Vice President Noli de Castro still has not expressed his willingness in running for the highest position that is why Lakas-Kampi-CMD is thinking of adopting Sen. Manuel Villar as its standard bearer in the 2010 polls. This information is 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.
It can be noted that Villar is always topping the surveys as the most popular presidential candidate. And Defensor also revealed that the party’s executive committee conducted an informal poll just weeks ago with the selected members of the party.
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.”
And when asked about his personal list, Defensor said the names of Villar, Senators Francis Escudero and Manuel Roxas II and Vice President Noli de Castro.
But Gabriel Claudio was surprised about Defensor’s claim that the administration coalition 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.”
He added that their standard-bearer will be revealed 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.
In the news last night, only three names were being considered by the party and these are de Castro, MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who also happens to be a relative of another presidential candidate Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.
Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno expressed that he will be running as vice-president.
