Loren bares VP offers by 5 presidential aspirants

At least five presidential aspirants are asking Senator Loren Legarda to be their running mate in next year’s elections. Or so she claimed. “There are five presidentiables who were asking me to run with them," Legarda told reporters Wednesday. She refused to name the aspirants, but a source said these are former President Joseph Estrada, Senators Francis Escudero, Manuel Villar Jr., Richard Gordon and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. The source said of the five, Estrada, Escudero and Gordon had personally offered Legarda the position, while emissaries of Villar and Teodoro had approached the lady senator. Legarda said the aspirants have been sending her “strong feelers" on a regular basis. “Aminin ko, very strong feelers from Gibo’s [Teodoro’s nickname] camp and for all other camps. Yung iba araw araw, yung iba araw-gabi, iba every other day (Some of them are communicating with me everyday, others every other day)," she said. Legarda, who said she would announce her decision within the month, admitted feeling “flattered, honored and confused" about the offers. “I am strongly considering the idea of running for higher office and within the month of October I will formally declare not only my decision but also my platform on helping this country move forward," she said. The senator refused to say who among the five aspirants she is inclined to go with, but admitted that she is set to talk with Escudero, her party-mate at the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), on October 11, a day after his 40th birthday. GMANews.TV tried contacting the five aspirants, but only the camp of Estrada entertained the request for comment. In an email message, Estrada’s spokesperson Margaux Salcedo denied that the former President had asked Legarda to be his running mate. “President Estrada has always said that he believes Senator Legarda is most qualified not only for the vice presidency but even for the presidency. However, he has not personally asked anybody to be his running mate," she said. She said Estrada too is set to make an announcement this month regarding his political plans for the May 2010 elections. “If he declares that he will run, he will make his announcement for his vice president only then," Salcedo said, adding that Estrada would make the announcement after talking with other presidential aspirants. - with Andreo Calonzo, GMANews.TV