Official launch: September 8, 2021 Lost election: May 9, 2022 Conceded: May 10, 2022
Slogan
Katapangan, Kakayahan at Katapatan
transl. (Courage, Competence and Honesty) Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay Mo
transl. ([We'll] Fix the Government, Fix your Life)
Lacson and Sotto were the first tandem to announce their candidacy for president and vice president, respectively, for the
2022 Philippine presidential election.[2]
Panfilo Lacson, more commonly known as Ping Lacson, a graduate of the
Philippine Military Academy first served in the
Philippine Constabulary, holding numerous positions throughout his entire career. During the administration of President
Joseph Estrada, he was appointed as head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force and eventually as
PNP Chief. During the
Second EDSA Revolution, Lacson along with several PNP officers withdrew their support to President Estrada and eventually resigned from his post.
Lacson then ran and won for a Senate seat in 2001 and was reelected in 2007. Lacson earned the reputation of being the only Philippine Senator who didn't receive any
Priority Development Assistance Fund or Pork Barrel during his term in the Senate. He also ran for the presidency in 2004, but lost to then-incumbent
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placing third in the presidential race.
After he finished his term in the Senate, Lacson was appointed by then-President
Benigno Aquino III as Presidential Assistant on Rehabilitation and Recovery which is tasked for the rehabilitation of areas that were destructed by the
Typhoon Yolanda.
Vicente Sotto III, who is known in the entertainment industry as Tito Sotto is a known composer, comedian and TV host, being one of the most famous trio Tito, Vic and Joey or TVJ along with his younger brother
Vic Sotto and
Joey De Leon. He is also known as one of the original hosts of the longest-running noontime show
Eat Bulaga!.
He started his political career in 1988 when he won as Vice Mayor of
Quezon City. In 1992, Sotto ran for a Senate seat and placed as the topnotcher in the polls. He was then reelected in 1998. In 2007, he failed to reclaim his seat in the Senate and was appointed as Chairman of the
Dangerous Drugs Board a year after.
In 2010, Sotto reclaimed his post in the Senate. During his first term, he held the position of Senate Majority Floor Leader. In 2016, Sotto was once again reelected and took the position of
Senate President in 2018 up to the present.
Sotto stated that he is running for the position of Vice President, if his colleague Panfilo Lacson will run for president.[3] President
Rodrigo Duterte in his sixth and final State of the Nation Address also called Sotto as the next vice president.
Campaign
By June 2021, Lacson and Sotto visited some provinces in Luzon for a series of consultative meetings.
On July 20, 2021, Lacson confirmed that he was running for president with Tito Sotto as his running mate for vice president.[4] Both Lacson and Sotto reiterated that they are not "pro or anti-
administration" but are alternative candidates.[5]
On September 8, 2021, Lacson and Sotto officially launched their presidential and vice-presidential bid in a televised event entitled Ito ang Simula (
lit. transl.This is the Beginning) which was attended by mostly family and friends of both candidates. The 30-minute event, which was aired on almost all television stations and through the internet, was taped in an undisclosed location with a mixture of both live (composed only of friends of both Lacson and Sotto) and virtual audience.[citation needed] According to them, their combined 83 years of public service (50 years for Lacson, 33 years for Sotto) are their main qualifications.
On March 24, Lacson resigned as chairperson and member of Partido Reporma a few hours before the party's leaders endorsed the
presidential bid of
Vice PresidentLeni Robredo.[7] Reporma's president, Representative
Pantaleon Alvarez, praised Lacson's experience in government and called him the "most qualified" to be the next president of the Philippines. However, Lacson's poor performance in pre-election opinion polls forced the party to consider another candidate.[8] Lacson announced that he "harbor[s] no ill-feelings" towards his former party, and would continue his presidential bid as an independent candidate.[9] However, on official ballots, Reporma will still be indicated as his affiliation based on the certificate of candidacy he filed in October 2021.[10] On the following day, Lacson claimed that Reporma's withdrawal of support "was actually more about the issue of campaign expenses." Lacson disclosed that Alvarez's chief of staff requested him for ₱800 million to fund the party's campaign, an amount he was unable to produce. Alvarez denied Lacson's accusation, asserting that the party "can very well fund its own candidates," but admitted that the issue of funding was a major consideration in their change of support. Robredo's team also denied giving ₱800 million to Reporma in exchange for their support. Meanwhile, Partido Reporma founder and chairman emeritus
Renato de Villa would continue to support Lacson.[11][12]
Lacson's campaign was also hampered by his poor standings in the pre-election
surveys.[13]
One of their senatorial candidates, media practitioner Paolo Capino, withdrew his candidacy. He was substituted by former
Philippine National Police chief
Guillermo Eleazar, who had just retired from his post. Former
mayor of
Quezon CityHerbert Bautista of
NPC and Senator
Sherwin Gatchalian were also part of Lacson's slate but were later removed after joining the
UniTeam Alliance.[19][20] After Lacson's resignation from Reporma, Monsour del Rosario announced his support for Leni Robredo's presidential campaign.[21] On April 4, reelectionist senator Migz Zubiri was dropped from the slate after openly endorsing the
campaign of
Bongbong Marcos.[22]
Endorsements
Panfilo Lacson
National-level cabinet and executive officials
Honorio Azcueta, Former Undersecretary of Defense[23]
Kim Henares, Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (2010–2016)[23]
Eliseo Rio, Secretary of Information and Communications Technology (2017–2019)[23]
Military officials
Renato De Villa, Secretary of National Defense (1991–1997), Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1988–1991), Executive Secretary (2001), 1998 Philippine presidential candidate, Chairman of
Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma[24]
Philippine Congress
Romeo Acop, Antipolo's 1st district representative (2010–2019)[23]
Vic Sotto, television host, actor, Sotto's brother and co-host on Eat Bulaga![29]
Tito Sotto
Military officials
Renato De Villa, Secretary of National Defense (1991–1997), Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1988–1991), Executive Secretary (2001), 1998 Philippine presidential candidate, Chairman of
Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma[24]
Eugenio Jose Lacson, Governor of Negros Occidental (2019–present), Vice Governor of Negros Occidental (2013–2019), Mayor of
San Carlos, Negros Occidental (2001–2010)[34]
^Partido Reporma previously nominated Lacson as its presidential candidate until March 24, 2022, when it endorses
Leni Robredo as its
guest presidential nominee. While Lacson will now run as
independent candidate, Reporma continues to endorse his running mate Tito Sotto as vice-presidential nominee, and will still reflected as Lacson's party on official ballots.