MANILA - Two presidential candidates are wooing Senator Panfilo Lacson to be their running mate in the May 2010 elections.

At a church-organized forum on Tuesday,  Lacson said two declared presidential aspirants are talking to him for a possible team-up.

However, he stressed that while he may be open to the idea, “I have not given it a serious thought.”

He refused to name the aspirants, but Senate sources said they are Senators Manuel 'Mar' Roxas and Jamby Madrigal.

Lacson, who got 3 million votes in the 2004 presidential race, has opted not to run purportedly due to financial reasons.

Lacson ran in the 2007 senatorial race and finished a strong third, with more than 15 million votes. He bested presidential aspirant Senator Manuel Villar, who placed fourth.

No buzz for Lacson

Before he announced his withdrawal, Lacson admitted that he had spent around P20 million in “advocacy ads,” but he noted these were barely noticed by the public. The ads, which carried the slogan "Patas na Laban, Para sa Lahat” ran for three weeks in April.

Spots were purchased in two television stations.

Not only did the ads fail to generate public interest, they also failed to interest potential donors to presidential bid, Lacson said.

“Contributions have dried up. Times are hard and so are financial contributions,” he said.

He recalled that he spent P300 million in his failed 2004 presidential bid, which is around the same amount spent by some presidential wannabes in promotional ads alone.

A report published by a leading daily said one potential candidate has poured P321 million in TV ads while another has spent P256 million since October last year. The report only described its source as a media research company.

No strong admin bet

Meanwhile, Lacson said some supposed opposition candidates are actually holding negotiations with Malacañang.

“I won’t mention names but that that is an established fact,” Lacson said.

Lacson said the ruling party has no strong administration candidate. Thus, it has gone out of its circle and opened communication lines with other presidential wannabes from the opposition.

A church source said Arroyo, in seeking a deal with so-called opposition aspirants, wants “protection” after her term expires next year.

Various sectors have vowed to press charges against Arroyo for corruption and human rights violations during her nine-year term. - by Aries Rufo, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak