Marcos’ Partido Federal eyes alliances with other parties in race to 2025 midterms

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) has begun its preparations for the 2025 midterm elections, reaching out to other national political parties for potential alliances.

“I suppose it comes as no surprise that the reason that we are having this meeting is that we are trying to start to organize ourselves for the next election of next year,” Marcos said during the induction of 33 new PFP members on Wednesday, May 1.

The list includes 11 governors, 13 vice governors, and three lawmakers.

“You cannot start too early for any election. And so, we have begun,” he added.

South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo “Jun” Tamayo Jr., who is PFP president, said the party is in talks with three political parties for a possible coalition in 2025, but he did not identify those groups.

“As long as we have not set a schedule for the signing of a coalition or alliance agreement, it would be difficult to disclose [which parties they are],” Tamayo said in Filipino during a chance interview with reporters.

Marcos, however, mentioned three parties during his speech.

“We have organized a steering committee. We will then go and make our alliances with different parties. Of course, there is Lakas-CMD, NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition), and NUP (National Unity Party), especially in the House.”

Lakas, the most dominant party in Congress, counts among its members the President’s cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as well as former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

How about Hugpong ng Pagbabago?

Tamayo also said the party has yet to reach out to Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the regional party of Vice President Sara Duterte, but he has not closed the door on the possibility of a partnership.

“We will see if Hugpong really wants to be in an alliance with us. We will see what both sides want in order to achieve a common cause,” he said.

Marcos and Duterte ran as a tandem in 2022, resulting in a landslide victory that has never been seen since the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

It remains unclear, however, if the “Uniteam” that they forged in the previous election will hold up in 2025, amid obvious signs of growing cracks between the Marcos and Duterte families.

These include First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Speaker Romualdez’s separate rifts with the Vice President, and former president Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks against his successor. – Rappler.com