Senator Risa Hontiveros announced on Friday that a coalition between the Liberal Party and the current administration is improbable for the 2025 midterm elections, citing historical “unresolved issues” associated with the Marcos family.
This statement comes in response to former Senator Antonio Trillanes III’s earlier proposal to form a unity ticket, including the Marcos administration and other major political parties, to counteract the Duterte forces in the upcoming elections.
“I understand where former Senator Sonny Trillanes is coming from,” Hontiveros said in an ABS-CBN News report. “While it’s important to prevent the full return to power of the Dutertes, there are still unresolved issues from the human rights violations and plunder during the martial law dictatorship,” she added, referring to the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., the father of the current President.
Vice President Sara Duterte has indicated that her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and her brothers Baste and Paolo might run for Senate seats next year. However, some analysts view this as another political tactic by the Duterte family.
Hontiveros has been working for the past two years to build a broad alliance for the 2025 elections. “Please understand this as the opposition forming its own distinct offer to our citizens, separate from the administration,” she explained.
Hontiveros, the highest-ranking elected official from the opposition, believes there are other groups outside the Marcos and Duterte factions that could join their alliance. “There are still many opposition groups that are not aligned with the administration or the Dutertes. That’s our main task—to unite all of us,” she emphasized.
Hontiveros has already announced three of her Senate candidates on social media: former Senators Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan, and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno. She also expressed her desire for former Senator Leila de Lima and former Vice President Leni Robredo to run for the Senate.
Former Senate President Franklin Drilon from the Liberal Party also rejected Trillanes’ proposal on Thursday, expressing his disappointment and highlighting the personality-based nature of Philippine politics.
