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Villar as standard-bearer of ruling party?

By Nancy C. Carvajal, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:43:00 09/11/2009


MANILA, Philippines — Lakas-Kampi-CMD may adopt Sen. Manuel Villar, a consistent survey topnotcher, as its standard-bearer in the 2010 presidential election, according to a member of the ruling coalition’s executive committee.

“The possibility of Villar’s being adopted by the party as presidential candidate is high, based on conversations [among] members of the party,” Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor told reporters Thursday at the Serye weekly forum.

Defensor also disclosed that the Lakas-Kampi-CMD executive committee conducted an informal poll two weeks ago with select party members taking part.

He said the party members were told to write down “three names as our choices for standard-bearer regardless of party,” and that his “impression” from their discussions was “Villar was a majority choice.”

Defensor said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita presided over the informal poll during the coalition’s meeting at Anabel’s restaurant in Quezon City late in August.

He said the votes were not counted in front of them and that he had yet to find out the results of the poll.

Asked about his own short list, Defensor rattled off the names of Villar, Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, and Vice President Noli de Castro.

No way

On the phone with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, however, a surprised Gabriel Claudio dismissed Defensor’s claim that Lakas-Kampi-CMD might adopt Villar as its standard-bearer.

“There’s no basis for such a speculation. There was no such discussion, much less agreement,” said Claudio, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s political adviser. “I don’t know where that is coming from. I intend to talk to [Defensor] about it.”

Claudio, the secretary general of the coalition, maintained that its standard-bearer would be named on Sept. 16.

“Once we’ve made the choice, that’s it,” he said, ruling out the possibility that the coalition would later adopt an outsider to replace its choice of standard-bearer.

Claudio said the coalition had set Sept. 15 as the deadline for outsiders seeking its endorsement and support to formally join it, and would pick a party member to be its standard-bearer.

“The selection process will have to be limited to aspirants who are members of the party,” he said.

Claudio said the coalition has not authorized anyone to talk with Villar, the head of the Nacionalista Party, into joining the administration and submitting to its selection process.

“He’s not a party member,” Claudio said. “It doesn’t make sense to consider other candidates outside of the party, especially those who are heads of [other] parties.”

Claudio also said he doubted that Ermita had conducted the informal poll that Defensor had mentioned.

“There is internal consultation, but no straw vote,” he said.

Villar, who was in Iloilo, responded tersely when asked to comment on the possibility that Lakas-Kampi-CMD would adopt him as its standard-bearer: “I’m with the Nacionalista [Party]. Buo na kami (We have a complete slate already).”

Noli off radar screen?

Ermita, the coalition president, laughed off Defensor’s remarks.

“Everyone has his own idea of how things should be done, and who he talked with. But it doesn’t mean that’s the entire truth. This should not be attributed to the party,” he said by phone.

On Defensor’s claim that he had conducted an informal poll on who should be the coalition’s standard-bearer, he said: “Claudio is the one getting assessments. I can’t make a comment.”

But earlier Thursday, Ermita declared that the coalition’s choices were now down to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando.

“There are only two in our radar screen: Secretary Teodoro and Chairman Fernando,” Ermita said when asked over dzRH radio who were included in the selection process.

Asked about De Castro, Ermita said the Vice President “is not a party mate.”

When pressed further, he said it appeared that “nothing clear has come out” of the talks between Claudio and De Castro.

Claudio confirmed this to the Inquirer, saying: “Honestly, there’s no indication that [De Castro] will join the [selection] process or the party. We’re proceeding with the time table.”

But he said the process remained open to the Vice President until Sept. 15.

“We have not put any pressure on him,” Claudio said. “We have not tried to dictate on him. We have allowed him to make his own decision. Whatever happens, we will continue to admire and respect him.”

He added that being party members, Teodoro and Fernando were “part of the process.”

‘I didn’t say that’

On Thursday night, however, Ermita said De Castro was still being considered in the coalition’s selection of standard-bearer.

“I never said that the Vice President is out of the running as presidential candidate. It’s not for me to decide whether he can run or not run with us. Who am I to dictate upon the Vice President?” Ermita said on the phone.

He added: “The Vice President is his own man. He can run if he decides to run, and with what party. That’s his prerogative.”

Ermita said that in saying only Teodoro and Fernando were in the coalition’s radar screen, he was only referring to the fact that the two were party members vying to become the standard-bearer.

“Because as of now, they are members of the party, [and] they’re the ones in our consideration. As for Vice President De Castro, I could not speak for him because I have not talked to him,” Ermita said.

‘Winnability’

But at the Serye forum, Defensor said choosing Fernando or Teodoro as Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer was unrealistic and “a waste of time.”

“They can run, but having them as standard-bearer is unpragmatic and a waste of time because of their showing in the surveys,” he said, adding:

“They are qualified, and Teodoro is young and brilliant, but we have to consider ‘winnability’ in choosing.”

Asked to explain why the group supposedly preferred Villar, Defensor said: “It must be because of competence, preparedness and ‘winnability.’”

He also said Villar’s belonging to the Nacionalista Party would not pose a problem in the event that the latter would be formally adopted as Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer.

“Parties always coalesce when necessary,” he said.

Defensor emphasized that no official negotiation had started between Villar and coalition leaders.

He also said Ms Arroyo, being the coalition chair, was a big factor in the selection of its standard-bearer: “The President does not have the final say, but she is very influential in the decision-making.”

More defections

Makati Mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay said he expected more defections from the administration to the opposition and vice versa before the 2010 polls.

He said the political scenario would remain fluid until the end of November, the deadline for filing candidacies for national positions.

“Wait until October and November ... There will be a lot of realignments from the administration to the other side,” Binay told Inquirer editors on Wednesday night.

He noted, for example, that Villar had managed to court many local government officials to move to the Nacionalista Party.

Binay said the lack of a winnable standard-bearer had been posing a huge challenge to Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

“The administration is really in a dilemma. Teodoro has been campaigning for months and yet he only scored 0.8 percent in the survey. You can’t say [it’s because he’s new]. For six months, [you have to move somehow. Fernando has even scored higher], 1 percent,” Binay said.

Thus, he said, there was “a strong possibility that Malacañang will get [its candidate] from the opposition.”

Noncommittal Noli

Administration officials had been coaxing the low-profile but popular De Castro to join Lakas-Kampi-CMD and become its standard-bearer in 2010.

With his consistently high ratings in the surveys despite his silence on his political plans and lack of TV ads, he was seen as the administration’s best bet against the opposition presidential aspirants.

Until Thursday’s pronouncements, De Castro appeared to be a shoo-in for selection as standard-bearer, especially in the light of Ms Arroyo’s Aug. 28 declaration that he had the “traits of a good President.”

But even after that virtual endorsement, he remained noncommittal.

Ermita, however, said De Castro’s decision was still important to the ruling coalition.

“He is a significant personality ... as Vice President and Cabinet member. That’s why [his decision is] material. But all that will be discussed next week,” Ermita said over dzRH.

Sought for comment on why Ermita did not say that De Castro was still in the coalition’s radar screen, Claudio said: “Some indicators might have become clearer to some members of the party.”

“Yeah,” he said curtly when asked if indeed nothing definite had resulted from his talks with De Castro.

Claudio declined to answer other questions pertaining to the Vice President, saying: “I can’t make conclusions about the process in relation to him.”

He said De Castro would make a statement soon.

Must be party member

Also over dzRH, Claudio said De Castro had to join Lakas-Kampi-CMD so he could take part in the selection process.

“While we respect him as our Vice President—he ran under Lakas in 2004 as Vice President—he was never a member of the party,” Claudio said. “Nobody becomes a presidential candidate unless he’s a party member.”

Claudio also said the scheduled Sept. 16 announcement of the coalition’s standard-bearer would not be delayed. With reports from Allison W. Lopez and Nestor Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas


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