President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. admitted that he had much higher hopes for the outcome of the 2025 midterm elections, even as he said he would much rather focus on the political battles that lay ahead.
“We all wish we had better results, but, you know, we live to fight another day,” said the chief executive at the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ Thanksgiving dinner in Mandaluyong City Saturday evening.
Of the 12 newly elected senators, only six were anointed by the President under the administration’s Alyansa coalition.
They include Senators-elect Erwin Tulfo, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Pia Cayetano, Camille Villar, and Lito Lapid.
The President’s sister, reelected Senator Imee Marcos, was initially part of the administration slate but was later dropped for questioning the administration on how it handled the arrest and subsequent surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.
Staunch Duterte allies Bong Go, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and Rodante Marcoleta also made it to the so-called “Magic 12.”.
Also in the list of winners are Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Bam Aquino, who are neither aligned with the administration nor the Dutertes.
Still, with the 2025 midterm elections behind, Mr. Marcos appealed to all parties to set aside politics and focus on the real issues besetting the Philippines.
“But now it’s time, I think, to put all the politics aside. It’s time to put all of the issues that we raised during the election [aside] and only talk about not political issues but developmental issues, healthcare issues, education issues, agricultural issues, supply issues, all of these things,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Marcos said he welcomed the entry of genuine opposition in the government but warned against obstructionists.