BATANGAS CITY — In a surprising turn during the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign rally here, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. deliberately omitted the name of Las Piñas representative and Deputy Speaker Camille Villar from his speech.
This marked the first time that the President did not mention Villar, who has been a consistent figure in his endorsements during Alyansa’s campaign events. Even when Villar was absent from previous rallies, Marcos Jr. made it a point to include her name. Just a day before in Lucena, Quezon, Villar remained part of his endorsement speech.
Adding to the intrigue, photos of Villar were noticeably missing from the stage backdrop in Batangas City. The last time she was publicly endorsed by Marcos was during the Alyansa rally in Lucena.
This sudden silence coincides with Marcos ordering a probe into PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp., a company owned by the Villar family. The investigation came amid numerous complaints about the company’s services. Notably, the Villar family also leads the Nacionalista Party (NP), a key member of the Alyansa coalition. Marcos himself was once affiliated with NP before shifting to the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas for his presidential run in 2022.
Efforts to get a response from Villar’s camp remained unanswered at the time of reporting.
Meanwhile, Batangas gubernatorial hopeful and actress Vilma Santos-Recto showed strong support for the administration’s senatorial slate. Hosting a lunch for Alyansa candidates alongside her husband, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Santos-Recto emphasized unity and teamwork ahead of the elections.
“This get-together will be a great help to all of us if we are fortunate enough,” she said. “At the end of the day, let’s keep working together as a team and continue supporting each other like a family.”
Santos-Recto also shared hopes that the Alyansa candidates would extend their support to Batangas once elected in Eleksyon 2025. She acknowledged the limits of her family’s influence despite her husband’s key government role and vowed to seek help from senators for the province’s benefit.
“We know we can’t do everything, even with Secretary Ralph’s support. Dad, maybe some senators, we will also approach you for help for the benefit of our province of Batangas,” she remarked.
Calabarzon, home to Batangas, stands as the region with the highest voter registration for Eleksyon 2025. Batangas itself ranks seventh among the provinces with the most voters in the upcoming national polls.
Stay tuned for more updates on Eleksyon 2025 as the campaign season heats up.
