Sotto-Lacson, Robredo falling out spells trouble for both camps��

THE FAILED potential alliance between��Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, the head of the current opposition party, and the tandem of Senators��Vicente C. Sotto III��and��Panfilo M. Lacson��spells trouble for both camps in the 2022 elections.����

Dennis C.��Coronacion,��chair of the University of Santo Tomas Political Science Department,��said the��falling��out will hurt Ms. Robredo’s aim to have a unified opposition in next year’s poll and lose votes from Lacson-Sotto supporters.������

“Had VP Robredo shown good ratings in the surveys and had her actions shown that she’s��a strong political leader, there would have been no serious challenges to her plan of leading the unified opposition,”��Mr.��Coronacion��said��in a Viber message to������ý.����

On the other hand, the Lacson-Sotto tandem might not muster enough support without allies, according to��Maria��Ela��L.��Atienza, former chair of the University of the Philippines Diliman’s��Political Science Department.����

The Lacson-Sotto��tandem wanted to be labeled as��“neutral,”��she said,��however, being open to talks with Ms. Robredo meant that they also entertain the possibility of being seen as opposition candidates.������

“Their failure in talks and negotiations with other groups may cause them to lose support,”��Ms. Atienza��said.����

“This is the difficulty in a country where we do not have strong parties and people vote on the basis of personalities,”��she said.��“It is also difficult for candidates to gauge support from other politicians and their political parties as it is so easy to break coalition agreements and jump to the more winnable candidates.”��������

Mr. Sotto, in a Viber message to reporters on Monday, said the vice-president’s��“outright rejection”��of Mr. Lacson’s proposed��strategy��“meant they had something else in mind at the outset.”������

Mr. Lacson suggested that all potential presidential contenders file a candidacy in October, then pull out in favor of one who will lead surveys in the months leading up to the campaign period starting February.������

Ms. Robredo��said on Sunday that��she rejected Mr. Lacson’s offer because of her��“personal belief”��that she should fight for her presidential bid until the end, even if she ranks low in surveys.��—��Alyssa Nicole O. Tan��