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Batangas Vice-Governor Marc Leviste said he prefers that Vilma
Santos-Recto run for election as governor, instead of vice president
in the 2010 national elections.
“I prefer to be the vice governor of Vilma for
the next six to nine years,” Leviste said during a recent
exclusive roundtable interview with The Manila Times. At only age
30, he added that he’s not in a hurry to seek a higher political
office.
Earlier when Vice President Noli de Castro—who
is believed to be aspiring to be president in 2010—visited
Batangas, Leviste introduced Recto during a gathering and referred
to her as “the next vice president.” That remark caught national
media attention and was taken as a hint that a de-Castro-Recto
ticket may be in the offing.
Recto, a multi-awarded actress turned
politician, was later interviewed and was coy about aspiring to be
the country’s number two leader.
Leviste told The Times that the governor’s
husband, former Sen. Ralph Recto, is more serious about running for
re-election to the Senate than she is for vice president. But if
ever she decides to go for it, she has a good chance because of her
charm and winnability, plus her political experience as a three-term
mayor of Lipa City and now governor.
He said he believes that the governor and her
husband will not run for a nationally elected post at the same time.
And that could be good for Batangas. Talking in
Pilipino, Leviste said Gov. Recto is doing a good job his province,
which is located south of Metro Manila.
Even though they belong to different political
parties, he said he and the governor have a good working
relationship. He refers to her as the “heart” of Batangas,
himself as the “soul.”
“I intend to be that soul to give life to
Batangas,” Leviste said.
Political plans
Actually, becoming vice governor was not the
original plan of Leviste, who comes from a political family in
Batangas.
He is the son of former Batangas Gov. Conrad
Leviste, whose twin brother, Tony, was also governor and is the
estranged husband of Sen. Loren Legarda. Their father, Feliciano,
was governor of the province for some 20 years, beginning after
World War II. Tony Leviste has been in the news as he stands trial
for the alleged murder of longtime business associate Rafael de las
Alas. The former claimed self-defense, and the trial is ongoing.
Vice Governor Leviste had originally wanted to
run as congressman, representing his province’s fourth district,
last year. But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told him that
their party, the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrat, was eying
the son of Sec. Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation
and Communications for that post.
Eventually, Leviste bolted Lakas and joined its
coalition partner, the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), the
party founded by President Gloria Arroyo. He ran against Ermita’s
son for vice governor, who filed an election protest after losing in
the polls last year.
Leviste was a member of the Batangas Provincial
Board, and before that, was a member of the Sangguniang Kabataan
(Youth Council) in Makati City in Metro Manila.
“I didn’t get my [political] training from
my family,” he said, adding that if anything, his family tried to
dissuade him from politics.
He describes himself as a marketing person,
having worked for the family’s real estate company. Work often
brought him to Batangas, where his family—even his wife—was
unaware that he was going around, talking to people and getting to
know their sentiments.
Learning that people still remembered his
grandfather, coupled with good showings in the political surveys in
the province, convinced him to seek office in Batangas.
Even as he professes to stay put as vice
governor, he concedes that his political instincts tell him to keep
his focus forward. “Everyday is a time to prepare for the next
election,” he said.
-- Dante “Klink” Ang 2nd
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