|
I was all set to predict that Lakas would adopt Sen. Manny Villar of
the Nacionalista Party as its 2010 presidential candidate when
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro suddenly announced his interest in
running for the post. Now, I am not too sure anymore. Teodoro’s
relative youth, intelligence and connections make him a strong
contender as Lakas standard-bearer. He will certainly give Villar a
run for his money. Oops! A billion oops!
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile predicted
last December that somebody who was not even being included in
surveys on presidential wannabes would suddenly emerge on the third
quarter of this year and become a force to reckon with. Juan Ponce
Enrile did not identify this “somebody” then although I felt it
in my bones that he was actually referring to Teodoro. Teodoro’s
possible candidacy had been discussed in various columns before but
he had always eluded this issue—until this week when he confirmed
his interest. Well, well, well, he did not wait for the third
quarter of the year at all!
Villar enjoys support from numerous members of
Lakas and even Kampi. Then, there are House Minority Leader Ronnie
Zamora and his brother Manny who had previously supported Sen. Ping
Lacson. Villar is no knee-jerk oppositionist so this makes him very
acceptable to administration parties Lakas and Kampi. Then, too, he
had been consistently high up in surveys. I had been convinced that
Lakas and Kampi would adopt him as its presidential candidate until
Teodoro comes along. This complicates matters.
Presidential titillation
I am certain that Teodoro would not have
announced his interest had he not been titillated by somebody up
there who likes him. If his ratings suddenly shoot up, then the
presidential nomination of Lakas and Kampi is his for the taking.
Definitely, he would not be taken seriously if his ratings are only
a shade higher than that of MMDA Chairman BF. In that case, he might
wind up as running mate of Villar, which would make a strong tandem.
I am also certain that should Teodoro run for
president, it will not be under the Nationalist People’s Coalition
(NPC) although he is said to be the favorite nephew of industrialist
Danding Cojuangco, the party founder and chairman emeritus. The NPC
candidate will be Sen. Chiz Escudero, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
I talked last month with former Gov. Jun Dy of Isabela, the NPC
national chairman. He said he was picking Chiz over Sen. Loren
Legarda. When I asked him if the possible candidacy of Teodoro would
make him change his mind, he said “No.” Jun Dy said that Teodoro
had not been very active with NPC affairs and that he is now more
identified with the Arroyo administration. He also said that
Cojuangco would not interfere in the party choice.
Speaking of Chiz, he has come out against
forging any coalition on the national level with either Lakas or
Kampi. Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri, the secretary general of
Lakas, had expressed the hope that the coalition between his party
and NPC would continue. Chiz stressed that he is a member of the
opposition and he will remain with the opposition. Note that despite
an NPC-Lakas coalition in 2004 and 2007, Chiz stayed with the
opposition. In fact, he was the spokesman of the late Fernando Poe
Jr. who ran against President Gloria Arroyo in 2004 and was the
House minority leader before his election to the Senate in 2007.
The other wannabes
If Chiz will be the NPC standard bearer, where
will that leave Loren, who joined the party before the 2007
elections? Here’s how Jun Dy put it: She could form a Chiz-Loren
tandem, or stay as senator, or run for president under another
party. There is a fourth option: she could run as vice president of
former President Erap. She had been more active going around the
country with Erap than trying to shore up her chances within the NPC
anyway.
Another presidential wannabe, Sen. Dick Gordon,
will run under the Bagumbayan Movement that he had formed. Sen. Ping
Lacson had given feelers to joining the PDP-Laban but Sen. Nene
Pimentel said he was not sure if Makati Mayor Jojo Binay, the
PDP-Laban top honcho, had already met with Ping. Of course, Sen. Mar
Roxas is the uncontested bet of the Liberal Party. And how about
Vice President Noli de Castro? He might be the candidate of the
third force being formed by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. Incidentally,
Kabayan must not inject politics into questions on his relationship
with Legacy founder Celso de los Angeles. The answers to those
questions are relevant to the determination of how he would act
should he become president.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
|
