MANILA, Philippines?HAILING IT AS A STEP TOWARD unification, United Opposition president Jejomar Binay yesterday welcomed the statement of former president Joseph Estrada that he is willing to sit down with Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III.

Binay, who had proposed the talks after Aquino announced his plan to run for president under the Liberal Party, said he hopes that talks between the senator and Estrada would help in unifying opposition groups.

?I am very happy that former President Estrada is willing to meet with Senator Aquino. It is a welcome development,? said the Makati mayor in a statement.

Estrada said in an interview with ANC Tuesday that he was willing to meet with Aquino to discuss unifying the opposition.

ANC reported that Estrada, who earlier vowed to run for president despite Aquino?s declaration, said his concern now was to unite the opposition and that Mayor Binay has yet to arrange the meeting.

Although no date has been set for the Erap-Noynoy talks, Binay said the meeting ?will be between friends.?

?The former president and Senator Aquino go way back. There will be no preconditions and no expectations for this meeting. It will be just two friends sitting down to talk,? he said.

Binay became close to the Aquino family since he was the first local official appointed by former President Corazon Aquino in February 1986. The mayor has since taken part in defending the Aquino government from several coup attempts.

During the Estrada administration, Binay headed the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and remained allied with the deposed president even after his ouster in 2001.

UNO is composed of PDP-Laban, which Binay heads as national president, and Estrada?s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).