Poe, Escudero said to be readying senatorial lineup
Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero are preparing a senatorial lineup that may include boxer Manny Pacquiao, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) chief Joel Villanueva and former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, according to the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).
Other names on the list are Senators Bongbong Marcos, Ralph Recto and Tito Sotto, who are all up for reelection, former Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, and Representatives Sherwin Gatchalian, Mark Villar, Martin Romualdez and Lino Cayetano.
NPC president and House Deputy Speaker Giorgidi Aggabao said these were the names being “bandied about” in informal talks on a possible run by Poe and Escudero for president and vice president, respectively, in next year’s polls.
But Aggabao made it clear that the list was not final.
“I could confirm that Senators Grace and Chiz will cobble up a slate coming from different parties,” he said in a text message.
“The names you mentioned are bandied about. But the list is by no means final,” Aggabao said.
“Some names could be dropped, and new names added,” he said.
Neither Poe nor Escudero has formally announced plans to run individually or as a team in 2016, but they have had talks with the NPC, whose leaders, including Aggabao, have publicly expressed support for the two.
Pacquiao, the Sarangani representative, is a member of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay. He is being wooed by rival parties, including the ruling Liberal Party, which is fielding Interior Secretary Mar Roxas as its standard bearer.
Some of the names on the NPC list belong to the LP, including Recto and Petilla. Others are with the Nacionalista Party, among them, Marcos, Villar and Cayetano. Romualdez is president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.
