MANILA, Philippines -- Sen. Panfilo Lacson has expressed his intention to seek the country’s highest elective post in 2010, putting him on a collision course with three other opposition leaders who have made known their plans to run for president -- Senate President Manuel Villar, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and deposed President Joseph Estrada.
“My own decision to run in 2010 will depend on three considerations -- intent, means and opportunity. If you ask me if I have the intention, the answer is yes,” Lacson said Sunday.
He said he would “definitely go for it” should “all three present themselves at the proper time.”
With his image as a self-styled crime fighter, Lacson believes he has a fighting chance considering his favorable ranking in surveys and focus group discussions, and the means to undertake a national campaign. He has run twice for senator and once for president.
Lacson made public his desire to be the country’s next head of state a day after Estrada said that he would run again for president if the opposition failed to come up with a common standard-bearer against the candidate of the Arroyo administration.
Estrada said he didn’t want a repeat of the 2004 presidential election that saw Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo winning over her strongest rival, Fernando Poe Jr.
Estrada claimed that Poe, his close friend and fellow actor, lost because Lacson also ran for president, dividing the anti-Arroyo votes.
Unfair treatment
Lacson said Estrada was well within his rights to run for public office, subject to constitutional and legal restrictions.
But he denied Estrada’s claim that he played the “spoiler’s role” in 2004.
“I was more of a victim of injustice and unfair treatment by my former party, LDP (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino). It was out of self-respect that I rejected calls to withdraw even resisting some very tempting offers from the FPJ camp such as reimbursement of campaign expenses, Cabinet posts for myself and members of my campaign staff, and [my] anointment in 2010,” said Lacson.
Hello Garci
That the President [Ms Arroyo] was determined to win “at all costs” should have settled the matter, according to Lacson.
“The myth that I split our votes and spelled the defeat of the opposition has already been shattered by the ‘Hello Garci’ tape controversy that clearly suggests cheating and victory at all costs by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whether we were united or not,” he said.
Tall order
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol said it would be a tall order to unite the opposition because some of the presidential aspirants were already campaigning this early.
“They have already made up their minds,” Apostol said.
Villar and Roxas have been touted as the front-runners for the 2010 elections as both have been rebuilding their respective political parties -- the Nacionalista and Liberal -- in preparation for their run for the presidency.
Other opposition leaders the United Opposition (UNO) identified as possible presidential aspirants were Senators Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.
Playing coy
Escudero has remained coy about his plans. “Erap [Estrada’s nickname] meant well when he said that. He genuinely wants the opposition to unite,” the junior senator said, refusing to confirm whether he had any intention of running for president in 2010.
“It’s too far away to talk about 2010,” said Escudero in a text message.
Interviewed by reporters in Tacloban City, Binay also played coy about his plans for 2010. But he dropped hints that local officials like him could very well serve the entire country as he boasted of his accomplishments as mayor.
Unite behind one candidate
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. shared the view that Estrada could run for president if the opposition failed to unite.
“The opposition should unite behind one bet even though it looks hard. Cory (Aquino) became the unified opposition bet to defeat Marcos. Otherwise, Erap would probably sacrifice his new tranquility and plunge anew into a tumultuous political life,” said Pimentel in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.
Estrada, who was convicted of plunder in September, claimed that he could run again for president because his political rights were restored when President Macapagal-Arroyo pardoned him in October.
His term as president that started in the middle of 1998 was cut short by people power in January 2001.
An election lawyer and a poll commissioner believes that Estrada as a former president is barred from running for another term. But former Sen. Ernesto Maceda, an UNO leader, said it would be up to the Supreme Court to decide the matter. With reports from and Christine O. Avendańo in Manila and Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas
