Drilon: Poe-Escudero 2016 team looms

SENATOR Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s resignation from two finance panels in Congress was a sign that he would run along with Senator Grace Poe in 2016, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.

“I see it as an indication that they will run,” Drilon told reporters, reacting to Escudero’s resignation as chairman of the Senate committee on finance and joint congressional oversight committee on public expenditures.

READ: Citing ‘delicadeza,’ Escudero quits as head of 2 Senate panels

He said it would be “beyond political imagination” that Escudero   would run alone.

Drilon is vice chairman of the administration’s Liberal Party (LP), which is rooting for Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to be its   standard-bearer in next year’s presidential election.

But Poe was quick to debunk Drilon’s observation.

“Indikasyon na mas sigurado syang (Escudero) tumakbo pero hindi yon indikasyon noong sa akin dahil pinag-iisipan ko pa ring mabuti,” she said when sought for comment on the Senate   leader’s statement.

“Pero masaya ako kung mas buo na ang loob nya, mas mabuti yun para sa kanya,” she further said.

Escudero himself admitted that he is seriously considering   running in 2016 but said he has no final decision until now.