MANILA - Some members of the opposition said Monday the formal announcement of the tandem of Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas II as the Liberal Party's (LP) presidential and vice-presidential bets in 2010 closed the door to the possibility of a "united" opposition in the coming polls.

Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), said that with the announcement of the Aquino-Roxas tandem, there will be no more talks for opposition parties to field a single standard-bearer in 2010.

Escudero said it could have been better for LP to have talked to other opposition parties first, particularly those open to unity talks, before the announcement.

Sen. Loren Legarda who is also a member of NPC, meanwhile, said that a united opposition front is now an "impossible" dream.

However, Legarda said she won't be affected by the LP tandem, since a possible Legarda-Escudero or Escudero-Legarda tandem would also be strong, based on the results of the 2007 senatorial elections.

Legarda also said that their party won't field a tandem that won't be a "sure win" in the elections.

She also said that the result would be a "friendly fight," where she said the level of debate would be high, and issues would be at the forefront of the campaign.

Estrada: I won't ask him to withdraw

Former President Joseph Estrada, meanwhile, said that with the announcement, he is still determined to run in 2010, but he said he won't ask Aquino to give way.

"I respect his being a candidate of the Liberal Party. In no way will I ask him to withdraw," Estrada said.

Despite this, he said that he and Aquino could talk about having a single lineup for senatorial candidates and local positions.

Among the things that Estrada and Aquino could talk about would be ways to protect their votes from fraud.

Estrada said that there is a big possibility for electoral fraud, despite an automated elections.

Villar's 'problem': VP pick

Sen. Manuel Villar's camp, meanwhile, is unperturbed by the development, said Nacionalista Party (NP) spokesperson Gilbert Remulla, who said their bet is the most qualified among the possible 2010 contenders.

However, Escudero said that Villar's biggest problem at present is that despite being among the first to announce his plan to run, he still has no possible running mate.

Legarda had the same opinion. "That's a problem. You can't run alone. Dapat meron kang credible team," she said.

Legarda, meanwhile, only laughed when asked to comment on the possibility of Villar getting comedian and TV host Willie Revillame as his running mate, saying she does not answer "issues" such as those.

Remulla, meanwhile, ended the speculation and said they are not even talking about getting Revillame as their vice presidential bet, saying they could instead get him as an endorser or campaigner. - With reports from Sheryll Mundo and Maricar Bautista, ABS-CBN News