Pimentel seeks unified opposition ticket for 2010
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/07/2009 11:55 AM
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Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Wednesday urged different parties under the political opposition to call a national convention to select a common ticket for the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial races in 2010.
Pimentel warned that the opposition's failure to rally behind a single standard bearer could mean losing the elections in 2010. "The failure of the minority to unite will give the administration a tremendous advantage in the presidential race because it is very likely that it will only have one presidential bet,” the senator said in a press statement.
Several opposition personalities including Senators Manuel Villar, Loren Legarda, Mar Roxas, Panfilo Lacson and Francis Escudero and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay have made known their desire to run for president in 2010.
Even former President Joseph Estrada says he may be compelled to run if the presidential contenders in the minority groups will not agree on who among themselves should be the common standard bearer.
On the other hand, political observers said Vice President Noli de Castro is the most likely presidential candidate of the administration.
Pimentel said the Nacionalista Party, Liberal Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and other groups could send delegates to a convention that would select a common ticket for the 2010 elections.
He said the various parties may form a unification council to be tasked, among others, with drawing up the criteria for the common presidential candidate as well as formulating the convention rules and determining the number of delegates each party is authorized to send to the convention.
Pimentel admitted that the unification of the minority groups at this stage looks like an elusive, if not impossible, goal because of the attitude of certain presidential aspirants that they will settle for nothing less than the number one slot.
He said the fielding of a common presidential bet will not only prevent the split of the opposition votes but will also enable the candidate to win by a wide margin. He said this would make it difficult for fraud operators to manipulate the results by padding the votes for the administration bet.
