SENATOR Loren Legarda is willing to run as vice president of either Senator Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party or Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD as long as her “passionate commitment” toward the environment is met.For her to say “yes,” Legarda demanded from the two presidential candidates more than an “okay or compatibility” when it comes to her environmental platform.
“No problem with platform? It’s got to be more than that. It should be passionate implementation of my platform of sustainable development and climate change adaptation,” Legarda told Standard Today.
Legarda spelled out her demands after the Nationalist People’s Coalition allowed her to accept the “offer” of Villar or Teodoro to have her as running mate.
“Senator Loren Legarda will be allowed to be a guest candidate for either Senator Villar or Secretary Teodoro. It will be a platform-based alliance,” NPC spokesman and Valenzuela Rep.Rex Gatchalian said.
But the NPC has yet to decide whether or not to adopt the standard bearer that would adopt Legarda, he said.
Legarda did not disclose why she changed her stand to run under an opposition ticket and opened the possibility for Teodoro’s offer even if she already ruled out teaming up with the administration’s standard bearer. “I will tell you in due time,” she said.
Legarda said her standard bearer should ensure that climate change and environmental projects are “purposely funded and aggressively carried out. And focus on agricultural productivity and LGU [local government unit] empowerment to implement environmental laws.”
“It is acceptable to the party for her to be a guest candidate of another party. We will be solidly behind her for vice president. But we will maintain our independence. Our party and our party only will decide what the NPC will do about whether or not to have a presidential candidate,” Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, an NPC stalwart, said.
“We are still in the process of consulting our members as to what will be our party’s position. What is certain is we are allowing Loren to be a guest candidate of another party,” Gatchalian said.
Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNation.htm?f=2009/november/7/nation3.isx&d=/2009/november/7
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