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Delon Porcalla - The Philippine Star
April 30, 2025 | 12:00am
President Marcos introduces the 12 administration candidates running for senator in 2025 during the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas convention in Pasay City yesterday. In photo are DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Lito Lapid, former senator Manny Pacquiao, former Senate president Tito Sotto, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, Las Piñas City Rep. Camille Villar, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, Sen. Bong Revilla, former senator Panfilo Lacson and Makati Mayor Abby Binay. Sen. Imee Marcos did not attend the event.
STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — With most Filipinos voting for candidates asserting the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, administration-backed Alyansa bets are headed for a landslide victory in the May midterm elections, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said yesterday.
A recent Social Weather Stations survey showed 75 percent of respondents will vote for candidates who believe that “the Philippines must assert our rights against China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.”
“It is clear in the survey result that support is wide for senatorial candidates of President Marcos,” Gonzales said.
Candidates of Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas “share the President’s steadfast assertion of our country’s economic, sovereign and territorial interests in the West Philippine Sea, which is part of our country’s exclusive economic zone,” Gonzales noted.
Quezon Rep. David Suarez said the survey sends an unmistakable message that Filipinos reject China’s aggression and disinformation and demand leaders who will defend our rights in the West Philippine Sea.
“The Filipino people have spoken. They reject China’s bullying and they reject candidates who would allow foreign powers to trample on our rights. This is a fight for our sovereignty, our future and our dignity as a nation,” he said.
Recent findings of a Senate inquiry confirmed security reports that China is attempting to interfere in the midterm polls through coordinated disinformation and covert political backing, Suarez pointed out.
Sara at PDP-Laban campaign
Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday confirmed her attendance at PDP-Laban’s miting de avance on May 8 in Manila.
“When I decided to campaign for senators endorsed by former president Rodrigo Duterte, back when he was turned over to (the International Criminal Court), the party-list had finished drafting its schedule,” she told reporters on the sidelines of a sortie in Bohol.
“Based on my discussion with PDP secretary general Wendel Avisado, I’d be joining them at the miting de avance,” she added.
The Vice President has been attending local campaign sorties, urging voters to support the party’s candidates as well as Sen. Imee Marcos and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar.
“I spoke with my father yesterday. The former president told me to urge people to vote for the PDP-Laban lineup,” she said.
Duterte said her father also convinced her to change her plans about not joining campaign sorties.
“Yes, I will join sorties. I am re-strategizing. I was planning to go around thanking people, but the former president told me to stop beating around the bush and urge people that they should vote straight,” she said. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Neil Jayson Servallos
