Filtered By: Topstories
News

After search, Villar, Legarda find each other for 2010


WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Exactly a year ago, Sen. Manny Villar Jr. resigned as Senate president amid rumors that his colleagues were intending to oust him. After he resigned, 14 of his colleagues voted to install Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile to the position. Legarda was among those who voted for Enrile. On Monday, or a day before Villar announced that Legarda would be his running mate in the 2010 elections, the latter said there was nothing personal about what happened last year. “Ang mga nangyayari sa Senado at sa demokrasya ay parte ng mga proseso na walang pinagsisisihan, at ginagawa at nangyayari na walang personalan (What happens in the Senate and in a democracy are part of the process and we see nothing wrong with it)," she said. All about money? Just last March, Legarda denounced Villar for saying that a presidential aspirant needs at least P1 billion to run a presidential campaign. The wealthiest senator by far, Villar is believed to have already spent hundreds of millions of pesos on political advertisements alone. "Nakakalungkot yung nabasa ko sa dyaryo noong Martes. Sabi ni Senator Manny Villar na kung wala ka raw P1 billion, huwag mo ng ituloy ang balak mo bilang pangulo…Ibig ba n’yang sabihin, kung wala kang pera ay huwag ka ng mangarap na makapaglingkod bilang pangulo sa ating bansa?," Legarda said in her statement issued on May 4, 2009. “Nakalulungkot pong isipin na paliliitin natin ang usapin ng paglilingkod sa bayan sa isyu ng pera. Pera-pera na lang ba ang eleksyon? Talaga bang ang tingin nya sa taong bayan ay mukhang pera?" she added. (It is sad to think that Villar is equating leadership with money.)
Click here to view a large image of Sen. Legarda's statement on May 4, 2009.
Shifting allegiance Legarda ran for senator in 1998 under the administration’s Lakas-NUCD-UMDP party, receiving the most votes (more than 15 million). In the impeachment trial against former President Joseph Estrada in the Senate in January 2001, Legarda was among those in favor of opening the controversial “second envelope" containing supposed evidence that former President Estrada held a secret P3.3 billion bank account under the name “Jose Velarde." However, in 2004, Legarda shifted her loyalty to the opposition and became the running mate of actor Fernando Poe Jr. in the national elections. The tandem lost to administration bets President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and then Senator Noli de Castro. In 2007, Legarda remained with the opposition and ran as a second-term senator. She topped the race, receiving more than 18 million votes. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV
Senator Manny Villar Jr. on Tuesday formally announced his tandem with Senator Loren Legarda in the May 2010 elections. "Mga kababayan, karangalan kong ipakilala sa inyo ang bagong magtatanggol sa mahihirap at magtatangol sa kalikasan, si Senator Loren Legarda," Villar said. (My countrymen, it is my honor to introduce to you a candidate who will work for the poor and the environment, Senator Loren Legarda.) The announcement was held at a press briefing held at Villar's residence along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City. The Nacionalista Party standard bearer said his choice of Legarda, a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), was not motivated by politics "but by a common vision for the country." "Ang pagsasama namin ay hindi hinog sa pilit, hindi ginawa para sa popularidad, hindi base sa emosyon kundi hinubog ng pagsasanga ng aming mga pangarap sa bayang Pilipinas," said Villar, who was clad in an orange polo shirt. (Our partnership is neither based on popularity nor emotion, but one that is molded by our common goals for the country.) Villar also praised Legarda for being a true environmentalist. According to reliable sources, Villar had also considered Vice President Noli de Castro as his running mate but the talks fell through. The announcement of the Villar-Legarda tandem came a day after 12 senators signed a resolution asking the Senate to junk the ethics complaint filed against Villar for allegedly profiting from the government's C-5 road extension project. Legarda was among those who signed Senate Resolution 1472. Legarda's party NPC was formed by business tycoon Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco in 1992 when he sought the presidency, but party officials said he does not meddle in their political affairs. Legarda, wearing her signature white polo and jeans, took the opportunity to formally declare her vice presidential bid in next year's elections. "Today I officially declare my candidacy as vice president in the May 2010 elections. I am running in tandem with the Nacionalista Party's Senator Manny Villar as presidential standard bearer," she said in her acceptance speech. Legarda said she and Villar "share many things in common" and have the "same vision" to free the country from "poverty and despair." "We do not merely promise change, we do change," she said. Later in the briefing, Legarda said Cojuangco gave her the go-signal to align with other political parties in order for her to have a presidential partner. She, however, said she could not ascertain if Villar has the businessman's support. "I cannot speak for Cojuangco but the Villar-Legarda tandem has the blessings and support of the NPC," she said. With the announcement, the tandem could represent the joining of forces of the NPC and the Nacionalista Party, creating a formidable machine that would present a new threat to the Noynoy Aquino-Mar Roxas juggernaut dominating recent surveys. But it's still not clear if the NPC and its wealthy titular head Danding Cojuangco will throw its full financial and political support behind the Villar-Legarda duo. Cojuangco is ranked 7th on Forbes' list of the 40 richest people in the Philippines while Villar is ranked 9th.
FOR GMANEWS.TV'S 2010 ELECTION COVERAGE, VISIT YOURVOX Formidable team-up Malacañang, meanwhile, described the Villar-Legarda tandem as a "formidable team-up" and wished them well. "The personal chemistry and geographical complementarity are there. We wish them well," said presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio. However, he said that the tandem would be a threat more to the opposition than the administration. "A strong NP ticket will divide the opposition further, as the administration consolidates its forces into a single, united and compelling electoral machinery," Claudio said. Among those present at the event were NPC president Frisco San Juan, Cainta mayor Mon Ilagan, San Juan Rep. Ronnie Zamora, and Camarines Sur governor LRay Villafuerte. Other tandems in the 2010 elections are Senators Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III and Manuel "Mar" Roxas II for the Liberal Party; former President Joseph Estrada and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay of the United Opposition; and former Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and actor Edu Manzano of Lakas-Kampi-CMD. - GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT