Marcos bets seek votes in Duterte bailiwick

CARMEN, Davao del Norte — The senatorial slate backed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. kicked off its Mindanao campaign here on Saturday in a bid to sway voters in the Davao region, the stronghold of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The administration's Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas ticket was expected to make a stop in Tagum City, the capital of Davao del Norte, a province politically dominated by former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, one of Duterte's longtime allies.

The Alyansa's first rally in Mindanao was scheduled at 4 p.m. in Carmen, Davao del Norte, territory of former representative Antonio Lagdameo Jr., now serving as special assistant to the president.

Davao del Norte supported Marcos in the 2022 elections, with backing from the former president's daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.

With Sara as his running mate, Marcos won 81 percent of the province's voters — 470,000 out of 577,781 — during the 2022 presidential race.

The political alliance has since collapsed, however, casting doubts on the administration slate's drawing power in the Duterte bailiwick.

But Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, Alyansa's campaign manager, said Marcos' landslide victory in Davao del Norte "underscored Mindanao's strong backing for his presidency."

"Just as they stood behind PBBM, we believe our Mindanaoan brothers and sisters will back our Senate slate, which shares his vision for progress," Tiangco said.

Alyansa is fielding Sens. Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Lito Lapid and Francis Tolentino; former senators Manny Pacquiao, Tito Sotto and Panfilo Lacson; House lawmakers Deputy Speaker Camille Villar and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo; former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos and Makati City Mayor Abby Binay.

"These are proven leaders with the experience and track record to serve the Filipino people," Tiangco said.

Alyansa's campaign kicked off in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte — the president's home turf — on Feb. 11, marking the start of the 90-day campaign period.

The administration candidates then brought their message on Feb. 13 to Iloilo province, a key stronghold in the Visayas with over 13.44 million voters and a high voter turnout of 86 percent in the last election.

"These regional launches reflect the administration's commitment to economic growth, infrastructure expansion and social welfare programs," Tiangco said.

The next stop of the administration's Senate slate is Pasay City, the launching pad for Alyansa's National Capital Region campaign leg.

Meanwhile, the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) said its nine senatorial candidates under the "Duterte Senatorial Candidates" slate had delivered a unified message to end criminality, illegal drugs and graft and corruption in the country.

In a statement, the party quoted its chairman, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who stressed the need for an opposition in the Senate to "persuade any sitting government to do what is right."

One of its senatorial candidates, Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, raised the issue of the 2025 budget, alleging that some budget allocations went to corruption.

Lawyer Jesus Hinlo stressed the need to industrialize the country through the creation of its own technologies and weapons, while actor Phillip Salvador urged the government to create jobs rather than hand out more dole-outs.

Lambino criticized the Marcos administration for attempting to change the Constitution through what he called "unlawful" means.

Re-electionist Sen. Bong Go, on the other hand, reminded the people how Duterte served Filipinos during his term.

"Remember, I don't want to fight and answer negative campaigning. Let the Filipinos decide. You should decide if former president Duterte changed your lives," Go said in Filipino.

Bondoc stressed the need for more representatives from the PDP-Laban to institutionalize what Duterte fought for, particularly the war on drugs.

Jailed televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, on the other hand, said he stood for the advocacies of the PDP-Laban, which he said "fought for the fundamental rights of Filipinos, pushed for reforms in the government to make the country more inclusive in terms of growth, and stand for the truth."

Former executive secretary Victor Rodriguez and reelectionist Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said the remarks Marcos made that some opposition candidates were "merely tasked to deliver vinegar and were given certificates of candidacy (COC) on a whim" was hurtful.

Meanwhile, six bets from the PDP-Laban were endorsed by the group that espouses "federalism" and national unity, alongside four more from the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas and two independent bets.

The Partido Pederal ng Maharlika (PPM) endorsed Rodriguez, Go, Marcoleta, Hinlo, Dela Rosa and Salvador from the PDP Laban, as well as re-electionists Sens. Imee Marcos and Francis Tolentino, and Sotto and Lacson from the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, and independent bets former senator Gregorio Honasan and physician Jose Montemayor.

In a related development, the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) called on the candidates for the midterm elections to disclose their plans to address the ongoing learning crisis and commit to prioritizing education in their agenda.

"Candidates must be vocal and proactive about their education platforms to address the systemic failures plaguing the Philippine education system, which remains in deep crisis," PBEd Executive Director Justine Raagas said.

She also implored future leaders to lay out "concrete plans to improve the conditions for all education stakeholders, including teachers, students, parents, local governments, the private sector and civil society organizations."