Onse Alyansa? Imee Marcos exits admin Senate slate

MANILA, Philippines – Reelectionist senator Imee Marcos announced Wednesday, March 26, that she was pulling out of her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate.

The move comes days after her younger brother left her name out in an Alyansa sortie in Cavite, then proceeded to endorse only 11 candidates in Laguna instead of a full 12-person lineup.

Senator Marcos, in a statement, bemoaned how her brother’s alter egos and law enforcement officials “appeared to be hiding essential facts” in “repeatedly invoking executive privilege and the sub judice rule” during her Senate committee’s probe last week into Duterte’s arrest. 

“Beyond their constant narrative that the Philippines was simply complying with its international commitments, a deliberate effort to obscure the truth only gave rise to ever greater suspicion that the Constitution may have been disregarded and our sovereignty diminished by the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. As will be soon discussed in my preliminary findings, clearly there were actions taken by the administration which run counter to my ideals and principles,” she said. 

“Thus, I cannot stand on the same campaign platform as the rest of the Alyansa. As I have stated from the outset of the election period, I will continue to maintain my independence,” she added. 

Marcos’ staff would later clarify that this meant she was formally withdrawing from the slate — a move she’s done before. Yet, after her first withdrawal announcement, the senator campaigned with the administration coalition in most of its sorties — save for their kickoff in Tagum City, in a region considered the bailiwick of the Duterte clan. 

“We respect Senator Imee’s decision. We wish her luck in the campaign,” said Alyansa campaign manager Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco, whose wife Michelle is a relative of Senator Marcos through former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos. 

Senator Marcos had earlier skipped Alyansa’s sorties in the Romualdez bailiwick of Tacloban City, and then in vote-rich provinces Cavite and Laguna. The older Marcos said this was in protest over former president Duterte’s arrest. 

The senator has long tried to straddle between being a Marcos while also being a close ally of the Duterte clan.

While she’s older sister to President Marcos, Senator Imee has never been in the administration’s inner circle. On certain issues, including in foreign affairs, the senator has been vocal in her opposition to her younger brother. 

Yet Senator Marcos has tried to downplay differences with her brother, and even refuted talk of a rift in their family when the Alyansa kicked off their campaign in Laoag on February 11. 

Is Senator Marcos then joining former president Duterte’s nine-person Senate slate? Vice President Sara Duterte, who is in The Hague, earlier said she’d leave it up to her father to decide who would be part of his slate.

Senator Marcos has had rather dismal numbers in senatorial preference surveys and exited the so-called “winner’s circle” in the latest February 2025 Pulse Asia survey. – Rappler.com