Roxas: Erap asked me to be his running mate

Prospective presidential aspirant Senator Manuel Roxas II on Monday bared the offer made to him by former President Joseph Estrada to be his running mate if he decides to run for president in next year's elections. In an interview with reporters, Roxas said he does not want to put any color on the offer as the former president only asked him to consider the idea. “Nung nag-meet kami ni Erap (Estrada’s nickname), ang sinabi niya ay pag-isipan ko kung mag-vice ako sa kanya. Hindi ko gustong lagyan ng laman kung anuman ‘yun. Ang sinabi lang niya, magbukas-isip lang na mag-vice sa kanya," he said. (He told me to consider being his vice-president. I don’t want to put any meaning on it, he just asked me to consider the idea.) Estrada earlier said that he would run for president if the opposition would not unite and pick a single candidate to be its standard-bearer. Roxas said he did not give any definitive answer to Estrada's offer. He said he even asked the former leader to be open to the idea of supporting him instead. The meeting happened last Thursday in a restaurant in Greenhills, San Juan, according to Roxas. He said they have long planned to meet but it was only recently that they were able to set a date. Aside from Roxas, others who had directly or indirectly expressed readiness to run for the highest post in next year's elections were Senators Manuel Villar, Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero and Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal; Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay; Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando; and Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio. Asked if the opposition would still be able to field its standard-bearer next year when Estrada is already eyeing his running mate, Roxas said the first question they have to answer is who are the true members of the opposition. - GMANews.TV