Vice President Leni Robredo is welcomed by farmers in Sumilao, Bukidnon on Wednesday, 23 February 2022. From Sumilao, Robredo proceeded to Maramag town for a caravan to Malaybalay City where a rally was held in the afternoon. MindaNews photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 March) – The Partido Reporma on Thursday announced it has decided to support the candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo.
The announcement, made by Davao del Norte 1 District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, came shortly after presidential candidate Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, announced his resignation from the party and declared he would be campaigning as an independent.
In a statement, Alvarez said that while Lacson “is the most qualified to be president…the electoral terrain in 2022 is far from ideal, and fate had other plans.”
He cited that while Robredo was still lagging behind the frontrunner, alluding to former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who was leading in surveys, her campaign was gaining traction.
“There is much potential there.
She has also shown that she represents ideals which are substantially in line with the aims of Partido Reporma to reform government and provide a better future for Filipinos,” he said.
He added that “the only realistic option at this point, with roughly a month and a half left, is to converge with Leni Robredo’s campaign.”
“We need a leader. And for the 2022 Presidential elections, given all these considerations and the crisis we have to overcome, that leader is a woman. Her name is Leni Robredo,” said in a statement on Thursday.
Alvarez said they will pursue the realization of their collective aspirations to improve the chances of ordinary Filipinos at a better life.
He said their party members “are not Pink but they are reformists, and they are for Leni Robredo.”
He said the fight for good governance and a better tomorrow for “our People has never been, and never will be, limited to a single color.”
“Responding to the demands of patriotism,” Alvarez said “party members are setting aside personal preferences to attain a collective victory for good governance, better future for Filipino, and strong and progressive nation.”
“The Reporma members and officers concerned, they positively, but realistically, view the opportunity to help ensure that the Leni Robredo campaign is strengthened and further represented by additional sectors of society, especially from those in Mindanao – our home – which runs the risk of being neglected again when President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from office,” he said.
Alvarez was ousted in 2019 as House Speaker after a quarrel with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the president’s daughter.
The mayor is the running mate of Marcos Jr. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
