MANILA, Philippines -- Vice President Noli De Castro is still the administration?s top choice for its standard-bearer in the 2010 presidential election, a Malacañang official said.

Gabriel Claudio, presidential political adviser, described as ?highly speculative? the report that De Castro could end up joining another political party outside the administration coalition for his presidential bid.

?Definitely not?he?s still on top of the shortlist of presidential materials by the administration coalition,? he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) on Sunday.

?The report is typical of political armchair analysis and barbershop talk,? he said.

Tony Gatmaitan, executive director of the Political Economic Applied Research (PEAR), announced Saturday that a ?new party? to be launched next month could carry De Castro?s candidacy.

Claudio said he was convinced that De Castro would ?prefer running under the administration coalition than with any other group or under any other scenario once he is ready to take the plunge.?

?Any suggestion to the contrary is speculative and smacks of intrigue,? he said.

Claudio described as ?in the bag, a done deal? the ongoing effort to merge the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi, Partner of the Free Filipino) for the 2010 elections.

In fact, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would preside over the meeting of the two parties? executive committees before the end of the month, said Claudio, also the chair of the unification committee for the merger.

Claudio said the merger?s choice for standard-bearer would be ?internally known by July at the latest.? He said the public announcement would come in August.

He said the administration was eyeing De Castro because his ?clean record as a public official and his mass appeal are clearly established.? He also cited De Castro?s experience as senator and now vice president and his consistently strong showing in surveys.

?The reasons for his desirability are quite obvious,? he said.

Claudio said the administration was not rushing De Castro into a decision.

?The invitation stands,? he said. ?We?re giving him the latitude to calibrate his own response. His political intuition and sense of timing have served him well.?

Besides De Castro, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro was also in the administration?s shortlist, he said. But he said Teodoro?s chances would still depend on how well he would fare in surveys since he announced his bid more than two months ago.

Claudio declined to identify the third aspirant in the shortlist. But he hastened to add that Bayani Fernando, chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, was still ?in contention.?