By then, Poe and Lacson have both filed their certificates of candidacies. According to the rules of candidacy, every presidential candidate must have a political party to back him or her. With the obvious split within the ranks of the LDP, and with no signs that the two factions would come to an agreement, the COMELEC decided to informally split the party into the Aquino and the Angara wings. Lacson then ran under the LDP – Aquino Wing, and Poe under the LDP – Angara Wing, which would later become the KNP.

During the campaign period, there had been numerous unification talks between the two factions. The opposition saw the need to become united under one banner to boost their chances of winning the presidential election against the organized political machinery of Arroyo. The plans of unification did not materialize due to the stubbornness of both Poe and Lacson. Lacson wanted Poe to concede to him and run as his vice-presidential candidate while the supporters of Poe wanted Lacson to back-out from his candidacy and instead support Poe, citing his low performance in the surveys. There are no results available of the last elections for the House of Representatives, but according to the website of the House, the party holds 7 out of 235 seats (state of the parties, June 2005). The party is divided into two factions. The faction led by Edgardo Angara was at the 2004 elections member of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (Coalition of United Filipinos).

Other Information

• Leader : Edgardo Angara
• President : Miguel Romero
• Chairman : Edgardo Angara
• Secretary-General : Juan Edgardo Angara
• Founded : 1988
• Headquarters : Aurora
• Political ideology : Liberalism, Social conservatism
• International affiliation : None
• Colors : Blue, Yellow
• Seats in the Senate : 1
• Seats in the House of Representatives : 3