Election fever is still very much on in the Philippines, especially in the wake of the much-watched presidential polls in the United States. But it's a ballot much closer to home that's grabbing back the attention now. 

Even before a brewing coup in the upper chamber forced Senator Manuel Villar to relinquish the Senate Presidency on November 17, triggering speculations on what his move meant for the 2010 presidential polls, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay jumpstarted the campaign caravan by declaring he would seek the presidency.

Comparing himself to US president-elect Barack Obama, Binay on November 11 said that he would lead a “voters' revolution” to overturn the effects of the “nightmare” of the current administration, reported Manila Standard-Today.

“Four years ago, our beloved Philippines was orphaned by fraud. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, under the most dubious electoral conditions, ascended to the presidency. And the nightmare of the step-President and the orphan nation began,” Binay was quoted as saying. “Today you formally ask me to lead you towards the victory of our revolution—a revolution that will install a government that will redeem our people's dignity by making our economy work.”

The Makati mayor joined a list of opposition officials poised to vie for the presidency, which includes Senators Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel “Mar” Roxas, Francis Escudero and Villar. “Mayor Binay will be another candidate coming from the ranks of the opposition,” Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., chairman of the PDP-Laban party of which Binay is president, was quoted as saying by philstar.com. “So in the end, we have to sit down to determine who should be the standard-bearer.”

Earlier, the administration had named its bets for the 2010 presidential polls. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro emerged as a possible candidate among a selection of more prominent presidentiables, as Presidential Management Staff (PMS) head Cerge Remonde cited the respect Teodoro has earned among his fellow Cabinet members, reported gmanews.tv. Vice President Noli de Castro, Senator Richard Gordon, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando were also mentioned. Batangas governor Vilma Santos-Recto was also tagged as a possible vice-presidential bet, noted inquirer.net.

“One whom we feel is a presidential timber, apart from Vice President De Castro, is of course Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. He's showing interest,” Remonde was quoted as saying. “We will not be surprised if his name will be floated as a presidential candidate.”

The PMS chief noted that the administration is still eyeing de Castro's candidacy despite his weakening performance in Social Weather Station (SWS) pre-election polls. The Vice President still topped the SWS Third Quarter survey asking “Who do you think are good leaders who should succeed Pres. Arroyo as President?” as 29% of respondents named him, but his score was down two points from the previous quarter's poll. Villar and Legarda scored 28% and 26% respectively. Only 1% said Fernando was their option but Remonde said the administration is still not counting him out, added gmanews.tv. Fernando is the only one among the Palace's picks who has openly expressed his desire for the presidency.

“Kapag hindi ako ang napili ng partido, tuloy pa rin tayo kasi marami naman tayong mga kaibigan at mga sumusuporta na naniniwala sa aking ipinakikipaglaban (Even if I am not chosen by the party, we will still go on because we have many friends and supporters who believe in what I am fighting for),” he was quoted as saying by malaya.com in August.

Though still about a year and a half away from selecting their next president, Filipinos have become vocal about who they want to succeed Arroyo, whose popularity ratings continue to drop. Pulse Asia's nationwide survey conducted in October recently revealed that the president's 46% public disapproval and 51% public distrust ratings outweighed her scores for public approval (27%) and public trust (24%), reported manilatimes.net.

Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, who Arroyo replaced via an ouster in 2001, is still mentioned as a favorite in the provinces. Just last week, he was greeted by supporters in Leyte with signs saying “ERAP pa rin in 2010”. Noting that the opposition has yet to decide on their standard-bearer, Estrada said that Binay would nonetheless be a good choice because of his track record in Makati. The deposed leader has also not ruled himself out from vying for the presidency again. “Definitely, if [the opposition] cannot unite, I'll consider running,” he told ABS-CBN/Newsbreak in an October 24 interview. He repeated his sentiments last week, clarifying that running was his “last option.”

Villar's sudden resignation as Senate President did nothing to clear up the opposition's stand. According to an abscbn-news.com, “the change in leadership also shows that the opposition is divided, unable to rally behind a leader” since lawmakers aligned against Malacañang eventually voted for Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, an administration ally, to take over Villar's post.

“It is clear that those who sided with Enrile are 2010 presidential candidates. This is internal politics affected by the virus of the 2010 elections,” political analyst Ramon Casiple was quoted as saying by inquirer.net. “[Villar] was a serious threat to all presidentiables. All the presidentiables he will be going up against banded together to get a non-presidentiable as Senate president.”

Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia, in turn, is also still in the thick of election talk as he recently announced plans to form a “rainbow coalition” that would set a candidate against the administration's pick.

“Anyone associated with Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo is doomed to defeat. Public opinion is very strong,” de Venecia was quoted as saying by inquirer.net. “We'll create a new, enlarged powerful majority [and] elect the new president of the Philippines.”

Photo: “Philippines - Electioneering” by Jeff_Werner, taken from Flickr.com. Licensed under Creative Commons license number BY-NC-ND-2.0-DEED.EN.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."