The entry of popular television host Edu Manzano into the political arena as the vice presidential bet of administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD has spiced up the electoral race, rival political party leaders said Friday.
Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr., the only prominent presidential candidate who has yet to announce his running mate, said Manzano’s partnership with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is a good match.
“I suppose magiging exciting ang labanan (The race will become more exciting),” the senator said on the sidelines of the Kapisanan ng ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas top level management conference in Tagaytay City.
However, Villar maintained that his still unnamed candidate–rumored to be Senator Loren Legarda–is better. “Nasa bayan na kung sino ang magugustuhan nilang ihalal (The public will decide who they want to elect),” he said.
Senator Legarda also wished Manzano well.
Meanwhile, Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, the Liberal Party (LP) vice presidential bet, said Manzano is a worthy opponent. “I trust that Filipinos will choose their candidates based on a strong platform for real change,” Roxas said.
With the announcement of Teodoro’s running mate, the LP is assuming that Villar and Legarda will team up for the 2010 polls, said LP spokesperson Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III.
“The tandem of Noynoy [Aquino] and Mar [Roxas] will have to work hard to maintain the trust of the people all the way to election day,” Tañada said in in a text message.
Aquino and Roxas have been taking the top spots in recent public preference surveys.
Earlier in the day, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno–who previously declared his vice presidential ambition, only to later withdraw from the race –announced that Manzano will be Teodoro’s running mate. [See: Edu Manzano chosen as Gibo's VP]
Manzano is the former chairman of the Optical Media Board chairman and has served as vice mayor of Makati City.
Puno, whom Manzano said he considers a “mentor,” paved the way for the formation of the Teodoro-Manzano tandem.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had earlier said other personalities that were considered to become Teodoro’s running mate were Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, and Legarda. – Johanna Camille Sisante and Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV
Officials of the Nacionalista Party (NP) and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) have remained mum on reports that they have already coalesced to launch a Villar-Legarda tandem for the 2010 elections.
“We still do not have definitive plans as to how to approach the presidential derby. We are still consulting our members,” said NPC spokesperson and Valenzuela City Rep. Rex Gatchalian in a text message sent to GMANews.TV on Tuesday.
NP spokesperson Gilbert Remulla also remained tight-lipped on reports that NPC’s Sen. Loren Legarda will be the vice presidential running mate of Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. who heads NP. He said the reports were mere “rumors and unconfirmed reports.”
Reports became rife that the two parties would forge a coalition after NPC’s prospective presidential candidate, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, abruptly bolted the party last October 28, leaving Legarda without a running mate. [See: Chiz Escudero leaves NPC]
Legarda is also neither confirming nor denying reports that she will become Villar’s running mate. “I’m focusing on climate change. Politics can wait,” said Legarda in a text message to GMANews.TV on Tuesday.
Legarda is the principal author of the Climate Change Act, which creates a Climate Change Commission that will coordinate the programs of the government and represent the country in international climate change conferences. [See: Arroyo signs landmark climate change measure) – Jam Sisante, Amita Legaspi, Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV
In two weeks’ time, Senator Manuel Villar Jr. is set to formally announce his running mate and the Nacionalista Party (NP) senatorial slate for 2010, even as the NP’s standard bearer admitted on Monday that he has yet to pick his partner and that he’s adopting a wait-and-see tactic on the choice of bets of other political parties.
“S’yempre gusto mong malaman kung sino talaga yung matutuloy sa pagtakbo ng pagka-pangulo. Pagkatapos dun ka pa lang magpa-finalize kung sino ang magiging running mate mo. Mabuting malaman din kung sino ang mga running mate ng ibang kandidato para maganda yung match-up,” the senator said in a press conference.
(Of course, you want to know who are really pursuing the presidency. Only then should you finalize who would be your running mate. It’s good to know who would be the running mates of other candidates. This ensures a good match-up.)
Potential partners
Villar said he is still choosing between two possible vice presidential bets, whom he did not name.
“Mahalaga kasi na prinsipyo n’ya at prinsipyo ko ay pwedeng magtugma at para mas malakas kung sino ang nakakatulong sa ating bayan. ’Yun ang primary consideration natin (It’s important that I pick someone whose principles will match mine, and to ensure a stronger match, pick someone who is of real help to our country. That’s my primary consideration),” Villar said.
Villar added that his running mate need not come from his party.
“Hindi naman kailangan miyembro ng Nacionalista Party. This is an alliance of parties na merong common interest, merong common objective. Hindi namin nililimitahan sa partido ang magiging running mate (My running mate doesn’t have to be an NP member. This is an alliance of parties with common interests and common objectives. We are not limiting ourselves to possible running mates within the party),” he said.
Noli or Loren?
Asked about his possible partnership with either Vice President Noli de Castro or Senator Loren Legarda, the senator said he has yet to talk with the former while he refused to confirm any negotiations with the latter.
“Wala tayong dapat i-rule out sa ngayon, mga posibilidad pa ’yan. Ang sinasabi ko lang s’yempre mahalaga yung kagustuhan nila, hindi lang naman yung kagustuhan natin. S’yempre kailangan muna na gusto nila tayong maka-partner at gusto rin natin silang maka-partner,” Villar said.
(We don’t have to rule out anything right now, these are all possible. What I’m saying is that what they want is important, of course, not just what I want. What’s needed, first of all, is that they want to team up with us, and us with them.)
Villar said that he harbors no ill-feelings against Legarda despite the fact that she was one of the senators who voted for his ouster as Senate President in November last year and pushed for the ethics complaint against him.
“Normal naman iyan. Isasantabi natin ang mga isyung iyan. Wala naman tayong galit sa kanila, hindi tayo pala-away na tao. Ang gumagawa ng masama ay napapatawad natin (That’s normal. We could set aside those issues. We have no ill-feeling against them, we’re not quarrelsome. We can forgive those who do us wrong),” he said.
Team-up time
While Villar is still weighing his options, other presidential aspirants have already found their respective matches.
Her party mate, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who is being eyed as NPC standard bearer, has postponed his announcement in deference to typhoon victims.
In this light, it remains to be seen if Villar’s wait-and-see strategy would be to his advantage or disadvantage.
Added issue
The Monday press conference was the first time Villar met with reporters after the Senate Committee of the Whole ended its proceedings on the ethics complaint filed against him.
Villar was accused of “conflict of interest” for allegedly using his position to have his properties benefit from road right of way claims in the construction of the C5 road extension project.
The Senate is now preparing its report on the ethics complaint filed by Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal against Villar after the latter refused to participate in the hearings and present his evidence.
But as the presidential race begins to heat up, this issue has been placed on the backburner for the moment. - GMANews.TV
If the 2010 elections were held today, the vice presidential race would likely be a three-way fight among Vice President Manuel “Noli” de Castro Jr. and Senators Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Lorna Regina “Loren” Legarda, with Roxas taking the edge.
This was the finding of the third quarter 2009 survey conducted by pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS), which released the results Monday.
Roxas, preferred by 40 percent of the respondents, took the top spot among the three top choices to become vice president in 2010. De Castro and Legarda, rivals for the vice presidency in the 2004 polls, got 23 percent each.
SWS released the results on the eve of Roxas’ wedding to broadcaster Korina Maria Sanchez at the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.
While De Castro has kept mum on his political plans for 2010, Legarda announced her plan to run for vice president last Friday but has remained coy on who she would run with.
Others named by the respondents included Sen. Francis Escudero (13 percent), Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. (4 percent), Sen. Francis Pangilinan (3 percent), Sen. Benigno Simeon Aquino III (2 percent), Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (2 percent), and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno (2 percent).
Mentioned by 1 percent each were Sen. Pilar Juliana Cayetano, TV show host Willie Revillame, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, former President Joseph Estrada, and Batangas Governor Vilma Santos.
The elder Estrada, Villar and Aquino had voiced their intention to run for President, while Puno had backed out of the vice presidential race.
Santiago and the younger Estrada are running in the elder Estrada’s senatorial ticket.
On the other hand, the SWS said 10 percent could not give an answer, and 7 percent had no one to recommend.
The survey was conducted from September 18 to 21, using face-to-face interviews of 1,800 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila and Mindanao, and 600 each in Balance of Luzon and the Visayas.
Sampling error margins of ±2.3% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila and Mindanao, and ±4% for Balance Luzon and the Visayas applied to the survey.
The SWS said the question for this survey followed the question on the three best successors to President Arroyo, whose results the SWS released last October 14.
In that survey, Aquino and Villar topped the people’s “three best leaders to succeed PGMA in 2010.” – GMANews.TV
Senator Loren Legarda will announce next week her plans for the 2010 elections, but that is if the weather cooperates.
“Barring any extreme weather condition, climatic changes, kung walang mangyayaring malaking sakuna at kung walang malaking bagyo at delubyo ay bibigyan ko ng pormal na deklarasyon hindi lang ang akin personal na tatakbuhan kundi na rin ang aking malawakan, maliwanag na progresibong makabayan at makakalikasang plataporma sa susunod na linggo,” Legarda said Thursday during the weekly news forum in the Senate.
(If no big disasters will happen then I will formally announce not only my personal plan but also my wide, clear, progressive, nationalistic and environment-friendly platform next week.)
Legarda had earlier said she is being wooed by five presidential aspirants to be their running-mate.
In Thursday’s briefing, Legarda said two of the five had stopped pursuing her.
“I’m agonizing. Andun pa rin.. siguro tatlo na lang (Three are still wooing me),” she said without identifying those who are asking her to be their running mate.
A source close to Legarda said the five were former President Joseph Estrada; Senators Francis Escudero, Manuel Villar Jr., and Richard Gordon; and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.
Escudero, Legarda’s party mate at the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), is also set to announce his political plans next week.
Legarda said her announcement would be separate from Escudero’s.
Legarda refused to give a hint on her political plans, saying it would not matter to the five million Filipinos affected by cyclones “Pepeng” and “Ondoy.”
“Kaya nga ako focus na focus sa trabaho dahil ang passion ko talaga ay maglingkod (I’m really focused on my job these days). At this point in my life, I really know the problems of our country and I know what to do and what I can do,” she said. - GMANews.TV
At least five presidential aspirants are asking Senator Loren Legarda to be their running mate in next year’s elections. Or so she claimed.
“There are five presidentiables who were asking me to run with them,” Legarda told reporters Wednesday.
She refused to name the aspirants, but a source said these are former President Joseph Estrada, Senators Francis Escudero, Manuel Villar Jr., Richard Gordon and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.
The source said of the five, Estrada, Escudero and Gordon had personally offered Legarda the position, while emissaries of Villar and Teodoro had approached the lady senator.
Legarda said the aspirants have been sending her “strong feelers” on a regular basis.
“Aminin ko, very strong feelers from Gibo’s [Teodoro’s nickname] camp and for all other camps. Yung iba araw araw, yung iba araw-gabi, iba every other day (Some of them are communicating with me everyday, others every other day),” she said.
Legarda, who said she would announce her decision within the month, admitted feeling “flattered, honored and confused” about the offers.
“I am strongly considering the idea of running for higher office and within the month of October I will formally declare not only my decision but also my platform on helping this country move forward,” she said.
The senator refused to say who among the five aspirants she is inclined to go with, but admitted that she is set to talk with Escudero, her party-mate at the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), on October 11, a day after his 40th birthday.
GMANews.TV tried contacting the five aspirants, but only the camp of Estrada entertained the request for comment.
In an email message, Estrada’s spokesperson Margaux Salcedo denied that the former President had asked Legarda to be his running mate.
“President Estrada has always said that he believes Senator Legarda is most qualified not only for the vice presidency but even for the presidency. However, he has not personally asked anybody to be his running mate,” she said.
She said Estrada too is set to make an announcement this month regarding his political plans for the May 2010 elections.
“If he declares that he will run, he will make his announcement for his vice president only then,” Salcedo said, adding that Estrada would make the announcement after talking with other presidential aspirants. – with Andreo Calonzo, GMANews.TV
In an unprecedented group pledge Sunday morning, the country’s presidential and vice presidential aspirants sought to inject hope in an election process marked by an untested automated system and widespread fears of cheating.
Thirteen hopefuls for the 2010 elections pledged to ensure clean and honest polls and vowed never to use public office for personal gain if they are elected.
They took the oath during GMA-7’s “Eleksyon 2010: Tatakbo Ka Ba?” fun run for a clean and honest elections held at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, which was broadcast live on television and via livestream on GMANews.TV.
Those who took the oath before Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Jose Melo were former President Joseph Estrada, Senators Manuel Roxas II, Manuel Villar Jr., Francis Pangilinan, Francis Escudero, Loren Legarda, Richard Gordon, and Jamby Madrigal.
Also taking their oaths were Jesus is Lord Movement leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Bayani Fernando, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, and Ang Kapatiran party’s JC delos Reyes.
Writings on the Wall
Before they took their oaths, the presidential and vice presidential hopefuls wrote messages on a “Unity Wall.” Here’s what they wrote:
Binay: Ipagmalaki mo ikaw ay Pilipino Delos Reyes: For hope and a new beginning Escudero: Para sa kabataang Pilipino Estrada: Walang tutulong sa Pilipino kundi kapwa Pilipino Fernando: Let’s get it done Gordon: For a change in men Legarda:Malinis na halalan Madrigal: For God and country Pangilinan: Rock the Vote! Perlas: Tayong lahat ang magbabago ng Pilipinas Roxas: Para sa bansa Villanueva: Ang tunay na pagbabago Villar:Para sa malinis na halalan
“Hindi ako gagamit ng salapi sa maling paraan o ng armas at anumang uri ng dahas para masiguro and pagkapanalo ko sa eleksyon (I will not use funds in the wrong way nor use firearms or any other form of violence to ensure victory in the elections),” read part of the prepared oath, which the 13 signed before Melo, National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) head Henrietta de Villa, and Philippine Bar Association chair Federico Agcaoili.
The oath also read, “Hindi ko gagamitin ang kaban ng bayan o anumang pag-aari ng Pilipinas para sa aking personal na interes (I will not use public funds or any other property of the Philippines for my personal interest).”
Those “perceived candidates” who did not attend the event were Vice President Noli de Castro, who was on an official trip to China; Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who relayed that they were both ill; Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio, who informed the network that he was preoccupied with the vote recount in his province; Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, who was in Belgium; and Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III, who said he is “still undecided” on whether to run in next year’s elections.
Click here to view a large image of pledge signed by 2010 hopefuls.
“We hope to awaken the consciousness of our people on how important electing the right people to public offices is,” said Felipe L. Gozon, president, chairman, and chief executive officer of GMA Network. “Elections are a very serious matter.”
Gozon added that he was “more than satisfied” with the turnout of the event.
After taking their oath before Comelec chair Melo, representatives of some of the country’s leading civic groups, media and election watchdogs, and a live television audience of millions, the hopefuls affixed their signatures to their written pledges.
“Puwede nating singilin ang mga tatakbo sa kanilang sinumpaan. This is our collective challenge to aspirants to do what’s right,” said Marissa Flores, GMA Network’s senior vice president for news and public affairs.
Aside from the political personalities’ oath-taking, 5,000 people participated in the fun run that took place beforehand.
Dubbed “Eleksyon 2010 na, Tatakbo Ka Ba? – Hamon Para sa Kaayusan ng Pilipinas,” the one-day fun run kicked off GMA Network’s awareness campaign to promote clean and honest polls in 2010. with reports from Sophia Dedace and Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV
The first in an occasional series on political advertising.
Officially, the campaign period for next year’s election will start eight months from now. But who’s waiting?
In only the first three months of this year, just three possible candidates have already spent a total of P230 million in “advocacy ads” — thinly disguised campaign commercials on television and radio.
Nielsen Media Research identified the three as Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II (P140 million), Senator Manuel Villar Jr. (P80 million), and Senator Loren Legarda (P10 million). All three have given indications they’re running for the presidency next year.
The early electioneering is obvious to many TV viewers. But the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already determined that the so-called advocacy ads do not violate election campaign laws since the political advertisers have not yet filed their certificates of candidacy.
“Free for all, yan ay saklaw ng freedom of expression until and unless mabago po ang ating batas [Free for all, that is covered by freedom of expression until and unless our law is amended],” said Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento.
It’s not exactly “free for all;” with air time at peak viewing hours on a major network (such as GMA7 and ABS-CBN) worth as much as P475,000 per 30 seconds, heavy political advertisers at this stage are a very exclusive club. Senator Panfilo Lacson cited the cost of a presidential campaign as his reason for abandoning his plans to seek the presidency in 2010.
Paid ads versus negative publicity
With his vast wealth enabling his freedom of expression, the real estate magnate and presumptive candidate Villar is bombarding the air waves with ads extolling him as a bosom friend of OFWs and small entrepreneurs. The ads accompany his camp’s hopes that the paid exposure will outweigh the effects of the free but negative publicity he’s getting as a result of conflict of interest charges by his Senate colleagues.
Villar has refused to participate in Senate ethics hearings called by Senator Jamby Madrigal on allegations that he illegally profited from a diversion of the C5 road project.
Instead, Villar is bringing “his case directly to the people whose wisdom transcends the combined minds of all the senators,” according to a statement by his spokesperson Jan Mata. “Admittedly, Senator Villar is active in his public informational campaign. It is by this means that he registers very well in the public mind.”
This “public informational campaign” seems to have already paid off, judging by the latest surveys. Villar topped an April-May Social Weather Stations poll, but Villar’s camp itself commissioned the survey. He was followed by Vice President Noli de Castro and Senator Roxas in the same poll.
In a Pulse Asia survey released around the same time, however, Villar was fourth among 16 names appearing in the presidential preference poll, while Roxas was fifth. Topping the survey was De Castro, aided to a great degree by the advantages of his office, including the government’s media machinery.
De Castro was followed by senator and former FPJ campaign spokesman Francis Escudero and former president Joseph Estrada, respectively. The top three are household names because of their TV exposure through the nightly news, and rely more on free publicity rather than paid ads.
Roxas catches up with Villar
Political analyst Ramon Casiple told GMANews.TV that while Roxas and Villar get their share of free publicity through the news, their political ads helped them break through the top five. “[The political ads] contributed to Roxas’s and Villar’s visibility, ratings,” Casiple said.
It would also appear that Villar’s communications strategy has overcome the ill effects on his image of the road controversy. However, a closer look at the Pulse Asia numbers over time tells a different story. Villar’s 14 percent preference among Pulse Asia’s respondents was less than his 15 percent in a similar poll last February. Thus, it does not appear that his ad campaign during the Senate brouhaha has improved his standing.
Roxas, in contrast, improved over the same period from 8 percent to 13 percent. Pedaling hard in his “padyak” commercials, Roxas has virtually caught up with Villar. Of course, it hasn’t hurt Roxas that his engagement to broadcaster Korina Sanchez has been garnering him loads of free airtime.
And in case you missed it on TV, Roxas tweeted his followers with the wedding details here.
While his rival is in pre-nuptial mood, Villar is in crisis communications mode. His ad campaign “softened the blow” of the road controversy, according to Harvey Keh, the lead convenor of Kaya Natin, a movement advocating ethical leadership. “Without the ads, he would have rated much lower.”
Villar is adhering to a formula that worked in the 2007 elections when he outspent nearly all other senatorial candidates. But he is surely aware that other big spenders lost badly, including Prospero Pichay, Ralph Recto, and Mike Defensor, whose ads could not erase the stigma of belonging to the administration slate.
Another presumptive candidate testing the power of advertising is Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who spent a fortune placing ads in last May’s Pacquiao fight. Not only does Teodoro lack name recognition, those who have heard of him identify him with an unpopular president. And it didn’t help that many boxing fans were annoyed by the frequency of ads during Pacquiao’s abbreviated fight.
While other candidates credit donors and friends as the sources of their funds, Villar openly acknowledges that the ads are bought with his personal wealth.
The Nacionalista Party standard bearer said in a TV interview in the first video above, “Pera natin yung ginagastos natin diyan at pangalawa palagay ko alam naman ng lahat na malaki naman ang naitutulong natin. Halimbawa yung sa OFW, nailagay natin sa kaalaman ng ating kababayan [We are using our own money to finance that, and I think we are able to give much help. For example, we were able to raise awareness on OFW issues].”
The early ads are necessary, according to a statement by Nacionalista Party spokesman Gilbert Remulla published on his Facebook account, because Villar “did not have a broadcasting or showbiz career to aid him in his politics. And neither does he have blue blooded ancestry where his surname is synonymous with major roads and is printed on legal tender.” These are obvious references to Estrada, De Castro, and Roxas (a grandson of former president Manuel Roxas).
With the ongoing ethics investigation, Villar will have an even tougher sell. - GMANews.TV
