Ebdane seeks FVR's nod in 2010 presidential bid

Former Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane on Sunday announced his presidential aspiration in next year's elections and said he is looking for the endorsement of former President Fidel V. Ramos. Ebdane, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) prior to his retirement from police service, made the announcement during the national convention of labor party, Philippine Labor and Peasant Party (PLPP) (formerly Lapiang Manggagawa) in Manila Hotel. “I hope and pray that he (Ramos) will endorse me, he is credible," he told reporters at the sidelines of the party’s 46th founding anniversary. The celebration also implemented the change on the party’s name from Lapiang Manggagawa to Philippine Labor and Peasant Party.

Ebdane, who was also proclaimed as the PLPP's national chairman, said his priorities if ever he is elected to Malacañang include peace and order, national security, defense, and public works. Noting his unpopularity, Ebdane assured the public that he would be a good leader based on the experiences he had conquered in his years as a public servant. “And with accumulated experience and know-how, I believe I stand as the candidate with the first-hand working knowledge of how government really works and the track record to get things done," he said. The party is yet to pick Ebdane's running-mate as well as its candidates for senators. Ebdane said that as the new PLPP chairman, he has full authority to organize the party for the electoral exercise in 2010. Ebdane is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1970 and has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) from the Mapúa Institute of Technology. He was the 10th PNP chief, serving from July 2002 to August 2004. After serving as the chief of the PNP, Ebdane was named National Security Adviser, a post he held from August 2004 to February 2005. He later served as secretary of the Department of National Defense. He was re-appointed to the DPWH in February 2007 but quit last month to prepare for the 2010 polls. - GMANews.TV