THE formal alliance between President Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and the National Unity Party (NUP) is the “logical conclusion” of the NUP’s two-year close working partnership with the Chief Executive and his Administration, in pursuit of his lofty vision of better lives for all Filipinos, according to Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.

Villafuerte, NUP president, said the PFP-NUP alliance, which was formally sealed on Saturday at the Manila Golf and Country Cub in Makati City, serves as a “splendid opportunity” for both parties along with other like-minded groups “to work together on advancing a Bagong Pilipinas that promises a robust and inclusive growth and development for all Filipinos.”

This alliance “marks another watershed in the history of Philippine electoral politics,” and “best illustrates that true-blue members of different mainstream political parties, given the right motivation or inspiration, can transcend partisan politics or personal interests in pursuit of the long-aspired genuine transformation of our public governance, our economy, and our society,” said Villafuerte in the morning event that was attended by President Marcos.

Villafuerte pointed out that the NUP “shares the President’s vision for a prosperous and peaceful Bagong Pilipinas where no Filipino is left behind. We are thus proud to seal a formal alliance with the PFP as a splendid opportunity for both parties along with other like-minded groups to work together on advancing a new Philippines that promises a robust and inclusive growth and development for all Filipinos.”

As the second biggest political group in the Congress, “the NUP has played a significant role in helping our President and his Administration pursue and attain deep and fundamental transformations over the past two years, leading to post-pandemic recovery,” he said.

Villafuerte stressed that “the NUP has matched its rhetoric of support for the President with action by giving its full backing to his major programs and policies in and out of the Legislature. Hence, our formal alliance with the President’s PFP this morning is but a logical conclusion of our two-year close working partnership with our Chief Executive and his Administration.”

“We are committing ourselves to this formal NUP-PFP alliance on our conviction that Bagong Pilipinas is not a mere slogan but a genuine agenda to truly transform our economy, governance and society—and one that will not come to fruition on its own, but will require very hard work from all of our people, including us members of the political mainstream,” he said.

Villafuerte added that, “We are having a formal alliance with the PFP because the NUP is ready and willing to do the hard work that our President needs from all of us Filipinos for Bagong Pilipinas to become a reality. With this formal alliance, we in the NUP say: Onward Bagong Pilipinas, Onward with better lives for all Filipinos.”

President Marcos witnessed the signing of the alliance pact by Villafuerte; chairman and former interior and local government secretary Ronaldo Puno; secretary-general Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia for the NUP; and president and South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr.; executive vice president and Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr.; and vice chairman and House senior deputy majority leader Alexander Ferdinand Marcos III for the PFP.

The other party executives present at the event included NUP vice chairmen Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas; and PFP secretary-general (retired) Gen. Thompson Lantion.

In his speech, President Marcos said that, “We are making a very important change in the thinking, in the politics of the Philippines,” because the alliance is based “not on political expediency but on ideology …

And that is what we plan to do and we have come to the understanding and to the agreement that that can only be achieved if we have unity, if we all work together.”

“And what is the ideology that we are espousing … We speak now of Bagong Pilipinas, bringing the country, transforming the country to another place, to a better place than we had found it,” the President said. “That is what has brought us together.”

Puno said in his speech, meanwhile, that with NUP’s formal alliance with the PFP, “We reaffirm our commitment to putting the interest of the people above all else. This alliance is a testament to our collective dedication to serving the needs of every Filipino citizen. Together, we are stronger, the more resilient and better equipped to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.”

He added that, ” In a time marked by division discord and international uncertainty, our alliance represents a beacon of hope a symbol of what can be achieved when we work towards a common goal. We understand that the road ahead for our country will not always be easy, but we are prepared to face the trials and tribulations with unwavering determination and unwavering resolved.”