BAYANI Fernando yesterday threatened to quit as chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority “at the soonest possible time” to run as an independent presidential candidate in next year’s elections.“There is no turning back,” he told Standard Today.
“Definitely, I’m resigning soon so nobody will doubt my next moves. I am running without a party.”
Fernando had hoped that the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD would draft him as its presidential candidate, but the party’s executive committee picked Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro instead in a meeting at the Shangri-La Edsa Plaza on Sept. 16.
National Security Council director Norberto Gonzales replaced Teodoro in a concurrent capacity on Monday, but his deputy will replace him in the council once he is appointed to Teodoro’s post.
Fernando said he could mount a nationwide campaign with support from some businessmen who believed in him. His general manager, Robert Nacianceno, described the presidential hopeful as one of President Gloria Arroyo’s richest Cabinet members.
“He has his own money to spend,” Nacianceno said.
“He built some of the biggest and tallest buildings in our country.”
Nacianceno said he joined Fernando in a meeting at his house in Monte Vista, Marikina City, Monday night, and that Fernando was considering picking his running mate from a list of luminaries.
Fernando yesterday pointed to his track record as mayor of Marikina City and said his leadership and political will were enough to make him a good president.
“The presidency is all about governance, so what we need is someone with executive ability—especially someone who is an engineer since governance is about engineering,” he said.
“If I can manage Metro Manila and transform it, I can also manage the country.”
Fernando said the country could not progress if it continued to pick candidates based on their popularity or the sympathy they elicited from the electorate.
“The people must start doing away with what is popular in choosing their leaders to get the country out of the hell hole,” he said.
Nacianceno said Fernando still had to attend to some unfinished business in the agency—a source said he was resigning next week—but that he was leaving it to President Gloria Arroyo to pick his replacement.
“He is not recommending anyone,” Nacianceno said. Rio N. Araja
Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2009/november/18/news4.isx&d=/2009/november/18
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