MANILA - Senator Manuel Villar is wooing members of the dominant administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD to boost his chances for the presidency, according to an offical of the ruling party, Lakas-Kampi-CMD.   

"Si Villar ang pinaka-active na nanliligaw sa  Lakas-Kampi," said Lakas-Kampi-CMD deputy secretary-general Reginald Velasco. "These are all informal talks."  

Velasco said Villar has two approaches. It's either he recruits them into the Nacionalista Party (NP) or asks them to coalesce with him in the 2010 elections.  

Lakas-Kampi-CMD controls around 80 percent of the country's political base.
 
In a previous interview, an administration congressman from the vote-rich Bicol region shared that Villar is wooing him to support his 2010 presidential bid. The congressman said he told Villar he would if Senator Francis Escudero--a fellow Bicolano--will not run for the presidency.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD also issued a verbal order to its members to refrain from committing to any presidential candidate.

Velasco said Lakas-Kampi will hold "mini-conventions" in various regions to consult local leaders on who to field for the presidency. He said the final convention will happen in October or a month before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacies.

"Politics is the art of the possible. Everything is possible. Ang magkakaaway noon, magkakasiping ngayon. Ganyan talaga sa pulitika. It doesn't mean you sacrifice your principle," Velasco said.  

"Yang oppo[sition], admin[istration], as you come closer to the 2010 elections, mabubura yan. We are willing to talk to people masquerading [as opposition] or [the] real oppostion," he added.

Sought for comment, NP spokesman Gilbert Remulla admitted the NP is enticing members of the ruling party, but he denied they are in talks for a coalition with the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

"There are a lot of Lakas-Kampi members who favor Villar and the NP. We entertain them, but not the party as a whole," Remulla said.

Open to Escudero, too 

Velasco likewise did not dismiss the possibility that Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero, a possible candidate of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), might coalesce with the ruling party.

Escudero has belied he would seek the support of President Arroyo.

But Velasco said the issue may be out of Escudero's hands if the NPC decides to coalesce with the administration.  

"The purpose of participating in an elections is to win. It includes coalescing with other political parties," Velasco said.  

In the House of Representatives, the NPC has a coalition with the administration. But the two NPC senators, Escudero and Loren Legarda, are both opposition.

NPC Rep. Rex Gatchalian of Valenzuela City acknowledged that NPC has "a tradition of crossing party lines. We are looking at the long term."

On Escudero's statement that he does not intend to seek Arroyo's support, Gatchalian said: "We have to take the statement of Senator Escudero for what it is. We'll cross the bridge once we get there."
 
"The NPC will remain supportive of good programs and projects. We will have a presidential candidate and a VP candidate. They will have to operate within those premises. As in any political party, strength is in numbers," Gatchalian said.