PROMDI

The Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives or Probinsya Muna Development Initiative (lit. 'Province First Development Initiative';^[2] IPA: [prɔˈbɪnʃa ˈmuna]), abbreviated as PROMDI or Abag-Promdi, is a political party in the Philippines based in Cebu.

Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives
Abbreviation	PROMDI
President	Mariano "Mimo" Osmeña
Founder	Lito Osmeña
Founded	1997
Headquarters	Cebu
Ideology	Devolution[1]
Seats in the Senate	0 / 24
Seats in the House of Representatives	0 / 304
Website
www.abagpromdi.com
Politics of the Philippines Political parties Elections

The party was founded in 1997 by Lito Osmeña, a former governor of Cebu, for his 1998 presidential campaign. Their main ideology is devolution.

In 2021, PROMDI formed an alliance with Manny Pacquiao's PDP–Laban wing and the People's Champ Movement (PCM), dubbed as the MP3 alliance. They officially nominated Pacquiao as their candidate in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.

History

PROMDI was founded in 1997 by Lito Osmeña, who served as governor of Cebu (1988–1992) and chief economic adviser to President Fidel V. Ramos (1993–1997), and was Ramos' unsuccessful running mate in the 1992 presidential election.^[3][4][5] A former officer of Lakas, Osmeña formed PROMDI for his unsuccessful presidential bid in 1998; his running mate was former South Cotabato governor Ismael Sueno.^[4] In the House of Representatives, PROMDI won four district seats and a party-list seat represented by Joy Augustus Young.^[6][7][8]

In 2001, President Joseph Estrada was ousted in the Second EDSA Revolution and Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ascended to the presidency. PROMDI joined the pro-Arroyo People Power Coalition (PPC) alongside Lakas, Reporma, Aksyon, the Liberal Party, and PDP-Laban.^[9] The party won three district seats in the House.^[10] However, they were disqualified from the party-list election for failing to meet the criteria of representing the "marginalized and underrepresented" in accordance with the Party-list System Act (R.A. 7941).^[11][12] In Cebu City, PROMDI's Tomas Osmeña and Mike Rama were elected mayor and vice mayor, respectively.^[13][14][15]

The 2004 election was dominated by two major coalitions: the pro-Arroyo K4 and the opposition KNP. However, PROMDI opted to join Aksyon and Reporma (former Arroyo supporters) to form a third smaller coalition, the Alyansa ng Pag-asa (Alliance of Hope). They supported the presidential bid of Aksyon's Raul Roco.^[16] In 2010, Osmeña unsuccessfully ran for a Senate seat.^[17]

In June 2021, Osmeña announced the revival of PROMDI and their plans to contest the 2022 election at national level.^[18] Osmeña died the following month. His son, Mimo, became the new party president.^[4][19] On September 18, PROMDI signed an alliance agreement with the Pacquiao–Pimentel wing of PDP-Laban and the People's Champ Movement (PCM), dubbed the MP3 alliance.^[20][21] On September 26, Senator Manny Pacquiao took his oath as member of PROMDI and was named their honorary chairperson.^[22] The party then nominated him as their presidential candidate for 2022.^[23] When Pacquiao filed his candidacy on October 1, he declared PROMDI as his party, but asserted that he was not abandoning the leadership dispute of PDP-Laban.^[24][25] Pacquiao's running mate, House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza of Buhay party-list, also filed his candidacy under PROMDI.^[26][27]

Mimo Osmeña filed his certificate of candidacy on October 11, 2024,^[28] to run as Congressman under the Promdi Party List.

Name and symbols

Promdi is a Filipino slang referring to people from the provinces or rural areas.^[29] It is derived from the accented pronunciation of "from the province" and it used to be a derogatory term for Filipinos living outside Metro Manila, who were stereotyped as unsophisticated or socially awkward.^[30][31]

Political positions

In June 2021, PROMDI declared three major platforms: "the devolution of power and initiative, a responsive and relevant educational system, and advanced and tactical nuclearization".^[1] The party calls for devolution "to ensure that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and business they affect".^[18] They criticize the unitary system of government based in Imperial Manila as "highly bureaucratic, inefficient, and unresponsive", accusing it of neglecting the provinces.^[1] They also want to reform the education system to be "responsive to the needs and wants" of localities. As such, the imposition of national academic standards and assessments should be reviewed.^[18] They encourage vocational education and call for the defunding of for-profit education. They also push for the transition to renewable energy.^[1] Lastly, they call for the acquisition of nuclear weapons as deterrence, since the Philippines is a "small nation" that must defend itself from "advances by superpowers".^[18]

Organization and structure

PROMDI claims to have 3 million members nationwide as of June 2021.^[18]

Party leadership

Position	Name
President	Mariano "Mimo" Osmeña
Executive vice president	Chavi Labtic
Secretary general	Oscar Canton
Deputy secretary general	Neil Labrador
Honorary chairperson	Manny Pacquiao
Vice president for Luzon	Roy Ilbay
Vice president for the Visayas	Fernando Celeste
Vice president for Mindanao	Andrade Lagos
Treasurer	Caridad Onde

• As of September 26, 2021 (Osmeña & Pacquiao); June 4, 2021 (other officers)
• Sources:^[18][32][33]

Party presidents

• Lito Osmeña (1997–2021)
• Mimo Osmeña (2021–present)

Electoral performance

Presidential elections

Election	Candidate	Number of votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election
1998	Lito Osmeña	3,347,631	12.44%	Lost
2004	Supported Raul Roco who lost
2010	N/A
2016	N/A
2022	Manny Pacquiao	3,663,113	6.81%	Lost

Vice presidential elections

Election	Candidate	Number of votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election
1998	Ismael Sueno	537,677	2.10%	Lost
2004	Supported Herminio Aquino who lost
2010	N/A
2016	N/A
2022	Lito Atienza	270,381	0.52%	Lost

Senate elections

Election	Number of votes	Share of votes	Seats won	Seats after	Outcome of election
2010	3,980,370	1.34%	0 / 12	0 / 24	Lost
2022	Candidate rejected by the Commission on Elections[a]

House of Representatives elections

Election	Districts		Party-list		Seats	Outcome
	Votes	%	Votes	%
1998	586,954	2.40%	255,184	2.79%	5 / 257	Joined the majority bloc
2001			Disqualified		3 / 256	Joined the majority bloc
2004			N/A			Lost
2007						Lost
2010	Did not participate
2013
2016
2019
2022	288,049	0.60%	N/A		0 / 316	Lost

Notes

1. PROMDI fielded one candidate: Roben Parashan. He was not included in the final list of candidates.^[34][35]

References

1. Letigio, Delta Dyrecka (June 3, 2021). "PROMDI party to support like-minded candidates nationwide". CDN Digital (Cebu Daily News). Inquirer Group. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
2. Endorsed the candidacy of Emmanuel Pelaez of Liberal Party.
3. Teehankee 2006, p. 276
4. Saavedra, John Rey (July 20, 2021). "Former Cebu Gov. Lito Osmeña passes away". Philippine News Agency. Cebu City. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
5. Languido, Fred P. (July 20, 2021). "Former Cebu governor Lito Osmeña passes away". The Freeman. Cebu: Philstar Global Corp. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
6. Teehankee 2002, p. 173
7. Teehankee 2006, p. 246
8. "BOPK may field Abellanosa or Ong for mayor. A repeat of Labella-Rama tandem for Barug? Surveys, political developments lead to final choices". SunStar Cebu. SunStar Publishing Inc. May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021. Joy Young ... party-list representative for Promdi (1998-2001).
9. Teehankee 2002, p. 174
10. Teehankee 2002, p. 175
11. Porcalla, Delon (July 28, 2001). "MAD, other parties disqualified from party-list polls". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
12. Llamas, Ronaldo M. (September 2001). "The 2001 Party-List Elections: Winners, Losers and Political/Legal Contradictions" (PDF). FES Online Papers. Manila: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Philippine Office.
13. "120 Aspirants Vying For 40 Cebu Positions". The Philippine Star. March 3, 2001. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
14. Oaminal, Clarence Paul (April 21, 2016). "The grandfather and grandson Cebu City mayors". The Freeman. Philstar Global Corp. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
15. Oaminal, Clarence Paul (April 24, 2016). "The Grandfather and Grandson Cebu City Mayors (Part II)". The Freeman. Philstar Global Corp. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
16. Teehankee 2006, p. 235
17. Llanto, Jesus F. (November 29, 2009). "Another Osmeña running for senator". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
18. Rubio, Gregg M. (June 4, 2021). "Lito o son eyes congress seat: PROMDI is back". The Freeman. Cebu: Philstar Media Group. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
19. Cordova, Calvin (September 27, 2021). "PROMDI head sees Pacquiao as 'new type of leader'". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
20. Villamor-Ilano, Marites (September 19, 2021). "PDP-Laban forms alliance with Promdi, PCM to support Pacquiao". SunStar Manila. SunStar Publishing Inc. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
21. Valente, Catherine S. (September 19, 2021). "Pacquiao-led PDP-Laban forges alliances for 2022". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
22. Erram, Morexette Marie B. (September 26, 2021). "Promdi endorses Pacquiao for Presidential bid, becomes party's "honorary chair"". Cebu Daily News. Inquirer Holdings Incorporated. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
23. Escosio, Jan V. (September 27, 2021). "Promdi backing strengthens Pacquiao's bid for presidency". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
24. Rey, Aika (October 1, 2021). "First presidential bet to file candidacy: Manny Pacquiao". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
25. Villaruel, Jauhn Etienne (October 1, 2021). "Pacquiao runs for president under Cebu-based party amid PDP-Laban squabble". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
26. Santos, Jel (October 1, 2021). "Atienza files COC for vice president as Pacquiao's running mate". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
27. Maru, Davinci (October 1, 2021). "Pacquiao picks Lito Atienza as running-mate for 2022 polls". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
28. Nievera, Homerun (12 October 2024). "Mimo Osmeña Relaunches PROMDI Party List". Diariong Tagalog. Herald Media. Negosentro Media Group. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
29. Domingo, Katrina (September 29, 2021). "Pacquiao accepts second nomination for president from PROMDI party". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
30. "Lito O changed 'Promdi' image, transformed Cebu". SunStar Cebu. July 21, 2021. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
31. "Tagalog Slang". seasite.niu.edu. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
32. Palaubsanon, Mitchelle L. (September 27, 2021). "PROMDI declares Pacquiao as standard bearer for 2022". The Freeman. Philstar Media Group. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
33. Erram, Morexette Marie B. (September 26, 2021). "Promdi endorses Pacquiao for Presidential bid, becomes party's "honorary chair"". Cebu Daily News (CDN). Cebu City: Inquirer Holdings Incorporated. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
34. "List: National post aspirants who filed COCs for 2022". CNN Philippines. October 8, 2021. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
35. Fernandez, Daniza (January 6, 2022). "64 Senate aspirants in Comelec's updated tentative list". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.

Bibliography

• Teehankee, Julio C. (2002). "Electoral Politics in the Philippines". In Croissant, Aurel; Bruns, Gabriele; John, Marei (eds.). Electoral Politics in Southeast and East Asia (PDF). Singapore: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. pp. 149–202. ISBN 981-04-6020-1. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
• Teehankee, Julio C. (2006). "Consolidation or crisis of clientelistic democracy? The 2004 synchronized elections in the Philippines". In Croissant, Aurel; Martin, Beate (eds.). Between Consolidation and Crisis: Elections and Democracy in Five Nations in Southeast Asia. Berlin: LIT Verlag. pp. 215–276. ISBN 3-8258-8859-2.