Honasan on UNA’s offer to be Binay’s VP: I need time to decide

Sen. Gregorio Honasan II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II said he is considering “very seriously” the United Nationalist Alliance’s (UNA) offer for him to run for vice president in 2016 but said he wants time to decide on it.

“…This is an important decision in my life. I was planning to retire in 2019 when my term ends but I have to consider this very seriously,” Honasan  told reporters after the UNA selection committee picked him to be the running mate of its standard-bearer, Vice President Jejomar Binay.

READ: UNA selects Honasan as Binay’s VP

“I’m asking for time,” he said.

Honasan, vice president of UNA, said he only learned about the party decision from its president, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, and other officials.

“I heard that there will be a formal offer. I still have to receive the hard copy. But I asked for time,” he said.

Asked until when he would make a decision, the senator said:  “Kung kailan ako pwedeng mag decide (When I am able to decide).”

But when told that the filing of certificates of candidacy will already commence next week, Honasan then said, “That’s the timeline within which  I will have to make a decision.”

“I’m not rushing this because as I said, this is an important decision, especially at this stage in my political life when I have more yesterdays than  tomorrows,” he added.

Honasan said he also needs to address an “internal personal matter” that concerns his family—“their reluctance, their apprehension of what it will  bring to our private lives.”

Consulting his family, he said, especially his children and grandchildren, was “agonizing.”

“If not supportive, I hope they will understand that I cannot separate the welfare of my family and the welfare of other Filipino families from my love for my country,” he said.

But asked if it was also possible that he would turn down the offer, the senator said a “no” answer was possible, pointing out that everything is possible.

“But as I said, I want to make that decision on the basis of all inputs in—complete, accurate, and timely information that will affect  the future of my family and the country and the institution I’m part of.” JE