Perhaps now the story can be told.
As early as September 2020, a close aide of Congressman Pantaleon Alvarez asked to meet to talk about politics. Being the consummate political animal that I am, who was I to refuse?
He bared that Alvarez resigned from PDP-Laban because of the move of Koko Pimentel to make Manny Pacquiao the Acting President. That development confirmed that Pac-Man was gearing up for a Presidential run despite the fact that most pundits shared the opinion that he might make a viable Vice-Presidential candidate but not as one for President. He simply did not have the skillsets needed by a President in a time of crisis.
The other question was about a probably Alvarez candidacy for President. Quicker than one could say shit, I told him not a chance in hell, even if hell freezes over.
I asked him which party will Alvarez transfer to? He answered Reporma. I was under the impression that Reporma was no longer active since it was only organized for the Presidential candidacy of Renato De Villa in 1998. At that time, De Villa hoped to get the blessing of his mentor, FVR but the latter owed Joe De Venecia big-time because they were the two original members of Lakas-Tao, when Ramos bolted the LDP after losing the convention vote to Ramon Mitra. Pundits then had a good laugh deriding it as Partido Lakas-Tama because it had only two members. Of course, this all changed after Ramos won the 1992 Presidential race.
The discussion continued about how Alvarez could generate enough name-recall for him to become a viable candidate. My opinion was voters knew him well enough. Its just that he did not have the basics of a viable Presidential candidate. The comparison went back to Ramos again who was a political neophyte. My counter was Ramos had the backing of Cory then. The whole government machinery was at his disposal.
At any rate, I prepared a framework for a “voter education” campaign whose goal was to make Alvarez better known to voters. They already had a tag line in We Need a Leader but I suggested that be changed to The Leader We Need.
It was in January 2021 that the aide called again. The latest was Sen. Panfilo Lacson had agreed in principle to run for President at the prodding of Renato De Villa and several other prominent retired PMA upperclassmen. Tito Sotto was to be his running mate given the latter was termed out. Lacson could have opted for easy reelection to second term as Senator but the thought of another Marcos Presidency weighed heavily in his decision to run.
In the meantime, the team Alvarez assembled for his own run was converted to become the core of what would be Reporma’s campaign team. Alvarez commissioned popular recording artists to compose and produce songs whose theme would be about reform and the need for a competent leader for the country. Thus was born Metro – We Need A Leader in March.
And so it came to be in June that Lacson and Sotto announced that they were running for President and Vice-President. Lacson formally joined Reporma as its Chairman while Sotto promised the support of the NPC. On paper, it was a formidable alliance to begin with. Alvarez’s political base in Mindanao beat the HNP candidates of Sara in the 2019 midterms. NPC still had a viable local machinery and counted three incumbent Senators among its ranks and was a power bloc in the House of Representatives.
Between June and November, the Reporma-NPC coalition was the best organized political group on paper. It was bolstered by the addition of the National Unity Party, led by former DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno just before the deadline for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy. Puno was named campaign manager. He had under his belt the victories of Ramos in 1992, Erap in 1998 and GMA in 2004.
It did not matter that Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte were leading the surveys for President. The attendant drama relative to the PDP-Laban only bolstered the chances of the Reporma-NPC-NUP coalition. Even Jojo Binay’s UNA became a partner for the latter’s Senatorial run. Lacson-Sotto was described as the dark horse in the race for the top two posts in the country because of their experience and competency.
Since last year I had been consistently predicting that the Presidential race would be between Marcos and Lacson once the debate series began. They were only two candidates who committed to an issues-based campaign devoid of black propaganda and mudslinging. This was too much to expect from the Robredo and Domagoso camps when push came to shove.
They are also the most qualified and competent candidates for President given their background and experience in government. It would have been interesting to see the two of them go head-to-head in a debate or forum where the voters could see who between the two would make for a better President in their opinion.
Lacson made one crucial error even before the campaign began. He would not let up on the President. The achievements of Duterte speak for themselves and it is never wise to criticize a President with record trust and approval ratings despite the efforts of the opposition to bring him down. Why opt for a strategy that has been proven inutile to begin with?
His second mistake was to appeal to the Yellowidiot voter base with his statement in the Jessica Soho interview that PNoy was the best President we had and one who was his idol. This made me fall off my chair.
The third was the lack of messaging discipline. Lacson’s messaging was obfuscated by information overload. There was no central unifying theme which he could repeat over and over again. His statements were also more of a Senator than that of a Presidential candidate. Contrast this with Duterte’s messaging discipline in 2016 when he repeated his simple platform over and over again in each and every sortie. He did not even touch on the economy because he admitted he did not have the knowledge base but still he won the election.
Most importantly there was not much of an effort to soften Lacson’s image to voters. Lacson appeals to voters as a Senator but not as a President. This was proven in 2004 when he first ran. He has difficulty connecting with voters. The image voters have of him is stern and unapproachable. He seldom laughs or cracks jokes during campaign sorties. The biggest challenge was converting those who vote for him as Senator to vote for him as President.
But Lacson would simply have none of this. It did not help also that this stern demeanor was carried over in social media. His tweeting actually worked against him and it also did not help that he was a bit sensitive to those he deemed to be trolls which earned him the moniker Ping Blockson. He was not a candidate who was open to being “handled.” What you saw was what you got. Take it or leave it. This is part and parcel of the Lacson persona.
The betrayal began on the first day of the official campaign period when most of the NPC Senators did not show up at the Lacson-Sotto proclamation rally in Imus. It was all downhill after that as they were only left with those who were generic to Reporma in the persons of Minguita Padilla, Monsour Del Rosario and Guillermo Eleazar. Manny Pinol is with the NPC.
The precise moment when 71 mentions the word “resign” and Tito Sotto is surprised.
In politics, there are no permanent enemies. Only permanent interests. And so it came to pass that Lacson announced his resignation as the Chairman of Reporma on account of party President Pantaleon Alvarez’s decision to endorse the candidacy of Leni Robredo over Lacson.
Interesting how Robredo accepted Alvarez’s endorsement without even taking into account her statement that while she is open to endorsements from any party which could help her emerge victorious on election day, she would not do so if it was transactional in nature. We all know the caliber of Bebot Alvarez when it comes to politics. Any move he makes is not for noble intentions. There is always a catch to it.
The National Unity Party also issued a statement yesterday endorsing the candidacy of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This effectively leaves Lacson to run as an independent seeing as how Reporma, the NPC and the NUP have broken up to support Presidential candidates of their own choosing.
As per the Comelec, the political party indicated on the COC stands even if the candidate has resigned from the party. Lacson is used to running as an independent anyway in each of his Senatorial candidacies. At this point, it is best to be rid of excess baggage that only weighs him down.
Alvarez’s support for Robredo is not as good as cash, so to speak, given the tendency of the voters in Davao Del Norte to to decide on their own who to vote for in the national posts. It is not like Robredo is guaranteed a majority win in Davao Del Norte and Davao Del Sur.
Courage. Integrity. Loyalty. Three words that any PMA cadet lives and dies by. It cannot be said that Panfilo Morena Lacson did not do as he was taught at the academy to live his life by these words.
Lacson is the most qualified in terms of background and experience to become President. Unfortunately, destiny is not on his side in this battle he chose to fight. But he joins an elite group of Filipinos who could have been the best President’s the country never had. Whatever happens between now and election day, it cannot be said that Lacson did not fight the good fight and a good fight he fought by standing up for his principles.
To which the Filipino people can only say to Lacson in return, All right Sir, All right.
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