Legarda OK with Gibo or Manny

10/31/2009

Sen. Loren Legarda, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC)’s vice presidential candidate, intimated in an early morning show yesterday that she was open for a marriage of political convenience with either administration party standard bearer, outgoing Defense Chief Gilbert Teodoro or Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar.

She made it clear, however, that she would not be the first to open talks with either party on her entry as either one’s vice president, even as her saying that she was open to be either Teodoro’s or Villar’s running mate is already a clear signal to either standard bearers that she is available for the partnership.

In the TV interview, when asked if she was open to running with Teodoro, Legarda said: “My answer here is my color is white, the color of white is neutrality and peace. What I really want is peace,” adding that Teodoro and Villar were both good and competent.

Earlier, she had claimed that she would stick it out with the opposition.

Villar, during a question and answer time at the Manila

Overseas Press Club forum Thursday night, was asked whether he already has chosen his vice presidential bet. He replied that there is none as yet, but mentioned that there are only two probabilities: Legarda and Sen. Francis �gChiz�h Escudero.

“We have not finalized who our vice presidential candidate will be, but the party hopes to choose its vice presidential candidate before the middle of November...we feel that Nov. 15 is a good deadline and we intend to beat that and at the same time we are also finalizing the senatorial line-up. We are very confident that we can come up with a complete line-up as early as the end of 1st week of November,” Villar replied.

He added that he doesn’t mind having either Legarda or Escudero.

“It depends on who the committee will choose. Either way, I think it’s okay with me. They are both very good. The vice presidential candidate should be capable also of running this country just in case.”

He also claimed that the elections will be decided on the local governments level.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, for his part, yesterday said that the poor and the masses would still dictate the outcome of the elections in 2010.

Marcos said that the masses are likely to vote for a candidate who originated from their ranks and clearly understands their plight.

He said the fate of the nation lies in the hands of the poor, noting that a great majority of Filipinos are impoverished.

“The number of rich voters is relatively small compared to the poor voters. If poor voters will unite and turn up in large numbers to vote next year, their candidate will surely win,” Marcos stressed.

He said next year’s elections can turn into a “class war” between the poor and the rich.

Meanwhile, Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, son of NPC founder, business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, yesterday said that the resignation of Escudero from the NPC is no longer an issue with him and his father.

Cojuangco, In separate television interviews, said he met with Escudero on Thursday to hear his explanation about the unexpected decision to quit the NPC and the statements the Bicolano lawmaker made at the Club Filipino on Wednesday.

“He wanted to decide without going through a process of party consultation, to be more inclusive of other parties. Maybe if he was irked with the party, if he talked to another group, but he (Escudero) wanted freedom,” Cojuangco said.

Rep. Cojuangco also admitted that there were indeed some differences in Escudero’s stand on certain issues as opposed to the NPC’s even as the Pangasinan lawmaker said Escudero had long opposed the NPC position on wage hikes and agrarian reform.

“For as long as my father is alive, the NPC will be defined, to a large extent, by what he stands for. Maybe that fact finally sunk in and Escudero made his move,” Cojuangco said in a television interview.

Rep. Cojuangco also said they felt alluded to and were angered by statements made by Sen. Escudero about his not being an heir, a haciendero and a billionaire,” but that this passed, after Escudero explained that those words were directed more at other presidentiables.

But whatever ill feelings they might have had dissipated after his talk with Escudero, the NPC leader said.

“With his explanation, we saw that there really are no ill feelings And I understood what he wanted to do,” Rep. Cojuangco said in another television interview.

With Gerry Baldo and Tribune wires

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