Vi won’t run vs brother-in-law, says Recto

Sen. Ralph Recto belied reports yesterday that his wife, veteran actress-turned-Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos, will run against his brother, incumbent Batangas Vice Gov. Ricky Recto, in the gubernatorial race in May.

Such a scenario, with family members pitted against each other in the political arena, according to the senator, sets a "bad example" to the public.

Recto said his wife wants to return to being a plain housewife and mother to their 10-year-old son, Ryan Christian, although he said he will support whatever decision his wife makes with her political career.

"In the end, it is up to Vi to decide. If she wants to run for governor, I will support her. About 90 percent of the people of Batangas support her. Once she files her certificate of candidacy, she does not even need to campaign," he said.

Recto boasted that his wife can muster a landslide victory if she decides to run for governor.

But he said his wife is still undecided on her political plans. "She has not reached a final decision. She is still thinking of what to do and she is weighing all her options. She can also run for Congress; she has no competition," he said in an interview with radio station dzBB.

On the suspension of Batangas Gov. Armando Sanchez, Recto said he is opposed to the suspension of incumbent government officials in the run-up to the May elections.

Although he expressed support for the action of the Office of the Ombudsman on the case which his brother filed against Sanchez, he questioned the timing of the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s move to carry out the governor’s six-month preventive suspension.

"I do not wish to speculate. Let us follow the law which says that no local official should be suspended during the election period," he said.

Vice Gov. Recto accused Sanchez of committing anomalies in a multimillion-peso computerization project. The governor has secured a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals. — Christina Mendez