Chiz’s camp to ally with other groups

By Gerry Baldo

11/01/2009

Having defined his political stand on varied issues on Wednesday when he junked the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), his political party for nine years, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero is now challenging presidential hopefuls to bare their platforms of government, a challenge that seems like political ploy by his camp to boost the political stock of its putative standard bearer in 2010 presidential race.

Escudero, now partyless, floated the possibilities of either seeking the presidency or not joining the presidential derby at all even as he bolted his erstwhile party, one of the larger groups with vast political network

nationwide. As he slammed the NPC door behind him, his putative political group – which largely consists of youth organizations, a group of rebel soldiers called Magdalo, and another group identified with the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. – is still groping after possible alliance with other political parties.

One such political group eyeing a possible alliance with Escudero’s camp is Bayan Muna, a party-list group identified with the Philippine Left.

But this early, Escudero said it would still be difficult for him and his camp to even think of talking with the group of any presidential hopefuls for possible alliance unless they bared their platforms of government.

The presidential race, at this early stage, now seems limited to four serious contenders: Sen. Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party, Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino, former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, and Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro of Lakas-Kampi-CMD coaltion. Escudero has yet to declare his intention to run against these presidential hopefuls.

In his impromptu speech in Club Filipino last Wednesday, he made it clear that it would be difficult for him to fight corruption if those he would run after were members of his own party. That explained why he bolted NPC.

He also rejected the practice of dispensing pork barrel funds which, he said, reinforced patronage politics. Thus, he added, staying with NPC would weaken his stand against pork barrel system.

He also went against the contractualization of labor, to the delight of the crowd, as part of his commitment to uphold the workers’ right to tenure.

He also said he was against the oil deregulation law.

Escudero, the youngest among presidential hopefuls if he ever declares his presidential bid, insisted that those seeking country’s top post should now bare their stand on these issues. “This is what matters most to me and what the people want to know from the presidentiables. Let the people know what they stand for,” he said.

At the same time, Escudero also laughed off reports that Sen. Manuel Villar of Nacionalista Party had rejected him as possible running mate. “I have made it very clear sometime ago, long before I resigned from the NPC, that a team-up with Sen. Villar will never happen,” he said.

Escudero also reiterated that if he would ever decide to seek the presidency, he would do it without being influenced by anyone or dictated by any political party. “This should be the first test of leadership of any putative candidate – for him to decide on his own and take full responsibility for the decision on whether not to run and what position to run for,” he said.

Political pundits had criticized Escudero’s bolting out of NPC, saying it was a “political suicide” on his part.

The move, however, earned the support of Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino.

Meanwhile, former Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. continued to pursue his serious bid to win the presidency next year.

Ebdane expressed confidence that by working tirelessly, he could prove his political relevance, as pointed out by Kampi deputy secretary general Reginald Velasco in the same forum last week.

“Politics is dirty but you don’t win any position by mere announcements but by votes,” Ebdane stressed. “It is not in my character to throw garbage back.”

Ebdane is backed by the Lapiang Manggagawa (LM) and by a number of Muslim groups.

Asked how he would secure the votes to make a credible showing, he explained that he had been visiting so many places in the country and venturing deeper into Mindanao and other insurgency-wracked areas to know the pulse of the electorate.

No other potential presidential candidate has done this on a regular basis, he said.

“It doesn’t mean that if you have funds, organization and other resources you are already assured of victory. Remember that things would clear up come March and April 2010 and many politicians would switch sides just as they are switching sides now,” he added.

“I have been in government for a long time and I know how to read people’s minds and how political parties perform,” Ebdane emphasized.

In contrast to the Lakas-Kampi which said that it is relying on the 25 percent support for Presdient Arroyo and translate this into a solid bloc for the presumptive Lakas-Kampi presidential candidate, Ebdane said he is looking more into one third of the total voting population which remains uncommitted.

Numbers-wise, this bloc is much bigger than the so-called bloc for Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who remains at the bottom rung in all surveys.

However, Ebdane said he would work to win the youth vote and the command votes, both of which are reliable.

Ebdane also noted that the impoverished sectors cannot be regarded as the bailiwick of any candidate and said if these voters did vote for a particular candidate before, there is no assurance that they are still with him.

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