PARAÑAQUE CITY – The alliance of Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) and Kambilan, the dominant political party of Pampanga, is for the benefit of the province.
“This is the reason why we formed an alliance with the HNP,” said Pampanga Gov. Lilia G. Pineda during the signing of the agreement of alliance with the HNP on Monday.
“Kailangan namin ng malaking tulong, malaking pwersa at talagang nagugustuhan naman ng mga Kapampangan yung mga batas na pina- iiral ng ating Presidente Duterte, at susuporta kami sa 2019 elections,” Pineda noted.
“We need in Pampanga the Disaster Department that is being pushed by President Duterte and this will benefit our country as well as the Filipinos,” she added.
On Monday, the regional political party of Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte signed an agreement of alliances with nine political parties.
Three of the parties are major national political parties – the Nacionalista Party (NP) represented by Sen. Cynthia Villar and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, National Unity Party (NUP) represented by Rep. Fredenil Castro and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) represented by former congressman Mark Llandro L. Mendoza.
The six local parties were Kambilan, the dominant political party in Pampanga, Serbisyo sa Bayan Party (SBP) of the National Capital Region, Alyansa Bol-anon Alang sa Kausaban (ABAKA) of Bohol, Aggrupation of Party for Progress (APP) of Zamboanga del Norte, Ilocano Timpuyog or Nacionalista Party – Ilocos Norte chapter, and the PaDayon Pilipino of Misamis Oriental.
Led by Gov. Pineda, almost all local officials of Pampanga including the mayors, except for a few, were present during the event at The Blue Leaf Filipinas, City of Dreams here despite the inclement weather last Monday.
“Nakikipag alyansa po kami kasi gusto namin yung mga advocacy ng Hugpong ng Pagbabago (We are forming an alliance because we believe in the advocacy of HNP),” said Pineda.
Pampanga Mayors’ League president Lubao Mayor Mylyn P. Cayabyab also expressed her support to the HNP and to President Duterte.
“Ito po yung suporta natin para po sa programa ng Presidente sa pamamagitan ng alyansa dito sa partidong ito (This is our support to the programs of our president by this alliance with this party),” said the PML president.
“Ibig naming sumali dito sapagkat naniniwala kami na si Presidente Duterte lamang ang makakabigay ng tunay at malawakang pagbabago sa ating bansa (We are joining this because we believe that only President Duterte is capable of doing a big change in our country),” Gov. Marcos said.
She also said the NP supports the federalism of President Duterte because “we see that the monolithic, hierarchical Metro Manila based parties simply no longer have the clout or even the say so in many of the electoral contest… maybe this is now what is hype which is more Google in nature unlike the big political parties under one roof, one word but now we have a more democratize, more millennial sort of organization, much more flattened out with each of the regions and provinces speaking for themselves.”
For her part, Sen. Villar said the NP was the first party in forming alliance with President Duterte as she underscored the importance in pursuing the programs under his leadership.
Most of the local officials stayed until the end of the event even if some of the Pampanga mayors had to rush back to their respective municipalities to deal with the flooding in their towns.
Davao Del Norte Gov. Anthony G. Del Rosario, HNP secretary-general, said they formed the alliance primarily “to ensure support for President Duterte” and his programs as well as support for eight HNP senatorial candidates in the coming mid-term elections in 2019 among them Sen. Villar and Gov. Marcos who were both present.
Del Rosario, however, refused to name the other candidates saying they are still finalizing the list of senatorial candidates.
However, Del Rosario said Mayor Sara will not run for senator.
Aside from Mayor Duterte and Gov. Del Rosario, HNP stalwarts Gov. Claude P. Bautista of Davao Occidental, Gov. Nelson L. Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental and Gov. Jayvee Tyron L. Uy of Compostela Valley were also present during the event.
