Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Two down, three still on her list.Sen. Loren Legarda Thursday admitted that the list of presidential aspirants who were wooing her to be their No. 2 in the May 2010 polls had been shortened.
Legarda reiterated to reporters that “at least five” presidential hopefuls had asked her to be their running mate. “But entertaining them is another issue,” she said without naming names.
Later, however, Legarda told the Inquirer that the hopefuls still on her list were Senators Francis Escudero and Manuel Villar and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.
Ousted President Joseph Estrada is no longer listed as he has already announced that Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay would be his No. 2.
Legarda said Sen. Richard Gordon, another presidential aspirant, had also pressed his suit, to no avail.
‘Agonizing’
Legarda is actually “agonizing” over her political plans for 2010 following the sudden decision of Escudero, her party mate in the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), to postpone announcing his presidential run in deference to the victims of massive floods and landslides.
But she made it clear at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado news forum Thursday that with or without Escudero, the guessing game would end late next week.
“Barring any severe weather disturbance and other climatic matters, I will make my formal announcement within 10 days,” she said, adding:
“I will give my formal decision on not only the position I will contest but also my progressive, patriotic and pro-environment platform.”
Legarda, the United Nations’ regional champion for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, has conducted two hearings on the causes of severe flooding in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.
Until Thursday, she had been reluctant to talk about whether she would run for president or slide down to the vice presidential slot in 2010.
“I’m still agonizing [about my candidacy],” Legarda told reporters, adding that she was more concerned about the “calamities and humanitarian disaster” that had gripped Filipinos in the past three weeks.
“Yes, we need politics; we need the politics of climate change,” she quipped.
‘Beyond 2010’
But reporters continued to badger Legarda on her political plans.
Asked about a possible tandem with Teodoro, the standard-bearer of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD, she said: “We can help each other without necessarily running together. Politics goes beyond 2010.”
Escudero was widely expected by his supporters to formally announce his presidential candidacy on Oct. 10. It was the day he turned 40, the minimum age requirement for those seeking the presidency.
But apparently wary of criticism from the public still reeling from the destruction caused by back-to-back storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng,” he canceled his birthday party and even the expected announcement.
Escudero’s media officers said that about 70 percent of the NPC members had been affected by the flooding in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, and that he had decided to first focus his energies on helping them get back on their feet.
Unwilling backer
An NPC insider said that apart from waiting for an auspicious time to announce the Escudero-Legarda tandem, the party was facing a serious logistical problem.
NPC founder Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. appears unwilling to bankroll its nationwide campaign this early, according to the insider, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to discuss party matters in public.
Source: http://politics.inquirer.net/view.php?db=1&article=20091016-230329
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