Ramos' offer of NPC, Lakas merger too early—Escudero
By Juan Escandor Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 19:51:00 07/20/2008
NAGA CITY, Philippines—Talks of merger between the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) and Lakas, as supposedly offered by former President Fidel Ramos is a very early proposition that will not immediately materialize, Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, the former secretary general of NPC, said Saturday.
Escudero said that the 2010 presidential election is two years away and that whatever decisions politicians and parties make right now regarding merger will change as the election draws nearer.
Speaking in Bicol in a press conference here, the senator expressed his appreciation to Ramos for the "trust and confidence" he gave to the NPC for making the merger offer, which, he said, would be discussed by the leadership of their party.
Escudero joined NPC when he entered politics in 1998.
Turning 40 on Oct. 10, 2010, Escudero brushed aside talk of his presidential ambitions, saying he would not yet be qualified to run when the presidential elections take place in May, two years from now.
Escudero said the constitutional age requirement of 40 years old for candidates running for presidential and vice presidential positions did not qualify him as he would be still 39 years old and would only meet the age requirement five months after the holding of presidential elections.
"I have no plan, no ambition but a dream," Escudero said teasingly, and added that the beauty of nursing a dream is that it has no limits and is totally free.
He said he finds it wrong for a presidential aspirant to declare his intentions now, two years before the elections, because he said many things could still happen and that it would be awkward to drop out from the race when things change.
Escudero said politicians and political parties have their attention trained at the 2010 presidential elections and they are more comfortable that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would finish her term.
"We have already suffered and sacrificed for seven years, what is two years?" he said of Arroyo's administration.
Escudero said he was confident Arroyo would finish her term.
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