My running mate is an incumbent senator – Villar

Still trying to be coy about the identity of his running mate, Nacionalista Party presidential aspirant Senator Manuel Villar let it slip however Friday that his vice presidential bet is an incumbent senator. Asked at a Kapisanan ng Broadkaster ng Pilipinas management conference in Tagaytay City if he had personally talked with his choice of teammate, Villar evasively said: “Matagal na naman na ang mga senador nakakausap ko nang personal (It’s been my long-standing practice to talk personally to the senators)." Villar quickly added: “Lahat naman nakakausap ko na, pati Vice President nakakausap ko na (I’ve been talking with everyone, even with the Vice President)," referring to Vice President Manuel “Noli" de Castro. Observers saw Villar’s “slip of the tongue" as a thinly-veiled reference to Senator Loren Legarda, who is the vice presidential bet of the Nationalist People’s Coalition. Legarda and the NPC have not so far declared their presidential bet, but widely presumed to be leaning towards an alliance with NP. The presidential bet said his senatorial slate for 2010 is already complete and he is just waiting for the NP national convention next week to announce it. He added that NP would also allow its candidates to announce their bids first. “Ako ay kumportable sa napagkaisahan ng partido at hindi naman ako mahilig magbago-bago dahil oras na rin naman at siguro yung napagkaisahan nila yun na (I’m comfortable with the party consensus and I don’t like to make changes too often because after all, it’s now the right time. Maybe what they agreed on, that would be it)," he said. Villar revealed his senatorial lineup would be a mix of new and old faces. “Maraming bago, pero mayroon din namang dati na pero mukhang bago, merong reelectionist (Many are new, but there are also some old ones who look new, and there are reelectionists)," he said. He added that NP would also have guest candidates, the same way that NP candidates could be guest candidates of other parties, saying that no formal coalition is needed for this. “We have always been supportive of the Nationalist People’s Coalition. Hindi na kailangan i-formalize ang coalition (There’s no need to formalize the coalition). We welcome any member of NPC who will support us," Villar said, without specifically mentioning NPC’s Legarda, his rumored running mate. In his speech during the KBP conference in Tagaytay, Villar said the next president of the country should have character and integrity. “Character cannot be inherited. Integrity is the same, you have to earn it. You have to show that in the past you had integrity, otherwise it will be empty promises. Lahat naman magsasabi na may ganyan sila (Everyone can say they have it), it’s not enough to say you have leadership capability but also decisive, managerial capacity," Villar said. He added that he was able to show his character and integrity when he initiated the impeachment proceedings against former president Joseph Estrada. “Millions of people can make empty promises. And these you should ask from all of us…when and where did we demonstrate these qualities. Because if we cannot show it, we cannot discuss it. Then you must assume that we don’t have these traits," Villar said. - Amita O. Legaspi, GMANews.TV