A once-staunch ally of President Duterte is now backing the presidential candidacy of opposition standard-bearer, Vice President Leni Robredo.

"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," Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez said in a statement Thursday, March 24.

Alvarez, who served as House Speaker during the first half of the Duterte administration, is the president of the Partido ng Demokratikong Reporma (PDR).

Thursday's statement indicated that not only Alvarez but the entire party is now backing Robredo, who it identified as one of the "two candidates have pulled away from the pack", the other being the survey-leading Bongbong Marcos of the administration's UniTeam ticket.

"While the candidate second in ranking still lags far behind from the frontrunner, it is evident that her campaign has gained, and continues to gain, significant 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," Alvarez said.

The PDR had previously named Senator Panfilo Lacson as its standard-bearer in the upcoming May 9 polls. Lacson, however, has lagged in pre-election surveys.

"Senator Ping Lacson is the best, and our leaders on the ground have echoed that sentiment time and again. Even supporters of other candidates agree. And under ideal circumstances, they want to campaign and vote for him and see him lead the country. He is the most qualified to be President.

"But the electoral terrain in 2022 is far from ideal, and fate had other plans. Time and context framed the narrative of 2022 in a way that gave traction, rightly or wrongly, to other candidacies instead. This is a difficult fact which takes courage to admit," said the former speaker.

"Our ground leaders have expressed their wish to participate in that brave calling. And that is why, a hard choice must be made. With a heavy heart, many members of Partido Reporma are constrained to consider a candidate other than their first choice," Alvarez said on the decision to drop Lacson as its Palace bet.

Alvarez said the party "reasonably believe that the only realistic option at this point, with roughly a month and a half left, is to converge with Leni Robredo’s campaign".

"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.

"We respect the choice of our members and officers. They are not Pink, but they are reformists, and they are for Leni Robredo. The fight for good governance and a better tomorrow for our People has never been, and never will be, limited to a single color," the Mindanao congressman further said.

"I personally have also made a decision. With time still left, but admittedly not a lot of it, decisive action is necessary. We must respond to the demands of patriotism requiring us to set aside personal preferences, the end goal being collective victory for good governance, a better future for Filipinos, and a strong and progressive nation," he added.