MANILA, Philippines — With the survey numbers of administration slate candidates dropping and their main endorser’s trust and popularity ratings falling to their lowest thus far, Speaker Martin Romualdez urged fellow Lakas-CMD party mates to make it their “mission” to support the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas Senate bets.
“Please lang, please. [Vote] straight Alyansa. Diinan natin lahat sila, walang iwanan dito. Ito ang gusto ng ating Mahal na Pangulo. They are our true partners,” Romualdez told a crowd of over 200 politicians on Tuesday, April 22, at the Imelda Hall at the Aguado Residence, just a stone’s throw away from Malacañang Palace.
(Please, please. [Vote] straight Alyansa. Let’s double down our support, we leave nobody behind. This is what our President wants. They are our true partners.)
“When Lakas moves, the nation follows. And today, we are moving with purpose,” he added.
Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas is the administration-led coalition composed of the the biggest parties and clans in Philippine politics. Lakas-CMD, officially the dominant majority party in the 2025 midterm elections, is part of the coalition alongside President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).
According to Lakas-CMD, it is fielding 6,114 candidates in the 2025 polls, to include two senatorial candidates (Alyansa bets reelectionist Senator Bong Revilla and ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo), 21 gubernatorial bets, 29 vice gubernatorial bets, and 125 congressional district candidates.
Lakas also has 38 city mayoralty bets, 39 city vice mayor bets, 572 municipal mayor candidates, 518 municipal vice mayoralty bets, 4,089 municipal councilors bets, and 250 provincial board candidates
The meeting at Aguado included candidates and Lakas members from across the Philippines.
The Lakas meeting was held less than a week after Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated released the results of this March 23 to 29 survey, which showed Marcos’ approval and trust ratings plunging to their lowest in his presidency.
‘No ifs and buts’
Romualdez, himself a candidate for reelection in Leyte’s 1st District, said the 11-person Alyansa slate represents the “best candidates for the Philippine Senate” who would be the administration coalition’s “partners in peace, progress, and prosperity.”
“Dapat talaga diretso tayo dito sa Alyansa, no ifs and buts about it. Ito talaga ang hinihingi ko sa inyo (We need to vote straight for Alyansa, no ifs or buts about it. This is really what I ask of you),” said Romualdez, according to a Lakas press statement.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, Lakas Party executive vice president; Agusan del Norte Represenative Jose “Joboy” S. Aquino II, Lakas secretary general; as well as House leaders Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. and Deputy Speaker David “Jay-Jay” Suarez joined Romualdez in the meeting.e
Incumbent govenors who were at the meeting were Fred Castro (Capiz), 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), according to Lakas.
The Alyansa lineup used to be a complete 12-person slate until reelectionist Senator Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, said she could not campaign with the slate in the aftermath of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s custody. Even before Senator Marcos withdrew from the Alyansa slate a second time, the President urged voters in vote-rich Laguna to vote for an 11-person slate and did not mention his sister in his speech.
President Marcos and Senator Marcos are cousins of Speaker Romualdez through their mother, former legislator and first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos. But Senator Marcos had long been outside her brother’s inner circle as President — in contrast to Speaker Romualdez, who has been a close ally and constant companion of President Marcos in both official and unofficial functions.
“This is not business as usual. This is a mission. We are not simply endorsing candidates — we are rallying behind a shared vision aligned with the values and direction of President Marcos,” said Romualdez, who also took an active role in the 2022 elections.
Duterte bets’ numbers up
Three years ago, Romualdez was co-campaign manager of vice presidential run of Sara Duterte, the other half of the vaunted Uniteam.
The Marcos-Duterte alliance has since crumbled, with a Marcos-allied and Romualdez-led House impeaching Duterte as vice president shortly before a long break in session for the 2025 elections.
All notions of co-exsitence between the two powerful political clans ceased when the 2025 campaign kicked off, with President Marcos casting the elections as a choice between his “Bagong Pilipinas” and a pro-China, pro-POGO, bloody past under former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In early March, the Philippine government enforced International Criminal Court arrest warrant on the former president. The older Duterte, who himself had endorsed a 9-turned-10-person Senate slate, is now in The Hague where he will face charges of crimes against humanity over his bloody drug war.
Aside from Lakas-CMD and PFP, the Villar-led Nacionalista Party (NP), National Unity Party (NUP), and Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) are members of the Alyansa.
All bets of the slate — save for Deputy House Speaker Camille Villar — attended the Lakas gathering on Tuesday.
Alyansa bets dominate preference polls ahead of the 2025 elections, even as many of them have seen their numbers slip since the same surveys were held in December 2024 and January 2025 before the campaign kickoff, and in February 2025 as the campaign had already began.
In contrast, former president Duterte’s bets seemed to have gained traction since the campaign started. The former president’s long-time aides, former presidential assistant and reelectionist Senator Bong Go and former police chief Senator Ronald dela Rosa, have seen their numbers rise since the national campaign period kicked off. – Rappler.com