1Sambayan to announce presidential bet on September 30 — Carpio

MANILA, Philippines — The opposition coalition 1Sambayan is set to announce its presidential candidate on September 30, just a day before the filing of candidacies starts, its lead convenor retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Friday.

“For 1Sambayan, our target date to announce our presidential candidate is the end of this month. Something might come out like there might be a rush of renewed hope for unity. So anything can still happen. It can go beyond September 30, but our original date is September 30,” Carpio said in an online forum.

According to Carpio, the coalition is currently conducting an internal survey among its members that will help identify who they will support for next year’s polls.

He added that Vice President Leni Robredo, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV have agreed to undergo 1Sambayan’s selection process.

“We have announced that three have accepted. We have VP Leni, we have Senator Sonny Trillanes, and Mayor Isko… With respect to those who have agreed to submit to the 1Sambayan process, we are now conducting an internal survey and before the end of the month, we should complete our process and announce our candidate,” he said.

“But we are also including in our survey those who have not accepted like Manny Pacquiao and Ping Lacson because they have announced [their candidacy] and we are precisely consulting our members,” Carpio added.

Carpio said the results of the survey will be discussed in the coalition’s general assembly and in a convenors’ meeting.

Meanwhile, Carpio also noted that the possible bets do not have to declare their presidential bids earlier than September 30 before they can be considered by 1Sambayan.

“The candidate may or may not declare before that time. It does not really matter to us. It’s a separate process for us. We have three who have accepted our process. If one of them declares, one does not declare, it’s okay. We will continue,” he said.

He added that the results of the initial survey will not be the sole basis of 1Sambayan in choosing its presidential candidate and that the internal survey will also be “combined” with the surveys of SWS and Pulse Asia.

“That is just one criterion. We will have to assess the integrity of the candidate, the track record, competence, patriotism, and the vision of this candidate for the future and the Filipino people. It does not mean that the result will be our decision. This will be an input to several data sets,” Carpio pointed out.

Carpio also said that “unity talks” with possible opposition presidential candidates will continue despite the announcement of some that they will be running for president. So far, Lacson, Pacquiao, and Moreno have already declared their respective presidential bids.

/MUF