Rody’s Senate bets shun Inday’s endorsement of Imee

Candidates on the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino's (PDP) senatorial slate -- known as the Duter10 -- rejected Vice President Sara Duterte's endorsements of rival candidates Senator Imee Marcos.

The rejection followed Duterte's recent television advertisements supporting Marcos and Representative Camille Villar, which drew criticism from within the PDP.

Renato Reyes, president of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, criticized Duterte's endorsements, alleging they were part of a strategy to "stay in power and accumulate more power."

"As in any alliance of traditional politicians of the ruling elite, theirs is an alliance of convenience and opportunism... This is an alliance solely to frustrate the impeachment process and remain in power beyond 2028," Reyes said.

Atty. Raul Lambino, a PDP senatorial candidate, urged voters in a Facebook Live broadcast to support only the Duter10, the party's official slate for the midterm elections.

Meantime, Jimmy Bondoc, a singer-lawyer and fellow Duter10 candidate, suggested Duterte's endorsements of Marcos and Villar could be a result of "political accommodation, honest personal preference or political contingency."

Dr. Richard Mata, the latest addition to the Duter10 lineup, called on voters to support the party's candidates as a protest against the detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being held in The Hague, Netherlands, facing charges of crimes against humanity for murder.