Sen. Loren Legarda downplayed Monday media reports of her possible teamup with former president Joseph "Erap" Estrada as the opposition's standard bearers in the 2010 national elections.

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Legarda said she did not turn down Estrada's offer to become his running mate for 2010 simply because there was no formal offer.

"This is funny. It's mere media speculation, since it was just an issue during last Friday's Christmas party. There's nothing to turn back because there is no formal offer. [Estrada and I] are good friends, and I have high regard for him," she said in an interview at ABS-CBN's "Umagang Kay Ganda."

Before Estrada can even ask her to be his running mate, Legarda said that he should first formalize his announcement to run for presidency.

"He has yet to decide next year whether he will run for president or not. It's hard to speak of an [Erap-Loren] tandem because he himself has not made a formal declaration to run," she said.

Should she choose to run, however, Legarda said that she is targeting the chief executive position.

"My vision, my platform for the country is based on my advocacy for sustainable development, environmentalism, culture, good governance, etc. And I'll be able to do all of these if I'm in the top position, as being captain of a ship. If I'm captain, I know the direction of my ship," she said.

Still, Legarda said that many things can still happen next year that may affect her decision to run for the 2010 elections. For now, the senator stressed that she would rather focus on her work in the Senate.

"I'm still trying to think things through as to whether or not I'll be running for presidency. Right now, things are very fluid, and anything can happen," she said.