MANILA, Philippines — Forty-nine provincial governors Friday backed the presidential candidacy of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, in a move a Palace official described as a “very compelling endorsement” of Teodoro’s bid to become the administration’s standard bearer in 2010.

The governors took the action at the general assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) at the Discovery Suites in Pasig City, party officials said.

While Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone was presiding over the assembly, Sarangani Gov. Miguel Dominguez suddenly stood up and moved to endorse Teodoro as the standard bearer of the administration coalition for next year’s elections.

Except for a lone voice, Negros Oriental Gov. Emilio Macias II, the 49 other governors present seconded the motion, according to party officials the Inquirer had talked with.

“It’s a breath of fresh air to be endorsed and supported by the governors,” Teodoro said in a statement to the Inquirer. “With this endorsement, I feel a tremendous boost. They believe in my candidacy and that matters a lot amid the confusion.”

It was not immediately clear how the governors’ action would square with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s statement last week that she considered Vice President Noli de Castro, another potential presidential aspirant, to have the qualities of a “good president.”

That statement was seen in some quarters as a presidential anointment of De Castro.

Macias explained he could not go along the motion to endorse Teodoro because he was a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and that he should first talk with his party before endorsing Teodoro.

Compelling endorsement

“I wish we will have a coalition [in the 2010 elections] so that I could work with you,” he said.

Fifty of the country’s 80 governors nationwide showed up at the assembly, many of the others being abroad, Evardone said in an interview.

Two-thirds of the country’s governors are coalesced with the administration, with 58 belonging to the newly merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, according to party secretary general Gabriel Claudio.

Claudio, political affairs adviser of Ms Arroyo, said that considering that it was an official position taken by the league, Friday’s development would have to be given a significant weight in the party’s decision-making process.

“It’s a very compelling endorsement,” Claudio said

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said on the phone: “It’s a positive development. We’ll see what will happen next … This could very well influence the party and, of course, the President in selecting the standard bearer.”

Dinner with Arroyo

Administration officials, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, told the Inquirer the governors were to have dinner with Ms Arroyo in Malacañang Friday night.

The officials said the governors would personally convey their endorsement of Teodoro to the president.

Selection process

Evardone said he was surprised by the motion of Dominguez as it was not part of the agenda.

Asked about the implication of the governors’ endorsement, Evardone said: “There’s still a selection process. I think that’s a big boost to the candidacy of Secretary Teodoro in terms of getting the support of other partymates.”

Before news of the governors’ endorsement of Teodoro broke, Claudio said the administration’s bet for president would be known this month.

Claudio said the party’s national executive committee would meet again shortly to decide on the final choice.

Loyalty test

He said the committee had been meeting regularly “and is determined to make the decision and choice of its presidential candidate within this month.”

“There is no cause for alarm. The selection process … is well within its proper strategic time-frame,” Claudio said in a text message to reporters. “We don’t foresee defections of party members.”

Claudio, who is also the presidential political adviser, claimed that on the contrary, some congressmen and local officials were poised to join the administration coalition.

Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay the other day warned some party members were considering moving out unless the coalition drew up a complete slate from the presidency down.

She said she couldn’t blame some members if they were “looking for other options.”

On the heels of the Magsaysay statement, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the situation was a test for party members.

“The President has too much faith in the coalition, of which she is the focal person,” Remonde said in a press briefing Friday. “This will also test the loyalty of party members.”

Wooing Noli

With only eight months to go before the presidential contest, some personalities have emerged as the potential standard-bearers of other major political parties. None has stood out within the administration coalition.

Some observers thought the administration was taking this long to decide on who its standard-bearer would be apparently out of deference to De Castro, who has yet to officially declare whether he is running for President.

The party has been wooing De Castro, arguably the possible best bet for the administration, because of his fairly high ratings in popularity surveys.

Tail-end of surveys

Teodoro has been running at the tail-end of the surveys.

Claudio said De Castro would announce his decision anytime now and that if he decided to run, he would ally himself with the administration.

Another administration aspirant for president, Chair Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, has also fared miserably in the polls. With a report from TJ Burgonio