MANILA - Opposition coalition 1Sambayan on Tuesday called on the Philippine electorate there is an "alternative" choice for the 2022 elections rather than allowing the same administration to stay in power for another 6 years.

"People who keep saying that we need a continuity of the same administration, we want to show them that there's an alternative. There must be an alternative," 1Sambayan convenor Bro. Armin Luistro told ANC.

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He bared that part of the reason why the 1Sambayan coalition was created was because of the possible tandem of President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Davao City mayor Sara-Duterte Carpio, in next year's polls.

"We kind of take that as part of the territory and part of the main reason why we have come together," said Luistro, a former education secretary and president of De La Salle University.

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Luistro said they grew frustrated over the present administration's seeming failure in addressing the country's problems.

"It's 5 years of the Duterte administration and it doesn't look like leadership is doing their share in addressing the critical problems of the country," he said.

Among them is the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis, which has so far infected over 671,000 people after a year into the pandemic. The country also suffered its worst economic decline in 2020 as strict lockdowns shut down business operations and left millions out of work.

"It's easy [for] those who are in power to say let's just trust them. Let us heal as one. Let us not divide. Let's not politicize matters at this stage but we've been here for more than a year and nothing is really happening," Luistro said.

The 1Sambayan coalition, chaired by former Senior Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, is not just looking for the "best and brightest."

"We always say your starting point should be the integrity of the person and willingness to really serve beyond just personal ambition, ego or just party pressure and there are many Filipinos willing to do that," Luistro said.

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Days after the launch of the pro-democracy coalition, he said there were "major political blocks" who reached out to their group.

"Maybe in the next week or so, major announcement can be made in this regard," he said.

The coalition have already met with some possible candidates, including Vice President Leni Robredo, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay, and former Sen. Antonio Trillanes.

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