House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Vice President Sara Duterte. ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA (UPDATE) — Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, president of Lakas-CMD, on Wednesday said his party and Partido Federal ng Pilipinas are open to including Vice President Sara Duterte’s regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago in their political alliance for the 2025 midterm elections.

READ: VP Duterte on Speaker Romualdez: Why attack administration allies?

The three parties were partners in the UniTeam alliance for the 2022 elections.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s PFP and Romualdez’s Lakas-CMD have entered into a new alliance and are expected to field a full slate in the upcoming 2025 senatorial elections.

“It’s still open for discussion and, of course, we will consult with Partido Federal,” Romualdez told reporters when asked if the Vice President would also be included in the administration’s political group in next year’s elections.

Lakas-CMD is the ruling party in Congress, where PFP has 13 seats at the House and none at the Senate.

“Anything is possible,” Romualdez said, when asked if Partido Demokratiko Pilipino — whose members include former President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies — would be invited into the coalition.

POLITICAL UNITY BEYOND 'UNITEAM'?

In an online exchange with ABS-CBN News, De La Salle University political science professor Anthony Lawrence Borja said Marcos and Romualdez seem to be "separating the promise of Political Unity from the UniTeam, giving it a coalition that transcends the Marcos-Duterte alliance."

He added: "For this possible alignment, I think Romualdez is saying 'kasama ka ba o hindi?' and placing the ball on Duterte's side — if Duterte refuses, then it becomes tantamount to him rejecting the ideal of political unity."

Borja said that the formation of the new alliance could also lead to confusion among the administration's supporters, describing them as being "trapped" between the seemingly rival factions. 

"From a psycho-political perspective, citizens will follow their idol in order to make sense of shifting alliances," he added.

DIFFERENCES WITH THE DUTERTES

Vice President Duterte and her siblings — Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte — have repeatedly slammed Romualdez, who is the President's cousin, for supposedly plotting against her.

They have hinted that Romualdez intends to run for president when Marcos Jr. ends his term in 2028.

Former President Duterte has accused his successor of using illegal drugs — since walked back — while Mayor Duterte has urged Marcos to resign as chief executive.

So far, PFP and Lakas-CMD are still in the process of completing the alliance's 12-member senatorial slate for the 2025 elections, Romualdez said.

READ: Romualdez denies 'attacking' VP Duterte, says 'nami-miss ko siya'

“I cannot announce that yet but we will announce it at a proper time after proper consultations. The alliance will be fielding a full slate,” he said.

“There are many considerations there but we leave it up to the collective wisdom of the alliance leadership,” he said

In a separate briefing, House Deputy Speaker David "Jay-Jay" Suarez of Quezon announced the birth of "Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas," their coalition with Marcos' PFP.

While it is unclear how many Lakas-CMD members will be in the senatorial slate, there will be common candidates and the party will support the slate fully, Suarez, Lakas spokesperson, said.

READ: UniTeam rift could hamper social services, solutions: analysts

The administration plans to field candidates who are in favor of charter change, which the President and Romualdez have been pushing.

The Duterte family has been a vocal critic of plans to amend the charter, saying that the legislature should focus on more pressing issues such as poverty and inflation.

Duterte, while president, had pushed for changing the Constitution towards a federal form of government, but abandoned the idea over lack of public support.

 —With a report from Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News

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