House Speaker Martin Romualdez, president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), yesterday rallied the party’s leaders to secure a “sweeping victory” for the 11-member Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate in next month’s midterm elections.
Speaking before governors, legislators, city mayors, and other leaders from across the country, Romualdez urged them to mobilize all their political resources in support of pro-administration candidates, whom he said would sustain President Marcos’ reform agenda.
“Please… please, straight [wins for] Alyansa. We will leave no one behind. That is the desire of our President. They are our true partners. They have proven themselves. They will not let us down before the people,” he said in Filipino during a breakfast meeting held at Imelda Hall, Aguado Residence, Malacañang.
“The victory of the Alyansa is the victory of the people. Our citizens are tired of the noise, drama, and political grandstanding. What they demand is unity, delivery, and continuity—and that’s exactly what this slate offers,” the Speaker pointed out.
Prior to the event, Lakas-CMD leaders observed a minute of silence in honor of the late Pope Francis.
Lakas-CMD leaders, led by House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe (Executive Vice President), Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose Aquino II (Secretary General), Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., and Deputy Speaker David Suarez expressed their full support for Romualdez’s call to rally behind the President’s senatorial candidates.
Provincial governors who attended the breakfast include Fred Castro (Aklan), Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu (Sultan Kudarat), Alonto Mamintal Adiong (Lanao de Sur), Abdusakur Tan (Sulu), Peter Unabia (Misamis Oriental), Xavier Jesus Romualdo (Camiguin), Melchor Diclas (Benguet), James Edduba (Kalinga), and Jose Miraflores (Aklan), and others.
Romualdez told them that the administration’s comprehensive senatorial lineup reflects the party’s deep bench of experience and reformist energy
The official Alyansa slate includes, Benhur Abalos (PFP), Abby Binay (NPC), Pia Cayetano (NP), Lito Lapid (NPC), Ping Lacson (Independent), Manny Pacquiao (Independent), Bong Revilla (Lakas-CMD), Tito Sotto (NPC), Francis Tolentino (PFP), Erwin Tulfo (Lakas-CMD), and Camille Villar (Nacionalista).
The event was attended by all the candidates except Villar, who gave no reason for her absence.
“We are choosing leaders who build, not break. Leaders who legislate, not obstruct. Leaders who offer solutions, not slogans,” Romualdez stressed.
Today, Alyansa’s 11-member Senate slate is set to storm Pampanga, with four major campaign events across the province, each hosted by prominent Kapampangan leaders.
With 1.67 million registered voters, Pampanga stands as a political stronghold and a key battleground in the May midterm elections.
Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, Alyansa’s campaign manager, said, “Pampanga is a game-changer. Its people want leaders who will work, not grandstand, and that’s exactly what Alyansa stands for.”
As this developed, Vice President Sara Duterte said friendship, motherhood, and her father’s arrest drove her to endorse Villar and re-electionist Senator Imee Marcos in the upcoming senatorial elections, despite her previously stating that she would not endorse candidates.
“Things change because of the former president’s arrest and being brought to The Hague. When we arrived at The Hague, President Duterte asked if I could help some senators… his party has only 10 candidates,” she said in an ambush interview in Cebu on Tuesday.
“With Camille Villar and Senator Imee Marcos… it wasn’t odd or awkward. I personally know Imee Marcos, and she knows me. I’ve also known Camille for a long time. We have long had exchanges about motherhood,” Duterte said in Filipino.
The younger Duterte said her father was not informed about her endorsement of the two candidates, who are closely associated with the administration’s senatorial ticket.
This is the first time the Vice President personally addressed her Senate choices since Senator Marcos released a campaign video entitled ITIM or ‘Inday Trusts Imee Marcos’, along with photos of Villar and Duterte doing the signature fist-bump pose, which circulated on social media.
