MANILA, Philippines — A day after he bolted the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a presidential hopeful, shut the door to a possible team-up with the administration’s standard-bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., saying a “Gibo-Chiz” tandem was “impossible.”
Escudero’s colleagues in the Senate wondered whether his leaving the NPC was a gambit aimed at boosting his survey numbers before the filing of certificates of candidacy on Nov. 30.
His decision to abandon the NPC left the party without a standard-bearer.
He also rejected a team-up with Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar, who, like Teodoro, is still looking for a running mate.
“I will never jump ship and join the administration, particularly because its term is ending. Besides, I honor and respect Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, but it seems impossible for that team-up to happen,” Escudero said on dzMM radio.
Asked about a tandem with Villar of the Nacionalista Party, Escudero said: “I already commented on that.” He did not elaborate.
Escudero had already rejected a team-up with Villar in the wake of an earlier survey by Social Weather Stations which showed a likely win for a Villar-Escudero tandem if presidential elections were held at the time.
“Impossible. It will never happen. I stand for good governance,” Escudero, the 39-year-old senator who was yet ineligible to run for president, said in a press statement on Sept. 5.
Escudero turned 40 on Oct. 10, the minimum requirement for those seeking the presidency.
C-5 controversy
“Given what I have seen and read about the allegations raised in the C-5 controversy, it seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. I cannot in good conscience run with or under him,” he said.
Villar, a former Senate president, is facing an ethics probe by the Senate committee of the whole for the alleged diversion of the C-5 road project to benefit Villar’s real estate company, a charge vehemently denied by the latter.
Escudero’s statements Thursday were a far cry from his answers when he was interviewed by ABS-CBN’s “Bandila” on Wednesday.
All possible
Asked about the possibility of becoming the running mate of Villar, Escudero said: “All possibilities are possible, but I ask for a little more time.”
Teaming up with former President Joseph Estrada of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino may not be possible, either.
Estrada announced on Oct. 21 that Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay would be his running mate.
“They have a complete (team-up) already,” Escudero said when asked if he was willing to slide down to be Estrada’s running mate.
Escudero stunned his own party mates on Wednesday with his dramatic announcement at the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City, that he was resigning from the NPC, the party founded by tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr.
“I am leaving my party because I believe that I can fulfill the role that I am bound to play in connection with the coming elections … not as a member of any party or a companion of any person, but as just me,” Escudero had announced at a hastily called press conference.
The announcement came a day after Escudero reportedly failed to convince Cojuangco, NPC chair emeritus and chair of San Miguel Corp., to bankroll his presidential candidacy.
The lawmaker from Sorsogon had deferred the announcement of his plans for the 2010 elections, asking his supporters to give him time to decide what to do next.
Last-ditch effort
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. asked if it was the young senator’s last-ditch effort to shore up his popularity ratings, which plummeted in the last survey of the Social Weather Stations.
“If what I heard is correct that he left NPC because of money, it’s a bad gambit,” Pimentel said in a text message.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan appeared unconvinced that Escudero suddenly saw the wisdom of running as an independent candidate in a crucial election.
He said Escudero was not known to be an advocate of a “third force,” a move Pangilinan advocated in the 2007 election to convince senators seeking re-election to form a group which had no links with either the opposition or the administration.
Pangilinan said Escudero’s decision to leave the NPC had raised more questions than answers. “The rumors as to the real reasons aren’t helping his bid,” he said. “Is it a gambit?”
Not about money
In several radio and TV interviews since he resigned from the NPC, Escudero said money was not a factor for leaving the NPC.
He had to make this clarification because in all the interviews, he was repeatedly asked about reports that he had a rift with Cojuangco, who had refused to bankroll his presidential bid.
“The subject of financing was never discussed, nor was it ever an issue within the party. My resignation was a matter of principles and conviction,” Escudero said.
He said he had no right to demand something which did not belong to him in the first place.
But he added: “I accept the reality that I’m not a hacendero (landowner) or billionaire.”
Escudero clarified that he resigned because a presidential candidate should not be tied down to a political party.
“I never prioritized money in my career. I live in a simple house with my simple family. I didn’t dream of having money when I went into public service,” he said.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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