FPJ insists he’s running

Actor Fernando Poe Jr. finally delivered a speech in public yesterday, announcing he will push through with his bid for the presidency in next year’s polls.

Poe is expected to file his certificate of candidacy with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Dec. 29 or Jan. 2, according to Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Poe’s spokesman.

Appearing as a guest at the anniversary of party-list group Assalam-Bangsamoro People’s Party at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, Poe shook hands and greeted people, exuding the confidence of a seasoned politician rather than a neophyte.

In his first speech since his decision in November to stand for election, Poe announced, to the cheers of his audience, that he was seeking the presidency because Filipinos want him to run.

"Binubuo pa namin ang senatorial slate at kung sino man ang magiging VP (We’re putting together our list of candidates for the senatorial race and selecting our candidate for vice president)," he told reporters after his speech when asked if he would push through with his presidential bid.

Poe — who played Muslim vigilantes and cops in some of his movies — promised to work for "livelihood, progress, order and peace" in strife-torn Mindanao.

The government is trying to restart peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been fighting a decades-long insurgency for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, the Philippines’ poorest region and home to the country’s Muslim minority.

One Muslim group, Alternatibong Kongreso ng Bangsamoro, presented Poe with proposed policies on Mindanao, which included pursuing peace negotiations with Muslim rebels, investigating alleged human rights abuses by the military, a greater say in government, and rehabilitation of areas destroyed by the fighting in the south. Poe said he will study their proposals.

Meanwhile, Sotto said the actor — known as the "Da King" or by his initials FPJ — is expected to formalize his candidacy on Dec. 29.

"I’m absolutely sure that there is no more turning back for FPJ’s candidacy," he told an interview.

"There is no more postponement as far as FPJ’s candidacy is concerned. Dec. 29 is the only working day before the Jan. 2 deadline for the filing of candidacy. Dec. 28 is Niños Inocentes while Dec. 30 is Rizal Day."

It is unclear how Poe’s presidential bid will affect efforts by various opposition parties to form a united front against President Arroyo in the May elections.

Opposition parties are trying to field a common candidate, believing that having two or more candidates from the opposition would only split the vote.

Poe is expected to meet a third time with Sen. Panfilo Lacson to decide who between them should be the common candidate of the opposition, which is split between supporting Poe and Lacson.

The two reportedly agreed to submit themselves to a selection process in their earlier meeting last Saturday.

Sotto, however, said the meeting "has no bearing anymore on FPJ’s presidential bid."

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who heads the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, the country’s largest opposition party, said yesterday it was decided at the meeting that Poe would be the opposition standard-bearer.

"He is optimistic and positive of his candidacy," Angara said. "His candidacy will continue. He is now looking forward to the campaign. He is now gearing up for the campaign, but that will not stop his meeting with Senator Lacson."

Poe and Lacson are meeting a third time only to soothe ruffled feathers, Angara said.

Lacson said he and Poe have agreed in their last meeting that "there should be only one presidential candidate for the united opposition because this is the only way to win the election."

He said he hoped their meeting would pave the way for a "true, fair and just selection process" that would unite the opposition.

They agreed to meet a third time, Lacson said, but he is still waiting for word from Poe. He wants to meet the actor "hopefully within the week."

"But if the meeting does not push through, kanya-kanya kaming posisyon. (We’ll make our own decisions)," Lacson told reporters in a separate interview.

Lacson said he understood Poe’s announcement in San Juan that he is determined to make a run for the presidency. "You cannot expect him, and for that matter, you cannot expect me, to vacillate before my supporters," he said.

Poe’s statement is not inconsistent with the their common desire to submit themselves to a fair selection process.

Meanwhile, Lacson’s allies in the House of Representatives have vowed to abide by whatever decision Poe and Lacson would reach in their talks.

House Minority Leader Carlos Padilla, of Nueva Vizcaya, called on Poe and Lacson to resolve the impasse.

"What we know is that only one will push through and, second, somebody will give way," Padilla said. "We will follow whatever is the outcome following a selection process."

Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, party whip for Mindanao of the ruling party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, said he doubted that the impasse would be resolved.

He said only Mrs. Arroyo has shown "capability to reach out and unite the people. The opposition is becoming the best evidence of divisiveness and (dis)unity."

Poe is considered as Mrs. Arroyo’s closest rival in the 2004 polls because of his iconic celebrity status.

But his lack of experience in holding public office has also caused concern that Poe might not be able to put the Philippines’ struggling economy back on its feet.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier said Filipinos are too wise to vote her out of office just because her opponent is an action movie star.

"Personality is obviously a factor. But at the end of the day, voters want more than personality," she told a small group of journalists in Tokyo Friday after the closing of a two-day summit.

Administration officials and Arroyo allies say Mrs. Arroyo’s record would carry her to victory in next year’s polls. — With Jose Rodel Clapano, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero