BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and RAYMOND AFRICA

PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said the decision of his sister, re-electionist Sen. Imee Marcos, to leave the administration senatorial slate is “fine,” but the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas will continue to support her and be there for her in case she eventually decides to join them.

“That happens. I’ve run as an independent myself, many times. And so that is her choice. I suppose that gives her a little bit more scope and freedom to make her own schedule and campaign in the way that she would like to do,” the President said in an ambush interview in Capas, Tarlac.

Marcos said the Alyansa would just continue to support her re-election bid and she is even welcome to join the administration’s campaign sorties.

“The Alyansa is still behind her. We are still continuing to support her. And if down the road she chooses to join us in our campaign shortlist, she is, of course, very welcome,” he added.

The senator was one of the 12 senatorial candidates endorsed by the President and the Alyansa last week.

Last Saturday, she said she will not join the Alyansa because she chose “to remain free and loyal, not to any group, but to every Filipino.”

Marcos thanked her brother for including her in the administration senatorial slate but said she opted not join the alliance so as not to put her brother in a difficult situation.

She has been defending Vice President Sara Duterte from critics even after the latter quit the Marcos Cabinet in June and has been criticizing the administration.

The administration alliance is composed of the President’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and Nacionalista Party (NP).

Several re-electionist senators are set to file their certificates of candidacy today, the start of the filing period.

OPPOSITION ALLIANCE

Leaders of progressive labor blocs Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) yesterday said voiced readiness to work with the Liberal Party (LP) to boost the chances of opposition candidates in the 2025 elections.

Labor leader and PLM president Leody De Guzman said he welcomes the offer from LP spokesperson, former senator Leila De Lima, to join forces in supporting candidates who will promote identical platforms of governance.

“We welcome the statement by Senator Leila De Lima that the Liberal Party is open to forging an alliance with like-minded and kindred opposition groups,” De Guzman said in a statement released to media.

Sonny Melencio, PLM chairperson, said a unified opposition can field a solid ticket against the ruling party.

“The Partido Lakas ng Masa, which is officially fielding Ka Leody de Guzman and Atty. Luke Espiritu in the 2025 senatorial bid, calls for unity of the progressive opposition, Makabayan and Liberal Party, in opposing the two main dynasties, Marcos and Duterte, in the 2025 elections,” he said.

Espiritu, BMP president, said his group has more parallel advocacies than disagreements with the Liberal Party.

“While we have some differences, we have similar positions, as we want to defeat the big dynasties that are the stumbling block progress in the country, trying to control the entire political system to further their own corrupt interests and bow to foreign interests, whether it be the US or China,” he said.

PLM announced the candidacies of De Guzman and Espiritu last Friday.

De Guzman’s group said it is campaigning on a platform of labor rights, climate justice, and economic reforms, while directly challenging the entrenched power of political dynasties.

If elected, among the priority pieces of legislation they will push for in the Senate are the  Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Equality (SOGIE) rights, and the repeal of anti-poor laws like the Rice Tariffication Law and Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

COC FILING

Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino said he will file his COC at around 11 a.m. today at the Manila Hotel Tent which was designated by the Commission on Elections as filing venue.

Tolentino bolted from his former political party, Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino, and has joined President Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, saying he and the PDP leadership have conflicting positions on the issues on the West Philippine Sea.

Tolentino resigned from PDP amid a call from Sen. Robin Padilla, who is PDP president, for him to give up his post as party vice president for Luzon and as a party member so he could focus on his duties as new Senate majority leader.

Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid, who belongs to the Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition, said he will file his re-election bid along with former Senate president Vicente Sotto III (NPC chairman), and former senator Panfilo Lacson also at the same venue on Wednesday, at around 11 a.m.

Lacson was Sotto’s running mate in the 2022 presidential elections.

Lapid, Sotto, and Lacson were included in the administration’s senatorial lineup, but Lacson said he will run as a guest candidate of the NPC.

Lacson, in an interview with Radyo 5 yesterday, said he is not a member of the NPC and has opted to remain an independent candidate, but Sotto offered him a slot in the NPC.

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay, who is also from the NPC, was also included in the administration’s senatorial slate.

Lacson said in Filipino, “There are four of us under the NPC in the administration’s senatorial lineup. I do not have a political party. We will file our certificates of candidacy on Wednesday, and I will state in my COC that I am running as an independent candidate. My CONA (certificate of nomination and acceptance), Sotto said, will be issued by the NPC.”

He also said it was an honor to be adopted by the administration’s slate and the NPC.

Cardiologist Willie Ong said he will also make a Senate run amid his battle with cancer.

Ong, on Facebook Live, said his COC will be filed by his wife, Dr. Anna Liza Ramoso-Ong, on Wednesday.

Ong said he will run as an independent candidate and will campaign through the social media.

Ong has been diagnosed with abdominal cancer and has been undergoing treatment since. He gained popularity on social media as he and his wife are giving free wellness advices.

Ong was the running mate of former Manila Mayor Franciso “Isko Moreno” Domagoso during the 2022 presidential elections. He also ran as senator in 2019 but lost.

Earlier, Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher Go said they will be part of PDP’s senatorial lineup, together with actor Philip Salvador. They said PDP president Robin Padilla will be their national campaign manager.

Dela Rosa said he will his COC on October 3. – With Peter Tabingo