Iloilo, Guimaras officials join Marcos’ party

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his message during the oath-taking of the new members of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas at a hotel in Manila in this file photo taken on May 01, 2024. —KJ Rosales/PPA POOL

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — This city was a sea of red on Sunday, as political leaders from the city and province of Iloilo and the neighboring province of Guimaras joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), wearing the administration party’s official color.

The PFP welcomed around 800 mayors, vice mayors, city and town councilors, barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials, as well as other aspirants for the 2025 local elections.

Officials of local governments in the two provinces were sworn into the party by PFP’s national president and South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., while Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., who chairs the PFP in Western Visayas, led the oath for barangay officials.

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The PFP’s national executive vice president, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. was present as a special guest.

The Iloilo town mayors who joined the PFP included Ian Kenneth Alfeche (Alimodian), Suzette Mamon (Badiangan), Peter Paul Gonzales (Banate), Elvira Alarcon (Batad), Mark Palabrica (Bingawan), Elizalde Pueyo (Cabatuan), Francisco Calvo (Calinog), Mary Lynn Mosqueda (Estancia), Paulino Parian (Janiuay), Reynor Gonzales (Lambunao), Francis Amboy (Maasin), Lydia Grabato (Mina), Liecel Seville (New Lucena), Rafael Enrique Lazaro (Pototan), Dennis Superficial (Santa Barbara), and Ma. Jofel M. Soldevilla (Zarraga).

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The town vice mayors and councilors aligned with Defensor were also sworn into the party.

Among the town mayors in Guimaras who joined PFP were Annabele Samaniego (Sibunag), Peter Paul Gonzales (Nueva Valencia), and Samuel Gumarin (Buenavista) were also sworn in. Guests

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, vice president for special projects of the National Unity Party (NUP), was at the event as a guest of honor.

Guimaras Gov. Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava, a member of NUP, and lone district Rep. Ma. Lucille Ledesma-Nava, who ran in 2022 under the now Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, were also present as guests.

However, some Iloilo City officials jumped from NUP to PFP, among them Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and Councilors Romel Duron, Ely Estante Jr. Frances Grace Parcon-Torres, Jose Maria Miguel Treñas, Johnny Young and Alan Zaldivar, who were with the mayor’s party since 2019.

Defensor said that the entry of new PFP members in the region was a “total alignment” with the vision of President Marcos.

“We joined because we want to do our share in development. We want to do our share in making a stronger Philippines so that we can help [Marcos Jr.] and the rest of the country face the threats that we are facing now, like food security, climate change, the problem in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Tamayo said the party aims to transform the country’s form of government from its current three-branch, bicameral form into a federal parliamentary system by 2034, well beyond the current president’s term.