Marcos party, Lakas-CMD to field common Senate slate

DESPITE fraying relations with the patriarch of the Duterte clan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he would reassemble the UniTeam coalition that swept him and Vice President Sara Duterte to power.

The President said this after his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas formalized an alliance with the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the dominant party in the House of Representatives — to pave the way for a common slate of candidates for senator in the 2025 midterm elections.

In his speech at the signing ceremony at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City, Marcos said he was encouraged by the overwhelming support of the Filipino people during the 2022 presidential elections.

“Like what we did in the past election, we will reassemble; we have to formalize it because there is a political cycle, so we will reassemble it. We will formalize the UniTeam anew,” the President said.

Marcos said the political alliance would continue to foster unity among its members and allies, as this has been proven effective from the elections to his governance.

“What we have conceptualized, we really began in the previous campaign, and [given the results of] the previous election, we are encouraged,” Marcos said.

Marcos, the PFP presidential candidate in the 2022 polls, said the alliance was a significant moment for Philippine politics and public service as members of both parties formalize and build an alliance that will propel the country toward his vision of Bagong Pilipinas.

He also said the government needed to carry out fundamental structural and policy changes to help the nation navigate the future.

“To do that, we have to make some very fundamental structural and policy changes. We cannot do those policy changes without the support of the legislature. Legislative support for any policy is absolutely necessary,” he said.

Under the whole-of-government approach, Marcos said, government agencies were now working with one another along with the legislative branch of the government in what he called “transformative politics.”
President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTO BY YUMMIE DINGDING/ PPA POOL

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTO BY YUMMIE DINGDING/ PPA POOL 

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTO BY YUMMIE DINGDING/ PPA POOL

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTO BY YUMMIE DINGDING/ PPA POOL 

President Ferdinand Marcos poses with members of his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party of Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. PHOTO BY YUMMIE DINGDING/ PPA POOL

“We have not yet reached that aspiration, but if we stay united, if we look at the successes and the progress that we have made in the last two years, I’m confident that if we maintain that unity … then we will continue to be met with success, we will continue to be met with the progress that we dreamed of for a new Philippines and a new Filipino,” he said.

PFP President and South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. and Speaker Martin Romualdez signed the two parties’ alliance agreement.

“In view of the shared vision of the PFP and Lakas-CMD, the parties have agreed to forge this alliance that will pave the way for strength and continued positive change for the country to usher in a Bagong Pilipinas,” the agreement read.

The PFP, Lakas-CMD, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), Partido ng Masang Pilipino and guest candidates from other parties comprised the UniTeam Alliance in the run-up to the 2022 national polls.

While Marcos said the UniTeam is still intact, his alliance with the vice president has been called into doubt after her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, called the President a drug addict in January.

Duterte has figured in apparent rifts with Romualdez and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, raising serious doubts about the UniTeam alliance heading into next year’s polls.

In an interview, Romualdez said the alliance was open to expanding its partnership with other major political parties in the country, including the Dutertes.

“Anything is possible,” Romualdez said when asked if they are open to forging an alliance with former president Duterte’s Partido ng Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Romualdez also said they were “still open for discussion” on forging an alliance with Vice President Duterte’s party, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago.

But the speaker said that only those politicians who were in favor of the proposed Charter change would be included in their senatorial slate.

He said they would announce the slate at the proper time after proper consultation.

“The alliance will be fielding a full slate,” Romualdez said. “It’s an ongoing process; it’s not yet done.”

“There are many, many considerations there, and we leave it to the collective wisdom of the alliance leadership,” he added.

With 100 lawmakers, Lakas-CMD is the biggest party in the House of Representatives. The PFP, on the other hand, will have 50 of the country’s 82 governors.

Sen. Bong Revilla, chairman of the Lakas-CMD, said he was upbeat about the alliance with PFP.

“I am truly excited. With the strengthening of this alliance, the realization of the administration’s goals towards a New Philippines will not only continue but also accelerate,” Revilla said.

— Reina C. Tolentino and Javier Joe Ismael