14 govs under Lakas get ‘mission’ from Romualdez in Palace meet
With less than a month to go before the May 12 midterm elections, the senatorial slate fielded by President Marcos is counting on the administration’s political machinery to boost its campaign down the stretch, particularly enlisting the support of allied provincial governors.
A breakfast meeting in Malacañang presided over by Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday gathered 14 governors who are members of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the dominant party headed by the House leader.
“No ifs and no buts,” Romualdez said as he called on the 14 (out of the 82 provincial chief executives nationwide) to deliver for the 11 candidates under the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas ticket.
“This is not business as usual. This is a mission. We are not simply endorsing candidates—we are rallying behind a shared vision aligned with the values and direction of President Marcos,” Romualdez said in a speech.
Three governors from Luzon—Melchor Diclas of Benguet, Jerry Dalipog of Ifugao, and James Edduba of Kalinga—are considered part of the so-called Solid North, a traditional bailiwick of the Marcoses.
Other Lakas-CMD-affiliatted governors present at the meeting were Fredenil Castro of Capiz, Xavier Jesus Romualdo of Camiguin, Aurelio Umali of Nueva Ecija, Ramil Hernandez of Laguna, Antonio Kho of Masbate, Joseph Chua Cua of Catanduanes, Jose Enrique Miraflores of Aklan, Peter Mamawag Unabia of Misamis Oriental, Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur, Abdusakur Tan of Sulu, and Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat.
Endorsed by Sara
Data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) show that the 14 provinces they head account for a total of 9,123,185 registered voters. The breakdown is as follows: Sultan Kudarat (533,384), Capiz (539,459), Benguet (416,145), Kalinga (158,555), Ifugao (136,318), Nueva Ecija (1,620,166), Laguna (2,140,124), Masbate (619,174), Catanduanes (200,804), Aklan (414,890), Misamis Oriental (1,106,297), Camiguin (66,557), Lanao del Sur (706,919), and Sulu (464,393).
Reelectionist Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, was one of the original 12 Alyansa candidates, but she formally left the ticket on March 26 as she took issue with the Marcos administration’s cooperation in the Interpol’s arrest of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte and his handover to the International Criminal Court.
Vice President Sara Duterte, an ally-turned-critic of the President, later endorsed the candidacy of Imee Marcos and another Alyansa senatorial candidate, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar.
The Romualdez-led Lakas-CMD is part of the multiparty Alyansa coalition that fielded former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati Mayor Abby Binay, incumbent Senators Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla and Francis Tolentino; former Senators Panfilo Lacson, Manny Pacquiao and Tito Sotto; and ACT-CIS party list Rep. Erwin Tulfo.
The other parties making up Alyansa are Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (the party of President Marcos), Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party and Nationalist People’s Coalition.
On Wednesday, Alyansa candidates barnstormed the vote-rich province of Pampanga, showing up in four rallies hosted by Gov. Dennis Pineda and his mother, Vice Gov. Lilia Pineda.
Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an elder leader of Lakas-CMD, was conspicuously absent in the gatherings.
‘Tol’ is worried
Tolentino, who has yet to land in the so-called winning “Magic 12” in major preelection surveys since the campaign season started on March 28, admitted being “worried.”
“This also happened to me during the (2016) elections. But I’m still OK,” Tolentino told reporters covering the Alyansa rally in the City of San Fernando.
“This is actually deja vu,” he said. “Like everybody else, I’m hopeful. What’s important for me is the endorsement of LGUs (local government units).”
Abalos, who has also been lagging behind in the surveys, agreed that the backing of local chief executives would be critical.
“Imagine if you get the endorsement (of local officials) in more than 80 provinces and they include you in their sample ballots, that’s big,” Abalos said. “That’s very important because these are [some of] the things that you don’t see in the surveys.”
