FPJ diehards pushing for Susan Roces in Senate

(Update) Former senator Ernesto Maceda on Thursday said supporters of the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. are making a last-ditch effort to convince the latter’s wife, Susan Roces, to run for the Senate under the united opposition's banner in the May 2007 elections. Speaking before the weekly forum "Kapihan sa Senado," Maceda said the United Opposition (UNO) has reached the final stages of talks with other parties like the Nacionalista Party (NP) led by Senate President Manuel Villar and the Liberal Party (LP) wing led by Sen. Franklin Drilon for a unified opposition senatorial ticket. Maceda, a member UNO's executive committee tasked to oversee the formation of a unified senatorial slate for the group, however, declined to divulge the names of candidates who are a shoe-in for the slate. "There are so many groups in our umbrella headed by FPJPM (Fernando Poe, Jr. for President Movement), [led] by people like Rez Cortez and even Marieta Primicias, Ching Plaza and others who are still making a last-ditch effort to change Susan Roces' mind and persuade her to run for the Senate," Maceda said. Maceda said the supporters of the late actor, who lost to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the hotly contested 2004 presidential elections, are telling Roces that if she runs for the Senate, this would give FPJ supporters a chance once more to demonstrate the votes for FPJ in the 2004 elections. "She has rejected several overtures to her but this group is still hoping against hope that with three weeks to go, maybe she would change her mind," Maceda said. Maceda said that if Roces changes her mind and decides to run for the Senate, it would boost the chances of the candidates running under the united opposition's senatorial ticket. "After all, how much did FPJ get, that's about 11 million votes? You have to assume that those who voted for FPJ would also vote for Susan," Maceda said. The former senator, considered by many to be an astute politician, estimates that a senatorial candidate must get at least 10 million votes to land in the "Magic 12"---the 12 Senate seats up for grabs in the May 2007 polls. Even as this developed, Maceda said the on-going talks with NP and LP are in "a very advanced stages" and that "issues have been threshed out." Maceda said they are just waiting for the final word from Villar and Drilon on whether their respective groups would indeed join the united opposition senatorial slate. According to Maceda, the UNO would likely announce the final composition of its ticket by January 17, or two days after the period for the filing of certificate of candidacy has began. So far, Maceda said former vice president Teofisto Guingona, who was earlier reported to be part of the opposition ticket, has not made any definite answer whether the latter would want to be part of the united opposition senatorial slate. Likewise, Maceda said they are waiting for the issue between former senator Tessie Aquino Oreta and her niece Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III---both of whom had signified intention to run for the Senate---to be resolved. Maceda said "Noynoy" is being pressed by his supporters to run for Tarlac governor instead. As for the other possible members of the united opposition's ticket, Maceda said that if Sen. Joker Arroyo would decide to run for the Senate again, the lawmaker would likely be included in the opposition's ticket, noting that Arroyo is very close to Villar and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the incumbent UNO president. Maceda also suspects that Malacañang might be behind the formation of the so-called "People's Choice" ticket, also called by others as "Third Force," saying the group could be a "shadow administration ticket." "[Interior] Secretary [Ronaldo] Puno talked to some senatorial candidates and encouraged the formation of such ticket," Maceda said. -GMANews.TV