Philippine Political Parties, 1900-1965: A Selected Annotated Bibliography of Printed Materials, with a Historical Introduction

Researcher: HERMINIA H. SANTOS

Course: Master of Library Science

School: University of the Philippines, Quezon City

Subject Area: Bibliography

Year of Graduation: 1966

Abstract

This is an annotated selective bibliography of documents, books, pamphlets, periodical articles, and unpublished materials purportedly indicating the development of Philippine political parties covering the period 1900-1965. It does not include materials published during the Japanese occupation, 1942-1945. Preceding the bibliography proper is a section listing bibliographic aids which would help locate additional materials not included in the bibliography. The bibliography consists of 244 items divided into five sections by type of material. An author-title-subject index is appended for easy reference.

To a limited degree these materials tend to show that political parties as such are seldom free from oligarchical tendencies where only a handful influence and control the decision-making process. The historical introduction (Chapter 2) points out that the Philippines has been essentially a one-party government. Only one party, the Nacionalista Party, dominated the scene and no opposition was effective enough to challenge its power until after independence in 1946 when the two-party system was inaugurated. Despite this fact, the one-party government continued to exist; it was simply a matter of who was “in” or “out.”

Source: Journal of Philippine Librarianship (3: 181-182) 1970