Political parties have been the major driving force in Philippine politics throughout history. Voters, therefore, assess their candidate of choice not by the candidate alone but by the candidate as part of a political party. This way, they can better picture the candidate's leanings and even the kind of reformations, laws and projects their candidate might make.

Unlike other countries, the Philippines has a multi-party system in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone. Hence, all winning parties are expected to work together.