Noynoy wants Chiz to be LP's campaign manager

Presidential aspirant Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III on Tuesday made an offer to Sen. Francis “Chiz" Escudero: to be his party's campaign manager. “Kung gugustuhin po niya, dahil si Butch Abad ay naghahanap ng katulong (If he wants it, because Butch Abad is looking for someone to help him)," Aquino said. Abad is the campaign manager of Aquino’s political group, the Liberal Party (LP). Earlier Tuesday, Escudero, who recently bolted out of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), announced that he is abandoning his presidential plans in next year’s elections, saying he is not ready for it. Aquino said he would try to convince Escudero to join his team. “Lalapitan ko siya, papakiusapan kung pupuwedeng gusto niyang sumama sa krusada naming baguhin ang lipunang ito (I’ll try to convince him to join our crusade of changing this society)," he said. Aquino said his recent meeting with Escudero had nothing to do with Escudero’s decision. “Halos wala namang bagong binanggit sa atin si Chiz noong nag-usap kami (He didn’t say anything new when we talked), nothing towards today’s decision," Aquino said. Another LP member, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, urged Escudero to support the tandem of Aquino and Senator Manuel “Mar" Roxas II. “We encourage him now to support the candidacies of Noy and Mar. We all need to unite behind the true reform agenda our country desperately needs," he said. Pangilinan gave up his plan to run as an independent vice presidential candidate to support the Aquino-Roxas ticket. - Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV