‘Uniteam’ split cost Alyansa chances in midterm polls — Tulfo

Metro Manila, Philippines - Senator-elect Erwin Tulfo said the falling out between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte might have cost the chances of administration allies in the midterm elections.

In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, Tulfo openly credited the president for boosting the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign, but in the end only five — officially six — administration bets secured Senate seats for the next six years.

“I was talking to some of my political science professor friends sa two different universities and they were saying, they attributed it dun sa pag-split ng UniTeam between BBM and PBBM and Vice President Sara,” he said.

[Translation: I was talking to some of my political science professor friends from two universities, and they said, Sir Tristan, they attributed it to the split within the UniTeam between BBM, President Marcos, and Vice President Sara.]

“Remember, di ba nakakuha sila ng 30 or 31 million votes. So nung mag-split ‘yun, nahati. So tignan mo yung result — five and five,” he added.

[Translation: Remember, they got 30 or 31 million votes. When that split, it was divided. Just look at the result — five and five.]

Tulfo said the results mirror the divided political base, contrasting the 15 million who supported former Vice President Leni Robredo in 2022, with the fragmented 30 million votes from the former UniTeam alliance.

“Kasi kapag sa sama-sama may 45 million plus, nahati. So what happened there was like, hati. Five sa Alyansa, five sa iba,” he said.

[Translation: When they were united, there were over 45 million votes. But that got split. That’s why it ended up divided — five from Alyansa, five from the other side.]

He said regional strongholds also played a role. Duterte dominated Mindanao, while Marcos had the edge in the Solid North and other parts of Luzon.

“‘Solid North’ was the one yung nagdala sa akin… central Luzon and then southern Luzon. Ang naging battleground is yung Cebu,” he said.

[Translation: The ‘Solid North’ was what carried me… along with central and southern Luzon. The battleground was Cebu.]

Tulfo placed fourth in the race and credited his win partly to support from Gen Zs and Millennials, including liberal-leaning regions like Panay and Iloilo.

Asked if pre-election events - including the filing of an impeachment case against Vice President Duterte and renewed ICC calls for former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest - affected the results, Tulfo said there was no single reason.

“Maraming factors. Hindi ko masabi na it’s all about the impeachment,” he said.

[Translation: There were many factors. I can’t say it’s just about the impeachment.]

He noted that while politicians were focused on personal rivalries, the public was looking for solutions to basic issues like food, inflation, and education.

“They were saying like, come on, there’s a lot of things to be done in the Senate. How come you guys keep on bickering, fighting, accusing each other of corruption here and there?” Tulfo said.

He said he has yet to hear from the president after sending a message thanking him for the endorsement.

“Wala pa naman, wala pa na reply… nakita ko na lang yung kanya message: We’ll all work together,” Tulfo said.

[Translation: No reply yet… I just saw his message: We’ll all work together.]

After the 12 senators were proclaimed, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged both officials and the public to “move forward” and “set politics aside.”

Speaking at a media event on Saturday, May 17, Marcos admitted that he had hoped for a stronger showing from the administration-backed Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate.

“We need to fight to live for another day,” he said. “And now it’s time, I think, to put all the politics aside. It’s time to put all the issues raised during the elections.”

The incoming 20th Congress is preparing for the looming impeachment trial of Duterte, where the newly elected senators — including Tulfo — will sit as judges.

The administration has denied having a hand in the impeachment case.