By Sammy Martin Reporter and Daniel Francis C. Aldeza, Special To The Manila Times

The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) will field a tandem for the 2010 election consisting of Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero and herself, Sen. Loren Legarda said, adding that the chances of having a united opposition front is highly unlikely. In Kapihan sa Sulo on Saturday, Senator Legarda, however, said that it’s still not certain on who between her and Escudero will be the standard bearer of NPC.

Further, she and Escudero are already in the process of coming up with a platform. She indicated that good governance, economy, environment and promotion of culture are the cornerstones of their platform.

Legarda and Escudero placed first and second in 2007 senatorial elections. On the controversial 2004 presidential elections, Senator Legarda lost to Vice President Noli de Castro in the vice presidential bid.
She said that in the coming weeks she and Escudero will announce together their plans for the 2010 elections. In the past, Escudero indicated that he would announce his plans on or after his 40th birthday on October 10.

Asked if it’s still possible to have an opposition rallying behind one candidate, Legarda said that talks had been made but it hadn’t progressed. But she’s still open if the opposition can come up with a good plan.
However, with the development on the Liberal Party (LP), and the inevitable candidacy of Sen. Manny
Villar, it is highly unlikely for the opposition to have a united front. Legarda said that these events shouldn’t be taken against the opposition since the country has a multi-party system. In fact, she said that it would be advantageous for the country to choose from many candidates.

When told that she is not being considered to be the standard bearer of NPC because of “gender issue,”
Legarda said, “Do not ascribed a woman the mistakes of a particular woman. That is so unfair.”
She insists that gender issue should not be the barometer in choosing a candidate because she believes that what men can do, women can.

“Kapag ba ang lalakeng presidente ay pumalpak, sinasabi ba n’yo na lalake na naman? [Whenever it’s a male president, do you say, ’It’s a male again’?]” she said.
She emphasized that gender is not an issue in choosing leaders of the country but must scrutinize on how the candidate will deal to the problems of the country.

She added that this might be a guiding light at the end of the tunnel and eventually the key to the much-awaited positive turn in the country’s economy.