DEFENSE CHIEF GIBO-CEBU GOV. GWEN TANDEM EMERGING FOR LAKAS
MANILA, OCTOBER 27, 2009 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - The tandem of Lakas-Kampi standard-bearer Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia for the 2010 elections is emerging as negotiations for what the administration sees as a powerhouse team-up are nearing the homestretch, officials said yesterday.
A highly placed source privy to the talks said the negotiations to have Garcia as the Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s vice presidential candidate have reached “the crucial stage and an announcement would be made anytime soon.”
The ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD is expected to hold its national convention on Nov. 12 in Cebu where the party is set to formalize the selection of Teodoro and his running mate for the 2010 elections.
“It was Gibo (Teodoro’s nickname) who really wanted Gwen, and she was the real target,” the source said amid reports that the ruling party was wooing either Sen. Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) or Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos to be the defense chief’s running mate.
“This is a powerhouse team. They are both young and well-experienced executives with good credentials and track record. Together, that counts a lot for the reconstruction and reform in the country,” the official said.
The official said Garcia, who won by a historic margin of half a million votes in the 2007 elections, would bring “geographic balance” to the campaign of Teodoro, who appears to be gaining ground in some parts of Luzon and Mindanao.
The source said talks gained ground after Teodoro met with Garcia some two weeks ago during the latter’s birthday bash in Cebu where she turned over some P20 million as her province’s donation for the ongoing rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the National Disaster Coordinating Council following two typhoons that cut a wide swath of destruction through much of Luzon.
The turnover was witnessed by 45 mayors and more than 1,500 local political leaders and barangay captains. The donation is the biggest from a local government unit and Teodoro said “Cebu demonstrated its solidarity with the Filipino nation by extending its charity to our people in distress.”
“In truth, he (Teodoro) never considered Sen. Legarda,” the official said, adding the governors, who were pushing for her, did not ask her to leave NPC but suggested a coalition with Lakas-Kampi-CMD.
Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio earlier admitted that Teodoro’s choice of running mate would be given much weight in the selection of the administration’s vice presidential candidate.
Cebu is vote-rich and during the hotly contested 2004 presidential elections, gave President Arroyo nearly a million votes that were later affirmed by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.
The official said the League of Municipalities of the Philippines is also considering formally endorsing Teodoro.
The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) earlier expressed support for Teodoro’s bid to be president.
Garcia also belongs to the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.
Claudio said yesterday the endorsement of the tandem of Teodoro and Legarda and a coalition of Lakas-Kampi-CMD and NPC “was a multi-partisan initiative of governors comprising the executive committee of the LPP and it was not necessarily the position of the administration party.”
“We have not even formally discussed it. Asked for reaction (from the media), we said we recognize and continue to recognize the fine qualities of Sen. Legarda as a leader and advocate of many worthy causes,” Claudio said.
“But the fact is we already have a standard-bearer and Loren belongs to NPC. It’s up to her to assess her political prospects given these conditions. It’s no problem to us if she stays with the opposition,” he said.
He said “the more earnest talks the administration party is having in relation to Gibo’s running mate is with prominent members of the party itself, which is not wanting in excellent materials for vice president.”
He said “an overwhelming number of governors, other local executives and congressmen have pledged support for Gibo not because they are party mates but because they believe in him as a leader with firmness, integrity and substance.”
“Those local leaders are the same nationwide machinery that could support Sen. Legarda but only on the condition that she is in tandem with our standard-bearer. The dilemma is probably hers, not ours. Just the same, we wish her the best,” Claudio said.
Chiz not keen on Loren as vice president By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated October 27, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, the leading presidential aspirant of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), is not keen on recruiting partymate Sen. Loren Legarda as his running mate, a congressman close to Escudero disclosed yesterday.
“Naiinis na si Chiz kay Loren (Chiz is getting irritated with Loren). He has been talking to her but she is still non-committal. She could not make up her mind,” said the lawmaker who refused to be identified. He said apparently, Legarda is negotiating with presidential candidates other than Escudero. “If Chiz cannot convince Loren, he will consider running without a vice presidential candidate,” he added.
The prospective NPC standard-bearer is expected to announce his presidential bid tomorrow. Legarda had announced over the weekend that she would seek the vice presidency, which she lost to Vice President Noli de Castro in the 2004 polls. However, when asked if she would run with Escudero, she would not give a categorical answer. “Everything will fall into place at the right time,” she said, adding that she would stay with NPC and the opposition.
There are reports that the members of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD want to recruit her as the running mate of the party’s presidential candidate Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. Another presidential aspirant reportedly interested in Legarda is Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., the standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party. A House source claims that a senator close to Legarda is doing the negotiations for her.
“Those are just speculations by media. In all fairness to Sec. Teodoro and Sen. Manny Villar, I haven’t seen or talked with them,” Legarda said. She admitted that her refusal to reveal whom she would run with has resulted to speculations.
Among the presidential spirants in 2010, only Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party has a vice presidential running mate in Sen. Mar Roxas.
Magdalo group backing Chiz for president By Reinir Padua (The Philippine Star) Updated October 26, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Magdalo group yesterday endorsed the presidential bid of Sen. Francis Escudero and made public the candidacies for legislative and executive posts of six of its members.
But Escudero, of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, is reportedly having second thoughts because of lack of financial support from NPC chairman Eduardo Cojuangco and his low rating in the presidential surveys.
Magdalo national spokesperson Air Force 1Lt. Francisco Ashley Acedillo also announced that they will support whoever Escudero chooses as running mate.
During a press conference at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Acedillo said Escudero got the highest number of votes (53.7 percent) from the party leaders during the group’s consultation.
“We made it clear with them that they could only choose among the candidates from the opposition,” he said, adding that the choices included Senators Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar and former President Joseph Estrada.
Acedillo said the criteria considered by the party leaders in choosing the presidential candidate were character, vision and leadership. The consultation happened within two months among the 375 chapter presidents and coordinators of the group.
Army Brig. Gen. Danny Lim and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin are both running for senator. Acedillo is running for a congressional seat in the second district of Cebu.
Navy Lt. Senior Grade James Layug is aiming to become congressman of the second district of Taguig while Army Captain Dante Langkit is running for the lone congressional district of Kalinga province. Marine Captain Gary Alejano will run for mayor of Sipalay City in Negros Occidental.
The party, which is awaiting accreditation by the Commission on Elections, has at the moment 40,000 members.
Acedillo said the figure is just a “conservative estimate,” noting that they intend to increase membership in the coming months.
“(On the question of) if we can deliver a command vote, we’ll see in the coming months,” he said.
He added that the group would like to influence not just the results of the elections but the manner by which the voters choose their candidates. He said the group would actively work for voter education.
“We cannot be on the sidelines if we really care for the future of our country. We cannot lose the country by default. The only way to do it is to participate in the elections,” he said.
Asked whether its candidates would join the NPC slate to which Escudero belongs, Acedillo said that until the Comelec accredits the group as a party their members running for other positions could still be considered as independent candidates.
He said if there would be conflicts in the future regarding this matter, their candidates are ready to go independent.
“We understand that possibility but we’ll avoid it at all cost,” he said.
Querubin’s spokesman and stepson Martin Loon, on the other hand, said their family would support the candidacy of Villar.
“We are personally committed to supporting Senator Villar but we respect the (Magdalo group’s) resolution for Chiz. The Magdalo endorsement is an organizational decision,” he said.
He added that their family would support the candidacies of those from the Magdalo group running for elective posts.
Loon also added that if his stepfather had to campaign from behind bars, Querubin “would follow the format of Senator (Antonio) Trillanes (IV).” But he said they were still hopeful that Querubin would be freed soon, especially following the clearing of 11 of the 28 soldiers charged with mutiny.
In a statement, Trillanes said the group decided to endorse a presidential candidate to ensure that the running of the country would not lie in “bad hands.”
The group has opened membership to volunteers from the civilian sector and advocates good governance.
To be or not to be
Meanwhile, political sources said Escudero’s decision to withhold his announcement after his birthday last Oct. 10 was prompted by his low ratings in a Pulse Asia survey, which the senator’s camp commissioned.
The sources said Escudero received the survey results a few days before his scheduled announcement last Oct.12, which he deferred citing the need to focus efforts first on helping fellow countrymen who were adversely affected by the onslaught of tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”
“Right now, he is waiting for the right timing to announce his decision,” the source said, without elaborating.
Another source revealed that results of an unpublished poll survey showed that Escudero remained at number four spot.
Cojuangco has been quiet over recent developments in his party. His son, Rep. Mark, however, said during Sen. Loren Legarda’s declaration of her vice-presidential bid last Friday that his father opted to keep his distance and “just observe” what is happening in the political scene. Legarda earlier told reporters that the NPC chairman has told them that he is leaving it up to the two NPC stalwarts (Escudero and Legarda) to decide on their bids. “The NPC will not make an announcement. It will be up to us,” she said. – With Christina Mendez, James Mananghaya
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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