Former senator Bongbong Marcos on Tuesday, October 5, took his oath as a member – and chairman – of a new party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), as the country enters the last few days of the filing of candidacies for the 2022 elections.

“He is now the chairman of the party,” said Vic Rodriguez, PFP executive vice president and Marcos’ lawyer in his electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.

Marcos took his oath on Tuesday, also PFP’s third founding anniversary.

PFP nominated Marcos to be its standard bearer on September 20, also the day of its election, where members kept the chairman post open reserved for Marcos, according to news reports.

Shortly past 3 pm on Tuesday, Marcos declared his decision to run for president.

PFP, founded only three years ago by Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones, is closely associated with the Duterte administration. It has been seeking an alliance with the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the party of Sara Duterte.

In his last press conference on September 24, Marcos said he was still with the Nacionalista Party (NP), his longtime party that’s headed by the Villars. On the same day, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), which was founded by his father the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, also nominated him to be president.

The Marcos camp and its networks have been pushing for his presidential bid, and the social media noise has intensified as the October 8 deadline for the filing of candidacies nears.

Marcos has been in talks with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, for a possible tandem. As of Monday, October 4, Sara was insisting she will just run for reelection.

Asked about Marcos’ ties with the NP, Rodriguez said: “NP will still be a very important ally as we have embraced the policy of having the broadest political alliances.”

This is the recent development to Marcos’ “many, many talks” with administration personalities such as Sara Duterte, President Duterte himself, and Senator Bong Go.

The PFP said it follows the ideals of federalists Pedro Paterno and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. The party was accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in 2018.

– Rappler.com