Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Jose Rufino said the former barrio doctor would make a strong contender.
"I think there are many worthy presidential candidates and certainly one of them is Senator Flavier but there are several others who are about to throw their hats into the ring," Romulo said when asked by reporters to comment on Flavier’s unexpected announcement.
"He is interested. A very nice person and cute. Even the opposition expects him," Rufino said. "He has no enemy. And hopefully he would be the healer of the nation and, perhaps, nobody would run against him."
Rufino said there are others in the Lakas party who are also considered strong candidates aside from Flavier although they have yet to announce their intentions.
He said they are Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., the party’s president; Senate President Franklin Drilon; Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda, and Senators Robert Barbers and Noli de Castro.
Since Lakas has several people to choose from to be its standard-bearer in the 2004 polls, former education secretary Raul Roco – who has consistently topped opinion surveys — is "not the priority" choice of the party.
While Roco is not a member of Lakas, his Aksyon Demokratiko party is part of Mrs. Arroyo’s People Power Coalition (PPC), of which Lakas is the dominant party.
"Because, as you know, there are so many strong candidates from Lakas — or homegrown, so to speak — they would get the first crack rather than Roco," Rufino said.
Lakas was thrown into a quandary last year when Mrs. Arroyo, who co-chairs Lakas, unexpectedly announced on Dec. 30 that she was withdrawing from the 2004 presidential race.
She wanted to concentrate on revitalizing the country’s poverty-stricken economy, she said.
Two other parties within PPC — Reporma and Probinsiya Muna Development Initiative — have earlier endorsed Roco as the majority coalition’s presidential bet in the 2004 elections for consistently topping opinion surveys.
Asked to comment on Roco’s approval ratings, Rufino said there are other things to consider aside from popularity polls. "Yes, that’s one but we still have to look at the kind of personality of the person. It’s not just being popular."
Rufino, however, did not dismiss the possibility of Lakas fielding a candidate from outside the party. "I think we will support any of the winners at a certain point in time, of members of the (PPC)," he said.
Flavier joined the government when he was appointed in 1992 by former President Fidel Ramos as his health secretary.
Flavier’s down-to-earth style and sense of humor made him popular even though he ran afoul of the influential Roman Catholic Church for promoting artificial birth control.
He ran for senator in 1995 and for re-election in 2001, handily winning both polls.
With Flavier now in the list of presidential hopefuls, sources in the Lakas said party leaders are eager to see how Flavier will fare in the next opinion surveys, which are conducted quarterly by independent pollsters.
"Lakas has the biggest party and yet they do not have a strong contender for president, except if Flavier will figure well in the next surveys, especially this coming March," one source said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Flavier, who like Roco goes around without a bodyguard, said the "deciding factor" will be his standing in the surveys and he would "respond to the call of duty" if he does well in the opinion polls.