Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (left). INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
The Nacionalista Party (NP) might support Senator Grace Poe but not Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero if they both run for a higher office in 2016, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on Thursday.
Trillanes, an NP member, also denied reports that the party being headed by former Senator Manny Villar, and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. are forming a tactical alliance to back both Poe and Escudero.
READ: NP, NPC go for Poe-Escudero
Poe and Escudero were the voters’ top choice for president and vice president next year based on the latest Pulse Asia survey. But the two have yet to declare whether or not would seek a higher post next year.
But Trillanes, who has declared his intention to run for vice president in 2016, said the reported tactical alliance being forged by the parties was just Escudero’s “propaganda play.”
“Because the NP will not carry both… At least NP may carry or adopt Poe but definitely not Escudero,” he said in an interview. The senator confirmed making the statements in a separate text message.
Asked why not Escudero, Trillanes said: “He is not a member of the party.”
Both Poe and Escudero are independents though they ran under the administration’s coalition ticket in 2013 like Trillanes.