PAMPANGA Gov. Dennis Pineda and his mother Vice Gov. Lilia Pineda yesterday endorsed the 11-man senatorial candidates of the “Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas,” telling their supporters to vote for the administration’s ticket because the province will benefit from the projects they will bring.
“We are here today to welcome Alyansa. It means a lot for us Kapampangans to show that we know how to welcome the administration’s candidates,” Gov. Pineda told hundreds of supporters during a campaign rally at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando.
“Our support now could lead to future benefits for the entire province through the projects they can bring to the Kapampangans. That’s why it is important that we support them,” he also said.
The endorsement came as Alyansa frontrunners continued to seek the support of local government units (LGUs) to help improve the chances of survey laggards reelectionist Sen. Francis Tolentino and former interior secretary Benhur Abalos, who both remained confident that they are still in the race.
“Mahalaga sakin yung mga endorsements ng mga local government units (The LGUs’ endorsements is important to me),” Tolentino said, laughing off rumors that he is planning to return to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban party.
Tolentino dismissed the “intrigue,” saying he had long decided to leave the party because of policy differences, particularly on the China issue since Duterte is a known ally of Beijing despite its illegal incursions in the West Philippine Sea.
For his part, Abalos said: “Surveys are just surveys. Iba-iba nga ang surveys e. Titingnan mo isa, iba resulta (Surveys are all different. Look at one and he result is different). At the end of the day, it is the people who decide.”
The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) done from April 11 to 15 showed Abalos and Tolentino outside the Magic 12, with ratings of 18 and 12 percent, respectively.
In ninth to 12th places were Makati City Mayor Abby Binay with 29 percent (from 27 percent), Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar with 28 percent (from 27 percent), and former Senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson with 26 percent (down from 31 percent) and Manny Pacquiao with 25 percent (from 27 percent).
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who is tied with fellow Alyansa candidate reelectionist Sen. Pia Cayetano in fourth to fifth places, said their team has been urging LGUs to help Abalos and Tolentino.
ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, who remained in second place and followed by Sen. Lito Lapid said: “I’ve been telling ‘yung mga nakakausap ko na mga LGUs na baka pwede bitbitin na rin natin (those LGUs I’ve been talking to, if we could also carry them).”
Tulfo, who has been dislodged by reelectionist Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go from being the frontrunner in the senatorial surveys, said the Alyansa expected the “backlash” from supporters of the former president after he was arrested last month and brought to The Hague in the Netherlands to face trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Normal ‘yun e, ‘yung sentiment (That’s just normal, the sentiment). Everybody knows, ‘di ba? (Right?) what happened. So ‘yung sentimiyento, ‘yung galit ng mga tao… na ‘ito ang ganti namin.’ (So the sentiment, the people’s anger, that’s their revenge on us) We were expecting that,” he said.
The day Duterte was sent to The Hague, Tulfo said he and his fellow Alyansa candidates already anticipated that “this is going to happen so we braced ourselves.”
The Pinedas came out in full force on Wednesday to express their support for the 11 senatorial candidates of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with Pampanga’s mayors, board members and barangay leaders.
Alyansa campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco said the warm reception that Alyansa members got in Pampanga shows “the growing momentum of the coalition as the campaign enters its final stretch.”
“This is a strong show of support. Kapampangans turned out in large numbers, and the energy on the ground was truly encouraging,” Tiangco said. “We thank Governor (Dennis) Delta, Vice Governor Nanay Baby, and all our Kapampangan leaders for standing strong with Alyansa.”
The Alyansa slate was welcomed in four major venues: the Lapid Arena Sports Complex in Angeles City, and the Laus Events Center, Kingsborough International Convention Center and Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando.
Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo could not attend the hearing as she was still in Singapore to accompany her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo who was set to undergo heart surgery.
Tiangco said that with 1.67 million registered voters and a voter turnout of nearly 87 percent in 2022, Pampanga “remains a formidable political force in national elections.”
“Alyansa is ready to fight for every vote and win alongside the Filipino people. This is not just about winning seats, it’s about building a Senate that delivers,” he said.
Tiangco also thanked the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and its president, Speaker Martin Romualdez, “for mobilizing the party’s full support behind the Senate slate of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.”
“We are deeply grateful to Speaker Romualdez and the entire Lakas-CMD for their trust and commitment. Their support gives our campaign the strength and organization needed to reach more voters across the country,” he said a day after the Speaker urged Lakas governors, lawmakers, and local leaders to support the slate during a gathering at Imelda Hall, Aguado Residence in Malacañang.
Also yesterday, the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI) in the House of Representatives declared its full support for the Alyansa slate after a luncheon meeting with Romualdez.
Talino at Galing ng Pinoy (TGP) party-list Rep. Jose Teves Jr. and Barangay Health Workers party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co, both PCFI officials, made the announcement.
“We are backing candidates who share the same legislative priorities, the same aspirations for a more progressive, more stable and more inclusive Philippines,” Teves, PCFI vice president, said.
Co, PCFI secretary general, for her part, said: “These are individuals with long records of public service, competence in governance and commitment to reform under the Bagong Pilipinas campaign of the President.”
