Legarda being chased by both Villar, Palace parties

by Joyce Pangco Pañares and Fel V. Maragay


WITH no presidential candidate in her own party, Senator Loren Legarda is now being wooed by at least two parties to be the running mate of their standard bearers.

Talks between the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD and the Nationalist People’s Coalition have begun that would pair the senator with presidential aspirant Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.

At the same time, the Nacionalistas are also hoping to forge a coalition with the NPC that would have Legarda running with Senator Manuel Villar.

Presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio said informal talks had begun with the NPC, which was a traditional coalition partner of the original Lakas-CMD during the last two elections.

‘‘Talks have already begun at various levels, although not yet at a formal party-to-party level,’’ Claudio said.

“But several members of the NPC have expressed their desire to establish another coalition with Lakas-Kampi as had been done during the 2007 and 2004 elections,’’ he said.

‘‘If the coalition succeeds, its natural consequence would be getting Senator Legarda as vice president of Secretary Teodoro. Even if Senator Legarda earlier announced that she would only run under an opposition banner, she also clarified that she had no intention of bolting the NPC and would follow the decision of the party.’’

Claudio said the party would announce Teodoro’s running mate on or before its national convention on Nov. 19.

Legarda, who has already declared her intention to run for vice president, was left without an NPC standard bearer after Senator Francis Escudero quit the party last week, and allegedly over differences with party leader Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., who is an uncle of Teodoro and the Liberal Party candidate, Senator Benigno Aquino III.

Legarda was a member of the original Lakas-CMD before joining the opposition as the running mate of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004.

The League of Provinces of the Philippines endorsed a Teodoro-Legarda tandem after Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno backed out from a plan to run for vice president.

But sources told Standard Today that talks between the Villar and Legarda camps went into high gear after Escudero bolted the NPC and abandoned his running mate.

“Loren is left with no choice but to team up with Villar after Escudero bolted the NPC and abandoned her,” one of the senator’s political advisers told Standard Today.

“Besides, they are both compatible with each other in many ways.”

Legarda herself has said she is amenable to being paired with Villar, but only if he commits to supporting her causes, the foremost of which is environment protection.

Villar has said that if he and Legarda are elected, he would appoint her as his Environment secretary.

Villar said he would announce his choice of running mate by the middle of November. Legarda aside, those being considered are Vice President Noli de Castro, Escudero, Senator Pia Cayetano, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, who has already agreed to run with ousted President Joseph Estrada.

De Castro used to be on top of the list, but Villar said the chances of having the vice president join him in 2010 were now bleak because he preferred to go back to his old job as a broadcaster at the ABS-CBN network.

Valenzuela City Rep. Rex Gatchalian, NPC spokesman, acknowledged that both Lakas-Kampi and the Nacionalistas were interested in forming a tactical alliance for the 2010 elections.

But one of Villar’s media advisers said that the Nacionalistas were more comfortable about coalescing with the NPC because many of its leaders came from the Nacionalista Party.

“The NP and NPC are natural allies,” the source said. “And this is what makes the Villar-Legarda tandem attractive to both sides.”


Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2009/november/3/news3.isx&d=/2009/november/3