UNA still eyes Poe as 2016 vice presidential bet—Tiangco
Four days after President Benigno Aquino III admitted talking to Sen. Grace Poe about the latter’s possible role in the 2016 presidential elections, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) said the party is still considering the lady senator as a possible running mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
In an interview with Radyo Inquirer Wednesday, UNA interim president and Navotas City Rep. Tobias Tiangco said they were not ruling out the possibility of a Binay-Poe tandem next year.
“Based on the statement of Sen. Grace she said she’s not decided yet. She’s not committing yet (to the Liberal Party) so we are still considering her,” Tiangco said.
In a briefing with journalists in the middle of his visit to Canada, President Aquino confirmed that he recently discussed 2016 plans with Poe, with the final capacity not finalized.
READ: Aquino admits meeting with Poe to discuss 2016 plans
Tiangco said he was not surprised that the administration is eyeing Poe as a possible bet. What surprised him more, he said, was the uncertainty of the position being offered to the lady senator.
“Yesterday, I read on the papers the statement of Sen. Grace that the president wanted an ‘alternative.’ So I was surprised because I thought all this time that Mar Roxas is their presidential bet,” he said. “If that’s the case, then Roxas must be really concerned.”
Tiangco also said some of his colleagues in the House of Representatives prefer Poe over Roxas as the standard bearer of the Liberal Party.
He added that Binay is looking for two qualifications in choosing his running mate—one who shares the same goal, and who will actually work and not just serve as “decoration to the president.”
“Poe is still a possibility. We are going to recommend to the vice president whoever is tailor-fitted for the position, and then it will be his final decision,” Tiangco said.
Recent presidential polls saw Poe cutting the lead of Binay as Aquino’s successor. The lady senator also topped the surveys for potential vice-presidential bets.
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