Sotto says FPJ has picked Loren

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda will be actor Fernando Poe Jr.’s running mate.

Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III told The STAR that Poe will officially announce his choice of Legarda as his vice-presidential candidate today.

"After one month of thinking about it and conducting consultations with various groups, including student leaders, Mr. Poe agreed to get Sen. Loren Legarda as his running mate," Sotto said.

He said Poe considered Legarda’s qualities, including her "good legislative record and her unquestionable integrity."

Legarda was on the "shortlist" of vice presidential hopefuls who sought to represent the newly organized Koalisyon ng Nagkaisang Pilipino (KNP).

KNP is the new umbrella organization of opposition parties led by the Sen. Edgardo Angara’s Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), ousted President Joseph Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.’s Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban).

Besides Legarda, other proposed running mates of Poe included Pimentel and PMP’s Sen. Gregorio Honasan and former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Sotto said Poe was the one who selected Legarda, adding that Poe’s decision on the matter was not influenced by any leaders of the KNP member-parties.

"The decisions are made by (Poe)," Sotto said. "He made the decision for or against the PMP, LDP or the PDP-Laban, which compose the coalition."

Estrada earlier said Poe should be given a "free hand" in his choice of running mate, even as he reiterated his trust in his bosom buddy’s good judgment.

He also said his endorsement of Honasan and Santiago was merely "recommendatory" because they are members of his political party. "As I’ve said, Ronnie Poe should be given a free hand to choose his own running mate."

Earlier reports said Estrada was not inclined to support Legarda as Poe’s running mate because of her role in the impeachment trial against him in 2000 into 2001.

He also vehemently denied reports that he rejected Legarda as a possible running mate for Poe.

Estrada called The STAR up from his detention cell at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal to denounce what he suspected were obvious attempts to sow intrigue between him and Poe. He also said he never talked to any reporter from the newspaper that carried the report.

Estrada belied reports that he had given his blessings to Legarda’s bid to be Poe’s running mate when she visited him at Camp Capinpin recently. "How can it be, when I have endorsed already Sen. Greg Honasan and former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago?"

Estrada said he could not possibly have sent the wrong signals to Legarda and cause her to jump to the conclusion that he had given her his blessings.

He recalled with sarcasm how Legarda cried during his impeachment trial at the Senate, when the move to open the controversial second envelope was successfully blocked. This led to the resignation of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel from his post as Senate president.

However, if Poe does declare Legarda as his running mate, "wala akong magagawa (there is nothing I can do)," Estrada said.

Besides Legarda and presidential candidate, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson, other key political personalities sought audiences with Estrada at Camp Capinpin because of his vaunted clout with his loyal supporters.

"I am a gentleman," Estrada said, adding that he accepts "any visitor, whether friend or foe."

Good Luck To Lacson

Estrada also wished Lacson good luck after Lacson filed his certificate of candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last Monday.

Lacson, Estrada’s former national police chief, is contesting the presidential race despite the united opposition’s endorsement of Poe.

However, while he wished Lacson luck, Estrada reaffirmed his support for Poe’s presidential bid.

He also refused to comment on the administration party’s presidential and vice presidential tandem bringing President Arroyo and independent Sen. Noli de Castro together.

"’Wag na lang, baka ano pa ang masabi ko (Never mind, I might say something inappropriate)," Estrada said, obviously avoiding comment as his gesture of gratitude for the President’s reconciliatory moves that paved the way for the Sandiganbayan to grant him a three-month medical furlough in the US.

Both the President and Estrada belied allegations of a "secret deal" between them for the Sandiganbayan’s favorable ruling on Estrada’s petition seeking a medical furlough from his plunder trial for his knee surgery in the United States.

Estrada said Poe will not be his clone, as Poe’s detractors and political opponents said. Fondly called "Da King," Poe is seen as a strong contender for the presidency because of his immense popularity with generations of movie fans.

Poe’s candidacy is touted by his critics and rivals in the 2004 presidential race as one that would lead to his being an "Erap-2," a wordplay on Estrada’s nickname.

Estrada took strong exception to criticisms that Poe will merely duplicate the Estrada administration if Poe is elected president.

"I’ve always said that Ronnie Poe is his own man and (he) makes his own decisions," Estrada said, adding that Poe did not consult him before finally declaring his bid for the presidency.

The former president also vehemently denied allegations that he has been playing the role of "kingmaker" and was calling the shots as to who would comprise the united opposition’s ticket for the May 2004 elections.

"That’s not true. How can I be the ‘kingmaker’ when (Poe) is already ‘Da King?’" Estrada wisecracked, guffawing.

"Secondly, I believe (Poe) will learn from my mistakes (of) being overconfident and too trusting (of) people," especially the (Armed Forces) chief of staff," he said.

Although he did not mention it directly, Estrada was referring to his bitter experience when former Armed Force chief of staff Gen. Angelo Reyes and then Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado abandoned him at the height of the Jan. 20, 2001 EDSA II uprising that ousted him from the presidency. — With Marichu Villanueva