MANILA, Philippines – The political parties of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Speaker Martin Romualdez have formalized an alliance for the 2025 midterm elections, a move that establishes the base of the administration’s senatorial ticket in next year’s vote.

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Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) signed the agreement with Romualdez’s Lakas-CMD on Wednesday, May 8.

PFP, according to its national president South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo, is home to nearly half of the governors in the country.

Lakas-CMD, where Romualdez is party president, is the most dominant bloc in the House, boasting 100 members that account for one-third of the chamber’s members.

The alliance has also been eyeing to recruit other power blocs in Congress – Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party, and Nationalist People’s Coalition – into the fold, Marcos had said on May 1.

Marcos has yet to announce the senatorial candidates that he would be backing.

The PFP and Lakas-CMD were part of the UniTeam alliance in 2022, which catapulted Marcos and running mate Vice President Sara Duterte to the country’s top posts in a landslide election victory.

Duterte’s regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago was part of that alliance, but Tamayo was non-committal when asked whether HNP will be part of the administration coalition in 2025.

Duterte has figured in apparent rifts with Speaker Romualdez and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, raising serious doubts on the formidability of the UniTeam alliance, heading to next year’s polls.

Duterte remains part of Marcos’ Cabinet as education secretary, as the President insists on keeping her.

The Vice President has also faced calls to resign as education secretary, amid the attacks of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and her siblings against Marcos.

The midterm election also indicates public approval and the political influence of the incumbent president.

A Pulse Asia Research Incorporated survey in March said Filipinos’ top concerns were controlling inflation, raising workers’ salaries, creating more jobs, and fighting corruption in government. – Rappler.com