The support base of UniTeam tandem of former senator Bongbong Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte just received a "blast from the past".
This, after the United Nationalist Democratic Organization or more popularly known as UNIDO, formally reemerged on Saturday, April 23 as a regional political entity based in the Southern Tagalog Region, just 15 days before the May 9 polls. UNIDO was a political force in the Philippines during the 1980s.
Senator Francis ‘Tol’ Tolentino, one of UNIDO’s honorary trustees, said the party’s revival is an answer to "call of unity"—the main advocacy of presidential candidate Marcos and his running mate, incumbent Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte.
“Isinusulong po natin ang muling pagkabuhay ng UNIDO dahil naniniwala tayo sa ganung tema ng pagkakaisa (We will pursue the revival of UNIDO because we believe in this theme of unity)," Tolentino said during the party's pre-election conference at the Manila Yacht Club along Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
"Pagkatapos po ng halalan na ito, sa Calabarzon, sa Southern Tagalog mayroon pong UNIDO (After these elections, Calabarzon, Southern Tagalog will have UNIDO) and UNIDO will be part of the political mainstream, helping the next administration. Hopefully (its) BBM-Sara,” added the pro-administration lawmaker.
Tolentino, who chairs the Committee on Local Government in the Senate, stressed that Marcos and Duterte’s vast experiences in running their own localities—being governor of Ilocos Norte and mayor of Davao City, respectively—will be the key for the country’s economic recovery.
The Philippine economy was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years.
Referring to the UniTeam duo, Tolentino said: "Ano pa ba ang hahanapin nating diyan? Nagka tugma-tugma na po ang sinusulong muling lapian doon naman sa layunin ni BBM at ni Sara (What else should we look for? The goals pursued by our old group then has found a match with BBM's and Sara's)."
Comelec last year accredited UNIDO as a regional political entity. The party has fielded candidates in the local and provincial levels respectively in the vote-rich Region 4-A—the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (Calabarzon).
As of 2019, Calabarzon reportedly has 8,674,351 registered voters.
Senatorial bets Robin Padilla, Gilber Teodoro, and reelectionist Senator Joel Villanueva personally graced the event held by UNIDO at the Manila Yacht Club. They thanked the party leadership for its unwavering support to their respective candidacies.
In the same event, UNIDO also endorsed the bid of Agimat Party-List. which was represented by Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla, in behalf of his son Bryan who is the group's first nominee.
UNIDO President Jose Laurel IV, nephew of the party’s founding chairman, the late former Vice President Salvador ‘Doy’ Laurel said the entire Laurel clan only hopes that all those running and are being endorsed by UNIDO will serve the country with complete integrity and dedication.