Opposition still disunited even after Roxas' 'sacrifice'

Sen. Manuel Roxas II may have sacrificed his presidential bid to foster "unity" against "the evil," but other presidential hopefuls in the political opposition are not keen on making a similar move just yet. On Wednesday, a day after Roxas said he was giving way to Sen. Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III to be the Liberal Party’s standard bearer, Senator Manuel Villar Jr. said he believes that Roxas only aimed to unite the LP. "I think ang nakikita ko, para magkaisa ang Liberal Party at iba naman tayo. Miyembro tayo ng Nacionalista Party. Sinuman ay may karapatang mangarap na maging pangulo," Villar said in an interview on GMA Network's Unang Hirit. "Pawang malalakas ang mga kandidato. Sa akin ay higit na marami ang lumahok, mas maganda para may pagpipilian (The other possible candidates seem to be strong contenders. On my part, it’s better if there are more candidates so that the people would have more to choose from)," Villar added. Former President Joseph Estrada said Roxas’ decision does not change anything. "Walang epekto ‘yan para sa akin (That would not affect me)," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. Despite possible legal questions on a possible re-election, Estrada had long floated the idea of seeking the presidency in 2010 if the opposition fails to unite behind a single candidate against the Arroyo administration’s bet.

Another perceived presidential aspirant, Sen. Francis Escudero of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), refused to discuss how Roxas’ decision would affect him, merely saying that it would change the country’s political landscape. "Parati pong may pagbabago sa political landscape, 'di lang sa mga kandidato, kundi para na rin sa ating bansa (There would always be changes in the political landscape, not just in the candidates, but also in the country)," Escudero told dzBB. Nevertheless, Escudero lauded Roxas for making his decision to give way to Aquino. "Masakit at mabigat ‘yong desisyon niya (Roxas’ decision was painful and tough)." Apart from Villar, Estrada and Escudero, other personalities allied with the opposition who have expressed intentions to seek the presidency are Senators Loren Legarda and Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal. Pulse Asia survey Last week, Villar and Estrada emerged as the frontrunners in Pulse Asia’s survey on most preferred presidential aspirants. The public opinion polling body said if the elections were to be held now, 25 percent of Filipinos would vote for Villar, while 19 percent would go for Estrada. Vice President Noli de Castro came in third with 16 percent, while Escudero scored 12 percent and Roxas 11 percent. Because of De Castro's consistently good ratings in surveys, he is reportedly being courted by the administration party Lakas-Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi)-CMD. Last week, De Castro disclosed that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo invited him to join the ruling party so that he could be among the choices for standard-bearer in 2010. De Castro has yet to make a categorical statement on his political plans for the May 2010 elections, but he has admitted in earlier interviews that he would not settle for less than the presidency in case he runs. - GMANews.TV