MANILA, Philippines ? Lakas-Kampi-CMD will not forge an alliance with Sen. Manuel Villar?s Nacionalista Party (NP) for now, but is not entirely averse to the idea.

?We won?t initiate it,? Gabriel Claudio, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s political adviser, said Friday in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer when asked if the administration was now ruling out an alliance with the NP for the eventual adoption of Villar as standard-bearer.

And if Villar makes the first move?

Replied Claudio: ?The integrity of Lakas-Kampi-CMD as the dominant major party is primordial. After the administration names its standard-bearer, any coalition or alliance can be entered into only with his consent or imprimatur.?

But Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano categorically dismissed persistent reports that the ruling coalition might adopt Villar as its presidential candidate for 2010.

For one thing, the President ?does not like? Villar, Cayetano told Inquirer editors and reporters on Thursday night. For another, Villar does not want to be burdened by the administration?s ?baggage,? he said.

Cayetano said Villar remembered very well how he was removed from the Senate presidency by administration allies.

?They removed him as Senate president and they had a coalition with the Liberals and with Senators Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal. It does not make sense for them to remove him and then support him [later],? Cayetano said.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD, with Ms Arroyo as chair and Claudio as secretary general, is to name its standard-bearer on Sept. 16.

Bona fide member only

On Thursday at the Serye weekly forum, Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, a member of its executive committee, floated Villar?s possible adoption as standard-bearer and said the latter appeared to be the majority?s choice in a straw vote held last month.

Defensor said adopting Villar as standard-bearer should not pose a problem because the party could coalesce with the NP.

In an earlier text message to reporters, Claudio said the report on Defensor?s claims was ?misguided and without basis.?

?Only a bona fide member of Lakas-Kampi-CMD can qualify to become its standard-bearer. This is why the party determined and announced a cut-off point for aspirants seeking its endorsement to join the party in its selection process, which is Sept. 15.? Claudio said.

Claudio also said the person who ?gained the highest support? in the straw vote was ?clearly an existing member of the party,? but did not name him.

Raised voice

Cayetano, an NP stalwart, said one reason Ms Arroyo did not like Villar was his refusal to toe the line.

?When they took over in 2001 [after the Edsa II revolt], he disliked being dictated to or addressed in a raised voice?and the President did not like that,? Cayetano said, adding:

?He has made it clear to us ... even during his Senate presidency that we are not going to coalesce.?

Villar also does not want to be ?compromised? by the administration?s political ?baggage,? according to Cayetano.

?He needs nothing from the administration. He doesn?t want its resources because he doesn?t want to be compromised. He doesn?t want to start his administration with a ?Hello Garci? type of [controversy],? Cayetano said, referring to the election fraud scandal in 2005.

And besides, the NP is strengthening its ranks and will not want another group to claim victory if Villar wins, Cayetano pointed out.

?Why would Senator Villar want [a coalition with the administration]?? Cayetano said. ?It?s not a good way to start. I think whoever wins would like a fresh start, a honeymoon period ...?

Nevertheless, Villar is ?open to individuals with the administration?governors, mayors?joining us,? and many of them are holding talks with him, Cayetano said.

Meetings galore

He said that judging from Villar?s hectic schedule in the last two weeks, ?it?s as if he?s to take his oath [as president] in a few days,? Cayetano said. ?Maybe the only reason [Lakas-Kampi-CMD members are] looking at him now is he?s No. 1 in the surveys.?

NP spokesperson Gilbert Remulla said Villar might have topped the straw vote purportedly conducted by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita because the former had remained ?very close? to members of the administration camp.

?He was Speaker of the House,? Remulla said. ?On a personal relationship basis, a lot of these congressmen are very close to him.?

The senator?s wife, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, continues to cultivate this close relationship with House members, Remulla said.

?But this does not mean there is any way that we would agree for us to be endorsed by, or be part of, the administration,? Remulla said.

?We can go it alone?

Claudio said any alliance between Lakas-Kampi-CMD and any other party could take place only with the go-signal of the coalition?s choice of standard-bearer.

Otherwise, he said, ?against a multiplicity of opposition groups and candidates, we can go it alone.?

But Prospero Pichay, the coalition?s vice president for membership and a former representative of Surigao del Sur, said there was nothing wrong with aligning with another party although ?we?ve not reached that stage.?

?The sentiment of the people now is that we have to field our own candidate from within the party,? Pichay said in a phone interview.

Asked if they were closing the door to an outsider as standard-bearer, he said: ?We?re not thinking of adopting or coalescing, but I?m not saying we?re closing the doors [to it].?

Pichay, however, said the coalition had not considered Villar as standard-bearer.

Limited to ?the three?

He said the choice was limited to ?the three,? meaning Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando and Vice President Noli de Castro.

He described them as ?capable of becoming President.?

Both Teodoro and Fernando are members of Lakas-Kampi-CMD. It is still waiting for De Castro to join the coalition and declare that he?s in the running for the presidency.

Of De Castro, Pichay said: ?When you are a ?presidentiable,? you don?t have to be forced to run ... The presidency is a question of destiny.

?Let?s wait for Sept. 15. If he comes out, that?s his decision. If he says he?s not running, the more I will admire him because that means he knows his limitations.?