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Elections for a new set of provincial and local city and municipal officials were held in the Philippines on January 18, 1988 under the new Constitution of the Philippines which was ratified in 1987.
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The local elections was the third nationwide electoral exercise held under the presidency of Corazon Aquino. In February 1987, a new constitution was ratified in a plebiscite. In May, an election for a new congress was held, which was dominated by allies of the president. Aquino said that the elections "will complete the cycle of restoration of democracy."[1]
The local elections were also the first since 1980, while the country, under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, is under under martial law.[1]
A hundred thousand candidates sought 17,000 local positions. Meanwhile, the six-week campaign was marred by violence that left more than 80 individuals dead. Two days prior to elections, a land mine explosion near Iligan, killed four people, including right-wing opposition mayoral and vice-mayoral candidates.[1]
The January 18 elections was expected to be participated by 23 to 27 million voters, nearly half the 57 million qualified voters. All security forces were placed on the alert, particularly to potential trouble areas. However, elections was suspended in 10 of 73 provinces until as late as February to give way for the implementation of special measures against fraud and violence.[1]
Candidates from the PDP-Laban, KBL, PDP-Laban-Lakas ng Bansa, PDP, Biled Ti La Union, Nacionalista Party, Balane, PDP-Laban-Liberal Party, Magdalo, Cory Coalition, National Union of Christian Democrats, Independent Nacionalista ALLIEN, Laban, Pinaghiusa, CCA-Unido, Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, Ompia Party, Timawa Party and UNIDO-LP-Laban, and independents contested in the elections.
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These elections were less fraudulent than the congressional elections, as the ruling party had limited capacity for wholesale fraud. The vigilance of the electorate, media, and the opposition safeguarded the exercise from manipulation. Elections in "hot spots" were postponed by COMELEC to prevent possible violent encounters between rivals. Most of the candidates endorsed by Cory Aquino won the support of the majority of the electorate.
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