MANILA, Philippines—If Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Sen. Manny Villar have set their eyes on their No. 2 in next year’s presidential election, they’re keeping it close to their chest.

Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party (NP), refused to reveal the progress of his camp’s courtship of Sen. Loren Legarda, who has declared she is running for vice president, but with whom is anybody’s guess.

“Let’s not mention names. Many things can happen since the election is still seven months away,” Villar said.

But his choice of his shirt’s color betrayed him. He showed up at the Senate press office wearing a white shirt under his trademark orange jacket. Until Monday, he had worn orange shirts in all his public appearances.

He was asked why he was wearing white—Legarda’s campaign color. The self-made billionaire beamed and quipped: “I didn’t have anything to wear, except this.”

Legarda has not discounted the possibility of teaming up with Villar, although she is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition. The NPC is set to declare on Wednesday Sen. Francis Escudero as its presidential candidate.

“I am quietly, deeply reflecting on who could best help me accomplish my goals for the people,” Legarda said at the weekend.

“I will only consider it if he accepts my platform on sustainable development, good governance and climate change adaptation, and priority on migrant workers, which is so close to my heart,” she added.

Villar stressed that his running mate was not required to join the NP. “We are not limiting to party members the choice of my running mate,” he said.

A man or a woman?

Teodoro, the presidential candidate of the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD, also was mum on who would be his running mate when pressed by municipal mayors at a forum Monday.

Capas Tarlac Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan said Teodoro refused to talk about his vice president, not even hinting whether it was a female or male.

“We’re anxious to know his running mate because our constituents are asking the same,” said Catacutan, a godson of Teodoro.

Teodoro said Governors Vilma Santos-Recto of Batangas and Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu were both competent to be his running mate, but he distanced himself from negotiations being conducted by the administration party.

“I’m not pushing for anyone right now and I am leaving it to the party to choose,” Teodoro said in a talk with reporters on the sidelines of the launching of the Department of National Defense Proper Citizen’s Charter on Monday.

He described Garcia as a top-performing governor and someone residing from Visayas. The vote-rich region was known to have delivered a million votes to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 elections.

Gabriel Claudio, Lakas-Kampi-CMD secretary general, also raised the possibility of Teodoro teaming up with Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, a Cebuano and an NPC member like Legarda.

Geographical combination

In choosing Teodoro’s running mate, the administration party was also considering what Claudio called “geographical combination.”

“It’s also good if he would have a running mate who is from the south,” said Claudio, who is also President Macapagal-Arroyo’s political adviser.

Teodoro’s political bailiwick is Tarlac province where he served as a district representative.

Claudio said Lakas-Kampi-CMD could not easily consider a team-up with NPC members such as Legarda and Durano until the NPC had decided on its own standard-bearer.

He said the ruling party had tentatively set the party convention in Cebu for Nov. 12 or eight days before the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy.

In choosing Cebu as venue, the ruling party all but indicated that Teodoro’s vice presidential candidate might come from there.

“We can all expect that before the convention, things have been ironed out,” he said.

Not aspiring for higher post

Rep. Pablo Garcia of the second congressional district in Cebu said his daughter Gwendolyn was being eyed by Teodoro as his vice president, but he said that the governor was not aspiring for a higher post.

The Garcia family felt that the governor should stay in Cebu, whose officials she was able to unite, he said.

“Leaving Cebu would affect the unity (of Cebu officials),” the elder Garcia said.
He noted that his daughter had announced that she would not run for vice president.

In Batangas City, provincial information chief Jing Segusmundo said that Santos-Recto would not run for vice president.

“She will be seeking reelection in Batangas for governor in the 2010 elections,” Segusmundo said, adding that there had been no discussions between Teodoro and Recto about the vice presidential race.

“She loves Batangas and she does not want to leave the Batangueños,” Segusmundo said. With reports from Michael Lim Ubac, Jocelyn R. Uy, Christian V. Esguerra and Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.; Jhunnex Nallapacan, Inquirer Visayas, and Marrah Erika Lesaba, Inquirer Southern Luzon