Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:47:00 11/26/2009
Filed Under: Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010, Congress
MANILA, Philippines—Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he would be thrilled to rub elbows with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the House of Representatives in 2010 as rumors swirled Wednesday that she was set to file her certificate of candidacy (CoC).But Ermita also stressed that Ms Arroyo has kept the ruling Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats party in the dark about her political plans.
“I have no personal knowledge on the matter. I’m very sorry,” Ermita said when asked to confirm reports the President was filing her CoC this weekend. “I don’t know if there is anybody who might know about it.”
“Wherever she might be, of course, our association will be something to look forward to because she is the President … there is always the thrill of being with the President,” Ermita told reporters.
Ms Arroyo has fanned speculations she would seek a seat in Congress with her many visits to Pampanga’s second district. Her election lawyer, however, denied this.
Ermita said he was considering running for a congressional seat in Batangas to take the place of his daughter, Rep. Eileen Ermita-Buhain.
“That’s a possibility,” he said candidly, when asked about the possibility of him joining Ms Arroyo in the House in July 2010.
But Ermita reiterated that he did not know what Ms Arroyo’s political plans were.
“Meaning, you’re trying to tell me that she’s going there, but I said that that’s a question that I do not know. In my case, that’s a possibility.”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said, when pressed again on why the President had been making frequent trips to her hometown Lubao and other parts of Pampanga’s second district.
Ermita said Ms Arroyo has not consulted the party about whether or not she should run for Congress in the May 2010 elections but added there was no need for her to do so. He said he expected her to make the decision on her own.
“The President is the President. She’s a political person. She has gone through several elections—as senator twice over, and as Vice President before she became President. So she knows better than anyone of us about the political implications, consequences … whatever. So she alone can make such a decision,” he said.
As a good politician, “she knows what she must do,” he added.
Ermita, who slid down from president to chair of the Lakas party’s advisory council, said he wasn’t aware if the party had picked a candidate for Pampanga’s second district.
The President’s son, Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, is the incumbent congressman representing the district.
Ermita denied that the party had already issued a certificate nominating Ms Arroyo as its congressional candidate for Pampanga’s second district.
“What’s important is that there’s legal basis [for her to run for a congressional seat],” he said.
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091126-238462/Theres-a-chance-Arroyo-Ermita-will-be-colleagues
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