Tiangco: Endorsing Alyansa bets means embracing Bagong Pilipinas

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presents his Senate slate in February. — Photo from the Philippine News Agency

MANILA, Philippines — The five-party alliance that makes up the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate remains intact, Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco said on Monday, noting that endorsements received by candidates show agreement with the administration’s vision of a new Philippines.

Tiangco, who is also Alyansa’s campaign manager, said this in a statement he sent to INQUIRER.net after being asked if senatorial candidate and Deputy Speaker Camille Villar is still part of the 11-person Alyansa after she was seemingly endorsed by Vice President Sara Duterte.

Alyansa is the slate backed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  Duterte, meanwhile, has criticized Marcos and his administration since the tandem’s fallout in mid-2024.

“The five-party Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, composed of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Lakas-CMD, National People’s Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP), and Nacionalista Party (NP), is intact,” Tiangco said.

“Ang bawat pag-endorso na makukuha ng bawat kandidato ng Alyansa ay patunay na pagtango at pagyakap sa Bagong Pilipinas na isinusulong ng ating Pangulo. And that is what matters most,” he added.

(The endorsements obtained by each candidate are a testament to people agreeing and embracing the New Pilipinas vision being pushed by our President.  And that is what matters most.)

On Sunday, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque posted on social media a photo of Duterte and Villar together, with both women doing the so-called Duterte fist — a sign that was popularized by Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Aside from the two women, Villar’s father, former Senate President Manny Villar, was also present.

“Politics is addition after all!” Roque’s short caption read.

READ: Roque posts photos of VP Duterte supporting Camille Villar’s Senate run

According to Tiangco, getting wide support is a part of Alyansa’s goals, adding that they are proud that their candidates get “overwhelming support.”

“One of our goals is to build broad support around the shared platform of Alyansa, and our overarching objective is for all our candidates to win because they are capable, committed, and deserving of the trust and confidence of the Filipino people,” Tiangco said.

“Our candidates continue to receive overwhelming support both at the national and local level, and even from grassroots organizations. This is something that we welcome and we are proud of because politics is about addition, not division. It is about building coalitions. And in any election, every bit of support counts,” he added.

Furthermore, Tiangco said that the candidates were picked by Marcos due to their track record.

“Ang mga kandidato na Alyansa ay personal na pinili ni Pangulong Marcos dahil sa kanilang mahusay na kakayahan at matatag na karanasan. The Alyansa candidates are part of the administration slate because they are committed to the vision we all share: Bagong Pilipinas,” he stressed.

(The candidates from Alyansa were personally picked by President Marcos because of their abilities and their track record.)

This is not the first time that the political rift between the Dutertes and the Marcoses has affected the Alyansa slate.  Marcos’ sister, Senator Imee Marcos, also opted to leave the Alyansa after former president Duterte was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court last March 11.

During the Alyansa sortie in Tacloban City, Leyte, Senator Marcos already apologized to her fellow Warays for not being able to attend, as she cannot accept what happened to Duterte.

Then, last March 26, Senator Marcos announced that she had officially withdrawn from Alyansa, as she could no longer stand on the same platform as the administration-backed team.

READ: Imee Marcos leaves Bongbong-backed Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas 

At the Tacloban rally, President Marcos still appeared to endorse his sister, saying that if only the latter were present, she would have spoken to attendees using the Waray dialect.

But at the following sortie in Cavite, the President did not mention his sister in introducing Alyansa’s candidates.  In Antipolo City last April 4, President Marcos used a different battlecry — from “Labindalawa, Alyansa,” or literally “Alliance of Twelve,” to “Alyansa all the way.”