MANILA, Philippines - Senators urged yesterday Lakas-Kampi standard bearer Gilbert Teodoro and his running mate Ronaldo Puno to quit their Cabinet posts for the sake of propriety and to keep them from using government resources for their campaign.
Teodoro heads the defense department while Puno is secretary of the interior and local governments.
“All I can say is that when I was at the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and decided to run for the Senate, I resigned. The deadline was February but I resigned in December. So maybe that should be their standard. They should do it voluntarily for the sake of delicadeza (propriety),” Sen. Manuel Roxas II said.
“Whoever is receiving salaries from our government such as Cabinet secretaries must resign already,” he noted.
“They should quit their posts because there will always be doubts that they are using their positions for their personal and political plans,” Sen. Francis Escudero said.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said the sooner Teodoro and Puno resign, the better for them. “They should not wait for the deadline which is November so the people will see they are observing delicadeza and need not be reminded,” she said.
Meanwhile, Teodoro promised to resign but did not say when exactly. He said he would first talk to “my president.”
Teodoro told a gathering of media and supporters at the Quezon City Sports Plaza yesterday that he cannot just leave his post right away as procedures have to be followed.
Praises
Teodoro earned praises for his credentials from many senators but drew attention for his “underwhelming” partnership with Puno.
“Teodoro-Puno I’m afraid will be less than overwhelming. Let us just say, underwhelming tandem,” Santiago said.
Santiago said Teodoro is one of the most qualified presidential aspirants but unfortunately for him, he would have to catch up in the surveys.
She also expressed belief that Puno would not be of help to Teodoro and that he would be better off without the DILG secretary.
“But that thing (tandem) already has a big anchor weighing down its length, it cannot float. Because the ratings are so low that it leaves a person wondering whether the gaps can possibly be closed before the May elections,” she said.
Santiago has long been critical of Puno who, she believes, was behind the manipulation of votes that reportedly led to her loss in the 1992 presidential race to closest rival Fidel Ramos.
Santiago said she was professor at the University of the Philippines-College of Law when Teodoro was a student but she has “several things against him.”
“Number one, his age. He is too young. Two, his background. He has only been a congressman and then a Cabinet member. And I think the public feels that there should be a more rounded background for a presidentiable,” she said.
“And then he has the problem of projecting himself to the public, he is very competent academically but the public does not see that and he has not been exposed that well. So it’s been lack of exposure that I think has been dragging him in the survey,” Santiago told reporters.
“The first thing he should do is to reach out to (Metro Manila Development Authority chairman) Bayani (Fernando), his major opponent in the coalition. Otherwise, Chairman Fernando might feel repudiated or humiliated that he might leave the party and start his own as he has threatened,” Santiago said.
Santiago said the public might have already detected a veiled attempt at premature campaigning in Puno’s infomercials and this might actually impact negatively on him.
“Others have voluntarily withdrawn but Mr. Puno did not. So he has shown a recalcitrant attitude with regard to the law as understood by you and me,” Santiago said.
Santiago said Puno had also been associated with many presidential campaigns but not necessarily in a good light.
She said the “superior education” of Teodoro as well as his background might be beneficial to Puno but the interior and local government secretary’s history might work against the defense chief.
Poor factor
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who is the secretary general of the Nacionalista Party that will field Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. for president in 2010, said the administration’s choice of Teodoro as standard-bearer would highlight Villar’s pro-poor advantage.
He said Villar is still the most capable among the presidential wannabes of tackling poverty because he had been poor himself.
Another presidential hopeful, Sen. Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, said Teodoro was known to be an efficient and intelligent person and without any scandal attached to his name.
“I wish them good luck. They say the strong candidates are with the opposition but we will never know since elections are still eight months away,” she said. “We cannot ignore them even if they say they are weak because we know the cheating machinery of the administration,” Legarda said.
“Automation is new and they might be able to use automation for the benefit of favored candidates of the administration,” she said.
“There might be automated fraud. We cannot say the opposition is strong because there might be a different outcome in May of 2010 so we must be vigilant and guard the votes,” Legarda said.
Sen. Jamby Madrigal voiced the same concern, saying the administration would hopefully not use its machinery to cheat other candidates.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Teodoro “was a decent and qualified candidate.”
“That much I can say because I know him personally. We worked together when I was still lieutenant colonel and I’ve got nothing to say against him. He’s as qualified as any of the candidates,” he said. “I will not comment on Secretary Puno,” Lacson said.
Danding support
Escudero, who is also from NPC and who is reportedly the reason why Teodoro will no longer be supported by his own uncle businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, congratulated Teodoro and Puno for clinching their party’s nomination.
“I wish them well in their 2010 bid,” Escudero said.
Teodoro was reportedly forced to join the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition because he no longer had the chance to be NPC’s standard bearer. Escudero was said to have gathered the support of NPC officials as the party’s presidential bet with Legarda as running mate.
Escudero also expressed confidence the support of Cojuangco as NPC leader would not be divided between him and Teodoro because “our party is intact.”
“He (Teodoro) is no longer a member of the NPC because he transferred to Lakas. We respect his decision,” Escudero said. – Aurea Calica, Jaime Laude