative Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, Jr. The Cojuangco Wing and the Lakas ng Bansa party of Speaker Mitra merged on September 16, 1988, to form the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino party while the Pimentel Wing remained as the PDP–Laban party.
In 1991, as LDP was preparing for its plans for the upcoming May 1992 national elections, several well-known politicians in the country jockeyed the party to get its nomination for several national positions. In the same year, President Cory Aquino's National Defense Secretary and retired General Fidel V. Ramos joined the party in order to gain its support for his 1992 presidential bid.
On November 30, 1991, LDP, then the nation's largest political party, held a national convention to select its presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 1992 Philippine presidential election. In the convention, Mitra and Ramos vied for the presidential nomination. After losing the nomination to Mitra, Ramos cried foul and bolted the party in December 1991. He later founded the United People Power Movement (UPPM) together with then-Pangasinan 4th District Representative Jose de Venecia Jr., and the name was later changed to Partido Lakas ng Tao (People Power Party). The new party was formally launched on January 3, 1992, at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.
Upon the initiative of Congressman de Venecia, Ramos merged the party with the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD), a cluster of the Progressive Party of the Philippines founded in 1968 by former senator Raul Manglapus as the Christian Democratic Socialist Movement. As they coalesced, the party became known as Lakas ng Tao–National Union of Christian Democrats, with Lakas ng Tao usually just shortened to "Lakas" and abbreviated as Lakas–NUCD.
Ramos invited then-Cebu Governor Emilio Mario Osmeña Jr. to be his running-mate for the 1992 elections. Ramos won the May 11, 1992 election, garnering 23.58% of the vote and defeating former Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago of the People's Reform Party, Speaker Mitra and four other presidential contenders. Osmeña lost the vice-presidential election, placing third behind Senator Joseph E. Estrada of the Nationalist People's Coalition and Mitra's running mate, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Marcelo B. Fernan. Santiago cried fraud and filed an electoral protest citing power outages as evidence. Her protest was eventually dismissed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines in a technicality.