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By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
The 2010 presidential elections will not be a
battle between the administration and the opposition and that
several candidates vying for president is a likely scenario,
Senators Mar Roxas 2nd and Edgardo Angara said.
Angara said he sees at least seven contenders.
Former President Joseph Estrada had said failure
of the opposition to field a single candidate would repeat the
minority bloc’s 2004 experience where President Gloria Arroyo won
against her rivals, including two from the opposition, Sen. Panfilo
Lacson and actor Fernando Poe Jr. Estrada added he would run if the
opposition remained divided.
“The dynamics for 2010 will be who has the
best plan for the country,” Roxas said. “It’s not
opposition-administration, left-right, up-down.”
He and Angara on Thursday told separate fora
that the scenario for 2010 will be closer to that of 1992 where the
incumbent was no longer eligible for reelection so there were
multiple candidates, rather than that of 2004.
Administration contender Fidel Ramos won the
1992 presidential polls, his victory partly credited to the
endorsement that the incumbent president, Corazon Aquino, had given
him. Ramos’ win, however, was disputed by a losing candidate, now
Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who alleged she had been cheated.
Roxas, president of Liberal Party (LP), is
expected to be the official party candidate for president in 2010.
Earlier, in reaction to Estrada’s declaration to run to unite the
opposition, former Senate President Franklin Drilon, a Liberal Party
leader, said he doubted if Roxas would play second fiddle to
Estrada.
Angara said unity of the opposition is a wish
“but Filipinos are never trained to be united.” He is not known
to have indicated any interest in running for the presidency.
“There will be more candidates in 2010 whether
from the opposition or the administration because the field is
open,” he added. “There is no law limiting the number of
presidential candidates.”
Angara predicted that with about seven
candidates for president in 2010, the winner would be a minority one
again. Ramos, whom Estrada succeeded, was a minority president, and
so is President Arroyo. Estrada is the Chief Executive who garnered
the most number of votes in Philippine history, but he also failed
to get a majority.
Angara, president of Laban ng Demokratikong
Pilipino (LDP), urged all wannabes not to focus too much in 2010
although he said they can prepare and organize a network now.
The known presidential aspirants besides Roxas
are Lacson, Senate President Manuel Villar Jr., Sen. Loren Legarda,
Sen. Richard Gordon, Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila
Development Authority and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay. Sen.
Francis Escudero has been figuring prominently in surveys but he has
denied any interest in 2010.
Angara said 2008 is the only period where
Congress can pitch for reforms. He added that if the presidential
contenders remain focused in 2010, they would be playing to the
gallery and the structural reforms needed would partake political
color.
“Let’s make 2008 a year of genuine reform. I
have seen many elections in this country,” Angara said. “I have
served the Senate longer than anyone and I have seen the damaging
stress of early politicking on the quality of reforms.”
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
also said on Thursday that Estrada may opt to present himself as a
presidential bet only as a last recourse if unification talks among
opposition groups fail. He added that only the success of the
negotiations would give the minority bloc a fighting chance to
capture the presidency. Pimentel cited the supposedly immense
resources at the disposal of the administration that could tilt the
race in favor of the Arroyo camp.
Pimentel maintained that he believes that
Estrada is sincerely working to unite the presidential aspirants of
the opposition behind a common candidate for the 2010 elections.
“Knowing Erap [Estrada’s nickname], whose
pragmatic mind is second to none, I think he wants the opposition
aspirants to unite because, if fragmented, it would only facilitate
the victory of the administration candidate,” he said.
Pimentel revealed that he had met with Estrada
on December 24, 2007, and discussed with him legal matters that
impact on the former President taking another shot at Malacañang.
“One [such matter] is his pardon, [which] does
not absolutely bar him from running again because it restores all
his civil and political rights,” the Senate minority leader said.
“The other is the Constitution. The one-term provision for
presidents will surely be used by his political opponents to bar his
running again. Will he overcome that or not? Only time will tell.”
Estrada was convicted of plunder in September
last year but a few weeks later was given unconditional pardon by
Mrs. Arroyo. He said no deals were made to speed up the granting of
the executive clemency. Estrada, upon release, swore to give up
politics.
Pimentel said Estrada remains popular and will
be a formidable presidential contender.
But, he added, the administration can be
expected to exhaust all legal means to block Estrada’s candidacy
as it did that of Poe.
“Under the terms of his pardon, Erap may well
crown himself like Caesar. As I told him last December 24, his
critics won’t let him do that because, as they have already
threatened, they would invoke the constitutional mandate of only one
term for any president.”
-- With Sammy Martin
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