Chiz to join presidential race as an independent candidate - lawmaker

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero will join next year's presidential race as an independent candidate, a television report said on Thursday.

The report, aired over GMA News' "24 Oras," quoted Escudero's friend, An Waray party-list Rep. Bem Noel, as saying that the senator's camp is eyeing senators Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson and Tourism Secretary Ace Durano as his running-mate.

"Yung tatlong nabanggit... puro sila qualified at may kanya-kanyang hatak (Those three are all qualified and have their own supporters)," Noel told reporter Maki Pulido in an interview.

Escudero, who bolted the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) on Wednesday, is yet to announce his political plans in the 2010 elections.

The senator denied that he quit the party due to financial reasons. "The subject of financing was never discussed or was it an issue within the party. My resignation is a matter of principle and conviction," he said.

As an independent candidate, Escudero is expected to face a tough hurdle in his reported quest for the presidency, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"In any election, an independent candidate would have a hard time because we are not just talking about participating in the election itself, we are talking about pulling off a campaign that wins you the election," said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

Malacañang meanwhile denied reports that it is offering Escudero to be the running-mate of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the administration's standard-bearer in next year's elections.

"We don't have an offer to Senator Chiz Escudero to be the running-mate of Secretary Teodoro," said deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo. - with Kimberly Jane Tan, GMANews.TV