Estrada asks opposition presidential aspirants to rally behind one bet

While insisting he can run for president again, Joseph Estrada began making the rounds Thursday trying to convince opposition presidential aspirants to rally behind a single candidate in the 2010 elections. During the Senate’s weekly news forum, Estrada said he has talked with Senators Loren Legarda and Manuel Roxas II and is set to meet Senators Francis Escudero and Manuel Villar Jr., who have all expressed their intention to seek the presidency next year. The others in the opposition who have their eyes set on the highest public office in the land are Sen. Jamby Madrigal and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay. Estrada said his aim is for all groups opposed to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to unite behind one standard bearer to ensure victory. He clarified that he was not pushing for a particular candidate. He said he wants to see the opposition presidential aspirants agree among themselves to select the best candidate. He also denied asking any of the aspirants to be his running mate, saying such decision to slide down to the top 2 post should be “voluntary on their part." “In 1992, I declared myself as a candidate for president. When I went around the country I could feel the pulse of the people and I felt I would have a hard time running for president, so I slide down to vice presidency," Estrada said. He became the running mate of businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, who landed 3rd in a seven-sided contest won by then Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos. Estrada won the vice presidency by a landslide, and went on to win the presidential race in 1998. His six-year term, however, was abbreviated after he was forced to step down by a military-backed civilian uprising sparked by charges of massive corruption in January 2001. Mission impossible Estrada said uniting the opposition behind a single candidate looks impossible now with the growing number of aspirants. Still, he said there may still be a chance, which is why he had been consulting with the “legitimate presidential candidates." He said his earlier announcement to run hinged on the opposition’s inability to unite. “If I’m really determined (to run), I don’t have to consult anyone except the people. That’s why I’m talking to them one by one. Only those legitimate candidates for president. Yung iba mahirap na eh. Some of them are too late in the presidential race," Estrada said. In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Estrada’s son, Senate Pro Tempore Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada, said other presidential bets should think of sliding down. Asked if it is his father who should be the opposition’s standard bearer, Jinggoy said “siguro because he is considered as the father of the opposition." The older Estrada said now is the time for the opposition to learn the lessons of the 2004 presidential elections in order for them to reclaim power in 2010. “If only we, the opposition, presented only one candidate, it could have been very hard for them to cheat FPJ (the late Fernando Poe Jr)," Estrada said. He said then presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson got over three million votes while the late Senator Raul Roco got almost two million votes. “So that’s five million additional votes. It could have been for FPJ," Estrada said. President Arroyo eventually won the contest as opposition votes were divided among Poe, Lacson and Roco and evangelist Eddie Villanueva. Mrs Arroyo won over her nearest rival, Poe, by over a million votes. Estrada noted that when he ran for the presidency in 1998, his margin of victory over his nearest rival was six million votes. “It’s hard for them to cheat even if they tried to. That’s why I think we have to learn from that lesson of 2004 elections," Estrada said. Not that easy Villar said the Nacionalista Party, which he heads, is open to talks with other parties and groups that share the same vision of real reform that our people are clamoring for. “The opposition should exhaust all means to unite behind a single candidate in May 2010," he said in a text message to GMANews.TV. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr said the ideal tactic is a unified opposition slate with one presidential and one vice presidential bet. “But it is easier said than done. Perhaps Erap (Estrada’s nickname) can tell us also how to do it." Estrada said the normal way is to call a convention to choose the standard bearer, but it may not be practical to the opposition right now who belong to different parties. But he said unity is possible. “This would be all an agreement among parties. That’s possible, that’s what happened in senatorial elections under UNO (United Opposition). UNO became the umbrella party of the different parties," he said. Should a unity remain elusive, he said he is ready to pursue his plan to seek the presidency himself. Estrada said he has a big chance of winning in a multi-sided contest because he remains popular among the people. In Pulse Asia’s latest survey released last week, Estrada was the second preference of respondents for the presidency, garnering 19 percent, next to Villar’s 25 percent. Vice President Manuel "Noli" de Castro, who is reportedly being groomed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the administration standard bearer, was in third place at 16%. Escudero and Roxas scored 12% and 11%, while the rest obtained voter preferences of 6% or less. The latest Pulse Asia survey reaffirms Villar’s lead in the 2nd Quarter 2009 presidential preference survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), in which De Castro a not-so-close second. Twenty-two percent of the respondents in that survey chose Villar, while De Castro got 18 percent. Estrada and Escudero were tied at 14 percent, followed by Senators Loren Legarda (10 %), Manuel Roxas II (9%), and Panfilo Lacson (6%). Twenty-two percent of the respondents in that survey chose Villar, while De Castro got 18 percent. Estrada and Escudero were tied at 14 percent, followed by Senators Loren Legarda (10 %), Manuel Roxas II (9%), and Panfilo Lacson (6%). Vox populi, vox Dei Estrada said should it become inevitable for him to run because of opposition disunity, he is confident that the legality of his candidacy would be upheld. “I’m prepared for it. I will not run if I believe that I will be disqualified. Imagine (the) time (and) effort (that would be spent for it). I believe, eventually, it would be the people’s decision," he said. He said he had consulted legal luminaries like former justices of the Supreme Court and present and past deans of law schools, among them Dean Pacifico Agabin of the University of the Philippines; Dean Amado Valdez of the University of the East; Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, former dean of San Sebastian College-Institute of Law; and lawyer Estelito Mendoza. “These are people whose knowledge about law can’t be questioned," Estrada said. He added that he already read one of the decisions of the Supreme Court that states: “the court may err but the sovereign people may not." “Having the presidency should be given to the people to decide. I believe in destiny, as presidency is a destiny. As the saving goes, vox populi, vox Dei, the voice of the people is the voice of God," Estrada said. He refused to say his alternative plan if he will be disqualified. “I cannot tell you all my plans. Baka makuha ng kalaban," Estrada said. On the senatorial line up of the opposition, he said among those in the list were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate ProTempore Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada, detained Army Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, Jose ‘Joey’ De Venecia III, Ted Failon and Edu Manzano. He said others being considered to be included in the slate were Rep Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin, Grace Poe and Bayan Muna Rep Teddy Casino. - GMANews.TV