Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson may have lost the support of a prominent political group, but their supporters in the local scene are strong.

That is why Lacson and Senator Vicente Sotto III did not lose hope or focus when the Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez’s Partido Reporma decided to abandon the Lacson-Sotto tandem.

“Bago po ‘yung hayagang pagbibitiw ng Reporma sa pagsuporta kay Senator Lacson ay napansin naman na po rin ng ating kandidato na patumal na at humina ang pagsuporta sa kaniya early on (Even before the party openly declared they are withdrawing support for Sen. Lacson, our candidate has since observed how their support for him weakened early on),” said Lacson’s spokesman, former representative Ashley “Ace” Acedillo, in an interview on RMN’s “News Nationwide.”

“Noong nakita po natin ‘yon, nagkaroon po tayo ng pagkakataon na palakasin naman ‘yung parallel support groups, ‘yung tinatawag nating Lacson-Sotto Support Group (LSSG) nitong mga nakaraang buwan. So, dahi po diyan, wala naman po tayong basically pupulutin or pieces to pick up dahil in place naman po ‘yung ating parallel ground campaign team (When we saw that, we had the opportunity to strengthen our parallel support groups. What we call the LSSG in the past months. So because of that, we basically don’t have pieces to pick up because our parallel ground campaign team is intact),” Acedillo pointed out.

Acedillo further said Lacson’s resolve and how he handled the falling out with Partido Reporma made him admire his chosen presidential candidate in the upcoming May 2022 elections.

Lacson has tendered his resignation from Partido Reporma immediately prior to Alvarez’s press conference with Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday, March 24, and announced he would be running his presidential bid independently.

Acedillo also resigned as party spokesperson together with other officials, and chose to be Lacson’s personal spokesperson.

“Dati na akong bilib sa kandidato ko pero napabilib niya ho uli ako. ‘Yung kaniyang boses, ‘yung kaniyang konsentrasyon talagang wala—hindi ho natinag (I believed in my candidate, but he made me admire him more. His voice, his concentration, was really strong and intact),” said Acedillo

“And this tells me kung anong klase siyang lider at kung anong klase siyang tao (what kind of a leader he is and what kind of a person he is). ‘Yung kaniyang character ay malakas at ang kaniyang pamumuno ay malakas din (His character is strong and his leadership is also strong),” he added.

“And the only way to test your character, really, is adversity. Hindi ‘yung (not the) times of plenty or bounty or times of rejoicing. This is a time of adversity and this is also a time of a test for our character—both of our leader and those of us who support him,” he stressed.

“So, I believe we can only grow stronger from this...As difficult as it may seem, tingin ko positibo pa rin in the end ang magiging resulta nito (I think only positive results will come out from this),” Acedillo emphasized.