MANILA, Philippines – Before their campaign kickoff rally in vote-rich Metro Manila on Tuesday, February 18, the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidates made it clear: They will steer clear of mudslinging as they court voters for the 2025 midterm elections.
Their message is to focus on presenting their platform and addressing the people’s issues to secure a seat in the upper chamber. With 7.32 million registered voters, the metropolis is a key battleground in the 2025 elections. In 2022, then-presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. swept all 17 cities in the region.
Key issues such as lowering prices, providing decent jobs, improving transportation, better healthcare, and decent housing were highlighted by the Alyansa candidates. They are relying on local support, as most of them are from Metro Manila.
You can watch their speech in the video below.
Before the Pasay sortie, Alyansa candidates held a press briefing. Notably, four reelectionists from the slate — senators Imee Marcos, Pia Cayetano, Bong Revilla, and Lito Lapid — were absent. Those who faced the media included Makati Mayor Aby Binay, reelectionist Senator Francis Tolentino, former Senate president Tito Sotto, former senators Ping Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, former interior secretary Benhur Abalos, ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo, and Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar.
“When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Alam ‘nyo, definitely, hindi kami ‘yung mga elepante. Hindi tayo mga elepante. At ‘pag nag-away-away ‘yung mga makapangyarihang tao, sana ang kahilingan ko, tumulong na lang tayo mag-deescalate. Kasi walang idudulot na maganda ito sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na sa mga pangkaraniwang Pilipino,” Lacson said, when asked about former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “kill” remark on February 13.
(When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. You know, definitely, we are not the elephants. And when powerful people fight, my hope is that we help deescalate. Because this will not bring any good to our people, especially to the ordinary Filipinos.)
At the campaign kickoff for his Senate slate on February 13, Duterte joked that they would kill 15 incumbent senators to make room for his candidates. Of his nine senatorial candidates, only two — reelectionist senators Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa are in the so-called Magic 12 in the pre-election surveys.
“Ang posisyon namin, spontaneous. Hindi kami nag-usap-usap. Walang negative campaigning, wala ‘yung mga abrasive na remarks na makakapag-divide. Kasi very divisive ang ating eleksyon. Huwag na natin dagadagan pa ng divisiveness,” Lacson added.
(Our position is spontaneous. We didn’t discuss it beforehand. There’s no negative campaigning, no abrasive remarks that could cause division. Our election is already very divisive. Let’s not add to the division.)
Pacquiao, who ran against Marcos in the 2022 presidential race and is now part of the Alyansa slate, echoed the team’s stance on rejecting mudslinging.
“Huwag tayong mag-atake ng kandidato o ibang tumatakbo dahil hindi naman sila ang kalaban natin. Wala naman tayong kalaban dito. Demokrasya tayo, ang taumbayan ang pipili,” Pacquiao said.
(Let’s not attack other candidates because they are not our enemies. We have no enemies here. We are a democracy, and it’s the people who will choose.)
Marcos on the offensive
Consistent with his first campaign-related speech this election season, Marcos again made tirades against against the Duterte camp starting with a quip that addressed his predecessor’s “kill” senators remark.
Addressing the crowd at the Cuneta Astrodome the President said that he had confirmed that his candidates were still all present — no one died.
“Pagbigyan ‘nyo po ako at binibilang ko lang ‘yung aming mga kandidato dahil tinitiyak ko na kumpleto at wala pang napasabugan ng granada,” Marcos said. (Please allow me, I’m just counting our candidates to make sure that they’re all present and that no one has been hit by a grenade.)
“Wala po kayong maririnig na masasamang salita. Wala po kayong maririnig na panakot. Wala po kayong maririnig ng pagmumura, (You will not hear any bad words. You will not hear any threats. You will not hear any cursing),” Marcos added.
This was an apparent swipe at former president Duterte and some of his candidates who attacked Marcos as well as the administration slate during their campaign kickoff.
The President pitched his slate to Metro Manila voters as the better choice, highlighting their campaign platform focused on people’s issues.
Marcos said his team aims to provide decent jobs, not those from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which he banned due to illegal activities. It was former president Duterte who legalized POGO operations during his term.
“Sa ekonomiya naman at sa trabaho, hindi natin kailangan umasa sa iligal na mga industriya tulad ng POGO na naging pugad ng krimen at karahasan. Ang solusyon po ay tunay na trabaho, disenteng suweldo, at suporta sa maliliit at sa mga nangangailangan!” Marcos said.
(As for the economy and jobs, we do not need to rely on illegal industries like POGO, which have become breeding grounds for crime and violence. The solution is real jobs, decent wages, and support for small businesses and those in need!)
If the elections were held in January, Alyansa could dominate the Magic 12, as the Pulse Asia survey showed that out of the 14 candidates with a statistical chance of winning, 10 are part of the administration’s slate. (READ: It’s a tight race to the ‘Magic 12’ in January 2025 Senate race survey)
The 2025 midterm campaign takes place against the backdrop of the looming impeachment trial of the Vice President. Duterte and his party, PDP-Laban, are urging voters to support its candidates to keep the Vice President from getting convicted. – Rappler.com