By Joyce Pangco Pa?ares

Malaca?ang yesterday announced its short list of five potential standard-bearers even as it asked all presidential aspirants to ?submit themselves this early to the public? to ensure informed votes during the 2010 national elections.

The administration?s short list includes Vice President Noli de Castro, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Senator Richard Gordon, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte and Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority. For the vice presidency, the administration is considering either Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos or Senator Ramon Revilla, Remonde said.

?They are the administration?s choices. But we will have to await who the President will anoint,? said Secretary Cerge Remonde, chief of the Presidential Management Staff.

?One whom we feel is a presidential timber, apart from Vice President De Castro, is, of course, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. He?s showing interest,? Remonde said.

Of the four, only Fernando has so far declared he would run for president in 2010.

Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said all presidential aspirants should already declare their intention to run for next year?s polls.

?We are asking all presidentiables to submit themselves to the public as early as now so that the public will know their track record and intention for running. The public should be given time to discern their choice, study the candidates, and see for themselves if these candidates have the capacity to lead the country,? Fajardo said.

?We will be electing these people to the highest position in the land and it will be prudent for us to study who we will vote for,? Fajardo said.

The Palace official said the administration has already begun the selection process for the official standard-bearer for the administration.

?There is a committee doing the selection process, and among the considerations are the track record and performance of the possible administration standard-bearer and their winnability,? Fajardo said.

In terms of winnability, De Castro appears to have the upper hand as he has consistently topped surveys, sources said.

Of the four officials who are next in line to President Arroyo, it was De Castro who received the highest net satisfaction rating of +39, according to the Social Weather Stations. House Speaker Prospero Nograles got the lowest at minus 17, the survey showed.

Mrs. Arroyo?s Cabinet scored a -2 in terms of net satisfaction, with 34 percent of the survey respondents saying they were satisfied with its performance while 36 percent said they were not.

Teodoro said the survey results should motivate his colleagues in the Cabinet to work harder. ?There is no room for prima donnas. The negative rating should be a motivating factor.?

The SWS survey, which was conducted from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, found 61 percent satisfied and only 22 percent dissatisfied with De Castro?s performance.

The polling firm said it used face-to-face interviews for 1,500 respondents from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with a sampling error margin of ?2.5 percent.

De Castro?s new net satisfaction rating was up by five points from the +34 he received in September 2008.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile got a +5 rating, with 38 percent of the respondents satisfied with his performance as opposed to 33 percent dissatisfied.

The Supreme Court enjoyed a +8 rating, with 41 percent of the respondents saying they were satisfied with its performance.

Meanwhile, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Y?iguez urged the Filipino electorate to look for the best person to lead the country after the term of Mrs. Arroyo ends in 2010. ?Let us do the right steps as part of the electoral process; let us look for that person with integrity and genuine concern for the common good to lead us.? With Arlie Calalo