‘FPJ won’t slide down as Noli’s VP’

Fernando Poe Jr. will not slide down to vice president and give way to Sen. Noli de Castro’s presidential bid to ensure the opposition’s victory against President Arroyo.

This was the decision of Poe’s camp regarding the suggestion of the Kabayan for President Movement to field the former broadcaster for president with Poe as his running mate.

Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Poe’s spokesman, told reporters that the action star was bent on running for president.

"I don’t know who initiated that (tandem with De Castro) and if indeed there is such a negotiation. Definitely none from our end has authorized anyone to do such a move on behalf of Mr. Poe," Sotto said.

Isko Katibayan, spokesman for the Kabayan for President Movement, earlier said in a radio interview that their group was conducting exploratory talks with Poe’s camp for the possibility of the movie star sliding down to the vice presidency to give way to De Castro’s bid.

"We have started talks with the Lacson and FPJ camps," Katibayan said, referring to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the other presidential aspirant of the opposition.

Katibayan said Poe and Lacson "should not be power hungry and instead think of how we could win as a team. If they really want to serve, there should be a way to win together. If not, we might all fail and we will have another six years of blunder and plunder."

He added that under the "unified" team envisioned by the Kabayan for President Movement, Poe is the favored candidate for vice president while Lacson’s expertise will be tapped to combat crime and corruption.

Lacson, according to Katibayan, could also be the team’s campaign manager.

He added that the formation of a united front will prevent votes from being split in favor of Mrs. Arroyo.

Sotto, however, insisted that their camp is already in the process of fixing FPJ’s organizational structure for the filing of Poe’s certificate of candidacy.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, president of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), for his part, said that Poe is all set to run as president. Poe’s meeting with Lacson, he said, will not alter the actor’s decision.

Angara added that even if Lacson runs for president, the opposition will remain intact.

In a separate interview, De Castro said that he has not yet decided whether he would run for president or vice president next year.

"I’m not free to confirm or deny it," De Castro said.

He, however, disclosed that Tourism Secretary Richard "Dick" Gordon has offered to be his running mate.

"Dick is interested in running for vice president. He told me that just in case I decided to run for president, he wants to run as vice president," De Castro said.

Supporters of De Castro are now gathering three million signatures nationwide to convince the former broadcaster to run for president. The signatures will be presented to him before Jan. 2, the last day of the filing of certificates of candidacy set by the Commission on Elections.

Katibayan said they now have at least a million signatures, which were gathered through electronic mail and through fax. The group earlier said they could gather three million signatures by Christmas Day.

LDP Rift Worsens

Meanwhile, two sons of the founders of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) left the party in disgust over the worsening rift in the opposition, which they said weakens their bid to be in power in 2004.

At a news conference, Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra and Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon said they decided to go on indefinite leave "after LDP president Sen. Edgardo Angara’s dictatorial ways left the party in shambles."

The two congressmen’s fathers — the late Speaker Ramon Mitra and Sen. Rodolfo Biazon - founded the LDP in the 1990. Biazon, however, left the LDP last month and joined Aksyon Demokratiko.

His departure from the party followed the defection of three LDP stalwarts — senior deputy minority leader Constantino Jaraula, Sulu Rep. Hussin Amin, and Misamis Oriental Rep. Augusto Baculio — to the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats. — With Mike Frialde, Paolo Romero