MikeLigalig.com

MANILA, Philippines - Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, as expected, was chosen yesterday by the Lakas-Kampi-CMD leadership as the administration’s standard bearer for the 2010 elections in a swift decision that could also lead to a split in the ruling party.

The administration party also selected Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno as vice presidential bet following a four-hour meeting of the National Executive Committee at the Edsa Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

The meeting started at 10 a.m. and was presided over by Lakas-Kampi-CMD president Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

President Arroyo, party chair, was not present as she left for official visits to Turkey, London and Saudi Arabia.

Also conspicuously absent was former President Fidel Ramos, whose exact title within the party has yet to be resolved. Ramos has refused to serve as chairman emeritus of the party, whose merger he has not recognized.

The meeting began with the two aspirants – Teodoro and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando – trying to convince those present why they should be selected as the party’s standard bearer.

Fernando, however, questioned the committee’s authority to select its standard bearer and asked the governing body to postpone its announcement and let all the voting party members to directly choose their presidential bet.

The two presidential aspirants took turns answering questions on their respective positions on issues, including the Mindanao peace process, communist insurgency, climate change, youth, housing, agrarian reform, and graft and corruption.

“In the end, however, one man alone had to be chosen as standard bearer to lead the party in the elections of 2010 and, with God’s grace, to lead our country to its rightful place of dignity, unity, peace and prosperity,” Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs and Lakas-Kampi-CMD secretary general Gabriel Claudio said in announcing to the media the selection of Teodoro.

Preordained
While the National Executive Committee refused to disclose the results of the vote, sources said Teodoro received over 40 votes out of the 55 members who attended the meeting. The committee has 64 members.

Claudio and Ermita claimed that the decision was reached through an “overwhelming” consensus, but party sources said a secret balloting was held among the members present to make the decision unambiguous.

Ermita said the decision of the ruling committee would have to be ratified during a national convention to be called by the Lakas-Kampi-CMD leadership. He, however, admitted it was unlikely that the decision of the national executive committee would be overturned.

Ermita and Claudio said the party was not worried over Teodoro’s low ratings in the presidential surveys.

Claudio said the prospect of Teodoro facing off with his cousin, Senator Benigno Aquino III, in the debates would be “interesting and exciting.”

“Gibo will be campaigning on the strength of his own merits and qualifications,” he said, adding that Mrs. Arroyo did not express her preference between the two aspirants and wanted to leave the matter to the party.

Claudio said the President would be immediately informed of the decision.

While the party leadership went through the motion of listening to the two aspirants, it appeared that the members of the committee had already made up their minds.

Teodoro’s speech was interrupted at least twice by applause by the members of the committee and audience, who remained silent when it was Fernando’s turn.

Present during the event was a member of the committee who is also the president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), Misamis Occidental Gov. Leo Ocampos. The LPP earlier endorsed Teodoro as the party’s presidential bet.

The questions also appeared to be tailored to bring out Teodoro’s strengths as a lawyer and an expert in security matters as issues on the communist insurgency, Mindanao peace process, agrarian reform, and Charter change – his advocacy – were raised.

Bayani might still run
Fernando, a member of the national executive committee, also got some applause for some of his responses during the grilling.   

When asked by Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo on whether they would abide by the party decision, Teodoro replied in the affirmative while Fernando said he was keeping his options open.

After the question-and-answer, the two aspirants left the room. Teodoro declined to give interviews, but Fernando was already telling reporters that he might push through with his presidential ambitions as an independent.

“As I said before, I’m desidido, pursigido at diretso (I’m decided, determined and direct).”

When asked to comment on observations that the selection process was just a formality for Teodoro, Claudio said: “That’s a matter of speculation, that’s a matter of interpretation.”

He pointed out that the national executive committee represents “the broadest possible cross-section of the membership of the party” including local government executives, members of Congress, and members of the Cabinet.

“They (members of the committee) were here to express not only their preference but having made consultations (with their) respective groups, they did in fact manifest the sentiments of those groups,” Claudio said.

Puno, on the other hand, thanked the party leadership for declaring him its “preferred” candidate for vice president and expressed optimism that the “Gibo-Ronnie” tandem will be the team to beat in next year’s polls.

Another Arroyo in the making
But the militant group Bayan warned that a Teodoro presidency might be another six years of the Arroyo administration.

“No other presidential aspirant has so passionately defended the VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) and the presence of US troops in the country than Sec. Teodoro. We should be wary of his apparent poor track record in asserting national sovereignty. His rise to the presidency may further erode whatever gains we had when the Senate kicked out the bases,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

Regardless of his chances of winning the presidential derby next year, Bayan said militant groups remain wary of Teodoro.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), meanwhile, called on all presidential aspirants to present concrete plans to combat the country’s unemployment.

“They should clearly present to the workers, who comprise a large part of the voting population, how they intend to help workers secure decent jobs,” TUCP assistant general secretary Alex Aguilar said.

Let’s get it on
Right after Teodoro and Puno got the nod, Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez urged all presidential aspirants to immediately start a series of debates among themselves so the people would know their respective programs of government.

He said an unscripted question-and-answer format would allow the public to know more about the aspirants and their programs.

“Forget about Pacquiao and Cotto. I am more interested in the intellectual mano-y-mano between Gibo and Noynoy (Sen. Benigno Aquino III), or Sen. Manny Villar versus Sen. Francis Escudero,” he said.

Alvarez said politicians who have the guts to aspire for the presidency “should be gutsy enough to debate with their probable opponents.”

“Now that the standard bearers of the different political parties have been identified, except for the NPC, the candidates can now expound on their platform of government and the different issues affecting the people, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, who leads the Liberal Party in the House, said.

Alvarez stressed that those who would shy away from public debates have no right to aspire for the highest office.                 

He also called on universities and business groups to sponsor more forums where aspirants can talk about their programs of government.

He cited the presidential primaries in the United States where then candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton tussled in more than 100 meetings and debates.

“What we need is our own presidential primaries where the candidates will appear before the people to bare their programs,” he said.

Alvarez noted that at present, handlers of candidates are staging “antiseptic affairs” where the sound bite and the photo of the day are determined in advance “when what the people need is the aspirants’ unplugged moment.”

“It’s hard to gauge the candidates in cut-and-dried 30-seconders. It increases recall and visibility but does nothing to improve voter education,” he said.                 

Teodoro and Aquino, who is the Liberal Party standard-bearer, are cousins. They are both Cojuangcos on their mothers’ side.

The defense chief earlier said politics would not destroy his blood relations and friendship with the only son of the late President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.

“There will be no mudslinging between us during the election campaign,” he said.


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If disgruntled Bayani decides to run under another party, karambola na gyud ning election. What with Noynoy and Manny on the opposition, and Teodoro and Bayani on the other side of the fence--and we still don't know kung kinsa pa'y moapas ug dagan.

If Noynoy is able to sustain his popularity up to May 2010, he is likely to get not only a plurality but also a majority of votes, which is unusual in our deeply divided polity.

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it depends on which side is danding between noynoy and gibo who are both his nephews. either way, whoever wins he will still surely will get some benefits from it as they are known to have close family ties. since gibo already declared that it's purely work related and it will put any barrier between him and his cousin then it's we can see a neck to neck matchup between the 2.

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