MANILA, Philippines?If you build it, they?meaning campaign financiers?will come.

So said Sen. Francis Escudero whose tone and body language convey the barely contained ambition of a presidential aspirant but who stoutly maintains that that is something that he has yet to decide.

In fact, the senator has been hopping the length and breadth of the archipelago in recent weeks, hoping that he can build a large enough national constituency to catapult him to Malacañang next May.

But when Escudero, nicknamed ?Chiz,? sat down with Inquirer editors and reporters last Wednesday, he stressed that he had not made up his mind to run for President yet.

Asked if he would be amenable to running for vice president, the 39-year-old junior senator said:

?Libre naman hong mangarap. ?Wag na ho nating babaan (We?re free to dream, so let?s aim high).?

?I?m just dreaming. It?s free. I haven?t made up my mind. I?m exploring,? he said.

Noting how detractors are already saying that he is ?too young? to be president, the senator said he is not about to declare when he is not yet qualified.

He is technically not yet qualified to run for president as he does not turn 40 until Oct. 10, well within the deadline to apply for candidacy.

Candidates for president and vice president must be at least 40.

?I?ll declare after I turn 40 regarding my intention or absence of intention,? said Escudero, the second youngest senator, after the 38-year-old Alan Peter Cayetano.

For a change

To comments that he lacks experience and has not held an executive position, Escudero said: ?Maybe that?s just what is needed now, someone without experience, just for a change.?

His relatively short time in politics should not be taken against him, Escudero said.

?Ten years ago were you the same person you are now? Are you better, the same, or worse? When you?re in government or politics, I don?t think the answer will be the same. More often than not (politicians have) one direction?to become worse. But have you met a politician when he entered politics, he was already a bad person, then saint later on??

Escudero said he was not judging anyone.

?But it?s a basic fear. If I stay too much in politics, if I wait until I?m their age, I might not be different from what and where they are (now),? he said.

The ?possibilities and chances? are so many that staying too long in politics would get one?s hands dirty, he said.

Opposes coalition with Arroyo party

The Sorsogon politician, who twice led impeachment campaigns against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when he was in the House, discounted talk that he was the President?s secret candidate.

?If I run, I will not run under the administration party,? he said.

And he would oppose any attempt by his party, the Nationalist People?s Coalition, to coalesce with the newly minted administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD for the 2010 polls, he said.

Reminded that Ms Arroyo was one of his wedding sponsors, he said: ?But Erap (deposed President and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada) is my wedding godfather, too.?

Besides building a large enough political base, Escudero said the ability to mount a campaign in financial terms was equally crucial.

?These would be some of the considerations,? but at the end of the day, ?it should still be your decision.?

?They will come?

But Escudero noted that as his experience in the 2007 senatorial election showed, the money will just pour in from benefactors.

?If you build it, they will come,? he said.

He said he spent a total of P64.9 million in his senatorial bid, and that part of the amount came from his party.

He said his decision to run would be entirely his, despite speculation that whether he runs or not will be decreed by the NPC leader, Eduardo ?Danding? Cojuangco Jr., one of the country?s wealthiest and most powerful businessmen who is generally believed to be a supporter of the President.

Danding factor

?The decision to run is a personal decision. I have to own the decision to run. It is my responsibility,? he said.

Escudero said his meetings with the would-be kingmaker have been ?infrequent, contrary to perceptions.? He said those were mostly social encounters or NPC affairs.

He threw back the issue of his links to the controversial businessman, a crony of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, at his rivals: ?As any candidate, declared or undeclared, do you think they are not asking for their (businssmen?s) help? Do you think they won?t accept if they?re offered help? Do you think they would not be grateful if they receive help??

Chiz or Loren

His party, the NPC, has already narrowed down the choice for the party?s presidential standard bearer to Escudero and Sen. Loren Legarda.

Will it be Chiz-Loren or Loren-Chiz?

?I?m still open to possibilities,? Escudero said.

He said he did not expect a narrowing down of the field of presidential contenders in the run-up to Nov. 30, 2009, the deadline for the filing of candidacy certificates.

Knockout period

?Instead, the field is becoming crowded. This is a knock-out period. People would like to knock out certain candidates, that?s why some candidates [have thrown] everything they?ve got for so many months now,? Escudero said.

Asked if he was serious about running for President only, he said: ?The possibility is still there. It?s already June 3. I?m still here [faring well in the surveys]. It?s encouraging.?

According to Escudero, the issue in the 2010 presidential campaign will be ?work, work, work,? meaning jobs.

Accountability, transparency

?The next government should restore institutions damaged by this administration by promoting accountability and transparency and addressing the issue of corruption head-on as the major hindrance to development,? he said.

?It should focus on enhancing our competitiveness and productivity in order to attract investments, create jobs and address problems associated with education, health and the environment.?

And the next President should carry a continuing national conversation using new media so that the people can have a direct access to the presidency, he added.

Political career

Escudero was a youthful 28 when he was first elected to Congress in 1998. He was minority leader when he left the House of Representatives in 2007 to run for the Senate, earning the second highest number of votes with 18 million.

He received almost all his education at the University of the Philippines, where he studied from primary to law school. He earned a master?s in international and comparative law, on a scholarship, at the Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

He was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 2005 in recognition of his ?selfless dedication? as a youth leader.

In December 2007, he was the only Filipino to make it to the Asian News Network?s list of Asia?s Idols, which singled out leaders who not only achieved something exemplary that year but were also seen to change and shape their country?s and the region?s future.

Early this year, Escudero was honored by the World Economic Forum as one of the world?s Young Global Leaders of 2008 in recognition of the top 200 to 300 young leaders from around the world for their ?professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential contribution to shaping the future of the world.?

He is married to Christine Elizabeth R. Flores, a singer and songwriter, and is the father of twins Maria Cecilia and Joaquin Cruz. With Tarra Quismundo