Manila vice mayor says he’s keeping 2013 options open

“My options are open.”

This was Manila Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso’s reply when asked recently if he would still be Mayor Alfredo Lim’s running mate in next year’s elections.

His answer might come as a surprise to some, considering his statement last year that he was not leaving Lim’s side anytime soon.

In a press release issued in December, Domagoso said: “Sorry to disappoint our detractors and political opponents but I will not run as mayor. It will still be me and Lim in 2013. It’s still Lim-Isko!”

However, in an interview with the Inquirer last week, Domagoso explained that “[Mayor Lim] is from the Liberal Party while I’m from the Nacionalista Party.”

He said that it was a local alliance between the two parties that brought them together for the 2010 elections.

Though Domagoso confirmed that he was “definitely running” in 2013, he took note of former President Joseph Estrada’s wish to return to his birthplace of Tondo.

Earlier in the month, Estrada announced that he was “seriously considering” running for Manila mayor next year against Lim.

Domagoso, meanwhile, said that Estrada had yet to meet the one-year residency requirement although he still has a few weeks left to comply.

“My options remain open. But in the meantime, I don’t want to think about it too much,” he told the Inquirer.

On Wednesday, Estrada announced in a television interview that he was eyeing Domagoso as a possible running mate in 2013 should he decide to seek Manila’s highest political post.