Unifying progressives and reformists into one political party

2026 will be the beginning of the political campaign for the 2028 presidential election. At this point, it is still too early to know who will be the most probable winner in 2028. The surveys indicate that Sara Duterte is ahead of the pack. I remember candidates in the past who started early and lost ground by the time the real campaign period started. 

Among the recent examples were Jejomar Binay and Manny Villar, who were leading in the early surveys for the 2010 presidential elections. These two candidates were leading in most surveys. However, in the final election, a latecomer, Noynoy Aquino, won the election. 

In the 2016 election, it was supposed to be a contest between Mar Roxas and Grace Poe. In the end, the surprise winner was Rodrigo Duterte. I remember a close adviser of Duterte who told me that after the voting, he left the country because he really did not expect their candidate to win. While he was vacationing, he got an urgent call to return to the Philippines because their candidate had surprisingly won. This adviser became a Cabinet member in the Duterte presidency.

Although some candidates are faulted for starting too late, there is also a problem with starting too early. One problem, of course, is that the early candidate becomes a target by all sectors who have sufficient time to try and destroy the credibility of this early candidate.

In politics just as in other endeavors like business, timing is so critical. For those who support the progressive or the reformist candidates, the most important thing I would suggest is that they form a single viable political party. Politics now is dominated by family dynasties and vested interest groups. They have the resources to muster an organization that can reach even the rural areas. 

In the last election, it was clear that the progressive and reformist groups had popular support but were unable to reach the masses who ultimately decide who wins in elections. The traditional politicians who are able to get the support of the entrenched political dynasties can count on a political organization to the barangay level, even in small towns and rural areas.

In order to counter this, the progressive and reformist groups must unite in a single party. Even if there are slight differences in ideologies, they can follow the example of the Democratic Party in the United States. This political party considers itself as a “big tent” which shares common principles like liberal ideologies but include persons of different ideologies. The US Democratic Party includes democratic socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and moderates like Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and former presidents Obama and Clinton.

In the Philippines, the progressive groups are divided into parties like the Liberal Party and the Akbayan. There are also individuals who are either progressives or reformists who have built their own organizations and independent networks in their localities, like Vico Sotto of Pasig, Joy Belmonte of Quezon City and national figures like Sen. Bam Aquino, who has his own political party.

There are progressive candidates who are definitely winnable if they are supported by a single unified progressive group. Some of these potential candidates are Leni Robredo, Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros.

If these individuals want to have a chance of winning the national elections, they must unite into a single political party and start building a political organization that will make their presence felt in all the barangays, even in the Solid North and Mindanao. A politically strong national organization will also be in a better bargaining position with the political dynasties that now control Philippine politics.

This progressive political party should learn lessons from the Democratic Party in the US, where the leaders of the party are separate from the political candidates. The leaders of this progressive party should be people who are good at organizing and managing campaigns. Good examples would be Ronald Llamas and Kiko Dee, who have had a wealth of experience in managing campaigns and political organizations.

A united political party would also ensure that the progressives would only have one candidate for the top position and a single senatorial slate. 

The progressive groups have a number of potential candidates who can win in the 2028 elections if they have a strong political organization supporting them.

The other reason for the need for a strong, unified political organization is that the progressive and reformist groups must depend on for volunteer support to compensate for the lack of financial resources, which the family dynasties are not challenged with.

A unified political party will also be necessary in order to be able to field candidates in all the congressional districts, provinces, cities and municipalities. If a progressive candidate wins the presidency, he or she must have support from other political officials in order to be able to implement the necessary reforms.

The task of unification and organizing a unified party uniting all the progressive and reformist groups in the country should begin tomorrow, Jan. 2, 2026.

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