LP to continue VP search as Noy hopes for Grace

MANILA, Philippines - While President Aquino is keeping his hopes alive for Sen. Grace Poe’s eventually agreeing to be the vice presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, his partymates won’t stop their search for a more willing and possibly more viable alternative.

This was according to LP vice chairman and Senate President Franklin Drilon, who stressed that it would be prudent to look for some other possible running mate for outgoing Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II as the campaign season is fast approaching.

“We will continue to search for an appropriate running mate. At the end of the day we will let the party decide,” Drilon said.

“We can not scramble if at the end Sen. Grace Poe will finally say, ‘I am running for president.’ It might be too late. So it is better that we are prepared,” he said.

Last week, Drilon said that he would ask the National Executive Council of the LP to convene and start looking for possible running mates for Roxas.

Drilon said that he is convinced that Poe is running for president, based on her recent actions and pronouncements.

He noted that Poe has been going around the country attending various events like any other politician intent on running for a position.

Drilon said he understands the President’s desire to stay in good terms with various allies, including Poe, who as an independent was adopted by the LP as one of its candidates for senator in the 2013 elections.

“Certainly, we know that he wants to maintain the coalition but if Senator Grace doesn’t want to join us and be the running mate of Secretary Mar, I guess then we can’t do anything,” he said.

Poe has remained coy about her plans for 2016 but based on her previous pronouncements and recent actions, it is widely believed that she is running for president with Sen. Francis Escudero as her running mate.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III said that the pronouncement of the President is a clear indication that the LP is determined to get Poe out of the presidential race.

“If she pulled out of the presidential race, I estimate that 60 percent of her votes will go to Mar. If she runs as Mar’s vice president, 80 percent of her votes will go to Mar. In the same manner, if Mar pulled out of the presidency, my survey showed that 90 percent of his votes will go to Grace,” Osmeña said.

“So that’s the reason the target of the Liberal Party is to remove Grace from the presidential race so that they can collect her votes. It’s obvious, it’s logical, it’s rational, it stands to reason that they would do it,” he added.

Osmeña said that Poe has been demonstrating to everyone that she is running for president.

“The President can be very persistent in courting ladies so I admire his persistence and determination,” he said.

Grace’s announcement

For Deputy Speaker Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao, who is president of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Poe has made up her mind on running for president and is expected to announce her decision next week.

Aggabao’s statement was in reaction to President Aquino’s pronouncement that he’s not yet giving up on Poe.

He said Poe has “set her mind to contest the presidency” in the 2016 elections.

“She (Poe) has cemented her popularity as evidenced by her consistent high poll numbers that it would be unprecedented indeed if she opts to run only for vice president,” Aggabao said.

“We are limping into October (the deadline of the filing of the certificates of candidacy) so I think Secretary Mar must make the hard choice now to pick a running mate other than Sen. Grace,” he said.

The NPC, considered the second biggest party after LP, is seen to be siding with Poe, although party officials said they have yet to make a decision.

Another NPC official, who declined to be identified, said Poe has tentatively set her announcement on Sept. 16.

The same official said Escudero is expected to announce his plan to be Poe’s running mate next week. Other political parties, including the Nacionalista Party, are also set to express their support for the tandem.

Roxas met Tuesday night with some leaders of the NPC at the party’s headquarters in Quezon City to seek their support.

Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, NPC spokesman, said the meeting lasted for five hours and was “very interactive.”

“It gave him (Roxas) and our members a good opportunity to share views on policies and issues,” Enverga said.

He said Roxas was able to detail his plans for government.

Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, an ally of Roxas, told reporters he believes the talks between Aquino and Poe are continuing.

He said Aquino would not have made the pronouncement if there were no ongoing negotiations with Poe.

Erice said Poe told Aquino during their meeting last month that she would heed the President’s advice for her to run for vice president.

Poe earlier accused some factions in the LP of trying to destroy her reputation through various means, including the filing of cases questioning her citizenship.