From opposition in 2022, Iloilo’s top officials now back Marcos’ Senate ticket

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Iloilo leaders are backing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Senate slate, but his sister Imee, excluded from the administration’s lineup, joins them at local campaign rallies

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Top officials of Iloilo City and province have publicly endorsed the administration-backed Senate slate, marking a departure from their previous support for opposition candidates.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas are now rallying Ilonggos to back the senatorial bets of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, an alliance formed to support President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.

Iloilo is the 12th vote-richest province in the midterm elections, with 1,319,109 registered voters, according to the Commission on Elections. The highly urbanized Iloilo City has 330,621 registered voters.

Defensor, who is seeking a final term, said the recent proclamation rally of his slate at the Tamasak Arena in Barotac Nuevo was an “important gathering” to heed the president’s personal request.

“The president asked us to help campaign and vote for the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas because the president needs them in the Senate […] in the next three years of his administration,” he said on Sunday, March 30.

He stressed the need to support the president’s senatorial slate to ensure effective governance.

“These senators, and the policies and programs they will push and pass, will affect the performance of the president and will affect our work,” he said.

Several senatorial candidates joined Defensor during the proclamation rally, among them Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar and reelectionist Senator Francis Tolentino. Incidentally, Marcos’ senator sister Imee, who was dropped from the administration ticket, also came.

Defensor aligned with the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the president’s political party, in August 2023 after previously being a member of the National Unity Party (NUP).

In Iloilo City, senatorial candidates of the Marcos administration also attended the kickoff rally of Treñas’ Team Uswag.

Villar and reelectionist Senator Bong Revilla came for the rally which drew thousands of supporters. Senator Marcos also graced the event.

In a separate Facebook post, Treñas said the support of the three senatorial candidates “reinforces our shared dreams for progress and a brighter future for all Ilonggos.”

Treñas, a member of the NUP, had earlier declared his support for the Marcos administration’s Senate bets.

In past elections, both Treñas and Defensor backed opposition candidates with close ties to the Liberal Party, which has traditionally held sway in Iloilo.

During the 2022 presidential elections, despite their party, the NUP, endorsing Marcos Jr., the two top Iloilo officials supported former vice president Leni Robredo for president. – Rappler.com