Noynoy to set no conditions in talk with Erap

Senator Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III has no plans of asking former President Joseph Estrada to abandon his presidential bid once their dialogue pushes through next week. “No condition. We will just talk. Makikinig ako sa sasabihin niya, wala akong ilalagay na kondisyon, wala akong inaasahan. Ang importante ay magkausap (kami)," Aquino said in a press conference Monday after Senator Manuel Roxas II formally accepted the offer to be his running mate in the 2010 elections. (I will just listen to him. I will neither give condition nor expect something. What is important is we talk.) Aquino, the only son of the late President Corazon Aquino and slain senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr., said he is in favor of uniting the opposition, adding that that would be better than allowing the administration to rule in next year’s elections. “Pag naghati-hati ang oposisyon, ang nakikinabang ay yung gusto nating palitan (It is the administration who will benefit from a fragmented opposition)," he said. He however added that unifying the opposition would not be the agenda in his meeting with Estrada, who was dethroned in 2001 amid corruption charges, convicted of plunder in 2007, but was eventually pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Aquino, in stressing that Estrada’s conviction does not bother him, said the former president’s group espouses the same interests – good governance and transparency, among others – as his party, the Liberal Party (LP). “Meron siyang grupo na kinakatawan. Ang interes ng mga taong iyon ay interes din namin (Estrada represents a group that has the same interest as our party)," he said. Told that Estrada was not keen on supporting him due to his “elitists" backers, some of whom initiated the moves to oust Estrada from Malacañang in 2001, Aquino said he is banking on the former leader’s goodwill. “Ang pagkakakilala ko kay President Estrada ay hindi nagtatanim ng galit o sama ng loob (I know Estrada as someone who doesn’t hold a grudge.)," he said. - GMANews.TV