GOV. Gwendolyn Garcia’s One Cebu Party has endorsed nine senatorial candidates from the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate for the 2025 midterm elections, leaving two candidates’ endorsements uncertain.
Since the start of the local campaign on March 28, during campaign sorties in Southern and Northern Cebu, Garcia, as the party leader, has publicly backed several senatorial hopefuls.
In Northern Cebu rallies on April 11, Garcia endorsed former senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Tito Sotto, reelectionist Sen. Pia Cayetano, and aspirant Camille Villar. On April 12, in Compostela, she added Makati Mayor Abby Binay to the list.
These endorsements followed her earlier support, declared during Southern Cebu sorties on March 28, for reelectionist Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla and Francis “Tol” Tolentino, former interior secretary Benhur Abalos and former senator Manny Pacquiao.
The remaining candidates from the administration slate, Sen. Lito Lapid and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, have not yet received One Cebu’s endorsement. Lapid visited Garcia on April 2, praising her leadership, and held a four-day motorcade in Cebu from March 31 to April 3.
On Thursday, April 10, Garcia announced that the party is “seriously contemplating” limiting its support to eight or nine administration candidates. She indicated that the remaining three to four endorsements would come from a different party, selecting those deemed “deserving” of a Senate seat. As of press time, Garcia has not released the party’s final list of endorsed national candidates.
Garcia’s announcement followed her criticism of Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who had publicly criticized the fee collection at public restrooms in the Cebu North Bus Terminal during his visit.
Sen. Imee Marcos, initially slated as the 12th member of the administration slate, withdrew after former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest on March 11, citing platform differences.
The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas is a coalition of candidates from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s allied political parties: Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Lakas-CMD, National Unity Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Nacionalista Party.
Cebu, with over 3.7 million registered voters, including those from the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, is one of the Philippines’ most vote-rich provinces. / EHP