PBBM’s alliances aim to dominate

From an obscure political group, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is shaping up to be a formidable coalition with key political groups jumping on the bandwagon.

The PFP has forged an alliance with the National Unity Party (NUP) for the 2025 midterm elections “to transform the Philippines through unity.”

Speaking at the signing for the alliance at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City on Saturday, Marcos said the unification of the two parties was not motivated by “political expediency” or a “marriage of convenience,” but rather by a “shared ideology of transforming the nation into the modern, safe, sustainable, growing country that we dream of.”

“Well, we cannot deny, there is truth to that. We have to organize [ourselves] for the next election That’s not a marriage of convenience. It is an understanding that we must come together if we are to transform our country,” he said.

The President stressed the PFP-NUP alliance would not only seek to win the election but to see the quick delivery of public service.

“That is what has brought us together. We do have ideals. This is not just to win the next elections. This is to make the Philippines a better place and that is what we doing here,” he said.

“We speak now of unity, we speak now of Bagong Pilipinas, transforming the country to another place, to a better place than we found it,” he added.

Admitting that uniting the entire country was “not an easy move,” Marcos said there should be a mechanism to meet halfway the resolution of “contradictions and differences.

“There will be many times that political forces will intrude upon that, and that is life. ‘Yan ang buhay ng politiko. Of course, we dream, we have principles that we uphold, but of coursepolitical forces get in the way. But that is the whole point of these alliances that we are making,” he said.

Parties with common purpose

Marcos emphasized that the parties want to work together with a common purpose and a consensus for what they want to accomplish.

“I believe what we are seeing here today with the alliances, with the coalitions, whatever you want to call them, between the different political parties, I think that is what we are doing today,” he said.

The President had previously emphasized the importance of collective action between the executive and legislative branches of government, especially in crafting and implementing transformative programs and policies.

The PFP, formed in 2018, is a national political party chaired by Marcos.

Marcos ran for and won the presidency in 2022 under the PFP, with Vice President Sara Duterte as his running mate.

Last month, the PFP allied itself with the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, the biggest party in the House of Representatives with 100 members. It also expanded ties with the National People’s Coalition.

The signing of the alliance pact between the PFP and NUP was attended by PFP president and South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., PFP executive vice president and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr., NUP president and Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. and NUP chairperson Ronaldo Puno, among others.