Marcos revives unity call, P20/kilo rice in last pitch for Alyansa Senate slate

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The administration's senatorial candidates, led by their chief campaigner, hold their miting de avance in Mandaluyong City

MANILA, Philippines – At the end of a grueling 90-day national campaign filled with twists and turns that left the administration slate with one less candidate, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. went back to familiar promises: of unity in the Philippines and affordable rice at P20 per kilo. 

Marcos made the pitch as he narrated what he said were fulfilled promises and projects to come, at the miting de avance or final campaign rally for his Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas Senate slate on Friday, May 9, in Mandaluyong City.

The historic Nueve de Febrero was filed with supporters from across the metro — over 22,000, according to the slate. Marcos honed in on the core issues that had dragged down his trust and approval ratings. 

The P20 per kilo rice promise was among Marcos’ most bold pledges, although critics would have called it ridiculous, when he ran for president in 2022. Unity was his vague but popular battle cry in the same election. 

Those promises, coupled with the apparently enduring popularity of his family name, made Marcos and his then-ally, Sara Duterte, the first majority-elected president and vice president of the country since the ouster of his father and namesake, the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Marcos also spoke of government efforts to create more jobs, bring food prices down, and control inflation. 

The government has started to roll out the subsidized P20/kilo rice in Cebu, the most vote-rich province in the country. Marcos said the same project will be rolled out across the country, through his Kadiwa program, as soon as the election period and restrictions on some forms of government spending end. 

Most of Marcos’ bets for the Senate — reelectionists, former legislators and local chief executives, as well as former members of his Cabinet — are likely to win seats on May 12, based on trusted pre-election preference surveys. 

His slate’s previous posts in government also mean widespread name recall across the country — crucial in any nationally-elected post. 

Ten of the slate’s candidates — survey front-runner Erwin Tulfo, former Senate president Tito Sotto, former senators Ping Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, Makati Mayor Abby Binay, former interior secretary and campaign sortie host Benhur Abalos, and reelectionists Lito Lapid, Pia Cayetano, Bong Revilla, and Francis Tolentino — were all in attendance. 

Only Deputy House Speaker Camille Villar was absent, as she has been in all Alyansa sorties since getting the endorsement of Marcos’ political rival, Vice President Duterte.  

The slate also once included reelectionist Senator Imee Marcos, the President’s sister. She left the slate in protest of the arrest and transfer of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.  

Since the beginning of the campaign, Marcos has framed the elections as a choice between his governance and that of former president Duterte. 

Midterm elections are always crucial for the incumbent — if only to ensure its influence and numbers in Congress. 

The 2025 polls are especially important for Marcos, as the Duterte clan and its allies try to mount a formidable opposition in the remaining years of his term. – Rappler.com