President Gloria Arroyo wants administration standard bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to “fight his own battles” in achieving victory in the 2010 polls, newly-installed Lakas-Kampi-CMD secretary general Francis Manglapus said.
“She believes that the former Defense secretary is capable of fighting his own battles needed to win the presidency. We have to emphasize the fact that it is Gibo who is running in 2010 and not President Arroyo,” he said.
Manglapus said this was the reason why Mrs. Arroyo chose not to raise the hand of Teodoro during the party’s national convention at the PICC on Thursday.
“The event was clearly a passing of the torch, and those who want to make an issue of the President of not raising the hand of Gibo should be thankful that this early she is passing on the mantle of authority to her successor. It was just natural and a matter of protocol for the Chief Executive to fade away during the Lakas-Kampi-CMD convention,” added Manglapus, who replaced presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio as secretary general of the ruling party.
Teodoro, a Harvard-educated bar topnotcher, secured the nomination of the party two months ago.
Despite warnings that association with Mrs. Arroyo will be a kiss of death for his political ambitions, Teodoro publicly praised the President and acknowledged the achievements of her administration during the convention that was attended by more than 3,500 governors, congressmen, city mayors and municipal mayors.
As this developed, at least three senatorial bets of Lakas-Kampi-CMD are thinking of sliding down to congressional and gubernatorial posts in their respective home provinces.
Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he is still undecided on whether to run for senator since his family, specifically his wife, has been convincing him to run for a congressional post in the first district of Isabela.
Bello said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is also weighing his options if he will run for senator, stay on in the Cabinet, or run for Pangasinan’s fourth congressional district.
Claudio, for his part, said Senator Manuel Lapid is also still undecided as he is considering running for governor in Pampanga.
Aside from Bello, Duque, and Lapid, the seven-man senatorial slate of the ruling party includes re-electionist Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., broadcaster and newspaper columnist Reynante Langit, Binaloan Mayor Ramon Guico Jr. (who is the president’s first cousin on her mother side), and businessman Jesus Arranza who is the president of the Federation of Philippine Industries.
Claudio admitted that the party might trim down further the slate but Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it will “not be less than six.”
Claudio hinted that two more candidates might be included in the final list even as he declined to divulge their identities.
“We are looking at homegrown candidates first and then we will make an announcement later,” he said.
But Ermita admitted that among the names of possible guest candidates that came out in recent party discussions include re-electionists Miriam Defensor Santiago and Juan Ponce Enrile.
