Major political parties seen to ally with PBBM's PFP

Prominent political blocs in the country are expected to join the bandwagon of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), swelling the ruling party's members less than one year before the 2025 mid-term polls.

In an interview on Wednesday, Speaker Martin Romualdez, chairperson of the Lakas-CMD, said that the Nacionalista Party (NP) is all set for a possible coalition with Marcos-led PFP for next year's national and local elections.

"[Lakas-CMD] was its first alliance partner, followed by the NPC (Nationalist People's Coalition), the NUP (National Unity Party) just last weekend. I believe the NP will be following suit," Romualdez said.

"So, all the major political parties will be in alliance with Partido Federal of the President," he added.

The NP, Marcos' former bloc before joining PFP in October 2021, is said to seal an alliance with the President's current party by the end of the month.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, a stalwart of the country's oldest political party, NP, said in a press conference on Tuesday that both parties are already firming up the coalition.

Barbers also revealed that his fellow NP stalwart, presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos, is poised to be part of the administration party's senatorial slate in 2025.

Senator Marcos had previously admitted that she was uncertain whether his brother would endorse her for her re-election bid in the Senate next year.

She projected that around 50 candidates will seek a seat in the Senate in the upcoming polls.

Romualdez, however, said it's still up for the President and leaders of the parties comprising the PFP whom shall it endorse for the senatorial lineup.

"The leadership of the alliance from each party will have a consensus. Maybe there are recommendations [and] that is the choice of our president of our leaders of the coalition or alliance as we call it," the House chief said.

Romualdez-led Lakas CMD, the biggest political bloc in the House of Representatives, was the first to forge an alliance with his cousin President Marcos' PFP.

Vice President Sara Duterte's Hugpong ng Pagbabago and his father, then president Rodrigo Duterte's PDP-Laban, have yet to join a political union with Marcos.

Romualdez had earlier said they would leave the door open for potential collaborations with other political parties, including the Dutertes.

Earlier this month, the VP made headlines after leaving the Marcos Cabinet as Education Secretary and the vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which she headed for nearly two years.

The VP's sudden resignation further fueled speculation of a collapse in the alliance of the Dutertes with Marcos.

Last week, the VP announced that his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and his brothers, Paolo and Sebastian Duterte, the sitting representative of Davao City's first district and incumbent mayor of the city, respectively, are eyeing to run for the Senate. Sebastian is also being prodded to seek the highest post in the 2028 elections.