Lakas: 2016 candidacy up to Bong Revilla

The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) is leaving it up to Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. to decide if he still wants to push through with his plans to run for a higher office in 2016 despite the legal battles he is facing in connection with the pork barrel scam.

 

"That's his call," Lakas-CMD president Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said when asked if the party is still keen on naming Revilla, its chairman, as standard-bearer.

 

The senator is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center for the plunder and graft charges filed against him over the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation from 2007 to 2009.

The Sandiganbayan on Tuesday ruled against granting Revilla bail after weeks of bail hearings.
 

Earlier this year, Revilla said he was not closing his doors on running for a higher office despite facing plunder raps before the Office of the Ombudsman.

 

He said will just rely on "guidance from God and guidance from the people" to determine if he will seek a higher post in elections two years from now.
 

"Kailangan nating ipagdasal iyan, pero I'm open [to running for a higher post]," Revilla said.

 

However, his priorities have apparently changed in a span of several months. 

 

Romualdez said running for president now seems to be the farthest thing from Revilla's mind when he visited the latter at the PNP Custodial Center late last November.

 

"He (Revilla) appears to be more focused on his legal defense, his spiritual well-being and his family," the lawmaker said. 

 

When asked if Revilla remains a viable candidate for Lakas-CMD despite the controversies he is facing, Romualdez said: "It's hard to say. I don't know what his plans are."

 

And although the 2016 elections are a little over a year away, Romualdez remained non-committal about the prospect of Lakas-CMD coalescing with the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), saying anything is possible in politics.

 

"We’ll wait for the developments of next year to unfold but we’re always open. We're always ready to talk," he said. —NB, GMA News