President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will pay yet another visit to her home province of Pampanga Wednesday, this time to unveil a marker for a P75-million chapel.

It will be President Arroyo’s first visit to Pampanga after she announced last November 30 her plan to run for congresswoman of the province’s second district.

A Malacañang statement said the marker would be for the Holy Guardian Angel Chapel of the Holy Angel University – Central Luzon’s biggest and largest private university that has 16,000 students and 900 employees – in Angeles City.

President Arroyo had visited Pampanga at least 50 times so far this year.

Arroyo critics said the President would use the House of Representatives as her stepping stone to the position of prime minister once her allies in Congress succeed in pushing for a shift to the parliamentary form of government through Charter change.

At least two disqualification cases – one filed by Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros and another by presidential aspirant Ely Pamatong – are now pending with the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Palace statement said that in Wednesday’s event, a Mass would follow the inaugural ceremony for the Holy Guardian Angel Chapel.

“The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Guardian Angel, patron saint of the school and the city, serves as a shrine to an antique image commissioned in 1830 by Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, founder of the university,” the Palace said. - KBK, GMANews.TV

Senatorial aspirant and Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros on Monday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from running for Congress in the second district of Pampanga next year.

In her four-page petition, Hontiveros said Mrs. Arroyo should also be disqualified for denying her opponents equal opportunity for public service since they would be fighting an incumbent president who has the country’s resources at her disposal.

This, she said, violates the equal protection clause stipulated in Article III Section I of the 1987 Constitution, which states that “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without protection of the laws.”

“Allowing a sitting President to run for office would open a veritable Pandora’s Box and, when interfaced with other existing laws and policies, present fundamental questions of equity,” she said.

Hontiveros was the second to challenge Mrs. Arroyo’s congressional bid, the first one being lawyer Ely Pamatong, who is running for president in next year’s elections.

Malacañang, meanwhile, dismissed Hontiveros’ move against Mrs. Arroyo, saying the party-list lawmaker was only seeking media mileage to push for her senatorial candidacy.

“From reports I received, the grounds are hypothetical, speculative and without basis. We will answer if so required by the Comelec. Filing a case is very easy, the hard part of it is proving the grounds,” said Presidential Spokesman for Political Matters Romulo Macalintal, a noted election lawyer.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Malacañang welcomes the case, confident that the President’s lawyers would be “ready, willing and able to defend” her. - KBK, GMANews.TV

The Liberal Party (LP) and Kaya Natin movement slammed the Arroyo administration on Monday for what they called its “vendetta politics” against at least three governors, whose victories in the 2007 local elections are now being subjected to recounting just because “they are LP members.”

This after they received reports that the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) second division will rule against Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca and Pampanga Gov. Ed Panililio on the recount cases filed against them by their political rivals in the 2007 polls.

“(This is) part of the grand plot by the present administration to oust duly elected officials particularly those who belonged to the Liberal Party,” said LP senatorial candidate and Bukidnon (2nd dist.) Rep. Teofisto Guingona III as he read the stand of Kaya Natin.

“This is vendetta politics in ensuring that those who are able to do stand up against the administration would be punished,” said another LP senatorial bet and Bukidnon politician, Nereus “Neric” Acosta.

Panlilio, a Roman Catholic priest who ran and won in the 2007 elections as Pampanga governor, is contesting a recall petition filed with the Comelec by former provincial board member Lilia Pineda, the wife of businessman Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda, a well-known financier and staunch ally of President Arroyo.

Pineda, who lost to Panlilio by a margin of 1,147 votes, accused the winning politician-priest of cheating and initiated recount proceedings against him with the Comelec. The decision will be promulgated on December 16, said Commissioner Nicodermo Ferrer, head of Comelec’s second division.

In the case of Isabela province, Gov. Padaca is contesting a recall petition filed with the Comelec by former governor Bejamin Dy of the powerful Dy political clan. Citing unidentified sources, Padaca said the poll body’s second division will release its decision on Tuesday, December 8, in favor of Dy.

In a related case, the same Comelec division ruled against Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza on an electoral protest filed against him by former Bulacan governor Roberto Pagdanganan. The decision was released after Mendoza’s Partido del Pilar coalesced with the LP for the 2010 polls.

“What do we have in common? We are LP members,” said Panlilio.

Recount cases against the three governors, however, had been filed even before they joined LP, whose presidential and vice president bets, Senators Benigno Aquino and Manuel Roxas II, have been leading the surveys.

But Guingona said Pacada and Panlilio did not have the money and machinery to rig the election results.

“We strongly belie the allegations of election fraud and cheating as absolutely false and baseless,” said Guingona, even as he called on the Comelec to “maintain its independence.”

Commissioner Ferrer, for his part, advised the two governors to wait for the poll body’s decision before making any judgment.

“Wag nilang siraan kami (They shouldn’t unjustly accuse us). Why don’t we just wait for the resolution, (maybe they’ll even) be taken by surpsise,” said Ferrer in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

Ferrer added that the Comelec has been “very transparent” in conducting the recount cases. It has even invited the media and an independent poll watcher to witness the recounting, he said. – JV/GMANews.TV

Several presidential aspirants has expressed opposition to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s bid for a congressional seat representing Pampanga’s second district, saying it is a mockery of the country’s highest post.

In a forum on Wednesday night, Former President Joseph Estrada said Arroyo’s decision to seek a lower position after nine years in Malacanang is a clear insult to the presidency.

“Naglingkod ka na sa taas. Hindi pa ba siya kuntento doon? (She has already served at the topmost level. Isn’t she satisfied yet?) That is very demeaning,” said Estrada, who was replaced by Arroyo as president after a popular uprising in 2001.

The former president added that since Arroyo has already formalized her congressional bid last Monday, she should vacate the presidential post right away.

“She should resign, because all the government resources are under her thumb. Kawawa kalaban niya (Her opponents would be at a disadvantage),” he said.

Olongapo councilor and Ang Kapatiran party presidential bet John Carlos Delos Reyes also said that it is not right for the President to run for another position after her term.

“Hindi po ako sang-ayon na tumakbo si Arroyo dahil bagamat legal, ito ay labag sa delicadeza at labag sa propriety,” he said in the same forum.

Delos Reyes vowed to support all efforts to block Arroyo’s entry into the House of Representatives, saying the President is setting a bad example among the country’s youth.

Another presidential aspirant, environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, said he would not let Arroyo evade possible cases that might be filed against her in 2010 if elected into office.

“I think it is a huge shame that Arroyo is running again for an elective office… (Ang promise ko), hahabulin ko kung anong kaso (ang isasampa laban sa kanya) to the greatest extent possible (I promise to go after the President if cases are filed against her to the greatest extent possible),” he said.

Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III, the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate, meanwhile said he will oppose any moves to shift the government to a parliamentary form and subsequently elect Arroyo as House speaker and prime minister.

“I pledge I will stand up and oppose any effort to try to extend power. ‘Yung pagiging speaker, pagkakaintindi ko ay (paraan para magkaroon ng) power block. Bakit tayo papayag diyan? (I understand that her being House speaker is a way of forming a power bloc. Why would we let this happen?)” the senator said.

Sen. Richard Gordon, who is also running for president under the party Bagumbayan, urged voters in Pampanga’s second district to carefully study Arroyo’s motives before making their decisions in the 2010 polls.

“Nasa kababayan na natin ang husga, pero dapat muni-muniin ang pakay ni Gloria. (It is up to the people to decide, but they should really refect on Gloria’s motives.) We should consider if she there to end the Constitution, to have influence or to defend herself,” he said.

Arroyo formally announced on Monday that she will be running for representative in the second district of Pampanga, where her hometown, Lubao, is located.

Administration critics say Arroyo’s move is only to avoid possible cases that might be hurled towards her one she ends her term in 2010, and a way to gain back power by changing the country’s form of government and assuming the role of prime minister. [See: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/178167/arroyo-announces-bid-for-congress-seat-in-pampanga] - ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV

Aside from President Gloria Arroyo, three other popular personalities – former President Joseph Estrada, Filipino boxing champ Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, and television host Willie Revillame – also carry the proverbial “kiss of Death.”

This was one of the findings of a new survey conducted by pollster Pulse Asia in late October.

“Small to sizable majorities (58 percent to 79 percent) are surely/probably not supporting a presidential bet endorsed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former President Joseph Estrada, Mr. Willie Revillame, and People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao,” Pulse Asia said in its Website.

On the other hand, it said the presidential bid of a candidate endorsed by these personalities “would be surely/probably supported by 15 percent to 37 percent of Filipinos.”

While it said a candidate supported by television personality Kris Aquino would “surely/probably get the support of 45 percent of Filipinos,” that candidate “would surely/probably not be elected by 49 percent.”

On the other hand, Pulse Asia noted a presidential bet endorsed by any of these personalities would certainly get the support of at most 11 percent of Filipinos only.

“Electoral endorsements for president coming from any of these individuals would have no effect on the presidential choices of 2 percent to 5 percent of Filipinos, while 3 percent are unable to say what impact such endorsements would have on their choice for president in the May 2010 elections,” it added.

KISS OF DEATH. Candidates who would be endorsed by President Arroyo, former President Estrada, boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, and game show host Willie Revillame may not get the public’s votes, according to Pulse Asia’s latest survey. Photos from AP (Arroyo, Pacquiao), PEP.Ph (Revillame), and Danny Pata (Estrada)

67 percent believe polls to take place

Amid speculations of about a “no-election” (No-El) scenario in 2010 to keep the present administration in power, two of three Filipinos still believe next year’s polls will push through.

But that survey showed that nearly half of Filipinos believe there would be “much trouble” in the country if the polls are canceled.

“Most Filipinos (67 percent) believe that there is a big possibility that next year’s elections will push through as scheduled while a big plurality (49 percent) is of the opinion that there will be much trouble in the country should the May 2010 elections be postponed or canceled,” the survey indicated.

It said 21 percent to 24 percent of Filipinos are not decided on whether the polls will take place as scheduled, while 11 percent believe there is a small possibility the polls will not take place.

On the other hand, some 26 percent do not think much trouble will occur in case the elections are not held.

“Between August and October 2009, there was a decline in the percentage of Filipinos inclined to believe that the postponement or cancellation of the May 2010 elections will result in much trouble (-11 percentage points) and an increase in the percentage of Filipinos who hold a contrary view (+8 percentage points),” Pulse Asia said.

The survey showed majorities across geographic areas and socio-economic classes (57 percent to 80 percent) believe is it highly likely that the May 2010 elections will be held as scheduled.

Residents of Region 10 and Caraga are most inclined to believe otherwise (25 percent) while those in Southern Luzon are most ambivalent on the matter (33 percent).

The belief that violence will result if the May 2010 elections do not push through, is expressed by big pluralities to small majorities (43 percent to 64 percent) in Metro Manila, the Visayas, the rest of Luzon and particularly Northern/Central Luzon, and Region 11.

In Southern Luzon, about the same percentages either think much trouble will result from the cancellation or postponement of the May 2010 elections or express ambivalence on the matter (41 percent versus 34 percent).

In Mindanao, especially Regions 9, 10, 12, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and Caraga, nearly the same percentages express either agreement or disagreement with the view that there will be much trouble if next year’s polls are not held (37 percent to 39 percent versus 36 percent to 39 percent).

49 percent to support protests following No-El

Slightly less than half of Filipinos (49 percent) are inclined to support but not join any protests that might arise if the May 2010 elections will not push through.

“In the event that next year’s polls will not push through as scheduled, a near majority of Filipinos (49 percent) will support but will not join any protest actions resulting from the postponement or cancellation of the elections,” it said.

Pulse Asia said the rest will either not support and not join (41 percent) or will support and join such protests (10 percent).

It said these figures are essentially the same as those recorded in August 2009.

Near to big majorities (47 percent to 68 percent) of Metro Manilans, residents of Northern/Central Luzon, Western and Eastern Visayans, and those in all socio-economic classes say they will support but will not join protest actions should the May 2010 elections not be held as scheduled.

Non-participation (not supporting and not joining) is most pronounced in Central Visayas and Mindanao, particularly in Regions 9, 11, 12, and the ARMM (51 percent to 58 percent).

Almost the same percentages of those in the rest of Luzon and especially Southern Luzon, the Visayas as a whole, and Region 10 and Caraga in Mindanao will either support but not join or will not support and will not join such protest actions (46 percent to 49 percent versus 41 percent to 48 percent).

64 percent believe teachers can handle automated polls

While only two of five Filipinos are aware of the automated system to be used next year, almost two out of three (64 percent) Filipinos believe the country’s public school teachers will perform their duty as members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI).

A similar percentage (65 percent) believes the teachers are capable of managing the automated election system (AES) in next year’s polls.

“The predominant public sentiment among Filipinos is one of trust in the impartiality of the public school teachers in their role as members of the BEI (64 percent). This is the view articulated by majorities in every geographic area (including sub-areas) and socio-economic class (55 percent to 80 percent), with the exception of Region 10 and Caraga (44 percent). Western Visayans are most inclined to believe in the impartiality of public school teachers as BEI members (80 percent),” Pulse Asia said.

Only seven percent of Filipinos express a contrary opinion while 29 percent are ambivalent on the matter. Public indecision and distrust are most pronounced in Region 10 and the Caraga (38 percent and 18 percent, respectively).

About two in three Filipinos (65 percent) believe that the country’s public school teachers are capable of managing the AES for the May 2010 elections.

Such a sentiment is shared by majorities across geographic areas (including sub-areas) and socio-economic classes ranging from 55 percent in Region 11 to 86 percent in Western Visayas.

“Again, the exception here is Region 10 and Caraga where fewer respondents (45 percent) are inclined to believe in the capability of public school teachers to manage the new system for next year’s polls,” it said.

Less than one in ten Filipinos (7 percent) does not think public school teachers are capable of managing the AES while nearly three in ten (29 percent) express indecision on the matter.

Residents of Region 10 and Caraga are not only most ambivalent on the matter (39 percent) but are also most inclined not to believe in the capability of the country’s teacher to implement the AES next year (16 percent).

On the other hand, only about two out of five Filipinos (40 percent) are aware of the AES that will be implemented in May 2010.

The survey showed one in five (21 percent) said they have almost no or no knowledge about the new system to be used in the May 2010 elections.

Some 13 percent claim to have a great deal of knowledge about the AES while 26 percent say they know enough about it.

Across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, about the same percentages of those in Metro Manila and Class ABC either have enough or little knowledge as regards the AES (35 percdnt versus 33 percent and 36 percent versus 31 percent, respectively). In the rest of Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Classes D and E, big pluralities to near majorities (36 percent to 47 percent) know little about the AES.

40 percent believe automated counting will lead to clean polls

Two in five Filipinos (40 percent) think the automatic counting of votes will result in clean elections with credible results.

Less than one of five (16 percent) hold the opposite view while 43 percent profess indecision regarding automation’s possible effect on the forthcoming elections.

Big pluralities to small majorities (47 percent to 54 percent) of those in Western Visayas and Mindanao, particularly Regions 9, 11, 12, and the ARMM, believe that the outcome of next year’s elections will be credible due to the automation of vote counting.

Meanwhile, the prevailing public sentiment in Metro Manila, Central Visayas, Region 10 and Caraga, and Classes ABC and D is one of indecision (44 percent to 52 percent).

In the rest of Luzon and Eastern Visayas, nearly the same percentages of respondents are either ambivalent on the matter or believe that automation of vote counting will make election results credible for the citizenry (40 percent to 49 percent versus 35 percent to 46 percent).

On the other hand, a near majority of those in Class E (47 percent) is optimistic that the automation of vote counting will contribute to the credibility of election results.

52 percent say religious endorsement a boost

Some 52 percent of Filipinos will “surely/probably” vote for a presidential candidate endorsed by their church, the survey showed.

But 43 percent of Filipinos are surely/probably not voting for a presidential candidate endorsed by their church.

The survey was conducted October 22 to 30, using face-to-face interviews with 1,800 representative adults 18 years old and above.

Pulse Asia said its nationwide survey has a +/- 2 percentage error margin at the 95 percent confidence level, error margins of +/- 6 percent for Metro Manila, +/-4 percent for the rest of Luzon and +/-5 percent for each of Visayas and Mindanao, at 95 percent confidence level.

At the time the survey was made, developments dominating the news headlines were: the formal declaration of former President Joseph Estrada of his bid for the presidency in 2010 and questions about its legality; Senator Lorna Regina Legarda’s declaration of her plans for the May 2010 elections and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno’s withdrawal from the vice-presidential race; Senator Francis Escudero’s departure from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC); the search for a running mate by presidential bets Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Senator Manuel Villar Jr.; late registrants catching the last days of registration for the May 2010 elections; the resignation of Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.; relief efforts in the aftermath of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng”; and the freeze on oil prices and other energy products, as well as basic commodities, imposed by the government. - LBG/KBK GMANews.TV

Malacañang on Wednesday admitted that amending the 1987 Constitution has remained one of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s priorities.

At a press briefing, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita even exuded confidence that the President, as incumbent occupant of Malacañang and chairman emeritus of the ruling party Lakas-Kampi-CMD, could easily win the elections and attract allies in the Lower House.

“Let’s be realistic, the President is the President. She has a clout. She’s been there eight years so siguro naman (I suppose), I will not be totally truthful if I told you she has less chances of winning. She definitely has all the chances of winning. Then, because of her stature pag andoon na siya (once she takes her seat) definitely, she has a lot of clout,” Ermita said.

In 2006, President Arroyo’s allies made an effort to tinker with the Charter through the so-called People’s Initiative (PI) campaign. The main purpose was purportedly to pave the way for a shift from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government, but critics saw behind the PI an effort to prolong Mrs. Arroyo’s hold on power by installing her as prime minister.

The PI failed, however, after the Supreme Court ruled against its legality.

On Monday, Mrs. Arroyo ended speculations about her political plans when she announced she was run for a congressional seat in Pampanga’s second district, where her hometown Lubao is located.

But she declined to elaborate on the issue of Charter change and said: “The situation is so hypothetical. I won’t even bother to speculate about it.”

Ermita said it remains unknown whether Mrs. Arroyo would really push for Charter change. He also called on the critics of the President not to berate her for seeking a congressional post. [See: Arroyo bid for House seat slammed as 'dangerous move']

“Don’t fault anybody for doing something that is different from what you think you should be doing. It’s dictating too much on others,” he said.

At present, the number of Lakas-Kampi congressmen at the Lower House is more than enough to install their chosen House Speaker. – Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV

For private citizen Adonis Simpao, the next six months would not be a battle against just one giant. It would be a fight against a system that this giant represents best.

Simpao is the Liberal Party’s (LP) candidate for congressional representative in the second district of Pampanga, the same position President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is gunning for in the 2010 polls.

Simpao said he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the Commission on Elections office in Pampanga at 10 p.m. Monday, not because he was forced nor left with no choice. He said his decision to run was just dictated by the circumstances.

“Wala naman talaga akong balak tumakbo. Hindi ako pinilit, pero hiningi lang ng pagkakataon (I never really planned to run. I was not forced, but the circumstances called for it),” he said Wednesday in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

According to Simpao, LP’s head officer in the province, incumbent Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio, was sending text messages to other prospective candidates right down to two hours before the deadline for filing COCs. But when nobody agreed to take on the job, he decided to step up.

“Naghanap tayo ng puwedeng itapat sa Pangulo, pero walang gustong lumaban hanggang huling minuto. Kaya kinailangan nating manindigan,” he said.

(We tried to find someone who can match the President, but nobody wanted to do so until the last minute. So I had to step up.)

The architect, who also worked for various non-governmental organizations advocating a fight against traditional politics in the province, said he did not even have the time to consult his family on the decision he made.

Asked what made him decide to run against the President, Simpao said: “Gusto kong baguhin ‘yung ‘against the President.’ Hindi si Pangulong Arroyo ang kinakalaban natin kundi ang sistemang dala ng mga tradisyunal na pulitikong tulad niya.”

(I want to correct this ‘against the President’ notion. What we are fighting against is not President Arroyo but the system that’s upheld by traditional politicians like her.)

Simpao admitted that this would be an uphill battle, given Arroyo’s current hold on power and the number of government projects she has undertaken in the district. He, however, is positive his cabalens (province mates) will look beyond these things come election time.

“Hindi malinaw sa mga taga-rito na karapatan ng bawat mamamayan ang mga proyektong dinadala dito ng Pangulo, pero alam kong mamumulat din ang mga kababayan ko,” he said.

(It’s not clear to people here that they have the right as citizens to benefit from the projects delivered by the President, but I know their eyes will be opened someday.) – GMANews.TV

There is no field to be leveled.

This was the response of Malacañang to former President Fidel V. Ramos’ statement urging President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a congressional aspirant in Pampanga, to step down from office to “level the playing field” in next year’s elections.

“President Arroyo is practically running unopposed. She will never use her office for this election. She does not even have to actively campaign,” said Romulo Macalintal, President Arroyo’s counsel.

President Arroyo’s sole opponent in the second district of Pampanga is 55-year-old independent candidate Feliciano Serrano, an electrical engineer by profession.

Ramos, at a press conference at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport early Wednesday, said that while there is no legal impediment to President Arroyo’s congressional bid, her position would give her undue advantage in the campaign.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, meanwhile, noted that as head of the country, President Arroyo has the power to release billions of government funds, giving her and her allies seeking electoral posts advantage.

Macalintal denied the President would use government funds in her campaign. “President Arroyo will never touch a single cent of the public funds to campaign. So her detractors should never worry.”

Administration critics have expressed suspicions that President Arroyo’s decision to be a congresswoman is part of her bid to perpetuate herself in power by becoming a prime minister once Congress succeeds in amending the Constitution and changing the form of government to parliamentary.

The number of Lakas-Kampi-CMD members and Arroyo allies in the House of Representatives is enough to elect her as speaker. - Aie Balagtas See/KBK, GMANews.TV

Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos filed her candidacy for next year’s congressional elections, joining the country’s boxing champion and the outgoing president in the star-studded race for the lower House.

Strongman Ferdinand Marcos’s flamboyant 80-year-old widow, who has successfully fought off more than 900 civil and criminal cases against her, dispatched a lawyer shortly before midnight Tuesday to file her nomination papers in Illocos Norte, her husband’s northern stronghold where she is popular.

Tuesday was the last day for nominations for the May 2010 national elections.

Other top candidates for Congress include Manny Pacquiao, who last month won his seventh world boxing title in as many weight classes.

Pacquiao ran unsuccessfully in 2007 for a congressional seat in southern General Santos City, where he began his career. This time he is running in Alabel township in neighboring Sarangani province.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will become the first Philippine president to run for a lower house seat after stepping down. Barred by the Constitution from seeking a second term, Arroyo filed her candidacy Tuesday for the 268-member House of Representatives in her home province of Pampanga.

Arroyo, 62, has denied allegations of vote fraud and corruption, and has survived four impeachment bids and four attempted power grabs by disenchanted troops who accused her of mismanaging the country.

Opinion polls have consistently found her to be the least popular president since Marcos, who was ousted in 1986 and sent into US exile with his wife and children.

Imelda Marcos returned in 1991 and ran unsuccessfully for president the following year. She won a congressional seat from her home province of Leyte and served from 1995 to 1998.

The Marcos family still wields influence, despite accusations of embezzlement, human rights abuses and Imelda Marcos’ ostentatious lifestyle when most of the country wallowed in poverty during the husband’s 20-year rule.

Marcos will be running against a former vice governor in the second district of Batac, said Apolinario Saturnino from the Elections Commission.

She is seeking to replace her son, Rep. Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr., who is running for the Senate, while her daughter Imee is running for governor of Illocos Norte, a position that has been held by a cousin.

The presidential race is shaping up as a contest among the son of the late president and democracy icon Corazon Aquino, Benigno “Nonoy” Aquino III; fellow Senator Manuel Villar, a wealthy real estate developer; and administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro, a former defense chief.

Former President Joseph Estrada, who was ousted by anti-corruption protests in 2001, also filed his candidacy for president, but it is expected to be challenged because of the constitutional ban on a second term. Estrada claims he was removed illegally. He was convicted of corruption and pardoned by Arroyo.

About 17,000 positions are up for grabs, from village chief to president. There are about 45 million eligible voters. - AP

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s half-sister has turned down the invitation to run for congresswoman of Pampanga’s second district, leaving less popular candidates to challenge the President’s congressional bid in 2010.

In a phone interview with GMANews.TV on Wednesday, former Pampanga vice governor Cielo Macapagal-Salgado said she declined Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio’s proposal for her to run against Mrs. Arroyo.

Panlilio is the Liberal Party chairman in the province.

“I explained to Among Ed that I have duties already in the Church which I cannot relinquish,” said Salgado, an elder at Flames of Fire for Jesus, a Catholic charismatic community. “My mission is already to the Lord, sa evangelization outside of politics.”

“I am also thinking of the legacy of my dad,” she said. “If he were alive I don’t think he would like us, his children, to be quarreling.” [See: Half-sis asks Arroyo to give way]

Salgado and her brother Arturo are children of former president Diosdado Macapagal by his first wife Purita de la Rosa, who died during World War II. Macapagal married Evangeline Macaraeg shortly after the war, and had two children, Gloria and Diosdado Jr.

Salgado, however, reiterated that she was “not happy” about Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to seek a congressional seat next year.

“She was already given nine years and I think she should give others a chance,” said Salgado.

Instead of Salgado, the LP will field private citizen Adonis Simpao to challenge Mrs. Arroyo’s congressional bid.

Simpao was the spokesperson for Kapampangan Kontra Recount, a group opposing the election protest filed against Panlilio.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor in Pampanga said two more have filed their certificates of candidacy for Pampanga’s second district.

They were Feliciano Serrano, an electronics engineer, and Filipinas Rosario Sampang, who was accused earlier this year of rigging the bidding process for training aircraft in the state-run Philippine State College of Aeronautics.

Both Serrano and Sampang are running as independent candidates.

Despite widespread criticisms of her decision to seek another office after her presidency, Mrs. Arroyo filed her certificate of candidacy Tuesday with her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. [See: Arroyo formalizes House bid]

Administration critics have alleged that once she is elected as representative, her colleagues in Congress would push for a shift to a parliamentary system of government, which would enable Mrs. Arroyo to run for prime minister. Mrs. Arroyo has dismissed these as speculations. - with Andreo Calonzo/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV