No talks of dropping Imee Marcos, Camille Villar -Alyansa

There have been no discussions about removing Senator Imee Marcos and Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar from the administration's senatorial slate, according to Navotas Representative and Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign manager Toby Tiangco.

''Wala, wala,'' Tiangco said briefly during a press conference on Saturday when asked if Alyansa and the Nacionalista Party had discussed the "future" of the two senatorial candidates.

Tiangco added that such questions were best addressed by the candidates themselves.

''With regards to that question, I cannot answer that question for them so like for Imee siguro siya dapat ang makasagot ng tanong na 'yun, hindi po kami,'' he said.

Marcos and Villar were both absent from Alyansa’s 10th campaign sortie in Cavite on Friday. Only Imee was left out of the endorsement speech delivered by her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

At a news forum, Imee said, “Okay lang kung hindi ako binanggit sa rally.”

(It’s okay if I wasn’t mentioned at the rally.)

“Tutal ang sinabi ko naman eh mula ngayon tutukan na natin tong isyung 'to kasi nakasalalay dito ang pagkatao at soberanya ng Pilipinas. This is way past Marcoses or Dutertes or politics or the elections. This is really the most important argument today,” the incumbent senator said.

(After all, what I said was that from now on, we should focus on this issue because the identity and sovereignty of the Philippines are at stake. This is way past Marcoses or Dutertes or politics or the elections. This is the most important argument today.)

As for not being mentioned at the rally, Sen. Marcos said that she just had to endure it as there was nothing else that can be done.

“Sinabi ko naman mula't sapul, baka mauwi ito sa away-away ng dalawang panig,ayoko maipit. Sinabi ko na 'yun eh noon pa, nung umpisa pa. Kaya sabi ko independent na lang ako pupunta ako sa rally kung saan barkada ko 'yung lokal, yung host,” she said.

(After all, I’ve said from the start that this might lead to conflict between the two sides, and I don’t want to be caught in the middle. I already said that before, from the very beginning. That’s why I decided to be independent—I’ll just attend rallies where my friends from the local area are the hosts.)

She added that she had been putting up with the situation for a long time. It was difficult for her because she can’t even talk to her brother except in public, and there were many obstacles.

This marks the second time Imee has skipped an Alyansa campaign rally. The first instance was in Tacloban City, Leyte—her mother, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos' stronghold.

Imee previously explained that she did not attend the administration ticket’s Tacloban rally because she could not accept what happened to former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte was arrested by Philippine authorities on March 11 upon his return from Hong Kong, based on the International Criminal Court warrant. He was then flown to The Hague via a chartered plane to face the court over crimes against humanity charges.

Meanwhile, Villar spent the day joining Caloocan Representative Oscar Malapitan in a motorcade across Caloocan City, covering barangays from city hall to Monumento Circle.

In a brief speech with local leaders, Villar highlighted the importance of youth empowerment and ensuring their voices are heard in local governance. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

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