With the crumbling Marcos-Duterte alliance as its backdrop, the 2025 Midterm Elections signaled a turning point for the progressive opposition against its rivals in the administration. The congressional race saw a resurgence in liberal and social democratic victories; some nontraditional candidates also gained more votes compared to previous election cycles. Could progressives build on this momentum and form a united coalition for the next national elections?
With the 2028 National Elections approaching, the opposition’s role to settle its ideological differences and unify to prevent an impending political crisis remains imminent. Yet, some argue that disputes over potential allies and disagreements on non-negotiables could stand in the way of that goal.
Playing the waiting game
Fresh off his electoral campaign, Liberal Party (LP) President Erin Tañada already set his sights on what coalition-building for 2028 should look like. He believes that building trust between the different groups must come first before determining the campaigns that all parties can rally behind.
“So, you have maybe the whole year… to build those blocks of trust. And then sometime next year, kailangang pag-usapan without putting certain demands, because once the groups start demanding stuff from each other, that’s when the coalition fails,” he told The LaSallian.
(… it has to be discussed…)
Common enemies aside, the liberals and the left have ideologically been at odds with one another, with the latter viewing the liberals as too conservative, and the former perceiving the left as too radical. Tañada believes that forming a coalition would require all involved parties to set aside their internal divisions.
When pressed on a potential coalition with progressive parties, Tañada replied, “It depends… kung igigiit kasi ng isang ideological bloc na sila lang ‘yung tama, mahirap ‘yon… ‘yun ‘yung kailangan maintindihan ng lahat.” He also expressed that potential members of a coalition must recall that all members of the 1986 coalition had someone common to trust. If in 1986 it was Sen. Lorenzo Tañada, the possible 2028 coalition is still trying to figure out its standard-bearer.
(… if one ideological bloc insists that only they are right, that will be difficult… that’s what everyone needs to understand.)
On the margins
While several opposition figures have explored pragmatic alignments, labor leader Luke Espiritu doubles down on the need for a broad opposition front that prioritizes grassroots-driven change and resists opportunistic compromise.
Despite his past criticisms of liberal politics, Espiritu is open to working with them for a future alliance. “I break bread with them; I [want to] reunite with them. I want to have a united opposition,” he said.
For Espiritu, building a genuine opposition means engaging in dialogue, not directives. “We should sit together as equals sa round table,” he mentioned, emphasizing that unity should be forged through shared commitments, not imposed terms.
Recalling the 2022 National Elections, Espiritu criticized what he called the “take it or leave it” approach of liberal contenders, remembering how smaller progressive groups were expected to fall in line behind pre-selected candidates without discussion on shared platforms or campaigns. “We don’t talk about [the] basis of unity. We don’t talk about wage[s]. We don’t talk about platforms… You just join us, the Leni campaign. That’s not coalition building,” he remarked.
He argued that the key failure of past opposition coalitions lies in unilateralism, a refusal to build genuine consensus across ideological lines. While acknowledging differences between leftist and liberal forces, Espiritu argued that such rifts should not derail coalition talks. Instead, groups must “haggle” toward a consolidated basis of unity, avoiding compromises that betray the very core principles each group carries.
Espiritu also pushed back against the recurring assumption that liberal figures should lead efforts for democratic reform. “We want change pero ang i-dedemand natin ‘yan sa mga liberal… Baka kako tayo ang kailangan magbago ng perspektibo,” he said. He pointed to the 2022 campaign of then-Vice President Leni Robredo as an example, saying, “We [progressives] expect Leni to be like a leftist, like a progressive, like a socialist, when she clearly is not.”
(… but we place that demand on the liberals… Maybe it’s we who need to change perspectives.)
Espiritu argued that labor and mass movement blocs must take a leading role in shaping the opposition’s direction. “Kung gusto natin ng totoong non-compromising, non-opportunistic type of politics, hindi sila ‘yun,” he said, referring to liberal figures. Any lasting coalition must recognize grassroots initiatives not as accessories to liberal-led campaigns, but as central forces that push for structural change.
(If we want genuine… It’s not them.)
Espiritu’s vision for 2028 rests on equal footing, ideological clarity, and strategic humility, a deliberate shift from candidate-centric dominance toward negotiated solidarity.
What it means
The 2025 National and Local Elections were supposed to be the preliminary Marcos-Duterte showdown before the 2028 Presidential race, with the Duterte faction co-opting and playing the role of the “opposition” and the Marcos-allied faction aiming to solidify its position against its erstwhile colleagues.
When polling ended, results showed a positive shift toward progressive politics. Akbayan saw the greatest success, leading the Partylist race. Bam Aquino made an impressive Senate comeback by ranking second, and Mamayang Liberal saw triumph in its election debut, winning one seat for former Sen. Leila de Lima. Moreover, all three partylists of the Makabayan bloc retained their seats despite waves of reported red-tagging, an outcome which both Tañada and Espiritu attributed to the 2022 Robredo campaign.
This shift made the previous elections an impressive run for both liberal and leftist candidates, one of the most notable being Espiritu’s performance. His brand of leftist politics garnered more votes than those of more left-leaning senatorial candidates; only six of the 11 candidates from the Makabayan slate were able to secure at least three million votes each, half of Espiritu’s.
But 2028 remains uncertain; an alliance would mean either that more leftist progressives follow Espiritu’s suit or further into the ambit of successful liberal leaning candidates. Ultimately, the proposed alliance rests upon the shoulders of liberal candidates to either negotiate on equal terms or fall back to strong-arm tactics that formed the 2022 coalition.
