Last week, I attended the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP) Convention at the SMX Convention Center in Lanang, Davao City where 6,000 members took their oath, a far-cry from the 3,000 expected guests to attend the said gathering.

HnP is a regional party established this year by the President’s daughter, Davao City Mayor and its chairperson Sara Duterte, in support of the Duterte administration.

Prior to winning the presidency, then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte founded and was a member of the Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod party. It was registered as a local political party at the Commission on Elections on 28 March 2011.

In 2016, the erstwhile Davao City Mayor needed a national political party to launch his bid for the presidency; thus, he ran under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, or more commonly known as PDP-Laban.

The PDP was founded by former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. in 1982. The following year, the party formed a coalition with the Lakas ng Bayan party, founded by opposition Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. The two parties later merged during the 1986 snap elections, with Ninoy Aquino’s widow, Corazon, as the party’s candidate for the presidency. Today, the PDP-Laban is headed by former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

The goal of HnP is to unite forces who want to help the Duterte administration until 2022.

Just this month, the HnP forged alliances with major national and local political parties. Sen. Cynthia Villar (Nacionalista Party), former Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza (National People’s Coalition), Rep. Fredenil Castro (National Unity Party), Mr. Norris Oculam (Alyansa Bol-anon Alang sa Kausaban), Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos (Aggrupation of Party for Progress), Gov. Imee Marcos (Ilocano Timpuyog | Nacionalista Party-Ilocos Norte Chapter), Gov. Lilia Pineda (Kambilan), Atty. Nadya Emano-Elipe (PaDayon Pilipino) and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte (Serbisyo sa Bayan Party) signed the alliance agreement with HnP chairperson Mayor Sara.

President Duterte’s Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod also joined Mayor Sara’s Hugpong.

HnP was established solely as regional political party, but it cannot be denied that it gathered strong and overwhelming support signified by other parties.

“HnP is a region XI political party. HnP was not made to go on a national level. We just wanted to create a strong Region XI. We did not foresee this growing interest of other politicians from other regions,” Mayor Sara said.

Mayor Sara, in fact, added that it would be difficult to go to the national scene as other officers of the party have yet to decide on this matter. This, however, does not mean that they can’t forge alliances with other groups in order to build more unities for the country.

Sen. Pimentel echoed this exact sentiment, adding that the President’s agenda supersedes any political agenda.

The PDP-Laban and HnP both remain committed to the administration’s vision of liberating our people from the clutches of poverty, conflict, crime, illegal drugs and corruption through the promotion of justice, equality and good governance.

We are optimistic that these parties will become instruments of real change in society by advancing the President’s agenda of Federalism, preferential policy for the poor and the marginalized, religious tolerance and equal opportunity for all.

In the end, we, especially those in the government, must all work together to improve the lives of our countrymen and realize the collective aspirations of the Filipino people for a brighter and more prosperous future.