One more time? Ping Lacson eyeing the presidency in 2016

Former Senator Panfilo Lacson confirmed Friday that he was considering another run for the presidency but added that his final decision depended on whether his ratings as a presidential candidate would go up in the coming months.

In a series of text messages, Lacson said he had asked his supporters to find out how his ratings in the senatorial preference surveys could be transferred to the presidential polls.

"If you are asking if I have the intention, yes, I have the intention but my decision will depend on many factors which I am currently discussing with my old and new regional leaders, coordinators and volunteers," Lacson said.

“While I'm rating very high in the senatorial surveys (58.3% as of the latest Pulse Asia survey), the same amount of support and approval do not seem to resonate in the presidential survey,” he added.

A Pulse Asia survey released in March showed that only one percent favored Lacson as the next president.

“I asked [those supporting me] to find out why and think of ways to translate even a fraction of that 58% into a higher position,” Lacson said.

"Last night, I was invited by several retired AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police) officers, some of whom were not able to sign the manifesto that came out in the newspaper ads and most of them pledged to help in the effort even before I make the decision to go for it. That's where we are now,” he added.

He was referring to paid newspaper advertisements earlier published by a group of retired and military officials who were pushing for a Lacson-Senator Grace Poe tandem in 2016.

Lacson said gaining supporters is very important.

“Politics in our country and even in other countries of the world is always bound by numbers, and support from political parties and groups is largely dependent on the winnability of prospective candidates. At least that's what I learned in the 12 years that I spent in the Senate,” he said.

“Of course, there are those who support because they are believers and share the same advocacies as their prospective candidate. Let's face the reality that most of our political leaders are natural fence-sitters which is a normal course in politics,” he added.

Lacson, a former PNP chief, was a senator from 2001 to 2004 and ran for president as an independent in the 2004 elections but lost to incumbent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He returned to the Senate in 2007 until 2013. —Amita O. Legaspi/NB, GMA News