By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

THE POLITICAL party of Philippine billionaire Manuel “Manny” B. Villar has allied itself with the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ahead of the filing of candidacies for the 2025 midterm elections.

Mr. Villar, who ranked third in Forbes magazine’s billionaire list, said in a speech at a signing event the Marcos government has made “impressive accomplishments in the short time that it has been in power.”

“You may disagree with him and his policies, but you cannot question his patriotism,” the Nacionalista Party president said.

“That is why we welcomed the President’s announcement that the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas will seek alliances with the country’s national political parties in order to forge a common vision for the country.”

Mr. Marcos ran for senator under Nacionalista, the oldest political party in the Philippines, in 2010, when Mr. Villar lost to Benigno S.C. Aquino III in a landslide win.

Mr. Marcos ran as an independent vice-presidential candidate in 2016 after Nacionalista chose not to endorse him. The party helped his father, the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, win in the 1965 presidential election.

“I should also mention here that his father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, was a Nacionalista,” Mr. Villar said. “I have always enjoyed our conversations about the issues facing our country because when he talks, I am convinced that he is motivated by patriotism and his desire to improve the lives of our people.”

His daughter House Deputy Speaker Camille Lydia A. Villar and Senator Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano are among Nacionalista’s Senate bets for the midterm polls, party spokesman and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

The Partido Federal also forged an alliance Lakas-CMD, the Nationalist People’s Coalition and the National Unity Party.

Anthony Borja, a political science professor at De La Salle University, said ordinary Filipinos would likely judge the grand coalition “through lenses highlighting both individual and notorious personalities in it as well as projected and tangible outputs.”

“From a psycho-political perspective, the resonance of the ‘Unity-Bagong Pilipinas’ narrative can facilitate the electoral success of this grand manifestation of coalition building in a weak political party system,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Mr. Borja said the President’s push for unity is “limited by perceived outputs and the current notoriety of specific personalities in the coalition whose reputations can either benefit or smear the administration’s grand coalition.”

‘CHAMPION OF THE MASSES’
The alliance signing happened amid growing tensions between the Marcoses and the family of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who on Wednesday criticized the government, including the House of Representatives, for its inaction in the face of health, security and infrastructure problems.

“The Philippines today is governed by those who have no loyalty to their sworn duty,” she said in a statement in Filipino.

Ms. Duterte-Carpio resigned as Education secretary in June.

“Both political families of the Marcoses and Dutertes are more of the same,” Party-list Rep. and House Deputy Minority Leader France L. Castro said in a statement. “They are the same breed that exploits and oppresses the Filipino people for their own gains.”

“We Filipinos definitely deserve better and it will not come from the Dutertes or Marcoses. It will come from the ranks of the masses themselves who espouse the politics of change and true service to the people,” she added.

On Thursday, Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua said Ms. Duterte-Carpio should not be given a “free pass” in budget hearings for her office.

“The Office of the Vice President’s (VP) budget must be scrutinized,” he said in a statement. “No more and never again shall the VP not be held to the same level of scrutiny as other public officials during budget hearings.”

Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the Office of the Vice President’s proposed P2.037-billion budget for 2025 is 8% higher than this year, adding that it did not request for confidential and intelligence funds.

House lawmakers in October stripped Ms. Duterte-Carpio of her confidential and intelligence funds for 2024, transferring these to security agencies.

“The Vice President is misrepresenting herself as a champion of the masses using empty words and generalizations,” Mr. Chua said. “All the while having nothing real and concrete to show for in terms of true results as Vice President and as Education secretary.”

“The resonance of VP Sara Duterte’s criticism of the government will be based on whether the spectating public can excuse her withdrawal from the Cabinet and exit from her previous duty as Education secretary,” Mr. Borja said.

“Those who are more likely to excuse these actions are those who are both supportive of the Dutertes and critical of the Marcos administration,” he added.

He said her criticisms could also resonate with those who remain critical of the Marcos government, “but they need not throw their support behind the Duterte opposition.”