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BY James Konstantin Galvez and
William Depasupil, Reporters
House Minority Leader Francis
Escudero ended on Tuesday speculations about his political
affiliation as he filed his candidacy for the Senate under the
United Opposition (UNO) ticket.
Speaking to reporters, Escudero
also said the proposed Third Force, or unity ticket, would die in
the run-up to the May polls, with candidates splitting into
administration and opposition camps.
“In the end, there is only one
force and that is the people,” the lawmaker stressed, adding that
a strong opposition is healthy for democracy.
Escudero made the remarks a day
after President Arroyo backed the proposal of Chief of Staff Michael
Defensor to endorse a unity slate.
Administration officials have
named several reelectionist senators as possible members of this
slate. But while the Nationalista Party under Senate President Manny
Villar has formed a Third Force with independent members of the
Liberal Party, the group said they would form an alliance with
either Arroyo’s ruling coalition or deposed President Estrada’s
UNO.
Mobbed
Escudero, 37, was the 17th
candidate to file a certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials said he is the first
serious contender for national office since the election period
started on January 15.
Escudero arrived at the Comelec
office about 9 a.m., after attending Mass at the Manila Cathedral.
Comelec personnel mobbed the
young congressman, hugging him and clasping his hands as his wife,
Christine, and actress Susan Roces, widow of his godfather, the late
actor Fernando Poe Jr., looked on.
“There will be no turning back.
I will not deviate from the path I have decided to travel,”
Escudero said. “From this point on, I am putting my fate
completely in the hands of the people.”
The Nationalist People’s
Coalition (NPC) of tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco nominated
Escudero.
The NPC is allied with the
administration’s Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and Kampi but
the young lawmaker chose to run under the UNO banner.
“I have been a member of the
Nationalist People’s Coalition since 1998. And there is no reason
for me to change my political affiliation now,” Escudero said.
“I am with the opposition and I
will remain with it. I expect my party [NPC] to support me as it did
many times in the past,” he said.
Healthy democracy
Escudero confirmed reports that
administration operators had wooed him for the unity ticket.
“But my answer was always that
I would run under the opposition and I would remain with it,” he
stressed.
UNO expects to complete its
senatorial lineup within the week, he added.
Malacañang Spokesman Ignacio
Bunye said the administration expected Escudero’s move.
“It’s no surprise,” said
Bunye at a press briefing.
Escudero explained that a strong
opposition is indispensable to the growth of Philippine democracy.
“But I will always lend my
support to measures introduced in the Senate, whether by the
administration or by the opposition, if to my mind the country will
benefit from them,” he added. UNO, he clarified, “is not all
about being antiadministration.”
Roces said she would campaign for
Escudero because she believes he represents the better breed of
young politicians.
The actress said she prayed for
“clean and honest” elections.
Asked to for her reactions on the
Senate re-election campaigns of lawmakers who stonewalled on the
opposition’s electoral protests, Roces took the high road.
“My personal feeling will
remain personal. I don’t harbor any grudge or hatred towards
anyone,” said Roces.
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Sam Mediavilla
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