Ping camp unfazed by GMA poll bid

MALOLOS, Bulacan — Supporters of presidential hopeful Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday said President Arroyo’s declaration that she will run in the 2004 presidential race will not affect Lacson’s candidacy.

Bulakeño Para Kay Ping (BPKP) president Boying Ramos said in a telephone interview that they knew all along that the President was not serious about keeping her Dec. 30, 2002 vow that she will not run for president next year.

"We knew all along that it was their gimmick in order to pull the surveys up, but the opposite happened," Ramos said.

The President announced her candidacy in 2004 during a gathering of senior citizens at the mothballed Expo Pilipino at Clark Field in Pampanga.

Although Ramos admitted that there many Lacson supporters have shifted loyalties in support of other presidential aspirants, many people batting for Lacson are coming in and strengthening the opposition senator’s political machinery in Bulacan.

"So far, so good. The (organizing) is doing well," Ramos said. "Actually, we have projected that we now have the support of 48 percent of the province’s 24 mayors. "That’s a little less than half, so we see a good turnout in the coming elections, even if President Arroyo decides to run."

However, he admitted that they do not see Lacson in a neck-to-neck battle with the President. Rather, they expect the focus of fight for the presidency to be the contest between former education secretary Raul Roco and Lacson.

"Roco’s candidacy is one of the reason why we find it hard to organize in the Bicol region (Roco’s bailiwick) and, also, in Pampanga, which is the bailiwick of the President," he said. "But, in general, we are doing good."